Depositing High-T(sub c) Superconductors On Normal-Conductor Wires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirlin, Peter S.

1994-01-01

Experiments have demonstrated feasibility of depositing thin layers of high-T(sub c) superconductor on normally electrically conductive wires. Superconductivity evident at and below critical temperature (T{sub c}) of 71 K. OMCVD, organometallic vapor deposition, apparatus coats Ag wire with layer high-T(sub c) superconductor. Superconductive phase of this material formed subsequently by annealing under controlled conditions.

Claspin Promotes Normal Replication Fork Rates in Human Cells

PubMed Central

Helleday, Thomas; Caldecott, Keith W.

2008-01-01

The S phase-specific adaptor protein Claspin mediates the checkpoint response to replication stress by facilitating phosphorylation of Chk1 by ataxia-telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR). Evidence suggests that these components of the ATR pathway also play a critical role during physiological S phase. Chk1 is required for high rates of global replication fork progression, and Claspin interacts with the replication machinery and might therefore monitor normal DNA replication. Here, we have used DNA fiber labeling to investigate, for the first time, whether human Claspin is required for high rates of replication fork progression during normal S phase. We report that Claspin-depleted HeLa and HCT116 cells display levels of replication fork slowing similar to those observed in Chk1-depleted cells. This was also true in primary human 1BR3 fibroblasts, albeit to a lesser extent, suggesting that Claspin is a universal requirement for high replication fork rates in human cells. Interestingly, Claspin-depleted cells retained significant levels of Chk1 phosphorylation at both Ser317 and Ser345, raising the possibility that Claspin function during normal fork progression may extend beyond facilitating phosphorylation of either individual residue. Consistent with this possibility, depletion of Chk1 and Claspin together doubled the percentage of very slow forks, compared with depletion of either protein alone. PMID:18353973

3D cine magnetic resonance imaging of rat lung ARDS using gradient-modulated SWIFT with retrospective respiratory gating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Naoharu; Lei, Jianxun; Utecht, Lynn; Garwood, Michael; Ingbar, David H.; Bhargava, Maneesh

2015-03-01

SWeep Imaging with Fourier Transformation (SWIFT) with gradient modulation and DC navigator retrospective gating is introduced as a 3D cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method for the lung. In anesthetized normal rats, the quasi-simultaneous excitation and acquisition in SWIFT enabled extremely high sensitivity to the fast-decaying parenchymal signals (TE=~4 μs), which are invisible with conventional MRI techniques. Respiratory motion information was extracted from DC navigator signals and the SWIFT data were reconstructed to 3D cine images with 16 respiratory phases. To test this technique's capabilities, rats exposed to > 95% O2 for 60 hours for induction of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), were imaged and compared with normal rat lungs (N=7 and 5 for ARDS and normal groups, respectively). SWIFT images showed lung tissue density differences along the gravity direction. In the cine SWIFT images, a parenchymal signal drop at the inhalation phase was consistently observed for both normal and ARDS rats due to lung inflation (i.e. decrease of the proton density), but the drop was less for ARDS rats. Depending on the respiratory phase and lung region, the lungs from the ARDS rats showed 1-24% higher parenchymal signal intensities relative to the normal rat lungs, likely due to accumulated extravascular water (EVLW). Those results demonstrate that SWIFT has high enough sensitivity for detecting the lung proton density changes due to gravity, different phases of respiration and accumulation of EVLW in the rat ARDS lungs.

Physics of collisionless scrape-off-layer plasma during normal and off-normal Tokamak operating conditions.

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

Hassanein, A.; Konkashbaev, I.

1999-03-15

The structure of a collisionless scrape-off-layer (SOL) plasma in tokamak reactors is being studied to define the electron distribution function and the corresponding sheath potential between the divertor plate and the edge plasma. The collisionless model is shown to be valid during the thermal phase of a plasma disruption, as well as during the newly desired low-recycling normal phase of operation with low-density, high-temperature, edge plasma conditions. An analytical solution is developed by solving the Fokker-Planck equation for electron distribution and balance in the SOL. The solution is in good agreement with numerical studies using Monte-Carlo methods. The analytical solutionsmore » provide an insight to the role of different physical and geometrical processes in a collisionless SOL during disruptions and during the enhanced phase of normal operation over a wide range of parameters.« less

Chromatographic performance of synthetic polycrystalline diamond as a stationary phase in normal phase high performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Peristyy, Anton; Paull, Brett; Nesterenko, Pavel N

2015-04-24

The chromatographic properties of high pressure high temperature synthesised diamond (HPHT) are investigated in normal phase mode of high performance liquid chromatography. Purified nonporous irregular shape particles of average particles size 1.2 μm and specific surface area 5.1 m(2) g(-1) were used for packing 100×4.6 mm ID or 50×4.6 mm ID stainless steel columns. The retention behaviour of several classes of compounds including alkyl benzenes, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), alkylphenylketones, phenols, aromatic acids and bases were studied using n-hexane-2-propanol mixtures as mobile phase. The results are compared with those observed for microdispersed sintered detonation nanodiamond (MSDN) and porous graphitic carbon (PGC). HPHT diamond revealed distinctive separation selectivity, which is orthogonal to that observed for porous graphitic carbon; while selectivities of HPHT diamond and microdispersed sintered detonation nanodiamonds are similar. Owing to non-porous particle nature, columns packed with high pressure high temperature diamond exhibited excellent mass transfer and produce separations with maximum column efficiency of 128,200 theoretical plates per meter. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Separation of piracetam derivatives on polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases.

PubMed

Kažoka, H; Koliškina, O; Veinberg, G; Vorona, M

2013-03-15

High-performance liquid chromatography was used for the enantiomeric separation of two chiral piracetam derivatives. The suitability of six commercially available polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases (CSPs) under normal phase mode for direct enantioseparation has been investigated. The influence of the CSPs as well the nature and content of an alcoholic modifier in the mobile phase on separation and elution order was studied. It was established that CSP Lux Amylose-2 shows high chiral recognition ability towards 4-phenylsubstituted piracetam derivatives. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mechanisms of hydrocarbon migration in Mahakam delta, Kalimantan, Indonesia

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

Durand, B.; Bessereau, G.; Ungerer, P.H.

1986-05-01

In the Mahakam delta, hydrocarbons formed from landplant debris, either dispersed in clays or concentrated in coal levels. The hydrocarbon zone is located partly or entirely in overpressured zones. Hydrocarbon migration is primarily a polyphasic mechanism, i.e., water and hydrocarbons move in separate phases. When hydrocarbon generation occurs in normally pressured zones, hydrocarbons are easily expelled to close carrier beds. Then they migrate toward the top of structures through a network of abundant interconnected sand bodies. However, most hydrocarbons are generated in overpressured zones, in which they move preferentially toward the structural highs. Simultaneously, excess pressure is transmitted to themore » top of the structures because of the sedimentary load in the synclines, which results in a high pressure gradient at the top. This pressure gradient facilitates hydrocarbon filtration from overpressured zones to normally pressured zones, or it may cause hydraulic fracturing, which provides avenues for migration. Gas-rich hydrocarbons formed in deep overpressured zones, probably in a single phase owing to high temperature and pressures. The passage from overpressured zones to normally pressured zones resulted in decreased temperature and pressure, which produced several hydrocarbon phases by retrograde condensation. Finally, lighter hydrocarbons pooled above the heaviest ones. These mechanisms have been simulated by a numerical model of basin evolution, including a two-phase migration modulus, and by a numerical model of retrograde condensation.« less

Vortices and quasiparticles near the superconductor-insulator transition in thin films.

PubMed

Galitski, Victor M; Refael, G; Fisher, Matthew P A; Senthil, T

2005-08-12

We study the low temperature behavior of an amorphous superconducting film driven normal by a perpendicular magnetic-field (B). For this purpose we introduce a new two-fluid formulation consisting of fermionized field-induced vortices and electrically neutralized Bogoliubov quasiparticles (spinons) interacting via a long-ranged statistical interaction. This approach allows us to access a novel non-Fermi-liquid phase, which naturally interpolates between the low B superconductor and the high B normal metal. We discuss the properties of the resulting "vortex metal" phase.

A high performance three-phase enzyme electrode based on superhydrophobic mesoporous silicon nanowire arrays for glucose detection.

PubMed

Xu, Chenlong; Song, Zhiqian; Xiang, Qun; Jin, Jian; Feng, Xinjian

2016-04-14

We describe here a high performance oxygen-rich three-phase enzyme electrode based on superhydrophobic mesoporous silicon nanowire arrays for glucose detection. We demonstrate that its linear detection upper limit is 30 mM, more than 15 times higher than that can be obtained on the normal enzyme-electrode. Notably, the three-phase enzyme electrode output is insensitive to the significant oxygen level fluctuation in analyte solution.

Chromatographic behaviour of synthetic high pressure high temperature diamond in aqueous normal phase chromatography.

PubMed

Peristyy, Anton; Paull, Brett; Nesterenko, Pavel N

2016-10-28

The chromatographic properties of high pressure high temperature synthesised diamond (HPHT) are investigated under the conditions of hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC). A 50×4.6mm ID stainless steel column packed with HPHT particles of mean diameter 1.6μm and specific surface area 5.1m 2 g -1 is used. According to the results of acid-base titration with NaOH the purified HPHT batch contains 4.59μeqg -1 of protogenic, mainly carboxyl- and hydroxyl-, groups, which make this polar adsorbent suitable for use as a stationary phase in HILIC. The retention behaviour of several classes of polar compounds including benzoic and benzenesulfonic acids, nitro- and chlorophenols, various organic bases, and quaternary ammonium compounds are studied using acetonitrile and methanol based mobile phases containing 5-30v/v% of water. The effects of the buffer pH and concentration, column temperature and organic solvent content on retention of model compounds are also investigated. It is shown that both pH and acetonitrile/methanol ratio in the mobile phase can be used to vary the separation selectivity. Molecular adsorption mechanism (related to aqueous normal phase mode), rather than partitioning is established to be responsible for the retention. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Symmetry energy in cold dense matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Kie Sang; Lee, Su Houng

2016-01-01

We calculate the symmetry energy in cold dense matter both in the normal quark phase and in the 2-color superconductor (2SC) phase. For the normal phase, the thermodynamic potential is calculated by using hard dense loop (HDL) resummation to leading order, where the dominant contribution comes from the longitudinal gluon rest mass. The effect of gluonic interaction on the symmetry energy, obtained from the thermodynamic potential, was found to be small. In the 2SC phase, the non-perturbative BCS paring gives enhanced symmetry energy as the gapped states are forced to be in the common Fermi sea reducing the number of available quarks that can contribute to the asymmetry. We used high density effective field theory to estimate the contribution of gluon interaction to the symmetry energy. Among the gluon rest masses in 2SC phase, only the Meissner mass has iso-spin dependence although the magnitude is much smaller than the Debye mass. As the iso-spin dependence of gluon rest masses is even smaller than the case in the normal phase, we expect that the contribution of gluonic interaction to the symmetry energy in the 2SC phase will be minimal. The different value of symmetry energy in each phase will lead to different prediction for the particle yields in heavy ion collision experiment.

Normal-Phase Open Column versus Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography: Separation of Chlorophyll a and Chlorophyll b from their Diastereomers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaber, Peter M.

1985-01-01

Background information, procedures used, and typical results obtained are provided for an experiment involving the separation of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b from their diastereomers. Reasons why the experiment can be easily integrated into most laboratory curricula where high-performance liquid chromatography capabilities exist are given. (JN)

Evaluation of genetic variability among "Early Mature" Juglans regia using microsatellite markers and morphological traits.

PubMed

Ebrahimi, Aziz; Zarei, Abdolkarim; Zamani Fardadonbeh, Mojtaba; Lawson, Shaneka

2017-01-01

Limiting the juvenile phase and reducing tree size are the two main challenges for breeders to improve most fruit crops. Early maturation and dwarf cultivars have been reported for many fruit species. "Early mature" and low vigor walnut genotypes were found among seedlings of Persian walnut. Nine microsatellite markers were used to evaluate genetic diversity among "Early Mature" Persian walnut accessions and provide a comparison with "normal growth" accessions. Six maturation related characteristics were also measured in "Early Mature" samples. Phenotypic traits and diversity indices showed relatively high levels of genetic diversity in "Early Mature" seedlings and indicated high differentiation between individuals. Seedling height, the most diverse phenotypic trait, has an important role in the clustering of "Early Mature" accessions. The "Early Mature" type had higher number of alleles, number of effective allele, and Shannon index compared to the "Normal Growth" group. The two types of studied walnuts had different alleles, with more than half of produced alleles specific to a specific group. "Early Mature" and "Normal Growth" walnuts had 27 and 17 private alleles, respectively. Grouping with different methods separated "Early Mature" and "Normal Growth" samples entirely. The presence of moderate to high genetic diversity in "Early Mature" walnuts and high genetic differentiation with "Normal Growth" walnuts, indicated that "Early Mature" walnuts were more diverse and distinct from "Normal Growth" samples. Moreover, our results showed SSR markers were useful for differentiating between "Early Mature" and "Normal Growth" walnuts. A number of identified loci have potential in breeding programs for identification of "Early Mature" walnuts at the germination phase.

A preliminary evaluation of myoelectrical energy distribution of the front neck muscles in pharyngeal phase during normal swallowing.

PubMed

Mingxing Zhu; Wanzhang Yang; Samuel, Oluwarotimi Williams; Yun Xiang; Jianping Huang; Haiqing Zou; Guanglin Li

2016-08-01

Pharyngeal phase is a central hub of swallowing in which food bolus pass through from the oral cavity to the esophageal. Proper understanding of the muscular activities in the pharyngeal phase is useful for assessing swallowing function and the occurrence of dysphagia in humans. In this study, high-density (HD) surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to study the muscular activities in the pharyngeal phase during swallowing tasks involving three healthy male subjects. The root mean square (RMS) of the HD sEMG data was computed by using a series of segmented windows as myoelectrical energy. And the RMS of each window covering all channels (16×5) formed a matrix. During the pharyngeal phase of swallowing, three of the matrixes were chosen and normalized to obtain the HD energy maps and the statistical parameter. The maps across different viscosity levels offered the energy distribution which showed the muscular activities of the left and right sides of the front neck muscles. In addition, the normalized average RMS (NARE) across different viscosity levels revealed a left-right significant correlation (r=0.868±0.629, p<;0.01) quantitatively, while it showed even stronger correlation when swallowing water. This pilot study suggests that HD sEMG would be a potential tool to evaluate muscular activities in pharyngeal phase during normal swallowing. Also, it might provide useful information for dysphagia diagnosis.

Gas-liquid two-phase flow behaviors and performance characteristics of proton exchange membrane fuel cells in a short-term microgravity environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Hang; Liu, Xuan; Zhao, Jian Fu; Ye, Fang; Ma, Chong Fang

2017-06-01

In this work, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) with transparent windows are designed to study the gas-liquid two-phase flow behaviors inside flow channels and the performance of a PEMFC with vertical channels and a PEMFC with horizontal channels in a normal gravity environment and a 3.6 s short-term microgravity environment. Experiments are conducted under high external circuit load and low external circuit load at low temperature where is 35 °C. The results of the present experimental work demonstrate that the performance and the gas-liquid two-phase flow behaviors of the PEMFC with vertical channels exhibits obvious changes when the PEMFCs enter the 3.6 s short-term microgravity environment from the normal gravity environment. Meanwhile, the performance of the PEMFC with vertical channels increases after the PEMFC enters the 3.6 s short-term microgravity environment under high external circuit load, while under low external circuit load, the PEMFC with horizontal channels exhibits better performance in both the normal gravity environment and the 3.6 s short-term microgravity environment.

Effect of water phase transition on dynamic ruptures with thermal pressurization: Numerical simulations with changes in physical properties of water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urata, Yumi; Kuge, Keiko; Kase, Yuko

2015-02-01

Phase transitions of pore water have never been considered in dynamic rupture simulations with thermal pressurization (TP), although they may control TP. From numerical simulations of dynamic rupture propagation including TP, in the absence of any water phase transition process, we predict that frictional heating and TP are likely to change liquid pore water into supercritical water for a strike-slip fault under depth-dependent stress. This phase transition causes changes of a few orders of magnitude in viscosity, compressibility, and thermal expansion among physical properties of water, thus affecting the diffusion of pore pressure. Accordingly, we perform numerical simulations of dynamic ruptures with TP, considering physical properties that vary with the pressure and temperature of pore water on a fault. To observe the effects of the phase transition, we assume uniform initial stress and no fault-normal variations in fluid density and viscosity. The results suggest that the varying physical properties decrease the total slip in cases with high stress at depth and small shear zone thickness. When fault-normal variations in fluid density and viscosity are included in the diffusion equation, they activate TP much earlier than the phase transition. As a consequence, the total slip becomes greater than that in the case with constant physical properties, eradicating the phase transition effect. Varying physical properties do not affect the rupture velocity, irrespective of the fault-normal variations. Thus, the phase transition of pore water has little effect on dynamic ruptures. Fault-normal variations in fluid density and viscosity may play a more significant role.

An investigation during the system test phase of the GOES spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mallette, L. A.

1983-01-01

Spurious RF oscillations were noted during the system test phase of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES). A space qualified data collection platform report (DCPR) transmitter was subsequently found to have a cracked load resistor in its output isolator. The failure mechanism was caused by heat from the output power of a 20 watt transmitter being reflected into the DCPR transmitter through a sneak path. The reflection from a high VSWR at the rotary joint was not part of the normal operation but was due to unusual circumstances. The reliability of the load resistor under normal operation (low VSWR) over the life of the satellite was determined to be high.

Liquid chromatographic assay of ceftizoxime in sera of normal and uremic patients.

PubMed Central

McCormick, E M; Echols, R M; Rosano, T G

1984-01-01

The application of high-pressure liquid chromatography assays for cephalosporin serum concentrations is difficult in uremic patients because of interference from nondialyzable substances. We developed a high-pressure liquid chromatography method for determining the serum concentration of ceftizoxime in normal and uremic patients. The method involves protein precipitation with acetonitrile, followed by removal of the acetonitrile with dichloromethane. Separation was accomplished with a reverse-phase (C-18) column and a mobile phase of 13% acetonitrile and 2.8% acetic acid. UV detection at 310 nm was used to monitor the peaks. This assay produced a linear relationship between peak height ratio and ceftizoxime concentration from 1.5 to 100 micrograms/ml. Samples from 30 patients were assayed by this method and by a bioassay, with a good correlation of results (r = 0.9832). The method was applicable equally to normal and uremic serum samples. PMID:6326665

Rotator Phases of n-Heptane under High Pressure: Raman Scattering and X-ray Diffraction Studies

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

C Ma; Q Zhou; F Li

2011-12-31

We performed high-pressure Raman scattering and angle-dispersive synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements on n-heptane at room temperature. It has been found that n-heptane undergoes a liquid to rotator phase III (R{sub III}) transition at 1.2 GPa and then transforms into another rotator phase R{sub IV} at about 3 GPa. As the pressure reaches 7.5 GPa, a transition from an orientationally disordered R{sub IV} phase to an ordered crystalline state starts and is completed around 14.5 GPa. Our results clearly present the high-pressure phase transition sequence (liquid-R{sub III}-R{sub IV}-crystal) of n-heptane, similar to that of normal alkanes.

Traffic Lights in Trichodesmium. Regulation of Photosynthesis for Nitrogen Fixation Studied by Chlorophyll Fluorescence Kinetic Microscopy1

PubMed Central

Küpper, Hendrik; Ferimazova, Naila; Šetlík, Ivan; Berman-Frank, Ilana

2004-01-01

We investigated interactions between photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation in the non-heterocystous marine cyanobacterium Trichodesmium IMS101 at the single-cell level by two-dimensional (imaging) microscopic measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics. Nitrogen fixation was closely associated with the appearance of cells with high basic fluorescence yield (F0), termed bright cells. In cultures aerated with normal air, both nitrogen fixation and bright cells appeared in the middle of the light phase. In cultures aerated with 5% oxygen, both processes occurred at a low level throughout most of the day. Under 50% oxygen, nitrogen fixation commenced at the beginning of the light phase but declined soon afterwards. Rapid reversible switches between fluorescence levels were observed, which indicated that the elevated F0 of the bright cells originates from reversible uncoupling of the photosystem II (PSII) antenna from the PSII reaction center. Two physiologically distinct types of bright cells were observed. Type I had about double F0 compared to the normal F0 in the dark phase and a PSII activity, measured as variable fluorescence (Fv = Fm − F0), similar to normal non-diazotrophic cells. Correlation of type I cells with nitrogen fixation, oxygen concentration, and light suggests that this physiological state is connected to an up-regulation of the Mehler reaction, resulting in oxygen consumption despite functional PSII. Type II cells had more than three times the normal F0 and hardly any PSII activity measurable by variable fluorescence. They did not occur under low-oxygen concentrations, but appeared under high-oxygen levels outside the diazotrophic period, suggesting that this state represents a reaction to oxidative stress not necessarily connected to nitrogen fixation. In addition to the two high-fluorescence states, cells were observed to reversibly enter a low-fluorescence state. This occurred mainly after a cell went through its bright phase and may represent a fluorescence-quenching recovery phase. PMID:15299119

[Changes of insulin resistance and islet beta cells function in subjects with high-normal blood pressure].

PubMed

Xu, Ling-Ling; Xiang, Hong-Ding; Zhang, Li-Hong; Chen, Wei; Fang, Jing-Hui

2009-08-01

To investigate the changes of insulin resistance and islet beta cells function in subjects with euglycemia and high-normal blood pressure. Total 423 subjects were divided into normal blood pressure group and high-normal blood pressure group. Body height, weight, waist and hip circumference, and biochemical data were measured. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), insulin sensitivity index (ISI)-composite, and first-phase (1 PH) Stumvoll index were calculated. Results Waist circumference, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HOMA-IR were significantly higher and IPH Stumvoll index and ISI-composite were significantly lower in high-normal blood pressure group than in normal blood pressure group (P < 0.05). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was positively correlated with HOMA-IR (r = 0.122) and negatively correlated with 1PH Stumvoll index (r = -0. 159) and ISI-composite (r = -0.131) (P < 0.05). SBP and triglyceride were independent factors for IPH Stumvoll index. Insulin resistance and islet dysfunction may exist in subjects with high-normal blood pressure.

A rapid method for the simultaneous quantification of the major tocopherols, carotenoids, free and esterified sterols in canola (Brassica napus) oil using normal phase liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Flakelar, Clare L; Prenzler, Paul D; Luckett, David J; Howitt, Julia A; Doran, Gregory

2017-01-01

A normal phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed to simultaneously quantify several prominent bioactive compounds in canola oil vis. α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, δ-tocopherol, β-carotene, lutein, β-sitosterol, campesterol and brassicasterol. The use of sequential diode array detection (DAD) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) allowed direct injection of oils, diluted in hexane without derivatisation or saponification, greatly reducing sample preparation time, and permitting the quantification of both free sterols and intact sterol esters. Further advantages over existing methods included increased analytical selectivity, and a chromatographic run time substantially less than other reported normal phase methods. The HPLC-DAD-MS/MS method was applied to freshly extracted canola oil samples as well as commercially available canola, palm fruit, sunflower and olive oils. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High temperature normal phase liquid chromatography of aromatic hydrocarbons on bare zirconia.

PubMed

Paproski, Richard E; Liang, Chen; Lucy, Charles A

2011-11-04

The normal phase HPLC behavior of a bare zirconia column was studied at temperatures up to 200 °C using a hexane mobile phase. The use of elevated column temperatures significantly decreased the retention of twenty five aromatic model compounds according to the van't Hoff equation (>30-fold decrease for some compounds). Large improvements in peak shape, efficiency (>2.2-fold), aromatic group-type selectivity, and column re-equilibration times (>5-fold) were obtained at elevated temperatures. The thermal decomposition of two polar nitrogen compounds (indole and carbazole) was observed in a hexane/dichloromethane mobile phase at temperatures greater than 100 °C. The first order decomposition of carbazole was studied in further detail. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermoelectric properties of p-type cubic and rhombohedral GeTe

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

Xing, Guangzong; Sun, Jifeng; Li, Yuwei

Here, we investigate the electronic and thermoelectric properties of GeTe in both cubic and rhombohedral phases. We find that cubic GeTe has an electronic structure with a narrow band gap that is unfavorable at high temperature, where the cubic phase is normally stable. However, cubic GeTe has electronic features that may lead to p-type performance superior to the normal rhombohedral phase at lower temperature. This is explained in part by the combination of light and heavy band character that is very effective in obtaining high thermopower and conductivity. In addition, the valence band edge carrier pockets in cubic GeTe possessmore » the largest anisotropy among cubic IV-VI analogs. These effects are stronger than the effect of band convergence in the rhombohedral structure. The results suggest further study of stabilized cubic GeTe as a thermoelectric.« less

Thermoelectric properties of p-type cubic and rhombohedral GeTe

DOE PAGES

Xing, Guangzong; Sun, Jifeng; Li, Yuwei; ...

2018-05-21

Here, we investigate the electronic and thermoelectric properties of GeTe in both cubic and rhombohedral phases. We find that cubic GeTe has an electronic structure with a narrow band gap that is unfavorable at high temperature, where the cubic phase is normally stable. However, cubic GeTe has electronic features that may lead to p-type performance superior to the normal rhombohedral phase at lower temperature. This is explained in part by the combination of light and heavy band character that is very effective in obtaining high thermopower and conductivity. In addition, the valence band edge carrier pockets in cubic GeTe possessmore » the largest anisotropy among cubic IV-VI analogs. These effects are stronger than the effect of band convergence in the rhombohedral structure. The results suggest further study of stabilized cubic GeTe as a thermoelectric.« less

Calorimetric determination of the magnetic phase diagram of underdoped ortho II YBa2Cu3O6.54 single crystals

PubMed Central

Marcenat, C.; Demuer, A.; Beauvois, K.; Michon, B.; Grockowiak, A.; Liang, R.; Hardy, W.; Bonn, D. A.; Klein, T.

2015-01-01

The recent discovery of a charge order in underdoped YBa2Cu3Oy raised the question of the interplay between superconductivity and this competing phase. Understanding the normal state of high-temperature superconductors is now an essential step towards the description of the pairing mechanism in those materials and determining the upper critical field is therefore of fundamental importance. We present here a calorimetric determination of the field–temperature phase diagram in underdoped YBa2Cu3Oy single crystals. We show that the specific heat saturates in high magnetic fields. This saturation is consistent with a normal state without any significant superconducting contribution and a total Sommerfeld coefficient γN∼6.5±1.5 mJ mol−1 K−2 putting strong constraints on the theoretical models for the Fermi surface reconstruction. PMID:26294047

Isolation of four phenolic compounds from Mangifera indica L. flowers by using normal phase combined with elution extrusion two-step high speed countercurrent chromatography.

PubMed

Shaheen, Nusrat; Lu, Yanzhen; Geng, Ping; Shao, Qian; Wei, Yun

2017-03-01

Two-step high speed countercurrent chromatography method, following normal phase and elution-extrusion mode of operation by using selected solvent systems, was introduced for phenolic compounds separation. Phenolic compounds including gallic acid, ethyl gallate, ethyl digallate and ellagic acid were separated from the ethanol extract of mango (Mangifera indica L.) flowers for the first time. In the first step, gallic acid of 3.7mg and ethyl gallate of 3.9mg with the purities of 98.87% and 99.55%, respectively, were isolated by using hexane-ethylacetate-methanol-water (4:6:4:6, v/v) in normal phase high speed countercurrent chromatography from 200mg of crude extract, while ethyl digallate and ellagic acid were collected in the form of mixture fraction. In the second step, further purification of the mixture was carried out with the help of another selected solvent system of dichloromethane-methanol-water (4:3:2, v/v) following elusion-extrusion mode of operation. Ethyl digallate of 3.8mg and ellagic acid of 5.7mg were separated well with high purities of 98.68% and 99.71%, respectively. The separated phenolic compounds were identified and confirmed by HPLC, UPLC-QTOF/ESI-MS, 1 H and 13 C NMR spectrometric analysis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pressure-induced phase transition in titanium alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murugeswari, R.; Rajeswarapalanichamy, R.; Benial, A. Milton Franklin

2018-05-01

The structural, elastic, magnetic and electronic properties of titanium-based ferromagnetic (FM) TiX (X = Fe, Co, Ni) alloys are investigated by the first principles calculations based on density functional theory using the Vienna ab initio simulation code. At ambient pressure, all the three alloys TiFe, TiCo and TiNi are highly stable in CsCl structure. The calculated lattice parameters and ground state properties are in good agreement with the available theoretical and experimental results. The density of states explains that these alloys possess the metallic nature at normal and high pressures. A pressure-induced structural phase transitions from CsCl to NaCl phase at 46 GPa and NaCl to ZB phase at 49 GPa in TiFe, CsCl to ZB phase in TiCo at 52 GPa, CsCl to hexagonal phase at 22 GPa and hexagonal to ZB phase at 66 GPa in TiNi are observed. The calculated Debye temperatures of TiX (X = Fe, Co, Ni) alloys are in good agreement with earlier reports. Binding energy shows that the TiCo is the most stable alloy. The magnetic property of TiX (X = Fe, Co, Ni) alloys reveals that TiFe is stable in nonmagnetic phase and the other two alloys, TiCo and TiNi, are stable in FM phase at normal pressure.

Alterations in cytokines and haematological parameters during the acute and convalescent phases of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections.

PubMed

Rodrigues-da-Silva, Rodrigo Nunes; Lima-Junior, Josué da Costa; Fonseca, Bruna de Paula Fonseca e; Antas, Paulo Renato Zuquim; Baldez, Arlete; Storer, Fabio Luiz; Santos, Fátima; Banic, Dalma Maria; Oliveira-Ferreira, Joseli de

2014-04-01

Haematological and cytokine alterations in malaria are a broad and controversial subject in the literature. However, few studies have simultaneously evaluated various cytokines in a single patient group during the acute and convalescent phases of infection. The aim of this study was to sequentially characterise alterations in haematological patters and circulating plasma cytokine and chemokine levels in patients infected with Plasmodium vivax or Plasmodium falciparum from a Brazilian endemic area during the acute and convalescent phases of infection. During the acute phase, thrombocytopaenia, eosinopaenia, lymphopaenia and an increased number of band cells were observed in the majority of the patients. During the convalescent phase, the haematologic parameters returned to normal. During the acute phase, P. vivax and P. falciparum patients had significantly higher interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-17, interferon-γ, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, macrophage inflammatory protein-1β and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor levels than controls and maintained high levels during the convalescent phase. IL-10 was detected at high concentrations during the acute phase, but returned to normal levels during the convalescent phase. Plasma IL-10 concentration was positively correlated with parasitaemia in P. vivax and P. falciparum-infected patients. The same was true for the TNF-α concentration in P. falciparum-infected patients. Finally, the haematological and cytokine profiles were similar between uncomplicated P. falciparum and P. vivax infections.

Fast and comprehensive analysis of secondary metabolites in cocoa products using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography directly after pressurized liquid extraction.

PubMed

Damm, Irina; Enger, Eileen; Chrubasik-Hausmann, Sigrun; Schieber, Andreas; Zimmermann, Benno F

2016-08-01

Fast methods for the extraction and analysis of various secondary metabolites from cocoa products were developed and optimized regarding speed and separation efficiency. Extraction by pressurized liquid extraction is automated and the extracts are analyzed by rapid reversed-phase ultra high-performance liquid chromatography and normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography methods. After extraction, no further sample treatment is required before chromatographic analysis. The analytes comprise monomeric and oligomeric flavanols, flavonols, methylxanthins, N-phenylpropenoyl amino acids, and phenolic acids. Polyphenols and N-phenylpropenoyl amino acids are separated in a single run of 33 min, procyanidins are analyzed by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography within 16 min, and methylxanthins require only 6 min total run time. A fourth method is suitable for phenolic acids, but only protocatechuic acid was found in relevant quantities. The optimized methods were validated and applied to 27 dark chocolates, one milk chocolate, two cocoa powders and two food supplements based on cocoa extract. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The efficacy of the appetite suppressant, diethylpropion, is dependent on both when it is given (day vs. night) and under conditions of high fat dietary restriction.

PubMed

Kalyanasundar, B; Solorio, Jessica; Perez, Claudia I; Hoyo-Vadillo, Carlos; Simon, Sidney A; Gutierrez, Ranier

2016-05-01

Obesity is a public health problem caused by excessive consumption of high caloric diets and/or lack of physical activity. Although treatments for obesity include low caloric diets and exercise programs, these activities frequently are supplemented with appetite suppressants. For the short-term treatment of weight loss, diethylpropion (DEP) is a commonly used appetite suppressant. However, little is known with regard to how to improve its weight loss efficacy. We therefore evaluated, in rats, two administration protocols where the animals received daily injections of DEP. First, when these nocturnal animals were normally active (at night) and when they were normally inactive (daytime), and second, with or without high fat dietary restriction (HFDR). We observed that DEP induced a greater weight-loss administered when the animals were in their active phase than in their inactive phase. Moreover, DEP's administration during the inactive phase (and to a lesser degree in the active phase) promotes the consumption of food during normal sleeping time. In addition, we found that DEP-induced weight loss under ad libitum access to a HF diet, but its efficacy significantly improved under conditions of HFDR. In summary, the efficacy of DEP, and presumably other like appetite suppressants, is enhanced by carefully controlling the time it is administered and under dietary restriction of HF diets. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Highly hydrophilic and nonionic poly(2-vinyloxazoline)-grafted silica: a novel organic phase for high-selectivity hydrophilic interaction chromatography.

PubMed

Mallik, Abul K; Cheah, Wee Keat; Shingo, Kaori; Ejzaki, Aika; Takafuji, Makoto; Ihara, Hirotaka

2014-07-01

A new hydrophilic and nonionic poly(2-vinyloxazoline)-grafted silica (Sil-VOX(n)) phase was synthesized and applied for the separation of nucleosides and nucleobases in hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC). Polymerization and immobilization onto silica were confirmed by using characterization techniques including (1)H NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. The hydrophilicity or wettability of Sil-VOX(n) was observed by measuring the contact angle (59.9°). The chromatographic results were compared with those obtained with a conventional HILIC silica column. The Sil-VOX(n) phase showed much better separation of polar test analytes than the silica column, and the elution order was different. Differences in selectivity between these two columns indicate that the stationary phase cannot function merely as an inert support for a water layer into which the solutes are partitioned from the bulk mobile phase. To elucidate the interaction mechanism, the separation of dihydroxybenzene isomers was performed on both columns in normal-phase liquid chromatography. Sil-VOX(n) was very sensitive to the dipole moments of the positional isomers of polycyclic aromatic compounds in normal-phase liquid chromatography. The interaction mechanism for Sil-VOX(n) in HILIC separation is also described.

Electronic Phase Separation in Iron Selenide (Li,Fe)OHFeSe Superconductor System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Yiyuan; Li, Jun; Huan, Yulong; Yuan, Jie; Li, Zi-an; Chai, Ke; Ma, Mingwei; Ni, Shunli; Tian, Jinpeng; Liu, Shaobo; Zhou, Huaxue; Zhou, Fang; Li, Jianqi; Zhang, Guangming; Jin, Kui; Dong, Xiaoli; Zhao, Zhongxian

2018-05-01

The phenomenon of phase separation into antiferromagnetic (AFM) and superconducting (SC) or normal-state regions has great implication for the origin of high-temperature (high-Tc) superconductivity. However, the occurrence of an intrinsic antiferromagnetism above the Tc of (Li, Fe)OHFeSe superconductor is questioned. Here we report a systematic study on a series of (Li, Fe)OHFeSe single crystal samples with Tc up to ~41 K. We observe an evident drop in the static magnetization at Tafm ~125 K, in some of the SC (Tc < ~38 K, cell parameter c < ~9.27 {\\AA}) and non-SC samples. We verify that this AFM signal is intrinsic to (Li, Fe)OHFeSe. Thus, our observations indicate mesoscopic-to-macroscopic coexistence of an AFM state with the normal (below Tafm) or SC (below Tc) state in (Li, Fe)OHFeSe. We explain such coexistence by electronic phase separation, similar to that in high-Tc cuprates and iron arsenides. However, such an AFM signal can be absent in some other samples of (Li, Fe)OHFeSe, particularly it is never observed in the SC samples of Tc > ~38 K, owing to a spatial scale of the phase separation too small for the macroscopic magnetic probe. For this case, we propose a microscopic electronic phase separation. It is suggested that the microscopic static phase separation reaches vanishing point in high-Tc (Li, Fe)OHFeSe, by the occurrence of two-dimensional AFM spin fluctuations below nearly the same temperature as Tafm reported previously for a (Li, Fe)OHFeSe (Tc ~42 K) single crystal. A complete phase diagram is thus established. Our study provides key information of the underlying physics for high-Tc superconductivity.

Iron chalcogenide superconductors at high magnetic fields

PubMed Central

Lei, Hechang; Wang, Kefeng; Hu, Rongwei; Ryu, Hyejin; Abeykoon, Milinda; Bozin, Emil S; Petrovic, Cedomir

2012-01-01

Iron chalcogenide superconductors have become one of the most investigated superconducting materials in recent years due to high upper critical fields, competing interactions and complex electronic and magnetic phase diagrams. The structural complexity, defects and atomic site occupancies significantly affect the normal and superconducting states in these compounds. In this work we review the vortex behavior, critical current density and high magnetic field pair-breaking mechanism in iron chalcogenide superconductors. We also point to relevant structural features and normal-state properties. PMID:27877518

High-resolution frequency measurement method with a wide-frequency range based on a quantized phase step law.

PubMed

Du, Baoqiang; Dong, Shaofeng; Wang, Yanfeng; Guo, Shuting; Cao, Lingzhi; Zhou, Wei; Zuo, Yandi; Liu, Dan

2013-11-01

A wide-frequency and high-resolution frequency measurement method based on the quantized phase step law is presented in this paper. Utilizing a variation law of the phase differences, the direct different frequency phase processing, and the phase group synchronization phenomenon, combining an A/D converter and the adaptive phase shifting principle, a counter gate is established in the phase coincidences at one-group intervals, which eliminates the ±1 counter error in the traditional frequency measurement method. More importantly, the direct phase comparison, the measurement, and the control between any periodic signals have been realized without frequency normalization in this method. Experimental results show that sub-picosecond resolution can be easily obtained in the frequency measurement, the frequency standard comparison, and the phase-locked control based on the phase quantization processing technique. The method may be widely used in navigation positioning, space techniques, communication, radar, astronomy, atomic frequency standards, and other high-tech fields.

A complete investigation of monocular and binocular functions in clinically treated amblyopia.

PubMed

Zhao, Wuxiao; Jia, Wu-Li; Chen, Ge; Luo, Yan; Lin, Borong; He, Qing; Lu, Zhong-Lin; Li, Min; Huang, Chang-Bing

2017-09-06

The gold standard of a successful amblyopia treatment is full recovery of visual acuity (VA) in the amblyopic eye, but there has been no systematic study on both monocular and binocular visual functions. In this research, we aimed to quantify visual qualities with a variety of perceptual tasks in subjects with treated amblyopia. We found near stereoacuity and pAE dominance in binocular rivalry in "treated" amblyopia were largely comparable to those of normal subjects. CSF of the pAE remained deficient in high spatial frequencies. The binocular contrast summation ratio is significantly lower than normal standard. The interocular balance point is 34%, indicating that contrast in pAE is much less effective as the same contrast in pFE in binocular phase combination. Although VA, stereoacuity and binocular rivalry at low spatial frequency in treated amblyopes were normal or nearly normal, the pAE remained "lazy" in high frequency domain, binocular contrast summation, and interocular phase combination. Our results suggest that structured monocular and binocular training are necessary to fully recover deficient functions in amblyopia.

HIGH ENERGY RATE EXTRUSION OF URANIUM

DOEpatents

Lewis, L.

1963-07-23

A method of extruding uranium at a high energy rate is described. Conditions during the extrusion are such that the temperature of the metal during extrusion reaches a point above the normal alpha to beta transition, but the metal nevertheless remains in the alpha phase in accordance with the Clausius- Clapeyron equation. Upon exiting from the die, the metal automatically enters the beta phase, after which the metal is permitted to cool. (AEC)

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the anal canal using high resolution sequences and phased array coil: visualization of anal sphincter complex.

PubMed

Laghi, A; Iafrate, F; Paolantonio, P; Iannaccone, R; Baeli, I; Ferrari, R; Catalano, C; Passariello, R

2002-04-01

To assess the normal anatomy of the anal sphincter complex using high-resolution MR imaging with phased -array coil. Twenty patients, 13 males and 7 females, ranging in age between 27 and 56 years underwent MRI evaluation of the pelvic region, using a superconductive 1.5 T magnet (maximum gradient strength, 25 mT/m; minimum rise time 600 microseconds, equipped with phased-array coil. High-resolution T2-weighted Turbo Spin Echo sequences (TR, 4055 ms; TE, 132 ms; matrix 390x512; in-plane resolution, 0.67x0.57 mm) were acquired on multiple axial, sagittal and coronal planes. Images were reviewed by two experienced gastrointestinal radiologists in order to evaluate the normal anal sphincter complex. Optimal image quality of the anal sphincter complex was obtained in all cases. Different muscular layers were observed between the upper and lower aspects of the anal canal. In the lower part of the anal canal, internal and external sphincter muscles could be observed; in the upper part, puborectal and internal sphincter muscles were depicted. Good visualization of intersphincteric space, levator ani muscle and ischioanal space was also obtained in all cases. High-resolution MR images with phased-array coil provide optimal depiction of the anal canal and the anal sphincter complex.

Evaluation of fatty liver by using in-phase and opposed-phase MR images and in-vivo proton MR spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jae-Seung; Im, In-Chul; Goo, Eun-Hoe; Park, Hyong-Hu; Kwak, Byung-Joon

2012-12-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the necessity of in-phase and opposed-phase MR images and their correlations with weight, the aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase (AST/ALT) value, and age. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used as a reference in this study. We selected 68 people as subjects, among which 14 were volunteers with normal AST/ALT values ( <40/35 U/L) on a liver function study and 54 were non-alcoholic fatty liver patients for whom ultrasonic images had been obtained within 3 months of the study. In this study, the liver was more enhanced than the spleen or kidney. When the Eq. (3) formula was applied to normal volunteers, the difference between the in-phase and the opposed-phase images was -3.54 ± 12.56. The MRS study result showed a high sensitivity of 96.6% and a specificity of 100% ( p = 0.000) when the cutoff value was 20%. Furthermore, this result showed a high sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 80% with a similar cutoff when the Eq. (2) formula was applied to non-alcoholic fatty liver patients ( p = 0.000). The MRS study revealed a strong correlation between normal volunteers and non-alcoholic fatty liver patients (r = 0.59, p = 0.04). The correlations between AST/ALT and Eq. (3) (r = 0.45, p = 0.004), age and Eq. (3) (r = 0.73, p = 0.03), and weight and Eq. (3) (r = 0.77, p = 0.000) values were all statistically significant. In the case of non-alcoholic liver disease, MRS was found to be significantly correlated with Eq. (1) (r = 0.39, p = 0.002), Eq. (2) (r = 0.68, p = 0.04), Eq. (3) (r = 0.67, p = 0.04), and AST/ALT (r = 0.77, p = 0.000). In conclusion, in-phase and opposed-phase images can help to distinguish a normal liver from a fatty liver in order to identify non-alcoholic fatty liver patients. The intensity difference between the in-phase and opposed-phase MR signals showed valuable correlations with respect to weight, AST/ALT value, and age, with all values being above the mild lipid value (r = 0.3).

Versatile ligands for high-performance liquid chromatography: An overview of ionic liquid-functionalized stationary phases.

PubMed

Zhang, Mingliang; Mallik, Abul K; Takafuji, Makoto; Ihara, Hirotaka; Qiu, Hongdeng

2015-08-05

Ionic liquids (ILs), a class of unique substances composed purely by cation and anions, are renowned for their fascinating physical and chemical properties, such as negligible volatility, high dissolution power, high thermal stability, tunable structure and miscibility. They are enjoying ever-growing applications in a great diversity of disciplines. IL-modified silica, transforming the merits of ILs into chromatographic advantages, has endowed the development of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) stationary phase with considerable vitality. In the last decade, IL-functionalized silica stationary phases have evolved into a series of branches to accommodate to different HPLC modes. An up-to-date overview of IL-immobilized stationary phases is presented in this review, and divided into five parts according to application mode, i.e., ion-exchange, normal-phase, reversed-phase, hydrophilic interaction and chiral recognition. Specific attention is channeled to synthetic strategies, chromatographic behavior and separation performance of IL-functionalized silica stationary phases. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Seropositivity of Toxoplasmosis in Pregnant Women by ELISA at Minia University Hospital, Egypt.

PubMed

Kamal, Amany M; Ahmed, Azza K; Abdellatif, Manal Z M; Tawfik, Mohamed; Hassan, Ebtesam E

2015-10-01

Toxoplasmosis is considered as an important risk factor for bad obstetric history (BOH) and one of the major causes of congenitally acquired infections. The present study aimed to estimate the seropositivity of T. gondii infection and associated risk factors among the attendees of high risk pregnancy and low risk antenatal care clinic of Minia Maternity and Pediatric University Hospital, Minia, Egypt. The study was carried out from April 2013 to April 2014 through 2 phases, the first phase was case-control study, and the second phase was follow-up with intervention. A total of 120 high risk pregnant and 120 normal pregnant females were submitted to clinical examinations, serological screening for anti-Toxoplasma IgM and IgG antibodies by ELISA, and an interview questionnaire. Seropositive cases were subjected to spiramycin course treatment. The results showed that the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in high-risk pregnancy group was 50.8%, which was significantly different from that of normal pregnancy group (P<0.05). Analysis of seropositive women in relation to BOH showed that abortion was the commonest form of the pregnancy wastage (56.5%). The high prevalence of T. gondii seropositive cases was observed in the age group of 21-30 years. Post-delivery adverse outcome was observed in 80.3% of high-risk pregnancy group compared to 20% of normal pregnancy group. There was a statistically significant relationship between seropositivity and living in rural area, low socioeconomic level, and undercooked meat consumption (P<0.05). Serological screening for anti-Toxoplasma antibodies should be routine tests especially among high-risk pregnant women.

High-efficiency tri-band quasi-continuous phase gradient metamaterials based on spoof surface plasmon polaritons

PubMed Central

Li, Yongfeng; Ma, Hua; Wang, Jiafu; Pang, Yongqiang; Zheng, Qiqi; Chen, Hongya; Han, Yajuan; Zhang, Jieqiu; Qu, Shaobo

2017-01-01

A high-efficiency tri-band quasi-continuous phase gradient metamaterial is designed and demonstrated based on spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs). High-efficiency polarizaiton conversion transmission is firstly achieved via tailoring phase differece between the transmisive SSPP and the space wave in orthogonal directions. As an example, a tri-band circular-to-circular (CTC) polarization conversion metamateiral (PCM) was designed by a nonlinearly dispersive phase difference. Using such PCM unit cell, a tri-band quasi-continuous phase gradient metamaterial (PGM) was then realized by virtue of the Pancharatnam-Berry phase. The distribution of the cross-polarization transmission phase along the x-direction is continuous except for two infinitely small intervals near the phases 0° and 360°, and thus the phase gradient has definition at any point along the x-direction. The simulated normalized polarization conversion transmission spectrums together with the electric field distributions for circularly polarized wave and linearly polarized wave demonstrated the high-efficiency anomalous refraction of the quasi-continuous PGM. The experimental verification for the linearly polarized incidence was also provided. PMID:28079185

Profiling of polar metabolites in biological extracts using diamond hydride-based aqueous normal phase chromatography.

PubMed

Callahan, Damien L; De Souza, David; Bacic, Antony; Roessner, Ute

2009-07-01

Highly polar metabolites, such as sugars and most amino acids are not retained by conventional RP LC columns. Without sufficient retention low concentration compounds are not detected due ion suppression and structural isomers are not resolved. In contrast, hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) and aqueous normal phase chromatography (ANP) retain compounds based on their hydrophilicity and therefore provides a means of separating highly polar compounds. Here, an ANP method based on the diamond hydride stationary phase is presented for profiling biological small molecules by LC. A rapid separation system based upon a fast gradient that delivers reproducible chromatography is presented. Approximately 1000 compounds were reproducibly detected in human urine samples and clear differences between these samples were identified. This chromatography was also applied to xylem fluid from soyabean (Glycine max) plants to which 400 compounds were detected. This method greatly increases the metabolite coverage over RP-only metabolite profiling in biological samples. We show that both forms of chromatography are necessary for untargeted comprehensive metabolite profiling and that the diamond hydride stationary phase provides a good option for polar metabolite analysis.

Inverse effects of flowing phase-shift nanodroplets and lipid-shelled microbubbles on subsequent cavitation during focused ultrasound exposures.

PubMed

Zhang, Siyuan; Cui, Zhiwei; Xu, Tianqi; Liu, Pan; Li, Dapeng; Shang, Shaoqiang; Xu, Ranxiang; Zong, Yujin; Niu, Gang; Wang, Supin; He, Xijing; Wan, Mingxi

2017-01-01

This paper compared the effects of flowing phase-shift nanodroplets (NDs) and lipid-shelled microbubbles (MBs) on subsequent cavitation during focused ultrasound (FUS) exposures. The cavitation activity was monitored using a passive cavitation detection method as solutions of either phase-shift NDs or lipid-shelled MBs flowed at varying velocities through a 5-mm diameter wall-less vessel in a transparent tissue-mimicking phantom when exposed to FUS. The intensity of cavitation for the phase-shift NDs showed an upward trend with time and cavitation for the lipid-shelled MBs grew to a maximum at the outset of the FUS exposure followed by a trend of decreases when they were static in the vessel. Meanwhile, the increase of cavitation for the phase-shift NDs and decrease of cavitation for the lipid-shelled MBs had slowed down when they flowed through the vessel. During two discrete identical FUS exposures, while the normalized inertial cavitation dose (ICD) value for the lipid-shelled MB solution was higher than that for the saline in the first exposure (p-value <0.05), it decreased to almost the same level in the second exposure. For the phase-shift NDs, the normalized ICD was 0.71 in the first exposure and increased to 0.97 in the second exposure. At a low acoustic power, the normalized ICD values for the lipid-shelled MBs tended to increase with increasing velocities from 5 to 30cm/s (r>0.95). Meanwhile, the normalized ICD value for the phase-shift NDs was 0.182 at a flow velocity of 5cm/s and increased to 0.188 at a flow velocity of 15cm/s. As the flow velocity increased to 20cm/s, the normalized ICD was 0.185 and decreased to 0.178 at a flow velocity of 30cm/s. At high acoustic power, the normalized ICD values for both the lipid-shelled MBs and the phase-shift NDs increased with increasing flow velocities from 5 to 30cm/s (r>0.95). The effects of the flowing phase-shift NDs vaporized into gas bubbles as cavitation nuclei on the subsequent cavitation were inverse to those of the flowing lipid-shelled MBs destroyed after focused ultrasound exposures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abnormal sympathetic nerve activity in women exposed to cigarette smoke: a potential mechanism to explain increased cardiac risk.

PubMed

Middlekauff, Holly R; Park, Jeanie; Agrawal, Harsh; Gornbein, Jeffrey A

2013-11-15

In women, cardiac deaths attributable to tobacco exposure have reached the same high levels as men. Normally, sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) fluctuates according to the menstrual phase, but in habitual smokers, SNA levels remain constant. Our purpose is to extend these observations to other groups of women exposed to tobacco smoke and to explore potential mechanisms. We hypothesize that women exposed to secondhand smoke, but not former smokers, have nonfluctuating SNA compared with never smokers, and that impaired baroreflex suppression of SNA, and/or heightened central SNA responses, underlie this nonfluctuating SNA. We also hypothesize that female smokers have impaired nocturnal blood pressure dipping, normally mediated by modulation of SNA. In 49 females (19 never, 12 current, 9 former, 9 passive smokers), SNA was recorded (microneurography) during high- and low-hormone ovarian phases at rest, during pharmacological baroreflex testing, and during the cold pressor test (CPT). Twenty-four hour blood pressure (BP) monitoring was performed. Current and passive smokers, but not former smokers, had a nonfluctuating pattern of SNA, unlike never smokers in whom SNA varied with the menstrual phase. Baroreflex control of SNA was significantly blunted in current smokers, independent of menstrual phase. In passive smokers, SNA response to CPT was markedly increased. Nondipping was unexpectedly high in all groups. SNA does not vary during the menstrual cycle in active and passive smokers, unlike never and former smokers. Baroreflex control of SNA is blunted in current smokers, whereas SNA response to CPT is heightened in passive smokers. Smoking cessation is associated with return of the altered SNA pattern to normal.

Reproducibility patterns of multiple rapid swallows during high resolution esophageal manometry provide insights into esophageal pathophysiology.

PubMed

Price, L H; Li, Y; Patel, A; Gyawali, C Prakash

2014-05-01

Multiple rapid swallows (MRS) during esophageal high resolution manometry (HRM) assess esophageal neuromuscular integrity by evaluating postdeglutitive inhibition and rebound contraction, but most reports performed only a single MRS sequence. We assessed patterns of MRS reproducibility during clinical HRM in comparison to a normal cohort. Consecutive clinical HRM studies were included if two separate MRS sequences (four to six rapid swallows ≤4 s apart) were successfully performed. Chicago Classification diagnoses were identified; contraction wave abnormalities were additionally recorded. MRS-induced inhibition (contraction ≤3 cm during inhibition phase) and rebound contraction was assessed, and findings compared to 18 controls (28.0 ± 0.7 year, 50.0% female). Reproducibility consisted of similar inhibition and contraction responses with both sequences; discordance was segregated into inhibition and contraction phases. Multiple rapid swallows were successfully performed in 89.3% patients and all controls; 225 subjects (56.2 ± 0.9 year, 62.7% female) met study inclusion criteria. Multiple rapid swallows were reproducible in 76.9% patients and 94.4% controls (inhibition phase: 88.0% vs 94.4%, contraction phase 86.7% vs 100%, respectively, p = ns). A gradient of reproducibility was noted, highest in well-developed motor disorders (achalasia spectrum, hypermotility disorders, and aperistalsis, 91.7-100%, p = ns compared to controls); and lower in lesser motor disorders (contraction wave abnormalities, esophageal body hypomotility) or normal studies (62.2-70.8%, p < 0.0001 compared to well-developed motor disorders). Inhibition phase was most discordant in contraction wave abnormalities, while contraction phase was most discordant when studies were designated normal. Multiple rapid swallows are highly reproducible, especially in well-developed motor disorders, and complement the standard wet swallow manometry protocol. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Virtual Auditory Space Training-Induced Changes of Auditory Spatial Processing in Listeners with Normal Hearing.

PubMed

Nisha, Kavassery Venkateswaran; Kumar, Ajith Uppunda

2017-04-01

Localization involves processing of subtle yet highly enriched monaural and binaural spatial cues. Remediation programs aimed at resolving spatial deficits are surprisingly scanty in literature. The present study is designed to explore the changes that occur in the spatial performance of normal-hearing listeners before and after subjecting them to virtual acoustic space (VAS) training paradigm using behavioral and electrophysiological measures. Ten normal-hearing listeners participated in the study, which was conducted in three phases, including a pre-training, training, and post-training phase. At the pre- and post-training phases both behavioral measures of spatial acuity and electrophysiological P300 were administered. The spatial acuity of the participants in the free field and closed field were measured apart from quantifying their binaural processing abilities. The training phase consisted of 5-8 sessions (20 min each) carried out using a hierarchy of graded VAS stimuli. The results obtained from descriptive statistics were indicative of an improvement in all the spatial acuity measures in the post-training phase. Statistically, significant changes were noted in interaural time difference (ITD) and virtual acoustic space identification scores measured in the post-training phase. Effect sizes (r) for all of these measures were substantially large, indicating the clinical relevance of these measures in documenting the impact of training. However, the same was not reflected in P300. The training protocol used in the present study on a preliminary basis proves to be effective in normal-hearing listeners, and its implications can be extended to other clinical population as well.

Chemopreventive effects of free and bound phenolics associated to steep waters (nejayote) obtained after nixtamalization of different maize types.

PubMed

Rojas-García, Carlos; García-Lara, Silverio; Serna-Saldivar, Sergio O; Gutiérrez-Uribe, Janet A

2012-03-01

Free and bound phenolics extracts from nejayote solids were obtained after optimally lime-cooking blue, normal white, red, normal yellow, high-carotenoid and quality protein maize types. The extraction yield ranged from 4.47 to 10.05%. Bound phenolics extracts had higher content of total phenolics, antioxidant activity and ferulic acid compared to the free phenolics extracts. In general, free phenolics extracts were less cytotoxic than the bound phenolics counterparts. Bound phenolics extracts had higher induction of quinone reductase (QR) and particularly the normal yellow nejayote exerted the highest chemopreventive index tested in Hepa1c1c7 cells. When tested for monofunctional phase 2 induction capacity in BPrc1 cells, the bound phenolics extracts of blue, normal white and quality protein nejayotes were better inducers than the normal yellow counterpart. Particularly, the free phenolics extract of the white maize nejayote induced BPrc1 cells QR and exerted a higher chemopreventive index compared to the bound phenolics extract. Therefore, the nejayote of the normal white maize was the best source of monofunctional phase 2 enzyme inducers.

Localization and molecular forms of galanin in human adrenals: elevated levels in pheochromocytomas.

PubMed

Bauer, F E; Hacker, G W; Terenghi, G; Adrian, T E; Polak, J M; Bloom, S R

1986-12-01

Galanin immunoreactivity was measured by RIA, using antibodies directed against both the non-C- and C-terminal positions of porcine galanin, in tissue extracts of normal adrenals and pheochromocytomas and also in the plasma of normal subjects and patients with pheochromocytomas. No C-terminal galanin-like immunoreactivity was detected in plasma or tissue, suggesting differences in the amino acid sequence of human compared with porcine galanin. A non-C-terminally directed antibody was, therefore, used to characterize human galanin immunoreactivity by gel permeation chromatography and reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography and to localize it by immunocytochemistry. The galanin content of whole adrenal gland was 2.6 +/- 0.9 (+/- SEM) pmol/g (n = 5). In contrast, however, pheochromocytomas had much greater concentrations (21 +/- 2.3 pmol/g; n = 16). Gel chromatography and reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography revealed 2 molecular forms of galanin immunoreactivity with identical elution positions in both normal adrenals and tumors. The concentration of galanin in plasma from both normal subjects and pheochromocytoma patients was below the detection limit of the assay (less than 10 pmol/liter). Using immunocytochemistry, galanin was localized to scattered cells or clusters of tumor cells in 5 of 11 pheochromocytomas and only a few chromaffin cells and cortical nerve fibers in normal adrenals.

Droplet Impact Onto A Flat Plate: Inclined Verses Moving Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, Scott; Bird, James C.; Stone, Howard A.

2008-11-01

Much research has been conducted on the impact of droplets normal to flat surfaces. However, very little research has been carried out on oblique impacts, even though they occur frequently in nature and industry. We experiment with the effects of tangential and normal impact velocities on the behavior of a droplet as it impacts a flat plate. The plate is inclined in the first case, and in the second case the plate is rotated via an electric motor. The asymmetric nature of the impact causes asymmetric splashing, such that under certain conditions only part of the rim splashes. Using a high-speed camera, we demonstrate that the splash threshold of inclined and moving surfaces are quantitatively similar, with only small differences. We also develop a phase diagram of splashing showing which phase occurs given a tangential and normal impact velocity. Such a phase diagram is useful for both engineering design and for the evaluation of splash-prediction models.

Phase slips in superconducting films with constrictions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Sang L.; Bollinger, A. T.; Bezryadin, A.

2004-12-01

A system of two coplanar superconducting films seamlessly connected by a bridge is studied. We observe two distinct resistive transitions as the temperature is reduced. The first one, occurring in the films, shows some properties of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition. The second apparent transition (which is in fact a crossover) is related to freezing out of thermally activated phase slips (TAPS) localized on the bridge. We also propose a powerful indirect experimental method allowing an extraction of the sample’s zero-bias resistance from high-current-bias measurements. Using direct and indirect measurements, we have determined the resistance R(T) of the bridges within a range of eleven orders of magnitude. Over such broad range the resistance follows a simple relation R(T)=RNexp[-(c/t)(1-t)3/2] , where c=ΔF(0)/kTc is the normalized free energy of a phase slip at zero temperature, t=T/Tc is normalized temperature, and RN is the normal resistance of the bridge.

On-line comprehensive two-dimensional normal-phase liquid chromatography×reversed-phase liquid chromatography for preparative isolation of toad venom.

PubMed

Li, Jia-Fu; Fang, Hua; Yan, Xia; Chang, Fang-Rong; Wu, Zhen; Wu, Yun-Long; Qiu, Ying-Kun

2016-07-22

An on-line comprehensive preparative two-dimensional normal-phase liquid chromatography×reversed-phase liquid chromatography (2D NPLC×RPLC) system was constructed with a newly developed vacuum evaporation assisted adsorption (VEAA) interface, allowing fast removal of NPLC solvent in the vacuum condition and successfully solving the solvent incompatibility problem between NPLC and RPLC. The system achieved on-line solvent exchange within the two dimensions and its performance was illustrated by gram-scale isolation of crude extract from the venom of Bufo bufo gargarizans. Within separation time of ∼20h, 19 compounds were obtained with high purity in a single run. With the VEAA interface, the 2D system exhibited apparent advantages in separation efficiency and automation compared with conventional methods, indicating its promising application in the routine separation process for complicated natural products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis Study of Stevioside and Rebaudioside A from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni by Normal Phase SPE and RP-HPLC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martono, Y.; Rohman, A.; Riyanto, S.; Martono, S.

2018-04-01

Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) method using silica as sorbent for stevioside and rebaudiosida A analysis in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni leaf have not been performed. The aim of this study is to develop SPE method using silica as sorbent for Reverse Phase-High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis of stevioside and rebaudiosida A in S. rebaudiana leaf. The results of this study indicate that the optimal conditions for normal phase SPE (silica) are conditioned with 3.0 mL of hexane. The sample loading volume is 0.1 mL. Cartridge is eluted with 1.0 mL acetonitrile: water (80: 20, v/v) to separate both analytes. The cartridge is washed with chloroform and water of 0.3 mL respectively. The developed SPE sample preparation method meets the accuracy and precision test and can be used for the analysis of stevioside and rebaudioside A by RP-HPLC.

ATP promotes cell survival via regulation of cytosolic [Ca2+] and Bcl-2/Bax ratio in lung cancer cells

PubMed Central

Song, Shanshan; Jacobson, Krista N.; McDermott, Kimberly M.; Reddy, Sekhar P.; Cress, Anne E.; Tang, Haiyang; Dudek, Steven M.; Black, Stephen M.; Garcia, Joe G. N.; Makino, Ayako

2015-01-01

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a ubiquitous extracellular messenger elevated in the tumor microenvironment. ATP regulates cell functions by acting on purinergic receptors (P2X and P2Y) and activating a series of intracellular signaling pathways. We examined ATP-induced Ca2+ signaling and its effects on antiapoptotic (Bcl-2) and proapoptotic (Bax) proteins in normal human airway epithelial cells and lung cancer cells. Lung cancer cells exhibited two phases (transient and plateau phases) of increase in cytosolic [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]cyt) caused by ATP, while only the transient phase was observed in normal cells. Removal of extracellular Ca2+ eliminated the plateau phase increase of [Ca2+]cyt in lung cancer cells, indicating that the plateau phase of [Ca2+]cyt increase is due to Ca2+ influx. The distribution of P2X (P2X1-7) and P2Y (P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, P2Y6, P2Y11) receptors was different between lung cancer cells and normal cells. Proapoptotic P2X7 was nearly undetectable in lung cancer cells, which may explain why lung cancer cells showed decreased cytotoxicity when treated with high concentration of ATP. The Bcl-2/Bax ratio was increased in lung cancer cells following treatment with ATP; however, the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 demonstrated more sensitivity to ATP than proapoptotic protein Bax. Decreasing extracellular Ca2+ or chelating intracellular Ca2+ with BAPTA-AM significantly inhibited ATP-induced increase in Bcl-2/Bax ratio, indicating that a rise in [Ca2+]cyt through Ca2+ influx is the critical mediator for ATP-mediated increase in Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Therefore, despite high ATP levels in the tumor microenvironment, which would induce cell apoptosis in normal cells, the decreased P2X7 and elevated Bcl-2/Bax ratio in lung cancer cells may enable tumor cells to survive. Increasing the Bcl-2/Bax ratio by exposure to high extracellular ATP may, therefore, be an important selective pressure promoting transformation and cancer progression. PMID:26491047

Enantioselective separation of racemic juvenile hormone III by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and preparation of [(2)H(3)]juvenile hormone III as an internal standard for liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry quantification.

PubMed

Ichikawa, Akio; Ono, Hiroshi; Furuta, Kenjiro; Shiotsuki, Takahiro; Shinoda, Tetsuro

2007-08-17

Juvenile hormone III (JH III) racemate was prepared from methyl (2E,6E)-farnesoate via epoxidation with 3-chloroperbenzoic acid (mCPBA). Enantioselective separation of JH III was conducted using normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a chiral stationary phase. [(2)H(3)]Methyl (2E,6E)-farnesoate was also prepared from (2E,6E)-farnesoic acid and [(2)H(4)]methanol (methanol-d(4)) using 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP); the conjugated double bond underwent isomerization to some degree. Epoxidation of [(2)H(3)]methyl (2E,6E)-farnesoate with mCPBA gave a novel deuterium-substituted internal standard [(2)H(3)]JH III (JH III-d(3)). The standard curve was produced by linear regression using the peak area ratios of JH III and JH III-d(3) in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

Pulmonary infection by Yersinia pestis rapidly establishes a permissive environment for microbial proliferation.

PubMed

Price, Paul A; Jin, Jianping; Goldman, William E

2012-02-21

Disease progression of primary pneumonic plague is biphasic, consisting of a preinflammatory and a proinflammatory phase. During the long preinflammatory phase, bacteria replicate to high levels, seemingly uninhibited by normal pulmonary defenses. In a coinfection model of pneumonic plague, it appears that Yersinia pestis quickly creates a localized, dominant anti-inflammatory state that allows for the survival and rapid growth of both itself and normally avirulent organisms. Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, the relatively recent progenitor of Y. pestis, shows no similar trans-complementation effect, which is unprecedented among other respiratory pathogens. We demonstrate that the effectors secreted by the Ysc type III secretion system are necessary but not sufficient to mediate this apparent immunosuppression. Even an unbiased negative selection screen using a vast pool of Y. pestis mutants revealed no selection against any known virulence genes, demonstrating the transformation of the lung from a highly restrictive to a generally permissive environment during the preinflammatory phase of pneumonic plague.

Abnormal gait pattern emerges during curved trajectories in high-functioning Parkinsonian patients walking in line at normal speed

PubMed Central

Godi, Marco; Giardini, Marica; Arcolin, Ilaria; Nardone, Antonio; Giordano, Andrea; Schieppati, Marco

2018-01-01

Background Several patients with Parkinson´s disease (PD) can walk normally along straight trajectories, and impairment in their stride length and cadence may not be easily discernible. Do obvious abnormalities occur in these high-functioning patients when more challenging trajectories are travelled, such as circular paths, which normally implicate a graded modulation in the duration of the interlimb gait cycle phases? Methods We compared a cohort of well-treated mildly to moderately affected PD patients to a group of age-matched healthy subjects (HS), by deliberately including HS spontaneously walking at the same speed of the patients with PD. All participants performed, in random order: linear and circular walking (clockwise and counter-clockwise) at self-selected speed. By means of pressure-sensitive insoles, we recorded walking speed, cadence, duration of single support, double support, swing phase, and stride time. Stride length-cadence relationships were built for linear and curved walking. Stride-to-stride variability of temporal gait parameters was also estimated. Results Walking speed, cadence or stride length were not different between PD and HS during linear walking. Speed, cadence and stride length diminished during curved walking in both groups, stride length more in PD than HS. In PD compared to HS, the stride length-cadence relationship was altered during curved walking. Duration of the double-support phase was also increased during curved walking, as was variability of the single support, swing phase and double support phase. Conclusion The spatio-temporal gait pattern and variability are significantly modified in well-treated, high-functioning patients with PD walking along circular trajectories, even when they exhibit no changes in speed in straight-line walking. The increased variability of the gait phases during curved walking is an identifying characteristic of PD. We discuss our findings in term of interplay between control of balance and of locomotor progression: the former is challenged by curved trajectories even in high-functioning patients, while the latter may not be critically affected. PMID:29750815

Sigma phases in an 11%Cr ferritic/martensitic steel with the normalized and tempered condition

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

Shen, Yinzhong, E-mail: shenyz@sjtu.edu.cn

At the present time 9–12% Cr ferritic/martensitic (F/M) steels with target operating temperatures up to 650 °C and higher are being developed in order to further increase thermal efficiency so as to reduce coal consumption and air pollution. An 11% Cr F/M steel was prepared by reference to the nominal chemical composition of SAVE12 steel with an expected maximum use temperature of 650 °C. The precipitate phases of the 11% Cr F/M steel normalized at 1050 °C for 0.5 h and tempered at 780 °C for 1.5 h were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Except for Cr-/Cr-Fe-Co-rich M{sub 23}C{sub 6},more » Nb-/V-/Ta-Nb-/Nd-rich MX, Fe-rich M{sub 5}C{sub 2}, Co-rich M{sub 3}C and Fe-Co-rich M{sub 6}C phases previously identified in the steel, two types of sigma phases consisting of σ-FeCr and σ-FeCrW were found to be also present in the normalized and tempered steel. Identified σ-FeCr and σ-FeCrW phases have a simple tetragonal crystal structure with estimated lattice parameters a/c = 0.8713/0.4986 and 0.9119/0.5053 nm, respectively. The compositions in atomic pct of the observed sigma phases were determined to be approximately 50Fe-50Cr for the σ-FeCr, and 30Fe-55Cr-10W in addition to a small amount of Ta, Co and Mn for the σ-FeCrW. The sigma phases in the steel exhibit various blocky morphologies, and appear to have a smaller amount compared with the dominant phases Cr-rich M{sub 23}C{sub 6} and Nb-/V-/Ta-Nb-rich MX of the steel. The σ-FeCr phase in the steel was found to precipitate at δ-ferrite/martensite boundaries, suggesting that δ-ferrite may rapidly induce the formation of sigma phase at δ-ferrite/martensite boundaries in high Cr F/M steels containing δ-ferrite. The formation mechanism of sigma phases in the steel is also discussed in terms of the presence of δ-ferrite, M{sub 23}C{sub 6} precipitation, precipitation/dissolution of M{sub 2}X, and steel composition. - Highlights: •Precipitate phases in normalized and tempered 11%Cr F/M steel are presented in detail. • σ-FeCr phase, 50Fe50Cr (in at.%), was identified in normalized and tempered 11%Cr F/M steel. • σ-FeCrW phase, 30Fe55Cr10W (in at.%), was identified in normalized and tempered 11%Cr F/M steel. • Sigma phase in the 11%Cr F/M steel was found to precipitate at δ-ferrite/martensite boundaries. • δ-ferrite may rapidly induce the sigma phase formation at δ-ferrite/martensite boundaries.« less

High-Frequency Normal Mode Propagation in Aluminum Cylinders

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lee, Myung W.; Waite, William F.

2009-01-01

Acoustic measurements made using compressional-wave (P-wave) and shear-wave (S-wave) transducers in aluminum cylinders reveal waveform features with high amplitudes and with velocities that depend on the feature's dominant frequency. In a given waveform, high-frequency features generally arrive earlier than low-frequency features, typical for normal mode propagation. To analyze these waveforms, the elastic equation is solved in a cylindrical coordinate system for the high-frequency case in which the acoustic wavelength is small compared to the cylinder geometry, and the surrounding medium is air. Dispersive P- and S-wave normal mode propagations are predicted to exist, but owing to complex interference patterns inside a cylinder, the phase and group velocities are not smooth functions of frequency. To assess the normal mode group velocities and relative amplitudes, approximate dispersion relations are derived using Bessel functions. The utility of the normal mode theory and approximations from a theoretical and experimental standpoint are demonstrated by showing how the sequence of P- and S-wave normal mode arrivals can vary between samples of different size, and how fundamental normal modes can be mistaken for the faster, but significantly smaller amplitude, P- and S-body waves from which P- and S-wave speeds are calculated.

Three-dimensional strain produced by >50 My of episodic extension, Horse Prairie basin area, SW Montana, U.S.A.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vandenburg, Colby J.; Janecke, Susanne U.; McIntosh, William C.

1998-12-01

The Horse Prairie basin of southwestern Montana is a complex, east-dipping half-graben that contains three angular unconformity-bounded sequences of Tertiary sedimentary rocks overlying middle Eocene volcanic rocks. New mapping of the basin and its hanging wall indicate that five temporally and geometrically distinct phases of normal faulting and at least three generations of fault-related extensional folding affected the area during the late Mesozoic (?) to Cenozoic. All of these phases of extension are evident over regional or cordilleran-scale domains. The extension direction has rotated ˜90° four times in the Horse Prairie area resulting in a complex three-dimensional strain field with ≫60% east-west and >25% north-south bulk extension. Extensional folds with axes at high angles to the associated normal fault record most of the three-dimensional strain during individual phases of extension (phases 3a, 3b, and 4). Cross-cutting relationships between normal faults and Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary rocks constrain the ages of each distinct phase of deformation and show that extension continued episodically for more than 50 My. Gravitational collapse of the Sevier fold and thrust belt was the ultimate cause of most of the extension.

Liquid phase evaporation on the normal shock wave in moist air transonic flows in nozzles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dykas, Sławomir; Szymański, Artur; Majkut, Mirosław

2017-06-01

This paper presents a numerical analysis of the atmospheric air transonic flow through de Laval nozzles. By nature, atmospheric air always contains a certain amount of water vapor. The calculations were made using a Laval nozzle with a high expansion rate and a convergent-divergent (CD) "half-nozzle", referred to as a transonic diffuser, with a much slower expansion rate. The calculations were performed using an in-house CFD code. The computational model made it possible to simulate the formation of the liquid phase due to spontaneous condensation of water vapor contained in moist air. The transonic flow calculations also take account of the presence of a normal shock wave in the nozzle supersonic part to analyze the effect of the liquid phase evaporation.

On-line comprehensive two-dimensional normal-phase liquid chromatography × reversed-phase liquid chromatography for preparative isolation of Peucedanum praeruptorum.

PubMed

Wang, Xin-Yuan; Li, Jia-Fu; Jian, Ya-Mei; Wu, Zhen; Fang, Mei-Juan; Qiu, Ying-Kun

2015-03-27

A new on-line comprehensive preparative two-dimensional normal-phase liquid chromatography × reversed-phase liquid chromatography (2D NPLC × RPLC) system was developed for the separation of complicated natural products. It was based on the use of a silica gel packed medium-pressure column as the first dimension and an ODS preparative HPLC column as the second dimension. The two dimensions were connected with normal-phase (NP) and reversed-phase (RP) enrichment units, involving a newly developed airflow assisted adsorption (AAA) technique. The instrument operation and the performance of this NPLC × RPLC separation method were illustrated by gram-scale isolation of ethanol extract from the roots of Peucedanum praeruptorum. In total, 19 compounds with high purity were obtained via automated multi-step preparative separation in a short period of time using this system, and their structures were comprehensively characterized by ESI-MS, (1)H NMR, and (13)C NMR. Including two new compounds, five isomers in two groups with identical HPLC and TLC retention values were also obtained and identified by 1D NMR and 2D NMR. This is the first report of an NPLC × RPLC system successfully applied in an on-line preparative process. This system not only solved the interfacing problem of mobile-phase immiscibility caused by NP and RP separation, it also exhibited apparent advantages in separation efficiency and sample treatment capacity compared with conventional methods. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of circuit low-intensity resistance exercise with slow movement on oxygen consumption during and after exercise.

PubMed

Mukaimoto, Takahiro; Ohno, Makoto

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine oxygen consumption (VO(2)) during and after a single bout of low-intensity resistance exercise with slow movement. Eleven healthy men performed the following three types of circuit resistance exercise on separate days: (1) low-intensity resistance exercise with slow movement: 50% of one-repetition maximum (1-RM) and 4 s each of lifting and lowering phases; (2) high-intensity resistance exercise with normal movement: 80% of 1-RM and 1 s each of lifting and lowering phases; and (3) low-intensity resistance exercise with normal movement: 50% of 1-RM and 1 s each of lifting and lowering phases. These three resistance exercise trials were performed for three sets in a circuit pattern with four exercises, and the participants performed each set until exhaustion. Oxygen consumption was monitored continuously during exercise and for 180 min after exercise. Average VO(2) throughout the exercise session was significantly higher with high- and low-intensity resistance exercise with normal movement than with low-intensity resistance exercise with slow movement (P < 0.05); however, total VO(2) was significantly greater in low-intensity resistance exercise with slow movement than in the other trials. In contrast, there were no significant differences in the total excess post-exercise oxygen consumption among the three exercise trials. The results of this study suggest that low-intensity resistance exercise with slow movement induces much greater energy expenditure than resistance exercise with normal movement of high or low intensity, and is followed by the same total excess post-exercise oxygen consumption for 180 min after exercise.

Limitation of predictive 2-D liquid chromatography in reducing the database search space in shotgun proteomics: in silico studies.

PubMed

Moskovets, Eugene; Goloborodko, Anton A; Gorshkov, Alexander V; Gorshkov, Mikhail V

2012-07-01

A two-dimensional (2-D) liquid chromatography (LC) separation of complex peptide mixtures that combines a normal phase utilizing hydrophilic interactions and a reversed phase offers reportedly the highest level of 2-D LC orthogonality by providing an even spread of peptides across multiple LC fractions. Matching experimental peptide retention times to those predicted by empirical models describing chromatographic separation in each LC dimension leads to a significant reduction in a database search space. In this work, we calculated the retention times of tryptic peptides separated in the C18 reversed phase at different separation conditions (pH 2 and pH 10) and in TSK gel Amide-80 normal phase. We show that retention times calculated for different 2-D LC separation schemes utilizing these phases start to correlate once the mass range of peptides under analysis becomes progressively narrow. This effect is explained by high degree of correlation between retention coefficients in the considered phases. © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Mesozoic and Cenozoic structural evolution of North Oman: New insights from high-quality 3D seismic from the Lekhwair area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazalgette, Loïc; Salem, Hisham

2018-06-01

This paper highlights the role of Triassic-Jurassic extension and late Cretaceous compression in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic (Alpine) structuring of North Oman. The syn/post-Mesozoic regional structural evolution is usually documented as a succession of two stages of deformation. The Alpine 1 phase, late Cretaceous in age, occurred in association with two ophiolite obduction stages (Semail and Masirah ophiolites). It was characterised by strike slip to extensional deformation in the North Oman foreland basin sub-surface. The Alpine 2 phase, Miocene in age, was related to the continental collision responsible for both the Zagros orogen and the uplift of the Oman Mountains. The Alpine 2 deformation was transpressional to compressional. Observation and interpretation of good quality 3D seismic in the Lekhwair High area enabled the distinction of two earlier phases. Early Mesozoic extension occurred concomitantly with the regional Triassic to Jurassic rifting, developing Jurassic-age normal faults. Late Cretaceous compression occurred prior to the main Alpine 1 phase and triggered the inversion of Jurassic-seated normal faults as well as the initiation of compressional folds in the Cretaceous overburden. These early phases have been ignored or overlooked as part of the North Oman history although they are at the origin of structures hosting major local and regional hydrocarbon accumulations.

Controlling total spot power from holographic laser by superimposing a binary phase grating.

PubMed

Liu, Xiang; Zhang, Jian; Gan, Yu; Wu, Liying

2011-04-25

By superimposing a tunable binary phase grating with a conventional computer-generated hologram, the total power of multiple holographic 3D spots can be easily controlled by changing the phase depth of grating with high accuracy to a random power value for real-time optical manipulation without extra power loss. Simulation and experiment results indicate that a resolution of 0.002 can be achieved at a lower time cost for normalized total spot power.

Phase equilibrium in a water + n-hexane system with a high water content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasulov, S. M.; Orakova, S. M.; Isaev, Z. A.

2017-02-01

The P, ρ, and T-properties of a water + n-hexane system immiscible under normal conditions are measured piezometrically in the water mole fraction range of 0.918-0.977 at 309-685 K and pressures of up to 66 MPa. Two phase transitions are observed on each isochore corresponding to phase transitions of hydrocarbon liquid into gas or the dissolution of n-hexane in water and the transition of aqueous liquid into gas. The boundaries of phase transitions and their critical parameters are determined.

Observation of human tissue with phase-contrast x-ray computed tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Momose, Atsushi; Takeda, Tohoru; Itai, Yuji; Tu, Jinhong; Hirano, Keiichi

1999-05-01

Human tissues obtained from cancerous kidneys fixed in formalin were observed with phase-contrast X-ray computed tomography (CT) using 17.7-keV synchrotron X-rays. By measuring the distributions of the X-ray phase shift caused by samples using an X-ray interferometer, sectional images that map the distribution of the refractive index were reconstructed. Because of the high sensitivity of phase- contrast X-ray CT, a cancerous lesion was differentiated from normal tissue and a variety of other structures were revealed without the need for staining.

Effect of Different Phases of Menstrual Cycle on Cardio-respiratory Efficiency in Normal, Overweight and Obese Female Undergraduate Students.

PubMed

Samsudeen, Nazrin; Rajagopalan, Archana

2016-12-01

The influence of obesity on cardio-respiratory efficiency in the various phases of menstrual cycle is not well understood until now. As majority of Indian women have a favourable attitude towards participation in sports it is significant to understand the variation in exercise performance during different phases of menstrual cycle to have an optimum performance. To evaluate the endurance capacity and cardio-respiratory responses in normal, obese and overweight female undergraduate students during different phases of menstrual cycle. Twenty normal weight, 20 obese and 20 over weight, unmarried, undergraduate female volunteers between the age group of 18-22 years, were recruited by convenient sampling. Cardio-respiratory efficiency was assessed by cardiac efficiency test, respiratory endurance test and respiratory blast test. Overall, exercise efficiency varied significantly during the different phases of the menstrual cycle with the highest during luteal phase and lowest during menstrual phase. Similar trend was observed in all the three weight sub-categories, but it was statistically significant in the normal and overweight category only. There was no significant difference in blast test during menstrual phase, follicular phase and luteal phase of menstrual cycle among three groups of individuals. Overall the obese and overweight females had a decreased value for blast test compared to the normal individuals. Significant difference was observed in endurance test among follicular and luteal phase of normal females but there is no change in overweight and obese. Significant difference was observed in Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) among luteal phase in normal and overweight individuals but there is no change in obese females. Overall obese individuals have a significant low PEFR compared to normal and overweight individuals. Significant increase in cardiac and respiratory efficiency was observed in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle in normal weight where as in overweight and obese females, there is an overall decrease in fitness capacity with increase in the Body Mass Index (BMI). Therefore, practice of regular exercise and intake of healthy diet which help in reducing the weight and in turn the BMI will help in enhancing the physical fitness of the individuals.

Optimization of doxorubicin loading for superabsorbent polymer microspheres: in vitro analysis.

PubMed

Liu, David M; Kos, Sebastian; Buczkowski, Andrzej; Kee, Stephen; Munk, Peter L; Klass, Darren; Wasan, Ellen

2012-04-01

This study was designed to establish the ability of super-absorbent polymer microspheres (SAP) to actively uptake doxorubicin and to establish the proof of principle of SAP's ability to phase transfer doxorubicin onto the polymer matrix and to elute into buffer with a loading method that optimizes physical handling and elution characteristics. Phase I: 50-100 μm SAP subject to various prehydration methods (normal saline 10 cc, hypertonic saline 4 cc, iodinated contrast 10 cc) or left in their dry state, and combined with 50 mg of clinical grade lyophilized doxorubicin reconstituted with various methods (normal saline 10 cc and 25 cc, sterile water 4 cc, iodinated contrast 5 cc) were placed in buffer and assessed based on loading, handling, and elution utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Phase II: top two performing methods were subject to loading of doxorubicin (50, 75, 100 mg) in a single bolus (group A) or as a serial loading method (group B) followed by measurement of loading vs. time and elution vs. time. Phase I revealed the most effective loading mechanisms and easiest handling to be dry (group A) vs. normal saline prehydrated (group B) SAP with normal saline reconstituted doxorubicin (10 mg/mL) with loading efficiencies of 83.1% and 88.4%. Phase II results revealed unstable behavior of SAP with 100 mg of doxorubicin and similar loading/elution profiles of dry and prehydrated SAP, with superior handling characteristics of group B SAP at 50 and 75 mg. SAP demonstrates the ability to load and bulk phase transfer doxorubicin at 50 and 75 mg with ease of handling and optimal efficiency through dry loading of SAP.

Optimization of Doxorubicin Loading for Superabsorbent Polymer Microspheres: in vitro Analysis

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

Liu, David M., E-mail: dave.liu@vch.ca; Kos, Sebastian; Buczkowski, Andrzej

2012-04-15

Purpose: This study was designed to establish the ability of super-absorbent polymer microspheres (SAP) to actively uptake doxorubicin and to establish the proof of principle of SAP's ability to phase transfer doxorubicin onto the polymer matrix and to elute into buffer with a loading method that optimizes physical handling and elution characteristics. Methods: Phase I: 50-100 {mu}m SAP subject to various prehydration methods (normal saline 10 cc, hypertonic saline 4 cc, iodinated contrast 10 cc) or left in their dry state, and combined with 50 mg of clinical grade lyophilized doxorubicin reconstituted with various methods (normal saline 10 cc andmore » 25 cc, sterile water 4 cc, iodinated contrast 5 cc) were placed in buffer and assessed based on loading, handling, and elution utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Phase II: top two performing methods were subject to loading of doxorubicin (50, 75, 100 mg) in a single bolus (group A) or as a serial loading method (group B) followed by measurement of loading vs. time and elution vs. time. Results: Phase I revealed the most effective loading mechanisms and easiest handling to be dry (group A) vs. normal saline prehydrated (group B) SAP with normal saline reconstituted doxorubicin (10 mg/mL) with loading efficiencies of 83.1% and 88.4%. Phase II results revealed unstable behavior of SAP with 100 mg of doxorubicin and similar loading/elution profiles of dry and prehydrated SAP, with superior handling characteristics of group B SAP at 50 and 75 mg. Conclusions: SAP demonstrates the ability to load and bulk phase transfer doxorubicin at 50 and 75 mg with ease of handling and optimal efficiency through dry loading of SAP.« less

Strongly interacting high-partial-wave Bose gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Juan; Qi, Ran; Zhang, Pengfei

2018-04-01

Motivated by recent experimental progress, we make an investigation of p - and d -wave resonant Bose gas. An explanation of the Nozières and Schmitt-Rink (NSR) scheme in terms of two-channel model is provided. Different from the s -wave case, high-partial-wave interaction supports a quasibound state in the weak-coupling regime. Within the NSR approximation, we study the equation of state, critical temperature, and particle population distributions. We clarify the effect of the quasibound state on the phase diagram and the dimer production. A multicritical point where normal phase, atomic superfluid phase, and molecular superfluid phase meet is predicted within the phase diagram. We also show the occurrence of a resonant conversion between solitary atoms and dimers when temperature kBT approximates the quasibound energy.

Probing star formation relations of mergers and normal galaxies across the CO ladder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greve, Thomas R.

We examine integrated luminosity relations between the IR continuum and the CO rotational ladder observed for local (ultra) luminous infra-red galaxies ((U)LIRGs, L IR >= 1011 M⊙) and normal star forming galaxies in the context of radiation pressure regulated star formation proposed by Andrews & Thompson (2011). This can account for the normalization and linear slopes of the luminosity relations (log L IR = α log L'CO + β) of both low- and high-J CO lines observed for normal galaxies. Super-linear slopes occur for galaxy samples with significantly different dense gas fractions. Local (U)LIRGs are observed to have sub-linear high-J (J up > 6) slopes or, equivalently, increasing L COhigh-J /L IR with L IR. In the extreme ISM conditions of local (U)LIRGs, the high-J CO lines no longer trace individual hot spots of star formation (which gave rise to the linear slopes for normal galaxies) but a more widespread warm and dense gas phase mechanically heated by powerful supernovae-driven turbulence and shocks.

Separation and identification of neutral cereal lipids by normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography, using evaporative light-scattering and electrospray mass spectrometry for detection.

PubMed

Rocha, João M; Kalo, Paavo J; Ollilainen, Velimatti; Malcata, F Xavier

2010-04-30

A novel method was developed for the analysis of molecular species in neutral lipid classes, using separation by normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography, followed by detection by evaporative light-scattering and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Monoacid standards, i.e. sterol esters, triacylglycerols, fatty acids, diacylglycerols, free sterols and monoacylglycerols, were separated to baseline on microbore 3 microm-silica gel columns. Complete or partial separation of molecular species in each lipid class permitted identification by automatic tandem mass spectrometry of ammonium adducts, produced via positive electrospray ionization. After optimization of the method, separation and identification of molecular species of various lipid classes was comprehensively tested by analysis of neutral lipids from the free lipid extract of maize flour. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chromatographic behavior of small organic compounds in low-temperature high-performance liquid chromatography using liquid carbon dioxide as the mobile phase.

PubMed

Motono, Tomohiro; Nagai, Takashi; Kitagawa, Shinya; Ohtani, Hajime

2015-07-01

Low-temperature high-performance liquid chromatography, in which a loop injector, column, and detection cell were refrigerated at -35ºC, using liquid carbon dioxide as the mobile phase was developed. Small organic compounds (polyaromatic hydrocarbons, alkylbenzenes, and quinones) were separated by low-temperature high-performance liquid chromatography at temperatures from -35 to -5ºC. The combination of liquid carbon dioxide mobile phase with an octadecyl-silica (C18 ) column provided reversed phase mode separation, and a bare silica-gel column resulted in normal phase mode separation. In both the cases, nonlinear behavior at approximately -15ºC was found in the relationship between the temperature and the retention factors of the analytes (van't Hoff plots). In contrast to general trends in high-performance liquid chromatography, the decrease in temperature enhanced the separation efficiency of both the columns. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

An investigation of flame spread over shallow liquid pools in microgravity and nonair environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Howard D.; Sotos, Raymond G.

1991-01-01

Experiments of interest to combustion fundamentals and spacecraft fire safety investigated flame spread of alcohol fuels over shallow, 15 cm diameter pools in a 5.2 sec free-fall, microgravity facility. Results showed that, independent O2 concentrations, alcohol fuel, and diluent types, microgravity flame spread rates were nearly identical to those corresponding normal-gravity flames for conditions where the normal gravity flames spread uniformly. This similarity indicated buoyancy-related convection in either phase does not affect flame spread, at least for the physical scale of the experiments. However, microgravity extinction coincided with the onset conditions for pulsating spread in normal gravity, implicating gas phase, buoyant flow as a requirement for pulsating spread. When the atmospheric nitrogen was replaced with argon, the conditions for the onset of normal-gravity pulsating flame spread and microgravity flame extinction were changed, in agreement with the expected lowering of the flash point through the thermal properties of the diluent. Helium-diluted flames, however, showed unexpected results with a shift to apparently higher flash-point temperatures and high normal gravity pulsation amplitudes.

An Investigation of Flame Spread over Shallow Liquid Pools in Microgravity and Nonair Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Howard D.; Sotos, Raymond G.

1989-01-01

Experiments of interest to combustion fundamentals and spacecraft fire safety investigated flame spread of alcohol fuels over shallow, 15 cm diameter pools in a 5.2 sec free-fall, microgravity facility. Results showed that, independent O2 concentration, alcohol fuel, and diluent types, microgravity flame spread rates were nearly identical to those corresponding normal-gravity flames for conditions where the normal gravity flames spread uniformly. This similarity indicated buoyancy-related convection in either phase does not affect flame spread, at least for the physical scale of the experiments. However, microgravity extinction coincided with the onset conditions for pulsating spread in normal gravity, implicating gas phase, buoyant flow as a requirement for pulsating spread. When the atmospheric nitrogen was replaced with argon, the conditions for the onset of normal-gravity pulsating flame spread and microgravity flame extinction were changed, in agreement with the expected lowering of the flash point through the thermal properties of the diluent. Helium-diluted flames, however, showed unexpected results with a shift to apparently higher flash-point temperatures and high normal gravity pulsation amplitudes.

PDO and ENSO Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies Control Grassland Plant Production across the United States Great Plains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parton, W. J.; Del Grosso, S. J.; Smith, W. K.; Chen, M.

2017-12-01

The El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are multi-annual to multi-decadal climate patterns defined by ocean temperature anomalies that can strongly modulate climate variability. Here we evaluated the impacts of PDO and ENSO sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies on observed grassland above ground plant production (ANPP; 1940 to 2015), spring (April to July) cumulative actual evapotranspiration (iAET; 1900 to 2015) , and satellite-derived growing season (April to October) cumulative normalized difference vegetation index (iNDVI 1982 to 2015) across the United States Great Plains. The results showed that grassland ANPP is well correlated to iAET (r2=0.69) and iNDVI (r2=0.50 to 0.70) for the Cheyenne Wyoming and Northeastern Colorado long-term ANPP sites. At the site scale, during the negative phase of the PDO, we find ANPP is much lower (25%) and that variability of iAET, iNDVI, and ANPP are much higher (2 to 3 times) compared to the warm phase PDO. Further, we find there is a high frequency of below normal iAET when PDO and ENSO SST's are both negative, while there is a high frequency of above normal iAET when PDO and ENSO values are positive. At the regional scale, iAET, iNDVI, and modeled ANPP data sets show that plant production and iAET values are high in the southern Great Plains and low in the northern Great Plains when spring PDO and ENSO are both in the positive phase, while the opposite pattern is observed when both PDO and ENSO are both in the negative phase. Variability of iAET, iNDVI, and modeled ANPP are much higher in the central Great Plains during the negative phase PDO. We demonstrate clearly that the PDO and ENSO SST anomalies have large impacts on mean and variability of grassland plant production across the Great Plains.

Comparing the selectivity and chiral separation of d- and l- fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl chloride protected amino acids in analytical high performance liquid chromatography and supercritical fluid chromatography; evaluating throughput, economic and environmental impact.

PubMed

Vera, C M; Shock, D; Dennis, G R; Farrell, W; Shalliker, R A

2017-04-14

The chiral separation of d- and l- FMOC amino acids was undertaken using the Lux Cellulose-1 polysaccharide based chiral column in HPLC (normal phase and reverse phase) and SFC conditions. This was done to compare the relative selectivity and separation between the three separation modes and to evaluate the potential benefits of SFC separations with regards to resolution, throughput, economic and environmental impact. It was established that the separation of d- and l- FMOC amino acids in SFC displayed behaviours that were similar to both normal phase and reversed phase, rather than distinctly one or the other. Additionally, although reversed phase conditions yielded significantly higher resolution values between enantiomers across the range of amino acids studied, improvements in selectivity in SFC via the introduction of higher concentrations of formic acid in the mobile phase allowed for better resolution per unit of time. Moreover since the SFC mobile phase is composed mostly of recyclable CO 2 , there is a reduction in organic solvent consumption, which minimises the economic and environmental costs. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Retentivity, selectivity and thermodynamic behavior of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on charge-transfer and hypercrosslinked stationary phases under conditions of normal phase high performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Jiang, Ping; Lucy, Charles A

2016-03-11

Charge-transfer and hypercrosslinked polystyrene phases offer retention and separation for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and thus have potential for petroleum analysis. The size, shape and planarity selectivity for PAH standards on charge-transfer (DNAP column) and hypercrosslinked polystyrene (HC-Tol and 5HGN columns) phases are different under normal phase liquid chromatography (NPLC). The HC-Tol column behaves like a conventional NPLC column with low retention of PAHs. Retention of PAHs on the DNAP and 5HGN are strong and increases with the number of aromatic rings. The main retention mechanism is through π-π interactions and dipole-induced dipole interaction. Thermodynamics indicates that the retention mechanism of PAHs remains unchanged over the temperature range 20-60°C. In addition, on either DNAP or 5HGN column, both linear and bent PAHs are retained through the same mechanism. But DNAP possesses smaller π-π interaction and higher planarity selectivity than 5HGN for PAHs. This is suggestive that DNAP interacts with PAHs through a disordered phase arrangement, while 5HGN behaves as an ordered adsorption phase. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

2D Larkin-Imry-Ma state of deformed ABM phase of superfluid 3He in ``ordered'' aerogel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dmitriev, Vladimir; Senin, Andrey; Yudin, Alexey

2014-03-01

We report NMR studies of high temperature superfluid phase of 3He in so called ``ordered'' aerogel1 which strands are almost parallel to each other. Previously, it was found that the NMR properties of this phase depend on whether it is obtained on cooling from the normal phase or on warming from the low temperature phase2. These two types of high temperature phase (called as ESP1 and ESP2) correspond to Anderson-Brinkman-Morel (ABM) phase with large polar distortion and with orbital vector being in 2D Larkin-Imry-Ma (LIM) state. Here we present results which show that the observed difference in NMR signatures of the ESP1 and the ESP2 states is due to that the corresponding 2D LIM states can be anisotropic. In the ESP1 phase the anisotropy is absent or small, while in the ESP2 phase the anisotropy is large. NMR data have allowed us to estimate values of these anisotropies.

Backarc spreading and mantle wedge flow beneath the Japan Sea: insight from Rayleigh-wave anisotropic tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xin; Zhao, Dapeng

2016-10-01

We present the first high-resolution Rayleigh-wave phase-velocity azimuthal anisotropy tomography of the Japan subduction zone at periods of 20-150 s, which is determined using a large number of high-quality amplitude and phase data of teleseismic fundamental-mode Rayleigh waves. The obtained 2-D anisotropic phase-velocity models are then inverted for a 3-D shear-wave velocity azimuthal anisotropy tomography down to a depth of ˜300 km beneath Japan. The subducting Pacific slab is imaged as a dipping high-velocity zone with trench-parallel fast-velocity directions (FVDs) which may indicate the anisotropy arising from the normal faults produced at the outer-rise area near the Japan trench axis, overprinting the slab fossil fabric, whereas the mantle wedge generally exhibits lower velocities with trench-normal FVDs which reflect subduction-driven corner flow and anisotropy. Depth variations of azimuthal anisotropy are revealed in the big mantle wedge beneath the Japan Sea, which may reflect past deformations in the Eurasian lithosphere related to backarc spreading during 21 to 15 Ma and complex current convection in the asthenosphere induced by active subductions of both the Pacific and Philippine Sea plates.

Characterizing cycle-to-cycle variations of the shedding cycle in the turbulent wake of a normal flat plate using generalized phase averages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinuzzi, Robert

2016-11-01

Quasi-periodic vortex shedding in the turbulent wake of a thin-flat plate placed normal to a uniform stream at Reynolds number of 6700 is investigated based on Particle Image Velocimetry experiments. The wake structure and vortex formation are characterized using a generalized phase average (GPA), a refinement of the triple decomposition of Reynolds and Hussain (1970) incorporating elements of mean-field theory (Stuart, 1958). The resulting analysis highlights the importance of cycle-to-cycle variations in characterizing vortex formation, wake topology and the residual turbulent Reynolds Stresses. For example, it is shown that during high-amplitude cycles vorticity is strongly concentrated within the well-organized shed vortices, whereas during low-amplitude cycles the shed vortices are highly distorted resulting in significant modulation of the shedding frequency. It is found that high-amplitude cycles contribute more to the coherent Reynolds stress field while the low-amplitude cycles contribute to the residual stress field. It is further shown that traditional phase-averaging techniques lead to an over-estimation of the residual stress field. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Investigation of self-phase modulation based optical regeneration in single mode As2Se3 chalcogenide glass fiber.

PubMed

Fu, L; Rochette, M; Ta'eed, V; Moss, D; Eggleton, B

2005-09-19

We investigate the feasibility of all-optical regeneration based on self-phase modulation in single mode As2Se3 chalcogenide fiber. By combining the chalcogenide fiber with a bandpass filter, we achieve a near step-like power transfer function with no pulse distortion. The device is shown to operate with 5.8 ps duration pulses, thus demonstrating the feasibility of this device operating with high bit-rate data signals. These results are achieved with pulse peak powers <10 W in a fully passive device, including only 2.8 m of chalcogenide fiber. We obtain an excellent agreement between theory and experiment and show that both the high nonlinearity of the chalcogenide glass along with its high normal dispersion near 1550 nm enables a significant device length reduction in comparison with silica-based devices, without compromise on the performance. We find that even for only a few meters of fiber, the large normal dispersion of the chalcogenide glass inhibits spectral oscillations that would appear with self-phase modulation alone. We measure the two photon absorption attenuation coefficient and find that it advantageously affects the device transfer function.

Seven Deadly Sins of Childhood: Advising Parents about Difficult Developmental Phases.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmitt, Barton D.

1987-01-01

Seven difficult developmental phases for parents are colic, awakening at night, separation anxiety, normal exploratory behavior, normal negativism, normal poor appetite, and toilet training resistance. Principles of behavior modification and alternatives to physical punishment are given for each phase as part of the treatment plan for the…

High- T c Superconductivity in FeSe at High Pressure: Dominant Hole Carriers and Enhanced Spin Fluctuations

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

Sun, J. P.; Ye, G. Z.; Shahi, P.

The importance of electron-hole interband interactions is widely acknowledged for iron-pnictide superconductors with high transition temperatures (T c). However, high-T c superconductivity without hole carriers has been suggested in FeSe single-layer films and intercalated iron-selenides, raising a fundamental question whether iron pnictides and chalcogenides have different pairing mechanisms. Here, we study the properties of electronic structure in another high-T c phase induced by pressure in bulk FeSe from magneto-transport measurements and first-principles calculations. With increasing pressure, the low-T c superconducting phase transforms into high-T c phase, where we find the normal-state Hall resistivity changes sign from negative to positive, demonstratingmore » dominant hole carriers in striking contrast to other FeSe-derived high-T c systems. Moreover, the Hall coefficient is remarkably enlarged and the magnetoresistance exhibits anomalous scaling behaviours, evidencing strongly enhanced interband spin fluctuations in the high-T c phase. These results in FeSe highlight similarities with high-T c phases of iron pnictides, constituting a step toward a unified understanding of iron-based superconductivity.« less

High- T c Superconductivity in FeSe at High Pressure: Dominant Hole Carriers and Enhanced Spin Fluctuations

DOE PAGES

Sun, J. P.; Ye, G. Z.; Shahi, P.; ...

2017-04-07

The importance of electron-hole interband interactions is widely acknowledged for iron-pnictide superconductors with high transition temperatures (T c). However, high-T c superconductivity without hole carriers has been suggested in FeSe single-layer films and intercalated iron-selenides, raising a fundamental question whether iron pnictides and chalcogenides have different pairing mechanisms. Here, we study the properties of electronic structure in another high-T c phase induced by pressure in bulk FeSe from magneto-transport measurements and first-principles calculations. With increasing pressure, the low-T c superconducting phase transforms into high-T c phase, where we find the normal-state Hall resistivity changes sign from negative to positive, demonstratingmore » dominant hole carriers in striking contrast to other FeSe-derived high-T c systems. Moreover, the Hall coefficient is remarkably enlarged and the magnetoresistance exhibits anomalous scaling behaviours, evidencing strongly enhanced interband spin fluctuations in the high-T c phase. These results in FeSe highlight similarities with high-T c phases of iron pnictides, constituting a step toward a unified understanding of iron-based superconductivity.« less

Separation of VX, RVX and GB Enantiomers Using Liquid ChromatographyTime-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-01

Torrance, CA). The mobile phase consisted of n - hexane (A) and isopropyl alcohol (B), and sample volume was 10 µL. Separation was achieved using...level for preparative separation. All reagents and solvents were high-performance LC grade. Hexane and isopropyl alcohol were purchased from Fisher...1 column and normal-phase LC were used with a mobile phase of 96/4 (v/v %) hexane /isopropyl alcohol at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min. The enantiomers

Mechanically Induced Graphite-Nanodiamonds-Phase Transformations During High-Energy Ball Milling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Eskandarany, M. Sherif

2017-05-01

Due to their unusual mechanical, chemical, physical, optical, and biological properties, nearly spherical-like nanodiamonds have received much attention as desirable advanced nanomaterials for use in a wide spectrum of applications. Although, nanodiamonds can be successfully synthesized by several approaches, applications of high temperature and/or high pressure may restrict the real applications of such strategic nanomaterials. Distinct from the current preparation approaches used for nanodiamonds preparation, here we show a new process for preparing ultrafine nanodiamonds (3-5 nm) embedded in a homogeneous amorphous-carbon matrix. Our process started from high-energy ball milling of commercial graphite powders at ambient temperature under normal atmospheric helium gas pressure. The results have demonstrated graphite-single wall carbon nanotubes-amorphous-carbon-nanodiamonds phase transformations carried out through three subsequent stages of ball milling. Based on XRD and RAMAN analyses, the percentage of nanodiamond phase + C60 (crystalline phase) produced by ball milling was approximately 81%, while the amorphous phase amount was 19%. The pressure generated on the powder together the with temperature increase upon the ball-powder-ball collision is responsible for the phase transformations occurring in graphite powders.

Highly coherent mid-IR supercontinuum by self-defocusing solitons in lithium niobate waveguides with all-normal dispersion.

PubMed

Guo, Hairun; Zhou, Binbin; Zeng, Xianglong; Bache, Morten

2014-05-19

We numerically investigate self-defocusing solitons in a lithium niobate (LN) waveguide designed to have a large refractive index (RI) change. The waveguide evokes strong waveguide dispersion and all-normal dispersion is found in the entire guiding band spanning the near-IR and the beginning of the mid-IR. Meanwhile, a self-defocusing nonlinearity is invoked by the cascaded (phase-mismatched) second-harmonic generation under a quasi-phase-matching pitch. Combining this with the all-normal dispersion, mid-IR solitons can form and the waveguide presents the first all-nonlinear and solitonic device where no linear dispersion (i.e. non-solitonic) regimes exist within the guiding band. Soliton compressions at 2 μm and 3 μm are investigated, with nano-joule single cycle pulse formations and highly coherent octave-spanning supercontinuum generations. With an alternative design on the waveguide dispersion, the soliton spectral tunneling effect is also investigated, with which few-cycle pico-joule pulses at 2 μm are formed by a near-IR pump.

A Fluorogenic Aromatic Nucleophilic Substitution Reaction for Demonstrating Normal-Phase Chromatography and Isolation of Nitrobenzoxadiazole Chromophores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Key, Jessie A.; Li, Matthew D.; Cairo, Christopher W.

2011-01-01

Normal-phase chromatography is an essential technique for monitoring chemical reactions, identifying the presence of specific components, as well as the purification of organic compounds. An experiment to facilitate the instruction and understanding of the concepts behind normal-phase chromatography at the introductory and intermediate…

Return to normality after a radiological emergency.

PubMed

Lochard, J; Prêtre, S

1995-01-01

Some preliminary considerations from the management of post-accident situations connected to large scale and high land contamination are presented. The return to normal, or at least acceptable living conditions, as soon as reasonably achievable, and the prevention of the possible emergence of a post-accident crisis is of key importance. A scheme is proposed for understanding the dynamics of the various phases after an accident. An attempt is made to characterize some of the parameters driving the acceptability of post-accident situations. Strategies to return to normal living conditions in contaminated areas are considered.

Three filters for visualization of phase objects with large variations of phase gradients

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

Sagan, Arkadiusz; Antosiewicz, Tomasz J.; Szoplik, Tomasz

2009-02-20

We propose three amplitude filters for visualization of phase objects. They interact with the spectra of pure-phase objects in the frequency plane and are based on tangent and error functions as well as antisymmetric combination of square roots. The error function is a normalized form of the Gaussian function. The antisymmetric square-root filter is composed of two square-root filters to widen its spatial frequency spectral range. Their advantage over other known amplitude frequency-domain filters, such as linear or square-root graded ones, is that they allow high-contrast visualization of objects with large variations of phase gradients.

Spin Imbalanced Quasi-Two-Dimensional Fermi Gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ong, Willie C.

Spin-imbalanced Fermi gases serve as a testbed for fundamental notions and are efficient table-top emulators of a variety of quantum matter ranging from neutron stars, the quark-gluon plasma, to high critical temperature superconductors. A macroscopic quantum phenomenon which occurs in spin-imbalanced Fermi gases is that of phase separation; in three dimensions, a spin-balanced, fully-paired superfluid core is surrounded by an imbalanced normal-fluid shell, followed by a fully polarized shell. In one dimension, the behavior is reversed; a balanced phase appears outside a spin-imbalanced core. This thesis details the first density profile measurements and studies on spin-imbalanced quasi-2D Fermi gases, accomplished with high-resolution, rapid sequential spin-imaging. The measured cloud radii and central densities are in disagreement with mean-field Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory for a 2D system. Data for normal-fluid mixtures are well fit by a simple 2D polaron model of the free energy. Not predicted by the model is an observed phase transition to a spin-balanced central core above a critical polarisation.

A Method to Overcome Space Charge at Injection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derbenev, Ya.

2005-06-01

The transverse space charge forces in a high current, low energy beam can be reduced by mean of a large increase of the beam's transverse sizes while maintaining the beam area in the 4D phase space. This can be achieved by transforming the beam area in phase space of each of two normal 2D transverse (either plane or circular) modes from a spot shape into a narrow ring of a large amplitude, but homogeneous in phase. Such a transformation results from the beam evolution in the island of a dipole resonance when the amplitude width of the island shrinks adiabatically. After stacking (by using stripping foils or cooling) the beam in such a state and accelerating to energies sufficiently high that the space charge becomes insignificant, the beam then can be returned back to a normal spot shape by applying the reverse transformation. An arrangement that can provide such beam gymnastics along a transport line after a linac and before a booster and/or in a ring with circulating beam will be described and numerical estimates will be presented. Other potential applications of the method will be briefly discussed.

Comprehensive two-dimensional normal-phase liquid chromatography × reversed-phase liquid chromatography for analysis of toad skin.

PubMed

Li, Jia-Fu; Yan, Xia; Wu, Yun-Long; Fang, Mei-Juan; Wu, Zhen; Qiu, Ying-Kun

2017-04-15

An analytical two-dimensional normal-phase liquid chromatography × reversed-phase liquid chromatography (2D NPLC × RPLC) system was constructed with a newly developed thermal evaporation assisted adsorption (TEAA) interface. This novel TEAA interface with heating temperature above solvent boiling point allowed fast removal of organic NPLC solvent and successfully solved the solvent incompatibility problem between NPLC and RPLC. The system achieved rapid on-line solvent exchange between the two dimensions within a short modulation time of 190 s and was applied in the analysis of an extract from the skin of Bufo bufo gargarizans. This is the first time to realize the on-line comprehensive analysis of a moderate polar natural product by coupling NPLC with reversed phase ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC). To be highlighted, with the TEAA interface, the 2D NPLC × RPLC system provided excellent resolution and orthogonality (75.2%), when compared with that of 2D RPLC × RPLC. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Changes in viscosity behavior from a normal organogelator to a heat-induced gelator for a long-chain amidoamine derivative.

PubMed

Morita, Clara; Sugimoto, Hiroki; Matsue, Keisuke; Kondo, Takeshi; Imura, Yoshiro; Kawai, Takeshi

2010-11-14

A long-chain amidoamine derivative (C18AA) acts as a normal organogelator in toluene, but changes to a heat-induced gelator, exhibiting a phase transition from sol to gel on heating upon addition of aqueous LiCl to the toluene gel. The thermal response of the heat-induced gel of C18AA was highly sensitive.

Immune complexes and Ross River virus disease (epidemic polyarthritis).

PubMed

Fraser, J R; Cunningham, A L; Mathews, J D; Riglar, A

1988-01-01

Immune complexes were sought in serum and synovial fluid in Ross River virus disease (epidemic polyarthritis). Multiple samples from 15 patients showing varied degrees of disease activity over a 3 month period were analysed for their content of complement components C3 and C4, and for C1q solid-phase and Raji cell binding activity. Levels of C3 and C1q binding activity were normal. C4 and Raji cell binding activity were normal except for three high levels of Raji cell binding, of which two were accompanied by low levels of C4, with normal C3 and C1q binding. Synovial fluid showed anomalous Raji cell reactivity of uncertain significance. Conglutinin solid-phase binding activity and IgG rheumatoid factor were compared in the serum of 20 patients during active disease and after recovery. The results were identical and within the normal range in both phases. One patient developed IgM rheumatoid factor in a low titre late in his illness. Although these findings do not entirely exclude a role for immune complexes formed at the onset in the circulation or tissues, it is concluded from this and other evidence that circulating complexes are not commonly responsible for the persistence of syndromes in this disease.

Supercooling of aqueous dimethylsulfoxide solution at normal and high pressures: Evidence for the coexistence of phase-separated aqueous dimethylsulfoxide solutions of different water structures.

PubMed

Kanno, H; Kajiwara, K; Miyata, K

2010-05-21

Supercooling behavior of aqueous dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solution was investigated as a function of DMSO concentration and at high pressures. A linear relationship was observed for T(H) (homogeneous ice nucleation temperature) and T(m) (melting temperature) for the supercooling of aqueous DMSO solution at normal pressure. Analysis of the DTA (differential thermal analysis) traces for homogeneous ice crystallization in the bottom region of the T(H) curve for a DMSO solution of R=20 (R: moles of water/moles of DMSO) at high pressures supported the contention that the second critical point (SCP) of liquid water should exist at P(c2)= approximately 200 MPa and at T(c2)<-100 degrees C (P(c2): pressure of SCP, T(c2): temperature of SCP). The presence of two T(H) peaks for DMSO solutions (R=15, 12, and 10) suggests that phase separation occurs in aqueous DMSO solution (R

Supercooling of aqueous dimethylsulfoxide solution at normal and high pressures: Evidence for the coexistence of phase-separated aqueous dimethylsulfoxide solutions of different water structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanno, H.; Kajiwara, K.; Miyata, K.

2010-05-01

Supercooling behavior of aqueous dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solution was investigated as a function of DMSO concentration and at high pressures. A linear relationship was observed for TH (homogeneous ice nucleation temperature) and Tm (melting temperature) for the supercooling of aqueous DMSO solution at normal pressure. Analysis of the DTA (differential thermal analysis) traces for homogeneous ice crystallization in the bottom region of the TH curve for a DMSO solution of R =20 (R: moles of water/moles of DMSO) at high pressures supported the contention that the second critical point (SCP) of liquid water should exist at Pc2=˜200 MPa and at Tc2<-100 °C (Pc2: pressure of SCP, Tc2: temperature of SCP). The presence of two TH peaks for DMSO solutions (R =15, 12, and 10) suggests that phase separation occurs in aqueous DMSO solution (R ≤15) at high pressures and low temperatures (<-90 °C). The pressure dependence of the two TH curves for DMSO solutions of R =10 and 12 indicates that the two phase-separated components in the DMSO solution of R =10 have different liquid water structures [LDL-like and HDL-like structures (LDL: low-density liquid water, HDL: high-density liquid water)] in the pressure range of 120-230 MPa.

Serum levels of inhibin A and inhibin B in women with normal and abnormal luteal function.

PubMed

Yamoto, M; Imai, M; Otani, H; Nakano, R

1997-05-01

To determine whether serum inhibin A and inhibin B concentrations are lower in patients with luteal dysfunction than in women with normal luteal function. Serum samples were collected from seven healthy women with regular menstrual cycles. Serum samples on days +5 to +9 after the LH surge were collected from patients with luteal dysfunction. The diagnosis of luteal dysfunction was based on a luteal phase duration less than 11 days and a single midluteal progesterone level below 10 ng/mL. Serum levels of inhibin A, inhibin B, progesterone, estradiol (E2), FSH, and LH were measured. The serum inhibin A levels were increased toward the late follicular phase. The levels reached a maximum during the midluteal phase, followed by a fall during the late luteal phase. The serum inhibin B levels were high during the follicular phases and the early luteal phase. The levels decreased during the midluteal and late luteal phases. Serum levels (mean +/- standard error of the mean) of inhibin A in patients with luteal dysfunction were significantly lower than those in women during the midluteal phase (26.2 +/- 2.9 compared to 41.9 +/- 2.8 pg/mL; P < .01) in addition to the expected decrease in serum progesterone levels (6.3 +/- 0.7 compared to 14.7 +/- 1.2 ng/mL; P < .01). Serum inhibin B levels did not differ significantly between normal women and those with luteal dysfunction. There also were no significant differences in the E2, FSH, and LH levels. Levels of inhibin A, but not of inhibin B, may reflect the human luteal function.

Safety and efficacy of oral DMSA therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders: Part A - Medical results

PubMed Central

Adams, James B; Baral, Matthew; Geis, Elizabeth; Mitchell, Jessica; Ingram, Julie; Hensley, Andrea; Zappia, Irene; Newmark, Sanford; Gehn, Eva; Rubin, Robert A; Mitchell, Ken; Bradstreet, Jeff; El-Dahr, Jane

2009-01-01

Background This study investigated the effect of oral dimercapto succinic acid (DMSA) therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders ages 3-8 years. Methods Phase 1 involved 65 children who received one round of DMSA (3 days). Participants who had high urinary excretion of toxic metals were selected to continue on to phase 2. In phase 2, 49 participants were randomly assigned in a double-blind design to receive an additional 6 rounds of either DMSA or placebo. Results DMSA greatly increased the excretion of lead, substantially increased excretion of tin and bismuth, and somewhat increased the excretion of thallium, mercury, antimony, and tungsten. There was some increase in urinary excretion of essential minerals, especially potassium and chromium. The Phase 1 single round of DMSA led to a dramatic normalization of RBC glutathione in almost all cases, and greatly improved abnormal platelet counts, suggesting a significant decrease in inflammation. Conclusion Overall, DMSA therapy seems to be reasonably safe, effective in removing several toxic metals (especially lead), dramatically effective in normalizing RBC glutathione, and effective in normalizing platelet counts. Only 1 round (3 days) was sufficient to improve glutathione and platelets. Additional rounds increased excretion of toxic metals. PMID:19852789

Unwrapping eddy current compensation: improved compensation of eddy current induced baseline shifts in high-resolution phase-contrast MRI at 9.4 Tesla.

PubMed

Espe, Emil K S; Zhang, Lili; Sjaastad, Ivar

2014-10-01

Phase-contrast MRI (PC-MRI) is a versatile tool allowing evaluation of in vivo motion, but is sensitive to eddy current induced phase offsets, causing errors in the measured velocities. In high-resolution PC-MRI, these offsets can be sufficiently large to cause wrapping in the baseline phase, rendering conventional eddy current compensation (ECC) inadequate. The purpose of this study was to develop an improved ECC technique (unwrapping ECC) able to handle baseline phase discontinuities. Baseline phase discontinuities are unwrapped by minimizing the spatiotemporal standard deviation of the static-tissue phase. Computer simulations were used for demonstrating the theoretical foundation of the proposed technique. The presence of baseline wrapping was confirmed in high-resolution myocardial PC-MRI of a normal rat heart at 9.4 Tesla (T), and the performance of unwrapping ECC was compared with conventional ECC. Areas of phase wrapping in static regions were clearly evident in high-resolution PC-MRI. The proposed technique successfully eliminated discontinuities in the baseline, and resulted in significantly better ECC than the conventional approach. We report the occurrence of baseline phase wrapping in PC-MRI, and provide an improved ECC technique capable of handling its presence. Unwrapping ECC offers improved correction of eddy current induced baseline shifts in high-resolution PC-MRI. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sympathetic nerve traffic and baroreflex function in optimal, normal, and high-normal blood pressure states.

PubMed

Seravalle, Gino; Lonati, Laura; Buzzi, Silvia; Cairo, Matteo; Quarti Trevano, Fosca; Dell'Oro, Raffaella; Facchetti, Rita; Mancia, Giuseppe; Grassi, Guido

2015-07-01

Adrenergic activation and baroreflex dysfunction are common in established essential hypertension, elderly hypertension, masked and white-coat hypertension, resistant hypertension, and obesity-related hypertension. Whether this autonomic behavior is peculiar to established hypertension or is also detectable in the earlier clinical phases of the disease, that is, the high-normal blood pressure (BP) state, is still largely undefined, however. In 24 individuals with optimal BP (age: 37.1  ±  2.1 years, mean  ±  SEM) and in 27 with normal BP and 38 with high-normal BP, age matched with optimal BP, we measured clinic, 24-h and beat-to-beat BP, heart rate (HR), and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) at rest and during baroreceptor stimulation and deactivation. Measurements also included anthropometric as well as echocardiographic and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index. For similar anthropometric values, clinic, 24-h ambulatory, and beat-to-beat BPs were significantly greater in normal BP than in optimal BP. This was the case when the high-normal BP group was compared to the normal and optimal BP groups. MSNA (but not HR) was also significantly greater in high-normal BP than in normal BP and optimal BP (51.3  ±  2.0 vs. 40.3  ±  2.3 and 41.1 ± 2.6  bursts per 100  heartbeats, respectively, P < 0.01). The sympathetic activation seen in high-normal BP was coupled with an impairment of baroreflex HR control (but not MSNA) and with a significant increase in HOMA Index, which showed a significant direct relationship with MSNA. Thus, independently of which BP the diagnosis is based, high-normal BP is a condition characterized by a sympathetic activation. This neurogenic alteration, which is likely to be triggered by metabolic rather than reflex alterations, might be involved, together with other factors, in the progression of the condition to established hypertension.

Inherited discontinuities and fault kinematics of a multiphase, non-colinear extensional setting: Subsurface observations from the South Flank of the Golfo San Jorge basin, Patagonia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paredes, José Matildo; Aguiar, Mariana; Ansa, Andrés; Giordano, Sergio; Ledesma, Mario; Tejada, Silvia

2018-01-01

We use three-dimensional (3D) seismic reflection data to analyze the structural style, fault kinematics and growth fault mechanisms of non-colinear normal fault systems in the South Flank of the Golfo San Jorge basin, central Patagonia. Pre-existing structural fabrics in the basement of the South Flank show NW-SE and NE-SW oriented faults. They control the location and geometry of wedge-shaped half grabens from the "main synrift phase" infilled with Middle Jurassic volcanic-volcaniclastic rocks and lacustrine units of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age. The NE-striking, basement-involved normal faults resulted in the rapid establishment of fault lenght, followed by gradual increasing in displacement, and minor reactivation during subsequent extensional phases; NW-striking normal faults are characterized by fault segments that propagated laterally during the "main rifting phase", being subsequently reactivated during succesive extensional phases. The Aptian-Campanian Chubut Group is a continental succession up to 4 km thick associated to the "second rifting stage", characterized by propagation and linkage of W-E to WNW-ESE fault segments that increase their lenght and displacement in several extensional phases, recognized by detailed measurement of current throw distribution of selected seismic horizons along fault surfaces. Strain is distributed in an array of sub-parallel normal faults oriented normal to the extension direction. A Late Cretaceous-Paleogene (pre-late Eocene) extensional event is characterized by high-angle, NNW-SSE to NNE-SSW grabens coeval with intraplate alkali basaltic volcanism, evidencing clockwise rotation of the stress field following a ∼W-E extension direction. We demonstrate differences in growth fault mechanisms of non-colinear fault populations, and highlight the importance of follow a systematic approach to the analysis of fault geometry and throw distribution in a fault network, in order to understand temporal-spatial variations in the coeval topography, potential structural traps, and distribution of oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs.

High-efficiency polarization conversion phase gradient metasurface for wideband anomalous reflection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jiameng; Yang, Lan; Li, Linpeng; Zhang, Tong; Li, Haihong; Wang, Qingmin; Hao, Yanan; Lei, Ming; Bi, Ke

2017-07-01

An ultra-wideband polarization conversion metasurface based on S-shaped metallic structure is designed and prepared. The simulation results show that the polarization conversion bandwidth is 14 GHz for linearly polarized normally incident electromagnetic waves and the cross-polarized reflectance is more than 99% in the range of 10.3 GHz-20.5 GHz. On the premise of high reflection efficiency, the reflective phase can be regulated by changing the geometrical parameter of the S-shaped metallic structure. A phase gradient metasurface composed of six periodically arrayed S-shaped unit cells is proposed and further demonstrated both numerically and experimentally. The specular cross-polarization reflection of the phase gradient metasurface is below -10 dB, which shows a good performance on manipulating the direction of the reflected electromagnetic waves.

Determination of skeleton and sign map for phase obtaining from a single ESPI image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xia; Yu, Qifeng; Fu, Sihua

2009-06-01

A robust method of determining the sign map and skeletons for ESPI images is introduced in this paper. ESPI images have high speckle noise which makes it difficult to obtain the fringe information, especially from a single image. To overcome the effects of high speckle noise, local directional computing windows are designed according to the fringe directions. Then by calculating the gradients from the filtered image in directional windows, sign map and good skeletons can be determined robustly. Based on the sign map, single image phase-extracting methods such as quadrature transform can be improved. And based on skeletons, fringe phases can be obtained directly by normalization methods. Experiments show that this new method is robust and effective for extracting phase from a single ESPI fringe image.

AsS melt under pressure: one substance, three liquids.

PubMed

Brazhkin, V V; Katayama, Y; Kondrin, M V; Hattori, T; Lyapin, A G; Saitoh, H

2008-04-11

An in situ high-temperature--high-pressure study of liquid chalcogenide AsS by x-ray diffraction, resistivity measurements, and quenching from melt is presented. The obtained data provide direct evidence for the existence in the melt under compression of two transformations: one is from a moderate-viscosity molecular liquid to a high-viscosity nonmetallic polymerized liquid at P approximately 1.6-2.2 GPa; the other is from the latter to a low-viscosity metallic liquid at P approximately 4.6-4.8 GPa. Upon rapid cooling, molecular and metallic liquids crystallize to normal and high-pressure phases, respectively, while a polymerized liquid is easily quenched to a new AsS glass. General aspects of multiple phase transitions in liquid AsS, including relations to the phase diagram of the respective crystalline, are discussed.

Quantum phases in circuit QED with a superconducting qubit array

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yuanwei; Yu, Lixian; Liang, J. -Q; Chen, Gang; Jia, Suotang; Nori, Franco

2014-01-01

Circuit QED on a chip has become a powerful platform for simulating complex many-body physics. In this report, we realize a Dicke-Ising model with an antiferromagnetic nearest-neighbor spin-spin interaction in circuit QED with a superconducting qubit array. We show that this system exhibits a competition between the collective spin-photon interaction and the antiferromagnetic nearest-neighbor spin-spin interaction, and then predict four quantum phases, including: a paramagnetic normal phase, an antiferromagnetic normal phase, a paramagnetic superradiant phase, and an antiferromagnetic superradiant phase. The antiferromagnetic normal phase and the antiferromagnetic superradiant phase are new phases in many-body quantum optics. In the antiferromagnetic superradiant phase, both the antiferromagnetic and superradiant orders can coexist, and thus the system possesses symmetry. Moreover, we find an unconventional photon signature in this phase. In future experiments, these predicted quantum phases could be distinguished by detecting both the mean-photon number and the magnetization. PMID:24522250

Study of the structure of PyHReO{sub 4} under high pressure

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

Kichanov, S. E., E-mail: ekich@nf.jinr.ru; Kozlenko, D. P.; Wasicki, J. W.

2007-05-15

The structure of deuterated pyridinium perrhenate (d{sub 5}PyH)ReO{sub 4} (C{sub 5}D{sub 5}NHReO{sub 4}) is studied by X-ray diffraction at room temperature and pressures up to 3.5 GPa and by neutron diffraction in the temperature range 10-293 K and at pressures up to 2.0 GPa. Under normal conditions, this compound belongs to the orthorhombic space group Cmc2{sub 1} (ferroelectric phase II). At room temperature and pressures above P > 0.7 GPa, a transition to an orthorhombic phase (paraelectric phase II) is observed. This paraelectric phase is described by the space group Cmcm. At a pressure as high as P = 2.0more » GPa, phase I remains stable at temperatures down to 10 K. This fact indicates that the high pressure suppresses the ferroelectric state in deuterated pyridinium perrhenate (d{sub 5}PyH)ReO{sub 4}.« less

A low noise synthesizer for autotuning and performance testing of hydrogen masers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cloeren, J. M.; Ingold, J. S.

1984-01-01

A low noise synthesizer has been developed for use in hydrogen maser autotuning and performance evaluation. This synthesizer replaces the frequency offset maser normally used for this purpose and allows the user to maintain all masers in the ensemble at the same frequency. The synthesizer design utilizes a quartz oscillator with a BVA resonator. The oscillator has a frequency offset of 5 X 10 to the minus 8 power. The BVA oscillator is phase-locked to a hydrogen maser by means of a high gain, high stability phase-locked loop, employing low noise multipliers as phase error amplifiers. A functional block diagram of the synthesizer and performance data will be presented.

Spatial Light Modulators with Arbitrary Quantum Wells Profiles

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-09-27

phase change in the 1.152Pm wave propagating through the waveguide and appears as an optically bistable intensity signal normal to the control beam ...electrical bistability of a SEED was integrated with a phase modulator to produce optical bistability in an all- optical switch. A control wavelength of...received attention for its use in electrically-addressable spatial light intensity modulator arrays due to its potentially high contrast ratio, large

High resolution and high sensitivity methods for oligosaccharide mapping and characterization by normal phase high performance liquid chromatography following derivatization with highly fluorescent anthranilic acid.

PubMed

Anumula, K R; Dhume, S T

1998-07-01

Facile labeling of oligosaccharides (acidic and neutral) in a nonselective manner was achieved with highly fluorescent anthranilic acid (AA, 2-aminobenzoic acid) (more than twice the intensity of 2-aminobenzamide, AB) for specific detection at very high sensitivity. Quantitative labeling in acetate-borate buffered methanol (approximately pH 5.0) at 80 degreesC for 60 min resulted in negligible or no desialylation of the oligosaccharides. A high resolution high performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for quantitative oligosaccharide mapping on a polymeric-NH2bonded (Astec) column operating under normal phase and anion exchange (NP-HPAEC) conditions. For isolation of oligosaccharides from the map by simple evaporation, the chromatographic conditions developed use volatile acetic acid-triethylamine buffer (approximately pH 4.0) systems. The mapping and characterization technology was developed using well characterized standard glycoproteins. The fluorescent oligosaccharide maps were similar to the maps obtained by the high pH anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD), except that the fluorescent maps contained more defined peaks. In the map, the oligosaccharides separated into groups based on charge, size, linkage, and overall structure in a manner similar to HPAEC-PAD with contribution of -COOH function from the label, anthranilic acid. However, selectivity of the column for sialic acid linkages was different. A second dimension normal phase HPLC (NP-HPLC) method was developed on an amide column (TSK Gel amide-80) for separation of the AA labeled neutral complex type and isomeric structures of high mannose type oligosaccharides. The oligosaccharides labeled with AA are compatible with biochemical and biophysical techniques, and use of matrix assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry for rapid determination of oligosaccharide mass map of glycoproteins is demonstrated. High resolution of NP-HPAEC and NP-HPLC methods combined with mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) can provide an effective technology for analyzing a wide repertoire of oligosaccharide structures and for determining the action of both transferases and glycosidases.

Phase transformation strengthening of high-temperature superalloys

PubMed Central

Smith, T. M.; Esser, B. D.; Antolin, N.; Carlsson, A.; Williams, R. E. A.; Wessman, A.; Hanlon, T.; Fraser, H. L.; Windl, W.; McComb, D. W.; Mills, M. J.

2016-01-01

Decades of research has been focused on improving the high-temperature properties of nickel-based superalloys, an essential class of materials used in the hot section of jet turbine engines, allowing increased engine efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions. Here we introduce a new ‘phase-transformation strengthening' mechanism that resists high-temperature creep deformation in nickel-based superalloys, where specific alloying elements inhibit the deleterious deformation mode of nanotwinning at temperatures above 700 °C. Ultra-high-resolution structure and composition analysis via scanning transmission electron microscopy, combined with density functional theory calculations, reveals that a superalloy with higher concentrations of the elements titanium, tantalum and niobium encourage a shear-induced solid-state transformation from the γ′ to η phase along stacking faults in γ′ precipitates, which would normally be the precursors of deformation twins. This nanoscale η phase creates a low-energy structure that inhibits thickening of stacking faults into twins, leading to significant improvement in creep properties. PMID:27874007

In vivo volumetric depth-resolved vasculature imaging of human limbus and sclera with 1 μm swept source phase-variance optical coherence angiography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poddar, Raju; Zawadzki, Robert J.; Cortés, Dennis E.; Mannis, Mark J.; Werner, John S.

2015-06-01

We present in vivo volumetric depth-resolved vasculature images of the anterior segment of the human eye acquired with phase-variance based motion contrast using a high-speed (100 kHz, 105 A-scans/s) swept source optical coherence tomography system (SSOCT). High phase stability SSOCT imaging was achieved by using a computationally efficient phase stabilization approach. The human corneo-scleral junction and sclera were imaged with swept source phase-variance optical coherence angiography and compared with slit lamp images from the same eyes of normal subjects. Different features of the rich vascular system in the conjunctiva and episclera were visualized and described. This system can be used as a potential tool for ophthalmological research to determine changes in the outflow system, which may be helpful for identification of abnormalities that lead to glaucoma.

Method for distinguishing normal and transformed cells using G1 kinase inhibitors

DOEpatents

Crissman, Harry A.; Gadbois, Donna M.; Tobey, Robert A.; Bradbury, E. Morton

1993-01-01

A G.sub.1 phase kinase inhibitor is applied in a low concentration to a population of normal and transformed mammalian cells. The concentration of G.sub.1 phase kinase inhibitor is selected to reversibly arrest normal mammalian cells in the G.sub.1 cell cycle without arresting growth of transformed cells. The transformed cells may then be selectively identified and/or cloned for research or diagnostic purposes. The transformed cells may also be selectively killed by therapeutic agents that do not affect normal cells in the G.sub.1 phase, suggesting that such G.sub.1 phase kinase inhibitors may form an effective adjuvant for use with chemotherapeutic agents in cancer therapy for optimizing the killing dose of chemotherapeutic agents while minimizing undesirable side effects on normal cells.

Method for distinguishing normal and transformed cells using G1 kinase inhibitors

DOEpatents

Crissman, H.A.; Gadbois, D.M.; Tobey, R.A.; Bradbury, E.M.

1993-02-09

A G[sub 1] phase kinase inhibitor is applied in a low concentration to a population of normal and transformed mammalian cells. The concentration of G[sub 1] phase kinase inhibitor is selected to reversibly arrest normal mammalian cells in the G[sub 1] cell cycle without arresting growth of transformed cells. The transformed cells may then be selectively identified and/or cloned for research or diagnostic purposes. The transformed cells may also be selectively killed by therapeutic agents that do not affect normal cells in the G[sub 1] phase, suggesting that such G[sub 1] phase kinase inhibitors may form an effective adjuvant for use with chemotherapeutic agents in cancer therapy for optimizing the killing dose of chemotherapeutic agents while minimizing undesirable side effects on normal cells.

Using individual differences to test the role of temporal and place cues in coding frequency modulation

PubMed Central

Whiteford, Kelly L.; Oxenham, Andrew J.

2015-01-01

The question of how frequency is coded in the peripheral auditory system remains unresolved. Previous research has suggested that slow rates of frequency modulation (FM) of a low carrier frequency may be coded via phase-locked temporal information in the auditory nerve, whereas FM at higher rates and/or high carrier frequencies may be coded via a rate-place (tonotopic) code. This hypothesis was tested in a cohort of 100 young normal-hearing listeners by comparing individual sensitivity to slow-rate (1-Hz) and fast-rate (20-Hz) FM at a carrier frequency of 500 Hz with independent measures of phase-locking (using dynamic interaural time difference, ITD, discrimination), level coding (using amplitude modulation, AM, detection), and frequency selectivity (using forward-masking patterns). All FM and AM thresholds were highly correlated with each other. However, no evidence was obtained for stronger correlations between measures thought to reflect phase-locking (e.g., slow-rate FM and ITD sensitivity), or between measures thought to reflect tonotopic coding (fast-rate FM and forward-masking patterns). The results suggest that either psychoacoustic performance in young normal-hearing listeners is not limited by peripheral coding, or that similar peripheral mechanisms limit both high- and low-rate FM coding. PMID:26627783

Using individual differences to test the role of temporal and place cues in coding frequency modulation.

PubMed

Whiteford, Kelly L; Oxenham, Andrew J

2015-11-01

The question of how frequency is coded in the peripheral auditory system remains unresolved. Previous research has suggested that slow rates of frequency modulation (FM) of a low carrier frequency may be coded via phase-locked temporal information in the auditory nerve, whereas FM at higher rates and/or high carrier frequencies may be coded via a rate-place (tonotopic) code. This hypothesis was tested in a cohort of 100 young normal-hearing listeners by comparing individual sensitivity to slow-rate (1-Hz) and fast-rate (20-Hz) FM at a carrier frequency of 500 Hz with independent measures of phase-locking (using dynamic interaural time difference, ITD, discrimination), level coding (using amplitude modulation, AM, detection), and frequency selectivity (using forward-masking patterns). All FM and AM thresholds were highly correlated with each other. However, no evidence was obtained for stronger correlations between measures thought to reflect phase-locking (e.g., slow-rate FM and ITD sensitivity), or between measures thought to reflect tonotopic coding (fast-rate FM and forward-masking patterns). The results suggest that either psychoacoustic performance in young normal-hearing listeners is not limited by peripheral coding, or that similar peripheral mechanisms limit both high- and low-rate FM coding.

Geometry in transition in four dimensions: A model of emergent geometry in the early universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ydri, Badis; Khaled, Ramda; Ahlam, Rouag

2016-10-01

We study a six matrix model with global S O (3 )×S O (3 ) symmetry containing at most quartic powers of the matrices. This theory exhibits a phase transition from a geometrical phase at low temperature to a Yang-Mills matrix phase with no background geometrical structure at high temperature. This is an exotic phase transition in the same universality class as the three matrix model but with important differences. The geometrical phase is determined dynamically, as the system cools, and is given by a fuzzy sphere background SN2×SN2, with an Abelian gauge field which is very weakly coupled to two normal scalar fields.

ROTATIONAL EVOLUTION OF MAGNETARS IN THE PRESENCE OF A FALLBACK DISK

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

Tong, H.; Wang, W.; Liu, X. W.

2016-12-20

Magnetars may have a strong surface dipole field. Observationally, two magnetars may have passive fallback disks. In the presence of a fallback disk, the rotational evolution of magnetars may be changed. In the self-similar fallback disk model, it is found that (1) when the disk mass is significantly lower than 10{sup −6}  M {sub ⊙}, the magnetar is unaffected by the fallback disk and it will be a normal magnetar. (2) When the disk mass is high but the surface dipole field of the magnetar is about or below 10{sup 14} G, the magnetar will also be a normal magnetar.more » A magnetar plus a passive fallback disk system is expected. This may correspond to the observations of magnetars 4U 0142+61 and 1E 2259+586. (3) When the disk mass is high and the surface dipole field of the magnetar is as high as 4 × 10{sup 15} G, the magnetar will evolve from the ejector phase to the propeller phase, and then enter rotational equilibrium. The magnetar will be slowed down quickly in the propeller phase. The final rotational period can be as high 2 × 10{sup 4} s. This may correspond to the super-slow magnetar in the supernova remnant RCW 103. Therefore, the three types of magnetars can be understood in a unified way.« less

The First Normal Stress Difference in Waterborne Paints Thickened by Hydrophobically Ethoxylated Urethane (HEUR) Rheology Modifier: A Simplified Phase Diagram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatterjee, Tirtha; van Dyk, Antony; Ginzburg, Valeriy; Nakatani, Alan

Since their invention in the 1970s, hydrophobically ethoxylated urethane (HEUR) associative thickeners are widely used to modify the rheology of waterborne paints. While their flow curves (viscosity vs. shear rate) and microstructure have been studied extensively in recent years, there is surprisingly little information on the paint normal stress under application conditions. However, understanding of normal stress behavior is critical for many applications such as brush drag and spatter. In this work we will demonstrate that in HEUR-based paints the first normal stress difference (N1) is controlled by two factors: (a) adsorption of HEUR molecules on latex particles and (b) ability of non-adsorbed HEUR to form transient bridges between particles with HEUR shells. By controlling these two effects, one can design a paint formulation with targeted N1 behavior (positive or negative N1 under high shear). Finally, a simplified phase diagram will be presented connecting formulation composition-microstructure- and N1 behavior. The results would serve as guidelines to formulate paints to meet the specific customer needs.

Dietary obesity caused by a specific circadian eating pattern.

PubMed

Hariri, Niloofar; Thibault, Louise

2011-04-01

The eating pattern is altered by high-fat diet-induced obesity. To clarify whether this is dependent on the fatty acid profile of the diet, the authors conducted two studies on adult female Sprague-Dawley rats fed normal-fat chow or high-fat diets with varying fatty acid composition. Eating pattern and body weight were assessed in rats fed canola-based (low in saturated fatty acids) or lard-based (moderate in saturated fatty acids) diets for 7 days, and in animals fed chow or canola- or butter-based diets (rich in saturated fatty acids) for 43 days. These parameters were also determined when restricted amounts of low-fat canola- or butter-based diets were consumed for 25 days. Early exposure to canola or lard high-fat feeding or prolonged access to canola- or butter-based fat-rich diets (relative to chow feeding) did not alter the normal light-dark distribution of food and energy intake. All animals ingested most of their food during the dark phase. However, feeding the high-fat canola- and butter-based diets produced an altered eating pattern during the light phase characterized by a smaller number of meals, longer intermeal interval, and enhanced satiety ratio, and consumption of shorter-lasting meals than chow-fed animals. Relative to canola or chow feeding, butter-fed animals consumed a lower number of meals during the dark phase and had a higher eating rate in the light phase, but ate larger meals overall. Only butter feeding led to overeating and obesity. When given a restricted amount of low-fat canola- or butter-based diet at the start of the light phase, rats ate most of their food in that phase and diurnal rather than nocturnal feeding occurred with restriction. These findings underscore the role of saturated fatty acids and the resulting eating pattern alteration in the development of obesity.

The dance of molecules: new dynamical perspectives on highly excited molecular vibrations.

PubMed

Kellman, Michael E; Tyng, Vivian

2007-04-01

At low energies, molecular vibrational motion is described by the normal modes model. This model breaks down at higher energy, with strong coupling between normal modes and onset of chaotic dynamics. New anharmonic modes are born in bifurcations, or branchings of the normal modes. Knowledge of these new modes is obtained through the window of frequency-domain spectroscopy, using techniques of nonlinear classical dynamics. It may soon be possible to "watch" molecular rearrangement reactions spectroscopically. Connections are being made with reaction rate theories, condensed phase systems, and motions of electrons in quantum dots.

A unified classification of stationary phases for packed column supercritical fluid chromatography.

PubMed

West, C; Lesellier, E

2008-05-16

The use of supercritical fluids as chromatographic mobile phases allows to obtain rapid separations with high efficiency on packed columns, which could favour the replacement of numerous HPLC methods by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) ones. Moreover, despite some unexpected chromatographic behaviours, general retention rules are now well understood, and mainly depend on the nature of the stationary phase. The use of polar stationary phases improves the retention of polar compounds, when C18-bonded silica favours the retention of hydrocarbonaceous compounds. In this sense, reversed-phase and normal-phase chromatography can be achieved in SFC, as in HPLC. However, these two domains are clearly separated in HPLC due to the opposite polarity of the mobile phases used for each method. In SFC, the same mobile phase can be used with both polar and non-polar stationary phases. Consequently, the need for a novel classification of stationary phases in SFC appears, allowing a unification of the classical reversed- and normal-phase domains. In this objective, the paper presents the development of a five-dimensional classification based on retention data for 94-111 solutes, using 28 commercially available columns representative of three major types of stationary phases. This classification diagram is based on a linear solvation energy relationship, on the use of solvation vectors and the calculation of similarity factors between the different chromatographic systems. This classification will be of great help in the choice of the well-suited stationary phase, either in regards of a particular separation or to improve the coupling of columns with complementary properties.

Phase matching as a gate for photon entanglement

PubMed Central

Zheltikov, A. M.

2017-01-01

Phase matching is shown to provide a tunable gate that helps discriminate entangled states of light generated by four-wave mixing (FWM) in optical fibers against uncorrelated photons originating from Raman scattering. Two types of such gates are discussed. Phase-matching gates of the first type are possible in the normal dispersion regime, where FWM sidebands can be widely tuned by high-order dispersion management, enhancing the ratio of the entangled-photon output to the Raman noise. The photon-entanglement gates of the second type are created by dual-pump cross-phase-modulation-induced FWM sideband generation and can be tuned by group-velocity mismatch of the pump fields. PMID:28703217

A facile way to control phase of tin selenide flakes by chemical vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhigang; Pang, Fei

2018-06-01

Although two-dimensional (2D) tin selenides are attracting intense attentions, studies on its phase transition are still relatively few. Here we report a facile way to control the phase growth of tin selenide flakes on mica and SiO2/Si by only adjusting nominal Sn:Se ratio, which refers to the amount of loaded SnO2 and Se precursors. High normal Sn:Se ratio induced SnSe flakes, conversely SnSe2 flakes formed. It could be used as a practical guide to selectively synthesize pure phase of single crystalline 2D layered chalcogenide materials similar to tin selenides.

Development of control systems for space shuttle vehicles. Volume 2: Appendixes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, C. R.; Chase, T. W.; Kiziloz, B. M.; Ward, M. D.

1971-01-01

A launch phase random normal wind model is presented for delta wing, two-stage, space shuttle control system studies. Equations, data, and simulations for conventional launch studies are given as well as pitch and lateral equations and data for covariance analyses of the launch phase of MSFC vehicle B. Lateral equations and data for North American 130G and 134D are also included along with a high-altitude abort simulation.

Green chiral HPLC study of the stability of Chiralcel OD under high temperature liquid chromatography and subcritical water conditions.

PubMed

Droux, S; Roy, M; Félix, G

2014-10-01

We report here the study of the stability under subcritical water conditions of one of the most popular polysaccharide chiral stationary phase (CSP): Chiralcel OD. This CSP was used under high temperature and reversed phase conditions with acetonitrile and 2-propanol as modifier, respectively. The evolution of selectivity and resolution was investigated both in normal and reversed mode conditions with five racemates after packing, heating at 150 °C and separations of some racemic compounds under different high temperatures and mobile phase conditions. The results show that after using at high temperature and subcritical water conditions the selectivity was only moderately affected while the resolution fell dramatically especially in reversed mode due to the creation of a void at the head of the columns which reflects the dissolution of the silica matrix. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pressure-induced transformations in amorphous silicon: A computational study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcez, K. M. S.; Antonelli, A.

2014-02-01

We study the transformations between amorphous phases of Si through molecular simulations using the environment dependent interatomic potential (EDIP) for Si. Our results show that upon pressure, the material undergoes a transformation from the low density amorphous (LDA) Si to the high density amorphous (HDA) Si. This transformation can be reversed by decompressing the material. This process, however, exhibits clear hysteresis, suggesting that the transformation LDA ↔ HDA is first-order like. The HDA phase is predominantly five-fold coordinated, whereas the LDA phase is the normal tetrahedrally bonded amorphous Si. The HDA phase at 400 K and 20 GPa was submitted to an isobaric annealing up to 800 K, resulting in a denser amorphous phase, which is structurally distinct from the HDA phase. Our results also show that the atomic volume and structure of this new amorphous phase are identical to those of the glass obtained by an isobaric quenching of the liquid in equilibrium at 2000 K and 20 GPa down to 400 K. The similarities between our results and those for amorphous ices suggest that this new phase is the very high density amorphous Si.

Design requirements for plasma facing materials in ITER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matera, R.; Federici, G.; ITER Joint Central Team

1996-10-01

After the official approval of the Interim Design Report, the ITER project enters the final phase of the EDA. With the definition of the design requirements of the high heat flux components, the structural and armor materials' working domain is better specified, allowing to focus the R & D program on the most critical issues and to orient the design of divertor and first wall components towards those concepts which potentially have a better chance to withstand normal and off-normal operating conditions. Among the latter, slow, high-power, high recycling transient are at present driving the design of high heat flux components. Examples of possible design solution under experimental validation in the R & D program are presented and discussed in this paper.

Radiative heat transfer in strongly forward scattering media using the discrete ordinates method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Granate, Pedro; Coelho, Pedro J.; Roger, Maxime

2016-03-01

The discrete ordinates method (DOM) is widely used to solve the radiative transfer equation, often yielding satisfactory results. However, in the presence of strongly forward scattering media, this method does not generally conserve the scattering energy and the phase function asymmetry factor. Because of this, the normalization of the phase function has been proposed to guarantee that the scattering energy and the asymmetry factor are conserved. Various authors have used different normalization techniques. Three of these are compared in the present work, along with two other methods, one based on the finite volume method (FVM) and another one based on the spherical harmonics discrete ordinates method (SHDOM). In addition, the approximation of the Henyey-Greenstein phase function by a different one is investigated as an alternative to the phase function normalization. The approximate phase function is given by the sum of a Dirac delta function, which accounts for the forward scattering peak, and a smoother scaled phase function. In this study, these techniques are applied to three scalar radiative transfer test cases, namely a three-dimensional cubic domain with a purely scattering medium, an axisymmetric cylindrical enclosure containing an emitting-absorbing-scattering medium, and a three-dimensional transient problem with collimated irradiation. The present results show that accurate predictions are achieved for strongly forward scattering media when the phase function is normalized in such a way that both the scattered energy and the phase function asymmetry factor are conserved. The normalization of the phase function may be avoided using the FVM or the SHDOM to evaluate the in-scattering term of the radiative transfer equation. Both methods yield results whose accuracy is similar to that obtained using the DOM along with normalization of the phase function. Very satisfactory predictions were also achieved using the delta-M phase function, while the delta-Eddington phase function and the transport approximation may perform poorly.

Chaos in generically coupled phase oscillator networks with nonpairwise interactions.

PubMed

Bick, Christian; Ashwin, Peter; Rodrigues, Ana

2016-09-01

The Kuramoto-Sakaguchi system of coupled phase oscillators, where interaction between oscillators is determined by a single harmonic of phase differences of pairs of oscillators, has very simple emergent dynamics in the case of identical oscillators that are globally coupled: there is a variational structure that means the only attractors are full synchrony (in-phase) or splay phase (rotating wave/full asynchrony) oscillations and the bifurcation between these states is highly degenerate. Here we show that nonpairwise coupling-including three and four-way interactions of the oscillator phases-that appears generically at the next order in normal-form based calculations can give rise to complex emergent dynamics in symmetric phase oscillator networks. In particular, we show that chaos can appear in the smallest possible dimension of four coupled phase oscillators for a range of parameter values.

High-pressure polymorphism of As2S3 and new AsS2 modification with layered structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolotina, N. B.; Brazhkin, V. V.; Dyuzheva, T. I.; Katayama, Y.; Kulikova, L. F.; Lityagina, L. V.; Nikolaev, N. A.

2014-01-01

At normal pressure, the As2S3 compound is the most stable equilibrium modification with unique layered structure. The possibility of high-pressure polymorphism of this substance remains questionable. Our research showed that the As2S3 substance was metastable under pressures P > 6 GPa decomposing into two high-pressure phases: As2S3 → AsS2 + AsS. New AsS2 phase can be conserved in the single crystalline form in metastable state at room pressure up to its melting temperature (470 K). This modification has the layered structure with P1211 monoclinic symmetry group; the unit-cell values are a = 7.916(2) Å, b = 9.937(2) Å, c = 7.118(1) Å, β = 106.41° ( Z = 8, density 3.44 g/cm3). Along with the recently studied AsS high-pressure modification, the new AsS2 phase suggests that high pressure polymorphism is a very powerful tool to create new layered-structure phases with "wrong" stoichiometry.

The video head impulse test during post-rotatory nystagmus: physiology and clinical implications.

PubMed

Mantokoudis, Georgios; Tehrani, Ali S Saber; Xie, Li; Eibenberger, Karin; Eibenberger, Bernhard; Roberts, Dale; Newman-Toker, David E; Zee, David S

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to test the effects of a sustained nystagmus on the head impulse response of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in healthy subjects. VOR gain (slow-phase eye velocity/head velocity) was measured using video head impulse test goggles. Acting as a surrogate for a spontaneous nystagmus (SN), a post-rotatory nystagmus (PRN) was elicited after a sustained, constant-velocity rotation, and then head impulses were applied. 'Raw' VOR gain, uncorrected for PRN, in healthy subjects in response to head impulses with peak velocities in the range of 150°/s-250°/s was significantly increased (as reflected in an increase in the slope of the gain versus head velocity relationship) after inducing PRN with slow phases of nystagmus of high intensity (>30°/s) in the same but not in the opposite direction as the slow-phase response induced by the head impulses. The values of VOR gain themselves, however, remained in the normal range with slow-phase velocities of PRN < 30°/s. Finally, quick phases of PRN were suppressed during the first 20-160 ms of a head impulse; the time frame of suppression depended on the direction of PRN but not on the duration of the head impulse. Our results in normal subjects suggest that VOR gains measured using head impulses may have to be corrected for any superimposed SN when the slow-phase velocity of nystagmus is relatively high and the peak velocity of the head movements is relatively low. The suppression of quick phases during head impulses may help to improve steady fixation during rapid head movements.

Interior tomography from differential phase contrast data via Hilbert transform based on spline functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Qingsong; Cong, Wenxiang; Wang, Ge

2016-10-01

X-ray phase contrast imaging is an important mode due to its sensitivity to subtle features of soft biological tissues. Grating-based differential phase contrast (DPC) imaging is one of the most promising phase imaging techniques because it works with a normal x-ray tube of a large focal spot at a high flux rate. However, a main obstacle before this paradigm shift is the fabrication of large-area gratings of a small period and a high aspect ratio. Imaging large objects with a size-limited grating results in data truncation which is a new type of the interior problem. While the interior problem was solved for conventional x-ray CT through analytic extension, compressed sensing and iterative reconstruction, the difficulty for interior reconstruction from DPC data lies in that the implementation of the system matrix requires the differential operation on the detector array, which is often inaccurate and unstable in the case of noisy data. Here, we propose an iterative method based on spline functions. The differential data are first back-projected to the image space. Then, a system matrix is calculated whose components are the Hilbert transforms of the spline bases. The system matrix takes the whole image as an input and outputs the back-projected interior data. Prior information normally assumed for compressed sensing is enforced to iteratively solve this inverse problem. Our results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can successfully reconstruct an interior region of interest (ROI) from the differential phase data through the ROI.

A Method to Overcome Space Charge at Injection

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

Derbenev, Ya.

2005-06-08

The transverse space charge forces in a high current, low energy beam can be reduced by mean of a large increase of the beam's transverse sizes while maintaining the beam area in the 4D phase space. This can be achieved by transforming the beam area in phase space of each of two normal 2D transverse (either plane or circular) modes from a spot shape into a narrow ring of a large amplitude, but homogeneous in phase. Such a transformation results from the beam evolution in the island of a dipole resonance when the amplitude width of the island shrinks adiabatically.more » After stacking (by using stripping foils or cooling) the beam in such a state and accelerating to energies sufficiently high that the space charge becomes insignificant, the beam then can be returned back to a normal spot shape by applying the reverse transformation. An arrangement that can provide such beam gymnastics along a transport line after a linac and before a booster and/or in a ring with circulating beam will be described and numerical estimates will be presented. Other potential applications of the method will be briefly discussed.« less

A Method to Overcome Space Charge at Injection

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

Ya. Derbenev

2005-09-29

The transverse space charge forces in a high current, low energy beam can be reduced by mean of a large increase of the beam's transverse sizes while maintaining the beam area in the 4D phase space. This can be achieved by transforming the beam area in phase space of each of two normal 2D transverse (either plane or circular) modes from a spot shape into a narrow ring of a large amplitude, but homogeneous in phase. Such a transformation results from the beam evolution in the island of a dipole resonance when the amplitude width of the island shrinks adiabatically.more » After stacking (by using stripping foils or cooling) the beam in such a state and accelerating to energies sufficiently high that the space charge becomes insignificant, the beam then can be returned back to a normal spot shape by applying the reverse transformation. An arrangement that can provide such beam gymnastics along a transport line after a linac and before a booster and/or in a ring with circulating beam will be described and numerical estimates will be presented. Other potential applications of the method will be briefly discussed.« less

Preparative isolation and characterization of some minor impurities of astaxanthin by high-performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Rao, R Nageswara; Alvi, S Naseeruddin; Rao, B Nageswara

2005-05-27

A simple and rapid preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been developed to isolate and characterize some minor impurities of astaxanthin using a normal-phase Lichrosorb silica column with n-hexane-acetone-tetrahydrofuran (90:2:8, v/v/v) as mobile-phase and detection at 475 nm. The isolated impurities were characterized as astacene, dehydro astacene and apoastaxanthinal by UV-vis, ESI-MS, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and the molecular structures were assigned. The impurities collected using the developed conditions were over 98% pure.

High Temperature Superconductor Josephson Weak Links

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunt, B. D.; Barner, J. B.; Foote, M. C.; Vasquez, R. C.

1993-01-01

High T_c edge-geometry SNS microbridges have been fabricated using ion-damaged YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-x) (YBCO) and a nonsuperconducting phase of YBCO (N-YBCO) as normal metals. Optimization of the ion milling process used for YBCO edge formation and cleaning has resulted in ion-damage barrier devices which exhibit I-V characteristics consistent with the Resistively-Shunted-Junction (RSJ) model, with typical current densities (J_c) of approximately 5 x 10^6 A/cm^2 at 4.2 K. Characterization of N-YBCO films suggests that N-YBCO is the orthorhombic YBCO phase with oxygen disorder suppressing T_c...

Functional implications of muscle co-contraction during gait in advanced age.

PubMed

Lo, Justine; Lo, On-Yee; Olson, Erin A; Habtemariam, Daniel; Iloputaife, Ikechukwu; Gagnon, Margaret M; Manor, Brad; Lipsitz, Lewis A

2017-03-01

Older adults often exhibit high levels of lower extremity muscle co-contraction, which may be the cause or effect of age-related impairments in gait and associated falls. Normal gait requires intact executive function and thus can be slowed by challenging executive resources available to the neuromuscular system through the performance of a dual task. We therefore investigated associations between lower limb co-contraction and gait characteristics under normal and dual task conditions in healthy older adults (85.4±5.9years). We hypothesized that greater co-contraction is associated with slower gait speed during dual task conditions that stress executive and attentional abilities. Co-contraction was quantified during different phases of the gait cycle using surface electromyography (EMG) signals obtained from the anterior tibialis and lateral gastrocnemius while walking at preferred speed during normal and dual task conditions. Variables included the time difference to complete the Trail Making Test A and B (ΔTMT) and gait measures during normal or dual task walking. Higher co-contraction levels during the swing phase of both normal and dual task walking were associated with longer ΔTMT (normal: R 2 =0.25, p=0.02; dual task: R 2 =0.27, p=0.01). Co-contraction was associated with gait measures during dual task walking only; greater co-contraction levels during stride and stance were associated with slower gait speed (stride: R 2 =0.38, p=0.04; stance: R 2 =0.38, p=0.04), and greater co-contraction during stride was associated with longer stride time (R 2 =0.16, p=0.03). Our results suggest that relatively high lower limb co-contraction may explain some of the mobility impairments associated with the conduct of executive tasks in older adults. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lunar Phases and Emergency Department Visits for Renal Colic Due to Ureteral Calculus.

PubMed

Yang, Andy W; Johnson, Justin D; Fronczak, Carolyn M; LaGrange, Chad A

2016-01-01

Urolithiasis affects an estimated 5% of the population and the lifetime risk of passing a stone in the urinary tract is estimated to be 8-10%. Urinary calculus formation is highly variable and while certain risk factors such as age, gender, seasonality, anatomic abnormality, and metabolic diseases have been identified, not much is known regarding the association of environmental factors such as lunar phases on renal colic. We conducted a retrospective study to test the hypothesis that full moon phase is an environmental factor associated for increased emergency department (ED) visits for renal colic due to ureteral calculus. We analyzed 559 renal colic diagnoses by the ED at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in a 24-month period and compared them with corresponding lunar phases as well as supermoon events. The lunar phases were defined as full moon ± two days, new moon ± two days, and the days in-between as normal days according to the lunar calendar. Supermoon event dates were obtained from NASA. 90 cases (16.1%) were diagnosed during full moon phase, 89 cases (15.9%) were diagnosed during new moon phase, and 380 cases (68.0%) were diagnosed during normal days. The incidence of renal colic showed no statistically significant association with lunar phases or supermoon events. In this retrospective longitudinal study with adequate power, neither full moon phase nor supermoon event exhibited an association with increased renal colic diagnoses due to ureteral calculus by the ED at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Opposite nuclear level and binding activity of STAT5B and STAT3 proteins with rat haptoglobin gene under normal and turpentine induced acute phase conditions.

PubMed

Grigorov, I; Lazić, T; Cvetković, I; Milosavljević, T; Petrović, M

2001-01-01

Transcription of the rat gene encoding haptoglobin (Hp) is highly induced during acute phase (AP) response which has been previously shown to be mediated by inducible STAT3 member of the Signal Transducer and Activators of Transcription (STATs) family proteins. In this study, we observed that under normal but not in the turpentine induced AP conditions, another member of the STAT family proteins, STAT5b is expressed and binds to the hormone regulatory element (HRE) of the rat Hp gene. We found that the nuclear amounts of constitutively active STAT5b in rat liver decreased significantly with time of turpentine treatment as opposed to that of cytosol STAT5b, suggesting possible export of constitutive STAT5b from the nucleus. Nuclear accumulation and binding of inducible STAT3 proteins to the rat Hp gene HRE following turpentine treatment implicated that STAT5b negatively regulates Hp gene expression during normal conditions.

Metabolic influence of lead on polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production and phosphate uptake in activated sludge fed with glucose or acetic acid as carbon source.

PubMed

You, Sheng-Jie; Tsai, Yung-Pin; Cho, Bo-Chuan; Chou, Yi-Hsiu

2011-09-01

Sludge in a sequential batch reactor (SBR) system was used to investigate the effect of lead toxicity on metabolisms of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) communities fed with acetic acid or glucose as their sole carbon source, respectively. Results showed that the effect of lead on substrate utilization of both PAOs and GAOs was insignificant. However, lead substantially inhibited both of phosphate release and uptake of PAOs. In high concentration of acetic acid trials, an abnormal aerobic phosphate release was observed instead of phosphate uptake and the release rate increased with increasing lead concentration. Results also showed that PAOs could normally synthesize polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) in the anaerobic phase even though lead concentration was 40 mg L(-1). However, they could not aerobically utilize PHB normally in the presence of lead. On the other hand, GAOs could not normally metabolize polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) in both the anaerobic and aerobic phases. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-mode application of graphene quantum dots bonded silica stationary phase for high performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Wu, Qi; Sun, Yaming; Zhang, Xiaoli; Zhang, Xia; Dong, Shuqing; Qiu, Hongdeng; Wang, Litao; Zhao, Liang

2017-04-07

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs), which possess hydrophobic, hydrophilic, π-π stacking and hydrogen bonding properties, have great prospect in HPLC. In this study, a novel GQDs bonded silica stationary phase was prepared and applied in multiple separation modes including normal phase, reversed phase and hydrophilic chromatography mode. Alkaloids, nucleosides and nucleobases were chosen as test compounds to evaluate the separation performance of this column in hydrophilic chromatographic mode. The tested polar compounds achieved baseline separation and the resolutions reached 2.32, 4.62, 7.79, 1.68 for thymidine, uridine, adenosine, cytidine and guanosine. This new column showed satisfactory chromatographic performance for anilines, phenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in normal and reversed phase mode. Five anilines were completely separated within 10min under the condition of mobile phase containing only 10% methanol. The effect of water content, buffer concentration and pH on chromatographic separation was further investigated, founding that this new stationary phase showed a complex retention mechanism of partitioning, adsorption and electrostatic interaction in hydrophilic chromatography mode, and the multiple retention interactions such as π-π stacking and π-π electron-donor-acceptor interaction played an important role during the separation process. This GQDs bonded column, which allows us to adjust appropriate chromatography mode according to the properties of analytes, has possibility in actual application after further research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantitative evaluation of pancreatic tumor fibrosis using shear wave elastography.

PubMed

Kuwahara, Takamichi; Hirooka, Yoshiki; Kawashima, Hiroki; Ohno, Eizaburo; Sugimoto, Hiroyuki; Hayashi, Daijuro; Morishima, Tomomasa; Kawai, Manabu; Suhara, Hiroki; Takeyama, Tomoaki; Yamamura, Takeshi; Funasaka, Kohei; Nakamura, Masanao; Miyahara, Ryoji; Watanabe, Osamu; Ishigami, Masatoshi; Shimoyama, Yoshie; Nakamura, Shigeo; Hashimoto, Senju; Goto, Hidemi

There is no established non-invasive method for diagnosis of pancreatic fibrosis. Shear wave elastography (SW-EG) may be a candidate for this purpose. The aims of this study were to assess the reproducibility of SW-EG in the normal imaging pancreas (Phase 1) and to evaluate the diagnostic performance of SW-EG for pancreatic fibrosis classified histologically (Phase 2). Phase 1: This included 127 cases that underwent SW-EG of the normal imaging pancreas. SW-EG was measured at least five times in the pancreatic parenchyma and the median of repeated measurements was defined as the pancreatic elastic modulus (PEM). Phase 2: This included 53 cases that underwent SW-EG of the pancreatic parenchyma preoperatively and in which pancreas parenchyma were evaluated histologically. Histological fibrosis was graded in 4 stages: normal, mild, moderate, and severe. Phase 1: Median PEM in the head, body, and tail of the pancreas were 3.23, 3.17, and 2.91 kPa, respectively, with no significant difference among regions (P = 0.554). The intraclass correlation coefficient showed good reproducibility (ρ = 0.71) after 5 measurements. Phase 2: There was a significant positive correlation between PEM and the histological pancreatic fibrosis stage (r s  = 0.63, P < 0.001). Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the accuracy of SW-EG for diagnosis of pancreatic fibrosis were 0.85 (≥mild), 0.84 (≥moderate), and 0.87 (severe). SW-EG can be used to determine the stage of pancreatic fibrosis non-invasively with high accuracy and reproducibility. Copyright © 2016 IAP and EPC. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Conversion of wood residues to diesel fuel

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

Kuester, J.L.

1981-01-01

The basic approach is indirect liquefaction, i.e., thermal gasification followed by catalytic liquefaction. The indirect approach results in separation of the oxygen in the biomass feedstock, i.e., oxygenated compounds do not appear in the liquid hydrocarbon fuel product. The general conversion scheme is shown. The process is capable of accepting a wide variety of feedstocks. Potential products include medium quality gas, normal propanol, paraffinic fuel and/or high octane gasoline. A flow diagram of the continuous laboratory unit is shown. A fluidized bed pyrolysis system is used for gasification. Capacity is about 10 lbs/h of feedstock. The pyrolyzer can be fluidizedmore » with recycle pyrolysis gas, steam or recycle liquefaction system off gas or some combination thereof. Tars are removed in a wet scrubber. Unseparated pyrolysis gases are utilized as feed to a modified Fischer-Tropsch reactor. The liquid condensate from the reactor consists of a normal propanol-water phase and a paraffinic hydrocarbon phase. The reactor can be operated to optimize for either product. If a high octane gasoline is desired, the paraffinic fuel is passed through a conventional catalytic reformer. The normal propanol could be used as a fuel extender if blended with the hydrocarbon fuel products. Off gases from the downstream reactors are of high quality due to the accumulation of low molecular weight paraffins.« less

Lung cancer diagnosis with quantitative DIC microscopy and support vector machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Longfei; Cai, Shuangshuang; Zeng, Bixin; Xu, Min

2017-01-01

We report the study of lung squamous cell carcinoma diagnosis using the TI-DIC microscopy and the scattering-phase theorem. The spatially resolved optical properties of tissue are computed from the 2D phase map via the scattering-phase theorem. The scattering coefficient, the reduced scattering coefficient, and the anisotropy factor are all found to increase with the grade of lung cancer. The retrieved optical parameters are shown to distinguish cancer cases from the normal cases with high accuracy. This label-free microscopic approach applicable to fresh tissues may be promising for in situ rapid cancer diagnosis.

Chaos in generically coupled phase oscillator networks with nonpairwise interactions

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

Bick, Christian; Ashwin, Peter; Rodrigues, Ana

The Kuramoto–Sakaguchi system of coupled phase oscillators, where interaction between oscillators is determined by a single harmonic of phase differences of pairs of oscillators, has very simple emergent dynamics in the case of identical oscillators that are globally coupled: there is a variational structure that means the only attractors are full synchrony (in-phase) or splay phase (rotating wave/full asynchrony) oscillations and the bifurcation between these states is highly degenerate. Here we show that nonpairwise coupling—including three and four-way interactions of the oscillator phases—that appears generically at the next order in normal-form based calculations can give rise to complex emergent dynamicsmore » in symmetric phase oscillator networks. In particular, we show that chaos can appear in the smallest possible dimension of four coupled phase oscillators for a range of parameter values.« less

Behavior in normal and reduced gravity of an enclosed liquid/gas system with nonuniform heating from above

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, H. D.; Schiller, D. N.; Disimile, P.; Sirignano, W. A.

1989-01-01

The temperature and velocity fields have been investigated for a single-phase gas system and a two-layer gas-and-liquid system enclosed in a circular cylinder being heated suddenly and nonuniformly from above. The transient response of the gas, liquid, and container walls was modelled numerically in normal and reduced gravity (10 to the -5 g). Verification of the model was accomplished via flow visualization experiments in 10 cm high by 10 cm diameter plexiglass cylinders.

Noncontact measurement of elasticity for the detection of soft-tissue tumors using phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography combined with a focused air-puff system.

PubMed

Wang, Shang; Li, Jiasong; Manapuram, Ravi Kiran; Menodiado, Floredes M; Ingram, Davis R; Twa, Michael D; Lazar, Alexander J; Lev, Dina C; Pollock, Raphael E; Larin, Kirill V

2012-12-15

We report on an optical noncontact method for the detection of soft-tissue tumors based on the measurement of their elasticity. A focused air-puff system is used to excite surface waves (SWs) on soft tissues with transient static pressure. A high-speed phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography system is used to measure the SWs as they propagate from the point of excitation. To evaluate the stiffness of soft tissues, the Young's modulus is quantified based on the group velocity of SWs. Pilot experiments were performed on ex vivo human myxoma and normal fat. Results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method to measure elasticity and differentiate soft-tissue tumors from normal tissues.

Separation of both fibrous and globular proteins on the basis of molecular weight using high-performance size exclusion chromatography.

PubMed

Barden, J A

1983-11-01

A high-performance size exclusion liquid chromatographic system has been used to separate proteins with different shapes solely on the basis of their molecular weights. After the effects of ionic and hydrophobic interactions with the stationary phase have been overcome, protein elution is normally governed by their effective size in solution. Conditions are described under which proteins, with isoelectric points within the normal operating pH range of the columns, are eluted independent of their Stokes' radii. Even fibrous proteins with axial ratios of 50 elute according to their known molecular weights over the range 2000-2,000,000.

Dynamics of mode-coupling-induced microresonator frequency combs in normal dispersion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jang, Jae K.; Okawachi, Yoshitomo; Yu, Mengjie; Luke, Kevin; Ji, Xingchen; Lipson, Michal; Gaeta, Alexander L.

2016-12-01

We experimentally and theoretically investigate the dynamics of microresonator-based frequency comb generation assisted by mode coupling in the normal group-velocity dispersion (GVD) regime. We show that mode coupling can initiate intracavity modulation instability (MI) by directly perturbing the pump-resonance mode. We also observe the formation of a low-noise comb as the pump frequency is tuned further into resonance from the MI point. We determine the phase-matching conditions that accurately predict all the essential features of the MI and comb spectra, and extend the existing analogy between mode coupling and high-order dispersion to the normal GVD regime. We discuss the applicability of our analysis to the possibility of broadband comb generation in the normal GVD regime.

Influence of calcium depletion on iron-binding properties of milk.

PubMed

Mittal, V A; Ellis, A; Ye, A; Das, S; Singh, H

2015-04-01

We investigated the effects of calcium depletion on the binding of iron in milk. A weakly acidic cation-exchange resin was used to remove 3 different levels (18-22, 50-55, and 68-72%) of calcium from milk. Five levels of iron (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 mM) were added to each of these calcium-depleted milks (CDM) and the resultant milks were analyzed for particle size, microstructure, and the distribution of protein and minerals between the colloidal and soluble phases. The depletion of calcium affected the distribution of protein and minerals in normal milk. Iron added to normal milk and low-CDM (~20% calcium depletion) bound mainly to the colloidal phase (material sedimented at 100,000 × g for 1 h at 20 °C), with little effect on the integrity of the casein micelles. Depletion of ~70% of the calcium from milk resulted in almost complete disintegration of the casein micelles, as indicated by all the protein remaining in the soluble phase upon ultracentrifugation. Addition of up to ~20 mM iron to high CDM resulted in the formation of small fibrous structures that remained in the soluble phase of milk. It appeared that the iron bound to soluble (nonsedimentable) caseins in high-CDM. We observed a decrease in the aqueous phosphorus content of all milks upon iron addition, irrespective of their calcium content. We considered the interaction between aqueous phosphorus and added iron to be responsible for the high iron-binding capacity of the proteins in milk. The soluble protein-iron complexes formed in high-CDM (~70% calcium depletion) could be used as an effective iron fortificant for a range of food products because of their good solubility characteristics. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

THE LIGHT CURVE OF HERCULES X-1 AS OBSERVED BY THE ROSSI X-RAY TIMING EXPLORER

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

Leahy, D. A.; Igna, Ciprian, E-mail: leahy@ucalgary.ca

2011-07-20

Analysis of the light curve of Hercules X-1 using the full set of archival observations of Hercules X-1 by the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer/Proportional Counter Array (RXTE/PCA) is reported. The observations cover time periods that Her X-1 is in main high, short high, and low states, and an anomalous low state (ALS). They include over 1.4 Ms of net exposure time. We present 35 day and orbital phase folded light curves of the count rates and softness ratios, showing the range of behaviors of Her X-1 with the high sensitivity of the RXTE/PCA. New phenomena are uncovered and previous phenomenamore » are seen in greater detail. For both main high and short high states, the fraction of time in dips is found to be a function of orbital phase and of 35 day phase. It increases steadily with orbital phase past orbital phase 0.3 and is higher at the start and end of both main high and short high states. It is higher for short high state (62%) than for main high state (28%). The normal low state data and ALS data are compared: the low state count rate is {approx}twice as high as for ALS data. The 2-4 keV to 9-20 keV softness ratio changes smoothly with orbital phase for low states and ALSs, and is indistinguishable between the two, yet very different than for the high states. This supports models for which the cause of the ALS is changed disk geometry that prevents a direct line of sight from neutron star to observer at all 35 day phases.« less

Graphical Procedure for Comparing Thermal Death of Bacillus stearothermophilus Spores in Saturated and Superheated Steam

PubMed Central

Shull, James J.; Ernst, Robert R.

1962-01-01

The thermal death curve of dried spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus in saturated steam was characterized by three phases: (i) a sharp initial rise in viable count; (ii) a low rate of death which gradually increased; and (iii) logarithmic death at maximal rate. The first phase was a reflection of inadequate heat activation of the spore population. The second and third phases represented the characteristic thermal death curve of the spores in saturated steam. A jacketed steam sterilizer, equipped with a system for initial evacuation of the chamber, was examined for superheat during normal operation. Measurements of spore inactivation and temperature revealed superheat in surface layers of fabrics being processed in steam at 121 C. The high temperature of the fabric surfaces was attributed to absorption of excess heat energy from superheated steam. The superheated steam was produced at the beginning of the normal sterilizing cycle by transfer of heat from the steam-heated jacket to saturated steam entering the vessel. PMID:13988774

Quaternary ammonium-functionalized silica sorbents for the solid-phase extraction of aromatic amines under normal phase conditions.

PubMed

Vidal, Lorena; Robin, Orlane; Parshintsev, Jevgeni; Mikkola, Jyri-Pekka; Riekkola, Marja-Liisa

2013-04-12

Quaternary ammonium-functionalized silica materials were synthesized and applied for solid-phase extraction (SPE) of aromatic amines, which are classified as priority pollutants by US Environmental Protection Agency. Hexamethylenetetramine used for silica surface modification for the first time was employed as SPE sorbent under normal phase conditions. Hexaminium-functionalized silica demonstrated excellent extraction efficiencies for o-toluidine, 4-ethylaniline and quinoline (recoveries 101-107%), while for N,N-dimethylaniline and N-isopropylaniline recoveries were from low to moderate (14-46%). In addition, the suitability of 1-alkyl-3-(propyl-3-sulfonate) imidazolium-functionalized silica as SPE sorbent was tested under normal phase conditions. The recoveries achieved for the five aromatic amines ranged from 89 to 99%. The stability of the sorbent was evaluated during and after 150 extractions. Coefficients of variation between 4.5 and 10.2% proved a high stability of the synthesized sorbent. Elution was carried out using acetonitrile in the case of hexaminium-functionalized silica and water for 1-alkyl-3-(propyl-3-sulfonate) imidazolium-functionalized silica sorbent. After the extraction the analytes were separated and detected by liquid chromatography ultraviolet detection (LC-UV). The retention mechanism of the materials was primarily based on polar hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions. Comparison made with activated silica proved the quaternary ammonium-functionalized materials to offer different selectivity and better extraction efficiencies for aromatic amines. Finally, 1-alkyl-3-(propyl-3-sulfonate) imidazolium-functionalized silica sorbent was successfully tested for the extraction of wastewater and soil samples. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Correlation matching method for high-precision position detection of optical vortex using Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor.

PubMed

Huang, Chenxi; Huang, Hongxin; Toyoda, Haruyoshi; Inoue, Takashi; Liu, Huafeng

2012-11-19

We propose a new method for realizing high-spatial-resolution detection of singularity points in optical vortex beams. The method uses a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWS) to record a Hartmanngram. A map of evaluation values related to phase slope is then calculated from the Hartmanngram. The position of an optical vortex is determined by comparing the map with reference maps that are calculated from numerically created spiral phases having various positions. Optical experiments were carried out to verify the method. We displayed various spiral phase distribution patterns on a phase-only spatial light modulator and measured the resulting singularity point using the proposed method. The results showed good linearity in detecting the position of singularity points. The RMS error of the measured position of the singularity point was approximately 0.056, in units normalized to the lens size of the lenslet array used in the SHWS.

Superconducting resonator used as a beam phase detector.

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

Sharamentov, S. I.; Pardo, R. C.; Ostroumov, P. N.

2003-05-01

Beam-bunch arrival time has been measured for the first time by operating superconducting cavities, normally part of the linac accelerator array, in a bunch-detecting mode. The very high Q of the superconducting cavities provides high sensitivity and allows for phase-detecting low-current beams. In detecting mode, the resonator is operated at a very low field level comparable to the field induced by the bunched beam. Because of this, the rf field in the cavity is a superposition of a 'pure' (or reference) rf and the beam-induced signal. A new method of circular phase rotation (CPR), allowing extraction of the beam phasemore » information from the composite rf field was developed. Arrival time phase determination with CPR is better than 1{sup o} (at 48 MHz) for a beam current of 100 nA. The electronics design is described and experimental data are presented.« less

Study protocol for a phase II dose evaluation randomized controlled trial of cholecalciferol in critically ill children with vitamin D deficiency (VITdAL-PICU study).

PubMed

McNally, Dayre; Amrein, Karin; O'Hearn, Katharine; Fergusson, Dean; Geier, Pavel; Henderson, Matt; Khamessan, Ali; Lawson, Margaret L; McIntyre, Lauralyn; Redpath, Stephanie; Weiler, Hope A; Menon, Kusum

2017-01-01

Clinical research has recently demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is highly prevalent in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and associated with worse clinical course. Multiple adult ICU trials have suggested that optimization of vitamin D status through high-dose supplementation may reduce mortality and improve other clinically relevant outcomes; however, there have been no trials of rapid normalization in the PICU setting. The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of an enteral weight-based cholecalciferol loading dose regimen in critically ill children with VDD. The VITdAL-PICU pilot study is designed as a multicenter placebo-controlled phase II dose evaluation pilot randomized controlled trial. We aim to randomize 67 VDD critically ill children using a 2:1 randomization schema to receive loading dose enteral cholecalciferol (10,000 IU/kg, maximum of 400,000 IU) or a placebo solution. Participants, caregivers and outcome assessors will be blinded to allocation. Eligibility criteria include ICU patient, aged 37 weeks to 18 years, expected ICU length of stay more than 48 h, anticipated access to bloodwork at 7 days, and VDD (blood total 25 hydroxyvitamin D < 50 nmol/L). The primary objective is to determine whether the dosing protocol normalizes vitamin D status, defined as a blood total 25(OH)D concentration above 75 nmol/L. Secondary objectives include an examination of the safety of the dosing regimen (e.g. hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, nephrocalcinosis), measures of vitamin D axis function (e.g. calcitriol levels, immune function), and protocol feasibility (eligibility criteria, protocol deviations, blinding). Despite significant observational literature suggesting VDD to be a modifiable risk factor in the PICU setting, there is no robust clinical trial evidence evaluating the benefits of rapid normalization. This phase II clinical trial will evaluate an innovative weight-based dosing regimen intended to rapidly and safely normalize vitamin D levels in critically ill children. Study findings will be used to inform the design of a multicenter phase III trial evaluating the clinical and economic benefits to rapid normalization. Recruitment for this trial was initiated in January 2016 and is expected to continue until November 30, 2017. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02452762.

A reversed-phase compatible thin-layer chromatography autography for the detection of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

PubMed

Ramallo, I Ayelen; García, Paula; Furlan, Ricardo L E

2015-11-01

A dual readout autographic assay to detect acetylcholinesterase inhibitors present in complex matrices adsorbed on reversed-phase or normal-phase thin-layer chromatography plates is described. Enzyme gel entrapment with an amphiphilic copolymer was used for assay development. The effects of substrate and enzyme concentrations, pH, incubation time, and incubation temperature on the sensitivity and the detection limit of the assay were evaluated. Experimental design and response surface methodology were used to optimize conditions with a minimum number of experiments. The assay allowed the detection of 0.01% w/w of physostigmine in both a spiked Sonchus oleraceus L. extract chromatographed on normal phase and a spiked Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) J.W. Moore leaf essential oil chromatographed on reversed phase. Finally, the reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography assay was applied to reveal the presence of an inhibitor in the Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf essential oil. The developed assay is able to detect acetylcholinesterase inhibitors present in complex matrixes that were chromatographed in normal phase or reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography. The detection limit for physostigmine on both normal and reversed phase was of 1×10(-4) μg. The results can be read by a change in color and/or a change in fluorescence. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of hyaluronan oligosaccharides with high performance thin layer chromatography using reagent-free derivatization on amino-modified silica and electrospray ionization-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupling on normal phase.

PubMed

Rothenhöfer, Martin; Scherübl, Rosmarie; Bernhardt, Günther; Heilmann, Jörg; Buschauer, Armin

2012-07-27

Purified oligomers of hyalobiuronic acid are indispensable tools to elucidate the physiological and pathophysiological role of hyaluronan degradation by various hyaluronidase isoenzymes. Therefore, we established and validated a novel sensitive, convenient, rapid, and cost-effective high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of small saturated hyaluronan oligosaccharides consisting of 2-4 hyalobiuronic acid moieties. The use of amino-modified silica as stationary phase allows a simple reagent-free in situ derivatization by heating, resulting in a very low limit of detection (7-19 pmol per band, depending on the analyzed saturated oligosaccharide). By this derivatization procedure for the first time densitometric quantification of the analytes could be performed by HPTLC. The validated method showed a quantification limit of 37-71 pmol per band and was proven to be superior in comparison to conventional detection of hyaluronan oligosaccharides. The analytes were identified by hyphenation of normal phase planar chromatography to mass spectrometry (TLC-MS) using electrospray ionization. As an alternative to sequential techniques such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE), the validated HPTLC quantification method can easily be automated and is applicable to the analysis of multiple samples in parallel. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electronic structure Fermi liquid theory of high Tc superconductors: Comparison of predictions with experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, Jaejun; Freeman, A. J.

1991-01-01

Predictions of local density functional (LDF) calculations of the electronic structure and transport properties of high T(sub c) superconductors are presented. As evidenced by the excellent agreement with both photoemission and positron annihilation experiments, a Fermi liquid nature of the 'normal' state of the high T(sub c) superconductors become clear for the metallic phase of these oxides. In addition, LDF predictions on the normal state transport properties are qualitatively in agreement with experiments on single crystals. It is emphasized that the signs of the Hall coefficients for the high T(sub c) superconductors are not consistent with the types of dopants (e.g., electron-doped or hole-doped) but are determined by the topology of the Fermi surfaces obtained from the LDF calculations.

A broadband high-transmission gradient phase discontinuity metasurface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yahong; Liu, Congcong; Song, Kun; Li, Meize; Zhao, Xiaopeng

2018-03-01

Metasurfaces have attracted significant attention due to the control of the electromagnetic waves that they enable. In this paper, we demonstrate a high-transmission gradient phase discontinuity metasurface composed of metallic rods and cylindrical dielectric resonators operating at a broadband microwave frequency from 8 GHz to 9.8 GHz, with a fractional bandwidth of 20.2%. The proposed gradient phase discontinuity metasurface can achieve complete 2π transmission phase coverage with π/4 phase intervals by varying the geometric parameters of the dielectric resonators and metallic rods. It is shown that the proposed metasurface can refract a normally incident plane wave to an angle of 30°. The broadband metasurface is flexible, and the refracted angle can be adjusted easily by varying the lattice constant. Besides the broadband anomalous refraction, we also demonstrate the metasurface can produce an interesting vortex and wave-focusing in the wide frequency range from 8 GHz to 9.8 GHz. Finally, we demonstrate that the present metasurface can tailor interference wavefronts to plane wavefronts.

Molecular Beam Epitaxy of lithium niobium oxide multifunctional materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tellekamp, M. Brooks; Shank, Joshua C.; Doolittle, W. Alan

2017-04-01

The role of stoichiometry and growth temperature in the preferential nucleation of material phases in the Li-Nb-O family are explored yielding an empirical growth phase diagram. It is shown that while single parameter variation often produces multi-phase films, combining substrate temperature control with the previously published lithium flux limited growth allows the repeatable growth of high quality single crystalline films of many different oxide phases. Higher temperatures (800-1050 °C) than normally used in MBE were necessary to achieve high quality materials. At these temperatures the desorption of surface species is shown to play an important role in film composition. Using this method single phase films of NbO, NbO2, LiNbO2, Li3NbO4, LiNbO3, and LiNb3O8 have been achieved in the same growth system, all on c-plane sapphire. Finally, the future of these films in functional oxide heterostructures is briefly discussed.

Comparing two tetraalkylammonium ionic liquids. II. Phase transitions.

PubMed

Lima, Thamires A; Paschoal, Vitor H; Faria, Luiz F O; Ribeiro, Mauro C C; Ferreira, Fabio F; Costa, Fanny N; Giles, Carlos

2016-06-14

Phase transitions of the ionic liquids n-butyl-trimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, [N1114][NTf2], and methyl-tributylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, [N1444][NTf2], were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, and Raman spectroscopy. XRD and Raman spectra were obtained as a function of temperature at atmospheric pressure, and also under high pressure at room temperature using a diamond anvil cell (DAC). [N1444][NTf2] experiences glass transition at low temperature, whereas [N1114][NTf2] crystallizes or not depending on the cooling rate. Both the ionic liquids exhibit glass transition under high pressure. XRD and low-frequency Raman spectra provide a consistent physical picture of structural ordering-disordering accompanying the thermal events of crystallization, glass transition, cold crystallization, pre-melting, and melting. Raman spectra in the high-frequency range of some specific cation and anion normal modes reveal conformational changes of the molecular structures along phase transitions.

Bidentate urea-based chiral selectors for enantioselective high performance liquid chromatography: synthesis and evaluation of "Crab-like" stationary phases.

PubMed

Kotoni, Dorina; Villani, Claudio; Bell, David S; Capitani, Donatella; Campiglia, Pietro; Gasparrini, Francesco

2013-07-05

A rational approach for the design and preparation of two new "Crab-like" totally synthetic, brush-type chiral stationary phases is presented. Enantiopure diamines, namely 1,2-diaminocyclohexane and 1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethylene-diamine were treated with 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl isocyanate, to yield reactive ureido selectors that were eventually attached to unmodified silica particles through a stable, bidentate tether, through a facile two-step one-pot procedure. A full chemical characterization of the new materials has been obtained through solid-state NMR (both (29)Si and (13)C CPMAS) spectroscopy. Columns packed with the two Crab-like chiral stationary phases allow for different mechanisms of separation: normal phase liquid chromatography, reversed phase liquid chromatography and polar organic mode and show a high stability at basic pH values. In particular, the Crab-like column containing the 1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethylene-diamine selector proved a promising candidate for the resolution of a wide range of racemates (including benzodiazepines, N-derivatized amino acids, and free carboxylic acids) both in normal phase and polar organic mode. An Hmin of 9.57 at a μsf of 0.80mm/s (corresponding to 0.8mL/min) was obtained through van Deemter analysis, based on toluene, for the Crab-like column with the 1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethylene-diamine selector (250mm×4.6mm I.D.), with a calculated reduced height equivalent to a theoretical plate (h) of only 1.91. Finally, comparative studies were performed with a polymeric commercially available P-CAP-DP column in order to evaluate enantioselectivity and resolution of the Crab-like columns. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Advanced photoinjector experiment photogun commissioning results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sannibale, F.; Filippetto, D.; Papadopoulos, C. F.; Staples, J.; Wells, R.; Bailey, B.; Baptiste, K.; Corlett, J.; Cork, C.; De Santis, S.; Dimaggio, S.; Doolittle, L.; Doyle, J.; Feng, J.; Garcia Quintas, D.; Huang, G.; Huang, H.; Kramasz, T.; Kwiatkowski, S.; Lellinger, R.; Moroz, V.; Norum, W. E.; Padmore, H.; Pappas, C.; Portmann, G.; Vecchione, T.; Vinco, M.; Zolotorev, M.; Zucca, F.

2012-10-01

The Advanced Photoinjector Experiment (APEX) at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is dedicated to the development of a high-brightness high-repetition rate (MHz-class) electron injector for x-ray free-electron laser (FEL) and other applications where high repetition rates and high brightness are simultaneously required. The injector is based on a new concept rf gun utilizing a normal-conducting (NC) cavity resonating in the VHF band at 186 MHz, and operating in continuous wave (cw) mode in conjunction with high quantum efficiency photocathodes capable of delivering the required charge at MHz repetition rates with available laser technology. The APEX activities are staged in three phases. In phase 0, the NC cw gun is built and tested to demonstrate the major milestones to validate the gun design and performance. Also, starting in phase 0 and continuing in phase I, different photocathodes are tested at the gun energy and at full repetition rate for validating candidate materials to operate in a high-repetition rate FEL. In phase II, a room-temperature pulsed linac is added for accelerating the beam at several tens of MeV to reduce space charge effects and allow the measurement of the brightness of the beam from the gun when integrated in an injector scheme. The installation of the phase 0 beam line and the commissioning of the VHF gun are completed, phase I components are under fabrication, and initial design and specification of components and layout for phase II are under way. This paper presents the phase 0 commissioning results with emphasis on the experimental milestones that have successfully demonstrated the APEX gun capability of operating at the required performance.

Studies of two phase flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Witte, Larry C.

1994-01-01

The development of instrumentation for the support of research in two-phase flow in simulated microgravity conditions was performed. The funds were expended in the development of a technique for characterizing the motion and size distribution of small liquid droplets dispersed in a flowing gas. Phenomena like this occur in both microgravity and normal earth gravity situations inside of conduits that are carrying liquid-vapor mixtures at high flow rates. Some effort to develop a conductance probe for the measurement of liquid film thickness was also expended.

High Velocity Jet Noise Source Location and Reduction. Task 3 - Experimental Investigation of Suppression Principles. Volume I. Suppressor Concepts Optimization

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-12-01

multinational corporation in the 1960’s placed extreme emphasis on the need for effective and efficient noise suppression devices. Phase I of work...through model and engine testing applicable to an afterburning turbojet engine. Suppressor designs were based primarily on empirical methods. Phase II...using "ray" acoustics. This method is in contrast to the purely empirical method which consists of the curve -fitting of normalized data. In order to

Theoretical and Experimental Investigations on Droplet Evaporation and Droplet Ignition at High Pressures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ristau, R.; Nagel, U.; Iglseder, H.; Koenig, J.; Rath, H. J.; Normura, H.; Kono, M.; Tanabe, M.; Sato, J.

1993-01-01

The evaporation of fuel droplets under high ambient pressure and temperature in normal gravity and microgravity has been investigated experimentally. For subcritical ambient conditions, droplet evaporation after a heat-up period follows the d(exp 2)-law. For all data the evaporation constant increases as the ambient temperature increases. At identical ambient conditions the evaporation constant under microgravity is smaller compared to normal gravity. This effect can first be observed at 1 bar and increases with ambient pressure. Preliminary experiments on ignition delay for self-igniting fuel droplets have been performed. Above a 1 s delay time, at identical ambient conditions, significant differences in the results of the normal and microgravity data are observed. Self-ignition occurs within different temperature ranges due to the influence of gravity. The time dependent behavior of the droplet is examined theoretically. In the calculations two different approaches for the gas phase are applied. In the first approach the conditions at the interface are given using a quasi steady theory approximation. The second approach uses a set of time dependent governing equations for the gas phase which are then evaluated. In comparison, the second model shows a better agreement with the drop tower experiments. In both cases a time dependent gasification rate is observed.

Analytical approximations for effective relative permeability in the capillary limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabinovich, Avinoam; Li, Boxiao; Durlofsky, Louis J.

2016-10-01

We present an analytical method for calculating two-phase effective relative permeability, krjeff, where j designates phase (here CO2 and water), under steady state and capillary-limit assumptions. These effective relative permeabilities may be applied in experimental settings and for upscaling in the context of numerical flow simulations, e.g., for CO2 storage. An exact solution for effective absolute permeability, keff, in two-dimensional log-normally distributed isotropic permeability (k) fields is the geometric mean. We show that this does not hold for krjeff since log normality is not maintained in the capillary-limit phase permeability field (Kj=k·krj) when capillary pressure, and thus the saturation field, is varied. Nevertheless, the geometric mean is still shown to be suitable for approximating krjeff when the variance of ln⁡k is low. For high-variance cases, we apply a correction to the geometric average gas effective relative permeability using a Winsorized mean, which neglects large and small Kj values symmetrically. The analytical method is extended to anisotropically correlated log-normal permeability fields using power law averaging. In these cases, the Winsorized mean treatment is applied to the gas curves for cases described by negative power law exponents (flow across incomplete layers). The accuracy of our analytical expressions for krjeff is demonstrated through extensive numerical tests, using low-variance and high-variance permeability realizations with a range of correlation structures. We also present integral expressions for geometric-mean and power law average krjeff for the systems considered, which enable derivation of closed-form series solutions for krjeff without generating permeability realizations.

Semiconductor diode laser having an intracavity spatial phase controller for beam control and switching

DOEpatents

Hohimer, John P.

1994-01-01

A high-power broad-area semiconductor laser having a intracavity spatial phase controller is disclosed. The integrated intracavity spatial phase controller is easily formed by patterning an electrical contact metallization layer when fabricating the semiconductor laser. This spatial phase controller changes the normally broad far-field emission beam of such a laser into a single-lobed near-diffraction-limited beam at pulsed output powers of over 400 mW. Two operating modes, a thermal and a gain operating mode, exist for the phase controller, allowing for steering and switching the beam as the modes of operation are switched, and the emission beam may be scanned, for example, over a range of 1.4 degrees or switched by 8 degrees. More than one spatial phase controller may be integrated into the laser structure.

Semiconductor diode laser having an intracavity spatial phase controller for beam control and switching

DOEpatents

Hohimer, J.P.

1994-06-07

A high-power broad-area semiconductor laser having a intracavity spatial phase controller is disclosed. The integrated intracavity spatial phase controller is easily formed by patterning an electrical contact metallization layer when fabricating the semiconductor laser. This spatial phase controller changes the normally broad far-field emission beam of such a laser into a single-lobed near-diffraction-limited beam at pulsed output powers of over 400 mW. Two operating modes, a thermal and a gain operating mode, exist for the phase controller, allowing for steering and switching the beam as the modes of operation are switched, and the emission beam may be scanned, for example, over a range of 1.4 degrees or switched by 8 degrees. More than one spatial phase controller may be integrated into the laser structure. 6 figs.

Fast angular synchronization for phase retrieval via incomplete information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viswanathan, Aditya; Iwen, Mark

2015-08-01

We consider the problem of recovering the phase of an unknown vector, x ∈ ℂd, given (normalized) phase difference measurements of the form xjxk*/|xjxk*|, j,k ∈ {1,...,d}, and where xj* denotes the complex conjugate of xj. This problem is sometimes referred to as the angular synchronization problem. This paper analyzes a linear-time-in-d eigenvector-based angular synchronization algorithm and studies its theoretical and numerical performance when applied to a particular class of highly incomplete and possibly noisy phase difference measurements. Theoretical results are provided for perfect (noiseless) measurements, while numerical simulations demonstrate the robustness of the method to measurement noise. Finally, we show that this angular synchronization problem and the specific form of incomplete phase difference measurements considered arise in the phase retrieval problem - where we recover an unknown complex vector from phaseless (or magnitude) measurements.

The Geometric Phase of Stock Trading.

PubMed

Altafini, Claudio

2016-01-01

Geometric phases describe how in a continuous-time dynamical system the displacement of a variable (called phase variable) can be related to other variables (shape variables) undergoing a cyclic motion, according to an area rule. The aim of this paper is to show that geometric phases can exist also for discrete-time systems, and even when the cycles in shape space have zero area. A context in which this principle can be applied is stock trading. A zero-area cycle in shape space represents the type of trading operations normally carried out by high-frequency traders (entering and exiting a position on a fast time-scale), while the phase variable represents the cash balance of a trader. Under the assumption that trading impacts stock prices, even zero-area cyclic trading operations can induce geometric phases, i.e., profits or losses, without affecting the stock quote.

Establishing a baseline phase behavior in magnetic resonance imaging to determine normal vs. abnormal iron content in the brain.

PubMed

Haacke, E Mark; Ayaz, Muhammad; Khan, Asadullah; Manova, Elena S; Krishnamurthy, Bharani; Gollapalli, Lakshman; Ciulla, Carlo; Kim, I; Petersen, Floyd; Kirsch, Wolff

2007-08-01

To establish a baseline of phase differences between tissues in a number of regions of the human brain as a means of detecting iron abnormalities using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A fully flow-compensated, three-dimensional (3D), high-resolution, gradient-echo (GRE) susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) sequence was used to collect magnitude and phase data at 1.5 T. The phase images were high-pass-filtered and processed region by region with hand-drawn areas. The regions evaluated included the motor cortex (MC), putamen (PUT), globus pallidus (GP), caudate nucleus (CN), substantia nigra (SN), and red nucleus (RN). A total of 75 subjects, ranging in age from 55 to 89 years, were analyzed. The phase was found to have a Gaussian-like distribution with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.046 radians on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Most regions of interest (ROIs) contained at least 100 pixels, giving a standard error of the mean (SEM) of 0.0046 radians or less. In the MC, phase differences were found to be roughly 0.273 radians between CSF and gray matter (GM), and 0.083 radians between CSF and white matter (WM). The difference between CSF and the GP was 0.201 radians, and between CSF and the CN (head) it was 0.213 radians. For CSF and the PUT (the lower outer part) the difference was 0.449 radians, and between CSF and the RN (third slice vascularized region) it was 0.353 radians. Finally, the phase difference between CSF and SN was 0.345 radians. The Gaussian-like distributions in phase make it possible to predict deviations from normal phase behavior for tissues in the brain. Using phase as an iron marker may be useful for studying absorption of iron in diseases such as Parkinson's, Huntington's, neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA), Alzheimer's, and multiple sclerosis (MS), and other iron-related diseases. The phases quoted here will serve as a baseline for future studies that look for changes in iron content. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Abdicating power for control: a precision timing strategy to modulate function of flight power muscles.

PubMed

Sponberg, S; Daniel, T L

2012-10-07

Muscles driving rhythmic locomotion typically show strong dependence of power on the timing or phase of activation. This is particularly true in insects' main flight muscles, canonical examples of muscles thought to have a dedicated power function. However, in the moth (Manduca sexta), these muscles normally activate at a phase where the instantaneous slope of the power-phase curve is steep and well below maximum power. We provide four lines of evidence demonstrating that, contrary to the current paradigm, the moth's nervous system establishes significant control authority in these muscles through precise timing modulation: (i) left-right pairs of flight muscles normally fire precisely, within 0.5-0.6 ms of each other; (ii) during a yawing optomotor response, left-right muscle timing differences shift throughout a wider 8 ms timing window, enabling at least a 50 per cent left-right power differential; (iii) timing differences correlate with turning torque; and (iv) the downstroke power muscles alone causally account for 47 per cent of turning torque. To establish (iv), we altered muscle activation during intact behaviour by stimulating individual muscle potentials to impose left-right timing differences. Because many organisms also have muscles operating with high power-phase gains (Δ(power)/Δ(phase)), this motor control strategy may be ubiquitous in locomotor systems.

Abdicating power for control: a precision timing strategy to modulate function of flight power muscles

PubMed Central

Sponberg, S.; Daniel, T. L.

2012-01-01

Muscles driving rhythmic locomotion typically show strong dependence of power on the timing or phase of activation. This is particularly true in insects' main flight muscles, canonical examples of muscles thought to have a dedicated power function. However, in the moth (Manduca sexta), these muscles normally activate at a phase where the instantaneous slope of the power–phase curve is steep and well below maximum power. We provide four lines of evidence demonstrating that, contrary to the current paradigm, the moth's nervous system establishes significant control authority in these muscles through precise timing modulation: (i) left–right pairs of flight muscles normally fire precisely, within 0.5–0.6 ms of each other; (ii) during a yawing optomotor response, left—right muscle timing differences shift throughout a wider 8 ms timing window, enabling at least a 50 per cent left–right power differential; (iii) timing differences correlate with turning torque; and (iv) the downstroke power muscles alone causally account for 47 per cent of turning torque. To establish (iv), we altered muscle activation during intact behaviour by stimulating individual muscle potentials to impose left—right timing differences. Because many organisms also have muscles operating with high power–phase gains (Δpower/Δphase), this motor control strategy may be ubiquitous in locomotor systems. PMID:22833272

Three-dimensional characterisation and simulation of deformation and damage during Taylor impact in PTFE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Resnyansky, A. D.; McDonald, S. A.; Withers, P. J.; Bourne, N. K.; Millett, J. C. F.; Brown, E. N.; Rae, P. J.

2014-05-01

The current work presents Taylor impact experiments interrogating the effect of dynamic, high-pressure loading on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). In particular, X-ray microtomography has been used to characterise the damage imparted to cylindrical samples due to impact at different velocities. Distinct regions of deformation are present and controlled by fracture within the polymer, with the extent of the deformed region and increasing propagation of fractures from the impact face showing a clear trend with increasing impact velocity. A two-phase rate sensitive strength model is implemented in the CTH hydrocode and used for simulation of the problem. The high-pressure phase transition of PTFE into Phase III within the crystalline domains from the polymer at normal conditions is managed by suitable phase transition kinetics within the model. The experimental observations are discussed with respect to the multi-phase model hydrocode predictions of the shock response from Taylor impact simulations. The damage and its progress are shown to correlate well with the onset of the phase transition and its evolution following the impact velocity increase.

Phase-incoherent superconducting pairs in the normal state of Ba(Fe(1-x)Co(x))₂As₂.

PubMed

Sheet, Goutam; Mehta, Manan; Dikin, D A; Lee, S; Bark, C W; Jiang, J; Weiss, J D; Hellstrom, E E; Rzchowski, M S; Eom, C B; Chandrasekhar, V

2010-10-15

The normal state properties of the recently discovered ferropnictide superconductors might hold the key to understanding their exotic superconductivity. Using point-contact spectroscopy we show that Andreev reflection between an epitaxial thin film of Ba(Fe(0.92)Co(0.08))₂As₂ and a silver tip can be seen in the normal state of the film up to temperature T∼1.3T(c), where T(c) is the critical temperature of the superconductor. Andreev reflection far above T(c) can be understood only when superconducting pairs arising from strong fluctuation of the phase of the complex superconducting order parameter exist in the normal state. Our results provide spectroscopic evidence of phase-incoherent superconducting pairs in the normal state of the ferropnictide superconductors.

Three-dimensional finite analysis of acetabular contact pressure and contact area during normal walking.

PubMed

Wang, Guangye; Huang, Wenjun; Song, Qi; Liang, Jinfeng

2017-11-01

This study aims to analyze the contact areas and pressure distributions between the femoral head and mortar during normal walking using a three-dimensional finite element model (3D-FEM). Computed tomography (CT) scanning technology and a computer image processing system were used to establish the 3D-FEM. The acetabular mortar model was used to simulate the pressures during 32 consecutive normal walking phases and the contact areas at different phases were calculated. The distribution of the pressure peak values during the 32 consecutive normal walking phases was bimodal, which reached the peak (4.2 Mpa) at the initial phase where the contact area was significantly higher than that at the stepping phase. The sites that always kept contact were concentrated on the acetabular top and leaned inwards, while the anterior and posterior acetabular horns had no pressure concentration. The pressure distributions of acetabular cartilage at different phases were significantly different, the zone of increased pressure at the support phase distributed at the acetabular top area, while that at the stepping phase distributed in the inside of acetabular cartilage. The zones of increased contact pressure and the distributions of acetabular contact areas had important significance towards clinical researches, and could indicate the inductive factors of acetabular osteoarthritis. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Taiwan.

Effect of the hydroalcoholic extract and juice of Prunus divaricata fruit on blood glucose and serum lipids of normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

PubMed Central

Minaiyan, M.; Ghannadi, A.; Movahedian, A.; Ramezanlou, P.; Osooli, F.S.

2014-01-01

Prunus divaricata (Alloocheh) is a small tree cultivating in Iran, Middle East and central Asia. Prunus genus has many species with anti-oxidant, anti-hyperlipidemia and anti-hyperglycemia effects. In the present study the anti-diabetic and anti-hyperlipidemic effects of P. divaricata fruits were examined in normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Both groups, control and reference rats received normal saline and glibenclamide respectively. Test groups were treated with Prunus freeze dried juice (PFDJ, 200, 400, 800 mg/kg) and Prunus freeze dried extract (PFDE, 100, 200, 400 mg/kg) started at the 3rd day of the experiment and continued for 27 days thereafter. Weight changes of animals were checked periodically. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) level as well as serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were determined. Different treatments had no significant effect on body weight increments of normal rats, while in diabetic rats, PFDJ (800 mg/kg) and PFDE (400 mg/kg) opposed with weight loss. In acute phase of experiment (0-8 h of 3rd day), none of tested fractions were effective in reducing FBG and serum lipids of normal rats. During the sub-acute phase (13th and 30th days) however, the greatest test doses of PFDJ (800 mg/kg) and PFDE (400 mg/kg) induced hypoglycema. In diabetic groups, PFDJ and PFDE, at all test doses, could diminish FBG during sub-acute phase of the experiment. In addition, PFDJ and PFDE at most examined doses could diminish TG significantly and they were also effective on cholesterol derivatives in different magnitude. PMID:26339257

Multiphase Flow Technology Impacts on Thermal Control Systems for Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McQuillen, John; Sankovic, John; Lekan, Jack

2006-01-01

The Two-Phase Flow Facility (TPHIFFy) Project focused on bridging the critical knowledge gap by developing and demonstrating critical multiphase fluid products for advanced life support, thermal management and power conversion systems that are required to enable the Vision for Space Exploration. Safety and reliability of future systems will be enhanced by addressing critical microgravity fluid physics issues associated with flow boiling, condensation, phase separation, and system stability. The project included concept development, normal gravity testing, and reduced gravity aircraft flight campaigns, in preparation for the development of a space flight experiment implementation. Data will be utilized to develop predictive models that could be used for system design and operation. A single fluid, two-phase closed thermodynamic loop test bed was designed, assembled and tested. The major components in this test bed include: a boiler, a condenser, a phase separator and a circulating pump. The test loop was instrumented with flow meters, thermocouples, pressure transducers and both high speed and normal speed video cameras. A low boiling point surrogate fluid, FC-72, was selected based on scaling analyses using preliminary designs for operational systems. Preliminary results are presented which include flow regime transitions and some observations regarding system stability.

Neurophysiology of Flight in Wild-Type and a Mutant Drosophila

PubMed Central

Levine, Jon D.; Wyman, Robert J.

1973-01-01

We report the flight motor output pattern in Drosophila melanogaster and the neural network responsible for it, and describe the bursting motor output pattern in a mutant. There are 26 singly-innervated muscle fibers. There are two basic firing patterns: phase progression, shown by units that receive a common input but have no cross-connections, and phase stability, in which synergic units, receiving a common input and inhibiting each other, fire in a repeating sequence. Flies carrying the mutation stripe cannot fly. Their motor output is reduced to a short duration, high-frequency burst, but the patterning within bursts shows many of the characteristics of the wild type. The mutation is restricted in its effect, as the nervous system has normal morphology by light microscopy and other behaviors of the mutant are normal. Images PMID:4197927

Method performance and multi-laboratory assessment of a normal phase high pressure liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection method for the quantitation of flavanols and procyanidins in cocoa and chocolate containing samples.

PubMed

Robbins, Rebecca J; Leonczak, Jadwiga; Johnson, J Christopher; Li, Julia; Kwik-Uribe, Catherine; Prior, Ronald L; Gu, Liwei

2009-06-12

The quantitative parameters and method performance for a normal-phase HPLC separation of flavanols and procyanidins in chocolate and cocoa-containing food products were optimized and assessed. Single laboratory method performance was examined over three months using three separate secondary standards. RSD(r) ranged from 1.9%, 4.5% to 9.0% for cocoa powder, liquor and chocolate samples containing 74.39, 15.47 and 1.87 mg/g flavanols and procyanidins, respectively. Accuracy was determined by comparison to the NIST Standard Reference Material 2384. Inter-lab assessment indicated that variability was quite low for seven different cocoa-containing samples, with a RSD(R) of less than 10% for the range of samples analyzed.

Hormone phase influences sympathetic responses to high levels of lower body negative pressure in young healthy women.

PubMed

Usselman, Charlotte W; Nielson, Chantelle A; Luchyshyn, Torri A; Gimon, Tamara I; Coverdale, Nicole S; Van Uum, Stan H M; Shoemaker, J Kevin

2016-11-01

We tested the hypothesis that sympathetic responses to baroreceptor unloading may be affected by circulating sex hormones. During lower body negative pressure at -30, -60, and -80 mmHg, muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), heart rate, and blood pressure were recorded in women who were taking (n = 8) or not taking (n = 9) hormonal contraceptives. All women were tested twice, once during the low-hormone phase (i.e., the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle and the placebo phase of hormonal contraceptive use), and again during the high-hormone phase (i.e., the midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle and active phase of contraceptive use). During baroreceptor unloading, the reductions in stroke volume and resultant increases in MSNA and total peripheral resistance were greater in high-hormone than low-hormone phases in both groups. When normalized to the fall in stroke volume, increases in MSNA were no longer different between hormone phases. While stroke volume and sympathetic responses were similar between women taking and not taking hormonal contraceptives, mean arterial pressure was maintained during baroreceptor unloading in women not taking hormonal contraceptives but not in women using hormonal contraceptives. These data suggest that differences in sympathetic activation between hormone phases, as elicited by lower body negative pressure, are the result of hormonally mediated changes in the hemodynamic consequences of negative pressure, rather than centrally driven alterations to sympathetic regulation. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Luteal phase deficiency: abnormal gonadotropin and progesterone secretion patterns.

PubMed

Soules, M R; Clifton, D K; Cohen, N L; Bremner, W J; Steiner, R A

1989-10-01

Luteal phase deficiency (LPD) is a reproductive disorder associated with infertility and spontaneous abortion. This study was undertaken to determine whether LPD might be related to an abnormal pattern of gonadotropin secretion. We tested this hypothesis by evaluating the pattern of pulsatile LH secretion in both the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle in normal women (n = 21) and women with LPD (n = 20), which was diagnosed on the basis of two out of phase endometrial biopsies. In addition, we sought to determine whether changes in progesterone (P) pulse patterns could account for the decrease in average serum P levels in women with LPD. To this end, we examined the pulse patterns of P and compared these patterns between normal women and those with LPD. Frequent blood sampling was performed in both groups to determine their respective hormone secretion patterns. In the follicular phase, blood samples were obtained every 10 min for 12 h; in the luteal phase the samples were obtained every 10 min for 12 h; in the luteal LH, FSH, and P were assayed in each sample. Pulse detection was performed by an adaptive threshold method of pulse analysis. The LH pulse frequency was significantly higher in the women with LPD than in the normal women in the early follicular phase [P less than 0.05; LPD, 12.8 +/- 1.4 (+/- SE); normal, 8.2 +/- 0.7 pulses/12 h]. LH pulse frequency was similar in the early and late follicular phases in the women with LPD, whereas it was higher in the late follicular phase in normal women. Mean serum FSH levels were not different between groups in both the early and late follicular phases. In the luteal phase the P pulse amplitude and mean serum P level were significantly lower in the LPD group than in the normal women (P less than 0.01). We conclude that 1) a too rapid LH pulse pattern in the early follicular phase may lead to inadequate LH support of the corpus luteum and become manifest as LPD; 2) the mechanism for inadequate P secretion in LPD is decreased P pulse amplitude; 3) the finding of similar serum FSH levels in the two groups in both the early and late follicular phases did not support compromised folliculogenesis as an etiological factor for LPD.

A light writable microfluidic "flash memory": optically addressed actuator array with latched operation for microfluidic applications.

PubMed

Hua, Zhishan; Pal, Rohit; Srivannavit, Onnop; Burns, Mark A; Gulari, Erdogan

2008-03-01

This paper presents a novel optically addressed microactuator array (microfluidic "flash memory") with latched operation. Analogous to the address-data bus mediated memory address protocol in electronics, the microactuator array consists of individual phase-change based actuators addressed by localized heating through focused light patterns (address bus), which can be provided by a modified projector or high power laser pointer. A common pressure manifold (data bus) for the entire array is used to generate large deflections of the phase change actuators in the molten phase. The use of phase change material as the working media enables latched operation of the actuator array. After the initial light "writing" during which the phase is temporarily changed to molten, the actuated status is self-maintained by the solid phase of the actuator without power and pressure inputs. The microfluidic flash memory can be re-configured by a new light illumination pattern and common pressure signal. The proposed approach can achieve actuation of arbitrary units in a large-scale array without the need for complex external equipment such as solenoid valves and electrical modules, which leads to significantly simplified system implementation and compact system size. The proposed work therefore provides a flexible, energy-efficient, and low cost multiplexing solution for microfluidic applications based on physical displacements. As an example, the use of the latched microactuator array as "normally closed" or "normally open" microvalves is demonstrated. The phase-change wax is fully encapsulated and thus immune from contamination issues in fluidic environments.

Dome-shaped magnetic order competing with high-temperature superconductivity at high pressures in FeSe.

PubMed

Sun, J P; Matsuura, K; Ye, G Z; Mizukami, Y; Shimozawa, M; Matsubayashi, K; Yamashita, M; Watashige, T; Kasahara, S; Matsuda, Y; Yan, J-Q; Sales, B C; Uwatoko, Y; Cheng, J-G; Shibauchi, T

2016-07-19

The coexistence and competition between superconductivity and electronic orders, such as spin or charge density waves, have been a central issue in high transition-temperature (Tc) superconductors. Unlike other iron-based superconductors, FeSe exhibits nematic ordering without magnetism whose relationship with its superconductivity remains unclear. Moreover, a pressure-induced fourfold increase of Tc has been reported, which poses a profound mystery. Here we report high-pressure magnetotransport measurements in FeSe up to ∼15 GPa, which uncover the dome shape of magnetic phase superseding the nematic order. Above ∼6 GPa the sudden enhancement of superconductivity (Tc≤38.3 K) accompanies a suppression of magnetic order, demonstrating their competing nature with very similar energy scales. Above the magnetic dome, we find anomalous transport properties suggesting a possible pseudogap formation, whereas linear-in-temperature resistivity is observed in the normal states of the high-Tc phase above 6 GPa. The obtained phase diagram highlights unique features of FeSe among iron-based superconductors, but bears some resemblance to that of high-Tc cuprates.

Booster propulsion/vehicle impact study, 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, P.; Satterthwaite, S.; Carson, C.; Schnackel, J.

1988-01-01

This is the final report in a study examining the impact of launch vehicles for various boost propulsion design options. These options included: differing boost phase engines using different combinations of fuels and coolants to include RP-1, methane, propane (subcooled and normal boiling point), and hydrogen; variable and high mixture ratio hydrogen engines; translating nozzles on boost phase engines; and cross feeding propellants from the booster to second stage. Vehicles examined included a fully reusable two stage cargo vehicle and a single stage to orbit vehicle. The use of subcooled propane as a fuel generated vehicles with the lowest total vehicle dry mass. Engines with hydrogen cooling generated only slight mass reductions from the reference, all-hydrogen vehicle. Cross feeding propellants generated the most significant mass reductions from the reference two stage vehicle. The use of high mixture ratio or variable mixture ratio hydrogen engines in the boost phase of flight resulted in vehicles with total dry mass 20 percent greater than the reference hydrogen vehicle. Translating nozzles for boost phase engines generated a heavier vehicle. Also examined were the design impacts on the vehicle and ground support subsystems when subcooled propane is used as a fuel. The most significant cost difference between facilities to handle normal boiling point versus subcooled propane is 5 million dollars. Vehicle cost differences were negligible. A significant technical challenge exists for properly conditioning the vehicle propellant on the ground and in flight when subcooled propane is used as fuel.

Amplitude and Phase Characteristics of Signals at the Output of Spatially Separated Antennas for Paths with Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anikin, A. S.

2018-06-01

Conditional statistical characteristics of the phase difference are considered depending on the ratio of instantaneous output signal amplitudes of spatially separated weakly directional antennas for the normal field model for paths with radio-wave scattering. The dependences obtained are related to the physical processes on the radio-wave propagation path. The normal model parameters are established at which the statistical characteristics of the phase difference depend on the ratio of the instantaneous amplitudes and hence can be used to measure the phase difference. Using Shannon's formula, the amount of information on the phase difference of signals contained in the ratio of their amplitudes is calculated depending on the parameters of the normal field model. Approaches are suggested to reduce the shift of phase difference measured for paths with radio-wave scattering. A comparison with results of computer simulation by the Monte Carlo method is performed.

Correcting highly aberrated eyes using large-stroke adaptive optics.

PubMed

Sabesan, Ramkumar; Ahmad, Kamran; Yoon, Geunyoung

2007-11-01

To investigate the optical performance of a large-stroke deformable mirror in correcting large aberrations in highly aberrated eyes. A large-stroke deformable mirror (Mirao 52D; Imagine Eyes) and a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor were used in an adaptive optics system. Closed-loop correction of the static aberrations of a phase plate designed for an advanced keratoconic eye was performed for a 6-mm pupil. The same adaptive optics system was also used to correct the aberrations in one eye each of two moderate keratoconic and three normal human eyes for a 6-mm pupil. With closed-loop correction of the phase plate, the total root-mean-square (RMS) over a 6-mm pupil was reduced from 3.54 to 0.04 microm in 30 to 40 iterations, corresponding to 3 to 4 seconds. Adaptive optics closed-loop correction reduced an average total RMS of 1.73+/-0.998 to 0.10+/-0.017 microm (higher order RMS of 0.39+/-0.124 to 0.06+/-0.004 microm) in the three normal eyes and 2.73+/-1.754 to 0.10+/-0.001 microm (higher order RMS of 1.82+/-1.058 to 0.05+/-0.017 microm) in the two keratoconic eyes. Aberrations in both normal and highly aberrated eyes were successfully corrected using the large-stroke deformable mirror to provide almost perfect optical quality. This mirror can be a powerful tool to assess the limit of visual performance achievable after correcting the aberrations, especially in eyes with abnormal corneal profiles.

Metal-insulator transition and magnetic fluctuations in polycrystalline Ru1 -xRhxP investigated by 31P NMR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shang; Kobayashi, Yoshiaki; Itoh, Masayuki; Hirai, Daigorou; Takagi, Hidenori

2017-04-01

31P NMR measurements have been made on polycrystalline samples to study a metal-insulator (MI) transition and magnetic fluctuations in Ru1 -xRhxP which has metallic (M), pseudogap (PG), insulating (I), and superconducting (SC) phases. We find that RuP undergoes a crossover from the high-temperature (high-T ) M phase to the PG phase with the pseudo spin-gap behavior probed by the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate at TPG=330 K . The first-order MI transition is observed to take place from the PG phase to the low-T nonmagnetic I phase with the spin-gap energy of 1250 K at TMI=270 K . In the PG phase of Ru1 -xRhxP with 0 ≤x <0.45 , an analysis based on the modified Korringa relation, which is applicable to an itinerant paramagnet with weak electron correlation, shows that antiferromagnetic (AFM) fluctuations described in the random-phase approximation are enhanced in the low-T and low-x region. Around the PG-M phase boundary at xc˜0.45 , there is the SC phase whose normal state has negligible electron-electron interaction. We discuss the MI transition, the crossover from the M phase to the PG phase, and the magnetic properties of each phase based on the band structure.

Advancements in the Quantification of the Crystal Structure of ZNS Materials Produced in Variable Gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castillo, Martin

2016-07-01

Screens and displays consume tremendous amounts of power. Global trends to significantly consume less power and increase battery life have led to the reinvestigation of electroluminescent materials. The state of the art in ZnS materials has not been furthered in the past 30 years and there is much potential in improving electroluminescent properties of these materials with advanced processing techniques. Self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) utilises a rapid exothermic process involving high energy and nonlinearity coupled with a high cooling rate to produce materials formed outside of normal equilibrium boundaries thus possessing unique properties. The elimination of gravity during this process allows capillary forces to dominate mixing of the reactants which results in a superior and enhanced homogeneity in the product materials. ZnS type materials have been previously conducted in reduced gravity and normal gravity. It has been claimed in literature that a near perfect phases of ZnS wurtzite was produced. Although, the SHS of this material is possible at high pressures, there has been no quantitative information on the actual crystal structures and lattice parameters that were produced in this work. Utilising this process with ZnS doped with Cu, Mn, or rare earth metals such as Eu and Pr leads to electroluminescence properties, thus making this an attractive electroluminescent material. The work described here will revisit the synthesis of ZnS via high pressure SHS and will re-examine the work performed in both normal gravity and in reduced gravity within the ZARM drop tower facility. Quantifications in the lattice parameters, crystal structures, and phases produced will be presented to further explore the unique structure-property performance relationships produced from the SHS of ZnS materials.

High-frequency Born synthetic seismograms based on coupled normal modes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pollitz, Fred F.

2011-01-01

High-frequency and full waveform synthetic seismograms on a 3-D laterally heterogeneous earth model are simulated using the theory of coupled normal modes. The set of coupled integral equations that describe the 3-D response are simplified into a set of uncoupled integral equations by using the Born approximation to calculate scattered wavefields and the pure-path approximation to modulate the phase of incident and scattered wavefields. This depends upon a decomposition of the aspherical structure into smooth and rough components. The uncoupled integral equations are discretized and solved in the frequency domain, and time domain results are obtained by inverse Fourier transform. Examples show the utility of the normal mode approach to synthesize the seismic wavefields resulting from interaction with a combination of rough and smooth structural heterogeneities. This approach is applied to an ∼4 Hz shallow crustal wave propagation around the site of the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD).

Lorenz system in the thermodynamic modelling of leukaemia malignancy.

PubMed

Alexeev, Igor

2017-05-01

The core idea of the proposed thermodynamic modelling of malignancy in leukaemia is entropy arising within normal haematopoiesis. Mathematically its description is supposed to be similar to the Lorenz system of ordinary differential equations for simplified processes of heat flow in fluids. The hypothetical model provides a description of remission and relapse in leukaemia as two hierarchical and qualitatively different states of normal haematopoiesis with their own phase spaces. Phase space transition is possible through pitchfork bifurcation, which is considered the common symmetrical scenario for relapse, induced remission and the spontaneous remission of leukaemia. Cytopenia is regarded as an adaptive reaction of haematopoiesis to an increase in entropy caused by leukaemia clones. The following predictions are formulated: a) the percentage of leukaemia cells in marrow as a criterion of remission or relapse is not necessarily constant but is a variable value; b) the probability of remission depends upon normal haematopoiesis reaching bifurcation; c) the duration of remission depends upon the eradication of leukaemia cells through induction or consolidation therapies; d) excessively high doses of chemotherapy in consolidation may induce relapse. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Border Star 85 Survey: Toward an Archeology of Landscapes

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-12

historic properties on that highly active military tire TRU method as implemented) were inadequate for installation. rendering determinations of National...Dofia Ana phase settlement, such required only minimal reporting sufficient to render Na- that one could speculate as to how and why variation among...this dependent upon precipitation. In normal or high rainfall sort are complicated, however, by factors that render them years there would be many

Polymer lipids stabilize the ripple phase in lipid bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunningham, Beth; Likar, Justin; Wolfe, David; Williams, W. Patrick

2001-03-01

We have recently discovered using X-ray diffraction that incorporating membrane lipids with covalently attached polymer headgroups leads to a marked stabilization of the ripple phase of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC). The ripple phase of DPPC is an undulated gel phase normally restricted to a temperature range 36 to 41^oC. In the presence of small amounts of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (DPPE) derivatives with polyethylene glycol (PEG) headgroups, the ripple phase is stable over a temperature range of a least 20 to 65^oC. We attribute this ability of the polymer lipid to stabilize the ripple phase to its tendency to accumulate in, and then stabilize, regions of high membrane curvature^1. 1. H.E. Warriner, P. Davidson, N.L. Slack, M. Schellhorn, P. Eiselt, S. H. J. Idziak, H.-W. Schmidt, and C.R. Safinya, J. Chem. Phys. (1997) 107, 3707-3722.

First principles study of structural stability, electronic structure and mechanical properties of ReN and TcN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajeswarapalanichamy, R.; Kavitha, M.; Sudha Priyanga, G.; Iyakutti, K.

2015-03-01

The crystal structure, structural stability, electronic and mechanical properties of ReN and TcN are investigated using first principles calculations. We have considered five different crystal structures: NaCl, zinc blende (ZB), NiAs, tungsten carbide (WC) and wurtzite (WZ). Among these ZB phase is found to be the lowest energy phase for ReN and TcN at normal pressure. Pressure induced structural phase transitions from ZB to WZ phase at 214 GPa in ReN and ZB to NiAs phase at 171 GPa in TcN are predicted. The electronic structure reveals that both ReN and TcN are metallic in nature. The computed elastic constants indicate that both the nitrides are mechanically stable. As ReN in NiAs phase has high bulk and shear moduli and low Poisson's ratio, it is found to be a potential ultra incompressible super hard material.

The Geometric Phase of Stock Trading

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Geometric phases describe how in a continuous-time dynamical system the displacement of a variable (called phase variable) can be related to other variables (shape variables) undergoing a cyclic motion, according to an area rule. The aim of this paper is to show that geometric phases can exist also for discrete-time systems, and even when the cycles in shape space have zero area. A context in which this principle can be applied is stock trading. A zero-area cycle in shape space represents the type of trading operations normally carried out by high-frequency traders (entering and exiting a position on a fast time-scale), while the phase variable represents the cash balance of a trader. Under the assumption that trading impacts stock prices, even zero-area cyclic trading operations can induce geometric phases, i.e., profits or losses, without affecting the stock quote. PMID:27556642

Schlieren optical visualization for transient EHD induced flow in a stratified dielectric liquid under gas-phase ac corona discharges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohyama, R.; Inoue, K.; Chang, J. S.

2007-01-01

A flow pattern characterization of electrohydrodynamically (EHD) induced flow phenomena of a stratified dielectric fluid situated in an ac corona discharge field is conducted by a Schlieren optical system. A high voltage application to a needle-plate electrode arrangement in gas-phase normally initiates a conductive type EHD gas flow. Although the EHD gas flow motion initiated from the corona discharge electrode has been well known as corona wind, no comprehensive study has been conducted for an EHD fluid flow motion of the stratified dielectric liquid that is exposed to the gas-phase ac corona discharge. The experimentally observed result clearly presents the liquid-phase EHD flow phenomenon induced from the gas-phase EHD flow via an interfacial momentum transfer. The flow phenomenon is also discussed in terms of the gas-phase EHD number under the reduced gas pressure (reduced interfacial momentum transfer) conditions.

Coherence-enhanced phase-dependent dissipation in long SNS Josephson junctions: Revealing Andreev bound state dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dassonneville, B.; Murani, A.; Ferrier, M.; Guéron, S.; Bouchiat, H.

2018-05-01

One of the best known causes of dissipation in ac-driven quantum systems stems from photon absorption causing transitions between levels. Dissipation can also be caused by the retarded response to the time-dependent excitation, and in general gives insight into the system's relaxation times and mechanisms. Here we address the dissipation in a mesoscopic normal wire with superconducting contacts, that sustains a dissipationless supercurrent at zero frequency and that may therefore naively be expected to remain dissipationless at a frequency lower than the superconducting gap. We probe the high-frequency linear response of such a normal metal/superconductor (NS) ring to a time-dependent flux by coupling it to a highly sensitive multimode microwave resonator. Far from being the simple, dissipationless derivative of the supercurrent-versus-phase relation, the ring's ac susceptibility also displays a dissipative component whose phase dependence is a signature of the dynamical processes occurring within the Andreev spectrum. We show how dissipation is driven by the competition between two mechanisms. The first is the relaxation of the Andreev level distribution function, while the second corresponds to microwave-induced transitions within the spectrum. Depending on the relative strength of those contributions, dissipation can be maximal at π , a phase at which the proximity-induced minigap closes, or can be maximal near π /2 , a phase at which the dc supercurrent is maximal. We also find that the dissipative response paradoxically increases at low temperature and can even exceed the normal-state conductance. The results are successfully confronted with theoretical predictions of the Kubo linear response and time-dependent Usadel equations, derived from the Bogoliubov-de Gennes Hamiltonian describing the SNS junction. These experiments thus demonstrate the power of the ac susceptibility measurement of individual hybrid mesoscopic systems in probing in a controlled way the quantum dynamics of Andreev bound states. By spanning different physical regimes, our experiments provide unique access to inelastic scattering and spectroscopy of an isolated quantum coherent system, and reveal the associated relaxation times. This technique should be a tool of choice to investigate topological superconductivity and detect the topological protection of edge states.

Human H-reflexes are smaller in difficult beam walking than in normal treadmill walking.

PubMed

Llewellyn, M; Yang, J F; Prochazka, A

1990-01-01

Hoffman (H) reflexes were elicited from the soleus (SOL) muscle while subjects walked on a treadmill and on a narrow beam (3.5 cm wide, raised 34 cm from the floor). The speed of walking on the treadmill was selected for each subject to match the background activation level of their SOL muscle during beam walking. The normal reciprocal activation pattern of the tibialis anterior and SOL muscles in treadmill walking was replaced by a pattern dominated by co-contraction on the beam. In addition, the step cycle duration was more variable and the time spent in the swing phase was reduced on the beam. The H-reflexes were highly modulated in both tasks, the amplitude being high in the stance phase and low in the swing phase. The H-reflex amplitude was on average 40% lower during beam walking than treadmill walking. The relationship between the H-reflex amplitude and the SOL EMG level was quantified by a regression line relating the two variables. The slope of this line was on average 41% lower in beam walking than treadmill walking. The lower H-reflex gain observed in this study and the high level of fusimotor drive observed in cats performing similar tasks suggest that the two mechanisms which control the excitability of this reflex pathway (i.e. fusimotor action and control of transmission at the muscle spindle to moto-neuron synapse) may be controlled independently.

The phase diagram of hydrogen in ultra thin films

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

Jisrawi, N.M.; Ruckman, M.W.; Reisfeld, G.

This paper, we discuss changes in the phase diagram of hydrogen in both bilayer (i.e. 200-2000 {Angstrom} Nb/100 {Angstrom} Pd on glass) and multilayer configurations. Comparison of x-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity and volumetric measurements of the films before and after hydrogen charging indicate that the phase equilibria between a correlated (high concentration) and a dilute phase of hydrogen in Nb is not sensitive to the number of layers in the films. On the other hand, the experimental methods show different behavior for 200 {Angstrom} thick Nb films and thicker (>400 {Angstrom}) Nb layers. The diffraction results also show that, whilemore » charging with hydrogen, the Nb layers mainly expand along the surface normal of the films, while the Pd layers expand in all directions equally, and transform to the bulk {alpha} phase.« less

Observational constraints on the multiphase ISM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolfire, Mark G.

2015-03-01

In recent years we have seen a wealth of new observations and analysis that sheds light on the distribution and physical properties of various ISM phases. In particular the thermal pressure from C I (Jenkins & Tripp 2011) shows the bulk of the CNM phase with a log normal pressure distribution. It appears that thermal instability is important for phase separation, but with with a thermal pressure variation about the mean driven by turbulence. In additional, there is evidence from C I, H2, and complex molecules, of both higher and lower pressure environments. An additional ``phase`` that is of increasing interest for high z, low metallicity galaxies is the C+/H2 gas that is not traced by H I or CO. This review presents the observational evidence for the existence and physical properties of these various ISM phases.

Precancerous esophageal epithelia are associated with significantly increased scattering coefficients

PubMed Central

Su, Jing-Wei; Lin, Yang-Hsien; Chiang, Chun-Ping; Lee, Jang-Ming; Hsieh, Chao-Mao; Hsieh, Min-Shu; Yang, Pei-Wen; Wang, Chen-Ping; Tseng, Ping-Huei; Lee, Yi-Chia; Sung, Kung-Bin

2015-01-01

The progression of epithelial precancers into cancer is accompanied by changes of tissue and cellular structures in the epithelium. Correlations between the structural changes and scattering coefficients of esophageal epithelia were investigated using quantitative phase images and the scattering-phase theorem. An ex vivo study of 14 patients demonstrated that the average scattering coefficient of precancerous epithelia was 37.8% higher than that of normal epithelia from the same patient. The scattering coefficients were highly correlated with morphological features including the cell density and the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio. A high interpatient variability in scattering coefficients was observed and suggests identifying precancerous lesions based on the relative change in scattering coefficients. PMID:26504630

A case study on dual forms of malnutrition among selected households in District 1, Tondo, Manila.

PubMed

Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Lana, Ruby D; Barba, Corazon V C

2003-01-01

The co-existence of under-and overnutrition in developing countries might be the resultant factor of a marked shift in dietary and lifestyle practices of people, especially in urban areas. The eating of high fat, high caloric diets, the presence of inactive entertainment devices and mechanized labour influence patterns of food demand and physical activity. This study identified factors associated with the occurrence of under/overweight or normal/normal nutritional status of child-mother pairs in one household. This study was conducted in two phases. The first phase was a survey of 376 child-mother pairs. The children aged 33-83 months were attending classes in government day care centres. Anthropometric indices: weight-for-age Z score (WAZ) < or = -2SD was used to classify underweight in children. WAZ+1 to -1SD was used to indicate normal nutritional status in children, specifically for this study, in order to establish a more homogenous group. Body mass index (BMI) > or = 25 kg/m2 was used to measure overweight among mothers. Results showed that about 59% of the child-mother pairs were suffering from two different types of malnutrition. From this, 31 (8.2%) child-mother pairs in the same household were experiencing underweight/overweight: the child was underweight and the mother was overweight. The second phase of the study was an in-depth study of these 31 under/overweight child-mother pairs and 30 randomly selected normal/normal pairs. Pre-tested questionnaires were used to gather socio-economic-demographic data; 3 day 24-h food recall for dietary intake and 24-h activity recall for physical activity. Results showed that the different factors associated with the existence of underweight child/overweight mother (UC/OM) or normal child/normal mother (NC/NM) in this study were: mother's educational level, mother's occupation, and number of children in the household; energy intake, the preference of meats, sweets and sugars among children or meats and fried foods among mothers; and mother's perception on body size. Physical activity of both mothers and children was higher in the UC/OM than in the NC/NM group. The problem of undernutrition and overnutrition in one household poses enormous challenges. Although this study cannot make an inference to the whole population, the results indicate that there is a need to consider whether public health programs should focus on healthy diet and lifestyle patterns that will lead to optimal health outcomes at both ends of the spectrum of nutritional status.

Next-generation transcriptome sequencing of the premenopausal breast epithelium using specimens from a normal human breast tissue bank.

PubMed

Pardo, Ivanesa; Lillemoe, Heather A; Blosser, Rachel J; Choi, MiRan; Sauder, Candice A M; Doxey, Diane K; Mathieson, Theresa; Hancock, Bradley A; Baptiste, Dadrie; Atale, Rutuja; Hickenbotham, Matthew; Zhu, Jin; Glasscock, Jarret; Storniolo, Anna Maria V; Zheng, Faye; Doerge, R W; Liu, Yunlong; Badve, Sunil; Radovich, Milan; Clare, Susan E

2014-03-17

Our efforts to prevent and treat breast cancer are significantly impeded by a lack of knowledge of the biology and developmental genetics of the normal mammary gland. In order to provide the specimens that will facilitate such an understanding, The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center (KTB) was established. The KTB is, to our knowledge, the only biorepository in the world prospectively established to collect normal, healthy breast tissue from volunteer donors. As a first initiative toward a molecular understanding of the biology and developmental genetics of the normal mammary gland, the effect of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptives on DNA expression in the normal breast epithelium was examined. Using normal breast tissue from 20 premenopausal donors to KTB, the changes in the mRNA of the normal breast epithelium as a function of phase of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraception were assayed using next-generation whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq). In total, 255 genes representing 1.4% of all genes were deemed to have statistically significant differential expression between the two phases of the menstrual cycle. The overwhelming majority (221; 87%) of the genes have higher expression during the luteal phase. These data provide important insights into the processes occurring during each phase of the menstrual cycle. There was only a single gene significantly differentially expressed when comparing the epithelium of women using hormonal contraception to those in the luteal phase. We have taken advantage of a unique research resource, the KTB, to complete the first-ever next-generation transcriptome sequencing of the epithelial compartment of 20 normal human breast specimens. This work has produced a comprehensive catalog of the differences in the expression of protein-coding genes as a function of the phase of the menstrual cycle. These data constitute the beginning of a reference data set of the normal mammary gland, which can be consulted for comparison with data developed from malignant specimens, or to mine the effects of the hormonal flux that occurs during the menstrual cycle.

Next-generation transcriptome sequencing of the premenopausal breast epithelium using specimens from a normal human breast tissue bank

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Introduction Our efforts to prevent and treat breast cancer are significantly impeded by a lack of knowledge of the biology and developmental genetics of the normal mammary gland. In order to provide the specimens that will facilitate such an understanding, The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center (KTB) was established. The KTB is, to our knowledge, the only biorepository in the world prospectively established to collect normal, healthy breast tissue from volunteer donors. As a first initiative toward a molecular understanding of the biology and developmental genetics of the normal mammary gland, the effect of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptives on DNA expression in the normal breast epithelium was examined. Methods Using normal breast tissue from 20 premenopausal donors to KTB, the changes in the mRNA of the normal breast epithelium as a function of phase of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraception were assayed using next-generation whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq). Results In total, 255 genes representing 1.4% of all genes were deemed to have statistically significant differential expression between the two phases of the menstrual cycle. The overwhelming majority (221; 87%) of the genes have higher expression during the luteal phase. These data provide important insights into the processes occurring during each phase of the menstrual cycle. There was only a single gene significantly differentially expressed when comparing the epithelium of women using hormonal contraception to those in the luteal phase. Conclusions We have taken advantage of a unique research resource, the KTB, to complete the first-ever next-generation transcriptome sequencing of the epithelial compartment of 20 normal human breast specimens. This work has produced a comprehensive catalog of the differences in the expression of protein-coding genes as a function of the phase of the menstrual cycle. These data constitute the beginning of a reference data set of the normal mammary gland, which can be consulted for comparison with data developed from malignant specimens, or to mine the effects of the hormonal flux that occurs during the menstrual cycle. PMID:24636070

The nonlinear wave equation for higher harmonics in free-electron lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colson, W. B.

1981-01-01

The nonlinear wave equation and self-consistent pendulum equation are generalized to describe free-electron laser operation in higher harmonics; this can significantly extend their tunable range to shorter wavelengths. The dynamics of the laser field's amplitude and phase are explored for a wide range of parameters using families of normalized gain curves applicable to both the fundamental and harmonics. The electron phase-space displays the fundamental physics driving the wave, and this picture is used to distinguish between the effects of high gain and Coulomb forces.

A High Power Density Single-Phase PWM Rectifier with Active Ripple Energy Storage

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

Ning, Puqi; Wang, Ruxi; Wang, Fei

It is well known that there exist second-order harmonic current and corresponding ripple voltage on dc bus for single phase PWM rectifiers. The low frequency harmonic current is normally filtered using a bulk capacitor in the bus which results in low power density. This paper proposed an active ripple energy storage method that can effectively reduce the energy storage capacitance. The feed-forward control method and design considerations are provided. Simulation and 15 kW experimental results are provided for verification purposes.

Normal state above the upper critical field in Fe 1 + y Te 1 - x ( Se , S ) x

DOE PAGES

Wang, Aifeng; Kampert, Erik; Saadaoui, H.; ...

2017-05-03

Here, we have investigated the magnetotransport above the upper critical field ( H c 2 ) in Fe 1.14 Te 0.7 Se 0.3 , Fe 1.02 Te 0.61 Se 0.39 , Fe 1.05 Te 0.89 Se 0.11 , and Fe 1.06 Te 0.86 S 0.14 . The μ SR measurements confirm electronic phase separation in Fe 1.06 Te 0.86 S 0.14 , similar to Fe 1 + y Te 1 - x Se x . We found that superconductivity is suppressed in high magnetic fields above 60 T, allowing us to gain insight into the normal-state properties below the zero-fieldmore » superconducting transition temperature ( T c ). We also show that the resistivity of Fe 1.14 Te 0.7 Se 0.3 and Fe 1.02 Te 0.61 Se 0.39 above H c 2 is metallic as T → 0 , just like the normal-state resistivity above T c . On the other hand, the normal-state resistivity in Fe 1.05 Te 0.89 Se 0.11 and Fe 1.06 Te 0.86 S 0.14 is nonmetallic down to lowest temperatures, reflecting the superconductor-insulator transition due to electronic phase separation.« less

Dietary sodium influences the effect of mental stress on heart rate variability: a randomized trial in healthy adults.

PubMed

Allen, Alexander R; Gullixson, Leah R; Wolhart, Sarah C; Kost, Susan L; Schroeder, Darrell R; Eisenach, John H

2014-02-01

Dietary sodium influences intermediate physiological traits in healthy adults independent of changes in blood pressure. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that dietary sodium affects cardiac autonomic modulation during mental stress. In a prospective, randomized cross-over design separated by 1 month between diets, 70 normotensive healthy young adults (F/M: 44/26, aged 18-38 years) consumed a 5-day low (10 mmol/day), normal (150 mmol), and high (400 mmol) sodium diet followed by heart rate variability (HRV) recordings at rest and during 5-min computerized mental arithmetic. Women were studied in the low hormone phase of the menstrual cycle following each diet. Diet did not affect resting blood pressure, but heart rate (HR) (mean ± SE) was 66 ± 1, 64 ± 1, and 63 ± 1 bpm in low, normal, and high sodium conditions, respectively (analysis of variance P = 0.02). For HRV, there was a main effect of sodium on resting SD of normalized RR intervals (SDNN), square root of the mean squared difference of successive normalized RR intervals (RMSSD), high frequency, low-frequency normalized units (LFnu), and high-frequency normalized units (HFnu) (P < 0.01 for all). The response to low sodium was most marked and consistent with sympathetic activation and reduced vagal activity, with increased LFnu and decreased SDNN, RMSSD, and HFnu compared to both normal and high sodium conditions (P ≤0.05 for all). Dietary sodium-by-mental stress interactions were significant for mean NN, RMSSD, high-frequency power, LFnu, and low frequency/high frequency ratio (P < 0.05 for all). The interactions signify that sodium restriction evoked an increase in resting sympathetic activity and reduced vagal activity to the extent that mental stress caused modest additional disruptions in autonomic balance. Conversely, normal and high sodium evoked a reduction in resting sympathetic activity and incremental increase in resting vagal activity, which were disrupted to a greater extent during mental stress compared to low sodium. We conclude that autonomic control of HRV at rest and during mental stress is altered by dietary sodium in healthy normotensive young adult men and women.

Depth Profile of Impurity Phase in Wide-Bandgap Cu(In1-x ,Ga x )Se2 Film Fabricated by Three-Stage Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Shenghao; Nazuka, Takehiro; Hagiya, Hideki; Takabayashi, Yutaro; Ishizuka, Shogo; Shibata, Hajime; Niki, Shigeru; Islam, Muhammad M.; Akimoto, Katsuhiro; Sakurai, Takeaki

2018-02-01

For copper indium gallium selenide [Cu(In1-x ,Ga x )Se2, CIGS]-based solar cells, defect states or impurity phase always form due to both the multinary compositions of CIGS film and the difficulty of controlling the growth process, especially for high Ga concentration. To further improve device performance, it is important to understand such formation of impurity phase or defect states during fabrication. In the work presented herein, the formation mechanism of impurity phase Cu2-δ Se and its depth profile in CIGS film with high Ga content, in particular CuGaSe2 (i.e., CGS), were investigated by applying different growth conditions (i.e., normal three-stage process and two-cycle three-stage process). The results suggest that impurity phase Cu2-δ Se is distributed nonuniformly in the film because of lack of Ga diffusion. The formed Cu2-δ Se can be removed by etching the as-deposited CGS film with bromine-methanol solution, resulting in improved device performance.

Stability of Wavy Films in Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flows at Normal and Microgravity Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balakotaiah, V.; Jayawardena, S. S.

1996-01-01

For flow rates of technological interest, most gas-liquid flows in pipes are in the annular flow regime, in which, the liquid moves along the pipe wall in a thin, wavy film and the gas flows in the core region. The waves appearing on the liquid film have a profound influence on the transfer rates, and hence on the design of these systems. We have recently proposed and analyzed two boundary layer models that describe the characteristics of laminar wavy films at high Reynolds numbers (300-1200). Comparison of model predictions to 1-g experimental data showed good agreement. The goal of our present work is to understand through a combined program of experimental and modeling studies the characteristics of wavy films in annular two-phase gas-liquid flows under normal as well as microgravity conditions in the developed and entry regions.

Retention mechanism of hypercrosslinked polystyrene silica hybrid phase in normal phase chromatography.

PubMed

Wu, Di; Nedev, Georgi K; Lucy, Charles A

2014-11-28

Hypercrosslinked polystyrene phases have been described as quasi-normal phase because they lack discrete polar sites. Retention on the HC-Tol column is investigated using the Snyder-Soczewinski model. Solvent strength of different hexane-solvent binary mobile phase compositions can be predicted with solvent strength of pure dichloromethane (DCM, 0.159), tetrahydrofuran (THF, 0.22), and benzene (0.127). The HC-Tol column is shown to be a localizing adsorptive phase. Also, site-competition delocalization on HC-Tol demonstrates that whatever its adsorption groups are, they are able to participate in lateral interactions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of modulation phase on profile analysis in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, Deanna; Lentz, Jennifer

2003-04-01

The ability to discriminate between sounds with different spectral shapes in the presence of amplitude modulation was measured in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners. The standard stimulus was the sum of equal-amplitude modulated tones, and the signal stimulus was generated by increasing the level of half the tones (up components) and decreasing the level of half the tones (down components). The down components had the same modulation phase, and a phase shift was applied to the up components to encourage segregation from the down tones. The same phase shift was used in both standard and signal stimuli. Profile-analysis thresholds were measured as a function of the phase shift between up and down components. The phase shifts were 0, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 180 deg. As expected, thresholds were lowest when all tones had the same modulation phase and increased somewhat with increasing phase disparity. This small increase in thresholds was similar for both groups. These results suggest that hearing-impaired listeners are able to use modulation phase to group sounds in a manner similar to that of normal listeners. [Work supported by NIH (DC 05835).

Changing interdigestive migrating motor complex in rats under acute liver injury.

PubMed

Liu, Mei; Zheng, Su-Jun; Xu, Weihong; Zhang, Jianying; Chen, Yu; Duan, Zhongping

2014-01-01

Gastrointestinal motility disorder is a major clinical manifestation of acute liver injury, and interdigestive migrating motor complex (MMC) is an important indicator. We investigated the changes and characteristics of MMC in rats with acute liver injury. Acute liver injury was created by d-galactosamine, and we recorded the interdigestive MMC using a multichannel physiological recorder and compared the indexes of interdigestive MMC. Compared with normal controls, antral MMC Phase I duration was significantly prolonged and MMC Phase III duration was significantly shortened in the rats with acute liver injury. The duodenal MMC cycle and MMC Phases I and IV duration were significantly prolonged and MMC Phase III duration was significantly shortened in the rats with acute liver injury. The jejunal MMC cycle and MMC Phases I and IV duration were significantly prolonged and MMC Phase III duration was significantly shortened in the rats with acute liver injury compared with normal controls. Compared with the normal controls, rats with acute liver injury had a significantly prolonged interdigestive MMC cycle, related mainly to longer MMC Phases I and IV, shortened MMC Phase III, and MMC Phase II characterized by increased migrating clustered contractions, which were probably major contributors to the gastrointestinal motility disorders.

Abnormal patterns of pulsatile luteinizing hormone in women with luteal phase deficiency.

PubMed

Soules, M R; Steiner, R A; Clifton, D K; Bremner, W J

1984-05-01

Luteal phase deficiency is usually a problem of inadequate progesterone production associated with inadequate ovarian follicular development. The hypothesis that luteal phase deficiency results from an abnormal secretion pattern of luteinizing hormone (LH) was tested in these women. To this end, the early follicular LH secretion pattern in four women with luteal phase deficiency was characterized and compared with patterns in normal women. Blood samples were obtained through indwelling catheters every ten minutes for eight hours (10 AM to 6 PM), and plasma levels of LH and FSH were measured. Luteinizing hormone and FSH secretion profiles were analyzed for pulse frequency, amplitude, and mean plasma level. A significantly greater LH pulse frequency in women with luteal phase deficiency was observed when compared with the frequency in normal controls (luteal phase deficiency, 10.5 pulses/eight hours; normal, 5.2 pulses/eight hours; P less than or equal to .05). The mean FSH concentration was less in the women with luteal phase deficiency, but the level was not significant. These data suggest that the abnormal LH secretion pattern observed in women with luteal phase deficiency is responsible for their inadequate luteal phase progesterone secretion and their infertility.

Quasi-phase-matched second-harmonic generation of 532 nm radiation in 25 degrees -rotated, x-cut, near-stoichiometric, lithium tantalate fabricated by vapor transport equilibration.

PubMed

Hum, D S; Route, R K; Fejer, M M

2007-04-15

Quasi-phase-matched second-harmonic generation of 532 nm radiation in 25 degrees -rotated, x-cut, near-stoichiometric lithium tantalate has been performed. Using a face-normal topology for frequency conversion applications allows scalable surface area to avoid surface and volume damage in high-power interactions. First-order, quasi-phase-matched second-harmonic generation was achieved using near-stoichiometric lithium tantalate fabricated by vapor transport equilibration. These crystals supported 1 J of 1064 nm radiation and generated 21 mJ of 532 nm radiation from a 7 ns, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser within a factor of 4.2 of expectation.

High performance liquid chromatography enantioseparation of the novel designed mexiletine derivatives and its analogs.

PubMed

Zheng, Chengzhen; Zhang, Datong; Wu, Qi; Lin, Xianfu

2011-02-01

A series of novel designed mexiletine derivatives and its analogs were prepared, the structures were confirmed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS), and the enantioseparations were performed on polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phase (CSP), Chiralcel OD-H, and Chiralcel OJ-H, under normal-phase mode. The effects of the concentration of isopropanol in the mobile phase were studied, seven of the eight enantiomers got baseline separation on Chiralcel OD-H, and five of the eight enantiomers got successfully separation on Chiralcel OJ-H. The effects of structural features were also discussed. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Comparing two tetraalkylammonium ionic liquids. II. Phase transitions

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

Lima, Thamires A.; Paschoal, Vitor H.; Faria, Luiz F. O.

Phase transitions of the ionic liquids n-butyl-trimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, [N{sub 1114}][NTf{sub 2}], and methyl-tributylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, [N{sub 1444}][NTf{sub 2}], were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, and Raman spectroscopy. XRD and Raman spectra were obtained as a function of temperature at atmospheric pressure, and also under high pressure at room temperature using a diamond anvil cell (DAC). [N{sub 1444}][NTf{sub 2}] experiences glass transition at low temperature, whereas [N{sub 1114}][NTf{sub 2}] crystallizes or not depending on the cooling rate. Both the ionic liquids exhibit glass transition under high pressure. XRD and low-frequency Raman spectra provide a consistent physical picturemore » of structural ordering-disordering accompanying the thermal events of crystallization, glass transition, cold crystallization, pre-melting, and melting. Raman spectra in the high-frequency range of some specific cation and anion normal modes reveal conformational changes of the molecular structures along phase transitions.« less

Research of the Electron Cyclotron Emission with Vortex Property excited by high power high frequency Gyrotron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goto, Yuki; Kubo, Shin; Tsujimura, Tohru; Takubo, Hidenori

2017-10-01

Recently, it has been shown that the radiation from a single electron in cyclotron motion has vortex property. Although the cyclotron emission exists universally in nature, the vortex property has not been featured because this property is normally cancelled out due to the randomness in gyro-phase of electrons and the development of detection of the vortex property has not been well motivated. In this research, we are developing a method to generate the vortex radiation from electrons in cyclotron motion with controlled gyro-phase. Electron that rotates around the uniform static magnetic field is accelerated by right-hand circular polarized (RHCP) radiation resonantly when the cyclotron frequency coincides with the applied RHCP radiation frequency. A large number of electrons can be coherently accelerated in gyro-phase by a RHCP high power radiation so that these electrons can radiate coherent emission with vortex feature. We will show that vortex radiation created by purely rotating electrons for the first time.

Sign reversal of transformation entropy change in Co{sub 2}Cr(Ga,Si) shape memory alloys

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

Xu, Xiao, E-mail: xu@material.tohoku.ac.jp; Omori, Toshihiro; Kainuma, Ryosuke

2015-11-02

In situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements and compression tests were performed on Co{sub 2}Cr(Ga,Si) shape memory alloys. The reentrant martensitic transformation behavior was directly observed during the in situ XRD measurements. The high-temperature parent phase and low-temperature reentrant parent phase were found to have a continuous temperature dependence of lattice parameter, therefore suggesting that they are the same phase in nature. Moreover, compression tests were performed on a parent-phase single crystal sample; an evolution from normal to inverse temperature dependence of critical stress for martensitic transformation was directly observed. Based on the Clausius-Clapeyron analysis, a sign reversal of entropy changemore » can be expected on the same alloy.« less

On the reversibility of the Meissner effect and the angular momentum puzzle

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

Hirsch, J.E., E-mail: jhirsch@ucsd.edu

It is generally believed that the laws of thermodynamics govern superconductivity as an equilibrium state of matter, and hence that the normal-superconductor transition in a magnetic field is reversible under ideal conditions. Because eddy currents are generated during the transition as the magnetic flux changes, the transition has to proceed infinitely slowly to generate no entropy. Experiments showed that to a high degree of accuracy no entropy was generated in these transitions. However, in this paper we point out that for the length of times over which these experiments extended, a much higher degree of irreversibility due to decay ofmore » eddy currents should have been detected than was actually observed. We also point out that within the conventional theory of superconductivity no explanation exists for why no Joule heat is generated in the superconductor to normal transition when the supercurrent stops. In addition we point out that within the conventional theory of superconductivity no mechanism exists for the transfer of momentum between the supercurrent and the body as a whole, which is necessary to ensure that the transition in the presence of a magnetic field respects momentum conservation. We propose a solution to all these questions based on the alternative theory of hole superconductivity. The theory proposes that in the normal-superconductor transition there is a flow and backflow of charge in direction perpendicular to the phase boundary when the phase boundary moves. We show that this flow and backflow explains the absence of Joule heat generated by Faraday eddy currents, the absence of Joule heat generated in the process of the supercurrent stopping, and the reversible transfer of momentum between the supercurrent and the body, provided the current carriers in the normal state are holes. - Highlights: • The normal-superconductor phase transition is reversible. • Within the conventional theory, Foucault currents give rise to irreversibility. • To suppress Foucault currents, charge has to flow in direction perpendicular to the phase boundary. • The charge carriers have to be holes. • This solves also the angular momentum puzzle associated with the Meissner effect.« less

High-fluorine rhyolite: An eruptive pegmatite magma at the Honeycomb Hills, Utah

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Congdon, Roger D.; Nash, W. P.

1988-11-01

The Honeycomb Hills rhyolite dome in western Utah displays chemical and mineralogical features characteristic of a rare-element pegmatite magma. The lavas show extreme enrichments in such trace elements as Rb (≤1960 ppm), Cs (≤78), Li (≤344), Sn (≤33), Be (≤270), and Y (≤156). Phenocrysts (10%-50% by volume) include sanidine (Or66-70), plagioclase (Ab83-92), quartz, biotite approaching fluorsiderophyllite, and fluortopaz, as well as accessory phases common to highly differentiated granites and pegmatites, including zircon, thorite, fluocerite, columbite, fergusonite, and samarskite. Low temperatures (600 to 640 °C), coupled with high phenocryst and silica content, might normally preclude eruption due to the extremely high viscosity of the melt. However, high concentrations of fluorine (2%-3%) could domal lavas significantly reduce viscosity and allow eruption of domal lavas even after dewatering of the mama during the initial pyroclastic phase of the eruptive cycle. Fractionation of phenocrysts and accessory phases, for which partition coefficients have been measured, is sufficient to account for most compositional gradients inferred in the preeruptive magma body, although transport by a fluid phase formed a may have caused upward enrichments in Li, Be, and Cs. If the Honeycomb Hills magma had crystallized at depth, it would have formed a rare-element pegmatite.

Comparison of liquid and supercritical fluid chromatography mobile phases for enantioselective separations on polysaccharide stationary phases.

PubMed

Khater, Syame; Lozac'h, Marie-Anne; Adam, Isabelle; Francotte, Eric; West, Caroline

2016-10-07

Analysis and production of enantiomerically pure compounds is a major topic of interest when active pharmaceutical ingredients are concerned. Enantioselective chromatography has become a favourite both at the analytical and preparative scales. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) are dominating the scene and are often seen as complementary techniques. Nowadays, for economic and ecologic reasons, SFC may be preferred over normal-phase HPLC (NPLC) as it allows significant reductions in solvent consumption. However, the transfer of NPLC methods to SFC is not always straightforward. In this study, we compare the retention of achiral molecules and separation of enantiomers under supercritical fluid (carbon dioxide with ethanol or isopropanol) and liquid normal-phase (heptane with ethanol or isopropanol) elution modes with polysaccharide stationary phases in order to explore the differences between the retention and enantioseparation properties between the two modes. Chemometric methods (namely quantitative structure-retention relationships and discriminant analysis) are employed to compare the results obtained on a large set of analytes (171 achiral probes and 97 racemates) and gain some understanding on the retention and separation mechanisms. The results indicate that, contrary to popular belief, carbon dioxide - solvent SFC mobile phases are often weaker eluents than liquid mobile phases. It appears that SFC and NPLC elution modes provide different retention mechanisms. While some enantioseparations are unaffected, facilitating the transfer between the two elution modes, other enantioseparations may be drastically different due to different types and strength of interactions contributing to enantioselectivity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the nonlinearity of Asian summer monsoon intraseasonal variability using spherical PDFs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jajcay, Nikola; Hannachi, Abdel

2013-04-01

The Asian summer monsoon (ASM) is a high-dimensional and highly complex phenomenon affecting more than one fifth of the world population. The intraseasonal component of the ASM undergoes periods of active and break phases associated respectively with enhanced and reduced rainfall over the Indian subcontinent and surroundings. In this paper the nonlinear nature of the intraseasonal monsoon variability is investigated using the leading EOFs of ERA-40 sea level pressure reanalyses field over the ASM region. The probability density function is then computed in spherical coordinates using a Epaneshnikov kernel method. Three significant modes are identified. They represent respectively (i) East - West mode with above normal sea level pressure over East China sea and below normal pressure over Himalayas, (ii) mode with above normal sea level pressure over East China sea (without compensating centre of opposite sign as in (i)) and (iii) mode with below normal sea level pressure over East China sea (same as (ii) but with opposite sign). Relationship to large scale flow are also investigated and discussed.

Normalization Approaches for Removing Systematic Biases Associated with Mass Spectrometry and Label-Free Proteomics

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

Callister, Stephen J.; Barry, Richard C.; Adkins, Joshua N.

2006-02-01

Central tendency, linear regression, locally weighted regression, and quantile techniques were investigated for normalization of peptide abundance measurements obtained from high-throughput liquid chromatography-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (LC-FTICR MS). Arbitrary abundances of peptides were obtained from three sample sets, including a standard protein sample, two Deinococcus radiodurans samples taken from different growth phases, and two mouse striatum samples from control and methamphetamine-stressed mice (strain C57BL/6). The selected normalization techniques were evaluated in both the absence and presence of biological variability by estimating extraneous variability prior to and following normalization. Prior to normalization, replicate runs from each sample setmore » were observed to be statistically different, while following normalization replicate runs were no longer statistically different. Although all techniques reduced systematic bias, assigned ranks among the techniques revealed significant trends. For most LC-FTICR MS analyses, linear regression normalization ranked either first or second among the four techniques, suggesting that this technique was more generally suitable for reducing systematic biases.« less

A High Power Density Single-Phase PWM Rectifier With Active Ripple Energy Storage

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

Wang, Ruxi; Wang, Fei; Boroyevich, Dushan

It is well known that single-phase pulse width modulation rectifiers have second-order harmonic currents and corresponding ripple voltages on the dc bus. The low-frequency harmonic current is normally filtered using a bulk capacitor in the bus, which results in low power density. However, pursuing high power density in converter design is a very important goal in the aerospace applications. This paper studies methods for reducing the energy storage capacitor for single-phase rectifiers. The minimum ripple energy storage requirement is derived independently of a specific topology. Based on theminimum ripple energy requirement, the feasibility of the active capacitor s reduction schemesmore » is verified. Then, we propose a bidirectional buck boost converter as the ripple energy storage circuit, which can effectively reduce the energy storage capacitance. The analysis and design are validated by simulation and experimental results.« less

High pressure phase transformations revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levitas, Valery I.

2018-04-01

High pressure phase transformations play an important role in the search for new materials and material synthesis, as well as in geophysics. However, they are poorly characterized, and phase transformation pressure and pressure hysteresis vary drastically in experiments of different researchers, with different pressure transmitting media, and with different material suppliers. Here we review the current state, challenges in studying phase transformations under high pressure, and the possible ways in overcoming the challenges. This field is critically compared with fields of phase transformations under normal pressure in steels and shape memory alloys, as well as plastic deformation of materials. The main reason for the above mentioned discrepancy is the lack of understanding that there is a fundamental difference between pressure-induced transformations under hydrostatic conditions, stress-induced transformations under nonhydrostatic conditions below yield, and strain-induced transformations during plastic flow. Each of these types of transformations has different mechanisms and requires a completely different thermodynamic and kinetic description and experimental characterization. In comparison with other fields the following challenges are indicated for high pressure phase transformation: (a) initial and evolving microstructure is not included in characterization of transformations; (b) continuum theory is poorly developed; (c) heterogeneous stress and strain fields in experiments are not determined, which leads to confusing material transformational properties with a system behavior. Some ways to advance the field of high pressure phase transformations are suggested. The key points are: (a) to take into account plastic deformations and microstructure evolution during transformations; (b) to formulate phase transformation criteria and kinetic equations in terms of stress and plastic strain tensors (instead of pressure alone); (c) to develop multiscale continuum theories, and (d) to couple experimental, theoretical, and computational studies of the behavior of a tested sample to extract information about fields of stress and strain tensors and concentration of high pressure phase, transformation criteria and kinetics. The ideal characterization should contain complete information which is required for simulation of the same experiments.

High pressure phase transformations revisited.

PubMed

Levitas, Valery I

2018-04-25

High pressure phase transformations play an important role in the search for new materials and material synthesis, as well as in geophysics. However, they are poorly characterized, and phase transformation pressure and pressure hysteresis vary drastically in experiments of different researchers, with different pressure transmitting media, and with different material suppliers. Here we review the current state, challenges in studying phase transformations under high pressure, and the possible ways in overcoming the challenges. This field is critically compared with fields of phase transformations under normal pressure in steels and shape memory alloys, as well as plastic deformation of materials. The main reason for the above mentioned discrepancy is the lack of understanding that there is a fundamental difference between pressure-induced transformations under hydrostatic conditions, stress-induced transformations under nonhydrostatic conditions below yield, and strain-induced transformations during plastic flow. Each of these types of transformations has different mechanisms and requires a completely different thermodynamic and kinetic description and experimental characterization. In comparison with other fields the following challenges are indicated for high pressure phase transformation: (a) initial and evolving microstructure is not included in characterization of transformations; (b) continuum theory is poorly developed; (c) heterogeneous stress and strain fields in experiments are not determined, which leads to confusing material transformational properties with a system behavior. Some ways to advance the field of high pressure phase transformations are suggested. The key points are: (a) to take into account plastic deformations and microstructure evolution during transformations; (b) to formulate phase transformation criteria and kinetic equations in terms of stress and plastic strain tensors (instead of pressure alone); (c) to develop multiscale continuum theories, and (d) to couple experimental, theoretical, and computational studies of the behavior of a tested sample to extract information about fields of stress and strain tensors and concentration of high pressure phase, transformation criteria and kinetics. The ideal characterization should contain complete information which is required for simulation of the same experiments.

Apparent diffusion coefficient of breast cancer and normal fibroglandular tissue in diffusion-weighted imaging: the effects of menstrual cycle and menopausal status.

PubMed

Kim, Jin You; Suh, Hie Bum; Kang, Hyun Jung; Shin, Jong Ki; Choo, Ki Seok; Nam, Kyung Jin; Lee, Seok Won; Jung, Young Lae; Bae, Young Tae

2016-05-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate prospectively whether the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of both breast cancer and normal fibroglandular tissue vary with the menstrual cycle and menopausal status. Institutional review board approval was obtained, and informed consent was obtained from each participant. Fifty-seven women (29 premenopausal, 28 postmenopausal) with newly diagnosed breast cancer underwent diffusion-weighted imaging twice (interval 12-20 days) before surgery. Two radiologists independently measured ADC of breast cancer and normal contralateral breast tissue, and we quantified the differences according to the phases of menstrual cycle and menopausal status. With normal fibroglandular tissue, ADC was significantly lower in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women (P = 0.035). In premenopausal women, ADC did not differ significantly between proliferative and secretory phases in either breast cancer or normal fibroglandular tissue (P = 0.969 and P = 0.519, respectively). In postmenopausal women, no significant differences were found between ADCs measured at different time intervals in either breast cancer or normal fibroglandular tissue (P = 0.948 and P = 0.961, respectively). The within-subject variability of the ADC measurements was quantified using the coefficient of variation (CV) and was small: the mean CVs of tumor ADC were 2.90 % (premenopausal) and 3.43 % (postmenopausal), and those of fibroglandular tissue ADC were 4.37 % (premenopausal) and 2.55 % (postmenopausal). Both intra- and interobserver agreements were excellent for ADC measurements, with intraclass correlation coefficients in the range of 0.834-0.974. In conclusion, the measured ADCs of breast cancer and normal fibroglandular tissue were not affected significantly by menstrual cycle, and the measurements were highly reproducible both within and between observers.

Multidisciplinary approach for fault detection: Integration of PS-InSAR, geomorphological, stratigraphic and structural data in the Venafro intermontane basin (Central-Southern Apennines, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amato, Vincenzo; Aucelli, Pietro P. C.; Bellucci Sessa, Eliana; Cesarano, Massimo; Incontri, Pietro; Pappone, Gerardo; Valente, Ettore; Vilardo, Giuseppe

2017-04-01

A multidisciplinary methodology, integrating stratigraphic, geomorphological and structural data, combined with GIS-aided analysis and PS-InSAR interferometric data, was applied to characterize the relationships between ground deformations and the stratigraphic and the morphostructural setting of the Venafro intermontane basin. This basin is a morphostructural depression related to NW-SE and NE-SW oriented high angle normal faults bordering and crossing it. In particular, a well-known active fault crossing the plain is the Aquae Juliae Fault, whose recent activity is evidenced by archeoseismological data. The approach applied here reveals new evidence of possible faulting, acting during the Lower to Upper Pleistocene, which has driven the morphotectonic and the environmental evolution of the basin. In particular, the tectonic setting emerging from this study highlights the influence of the NW-SE oriented extensional phase during the late Lower Pleistocene - early Middle Pleistocene, in the generation of NE-SW trending, SE dipping, high-angle faults and NW-SE trending, high-angle transtensive faults. This phase has been followed by a NE-SW extensional one, responsible for the formation of NW-SE trending, both NW and SE dipping, high-angle normal faults, and the reactivation of the oldest NE-SW oriented structures. These NW-SE trending normal faults include the Aquae Juliae Fault and a new one, unknown until now, crossing the plain between the Venafro village and the Colle Cupone Mt. (hereinafter named the Venafro-Colle Cupone Fault, VCCF). This fault has controlled deposition of the youngest sedimentary units (late Middle Pleistocene to late Upper Pleistocene) suggesting its recent activity and it is well constrained by PS-InSAR data, as testified by the increase of the subsidence rate in the hanging wall block.

Spatio-Temporal Variability of Summer Precipitation in Mexico under the Influence of the MJO, with Emphasis on the Bimodal Pattern

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perdigón, J.; Romero-Centeno, R.; Barrett, B.; Ordoñez-Perez, P.

2017-12-01

In many regions of Mexico, precipitation occurs in a very well defined annual cycle with peaks in May-June and September-October and a relative minimum in the middle of the rainy season known as the midsummer drought (MSD). The MJO is the most important mode of intraseasonal variability in the tropics, and, although some studies have shown its evident influence on summer precipitation in Mexico, its role in modulating the bimodal pattern of the summer precipitation cycle is still an open question. The spatio-temporal variability of summer precipitation in Mexico is analyzed through composite analysis according to the phases of the MJO, using the very high resolution CHIRPS precipitation data base and gridded data from the CFSR reanalysis to analyzing the MJO influence on the atmospheric circulation over Mexico and its adjacent basins. In general, during MJO phases 8-2 (4-6) rainfall is above-normal (below-normal), although, in some cases, the summer rainfall patterns during the same phase present considerable differences. The atmospheric circulation shows low (high) troposphere southwesterly (northeasterly) wind anomalies in southern Mexico under wetter conditions compared with climatological patterns, while the inverse pattern is observed under drier conditions. Composite anomalies of several variables also agreed well with those rainfall anomalies. Finally, a MJO complete cycle that reinforces (weakens) the bimodal pattern of summer rainfall in Mexico was found.

Quantitative assessment of background parenchymal enhancement in breast magnetic resonance images predicts the risk of breast cancer.

PubMed

Hu, Xiaoxin; Jiang, Luan; Li, Qiang; Gu, Yajia

2017-02-07

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association betweenthe quantitative assessment of background parenchymal enhancement rate (BPER) and breast cancer. From 14,033 consecutive patients who underwent breast MRI in our center, we randomly selected 101 normal controls. Then, we selected 101 women with benign breast lesions and 101 women with breast cancer who were matched for age and menstruation status. We evaluated BPER at early (2 minutes), medium (4 minutes) and late (6 minutes) enhanced time phases of breast MRI for quantitative assessment. Odds ratios (ORs) for risk of breast cancer were calculated using the receiver operating curve. The BPER increased in a time-dependent manner after enhancement in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Premenopausal women had higher BPER than postmenopausal women at early, medium and late enhanced phases. In the normal population, the OR for probability of breast cancer for premenopausal women with high BPER was 4.1 (95% CI: 1.7-9.7) and 4.6 (95% CI: 1.7-12.0) for postmenopausal women. The OR of breast cancer morbidity in premenopausal women with high BPER was 2.6 (95% CI: 1.1-6.4) and 2.8 (95% CI: 1.2-6.1) for postmenopausal women. The BPER was found to be a predictive factor of breast cancer morbidity. Different time phases should be used to assess BPER in premenopausal and postmenopausal women.

Sex hormone-binding globulin and corticosteroid-binding globulin mRNA levels in infertile women with luteal phase deficiency.

PubMed

Misao, R; Nakanishi, Y; Fujimoto, J; Tamaya, T

1995-09-01

This study was designed to investigate the biological significance in intracellular expression of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) mRNA in uterine endometrium with luteal phase deficiency (designated as out-of-phase endometrium or low serum progesterone level). The levels of such mRNAs were measured by the quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Under the normal serum 17 beta-estradiol and progesterone levels in the mid-luteal phase, the levels of SHBG and CBG mRNAs in the out-of-phase endometria were not significantly different from those in the normal endometria. On the other hand, SHBG and CBG mRNA levels in the endometria of low serum midluteal progesterone level were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced and raised, respectively, compared with normal levels. These findings suggest that the synthesis of endometrial steroid-binding proteins in the out-of-phase endometrium is conserved, as that in the in-phase endometrium, whereas the decreased progesterone level might up-regulate CBG expression with down-regulation of SHBG expression.

[Determine and parallel analysis of three kinds of PAEs in serum for obese children].

PubMed

Li, Ping; Dai, Xingbi; Dan, Hong; Huang, Xiaohong

2008-09-01

To study the serum contents of the PAEs of obese children at the ages of 10 to 12 years, in order to estimate the harm of PAEs on obese children. The contents of three kinds PAEs(DEP, DBP and DEHP) in the serum for two groups of children, including 36 obese children and 36 normal weight children, were determined by the reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method And the average measure value of three kind PAEs between two groups of children were analysed. The median serum levels of PAEs were 0.0032 (DEP), 0.1649 (DBP) and 0.1680 (DEHP) in obese children. And the serum levels of PAEs were 0.0026 (DEP), 0.0359 (DBP) and 0.1063 (DEHP) in normal weight children. The differences of average measure value of DBP and DEHP in three kind PAEs between two groups of children were significant (P < 0.01). The amounts of obese children in high level were more than those of normal weight children, and the constitution ratios in three kinds of PAEs of obese children were higher than those of normal weight children. The differences between two groups of children were significant (P < 0.01). The average levels of DBP and DEHP in serum of obese children were more than those of serum of normal weight children. The amounts of obese children were higher than those of normal weight children in high level content of three kinds of PAEs.

Are metastable, precrystallisation, density-fluctuations a universal phenomena?

PubMed

Heeley, Ellen L; Poh, C Kit; Li, Wu; Maidens, Anna; Bras, Wim; Dolbnya, Igor P; Gleeson, Anthony J; Terrill, Nicolas J; Fairclough, J Patrick A; Olmsted, Peter D; Ristic, Rile I; Hounslow, Micheal J; Ryan, Anthony J

2003-01-01

In-situ observations of crystallisation in minerals and organic polymers have been made by simultaneous, time-resolved small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) techniques. In isotactic polypropylene slow quiescent crystallisation shows the onset of large scale ordering prior to crystal growth. Rapid crystallisations studied by melt extrusion indicate the development of well resolved oriented SAXS patterns associated with long range order before the development of crystalline peaks in the WAXS region. Block copolymers self-assemble into mesophases in polymer melts above a critical chain length (or above a critical temperature) and this self-assembly process is shown to be susceptible to an incipient crystallisation. Mesophase formation is observed at anomalously high temperatures in ethylene-oxide containing block copolymers below the normal melting point of the polyoxy ethylene chains. Formation of calcium carbonate from aqueous solutions of sodium carbonate and calcium nitrate is observed to be a two-stage process and precipitation proceeds by the production of an amorphous metastable phase. This phase grows until it is volume filling and leads to the formation of the two polymorphs Calcite and Vaterite. These three sets of results suggest pre-nucleation density fluctuations, leading to a metastable phase, play an integral role in all three classes of crystallisation. In due course, this phase undergoes transformation to "normal" crystals.

Indian summer monsoon rainfall variability in response to differences in the decay phase of El Niño

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chowdary, Jasti S.; Harsha, H. S.; Gnanaseelan, C.; Srinivas, G.; Parekh, Anant; Pillai, Prasanth; Naidu, C. V.

2017-04-01

In general the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) rainfall is near normal or excess during the El Niño decay phase. Nevertheless the impact of large variations in decaying El Niño on the ISM rainfall and circulation is not systematically examined. Based on the timing of El Niño decay with respect to boreal summer season, El Niño decay phases are classified into three types in this study using 142 years of sea surface temperature (SST) data, which are as follows: (1) early-decay (ED; decay during spring), (2) mid-summer decay (MD; decay by mid-summer) and (3) no-decay (ND; no decay in summer). It is observed that ISM rainfall is above normal/excess during ED years, normal during MD years and below normal/deficit in ND years, suggesting that the differences in El Niño decay phase display profound impact on the ISM rainfall. Tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) SST warming, induced by El Niño, decays rapidly before the second half of the monsoon season (August and September) in ED years, but persists up to the end of the season in MD years, whereas TIO warming maintained up to winter in ND case. Analysis reveals the existence of strong sub-seasonal ISM rainfall variations in the summer following El Niño years. During ED years, strong negative SST anomalies develop over the equatorial central-eastern Pacific by June and are apparent throughout the summer season accompanied by anomalous moisture divergence and high sea level pressure (SLP). The associated moisture convergence and low SLP over ISM region favour excess rainfall (mainly from July onwards). This circulation and rainfall anomalies are highly influenced by warm TIO SST and Pacific La Niña conditions in ED years. Convergence of southwesterlies from Arabian Sea and northeasterlies from Bay of Bengal leads to positive rainfall over most part of the Indian subcontinent from August onwards in MD years. ND years are characterized by negative rainfall anomaly spatial pattern and weaker circulation over India throughout the summer season, which are mainly due to persisting El Niño related warm SST anomalies over the Pacific. Atmospheric general circulation model simulation supports our hypothesis that El Niño decay variations modulate ISM rainfall and circulation.

Planning and Realization of Complex Intentions in Traumatic Brain Injury and Normal Aging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kliegel, Matthias; Eschen, Anne; Thone-Otto, Angelika I. T.

2004-01-01

The realization of delayed intentions (i.e., prospective memory) is a highly complex process composed of four phases: intention formation, retention, re-instantiation, and execution. The aim of this study was to investigate if executive functioning impairments are related to problems in the formation, re-instantiation, and execution of a delayed…

High-pressure liquid-monopropellant strand combustion.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faeth, G. M.

1972-01-01

Examination of the influence of dissolved gases on the state of the liquid surface during high-pressure liquid-monopropellant combustion through the use of a strand burning experiment. Liquid surface temperatures were measured, using fine-wire thermocouples, during the strand combustion of ethyl nitrate, normal propyl nitrate, and propylene glycol dinitrate at pressures up to 81 atm. These measurements were compared with the predictions of a variable-property gas-phase analysis assuming an infinite activation energy for the decomposition reaction. The state of the liquid surface was estimated using a conventional low-pressure phase equilibrium model, as well as a high-pressure version that considered the presence of dissolved combustion-product gases in the liquid phase. The high-pressure model was found to give a superior prediction of measured liquid surface temperatures. Computed total pressures required for the surface to reach its critical mixing point during strand combustion were found to be in the range from 2.15 to 4.62 times the critical pressure of the pure propellant. Computed dissolved gas concentrations at the liquid surface were in the range from 35 to 50% near the critical combustion condition.

First principles study of structural and magnetic properties of transition metal nitrides TMN (TM = Cr, Mn)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajeswarapalanichamy, R.; Amudhavalli, A.; Manikandan, M.; Kavitha, M.; Iyakutti, K.

2017-09-01

The structural stability of chromium nitride (CrN) and manganese nitride (MnN) is investigated among four different structures, namely, NaCl (Fm3m), zinc blende (F4-3m), orthorhombic (Pnma) and tetragonal (I4/mmm). It is found that the most stable phase is the zinc blende phase for CrN and MnN. The structural phase transition from zinc blende to orthorhombic phase is predicted at high pressure. At normal pressure, CrN and MnN are found to be antiferromagnetic. As the pressure is increased, antiferromagnetic-to-nonmagnetic phase transition is observed at the pressures of 169.5 GPa in CrN and 206 GPa in MnN. The elastic constants obey the Born-Huang criteria, suggesting that they are mechanically stable. The calculated B/G values indicate that CrN and MnN are ductile in nature.

Dome-shaped magnetic order competing with high-temperature superconductivity at high pressures in FeSe

DOE PAGES

Sun, J. P.; Matsuura, K.; Ye, G. Z.; ...

2016-07-19

The coexistence and competition between superconductivity and electronic orders, such as spin or charge density waves, have been a central issue in high transition-temperature (T c) superconductors. Unlike other iron-based superconductors, FeSe exhibits nematic ordering without magnetism whose relationship with its superconductivity remains unclear. Moreover, a pressure-induced fourfold increase of T c has been reported, which poses a profound mystery. Here we report high-pressure magnetotransport measurements in FeSe up to ~15 GPa, which uncover the dome shape of magnetic phase superseding the nematic order. Above ~6 GPa the sudden enhancement of superconductivity (T c ≤ 38.3 K) accompanies a suppressionmore » of magnetic order, demonstrating their competing nature with very similar energy scales. Above the magnetic dome, we find anomalous transport properties suggesting a possible pseudogap formation, whereas linear-in-temperature resistivity is observed in the normal states of the high-T c phase above 6 GPa. In conclusion, the obtained phase diagram highlights unique features of FeSe among iron-based superconductors, but bears some resemblance to that of high-T c cuprates.« less

Rehabilitation of syndesmotic (high) ankle sprains.

PubMed

Williams, Glenn N; Allen, Eric J

2010-11-01

High ankle sprains are common in athletes who play contact sports. Most high ankle sprains are treated nonsurgically with a rehabilitation program. All years of PUBMED, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL PLUS, SPORTDiscuss, Google Scholar, and Web of Science were searched to August 2010, cross-referencing existing publications. Keywords included syndesmosis ankle sprain or high ankle sprain and the following terms: rehabilitation, treatment, cryotherapy, braces, orthosis, therapeutic modalities, joint mobilization, massage, pain, pain medications, TENS (ie, transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation), acupuncture, aquatic therapy, strength, neuromuscular training, perturbation training, and outcomes. Level of evidence, 5. A 3-phase rehabilitation program is described. The acute phase is directed at protecting the joint while minimizing pain, inflammation, muscle weakness, and loss of motion. Most patients are treated with some form of immobilization and have weightbearing restrictions. A range of therapeutic modalities are used to minimize pain and inflammation. Gentle mobilization and resistance exercises are used to gain mobility and maintain muscle size and strength. The subacute phase is directed at normalizing range of motion, strength, and function in activities of daily living. Progressive mobilization and strengthening are hallmarks of this phase. Neuromuscular training is begun and becomes the central component of rehabilitation. The advanced training phase focuses on preparing the patient for return to sports participation. Perturbation of support surfaces, agility drills, plyometrics, and sport-specific training are central components of this phase. The rehabilitation guidelines discussed may assist clinicians in managing syndesmotic ankle sprains.

Reproducibility of CT Perfusion Parameters in Liver Tumors and Normal Liver

PubMed Central

Ng, Chaan S.; Chandler, Adam G.; Wei, Wei; Herron, Delise H.; Anderson, Ella F.; Kurzrock, Razelle; Charnsangavej, Chusilp

2011-01-01

Purpose: To assess the reproducibility of computed tomographic (CT) perfusion measurements in liver tumors and normal liver and effects of motion and data acquisition time on parameters. Materials and Methods: Institutional review board approval and written informed consent were obtained for this prospective study. The study complied with HIPAA regulations. Two CT perfusion scans were obtained 2–7 days apart in seven patients with liver tumors with two scanning phases (phase 1: 30-second breath-hold cine; phase 2: six intermittent free-breathing cines) spanning 135 seconds. Blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT), and permeability–surface area product (PS) for tumors and normal liver were calculated from phase 1 with and without rigid registration and, for combined phases 1 and 2, with manually and rigid-registered phase 2 images, by using deconvolution modeling. Variability was assessed with within-patient coefficients of variation (CVs) and Bland-Altman analyses. Results: For tumors, BF, BV, MTT, and PS values and reproducibility varied by analytical method, the former by up to 11%, 23%, 21%, and 138%, respectively. Median PS values doubled with the addition of phase 2 data to phase 1 data. The best overall reproducibility was obtained with rigidly registered phase 1 and phase 2 images, with within-patient CVs for BF, BV, MTT, and PS of 11.2%, 14.4%, 5.5% and 12.1%, respectively. Normal liver evaluations were similar, except with marginally lower variability. Conclusion: Absolute values and reproducibility of CT perfusion parameters were markedly influenced by motion and data acquisition time. PS, in particular, probably requires data acquisition beyond a single breath hold, for which motion-correction techniques are likely necessary. © RSNA, 2011 Supplemental material: http://radiology.rsna.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1148/radiol.11110331/-/DC1 PMID:21788525

Experimental Evidence for a Structural-Dynamical Transition in Trajectory Space.

PubMed

Pinchaipat, Rattachai; Campo, Matteo; Turci, Francesco; Hallett, James E; Speck, Thomas; Royall, C Patrick

2017-07-14

Among the key insights into the glass transition has been the identification of a nonequilibrium phase transition in trajectory space which reveals phase coexistence between the normal supercooled liquid (active phase) and a glassy state (inactive phase). Here, we present evidence that such a transition occurs in experiments. In colloidal hard spheres, we find a non-Gaussian distribution of trajectories leaning towards those rich in locally favored structures (LFSs), associated with the emergence of slow dynamics. This we interpret as evidence for a nonequilibrium transition to an inactive LFS-rich phase. Reweighting trajectories reveals a first-order phase transition in trajectory space between a normal liquid and a LFS-rich phase. We also find evidence for a purely dynamical transition in trajectory space.

Phase Transition of H 2 in Subnanometer Pores Observed at 75 K

DOE PAGES

Olsen, Raina J.; Gillespie, Andrew K.; Contescu, Cristian I.; ...

2017-10-30

In this paper, we report a phase transition in H 2 adsorbed in a locally graphitic Saran carbon with subnanometer pores 0.5–0.65 nm in width, in which two layers of hydrogen can just barely squeeze, provided they pack tightly. The phase transition is observed at 75 K, temperatures far higher than other systems in which an adsorbent is known to increase phase transition temperatures: for instance, H 2 melts at 14 K in the bulk, but at 20 K on graphite because the solid H 2 is stabilized by the surface structure. Here we observe a transition at 75 Kmore » and 77–200 bar: from a low-temperature, low-density phase to a high-temperature, higher density phase. We model the low-density phase as a monolayer commensurate solid composed mostly of para-H 2 (the ground nuclear spin state, S = 0) and the high-density phase as an orientationally ordered bilayer commensurate solid composed mostly of ortho-H 2 (S = 1). We attribute the increase in density with temperature to the fact that the oblong ortho-H 2 can pack more densely. The transition is observed using two experiments. The high-density phase is associated with an increase in neutron backscatter by a factor of 7.0 ± 0.1. Normally, hydrogen produces no backscatter (scattering angle >90°). This backscatter appears along with a discontinuous increase in the excitation mass from 1.2 amu to 21.0 ± 2.3 amu, which we associate with collective nuclear spin excitations in the orientationally ordered phase. Film densities were measured using hydrogen adsorption. Finally, no phase transition was observed in H 2 adsorbed in control activated carbon materials.« less

Phase Transition of H 2 in Subnanometer Pores Observed at 75 K

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

Olsen, Raina J.; Gillespie, Andrew K.; Contescu, Cristian I.

In this paper, we report a phase transition in H 2 adsorbed in a locally graphitic Saran carbon with subnanometer pores 0.5–0.65 nm in width, in which two layers of hydrogen can just barely squeeze, provided they pack tightly. The phase transition is observed at 75 K, temperatures far higher than other systems in which an adsorbent is known to increase phase transition temperatures: for instance, H 2 melts at 14 K in the bulk, but at 20 K on graphite because the solid H 2 is stabilized by the surface structure. Here we observe a transition at 75 Kmore » and 77–200 bar: from a low-temperature, low-density phase to a high-temperature, higher density phase. We model the low-density phase as a monolayer commensurate solid composed mostly of para-H 2 (the ground nuclear spin state, S = 0) and the high-density phase as an orientationally ordered bilayer commensurate solid composed mostly of ortho-H 2 (S = 1). We attribute the increase in density with temperature to the fact that the oblong ortho-H 2 can pack more densely. The transition is observed using two experiments. The high-density phase is associated with an increase in neutron backscatter by a factor of 7.0 ± 0.1. Normally, hydrogen produces no backscatter (scattering angle >90°). This backscatter appears along with a discontinuous increase in the excitation mass from 1.2 amu to 21.0 ± 2.3 amu, which we associate with collective nuclear spin excitations in the orientationally ordered phase. Film densities were measured using hydrogen adsorption. Finally, no phase transition was observed in H 2 adsorbed in control activated carbon materials.« less

Abnormalities in the cellular phase of blood fibrinolytic activity in systemic lupus erythematosus and in venous thromboembolism

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

Moroz, L.A.; MacLean, L.D.; Langleben, D.

1986-09-15

Fibrinolytic activities of whole blood and plasma were determined by /sup 125/I-fibrin radiometric assay in 16 normal subjects, and in 11 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 14 with progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS), 23 with venous thromboembolic disease, and 20 patients awaiting elective surgery. Mean whole blood and plasma activities for patients with PSS, and for those awaiting elective surgery, were similar to normal values, as was the mean plasma activity in patients with SLE. However, mean whole blood activity in SLE was significantly decreased compared with normals (p less than 0.05), with mean plasma activity accounting for 44% ofmore » mean whole blood activity (compared with 17% in normal subjects), representing a 67% decrease in mean calculated cellular phase activity in SLE, when compared with normals. Since the numbers of cells (neutrophils, monocytes) possibly involved in cellular activity were not decreased, the findings suggest a functional defect in fibrinolytic activity of one or more blood cell types in SLE. An additional finding was the participation of the cellular phase as well as the well-known plasma phase of blood in the fibrinolytic response to thromboembolism.« less

Effects of pelvic compression belts on the kinematics and kinetics of the lower extremities during sit-to-stand maneuvers

PubMed Central

Kim, Jong Moon; Je, Hyun Dong; Kim, Hyeong-Dong

2017-01-01

[Purpose] To investigate the effects of a pelvic compression belt (PCB) and chair height on the kinematics and kinetics of the lower extremity during sit-to-stand (STS) maneuvers in healthy people. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-two people participated in this study. They were required to perform STS maneuvers under four conditions. Hip joint moment and angular displacement of the hip, knee, and ankle were measured. A PCB was also applied below the anterior superior iliac spine. [Results] The angular displacement of the ankle joint increased while performing STS maneuvers from a normal chair with a PCB in phase 1, and decreased during phase 2 when performing STS maneuvers from a high chair. The overall angular displacement in phase 3 was decreased while rising from a chair with a PCB and rising from a high chair. When performed STS maneuvers from a high chair, the angular displacement of the hip, knee, and ankle joint decreased considerably in phase 3. This decreased lower extremity motion in phase 3 indicated that participants required less momentum to complete the maneuver. [Conclusion] The results of this study suggest that a PCB might be appropriate for patients with pelvic girdle pain and lower back pain related to pregnancy. PMID:28878454

Effects of pelvic compression belts on the kinematics and kinetics of the lower extremities during sit-to-stand maneuvers.

PubMed

Kim, Jong Moon; Je, Hyun Dong; Kim, Hyeong-Dong

2017-08-01

[Purpose] To investigate the effects of a pelvic compression belt (PCB) and chair height on the kinematics and kinetics of the lower extremity during sit-to-stand (STS) maneuvers in healthy people. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-two people participated in this study. They were required to perform STS maneuvers under four conditions. Hip joint moment and angular displacement of the hip, knee, and ankle were measured. A PCB was also applied below the anterior superior iliac spine. [Results] The angular displacement of the ankle joint increased while performing STS maneuvers from a normal chair with a PCB in phase 1, and decreased during phase 2 when performing STS maneuvers from a high chair. The overall angular displacement in phase 3 was decreased while rising from a chair with a PCB and rising from a high chair. When performed STS maneuvers from a high chair, the angular displacement of the hip, knee, and ankle joint decreased considerably in phase 3. This decreased lower extremity motion in phase 3 indicated that participants required less momentum to complete the maneuver. [Conclusion] The results of this study suggest that a PCB might be appropriate for patients with pelvic girdle pain and lower back pain related to pregnancy.

Ammonia-water mixtures at high pressures - Melting curves of ammonia dihydrate and ammonia monohydrate and a revised high-pressure phase diagram for the water-rich region. [in primordial solar system ices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boone, S.; Nicol, M. F.

1991-01-01

The phase relations of some mixtures of ammonia and water are investigated to create a phase diagram in pressure-temperature-composition space relevant to the geophysical study of bodies in the outer solar system. The mixtures of NH3(x)H2O(1-x), where x is greater than 0.30 but less than 0.51, are examined at pressures and temperatures ranging from 0-6.5 GPa and 125-400 K, respectively. The ruby luminescence technique monitors the pressure and a diamond-anvil cell compresses the samples, and the phases are identified by means of normal- and polarized-light optical microscopy. The melting curve for NH3H2O(2) is described by the equation T = 176 + 60P - 8.5P squared for the ranges of 0.06-1.4 GPa and 179-243 K. The equation for NH3H2O is T = 194 + 37P - P squared, which represents a minor correction of a previous description by Johnson et al. (1985). Observed phase transitions are consistent with the high-pressure stability limit of NH3H2O(2), and the transition boundary is found to be linear.

Sample handling and contamination encountered when coupling offline normal phase high performance liquid chromatography fraction collection of petroleum samples to Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Oro, Nicole E; Whittal, Randy M; Lucy, Charles A

2012-09-05

Normal phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is used to separate a gas oil petroleum sample, and the fractions are collected offline and analyzed on a high resolution Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometer (FT-ICR MS). The separation prior to MS analysis dilutes the sample significantly; therefore the fractions need to be prepared properly to achieve the best signal possible. The methods used to prepare the HPLC fractions for MS analysis are described, with emphasis placed on increasing the concentration of analyte species. The dilution effect also means that contamination in the MS spectra needs to be minimized. The contamination from molecular sieves, plastics, soap, etc. and interferences encountered during the offline fraction collection process are described and eliminated. A previously unreported MS contamination of iron formate clusters with a 0.8 mass defect in positive mode electrospray is also described. This interference resulted from the stainless steel tubing in the HPLC system. Contamination resulting from what has tentatively been assigned as palmitoylglycerol and stearoylglycerol was also observed; these compounds have not previously been reported as contaminant peaks. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multi-point measurement using two-channel reflectometer with antenna switching for study of high-frequency fluctuations in GAMMA 10

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikezoe, R.; Ichimura, M.; Okada, T.; Itagaki, J.; Hirata, M.; Sumida, S.; Jang, S.; Izumi, K.; Tanaka, A.; Yoshikawa, M.; Kohagura, J.; Sakamoto, M.; Nakashima, Y.

2017-03-01

A two-channel microwave reflectometer system with fast microwave antenna switching capability was developed and applied to the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror device to study high-frequency small-amplitude fluctuations in a hot mirror plasma. The fast switching of the antennas is controlled using PIN diode switches, which offers the significant advantage of reducing the number of high-cost microwave components and digitizers with high bandwidths and large memory that are required to measure the spatiotemporal behavior of the high-frequency fluctuations. The use of two channels rather than one adds the important function of a simultaneous two-point measurement in either the radial direction or the direction of the antenna array to measure the phase profile of the fluctuations along with the normal amplitude profile. The density fluctuations measured using this system clearly showed the high-frequency coherent fluctuations that are associated with Alfvén-ion-cyclotron (AIC) waves in GAMMA 10. A correlation analysis applied to simultaneously measured density fluctuations showed that the phase component that was included in a reflected microwave provided both high coherence and a clear phase difference for the AIC waves, while the amplitude component showed neither significant coherence nor clear phase difference. The axial phase differences of the AIC waves measured inside the hot plasma confirmed the formation of a standing wave structure. The axial variation of the radial profiles was evaluated and a clear difference was found among the AIC waves for the first time, which would be a key to clarify the unknown boundary conditions of the AIC waves.

Delayed visual maturation in infants: a disorder of figure-ground separation?

PubMed

Harris, C M; Kriss, A; Shawkat, F; Taylor, D; Russell-Eggitt, I

1996-01-01

Delayed visual maturation (DVM) is characterised by visual unresponsiveness in early infancy, which subsequently improves spontaneously to normal levels. We studied the optokinetic response and recorded pattern reversal VEPs in six infants with DVM (aged 2-4 months) when they were at the stage of complete visual unresponsiveness. Although no saccades or visual tracking with the eyes or head could be elicited to visual objects, a normal full-field rapid buildup OKN response occurred when viewing biocularly or during monocular stimulation in the temporo-nasal direction of the viewing eye. Almost no monocular OKN could be elicited in the naso-temporal direction, which was significantly poorer than normal age-matched infants. No OKN quick phases were missed, and there were no other signs of "ocular motor apraxia." VEPs were normal in amplitude and latency for age. It appears, therefore, that infants with DVM are delayed in orienting to local regions of the visual field, but can respond to full-field motion. The presence of normal OKN quick-phases and slow-phases suggests normal brain stem function, and the presence of normal pattern VEPs suggests a normal retino-geniculo-striate pathway. These oculomotor and electrophysiological findings suggest delayed development of extra-striate cortical structures, possibly involving either an abnormality in figure-ground segregation or in attentional pathways.

Non-invasive assessment of pulsatile intracranial pressure with phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging

PubMed Central

Lindstrøm, Erika Kristina; Vatnehol, Svein Are Sirirud; Mardal, Kent-André; Emblem, Kyrre Eeg; Eide, Per Kristian

2017-01-01

Invasive monitoring of pulsatile intracranial pressure can accurately predict shunt response in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus, but may potentially cause complications such as bleeding and infection. We tested how a proposed surrogate parameter for pulsatile intracranial pressure, the phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging derived pulse pressure gradient, compared with its invasive counterpart. In 22 patients with suspected idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus, preceding invasive intracranial pressure monitoring, and any surgical shunt procedure, we calculated the pulse pressure gradient from phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging derived cerebrospinal fluid flow velocities obtained at the upper cervical spinal canal using a simplified Navier-Stokes equation. Repeated measurements of the pulse pressure gradient were also undertaken in four healthy controls. Of 17 shunted patients, 16 responded, indicating high proportion of “true” normal pressure hydrocephalus in the patient cohort. However, there was no correlation between the magnetic resonance imaging derived pulse pressure gradient and pulsatile intracranial pressure (R = -.18, P = .43). Pulse pressure gradients were also similar in patients and healthy controls (P = .26), and did not differ between individuals with pulsatile intracranial pressure above or below established thresholds for shunt treatment (P = .97). Assessment of pulse pressure gradient at level C2 was therefore not found feasible to replace invasive monitoring of pulsatile intracranial pressure in selection of patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus for surgical shunting. Unlike invasive, overnight monitoring, the pulse pressure gradient from magnetic resonance imaging comprises short-term pressure fluctuations only. Moreover, complexity of cervical cerebrospinal fluid flow and -pulsatility at the upper cervical spinal canal may render the pulse pressure gradient a poor surrogate marker for intracranial pressure pulsations. PMID:29190788

Non-invasive assessment of pulsatile intracranial pressure with phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Ringstad, Geir; Lindstrøm, Erika Kristina; Vatnehol, Svein Are Sirirud; Mardal, Kent-André; Emblem, Kyrre Eeg; Eide, Per Kristian

2017-01-01

Invasive monitoring of pulsatile intracranial pressure can accurately predict shunt response in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus, but may potentially cause complications such as bleeding and infection. We tested how a proposed surrogate parameter for pulsatile intracranial pressure, the phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging derived pulse pressure gradient, compared with its invasive counterpart. In 22 patients with suspected idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus, preceding invasive intracranial pressure monitoring, and any surgical shunt procedure, we calculated the pulse pressure gradient from phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging derived cerebrospinal fluid flow velocities obtained at the upper cervical spinal canal using a simplified Navier-Stokes equation. Repeated measurements of the pulse pressure gradient were also undertaken in four healthy controls. Of 17 shunted patients, 16 responded, indicating high proportion of "true" normal pressure hydrocephalus in the patient cohort. However, there was no correlation between the magnetic resonance imaging derived pulse pressure gradient and pulsatile intracranial pressure (R = -.18, P = .43). Pulse pressure gradients were also similar in patients and healthy controls (P = .26), and did not differ between individuals with pulsatile intracranial pressure above or below established thresholds for shunt treatment (P = .97). Assessment of pulse pressure gradient at level C2 was therefore not found feasible to replace invasive monitoring of pulsatile intracranial pressure in selection of patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus for surgical shunting. Unlike invasive, overnight monitoring, the pulse pressure gradient from magnetic resonance imaging comprises short-term pressure fluctuations only. Moreover, complexity of cervical cerebrospinal fluid flow and -pulsatility at the upper cervical spinal canal may render the pulse pressure gradient a poor surrogate marker for intracranial pressure pulsations.

A stress-induced phase transition model for semi-crystallize shape memory polymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Xiaogang; Zhou, Bo; Liu, Liwu; Liu, Yanju; Leng, Jinsong

2014-03-01

The developments of constitutive models for shape memory polymer (SMP) have been motivated by its increasing applications. During cooling or heating process, the phase transition which is a continuous time-dependent process happens in semi-crystallize SMP and the various individual phases form at different temperature and in different configuration. Then, the transformation between these phases occurred and shape memory effect will emerge. In addition, stress applied on SMP is an important factor for crystal melting during phase transition. In this theory, an ideal phase transition model considering stress or pre-strain is the key to describe the behaviors of shape memory effect. So a normal distributed model was established in this research to characterize the volume fraction of each phase in SMP during phase transition. Generally, the experiment results are partly backward (in heating process) or forward (in cooling process) compared with the ideal situation considering delay effect during phase transition. So, a correction on the normal distributed model is needed. Furthermore, a nonlinear relationship between stress and phase transition temperature Tg is also taken into account for establishing an accurately normal distributed phase transition model. Finally, the constitutive model which taking the stress as an influence factor on phase transition was also established. Compared with the other expressions, this new-type model possesses less parameter and is more accurate. For the sake of verifying the rationality and accuracy of new phase transition and constitutive model, the comparisons between the simulated and experimental results were carried out.

Sibling Conflict Resolution Skills: Assessment and Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Brett W.; Roberts, Mark W.

2009-01-01

Sibling conflict can rise to the level of a clinical problem. In Phase 1 a lengthy behavioral role-play analog sampling child reactions to normal sibling conflicts was successfully shortened. In Phase 2 normal children who lacked sibling conflict resolution skills were randomly assigned to a Training or Measurement Only condition. Training…

Circadian changes in core body temperature, metabolic rate and locomotor activity in rats on a high-protein, carbohydrate-free diet.

PubMed

Yamaoka, Ippei; Hagi, Mieko; Doi, Masako

2009-12-01

Ingestion of a high-protein meal results in body weight loss due to elevated energy expenditure, while also increasing satiety and decreasing subsequent food intake. The present study aimed to clarify the effects of a high-protein, carbohydrate-free diet (HPCFD) on these physiological indicators from a circadian perspective. Rats were given HPCFD or a pair-fed normal protein content diet (20% protein; NPD) for 4 d. The HPCFD group lost more body weight than the NPD group. Oxygen consumption (VO(2)) in the HPCFD group did not change during the experimental period, and tended to be higher during the light (L) phase than in the NPD group. Carbon dioxide production (VCO(2)) during the L phase was higher in the HPCFD group than in the NPD group, where VCO(2) was gradually decreased during the last dark (D) phase and throughout the L phase. The HPCFD group exhibited higher daily core body temperature (T(b)), particularly during the late D phase and throughout the L phase when compared to the NPD group. Locomotor activities during the D phase of the NPD group tended to gradually increase and were thus significantly higher than in the HPCFD group. These results suggest that HPCFD, even if energy intake is insufficient, maintains circadian changes in metabolic rates, resulting in maintenance of elevated daily T(b) and body weight reduction without increasing activity.

Estrogenic activity of tamoxifen on normal mammary parenchyma in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.

PubMed

Facina, G; de Lima, G R; Simões, M J; Novo, N F; Gebrim, L H

1997-01-01

Tamoxifen, an anti-estrogenic drug used in the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer, deserves more investigation for the determination of its efficacy as a prophylactic agent against breast cancer in high risk women. Thus, the action of tamoxifen on the human mammary gland was studied by measuring the number of lysosomes in normal mammary epithelium during the administration of tamoxifen. Tamoxifen was administered only during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle to avoid interference with corpus luteum formation. A fragment of breast tissue adjacent to a fibroadenoma was obtained during surgery from 35 premenopausal women aged 15 to 37 years who had been eumenorrheic for at least 6 months; 18 of these patients were treated with tamoxifen and 17 were used as controls. Lysosome counts were performed under the light microscope on slides submitted to the acid phosphatase cytochemical technique and the data were analyzed statistically by the Mann-Whitney test. The fragments from the group treated with tamoxifen showed a significant decrease in lysosome numbers. Tamoxifen administered after ovulation significantly decreases the number of lysosomes in the cells of normal mammary epithelium, demonstrating the antiestrogenic effect of the drug on this target tissue.

Normal gene expression in male F344 rat nasal transitional and respiratory epithelium.

PubMed

Hester, Susan D; Benavides, Gina B; Sartor, Maureen; Yoon, Lawrence; Wolf, Douglas C; Morgan, Kevin T

2002-02-20

The nasal epithelium is an important target site for chemically-induced toxicity and carcinogenicity in rodents. Gene expression profiles were determined in order to provide normal baseline data for nasal transitional/respiratory epithelium from healthy rats. Cells lining the rat nasal passages were collected and gene expression analysis was performed using Clontech cDNA Rat Atlas 1.2 arrays (1185 genes). The percentages of genes within specific average expression ranges were 4.2% at 45,000-1000, 14.8% at 1000-200, 25.0% at 200-68, and 56.0% below 68. Nine out of a subset of ten genes were confirmed for relative signal intensity using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. The most highly expressed genes included those involved in phase I (e.g. cytochrome P450s) and phase II (e.g. glutathione S-transferases) xenobiotic metabolism, bioenergetics (e.g. cytochrome oxidase), osmotic balance (e.g. Na(+)/K(+) ATPase) and epithelial ionic homeostasis (e.g. ion channels). Such baseline data will contribute to further understanding the normal physiology of these cells and facilitate the interpretation of responses by the nasal epithelial cells to xenobiotic treatment or disease.

Quantum metallicity on the high-field side of the superconductor-insulator transition.

PubMed

Baturina, T I; Strunk, C; Baklanov, M R; Satta, A

2007-03-23

We investigate ultrathin superconducting TiN films, which are very close to the localization threshold. Perpendicular magnetic field drives the films from the superconducting to an insulating state, with very high resistance. Further increase of the magnetic field leads to an exponential decay of the resistance towards a finite value. In the limit of low temperatures, the saturation value can be very accurately extrapolated to the universal quantum resistance h/e2. Our analysis suggests that at high magnetic fields a new ground state, distinct from the normal metallic state occurring above the superconducting transition temperature, is formed. A comparison with other studies on different materials indicates that the quantum metallic phase following the magnetic-field-induced insulating phase is a generic property of systems close to the disorder-driven superconductor-insulator transition.

Training-induced annual changes in red blood cell profile in highly-trained endurance and speed-power athletes.

PubMed

Ciekot-Sołtysiak, Monika; Kusy, Krzysztof; Podgórski, Tomasz; Zieliński, Jacek

2017-10-24

An extensive body of literature exists on the effects of training on haematological parameters, but the previous studies have not reported how hematological parameters respond to changes in training loads within consecutive phases of the training cycle in highly-trained athletes in extremely different sport disciplines. The aim of this study was to identify changes in red blood cell (RBC) profile in response to training loads in consecutive phases of the annual training cycle in highly-trained sprinters (8 men, aged 24 ± 3 years) and triathletes (6 men, aged 24 ± 4 years) who competed at the national and international level. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), RBC, haemoglobin (Hb), haematocrit (Ht), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and RBC distribution width (RDW) were determined in four characteristic training phases (transition, general subphase of the preparation phase, specific subphase of the preparation phase and competition phase). Our main findings are that (1) Hb, MCH and MCHC in triathletes and MCV in both triathletes and sprinters changed significantly over the annual training cycle, (2) triathletes had significantly higher values than sprinters only in case of MCH and MCHC after the transition and general preparation phases but not after the competition phase when MCH and MCHC were higher in sprinters and (3) in triathletes, Hb, MCH and MCHC substantially decreased after the competition phase, which was not observed in sprinters. The athletes maintained normal ranges of all haematological parameters in four characteristic training phases. Although highly-trained sprinters and triathletes do not significantly differ in their levels of most haematological parameters, these groups are characterized by different patterns of changes during the annual training cycle. Our results suggest that when interpreting the values of haematological parameters in speed-power and endurance athletes, a specific phase of the annual training cycle should be taken into account.

High Throughput, Polymeric Aqueous Two-Phase Printing of Tumor Spheroids

PubMed Central

Atefi, Ehsan; Lemmo, Stephanie; Fyffe, Darcy; Luker, Gary D.; Tavana, Hossein

2014-01-01

This paper presents a new 3D culture microtechnology for high throughput production of tumor spheroids and validates its utility for screening anti-cancer drugs. We use two immiscible polymeric aqueous solutions and microprint a submicroliter drop of the “patterning” phase containing cells into a bath of the “immersion” phase. Selecting proper formulations of biphasic systems using a panel of biocompatible polymers results in the formation of a round drop that confines cells to facilitate spontaneous formation of a spheroid without any external stimuli. Adapting this approach to robotic tools enables straightforward generation and maintenance of spheroids of well-defined size in standard microwell plates and biochemical analysis of spheroids in situ, which is not possible with existing techniques for spheroid culture. To enable high throughput screening, we establish a phase diagram to identify minimum cell densities within specific volumes of the patterning drop to result in a single spheroid. Spheroids show normal growth over long-term incubation and dose-dependent decrease in cellular viability when treated with drug compounds, but present significant resistance compared to monolayer cultures. The unprecedented ease of implementing this microtechnology and its robust performance will benefit high throughput studies of drug screening against cancer cells with physiologically-relevant 3D tumor models. PMID:25411577

Releasing intracellular product to prepare whole cell biocatalyst for biosynthesis of Monascus pigments in water-edible oil two-phase system.

PubMed

Hu, Minglue; Zhang, Xuehong; Wang, Zhilong

2016-11-01

Selective releasing intracellular product in Triton X-100 micelle aqueous solution to prepare whole cell biocatalyst is a novel strategy for biosynthesis of Monascus pigments, in which cell suspension culture exhibits some advantages comparing with the corresponding growing cell submerged culture. In the present work, the nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 was successfully replaced by edible plant oils for releasing intracellular Monascus pigments. High concentration of Monascus pigments (with absorbance nearly 710 AU at 470 nm in the oil phase, normalized to the aqueous phase volume approximately 142 AU) was achieved by cell suspension culture in peanut oil-water two-phase system. Furthermore, the utilization of edible oil as extractant also fulfills the demand for application of Monascus pigments as natural food colorant.

Optimized phase mask to realize retro-reflection reduction for optical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Sifeng; Gong, Mali

2017-10-01

Aiming at the threats to the active laser detection systems of electro-optical devices due to the cat-eye effect, a novel solution is put forward to realize retro-reflection reduction in this paper. According to the demands of both cat-eye effect reduction and the image quality maintenance of electro-optical devices, a symmetric phase mask is achieved from a stationary phase method and a fast Fourier transform algorithm. Then, based on a comparison of peak normalized cross-correlation (PNCC) between the different defocus parameters, the optimal imaging position can be obtained. After modification with the designed phase mask, the cat-eye effect peak intensity can be reduced by two orders of magnitude while maintaining good image quality and high modulation transfer function (MTF). Furthermore, a practical design example is introduced to demonstrate the feasibility of our proposed approach.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging at 3 Hours after Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Predicts Long-Term Locomotor Recovery

PubMed Central

Kim, Joong H.; Loy, David N.; Wang, Qing; Budde, Matthew D.; Schmidt, Robert E.; Trinkaus, Kathryn

2010-01-01

Abstract Accurate diagnosis of spinal cord injury (SCI) severity must be achieved before highly aggressive experimental therapies can be tested responsibly in the early phases after trauma. These studies demonstrate for the first time that axial diffusivity (λ||), derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) within 3 h after SCI, accurately predicts long-term locomotor behavioral recovery in mice. Female C57BL/6 mice underwent sham laminectomy or graded contusive spinal cord injuries at the T9 vertebral level (5 groups, n = 8 for each group). In-vivo DTI examinations were performed immediately after SCI. Longitudinal measurements of hindlimb locomotor recovery were obtained using the Basso mouse scale (BMS). Injured and spared regions of ventrolateral white matter (VLWM) were reliably separated in the hyperacute phase by threshold segmentation. Measurements of λ|| were compared with histology in the hyperacute phase and 14 days after injury. The spared normal VLWM determined by hyperacute λ|| and 14-day histology correlated well (r = 0.95). A strong correlation between hindlimb locomotor function recovery and λ||-determined spared normal VLWM was also observed. The odds of significant locomotor recovery increased by 18% with each 1% increase in normal VLWM measured in the hyperacute phase (odds ratio = 1.18, p = 0.037). The capability of measuring subclinical changes in spinal cord physiology and murine genetic advantages offer an early window into the basic mechanisms of SCI that was not previously possible. Although significant obstacles must still be overcome to derive similar data in human patients, the path to clinical translation is foreseeable and achievable. PMID:20001686

High-frequency Born synthetic seismograms based on coupled normal modes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pollitz, F.

2011-01-01

High-frequency and full waveform synthetic seismograms on a 3-D laterally heterogeneous earth model are simulated using the theory of coupled normal modes. The set of coupled integral equations that describe the 3-D response are simplified into a set of uncoupled integral equations by using the Born approximation to calculate scattered wavefields and the pure-path approximation to modulate the phase of incident and scattered wavefields. This depends upon a decomposition of the aspherical structure into smooth and rough components. The uncoupled integral equations are discretized and solved in the frequency domain, and time domain results are obtained by inverse Fourier transform. Examples show the utility of the normal mode approach to synthesize the seismic wavefields resulting from interaction with a combination of rough and smooth structural heterogeneities. This approach is applied to an ~4 Hz shallow crustal wave propagation around the site of the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD). ?? The Author Geophysical Journal International ?? 2011 RAS.

Microstructure and tribological properties of TiAg intermetallic compound coating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Chun; Chen, Jianmin; Zhou, Jiansong; Zhao, Jierong; Wang, Linqian; Yu, Youjun; Zhou, Huidi

2011-10-01

TiAg intermetallic compound coating has been in situ synthesized successfully on pure Ti substrate by laser cladding using Ag powder as the precursor. It has been found that the prepared coating mainly comprised TiAg and Ti phases. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy results further conform the existence of TiAg intermetallic compound in the prepared coating. The magnified high resolution transmission electron microscopy images shown that the laser cladding coating contains TiAg nanocrystalline with the size of about 4 nm. Tribological properties of the prepared TiAg intermetallic compound coating were systematically evaluated. It was found that the friction coefficient and wear rate was closely related to the normal load and sliding speed, i.e., the friction coefficient of the prepared TiAg intermetallic compound coating decreased with increasing normal load and sliding speed. The wear rate of the TiAg intermetallic compound coating decreased rapidly with increasing sliding speed, while the wear rate increased as the normal load increased.

Applications of phase-contrast x-ray imaging to medicine using an x-ray interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Momose, Atsushi; Yoneyama, Akio; Takeda, Tohoru; Itai, Yuji; Tu, Jinhong; Hirano, Keiichi

1999-10-01

We are investigating possible medical applications of phase- contrast X-ray imaging using an X-ray interferometer. This paper introduces the strategy of the research project and the present status. The main subject is to broaden the observation area to enable in vivo observation. For this purpose, large X-ray interferometers were developed, and 2.5 cm X 1.5 cm interference patterns were generated using synchrotron X-rays. An improvement of the spatial resolution is also included in the project, and an X-ray interferometer designed for high-resolution phase-contrast X-ray imaging was fabricated and tested. In parallel with the instrumental developments, various soft tissues are observed by phase- contrast X-ray CT to find correspondence between the generated contrast and our histological knowledge. The observation done so far suggests that cancerous tissues are differentiated from normal tissues and that blood can produce phase contrast. Furthermore, this project includes exploring materials that modulate phase contrast for selective imaging.

Long-life 3-axis satellite attitude sensing, phase 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arild, Tor

1987-01-01

The purpose was to investigate the feasibility of new, moderate-cost, high reliability navigation sensors for high-altitude satellites, using stellar sources to obviate the use of gyroscopic devices. The primary investigation focused on the need for developing a star tracker model to replace an old star tracker which is still needed for current probe and satellite programs. One innovative element of the proposed star tracker was the design, development, and testing of technology components related to a phase scrambler plate. The purpose of the phase scrambler plate is to convert the impulse response of the optical system from a point image to a uniformly bright, square, angularly large, in-focus image of the star source. A collimated star source was built and tested. A breadboard star tracker with an 8 x 8 degree field of view was designed and built. It was tested in normal quad-cell mode (without the phase scrambler plate) and with the phase scrambler plate. Although the phase scrambler plate was crudely made, the performance of the star tracker breadboard was greatly improved using the phase scrambler plate, instead of system defocus. If further developed, the phase scrambler plate may be added as a low-cost retroconversion to any objective lens to greatly improve quad-cell or CCD array tracking; applications include star trackers, laser metrology, laser machining optics, and surveying instrumentation.

Mapping the QCD Phase Transition with Accreting Compact Stars

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

Blaschke, D.; Bogoliubov Laboratory for Theoretical Physics, JINR Dubna, Joliot-Curie str. 6, 141980 Dubna; Poghosyan, G.

2008-10-29

We discuss an idea for how accreting millisecond pulsars could contribute to the understanding of the QCD phase transition in the high-density nuclear matter equation of state (EoS). It is based on two ingredients, the first one being a ''phase diagram'' of rapidly rotating compact star configurations in the plane of spin frequency and mass, determined with state-of-the-art hybrid equations of state, allowing for a transition to color superconducting quark matter. The second is the study of spin-up and accretion evolution in this phase diagram. We show that the quark matter phase transition leads to a characteristic line in themore » {omega}-M plane, the phase border between neutron stars and hybrid stars with a quark matter core. Along this line a drop in the pulsar's moment of inertia entails a waiting point phenomenon in the accreting millisecond pulsar (AMXP) evolution: most of these objects should therefore be found along the phase border in the {omega}-M plane, which may be viewed as the AMXP analog of the main sequence in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for normal stars. In order to prove the existence of a high-density phase transition in the cores of compact stars we need population statistics for AMXPs with sufficiently accurate determination of their masses, spin frequencies and magnetic fields.« less

Factors Affecting Wound Healing

PubMed Central

Guo, S.; DiPietro, L.A.

2010-01-01

Wound healing, as a normal biological process in the human body, is achieved through four precisely and highly programmed phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. For a wound to heal successfully, all four phases must occur in the proper sequence and time frame. Many factors can interfere with one or more phases of this process, thus causing improper or impaired wound healing. This article reviews the recent literature on the most significant factors that affect cutaneous wound healing and the potential cellular and/or molecular mechanisms involved. The factors discussed include oxygenation, infection, age and sex hormones, stress, diabetes, obesity, medications, alcoholism, smoking, and nutrition. A better understanding of the influence of these factors on repair may lead to therapeutics that improve wound healing and resolve impaired wounds. PMID:20139336

Factors affecting wound healing.

PubMed

Guo, S; Dipietro, L A

2010-03-01

Wound healing, as a normal biological process in the human body, is achieved through four precisely and highly programmed phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. For a wound to heal successfully, all four phases must occur in the proper sequence and time frame. Many factors can interfere with one or more phases of this process, thus causing improper or impaired wound healing. This article reviews the recent literature on the most significant factors that affect cutaneous wound healing and the potential cellular and/or molecular mechanisms involved. The factors discussed include oxygenation, infection, age and sex hormones, stress, diabetes, obesity, medications, alcoholism, smoking, and nutrition. A better understanding of the influence of these factors on repair may lead to therapeutics that improve wound healing and resolve impaired wounds.

Urinary stone risk and cola consumption.

PubMed

Herrel, Lindsey; Pattaras, John; Solomon, Tania; Ogan, Kenneth

2012-11-01

To evaluate the effect of cola consumption on urinary stone risk factors in a controlled metabolic environment with a prospective cross-over study. Thirteen participants (10 normal and 3 calcium oxalate stone-formers) underwent 2 6-day phases on a controlled metabolic diet. During phase 1, subjects ingested 1 liter of cola daily, followed by a 3-week washout period. During phase 2, subjects ingested 1 liter of deionized water daily. Twenty-four-hour urine collections and serum metabolic panels were obtained for stone risk factors at the end of each phase. Urine and serum results of the cola phase were compared with those of the water phase. Normal subjects and stone-formers were combined for analysis after determining no significant difference between the 2 groups. No significant differences were found among cola and water treatment groups for normal subjects, stone-formers, or the pooled group. Cola exerts no detectable change in urinary risk factors associated with calcium oxalate stone formation. Cola consumption may not increase stone risk and may be an acceptable alternative source of daily fluid for patients unwilling to increase water consumption. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Phase I: energy conservation potential of Portland Cement particle size distribution control. Progress report, November 1978-January 1979

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

Helmuth, R.A.

1979-03-01

Progress is reported on the energy conservation potential of Portland cement particle size distribution control. Results of preliminary concrete tests, Series IIIa and Series IIIb, effects of particle size ranges on strength and drying shrinkage, are presented. Series IV, effects of mixing and curing temperature, tests compare the properties of several good particle size controlled cements with normally ground cements at low and high temperatures. The work on the effects of high alkali and high sulfate clinker cements (Series V) has begun.

Disturbance of DNA methylation patterns in the early phase of hepatocarcinogenesis induced by a choline-deficient L-amino acid-defined diet in rats.

PubMed

Shimizu, Kyoko; Onishi, Mariko; Sugata, Eriko; Sokuza, Yui; Mori, Chiharu; Nishikawa, Tomoki; Honoki, Kanya; Tsujiuchi, Toshifumi

2007-09-01

The authors investigated the DNA methylation patterns of the E-cadherin, Connexin 26 (Cx26), Rassf1a and c-fos genes in the early phase of rat hepatocarcinogenesis induced by a choline-deficient L-amino acid-defined (CDAA) diet. Six-week-old F344 male rats were continuously fed with the CDAA diet, and three animals were then killed at each of 4 and 8 days and 3 weeks. Genomic DNA was extracted from livers for assessment of methylation status in the 5' upstream regions of E-cadherin, Cx26, Rassf1a and c-fos genes by bisulfite sequencing, compared with normal livers. The livers of rats fed the CDAA diet for 4 and 8 days and 3 weeks were methylated in E-cadherin, Cx26 and Rassf1a genes, while normal livers were all unmethylated. In contrast, normal livers were highly methylated in c-fos gene. Although the livers at 4 days were weakly methylated, those at 8 days and 3 weeks were markedly unmethylated. Methylation patterns of CpG sites in E-cadherin, Cx26 and Rassf1a were sparse and the methylation was not associated with gene repression. These results indicate that gene-specific DNA methylation patterns were found in livers of rats after short-term feeding of the CDAA diet, suggesting gene-specific hypermethylation might be involved in the early phase of rat hepatocarcinogenesis induced by the CDAA diet.

METHOD FOR STABILIZING KLYSTRONS

DOEpatents

Magnuson, D.W.; Smith, D.F.

1959-04-14

High-frequency oscillators for the generation of microwaves, particularly a system for stabilizing frequency-modulated klystron oscillators of the reflex type, are described. The system takos advantage of the fact that a change in oscillator frequency will alter the normal phase displacement between the cavity and its modulator, creating an error voltage which is utilized to regulate the frequency of the oscillator and stabilize it.

Determination of acrylamide and methacrylamide by normal phase high performance liquid chromatography and UV detection.

PubMed

Paleologos, E K; Kontominas, M G

2005-06-10

A method using normal phase high performance liquid chromatography (NP-HPLC) with UV detection was developed for the analysis of acrylamide and methacrylamide. The method relies on the chromatographic separation of these analytes on a polar HPLC column designed for the separation of organic acids. Identification of acrylamide and methacrylamide is approached dually, that is directly in their protonated forms and as their hydrolysis products acrylic and methacrylic acid respectively, for confirmation. Detection and quantification is performed at 200 nm. The method is simple allowing for clear resolution of the target peaks from any interfering substances. Detection limits of 10 microg L(-1) were obtained for both analytes with the inter- and intra-day RSD for standard analysis lying below 1.0%. Use of acetonitrile in the elution solvent lowers detection limits and retention times, without impairing resolution of peaks. The method was applied for the determination of acrylamide and methacrylamide in spiked food samples without native acrylamide yielding recoveries between 95 and 103%. Finally, commercial samples of french and roasted fries, cookies, cocoa and coffee were analyzed to assess applicability of the method towards acrylamide, giving results similar with those reported in the literature.

Exploration of a Metastable Normal Spinel Phase Diagram for the Quaternary Li–Ni–Mn–Co–O System

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

Kan, Wang Hay; Huq, Ashfia; Manthiram, Arumugam

2016-02-27

In an attempt to enlarge the normal spinel phase diagram for the quaternary Li-Ni-Mn-Co-O system, the transformation at moderate temperatures (150-210 °C) of layered Li 0.5(Ni 1-y-zMn yCo z)O 2 (Rmore » $$\\bar{3}$$m), which were obtained by an ambient-temperature extraction of lithium from Li 0.5(Ni 1-y-zMn yCo z)O 2, into normal spinel-like (Fd$$\\bar{3}$$m) Li(Ni 1-y-zMn yCo z) 2O 4 has been investigated. The phase-conversion mechanism has been studied by joint time-of-flight (TOF) neutron and X-ray diffractions, thermogravimetric analysis, and bond valence sum map. The ionic diffusion of lithium (3a, 6c) and nickel (3a, 3b) ions has been quantified as a function of temperature. The investigated spinel phases are metastable, and they are subject to change into rock-salt phases at higher temperatures. The phases have been characterized as cathodes in lithium-ion cells. Finally, the study may serve as a strategic model to access other metastable phases by low-temperature synthesis approaches.« less

[Endocrine differences between patients with luteal phase deficiency and inadequate endometrial response].

PubMed

Xu, M; Zhang, Z; Jiang, S

1997-03-01

To study the difference of endocrine characteristics between patients with luteal phase deficiency (LPD) and inadequate endometrial response (IER). Serum estradiol (E2), progesterone (P), follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone and prolactin levels were determined by radioimmunoassay in cycles of LPD, IER and normal controls. Contents of endometrial cytoplasmic estradiol receptors (ERc), nuclear estradiol receptors (ERn), cytoplasmic progesterone receptors (PRc) and nuclear progesterone receptors (PRn) were determined by dextran coated charcoal assay in the same cycle. Serum E2 and P levels in the luteal phase of patients with LPD were significantly lower than those of normal group (P < 0.001), no significant difference of endometrial estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor contents was found between the two groups (P > 0.1). Serum E2 levels in both follicular and luteal phase of IER patients were significantly lower than those of normal groups (P < 0.001), but serum P levels in luteal phase of the two groups showed no difference (P > 0.1). The contents of ERc and PRn in proliferative phase and PRc contents throughout the menstrual cycle were also lower than those of the normal group (P < 0.001, < 0.001 and < 0.05 respectively). These results indicate that LPD and IER are two distinct entities in terms of endocrine characteristics. To distinguish underdeveloped endometrium caused by either LPD or IER is the key to choose appropriate treatment.

Hyperghrelinemia in Prader-Willi Syndrome Begins in Early Infancy Long Before the Onset of Hyperphagia

PubMed Central

Kweh, Frederick A.; Miller, Jennifer L.; Sulsona, Carlos R; Wasserfall, Clive; Atkinson, Mark; Shuster, Jonathan J.; Goldstone, Anthony P.; Driscoll, Daniel J.

2015-01-01

Circulating total ghrelin levels are elevated in older children and adults with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). However, the presence or absence of hyperghrelinemia in young children with PWS remains controversial. We hypothesized that a more robust way to analyze appetite-regulating hormones in PWS would be by nutritional phases rather than age alone. Our objectives were to compare total serum ghrelin levels in children with PWS by nutritional phase as well as to compare total ghrelin levels in PWS (5 weeks to 21 years of age) to normal weight controls and individuals with early-onset morbid obesity (EMO) without PWS. Fasting serum total ghrelin levels were measured in 60 subjects with PWS, 39 subjects with EMO of unknown etiology, and in 95 normal non-obese sibling controls of PWS or EMO subjects (SibC) in this 12 year longitudinal study. Within PWS, total ghrelin levels were significantly (P<0.001) higher in earlier nutritional phases: phase 1a (7,906 ± 5,887); 1b (5,057 ± 2,624); 2a (2,905 ± 1,521); 2b (2,615 ± 1,370) and 3 (2,423 ± 1,350). Young infants with PWS also had significantly (P=0.009) higher total ghrelin levels than did the sibling controls. Nutritional phase is an important independent prognostic factor of total ghrelin levels in individuals with PWS. Circulating ghrelin levels are elevated in young children with PWS long before the onset of hyperphagia, especially during the early phase of poor appetite and feeding. Therefore, it seems unlikely that high ghrelin levels are directly responsible for the switch to the hyperphagic nutritional phases in PWS. PMID:25355237

Hyperghrelinemia in Prader-Willi syndrome begins in early infancy long before the onset of hyperphagia.

PubMed

Kweh, Frederick A; Miller, Jennifer L; Sulsona, Carlos R; Wasserfall, Clive; Atkinson, Mark; Shuster, Jonathan J; Goldstone, Anthony P; Driscoll, Daniel J

2015-01-01

Circulating total ghrelin levels are elevated in older children and adults with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). However, the presence or absence of hyperghrelinemia in young children with PWS remains controversial. We hypothesized that a more robust way to analyze appetite-regulating hormones in PWS would be by nutritional phases rather than age alone. Our objectives were to compare total serum ghrelin levels in children with PWS by nutritional phase as well as to compare total ghrelin levels in PWS (5 weeks to 21 years of age) to normal weight controls and individuals with early-onset morbid obesity (EMO) without PWS. Fasting serum total ghrelin levels were measured in 60 subjects with PWS, 39 subjects with EMO of unknown etiology, and in 95 normal non-obese sibling controls of PWS or EMO subjects (SibC) in this 12 year longitudinal study. Within PWS, total ghrelin levels were significantly (P < 0.001) higher in earlier nutritional phases: phase 1a (7,906  ±  5,887); 1b (5,057 ± 2,624); 2a (2,905 ± 1,521); 2b (2,615 ± 1,370) and 3 (2,423 ± 1,350). Young infants with PWS also had significantly (P = 0.009) higher total ghrelin levels than did the sibling controls. Nutritional phase is an important independent prognostic factor of total ghrelin levels in individuals with PWS. Circulating ghrelin levels are elevated in young children with PWS long before the onset of hyperphagia, especially during the early phase of poor appetite and feeding. Therefore, it seems unlikely that high ghrelin levels are directly responsible for the switch to the hyperphagic nutritional phases in PWS. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Early superoxide dismutase alterations during SV40-transformation of human fibroblasts.

PubMed

Bravard, A; Hoffschir, F; Sabatier, L; Ricoul, M; Pinton, A; Cassingena, R; Estrade, S; Luccioni, C; Dutrillaux, B

1992-11-11

The expression of superoxide dismutases (SOD) 1 and 2 was studied in 4 clones of human fibroblasts after their infection by simian virus 40 (SV40), in parallel with the alterations of chromosomes 21 and chromosome 6q arms, carrying the genes that encode for SOD1 and SOD2 respectively. For all clones, a similar scheme with 2 main phases was observed for both chromosome and SOD variations. The first phase, defined as the pre-crisis phase, was characterized by chromosomal instability, but maintenance of normal numbers of chromosome 6q arms and chromosomes 21. The level of SOD2 mRNA was high, while SOD2 activity and immunoreactive protein were low. SOD1 protein and activity were decreased. In the second phase, defined as the post-crisis phase, the accumulation of clonal chromosomal rearrangements led to the loss of 6q arms, while the number of chromosomes 21 remained normal. SOD2 mRNA level was decreased and SOD2 immunoreactive protein and activity remained low. SOD1 protein and activity increased with passages, reaching values similar to those of control cells at late passages. As in established SV40-transformed human fibroblast cell lines, good correlation was found between SOD2 activity and the relative number of 6q arms. These results allow us to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the decrease of SOD2, a possible tumor-suppressor gene, during the process of SV40-transformation of human fibroblasts.

Oral progestin induces rapid, reversible suppression of ovarian activity in the cat

PubMed Central

Stewart, R.A.; Pelican, K.M.; Brown, J.L.; Wildt, D.E.; Ottinger, M.A.; Howard, J.G.

2010-01-01

The influence of oral progestin (altrenogest; ALT) on cat ovarian activity was studied using non-invasive fecal steroid monitoring. Queens were assigned to various ALT dosages: 1) 0 mg/kg (control; n = 5 cats); 2) 0.044 mg/kg (LOW; n = 5); 3) 0.088 mg/kg (MID; n = 6); or 4) 0.352 mg/kg (HIGH; n = 6). Fecal estrogen and progestagen concentrations were quantified using enzyme immunoassays for 60 days before, 38 days during and 60 days after ALT treatment. Initiation of follicular activity was suppressed in all cats during progestin treatment, whereas controls continued to cycle normally. Females (n = 6) with elevated fecal estrogens at treatment onset completed a normal follicular phase before returning to baseline and remained suppressed until treatment withdrawal. All cats receiving oral progestin reinitiated follicular activity after treatment, although MID cats experienced the most synchronized return (within 10-16 days). Mean baseline fecal estrogens and progestagens were higher (P < 0.05) after treatment in HIGH, but not LOW or MID cats compared to pre-treatment values. Results demonstrate that: 1) oral progestin rapidly suppresses initiation of follicular activity in the cat, but does not influence a follicular phase that exists before treatment initiation; and 2) queens return to normal follicular activity after progestin withdrawal. This study provides foundational information for research aimed at using progestin priming to improve ovarian response in felids scheduled for ovulation induction and assisted breeding. PMID:20051246

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

Alvarado, Andrew; Attapattu, Jeevake; Zhang, Yi

Zinc oxide (ZnO) undergoes a pressure-induced structural transition from its normal ambient-pressure wurtzite (WZ) phase to a rocksalt (RS) phase around 10 GPa. A recent experiment shows that the high-pressure RS ZnO phase can be recovered and stabilized at ambient conditions, which raises exciting prospects of expanding the range of properties of ZnO. For a fundamental understanding of the RS ZnO phase, we have performed first-principles calculations to determine its electronic, phonon, and thermodynamic properties at high (20 GPa) and ambient (0 GPa) pressure. Furthermore, we have calculated its electrical and thermal transport properties, which allow an evaluation of itsmore » thermoelectric figure of merit ZT at different temperature and doping levels. Our calculations show that the ambient-pressure RS ZnO phase can reach ZT values of 0.25 to 0.3 under both n-type and p-type doping in a large temperature range of 400 K to 800 K, which is considerably lower than the temperature range of 1400 K to 1600 K where WZ ZnO reaches similar ZT values. Lastly, these results establish RS ZnO as a promising material for thermoelectric devices designed to operate at temperatures desirable for many heat recovery applications.« less

Performance of Bipolar Disorder Patients in Attention Testing: Comparison with Normal Controls and Among Manic, Depressive, and Euthymic Phases.

PubMed

Camelo, Evelyn V M; Mograbi, Daniel; de Assis da Silva, Rafael; Bifano, Jaqueline; Wainstok, Mayra; Silveira, Luciana Angélica Silva; Netto, Tânia; Santana, Cristina M T; Cheniaux, Elie

2017-03-01

Several studies on cognition in bipolar disorder (BD) have been developed on the last decade. Neuropsychological evaluation of attention in BD patients is fundamental since alterations in attention affect other cognitive functions. Evaluate if performance of BD patients in attention tests varies according to each phase of the disease and verify if there are differences in attention when comparing BD patients with normal controls. The study included 101 BD patients, with ages between 18 and 65 years, being 52 euthymic, 22 manic and 27 depressive, besides 30 normal controls. All subjects were evaluated though Hamilton Depression Scale, Young Mania Rating Scale and Global Assessment of Functioning, bipolar version (CGI-BP). Attention was evaluated through a neuropsychological battery. Normal controls had a better performance in selective attention tests than BD patients. No differences were found among manic, depressive and euthymic phases. Attention is markedly impaired in BD. Nevertheless, the results of this study do not imply that the severity of the attention deficit in BD patients varies according to decease phase.

Characterization of hormonal profiles during the luteal phase in regularly menstruating women.

PubMed

Ecochard, Rene; Bouchard, Thomas; Leiva, Rene; Abdulla, Saman; Dupuis, Olivier; Duterque, Olivia; Garmier Billard, Marie; Boehringer, Hans; Genolini, Christophe

2017-07-01

To characterize the variability of hormonal profiles during the luteal phase in normal cycles. Observational study. Not applicable. Ninety-nine women contributing 266 menstrual cycles. The women collected first morning urine samples that were analyzed for estrone-3-glucuronide, pregnanediol-3-alpha-glucuronide (PDG), FSH, and LH. The women had serum P tests (twice per cycle) and underwent ultrasonography to identify the day of ovulation. The luteal phase was divided into three parts: the early luteal phase with increasing PDG (luteinization), the midluteal phase with PDG ≥10 μg/mg Cr (progestation), and the late luteal phase (luteolysis) when PDG fell below 10 μg/mg Cr. Long luteal phases begin with long luteinization processes. The early luteal phase is marked by low PDG and high LH levels. Long luteinization phases were correlated with low E1G and low PDG levels at day 3. The length of the early luteal phase is highly variable between cycles of the same woman. The duration and hormonal levels during the rest of the luteal phase were less correlated with other characteristics of the cycle. The study showed the presence of a prolonged pituitary activity during the luteinization process, which seems to be modulated by an interaction between P and LH. This supports a luteal phase model with three distinct processes: the first is a modulated luteinization process, whereas the second and the third are relatively less modulated processes of progestation and luteolysis. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dynamics and diffusion mechanism of low-density liquid silicon

DOE PAGES

Shen, B.; Wang, Z. Y.; Dong, F.; ...

2015-11-05

A first-order phase transition from a high-density liquid to a low-density liquid has been proposed to explain the various thermodynamic anomies of water. It also has been proposed that such liquid–liquid phase transition would exist in supercooled silicon. Computer simulation studies show that, across the transition, the diffusivity drops roughly 2 orders of magnitude, and the structures exhibit considerable tetrahedral ordering. The resulting phase is a highly viscous, low-density liquid silicon. Investigations on the atomic diffusion of such a novel form of liquid silicon are of high interest. Here we report such diffusion results from molecular dynamics simulations using themore » classical Stillinger–Weber (SW) potential of silicon. We show that the atomic diffusion of the low-density liquid is highly correlated with local tetrahedral geometries. We also show that atoms diffuse through hopping processes within short ranges, which gradually accumulate to an overall random motion for long ranges as in normal liquids. There is a close relationship between dynamical heterogeneity and hopping process. We point out that the above diffusion mechanism is closely related to the strong directional bonding nature of the distorted tetrahedral network. Here, our work offers new insights into the complex behavior of the highly viscous low density liquid silicon, suggesting similar diffusion behaviors in other tetrahedral coordinated liquids that exhibit liquid–liquid phase transition such as carbon and germanium.« less

Effects of Fluctuations on Inhomogeneous Chiral Transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Tong-Gyu; Yoshiike, Ryo; Tatsumi, Toshitaka

We discuss the features of the order-parameter fluctuations in the normal phase near the phase boundary and their effects on the phase transition from the normal to the inhomogeneous phase with spatially modulated order parameter. Focusing on the chiral symmetry breaking, i.e., inhomogeneous chiral transition, we consider the fluctuation of the chiral pair consisting of quark-antiquark or quark-hole pair within the two-flavor Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model in the chiral limit. We clarify the roles of quantum and thermal fluctuations and also argue that anomalies for thermodynamic quantities in the inhomogeneous chiral transition should lead to phenomenological implications.

Gingival crevicular fluid protein content and alkaline phosphatase activity in relation to pubertal growth phase.

PubMed

Perinetti, Giuseppe; Franchi, Lorenzo; Castaldo, Attilio; Contardo, Luca

2012-11-01

To evaluate gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) protein content and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in growing subjects in relation to stages of skeletal maturation, ie, the growth phase, as prepubertal, pubertal, and postpubertal. Fifty healthy growing subjects (31 girls and 19 boys; age range, 7.8-17.7 years) were enrolled in this study that followed a double-blind, prospective, cross-sectional design. Collection of GCF was performed at the mesial and distal sites of both central incisors, for the maxilla and mandible. Growth phase was assessed through the cervical vertebral maturation method. GCF parameters were expressed as total protein content, total ALP activity, and normalized ALP activity. The total GCF protein content was similar between the different growth phases. On the contrary, the total ALP activity showed a peak for the pubertal growth phase. The normalized GCF ALP activity was only poorly associated with growth phase. No differences were seen between the maxillary and mandibular sites, or between the sexes, for any GCF parameter. The total GCF protein content is not sensitive to the growth phase. However, GCF ALP activity has potential as a diagnostic aid for identification of the pubertal growth phase in individual subjects when expressed as total, but not normalized, values.

Battery management systems with thermally integrated fire suppression

DOEpatents

Bandhauer, Todd M.; Farmer, Joseph C.

2017-07-11

A thermal management system is integral to a battery pack and/or individual cells. It relies on passive liquid-vapor phase change heat removal to provide enhanced thermal protection via rapid expulsion of inert high pressure refrigerant during abnormal abuse events and can be integrated with a cooling system that operates during normal operation. When a thermal runaway event occurs and sensed by either active or passive sensors, the high pressure refrigerant is preferentially ejected through strategically placed passages within the pack to rapidly quench the battery.

Prospective treatment planning to improve locoregional hyperthermia for oesophageal cancer.

PubMed

Kok, H P; van Haaren, P M A; van de Kamer, J B; Zum Vörde Sive Vörding, P J; Wiersma, J; Hulshof, M C C M; Geijsen, E D; van Lanschot, J J B; Crezee, J

2006-08-01

In the Academic Medical Center (AMC) Amsterdam, locoregional hyperthermia for oesophageal tumours is applied using the 70 MHz AMC-4 phased array system. Due to the occurrence of treatment-limiting hot spots in normal tissue and systemic stress at high power, the thermal dose achieved in the tumour can be sub-optimal. The large number of degrees of freedom of the heating device, i.e. the amplitudes and phases of the antennae, makes it difficult to avoid treatment-limiting hot spots by intuitive amplitude/phase steering. Prospective hyperthermia treatment planning combined with high resolution temperature-based optimization was applied to improve hyperthermia treatment of patients with oesophageal cancer. All hyperthermia treatments were performed with 'standard' clinical settings. Temperatures were measured systemically, at the location of the tumour and near the spinal cord, which is an organ at risk. For 16 patients numerically optimized settings were obtained from treatment planning with temperature-based optimization. Steady state tumour temperatures were maximized, subject to constraints to normal tissue temperatures. At the start of 48 hyperthermia treatments in these 16 patients temperature rise (DeltaT) measurements were performed by applying a short power pulse with the numerically optimized amplitude/phase settings, with the clinical settings and with mixed settings, i.e. numerically optimized amplitudes combined with clinical phases. The heating efficiency of the three settings was determined by the measured DeltaT values and the DeltaT-ratio between the DeltaT in the tumour (DeltaToes) and near the spinal cord (DeltaTcord). For a single patient the steady state temperature distribution was computed retrospectively for all three settings, since the temperature distributions may be quite different. To illustrate that the choice of the optimization strategy is decisive for the obtained settings, a numerical optimization on DeltaT-ratio was performed for this patient and the steady state temperature distribution for the obtained settings was computed. A higher DeltaToes was measured with the mixed settings compared to the calculated and clinical settings; DeltaTcord was higher with the mixed settings compared to the clinical settings. The DeltaT-ratio was approximately 1.5 for all three settings. These results indicate that the most effective tumour heating can be achieved with the mixed settings. DeltaT is proportional to the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and a higher SAR results in a higher steady state temperature, which implies that mixed settings are likely to provide the most effective heating at steady state as well. The steady state temperature distributions for the clinical and mixed settings, computed for the single patient, showed some locations where temperatures exceeded the normal tissue constraints used in the optimization. This demonstrates that the numerical optimization did not prescribe the mixed settings, because it had to comply with the constraints set to the normal tissue temperatures. However, the predicted hot spots are not necessarily clinically relevant. Numerical optimization on DeltaT-ratio for this patient yielded a very high DeltaT-ratio ( approximately 380), albeit at the cost of excessive heating of normal tissue and lower steady state tumour temperatures compared to the conventional optimization. Treatment planning can be valuable to improve hyperthermia treatments. A thorough discussion on clinically relevant objectives and constraints is essential.

Polariton condensation with saturable molecules dressed by vibrational modes

DOE PAGES

Cwik, Justyna A.; Reja, Sahinur; Littlewood, Peter B.; ...

2014-02-01

Here, polaritons, mixed light-matter quasiparticles, undergo a transition to a condensed, macroscopically coherent state at low temperatures or high densities. Recent experiments show that coupling light to organic molecules inside a microcavity allows condensation at room temperature. The molecules act as saturable absorbers with transitions dressed by molecular vibrational modes. Motivated by this, we calculate the phase diagram and spectrum of a modified Tavis-Cummings model, describing vibrationally dressed two-level systems, coupled to a cavity mode. Coupling to vibrational modes can induce re-entrance, i.e. a normal-condensed-normal sequence with decreasing temperature and can drive the transition first-order.

Spitzer Mission Operation System Planning for IRAC Warm-Instrument Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunt, Joseph C., Jr.; Sarrel, Marc A.; Mahoney, William A.

2010-01-01

This paper will describe how the Spitzer Mission Operations System planned and executed the characterization phase between Spitzer's cryogenic mission and its warm mission. To the largest extend possible, the execution of this phase was done with existing processing and procedures. The modifications that were made were in response to the differences of the characterization phase compared to normal phases before and after. The primary two categories of difference are: unknown date of execution due to uncertainty of knowledge of the date of helium depletion, and the short cycle time for data analysis and re-planning during execution. In addition, all of the planning and design had to be done in parallel with normal operations, and we had to transition smoothly back to normal operations following the transition. This paper will also describe the re-planning we had to do following an anomaly discovered in the first days after helium depletion.

Three-dimensional counting of morphologically normal human red blood cells via digital holographic microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Faliu; Moon, Inkyu; Lee, Yeon H.

2015-01-01

Counting morphologically normal cells in human red blood cells (RBCs) is extremely beneficial in the health care field. We propose a three-dimensional (3-D) classification method of automatically determining the morphologically normal RBCs in the phase image of multiple human RBCs that are obtained by off-axis digital holographic microscopy (DHM). The RBC holograms are first recorded by DHM, and then the phase images of multiple RBCs are reconstructed by a computational numerical algorithm. To design the classifier, the three typical RBC shapes, which are stomatocyte, discocyte, and echinocyte, are used for training and testing. Nonmain or abnormal RBC shapes different from the three normal shapes are defined as the fourth category. Ten features, including projected surface area, average phase value, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, perimeter, mean corpuscular hemoglobin surface density, circularity, mean phase of center part, sphericity coefficient, elongation, and pallor, are extracted from each RBC after segmenting the reconstructed phase images by using a watershed transform algorithm. Moreover, four additional properties, such as projected surface area, perimeter, average phase value, and elongation, are measured from the inner part of each cell, which can give significant information beyond the previous 10 features for the separation of the RBC groups; these are verified in the experiment by the statistical method of Hotelling's T-square test. We also apply the principal component analysis algorithm to reduce the dimension number of variables and establish the Gaussian mixture densities using the projected data with the first eight principal components. Consequently, the Gaussian mixtures are used to design the discriminant functions based on Bayesian decision theory. To improve the performance of the Bayes classifier and the accuracy of estimation of its error rate, the leaving-one-out technique is applied. Experimental results show that the proposed method can yield good results for calculating the percentage of each typical normal RBC shape in a reconstructed phase image of multiple RBCs that will be favorable to the analysis of RBC-related diseases. In addition, we show that the discrimination performance for the counting of normal shapes of RBCs can be improved by using 3-D features of an RBC.

The anharmonic quartic force field infrared spectra of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Naphthalene, anthracene, and tetracene.

PubMed

Mackie, Cameron J; Candian, Alessandra; Huang, Xinchuan; Maltseva, Elena; Petrignani, Annemieke; Oomens, Jos; Buma, Wybren Jan; Lee, Timothy J; Tielens, Alexander G G M

2015-12-14

Current efforts to characterize and study interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) rely heavily on theoretically predicted infrared (IR) spectra. Generally, such studies use the scaled harmonic frequencies for band positions and double harmonic approximation for intensities of species, and then compare these calculated spectra with experimental spectra obtained under matrix isolation conditions. High-resolution gas-phase experimental spectroscopic studies have recently revealed that the double harmonic approximation is not sufficient for reliable spectra prediction. In this paper, we present the anharmonic theoretical spectra of three PAHs: naphthalene, anthracene, and tetracene, computed with a locally modified version of the SPECTRO program using Cartesian derivatives transformed from Gaussian 09 normal coordinate force constants. Proper treatments of Fermi resonances lead to an impressive improvement on the agreement between the observed and theoretical spectra, especially in the C-H stretching region. All major IR absorption features in the full-scale matrix-isolated spectra, the high-temperature gas-phase spectra, and the most recent high-resolution gas-phase spectra obtained under supersonically cooled molecular beam conditions in the CH-stretching region are assigned.

The anharmonic quartic force field infrared spectra of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Naphthalene, anthracene, and tetracene

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

Mackie, Cameron J., E-mail: mackie@strw.leidenuniv.nl; Candian, Alessandra; Tielens, Alexander G. G. M.

2015-12-14

Current efforts to characterize and study interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) rely heavily on theoretically predicted infrared (IR) spectra. Generally, such studies use the scaled harmonic frequencies for band positions and double harmonic approximation for intensities of species, and then compare these calculated spectra with experimental spectra obtained under matrix isolation conditions. High-resolution gas-phase experimental spectroscopic studies have recently revealed that the double harmonic approximation is not sufficient for reliable spectra prediction. In this paper, we present the anharmonic theoretical spectra of three PAHs: naphthalene, anthracene, and tetracene, computed with a locally modified version of the SPECTRO program using Cartesianmore » derivatives transformed from Gaussian 09 normal coordinate force constants. Proper treatments of Fermi resonances lead to an impressive improvement on the agreement between the observed and theoretical spectra, especially in the C–H stretching region. All major IR absorption features in the full-scale matrix-isolated spectra, the high-temperature gas-phase spectra, and the most recent high-resolution gas-phase spectra obtained under supersonically cooled molecular beam conditions in the CH-stretching region are assigned.« less

Binocular combination of phase and contrast explained by a gain-control and gain-enhancement model

PubMed Central

Ding, Jian; Klein, Stanley A.; Levi, Dennis M.

2013-01-01

We investigated suprathreshold binocular combination, measuring both the perceived phase and perceived contrast of a cyclopean sine wave. We used a paradigm adapted from Ding and Sperling (2006, 2007) to measure the perceived phase by indicating the apparent location (phase) of the dark trough in the horizontal cyclopean sine wave relative to a black horizontal reference line, and we used the same stimuli to measure perceived contrast by matching the binocular combined contrast to a standard contrast presented to one eye. We found that under normal viewing conditions (high contrast and long stimulus duration), perceived contrast is constant, independent of the interocular contrast ratio and the interocular phase difference, while the perceived phase shifts smoothly from one eye to the other eye depending on the contrast ratios. However, at low contrasts and short stimulus durations, binocular combination is more linear and contrast summation is phase-dependent. To account for phase-dependent contrast summation, we incorporated a fusion remapping mechanism into our model, using disparity energy to shift the monocular phases towards the cyclopean phase in order to align the two eyes' images through motor/sensory fusion. The Ding-Sperling model with motor/sensory fusion mechanism gives a reasonable account of the phase dependence of binocular contrast combination and can account for either the perceived phase or the perceived contrast of a cyclopean sine wave separately; however it requires different model parameters for the two. However, when fit to both phase and contrast data simultaneously, the Ding-Sperling model fails. Incorporating interocular gain enhancement into the model results in a significant improvement in fitting both phase and contrast data simultaneously, successfully accounting for both linear summation at low contrast energy and strong nonlinearity at high contrast energy. PMID:23397038

Premature chromosome condensation studies in human leukemia. I. Pretreatment characteristics.

PubMed

Hittelman, W N; Broussard, L C; McCredie, K

1979-11-01

The phenomenon of premature chromosome condensation (PCC) was used to compare the bone marrow proliferation characteristics of 163 patients with various forms of leukemia prior to the initiation of new therapy. The proliferative potential index (PPI, or fraction of G1 cells in late G1 phase) and the fraction of cells in S phase was determined and compared to the type of disease and the bone marrow blast infiltrate for each patient. Previously untreated patients with acute leukemia exhibited an average PPI value three times that of normal bone marrow (37.5% for acute myeloblastic leukemia [AML], acute monomyeloblastic leukemia [AMML], or acute promyelocytic leukemia [APML] and 42% for acute lymphocytic leukemia [ALL] or acute undifferentiated leukemia [AUL]). Untreated chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients showed intermediate PPI values (25.2%), whereas CML patients with controlled disease exhibited nearly normal PPI values (14.6%). On the other hand, blastic-phase CML patients exhibited PPI values closer to that observed in patients with acute leukemia (35.4%). Seven patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) exhibited even higher PPI values. No correlations were observed between PPI values, fraction of cells in S phase, and marrow blast infiltrate. For untreated acute disease patients, PPI values were prognostic for response only at low and high PPI values. These results suggest that the PCC-determined proliferative potential is a biologic reflection of the degree of malignancy within the bone marrow.

Phonological awareness and the working memory of children with and without literacy difficulties.

PubMed

Cardoso, Andreia Martins de Souza; Silva, Mônica Marins da; Pereira, Mônica Medeiros de Britto

2013-01-01

To investigate phonological awareness and working memory skills as well as their influence on the literacy process in a group of intellectually normal children. Forty intellectually normal children (7.6-8.0 years) from the second and third grades of elementary school participated. Children were organized in two groups (20 children each): one with and another without literacy difficulties. These participants underwent RAVEN's intelligence quotient test, audiometric assessment, CONFIAS test of phonological awareness, written spelling task, and working memory test. Children in the alphabetic phase presented a good development of phonological awareness, and 85% of them showed a high-performance working memory. Children in the syllabic-alphabetic phase had changes in phonological awareness, and 91.6% of them showed an average working memory performance. The subjects at pre-syllabic and syllabic phases demonstrated more difficulties in phonological awareness than those at syllabic-alphabetic and had a poor working memory performance. Between-group differences were observed for CONFIAS and working memory tests (p<0.0001). There was also a significant correlation (r=0.78, p=0.01) between the skills of phonological awareness and working memory for the total sample of individuals. Based on these results, it was found that as phonological awareness and working memory levels increased, the literacy phase also advanced, therefore showing that these are directly proportional measures.

Self-assembled highly ordered ethane-bridged periodic mesoporous organosilica and its application in HPLC.

PubMed

Huang, Lili; Lu, Juan; Di, Bin; Feng, Fang; Su, Mengxiang; Yan, Fang

2011-09-01

Monodisperse spherical periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) with ethane integrated in the framework were synthesized and their application as stationary phase for chromatographic separation is demonstrated. The ethane-PMOs were prepared by condensation of 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTSE) in basic condition using octadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (C(18)TMACl) as template and ethanol as co-solvent. The morphology and mesoporous structure of ethane-PMOs were controlled under different concentrations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and EtOH. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen sorption measurement, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and elemental analysis showed that ethane-PMOs have spherical morphology, uniform particle distribution, highly ordered pore structure, high surface area and narrow pore-size distribution. The column packed with these materials exhibits good permeability, high chemical stability and good selectivity of mixtures of aromatic hydrocarbons in normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The deconfining phase transition in and out of equilibrium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazavov, Oleksiy

Recent experiments carried out at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at the Brookhaven National Laboratory provide strong evidence that a matter can be driven from a confined, low-temperature phase, observed in our every day world into a deconfined high-temperature phase of liberated quarks and gluons. The equilibrium and dynamical properties of the deconfining phase transition are thus of great theoretical interest, since they also provide an information about the first femtoseconds of the evolution of our Universe, when the hot primordial soup while cooling has undergone a chain of phase transitions. The aspects of the deconfining phase transition studied in this work include: the dynamics of the SU(3) gauge theory after the heating quench (which models rapid heating in the heavy-ion collisions), equilibrium properties of the phase transition in the SU(3) gauge theory with boundaries at low temperature (small volumes at RHIC suggest that boundary effects cannot be neglected and periodic boundary conditions normally used in lattice simulations do not correspond to the experimental situation), and a study of the order of the transition in U(1) gauge theory.

Frequency-velocity mismatch: a fundamental abnormality in parkinsonian gait.

PubMed

Cho, Catherine; Kunin, Mikhail; Kudo, Koji; Osaki, Yasuhiro; Olanow, C Warren; Cohen, Bernard; Raphan, Theodore

2010-03-01

Gait dysfunction and falling are major sources of disability for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). It is presently thought that the fundamental defect is an inability to generate normal stride length. Our data suggest, however, that the basic problem in PD gait is an impaired ability to match step frequency to walking velocity. In this study, foot movements of PD and normal subjects were monitored with an OPTOTRAK motion-detection system while they walked on a treadmill at different velocities. PD subjects were also paced with auditory stimuli at different frequencies. PD gait was characterized by step frequencies that were faster and stride lengths that were shorter than those of normal controls. At low walking velocities, PD stepping had a reduced or absent terminal toe lift, which truncated swing phases, producing shortened steps. Auditory pacing was not able to normalize step frequency at these lower velocities. Peak forward toe velocities increased with walking velocity and PD subjects could initiate appropriate foot dynamics during initial phases of the swing. They could not control the foot appropriately in terminal phases, however. Increased treadmill velocity, which matched the natural PD step frequency, generated a second toe lift, normalizing step size. Levodopa increased the bandwidth of step frequencies, but was not as effective as increases in walking velocity in normalizing gait. We postulate that the inability to control step frequency and adjust swing phase dynamics to slower walking velocities are major causes for the gait impairment in PD.

Frequency-Velocity Mismatch: A Fundamental Abnormality in Parkinsonian Gait

PubMed Central

Kunin, Mikhail; Kudo, Koji; Osaki, Yasuhiro; Olanow, C. Warren; Cohen, Bernard; Raphan, Theodore

2010-01-01

Gait dysfunction and falling are major sources of disability for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). It is presently thought that the fundamental defect is an inability to generate normal stride length. Our data suggest, however, that the basic problem in PD gait is an impaired ability to match step frequency to walking velocity. In this study, foot movements of PD and normal subjects were monitored with an OPTOTRAK motion-detection system while they walked on a treadmill at different velocities. PD subjects were also paced with auditory stimuli at different frequencies. PD gait was characterized by step frequencies that were faster and stride lengths that were shorter than those of normal controls. At low walking velocities, PD stepping had a reduced or absent terminal toe lift, which truncated swing phases, producing shortened steps. Auditory pacing was not able to normalize step frequency at these lower velocities. Peak forward toe velocities increased with walking velocity and PD subjects could initiate appropriate foot dynamics during initial phases of the swing. They could not control the foot appropriately in terminal phases, however. Increased treadmill velocity, which matched the natural PD step frequency, generated a second toe lift, normalizing step size. Levodopa increased the bandwidth of step frequencies, but was not as effective as increases in walking velocity in normalizing gait. We postulate that the inability to control step frequency and adjust swing phase dynamics to slower walking velocities are major causes for the gait impairment in PD. PMID:20042701

Strides made in understanding space weather at Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buonsanto, M. J.; Fuller-Rowell, T. J.

Disturbances on the Sun can produce dramatic effects in the space environment surrounding the Earth. Energetic particle effects become more intense and pose a hazard to astronauts and damage spacecraft electronics; satellite lifetimes are shortened by increased atmospheric drag, and communications and navigation are disrupted by the changing plasma environment.“Space weather” has become the modern idiom for these effects, and periods of high activity are called geomagnetic storms. During a storm the ionosphere can be severely altered. A typical episode may reveal either a large decrease (negative phase) or increase (positive phase) in the normal daily peak ion density (NmF2) or total electron content (TEC). These changes in ion density are sometimes called ionospheric storms, and often persist for more than a day after a period of high geomagnetic activity.

Simultaneous preparation of naturally abundant and rare catechins by tannase-mediated biotransformation combining high speed counter current chromatography.

PubMed

Xia, Guobin; Hong, Shan; Liu, Songbai

2014-05-15

Simultaneous preparation of naturally rare catechins, EGC and EC, has been realized by tannase-mediated biotransformation combining high speed counter current chromatography. In addition, simultaneous preparation of the four catechins, EGCG, ECG, EGC, and EC in green tea extract has also been achieved by HSCCC under the normal phase and the reversed phase modes. The identity of the catechins was determined by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS and quantification of the catechins was performed by HPLC-DAD. In a typical HSCCC separation, 27.2 mg 98.8% EGCG, 14.1 mg 94.7% EGC, and 9.3 mg 97.5% EC were obtained. This new method is efficient, time-saving and valuable for biological studies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy Index For Aircraft Maneuvers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chidester, Thomas R. (Inventor); Lynch, Robert E. (Inventor); Lawrence, Robert E. (Inventor); Amidan, Brett G. (Inventor); Ferryman, Thomas A. (Inventor); Drew, Douglas A. (Inventor); Ainsworth, Robert J. (Inventor); Prothero, Gary L. (Inventor); Romanowski, Tomothy P. (Inventor); Bloch, Laurent (Inventor)

2006-01-01

Method and system for analyzing, separately or in combination, kinetic energy and potential energy and/or their time derivatives, measured or estimated or computed, for an aircraft in approach phase or in takeoff phase, to determine if the aircraft is or will be put in an anomalous configuration in order to join a stable approach path or takeoff path. A 3 reference value of kinetic energy andor potential energy (or time derivatives thereof) is provided, and a comparison index .for the estimated energy and reference energy is computed and compared with a normal range of index values for a corresponding aircraft maneuver. If the computed energy index lies outside the normal index range, this phase of the aircraft is identified as anomalous, non-normal or potentially unstable.

Activity of upper limb muscles during human walking.

PubMed

Kuhtz-Buschbeck, Johann P; Jing, Bo

2012-04-01

The EMG activity of upper limb muscles during human gait has rarely been studied previously. It was examined in 20 normal volunteers in four conditions: walking on a treadmill (1) with unrestrained natural arm swing (Normal), (2) while volitionally holding the arms still (Held), (3) with the arms immobilized (Bound), and (4) with the arms swinging in phase with the ipsilateral legs, i.e. opposite-to-normal phasing (Anti-Normal). Normal arm swing involved weak rhythmical lengthening and shortening contractions of arm and shoulder muscles. Phasic muscle activity was needed to keep the unrestricted arms still during walking (Held), indicating a passive component of arm swing. An active component, possibly programmed centrally, existed as well, because some EMG signals persisted when the arms were immobilized during walking (Bound). Anti-Normal gait involved stronger EMG activity than Normal walking and was uneconomical. The present results indicate that normal arm swing has both passive and active components. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ammonium fluoride as a mobile phase additive in aqueous normal phase chromatography.

PubMed

Pesek, Joseph J; Matyska, Maria T

2015-07-03

The use of ammonium fluoride as a mobile phase additive in aqueous normal phase chromatography with silica hydride-based stationary phases and mass spectrometry detection is evaluated. Retention times, peak shape, efficiency and peak intensity are compared to the more standard additives formic acid and ammonium formate. The test solutes were NAD, 3-hydroxyglutaric acid, α-ketoglutaric acid, p-aminohippuric acid, AMP, ATP, aconitic acid, threonine, N-acetyl carnitine, and 3-methyladipic acid. The column parameters are assessed in both the positive and negative ion detection modes. Ammonium fluoride is potentially an aggressive mobile phase additive that could have detrimental effects on column lifetime. Column reproducibility is measured and the effects of switching between different additives are also tested. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abnormal lipid metabolism in skeletal muscle tissue of patients with muscular dystrophy: In vitro, high-resolution NMR spectroscopy based observation in early phase of the disease.

PubMed

Srivastava, Niraj Kumar; Yadav, Ramakant; Mukherjee, Somnath; Pal, Lily; Sinha, Neeraj

2017-05-01

Qualitative (assignment of lipid components) and quantitative (quantification of lipid components) analysis of lipid components were performed in skeletal muscle tissue of patients with muscular dystrophy in early phase of the disease as compared to control/normal subjects. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy based experiment was performed on the lipid extract of skeletal muscle tissue of patients with muscular dystrophy in early phase of the disease and normal individuals for the analysis of lipid components [triglycerides, phospholipids, total cholesterol and unsaturated fatty acids (arachidonic, linolenic and linoleic acid)]. Specimens of muscle tissue were obtained from patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) [n=11; Age, Mean±SD; 9.2±1.4years; all were males], Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) [n=12; Age, Mean±SD; 21.4±5.0years; all were males], facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) [n=11; Age, Mean±SD; 23.7±7.5years; all were males] and limb girdle muscular dystrophy-2B (LGMD-2B) [n=18; Age, Mean±SD; 24.2±4.1years; all were males]. Muscle specimens were also obtained from [n=30; Mean age±SD 23.1±6.0years; all were males] normal/control subjects. Assigned lipid components in skeletal muscle tissue were triglycerides (TG), phospholipids (PL), total cholesterol (CHOL) and unsaturated fatty acids (arachidonic, linolenic and linoleic acid)]. Quantity of lipid components was observed in skeletal muscle tissue of DMD, BMD, FSHD and LGMD-2B patients as compared to control/normal subjects. TG was significantly elevated in muscle tissue of DMD, BMD and LGMD-2B patients. Increase level of CHOL was found only in muscle of DMD patients. Level of PL was found insignificant for DMD, BMD and LGMD-2B patients. Quantity of TG, PL and CHOL was unaltered in the muscle of patients with FSHD as compared to control/normal subjects. Linoleic acids were significantly reduced in muscle tissue of DMD, BMD, FSHD and LGMD-2B as compared to normal/control individuals. Results clearly indicate alteration of lipid metabolism in patients with muscular dystrophy in early phase of the disease. Moreover, further evaluation is required to understand whether these changes are primary or secondary to muscular dystrophy. In future, these findings may prove an additional and improved approach for the diagnosis of different forms of muscular dystrophy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Polymorphism in 2-X-adamantane derivatives (X = Cl, Br).

PubMed

Negrier, Philippe; Barrio, María; Tamarit, Josep Ll; Mondieig, Denise

2014-08-14

The polymorphism of two 2-X-adamantane derivatives, X = Cl, X = Br, has been studied by X-ray powder diffraction and normal- and high-pressure (up to 300 MPa) differential scanning calorimetry. 2-Br-adamantane displays a low-temperature orthorhombic phase (space group P212121, Z = 4) and a high-temperature plastic phase (Fm3̅m, Z = 4) from 277.9 ± 1.0 K to the melting point at 413.4 ± 1.0 K. 2-Cl-adamantane presents a richer polymorphic behavior through the temperature range studied. At low temperature it displays a triclinic phase (P1̅, Z = 2), which transforms to a monoclinic phase (C2/c, Z = 8) at 224.4 ± 1.0 K, both phases being ordered. Two high-temperature orientationally disordered are found for this compound, one hexagonal (P63/mcm, Z = 6) at ca. 241 K and the highest one, cubic (Fm3̅m, Z = 4), being stable from 244 ± 1.0 K up to the melting point at 467.5 ± 1.0 K. No additional phase appears due to the increase in pressure within the studied range. The intermolecular interactions are found to be weak, especially for the 2-Br-adamantane compound for which the Br···Br as well as C-Br···H distances are larger than the addition of the van der Waals radii, thus confirming the availability of this compound for building up diamondoid blocks.

Formation of austenite in high Cr ferritic/martensitic steels by high fluence neutron irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Z.; Faulkner, R. G.; Morgan, T. S.

2008-12-01

High Cr ferritic/martensitic steels are leading candidates for structural components of future fusion reactors and new generation fission reactors due to their excellent swelling resistance and thermal properties. A commercial grade 12%CrMoVNb ferritic/martensitic stainless steel in the form of parent plate and off-normal weld materials was fast neutron irradiated up to 33 dpa (1.1 × 10 -6 dpa/s) at 400 °C and 28 dpa (1.7 × 10 -6 dpa/s) at 465 °C, respectively. TEM investigation shows that the fully martensitic weld metal transformed to a duplex austenite/ferrite structure due to high fluence neutron irradiation, the austenite was heavily voided (˜15 vol.%) and the ferrite was relatively void-free; whilst no austenite phases were detected in plate steel. Thermodynamic and phase equilibria software MTDATA has been employed for the first time to investigate neutron irradiation-induced phase transformations. The neutron irradiation effect is introduced by adding additional Gibbs free energy into the system. This additional energy is produced by high energy neutron irradiation and can be estimated from the increased dislocation loop density caused by irradiation. Modelling results show that neutron irradiation reduces the ferrite/austenite transformation temperature, especially for high Ni weld metal. The calculated results exhibit good agreement with experimental observation.

Correlation of normal and superconducting properties and unified approach to the description of high Tc oxides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kresin, V. Z.; Wolf, S. A.

1991-01-01

We present a unified approach based on the Fermi liquid picture which allows us to describe the normal as well as the superconducting properties of the doped cuprates. The theory that is presented is for the doped compounds which are metallic. One can distinguish two interrelated, but nevertheless, different directions in the physics of high T(sub c): one involving the problem of carrier doping and the transition to the metallic state, and the second being the description of the metallic state. It is important that this metallic phase undergoes the transition into the superconducting state; as a result, our analysis is directly related to the origin of high T(sub c). We are using a quasi-2D Fermi liquid model to estimate the fundamental parameters of these very interesting materials. We find that this description is able to describe these materials and also that phonons and plasmons play a major role in the mechanism of high T(sub c).

Characterization of Ventilatory Modes in Dragonfly Nymph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roh, Chris; Saxton-Fox, Theresa; Gharib, Morteza

2013-11-01

A dragonfly nymph's highly modified hindgut has multiple ventilatory modes: hyperventilation (i.e. jet propulsion), gulping ventilation (extended expiratory phase) and normal ventilation. Each mode involves dynamic manipulation of the exit diameter and pressure. To study the different fluid dynamics associated with the three modes, Anisopteran larvae of the family Aeshnidae were tethered onto a rod for flow visualization. The result showed distinct flow structures. The hyperventilation showed a highly turbulent and powerful jet that occurred at high frequency. The gulping ventilation produced a single vortex at a moderate frequency. The normal ventilation showed two distinct vortices, a low-Reynolds number vortex, followed by a high-Reynolds number vortex. Furthermore, a correlation of the formation of the vortices with the movement of the sternum showed that the dragonfly is actively controlling the timing and the speed of the vortices to have them at equal distance from the jet exit at the onset of inspiration. This behavior prevents inspiration of the oxygen deficient expirated water, resulting in the maximization of the oxygen intake. Supported by NSF GRFP.

Mathematical modeling of the malignancy of cancer using graph evolution.

PubMed

Gunduz-Demir, Cigdem

2007-10-01

We report a novel computational method based on graph evolution process to model the malignancy of brain cancer called glioma. In this work, we analyze the phases that a graph passes through during its evolution and demonstrate strong relation between the malignancy of cancer and the phase of its graph. From the photomicrographs of tissues, which are diagnosed as normal, low-grade cancerous and high-grade cancerous, we construct cell-graphs based on the locations of cells; we probabilistically generate an edge between every pair of cells depending on the Euclidean distance between them. For a cell-graph, we extract connectivity information including the properties of its connected components in order to analyze the phase of the cell-graph. Working with brain tissue samples surgically removed from 12 patients, we demonstrate that cell-graphs generated for different tissue types evolve differently and that they exhibit different phase properties, which distinguish a tissue type from another.

Transmission Magnitude and Phase Control for Polarization-Preserving Reflectionless Metasurfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Do-Hoon; Ptitcyn, Grigorii; Díaz-Rubio, Ana; Tretyakov, Sergei A.

2018-03-01

For transmissive applications of electromagnetic metasurfaces, an array of subwavelength Huygens' meta-atoms are typically used to eliminate reflection and achieve a high-transmission power efficiency together with a wide transmission phase coverage. We show that the underlying principle of low reflection and full control over transmission is asymmetric scattering into the specular reflection and transmission directions that results from a superposition of symmetric and antisymmetric scattering components, with Huygens' meta-atoms being one example configuration. Available for oblique illumination in TM polarization, a meta-atom configuration comprising normal and tangential electric polarizations is presented, which is capable of reflectionless, full-power transmission and a 2 π transmission phase coverage as well as full absorption. For lossy metasurfaces, we show that a complete phase coverage is still available for reflectionless designs for any value of absorptance. Numerical examples in the microwave and optical regimes are provided.

A phase coherence approach to estimating the spatial extent of earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hawthorne, Jessica C.; Ampuero, Jean-Paul

2016-04-01

We present a new method for estimating the spatial extent of seismic sources. The approach takes advantage of an inter-station phase coherence computation that can identify co-located sources (Hawthorne and Ampuero, 2014). Here, however, we note that the phase coherence calculation can eliminate the Green's function and give high values only if both earthquakes are point sources---if their dimensions are much smaller than the wavelengths of the propagating seismic waves. By examining the decrease in coherence at higher frequencies (shorter wavelengths), we can estimate the spatial extents of the earthquake ruptures. The approach can to some extent be seen as a simple way of identifying directivity or variations in the apparent source time functions recorded at various stations. We apply this method to a set of well-recorded earthquakes near Parkfield, CA. We show that when the signal to noise ratio is high, the phase coherence remains high well above 50 Hz for closely spaced M<1.5 earthquake. The high-frequency phase coherence is smaller for larger earthquakes, suggesting larger spatial extents. The implied radii scale roughly as expected from typical magnitude-corner frequency scalings. We also examine a second source of high-frequency decoherence: spatial variation in the shape of the Green's functions. This spatial decoherence appears to occur on a similar wavelengths as the decoherence associated with the apparent source time functions. However, the variation in Green's functions can be normalized away to some extent by comparing observations at multiple components on a single station, which see the same apparent source time functions.

Golf-course and funnel energy landscapes: Protein folding concepts in martensites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shankaraiah, N.

2017-06-01

We use protein folding energy landscape concepts such as golf course and funnel to study re-equilibration in athermal martensites under systematic temperature quench Monte Carlo simulations. On quenching below a transition temperature, the seeded high-symmetry parent-phase austenite that converts to the low-symmetry product-phase martensite, through autocatalytic twinning or elastic photocopying, has both rapid conversions and incubation delays in the temperature-time-transformation phase diagram. We find the rapid (incubation delays) conversions at low (high) temperatures arises from the presence of large (small) size of golf-course edge that has the funnel inside for negative energy states. In the incubating state, the strain structure factor enters into the Brillouin-zone golf course through searches for finite transitional pathways which close off at the transition temperature with Vogel-Fulcher divergences that are insensitive to Hamiltonian energy scales and log-normal distributions, as signatures of dominant entropy barriers. The crossing of the entropy barrier is identified through energy occupancy distributions, Monte Carlo acceptance fractions, heat emission, and internal work.

Enantioseparation of angiotensin II receptor type 1 blockers: evaluation of 6-substituted carbamoyl benzimidazoles on immobilized polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases. Unusual temperature behavior.

PubMed

Su, Ran; Hou, Zhun; Sang, Lihong; Zhou, Zhi-Ming; Fang, Hao; Yang, Xinying

2017-09-15

Enantioseparation of thirteen 6-substituted carbamoyl benzimidazoles by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was investigated using two immobilized polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases (CSPs), Chiralpak IC and Chiralpak IA, in normal-phase mode. Most of the examined compounds were completely resolved. The effects of a polar alcohol modifier, analyte structure, and column temperature on the chiral recognition were investigated. Furthermore, the structure-retention relationship was evaluated, and thermodynamic parameters were calculated from plots of ln k' or ln α versus 1/T. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the separations were enthalpy-driven. Moreover, nonlinear van't Hoff plots were obtained on Chiralpak IA. However, two unusual phenomena were observed: (1) an unusual increase in retention with increasing temperature with linear van't Hoff plots on Chiralpak IC and (2) an extremely high T iso value (i.e., several thousand degrees centigrade). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Polarized optical absorption and photoluminescence measurements in single-crystal thin films of 4'-dimethylamino-N-methyl-4-stilbazolium tosylate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhowmik, Achintya K.; Xu, Jianjun; Thakur, Mrinal

1999-11-01

Single-crystal thin films of the anhydrous (red) and the hydrated (orange) phases of the organic salt 4'-dimethylamino-N-methyl-4-stilbazolium tosylate were grown by a modification of the shear method. The optical absorption coefficients of the films were measured with light polarized along and normal to the dipole/molecular axis at both resonant and off-resonant wavelengths, and a strong dichroism was observed at the resonant wavelengths. The absorption measurements are important considering potential applications of these films (red phase) in high-speed single-pass thin-film electro-optic modulators [M. Thakur, J. Xu, A. Bhowmik, and L. Zhou, Appl. Phys. Lett. 74, 635 (1999)] and other photonic devices. Highly polarized photoluminescence (PL) has been observed in these films. The PL efficiencies of the red- and orange-phase single-crystal films were measured to be about 12% and 14%, respectively, which are significantly higher than the maximum PL efficiency measured in solution (3%).

Impaired dynamic cerebral autoregulation at extreme high altitude even after acclimatization

PubMed Central

Iwasaki, Ken-ichi; Zhang, Rong; Zuckerman, Julie H; Ogawa, Yojiro; Hansen, Lærke H; Levine, Benjamin David

2011-01-01

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) increases and dynamic cerebral autoregulation is impaired by acute hypoxia. We hypothesized that progressive hypocapnia with restoration of arterial oxygen content after altitude acclimatization would normalize CBF and dynamic cerebral autoregulation. To test this hypothesis, dynamic cerebral autoregulation was examined by spectral and transfer function analyses between arterial pressure and CBF velocity variabilities in 11 healthy members of the Danish High-Altitude Research Expedition during normoxia and acute hypoxia (10.5% O2) at sea level, and after acclimatization (for over 1 month at 5,260 m at Chacaltaya, Bolivia). Arterial pressure and CBF velocity in the middle cerebral artery (transcranial Doppler), were recorded on a beat-by-beat basis. Steady-state CBF velocity increased during acute hypoxia, but normalized after acclimatization with partial restoration of SaO2 (acute, 78%±2% chronic, 89%±1%) and progression of hypocapnia (end-tidal carbon dioxide: acute, 34±2 mm Hg; chronic, 21±1 mm Hg). Coherence (0.40±0.05 Units at normoxia) and transfer function gain (0.77±0.13 cm/s per mm Hg at normoxia) increased, and phase (0.86±0.15 radians at normoxia) decreased significantly in the very-low-frequency range during acute hypoxia (gain, 141%±24% coherence, 136%±29% phase, −25%±22%), which persisted after acclimatization (gain, 136%±36% coherence, 131%±50% phase, −42%±13%), together indicating impaired dynamic cerebral autoregulation in this frequency range. The similarity between both acute and chronic conditions suggests that dynamic cerebral autoregulation is impaired by hypoxia even after successful acclimatization to an extreme high altitude. PMID:20571521

Impaired dynamic cerebral autoregulation at extreme high altitude even after acclimatization.

PubMed

Iwasaki, Ken-ichi; Zhang, Rong; Zuckerman, Julie H; Ogawa, Yojiro; Hansen, Lærke H; Levine, Benjamin David

2011-01-01

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) increases and dynamic cerebral autoregulation is impaired by acute hypoxia. We hypothesized that progressive hypocapnia with restoration of arterial oxygen content after altitude acclimatization would normalize CBF and dynamic cerebral autoregulation. To test this hypothesis, dynamic cerebral autoregulation was examined by spectral and transfer function analyses between arterial pressure and CBF velocity variabilities in 11 healthy members of the Danish High-Altitude Research Expedition during normoxia and acute hypoxia (10.5% O(2)) at sea level, and after acclimatization (for over 1 month at 5,260 m at Chacaltaya, Bolivia). Arterial pressure and CBF velocity in the middle cerebral artery (transcranial Doppler), were recorded on a beat-by-beat basis. Steady-state CBF velocity increased during acute hypoxia, but normalized after acclimatization with partial restoration of SaO(2) (acute, 78% ± 2%; chronic, 89% ± 1%) and progression of hypocapnia (end-tidal carbon dioxide: acute, 34 ± 2 mm Hg; chronic, 21 ± 1 mm Hg). Coherence (0.40 ± 0.05 Units at normoxia) and transfer function gain (0.77 ± 0.13 cm/s per mm Hg at normoxia) increased, and phase (0.86 ± 0.15 radians at normoxia) decreased significantly in the very-low-frequency range during acute hypoxia (gain, 141% ± 24%; coherence, 136% ± 29%; phase, -25% ± 22%), which persisted after acclimatization (gain, 136% ± 36%; coherence, 131% ± 50%; phase, -42% ± 13%), together indicating impaired dynamic cerebral autoregulation in this frequency range. The similarity between both acute and chronic conditions suggests that dynamic cerebral autoregulation is impaired by hypoxia even after successful acclimatization to an extreme high altitude.

Micromechanics of sea ice frictional slip from test basin scale experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sammonds, Peter R.; Hatton, Daniel C.; Feltham, Daniel L.

2017-02-01

We have conducted a series of high-resolution friction experiments on large floating saline ice floes in an environmental test basin. In these experiments, a central ice floe was pushed between two other floes, sliding along two interfacial faults. The frictional motion was predominantly stick-slip. Shear stresses, normal stresses, local strains and slip displacement were measured along the sliding faults, and acoustic emissions were monitored. High-resolution measurements during a single stick-slip cycle at several positions along the fault allowed us to identify two phases of frictional slip: a nucleation phase, where a nucleation zone begins to slip before the rest of the fault, and a propagation phase when the entire fault is slipping. This is slip-weakening behaviour. We have therefore characterized what we consider to be a key deformation mechanism in Arctic Ocean dynamics. In order to understand the micromechanics of sea ice friction, we have employed a theoretical constitutive relation (i.e. an equation for shear stress in terms of temperature, normal load, acceleration, velocity and slip displacement) derived from the physics of asperity-asperity contact and sliding (Hatton et al. 2009 Phil. Mag. 89, 2771-2799 (doi:10.1080/14786430903113769)). We find that our experimental data conform reasonably with this frictional law once slip weakening is introduced. We find that the constitutive relation follows Archard's law rather than Amontons' law, with ? (where τ is the shear stress and σn is the normal stress) and n = 26/27, with a fractal asperity distribution, where the frictional shear stress, τ = ffractal Tmlws, where ffractal is the fractal asperity height distribution, Tml is the shear strength for frictional melting and lubrication and ws is the slip weakening. We can therefore deduce that the interfacial faults failed in shear for these experimental conditions through processes of brittle failure of asperities in shear, and, at higher velocities, through frictional heating, localized surface melting and hydrodynamic lubrication. This article is part of the themed issue 'Microdynamics of ice'.

Study of the structure and dielectric relaxation behavior of Pb(Ni 1/3Nb 2/3)-PbTiO 3 ferroelectric ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Chao; Chen, Kepi; Zhang, Xiaowen; Wang, Jun

2002-08-01

Relaxor-type ferroelectric ceramics, (1- x)Pb(Ni 1/3Nb 2/3)O 3- xPbTiO 3 ( x=0.28-0.42) were synthesized by the columbite precursor method. The phase structure and dielectric properties were investigated. X-ray diffraction results demonstrate that a region with both pseudocubic and tetragonal phase in existence lies in the composition range x=0.34-0.38, which is the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). Examination of the dielectric behavior indicates that the ceramics exhibit abnormal high dielectric constant near the MPB composition. In addition, the transformation of (1- x)PNN- xPT from relaxor to normal ferroelectric behavior with the PT content increasing is successive.

Mid-IR femtosecond frequency conversion by soliton-probe collision in phase-mismatched quadratic nonlinear crystals.

PubMed

Liu, Xing; Zhou, Binbin; Guo, Hairun; Bache, Morten

2015-08-15

We show numerically that ultrashort self-defocusing temporal solitons colliding with a weak pulsed probe in the near-IR can convert the probe to the mid-IR. A near-perfect conversion efficiency is possible for a high effective soliton order. The near-IR self-defocusing soliton can form in a quadratic nonlinear crystal (beta-barium borate) in the normal dispersion regime due to cascaded (phase-mismatched) second-harmonic generation, and the mid-IR converted wave is formed in the anomalous dispersion regime between λ=2.2-2.4  μm as a resonant dispersive wave. This process relies on nondegenerate four-wave mixing mediated by an effective negative cross-phase modulation term caused by cascaded soliton-probe sum-frequency generation.

Inner neural retina loss in central retinal artery occlusion.

PubMed

Ikeda, Fumiko; Kishi, Shoji

2010-09-01

To report morphologic retinal changes and visual outcomes in acute and chronic central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO). We reviewed ten eyes of ten patients with CRAO (age, 65.3 ± 10.2 years) and measured retinal thicknesses at the central fovea and the perifovea using optical coherence tomography (OCT) over 8 ± 4 months. During the acute phase (within 10 days), the mean inner retinal thicknesses were 148% and 139% of normal values at 1 mm nasal and temporal to the fovea. They decreased to 22% and 11% of normal inner retinal thickness during the chronic phase (3 months or later). The retinal thickness at the perifovea decreased linearly until 3 months but was stable during the chronic phase. In contrast, the foveal thickness increased slightly in the acute phase but was equivalent to the normal level during the chronic phase. As a result of inner retinal atrophy, the foveal pit was shallow during the chronic phase. The final visual acuity was correlated positively with retinal thickness at the perifovea during the chronic CRAO phase. OCT showed that inner retinal necrosis with early swelling and late atrophy occurred in CRAO. The fovea and outer retina appeared to be excluded from ischemic change. The residual inner retina at the perifovea determined the final visual outcomes.

Birkhoff Normal Form for Some Nonlinear PDEs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bambusi, Dario

We consider the problem of extending to PDEs Birkhoff normal form theorem on Hamiltonian systems close to nonresonant elliptic equilibria. As a model problem we take the nonlinear wave equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions on [0,π] g is an analytic skewsymmetric function which vanishes for u=0 and is periodic with period 2π in the x variable. We prove, under a nonresonance condition which is fulfilled for most g's, that for any integer M there exists a canonical transformation that puts the Hamiltonian in Birkhoff normal form up to a reminder of order M. The canonical transformation is well defined in a neighbourhood of the origin of a Sobolev type phase space of sufficiently high order. Some dynamical consequences are obtained. The technique of proof is applicable to quite general semilinear equations in one space dimension.

Oral citrulline as arginine precursor may be beneficial in sickle cell disease: early phase two results.

PubMed Central

Waugh, W. H.; Daeschner, C. W.; Files, B. A.; McConnell, M. E.; Strandjord, S. E.

2001-01-01

L-Arginine may be a conditionally essential amino acid in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease, particularly as required substrate in the arginine-nitric oxide pathway for endogenous nitrovasodilation and vasoprotection. Vasoprotection by arginine is mediated partly by nitric oxide-induced inhibition of endothelial damage and inhibition of adhesion and activation of leukocytes. Activated leukocytes may trigger many of the complications, including vasoocclusive events and intimal hyperplasias. High blood leukocyte counts during steady states in the absence of infection are significant laboratory risk factors for adverse complications. L-Citrulline as precursor amino acid was given orally twice daily in daily doses of approximately 0.1 g/kg in a pilot Phase II clinical trial during steady states in four homozygous sickle cell disease subjects and one sickle cell-hemoglobin C disease patient (ages 10-18). There soon resulted dramatic improvements in symptoms of well-being, raised plasma arginine levels, and reductions in high total leukocyte and high segmented neutrophil counts toward or to within normal limits. Continued L-citrulline supplementation in compliant subjects continued to lessen symptomatology, to maintain plasma arginine concentrations greater than control levels, and to maintain nearly normal total leukocyte and neutrophil counts. Side effects or toxicity from citrulline were not experienced. Oral L-citrulline may portend very useful for palliative therapy in sickle cell disease. Placebo-controlled, long-term trials are now indicated. PMID:11688916

Oral citrulline as arginine precursor may be beneficial in sickle cell disease: early phase two results.

PubMed

Waugh, W H; Daeschner, C W; Files, B A; McConnell, M E; Strandjord, S E

2001-10-01

L-Arginine may be a conditionally essential amino acid in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease, particularly as required substrate in the arginine-nitric oxide pathway for endogenous nitrovasodilation and vasoprotection. Vasoprotection by arginine is mediated partly by nitric oxide-induced inhibition of endothelial damage and inhibition of adhesion and activation of leukocytes. Activated leukocytes may trigger many of the complications, including vasoocclusive events and intimal hyperplasias. High blood leukocyte counts during steady states in the absence of infection are significant laboratory risk factors for adverse complications. L-Citrulline as precursor amino acid was given orally twice daily in daily doses of approximately 0.1 g/kg in a pilot Phase II clinical trial during steady states in four homozygous sickle cell disease subjects and one sickle cell-hemoglobin C disease patient (ages 10-18). There soon resulted dramatic improvements in symptoms of well-being, raised plasma arginine levels, and reductions in high total leukocyte and high segmented neutrophil counts toward or to within normal limits. Continued L-citrulline supplementation in compliant subjects continued to lessen symptomatology, to maintain plasma arginine concentrations greater than control levels, and to maintain nearly normal total leukocyte and neutrophil counts. Side effects or toxicity from citrulline were not experienced. Oral L-citrulline may portend very useful for palliative therapy in sickle cell disease. Placebo-controlled, long-term trials are now indicated.

Phase-amplitude imaging: its application to fully automated analysis of magnetic field measurements in laser-produced plasmas.

PubMed

Kalal, M; Nugent, K A; Luther-Davies, B

1987-05-01

An interferometric technique which enables simultaneous phase and amplitude imaging of optically transparent objects is discussed with respect to its application for the measurement of spontaneous toroidal magnetic fields generated in laser-produced plasmas. It is shown that this technique can replace the normal independent pair of optical systems (interferometry and shadowgraphy) by one system and use computer image processing to recover both the plasma density and magnetic field information with high accuracy. A fully automatic algorithm for the numerical analysis of the data has been developed and its performance demonstrated for the case of simulated as well as experimental data.

Phase-amplitude imaging: its application to fully automated analysis of magnetic field measurements in laser-produced plasmas

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

Kalal, M.; Nugent, K.A.; Luther-Davies, B.

1987-05-01

An interferometric technique which enables simultaneous phase and amplitude imaging of optically transparent objects is discussed with respect to its application for the measurement of spontaneous toroidal magnetic fields generated in laser-produced plasmas. It is shown that this technique can replace the normal independent pair of optical systems (interferometry and shadowgraphy) by one system and use computer image processing to recover both the plasma density and magnetic field information with high accuracy. A fully automatic algorithm for the numerical analysis of the data has been developed and its performance demonstrated for the case of simulated as well as experimental data.

Comparison of gamma-oryzanol contents in crude rice bran oils from different sources by various determination methods.

PubMed

Yoshie, Ayano; Kanda, Ayato; Nakamura, Takahiro; Igusa, Hisao; Hara, Setsuko

2009-01-01

Although there are various determination methods for gamma -oryzanol contained in rice bran oil by absorptiometry, normal-phase HPLC, and reversed-phase HPLC, their accuracies and the correlations among them have not been revealed yet. Chloroform-containing mixed solvents are widely used as mobile phases in some HPLC methods, but researchers have been apprehensive about its use in terms of safety for the human body and the environment.In the present study, a simple and accurate determination method was developed by improving the reversed-phase HPLC method. This novel HPLC method uses methanol/acetonitrile/acetic acid (52/45/3 v/v/v), a non-chlorinated solvent, as the mobile phase, and shows an excellent linearity (y = 0.9527x + 0.1241, R(2) = 0.9974) with absorptiometry. The mean relative errors among the existing 3 methods and the novel method, determined by adding fixed amounts of gamma-oryzanol into refined rice salad oil, were -4.7% for the absorptiometry, -6.8% for the existing normal-phase HPLC, +4.6% for the existing reversed-phase HPLC, and -1.6% for the novel reversed-phase HPLC method. gamma -Oryzanol content in 12 kinds of crude rice bran oils obtained from different sources were determined by the four methods. The mean content of those oils were 1.75+/-0.18% for the absorptiometry, 1.29+/-0.11% for the existing normal-phase HPLC, 1.51+/-0.10% for the existing reversed-phase HPLC, and 1.54+/-0.19% for the novel reversed-phase HPLC method.

How Does Circadian Rhythm Impact Salt Sensitivity of Blood Pressure in Mice? A Study in Two Close C57Bl/6 Substrains.

PubMed

Combe, Roy; Mudgett, John; El Fertak, Lahcen; Champy, Marie-France; Ayme-Dietrich, Estelle; Petit-Demoulière, Benoit; Sorg, Tania; Herault, Yann; Madwed, Jeffrey B; Monassier, Laurent

2016-01-01

Mouse transgenesis has provided the unique opportunity to investigate mechanisms underlying sodium kidney reabsorption as well as end organ damage. However, understanding mouse background and the experimental conditions effects on phenotypic readouts of engineered mouse lines such as blood pressure presents a challenge. Despite the ability to generate high sodium and chloride plasma levels during high-salt diet, observed changes in blood pressure are not consistent between wild-type background strains and studies. The present work was designed in an attempt to determine guidelines in the field of salt-induced hypertension by recording continuously blood pressure by telemetry in mice submitted to different sodium and potassium loaded diets and changing experimental conditions in both C57BL/6N and C57BL/6J mice strain (Normal salt vs. Low salt vs. High-salt/normal potassium vs. High salt/low potassium, standard vs. modified light cycle, Non-invasive tail cuff blood pressure vs. telemetry). In this study, we have shown that, despite a strong blood pressure (BP) basal difference between C57BL/6N and C57BL/6J mice, High salt/normal potassium diet increases BP and heart rate during the active phase only (dark period) in the same extent in both strains. On the other hand, while potassium level has no effect on salt-induced hypertension in C57BL/6N mice, high-salt/low potassium diet amplifies the effect of the high-salt challenge only in C57BL/6J mice. Indeed, in this condition, salt-induced hypertension can also be detected during light period even though this BP increase is lower compared to the one occurring during the dark period. Finally, from a methodological perspective, light cycle inversion has no effect on this circadian BP phenotype and tail-cuff method is less sensitive than telemetry to detect BP phenotypes due to salt challenges. Therefore, to carry investigations on salt-induced hypertension in mice, chronic telemetry and studies in the active phase are essential prerequisites.

Target tracking and pointing for arrays of phase-locked lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macasaet, Van P.; Hughes, Gary B.; Lubin, Philip; Madajian, Jonathan; Zhang, Qicheng; Griswold, Janelle; Kulkarni, Neeraj; Cohen, Alexander; Brashears, Travis

2016-09-01

Arrays of phase-locked lasers are envisioned for planetary defense and exploration systems. High-energy beams focused on a threatening asteroid evaporate surface material, creating a reactionary thrust that alters the asteroid's orbit. The same system could be used to probe an asteroid's composition, to search for unknown asteroids, and to propel interplanetary and interstellar spacecraft. Phased-array designs are capable of producing high beam intensity, and allow beam steering and beam profile manipulation. Modular designs allow ongoing addition of emitter elements to a growing array. This paper discusses pointing control for extensible laser arrays. Rough pointing is determined by spacecraft attitude control. Lateral movement of the laser emitter tips behind the optical elements provides intermediate pointing adjustment for individual array elements and beam steering. Precision beam steering and beam formation is accomplished by coordinated phase modulation across the array. Added cells are incorporated into the phase control scheme by precise alignment to local mechanical datums using fast, optical relative position sensors. Infrared target sensors are also positioned within the datum scheme, and provide information about the target vector relative to datum coordinates at each emitter. Multiple target sensors allow refined determination of the target normal plane, providing information to the phase controller for each emitter. As emitters and sensors are added, local position data allows accurate prediction of the relative global position of emitters across the array, providing additional constraints to the phase controllers. Mechanical design and associated phase control that is scalable for target distance and number of emitters is presented.

Could aspiration of the Graafian follicle cause luteal phase deficiency?

PubMed

Feichtinger, W; Kemeter, P; Szalay, S; Beck, A; Janisch, H

1982-02-01

Luteal phase quality was evaluated in 32 patients wih nonstimulated cycles after laparoscopic oocyte recovery for in vitro fertilization. A luteal phase deficiency occurred in two cases (6.2%), the mean duration of the luteal phase was 13.5 +/- 1.3 days in 30 patients, and two patients developed amenorrhea of 23 and 43 days respectively after laparoscopy in spite of normal progesterone values 7 and 9 days after oocyte recovery. Six embryo transfers were performed after fertilization and regular cleavage of the obtained oocytes. No pregnancy resulted from the embryo transfers, although the patients had apparently normal luteal phases. In one patient there was a transient beta-subunit human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG) elevation in serum. Luteal phase deficiency should not be main cause of a nonsuccessful embryo transfer. However, a prophylactic luteal phase support after oocyte recovery and embryo transfer in nonstimulated cycles is proposed.

Prognostic significance of S-phase fractions in peritumoral invading zone analyzed by laser scanning cytometry in patients with high-grade glioma: A preliminary study.

PubMed

Nakajima, Syoichi; Morii, Ken; Takahashi, Hitoshi; Fujii, Yukihiko; Yamanaka, Ryuya

2016-03-01

The predominant characteristic of malignant glioma is the presence of invading tumor cells in the peritumoral zone. Distinguishing between tumor cells and normal cells in a peritumoral lesion is challenging. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the cell-cycle phase measurements of fixed paraffin-embedded specimens from the peritumoral invading zone of high-grade gliomas using laser scanning cytometry. A total of 12 high-grade gliomas (2 anaplastic astrocytomas and 10 glioblastomas) were studied. The tumor core and peritumoral invading zone of each tumor specimen were investigated. Tissue sections (50 µm) from the paraffin blocks were deparaffinized, rehydrated and enzymatically disintegrated, and the cells in suspension were stained with propidium iodide and placed on microscope slides. A slight trend for an increased S-phase fraction in the peritumoral invading zone compared with the tumor core was observed (P=0.24). Additionally, there was a trend for a decrease in the overall survival time of patients with increasing peritumoral invading zone S-phase fraction (P=0.12). These data suggest that laser scanning cytometry is a powerful and clinically relevant tool for the objective analysis of the cell cycle in malignant gliomas.

40 CFR 80.45 - Complex emissions model.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) VOCW% = Percentage change in winter VOC emissions from baseline levels (8) Phase II total VOC emissions... its domain Phase I = The years 1995-1999 Phase II = Year 2000 and beyond (b) Weightings and baselines... appropriate pollutant and Phase: Table 1—Normal and Higher Emitter Weightings for Exhaust Emissions Phase I...

THE CHEMISTRY OF TRIBUTYL PHOSPHATE: A REVIEW

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

Burger, L.L.

1955-10-27

The preparation, purification, and chemical properties of THP have been reviewed with emphasis on the hydrolytic reactions. TBP is chemically a very stable compound as evidenced by its thermal stability and resistance to oxidation. The most important reactions are hydrolytic which cleave the butyl or butoxy group and normally produce butyl alcohol together with dibutyl and monobutyl phosphate (DBP and MBP, respectively), and eventually H/sub 3/PO/sub 4/. Hydrolysis occurs in either the organic phase or the aqueous phase and is first order with respect to the ester. Although the rate in the aqueous phase is much faster than in themore » organic phase, the solubility is so low in aqueous solutions that the organic phase reactions become more important. Acid hydrolysis depends on both the nature of the acid and the concentration. The order with respect to acid concentration is close to one but often less than one. Hydrolysis is catalyzed by both acids and bases. In the latter case, the reaction occurs only in the aqueous phase and normally stops with the formation of dibutyl phosphate. The hydrolysis rate increases greatly as the temperature is raised and an activation energy of the order of 20 kcal is often found. The rates observed in the presence of 5 M acid at 60 and 70 deg C may be high enough to cause some concern in solvent extraction technology, since the product, dibutyl phosphate, has undesirable properties. Impurities produced during manufacture or by thermal degradation during purification such as the pyrophosphates, if present, would yield the same objectionable products as TBP hydrolysis, but at a faster rate. Included in the survey is a selected tabulation of physical properties of TBP. (auth)« less

Hysteresis, phase transitions, and dangerous transients in electrical power distribution systems.

PubMed

Duclut, Charlie; Backhaus, Scott; Chertkov, Michael

2013-06-01

The majority of dynamical studies in power systems focus on the high-voltage transmission grids where models consider large generators interacting with crude aggregations of individual small loads. However, new phenomena have been observed indicating that the spatial distribution of collective, nonlinear contribution of these small loads in the low-voltage distribution grid is crucial to the outcome of these dynamical transients. To elucidate the phenomenon, we study the dynamics of voltage and power flows in a spatially extended distribution feeder (circuit) connecting many asynchronous induction motors and discover that this relatively simple 1+1 (space+time) dimensional system exhibits a plethora of nontrivial spatiotemporal effects, some of which may be dangerous for power system stability. Long-range motor-motor interactions mediated by circuit voltage and electrical power flows result in coexistence and segregation of spatially extended phases defined by individual motor states, a "normal" state where the motors' mechanical (rotation) frequency is slightly smaller than the nominal frequency of the basic ac flows and a "stalled" state where the mechanical frequency is small. Transitions between the two states can be initiated by a perturbation of the voltage or base frequency at the head of the distribution feeder. Such behavior is typical of first-order phase transitions in physics, and this 1+1 dimensional model shows many other properties of a first-order phase transition with the spatial distribution of the motors' mechanical frequency playing the role of the order parameter. In particular, we observe (a) propagation of the phase-transition front with the constant speed (in very long feeders) and (b) hysteresis in transitions between the normal and stalled (or partially stalled) phases.

Cavity Self-Stabilization and Enhancement of Laser Gyroscopes by (Coupled) Optical Resonators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, David D.

2006-01-01

We analyze the effect of a highly dispersive element placed inside a modulated optical cavity on the frequency and amplitude of the modulation to determine the conditions for cavity self-stabilization and enhanced gyroscopic sensitivity. Hence, we model cavity rotation or instability by an arbitrary AM/FM modulation, and the dispersive element as a phase and amplitude filter. We find that anomalous dispersion may be used to self-stabilize a laser cavity, provided the magnitude of the group index of refraction is smaller than the phase index of refraction in the cavity. The optimal stabilization is found to occur when the group index is zero. Group indices with magnitudes larger than the phase index (both normal and anomalous dispersion) are found to enhance the sensitivity of a laser gyroscope to rotation. Furthermore, our results indicate that atomic media, even coherent superpositions in multilevel atoms, are not useful for these applications, because the amplitude and phase filters work against one another, i.e., decreasing the modulation frequency increases its amplitude and vice versa, with one exception: negative group indices whose magnitudes are larger than the phase index result in negative, but enhanced, beat frequencies. On the other hand, for optical resonators the dispersion reversal associated with critical coupling enables the amplitude and phase filters to work together under a greater variety of circumstances than for atomic media. We find that for single over-coupled resonators, or in the case of under-coupled coupled-resonator-induced absorption, the absorption and normal dispersion on-resonance increase the contrast and frequency of the beat-note, respectively, resulting in a substantial enhancement of the gyroscopic response. Moreover, for cavity self-stabilization, we propose the use of a variety of coupled-resonator induced transparency that is accompanied by anomalous dispersion.

Androgen profiling by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in healthy normal-weight ovulatory and anovulatory late adolescent and young women.

PubMed

Fanelli, Flaminia; Gambineri, Alessandra; Belluomo, Ilaria; Repaci, Andrea; Di Lallo, Valentina Diana; Di Dalmazi, Guido; Mezzullo, Marco; Prontera, Olga; Cuomo, Gaia; Zanotti, Laura; Paccapelo, Alexandro; Morselli-Labate, Antonio Maria; Pagotto, Uberto; Pasquali, Renato

2013-07-01

Physiological transient imbalance typical of adolescence needs to be distinguished from hyperandrogenism-related dysfunction. The accurate determination of circulating androgens is the best indicator of hyperandrogenism. However, reliable reference intervals for adolescent and young women are not available. The aim of the study was to define androgen reference intervals in young women and to analyze the impact of the menstrual phase and ovulation efficiency over the androgen profile as assessed by reliable liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technique. Female high school students aged 16-19 years were included in the study. The study was performed on reference subjects properly selected among an unbiased population. Normal-weight, drug and disease free, eumenorrheic females with no signs of hyperandrogenism were included. The steroid hormone profile was determined by a validated in-house LC-MS/MS method. A statistical estimation of overall and menstrual phase-specific reference intervals was performed. A subgroup of anovulatory females was identified based on progesterone circulating levels. The impact of ovulation efficiency over hormonal profile was analyzed. A total of 159 females satisfied healthy criteria. Androgen levels did not vary according to menstrual phase, but a significantly higher upper reference limit was found for T in the luteal phase compared to the follicular phase. Higher T and androstenedione levels were observed in anovulatory compared to ovulatory females, paralleled by higher LH and FSH and lower 17-hydroxyprogesterone and 17β-estradiol levels. This is the first study providing LC-MS/MS-based, menstrual phase-specific reference intervals for the circulating androgen profile in young females. We identified a subgroup of anovulatory healthy females characterized by androgen imbalance.

Hyperscaling violating black hole solutions and magneto-thermoelectric DC conductivities in holography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Xian-Hui; Tian, Yu; Wu, Shang-Yu; Wu, Shao-Feng

2017-08-01

We derive new black hole solutions in Einstein-Maxwell-axion-dilaton theory with a hyperscaling violation exponent. We then examine the corresponding anomalous transport exhibited by cuprate strange metals in the normal phase of high-temperature superconductors via gauge-gravity duality. Linear-temperature-dependence resistivity and quadratic-temperature-dependence inverse Hall angle can be achieved. In the high-temperature regime, the heat conductivity and Hall Lorenz ratio are proportional to the temperature. The Nernst signal first increases as temperature goes up, but it then decreases with increasing temperature in the high-temperature regime.

An investigation into the flow behavior of a single phase gas system and a two phase gas/liquid system in normal gravity with nonuniform heating from above

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Disimile, Peter J.; Heist, Timothy J.

1990-01-01

The fluid behavior in normal gravity of a single phase gas system and a two phase gas/liquid system in an enclosed circular cylinder heated suddenly and nonuniformly from above was investigated. Flow visualization was used to obtain qualitative data on both systems. The use of thermochromatic liquid crystal particles as liquid phase flow tracers was evaluated as a possible means of simultaneously gathering both flow pattern and temperature gradient data for the two phase system. The results of the flow visualization experiments performed on both systems can be used to gain a better understanding of the behavior of such systems in a reduced gravity environment and aid in the verification of a numerical model of the system.

Reduced Theta-Band Power and Phase Synchrony during Explicit Verbal Memory Tasks in Female, Non-Clinical Individuals with Schizotypal Traits.

PubMed

Choi, Jeong Woo; Jang, Kyoung-Mi; Jung, Ki-Young; Kim, Myung-Sun; Kim, Kyung Hwan

2016-01-01

The study of non-clinical individuals with schizotypal traits has been considered to provide a promising endophenotypic approach to understanding schizophrenia, because schizophrenia is highly heterogeneous, and a number of confounding factors may affect neuropsychological performance. Here, we investigated whether deficits in explicit verbal memory in individuals with schizotypal traits are associated with abnormalities in the local and inter-regional synchrony of brain activity. Memory deficits have been recognized as a core problem in schizophrenia, and previous studies have consistently shown explicit verbal memory impairment in schizophrenic patients. However, the mechanism of this impairment has not been fully revealed. Seventeen individuals with schizotypal traits and 17 age-matched, normal controls participated. Multichannel event-related electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded while the subjects performed a continuous recognition task. Event-related spectral perturbations (ERSPs) and inter-regional theta-band phase locking values (TPLVs) were investigated to determine the differences in local and global neural synchrony between the two subject groups. Additionally, the connection patterns of the TPLVs were quantitatively analyzed using graph theory measures. An old/new effect was found in the induced theta-band ERSP in both groups. However, the difference between the old and new was larger in normal controls than in schizotypal trait group. The tendency of elevated old/new effect in normal controls was observed in anterior-posterior theta-band phase synchrony as well. Our results suggest that explicit memory deficits observed in schizophrenia patients can also be found in non-clinical individuals with psychometrically defined schizotypal traits.

Cold-start and chemical characterization of emissions from mobile sources in Mexico.

PubMed

Schifter, I; Díaz, L; Rodríguez, R

2010-10-01

In this work tailpipe and evaporative emissions from a set of normal and high emitter vehicle models, year 2006-2008 (low mileage) certified when new to meet the Tier 1 emission standard, were characterized for criteria pollutants (carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons), and a suite of unregulated emissions including aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes, monocyclic aromatic compounds, 1,3 butadiene, n-hexane and acrolein. Data were obtained under the three different driving conditions of the United States Federal Test Procedure, FTP-75 cycle. High emissions of both regulated and unregulated pollutants were observed in the cold-start phase of the driving cycle for low mileage Tier 1 normal and high emitters engines. Data were compared with results obtained for a set of MY > 1992-2005 that included vehicles with no catalytic converters, Tier 0 and MY 2000-5 Tier 1 emission standard with high mileage. The calculated average cold-start emissions for normal emitters in grams are 0.93, 8.21 and 1.06 for NMHC CO, and NOx, respectively for Tier 1 low mileage vehicles. The reductions in emissions for Tier 1 normal emitters are 76%, 56% and 56% for NMHC, CO and NOx, respectively, but 58%, 30% and 25% for the high emitters. Differences in emission can be ascribed to the mileage accumulation more than technological improvements. Cold-start emissions account in the USA roughly 10% of emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles. In Mexico the fractions are likely to be higher because one must account also for the contribution of Tier 0 and the running exhausts emissions of vehicles with no catalytic converters.

Near-zero thermal expansion in magnetically ordered state in dysprosium at high pressures and low temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hope, Kevin M.; Samudrala, Gopi K.; Vohra, Yogesh K.

2017-01-01

The atomic volume of rare earth metal dysprosium (Dy) has been measured up to high pressures of 35 GPa and low temperatures between 200 and 7 K in a diamond anvil cell using angle dispersive X-ray diffraction at a synchrotron source. The hexagonal close-packed (hcp), alpha-Samarium (α-Sm), and double hexagonal close-packed (dhcp) phases are observed to be stable in Dy under high-pressure and low-temperature conditions achieved in our experiments. Dy is known to undergo magnetic ordering below 176 K at ambient pressure with magnetic ordering Néel temperature (TN) that changes rapidly with increasing pressure. Our experimental measurement shows that Dy has near-zero thermal expansion in the magnetically ordered state and normal thermal expansion in the paramagnetic state for all the three known high pressure phases (hcp, α-Sm, and dhcp) to 35 GPa. This near-zero thermal expansion behavior in Dy is observed below the magnetic ordering temperature TN at all pressures up to 35 GPa.

Cardiorespiratory phase synchronization during normal rest and inward-attention meditation.

PubMed

Wu, Shr-Da; Lo, Pei-Chen

2010-06-11

The cardiac and respiratory systems can be viewed as two self-sustained oscillators with various interactions between them. In this study, the cardiorespiratory phase synchronization (CRPS) quantified by synchrogram was investigated to explore the phase synchronization between these two systems. The synchrogram scheme was applied to electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiration signals. Particular focus was the distinct cardiac-respiratory regulation phenomena intervened by inward-attention meditation and normal relaxation. Four synchronization parameters were measured: frequency ratio, lasting length, number of epochs, and total length. The results showed that normal rest resulted in much weaker CRPS. Statistical analysis reveals that the number of synchronous epochs and the total synchronization length significantly increase (p=0.024 and 0.034 respectively) during meditation. Furthermore, a predominance of 4:1 and 5:1 rhythm-ratio synchronizations was observed during meditation. Consequently, this study concludes that CRPS can be enhanced during meditation, compared with normal relaxation, and reveals a predominance of specific frequency ratios. Copyright (c) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bilateral neuromuscular and force differences during a plyometric task.

PubMed

Ball, Nick B; Scurr, Joanna C

2009-08-01

The purpose of this article is to compare the bilateral neuromuscular and force contribution during a plyometric bounce drop jump task and to assess the affects of nonsimultaneous foot placement. Sixteen male participants performed bounce drop jumps from a height of 0.4 m. Mean peak electromyography activity of the soleus, medial, and lateral gastrocnemius of both legs was recorded from each phase of the drop jump and normalized to a reference dynamic muscle action. Resultant ground reaction force, ground contact time, and duration of the drop jumps were recorded from each leg. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to compare bilateral electromyographic activity, resultant peak ground reaction force, and contact duration. Pearson's correlations (r) ascertained relationships between normalized electromyographic activity and contact time. Significant differences were shown between left and right triceps surae normalized electromyography during precontact and contact40ms (p < 0.01). No significant differences were present in the contactpost40ms phase (p > 0.01). Significant differences were found between normalized soleus electromyography and both gastrocnemii for both legs during precontact (p < 0.01). No significant differences were found for within-leg normalized electromyography for the contact40ms phases and contactpost40ms phase (p > 0.01). Weak relationships were found between normalized electromyographic activity and nonsimultaneous foot contact (r < 0.2). This study showed differences between left and right triceps surae in neuromuscular strategies engaged in the early stages of a drop jump task. Differences in contact time initiation were present; however, they are not significant enough to cause neuromuscular differences in the plantar flexor muscles.

T-cell-dependent immunity and thrombocytopenia in rats infected with Plasmodium chabaudi.

PubMed Central

Watier, H; Verwaerde, C; Landau, I; Werner, E; Fontaine, J; Capron, A; Auriault, C

1992-01-01

Normal, splenectomized, and athymic Fischer rats were infected with Plasmodium chabaudi. In normal rat infections, acute-phase infection resolved rapidly and completely. In splenectomized rats, infection resulted in high parasitemia and ultimately death. In nude rats, parasite growth was reduced compared with normal rats, and a persistent parasitemia (between 20 and 45%) was observed for several months. Complete resolution of the infection was achieved after adoptive transfer of T lymphocytes, even when transfer occurred during the course of infection. These results indicated that an acquired, T-lymphocyte-dependent immunity was necessary for the complete recovery observed in normal rats. In normal rats, thrombocytopenia and splenomegaly occurred during infection. By contrast, in nude rats, both of these pathological manifestations were only observed after thymus grafting. Thrombocytopenia was also absent in the splenectomized animals. Despite an increase in platelet-associated immunoglobulin levels during the infection, thrombocytopenia was not transferred by injection of infected rat serum to normal recipients. It has been concluded that the nude rat infection can be regarded as a novel and useful model for studying the T-cell-dependent effector and pathological mechanisms and to investigate the anti-P. chabaudi immune response. PMID:1729178

Renal cell carcinoma associated with Xp11.2 translocation/TFE gene fusion: imaging findings in 21 patients.

PubMed

Chen, Xiao; Zhu, Qingqiang; Li, Baoxin; Cui, Wenjing; Zhou, Hao; Duan, Na; Liu, Yongkang; Kundra, Vikas; Wang, Zhongqiu

2017-02-01

To characterize imaging features of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) associated with Xp11.2 translocation/TFE gene fusion. Twenty-one patients with Xp11.2/TFE RCC were retrospectively evaluated. Tumour location, size, density, cystic or solid appearance, calcification, capsule sign, enhancement pattern and metastases were assessed. Fourteen women and seven men were identified with 12 being 25 years old or younger. Tumours were solitary and cystic-solid (76.2 %) masses with a capsule (76.2 %); 90.5 % were located in the medulla. Calcifications and lymph node metastases were each observed in 24 %. On unenhanced CT, tumour attenuation was greater than in normal renal parenchyma (85.7 %). Tumour enhancement was less than in normal renal cortex on all enhanced phases, greater than in normal renal medulla on cortical and medullary phases, but less than in normal renal medulla on delayed phase. On MR, the tumours were isointense on T1WI, heterogeneously hypointense on T2WI and slightly hyperintense on diffusion-weighted imaging. Xp11.2/TFE RCC usually occurs in young women. It is a cystic-solid, hyperdense mass with a capsule. It arises from the renal medulla with enhancement less than in the cortex but greater than in the medulla in all phases except the delayed phase, when it is lower than in the medulla. • Xp11.2/TFE RCC was more prevalent in young women. • On unenhanced CT, Xp11.2/TFE RCC attenuation was greater than in renal parenchyma. • Xp111/2TFE RCC arises primarily from the renal medulla. • Xp11.2/TFE RCC enhancement was less than in the cortex on all phases. • Enhancement was greater than in the medulla in arterial and corticomedullary phase.

Cytogenetic study is not essential in patients with aplastic anemia

PubMed Central

Dutta, Atreyee; De, Rajib; Dolai, Tuphan K; Mitra, Pradip K; Halder, Ajanta

2017-01-01

Depending on contemporary treatment approach of aggressive immunosuppression, Aplastic Anemia (AA) is caused by immunological destruction of otherwise normal hematopoietic stem cells. The aim was to summarize the cytogenetic abnormalities in AA patients and the frequency of Fanconi Anemia (FA) in morphologically normal AA patients in eastern India. Ethical clearances were obtained from both institutions involved in this study. Out of 72800 patients attending the outpatient department, 520 pancytopenia patients were screened for AA after Bone marrow (BM) aspiration and biopsy. Samples were collected from 117 cases in 3 phases. 51 peripheral venous blood (PVB) samples in the first phase, 19 BM & PVB paired samples in the second phase and 47 BM samples in third phase were collected followed by leukocyte and/or BM stem cell culture. Next GTG banding and karyotyping were performed. PVB was collected from 63 (< 50 years) AA patients and stress cytogenetics was done to diagnose FA. In the first phase of the study, out of 51 PVB samples, 1 (1.96%) showed a unique chromosomal abnormality, i.e. 45,XY,rob(14:21)(p10:q10)[20]. In the second phase of study, among 19 BM & PVB paired samples, 1 (5.26%) showed abnormal karyotype i.e. 45,X,-Y[3]/46,XY[47]. In the third phase of the study, 47 BM samples showed normal karyotype. Only 6 (9.52%) cases were found positive for stress cytogenetics. A negligible percentage showing cytogenetic abnormality in such a considerable number of AA cases indicates that routine cytogenetic analysis of AA patient is not essential. A significant percentage was positive for stress cytogenetics; suggestive for FA, even the patients were morphologically normal. PMID:29181263

A branching process model for the analysis of abortive colony size distributions in carbon ion-irradiated normal human fibroblasts.

PubMed

Sakashita, Tetsuya; Hamada, Nobuyuki; Kawaguchi, Isao; Hara, Takamitsu; Kobayashi, Yasuhiko; Saito, Kimiaki

2014-05-01

A single cell can form a colony, and ionizing irradiation has long been known to reduce such a cellular clonogenic potential. Analysis of abortive colonies unable to continue to grow should provide important information on the reproductive cell death (RCD) following irradiation. Our previous analysis with a branching process model showed that the RCD in normal human fibroblasts can persist over 16 generations following irradiation with low linear energy transfer (LET) γ-rays. Here we further set out to evaluate the RCD persistency in abortive colonies arising from normal human fibroblasts exposed to high-LET carbon ions (18.3 MeV/u, 108 keV/µm). We found that the abortive colony size distribution determined by biological experiments follows a linear relationship on the log-log plot, and that the Monte Carlo simulation using the RCD probability estimated from such a linear relationship well simulates the experimentally determined surviving fraction and the relative biological effectiveness (RBE). We identified the short-term phase and long-term phase for the persistent RCD following carbon-ion irradiation, which were similar to those previously identified following γ-irradiation. Taken together, our results suggest that subsequent secondary or tertiary colony formation would be invaluable for understanding the long-lasting RCD. All together, our framework for analysis with a branching process model and a colony formation assay is applicable to determination of cellular responses to low- and high-LET radiation, and suggests that the long-lasting RCD is a pivotal determinant of the surviving fraction and the RBE.

Analytical scalings of the linear Richtmyer-Meshkov instability when a shock is reflected.

PubMed

Campos, F Cobos; Wouchuk, J G

2016-05-01

When a planar shock hits a corrugated contact surface between two fluids, hydrodynamic perturbations are generated in both fluids that result in asymptotic normal and tangential velocity perturbations in the linear stage, the so called Richtmyer-Meshkov instability. In this work, explicit and exact analytical expansions of the asymptotic normal velocity (δv_{i}^{∞}) are presented for the general case in which a shock is reflected back. The expansions are derived from the conservation equations and take into account the whole perturbation history between the transmitted and reflected fronts. The important physical limits of weak and strong shocks and the high/low preshock density ratio at the contact surface are shown. An approximate expression for the normal velocity, valid even for high compression regimes, is given. A comparison with recent experimental data is done. The contact surface ripple growth is studied during the linear phase showing good agreement between theory and experiments done in a wide range of incident shock Mach numbers and preshock density ratios, for the cases in which the initial ripple amplitude is small enough. In particular, it is shown that in the linear asymptotic phase, the contact surface ripple (ψ_{i}) grows as ψ_{∞}+δv_{i}^{∞}t, where ψ_{∞} is an asymptotic ordinate different from the postshock ripple amplitude at t=0+. This work is a continuation of the calculations of F. Cobos Campos and J. G. Wouchuk, [Phys. Rev. E 90, 053007 (2014)PLEEE81539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.90.053007] for a single shock moving into one fluid.

DNA fragmentation of normal spermatozoa negatively impacts embryo quality and intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcome.

PubMed

Avendaño, Conrado; Franchi, Anahí; Duran, Hakan; Oehninger, Sergio

2010-07-01

To evaluate DNA fragmentation in morphologically normal sperm recovered from the same sample used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and to correlate DNA damage with embryo quality and pregnancy outcome. Prospective study. Academic center. 36 infertile men participating in the ICSI program. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-fluorescein nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay and morphologic assessment by phase contrast. Simultaneous assessment of sperm morphology and DNA fragmentation by TUNEL assay was performed in the same cell, then the percentage of normal sperm with fragmented DNA (normal SFD) was correlated with embryo quality and pregnancy outcomes. A highly statistically significant negative correlation was found between the percentage of normal SFD and embryo quality. This association was confirmed for the transferred embryos and for the total embryo cohort. The receiver operating characteristics curve analysis demonstrated that the percentage of normal SFD and embryo quality were statistically significant predictors of pregnancy. When the percentage of normal SFD was

Monitoring the recovery of Juncus roemerianus marsh burns with the normalized difference vegetation index and Landsat Thematic Mapper data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ramsey, Elijah W.; Sapkota, S.K.; Barnes, F.G.; Nelson, G.A.

2002-01-01

Nine atmospherically corrected Landsat Thematic Mapper images were used to generate mean normalized difference vegetation indices (NDVI) at 11 burn sites throughout a coastal Juncus roemerianus marsh in St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Florida. Time-since-burn, the time lapse from the date of burn to the date of image collection, was related to variation in mean NDVI over time. Regression analysis showed that NDVI increased for about 300 to 400 days immediately after the burn, overshooting the typical mean NDVI of a nonburned marsh. For about another 500 to 600 days NDVI decreased until reaching a nearly constant NDVI of about 0.40. During the phase of increasing NDVI the ability to predict time-since-burn was within about ??60 days. Within the decreasing phase this dropped to about ??88 days. Examination of each burn site revealed some nonburn related influences on NDVI (e.g., seasonality). Normalization of burn NDVI by site-specific nonburn control NDVI eliminated most influences. However, differential responses at the site-specific level remained related to either storm impacts or secondary burning. At these sites, collateral data helped clarify the abnormal changes in NDVI. Accounting for these abnormalities, site-specific burn recovery trends could be broadly standardized into four general phases: Phase 1-preburn, Phase 2-initial recovery (increasing NDVI), Phase 3-late recovery (decreasing NDVI), and Phase 4-final coalescence (unchanging NDVI). Phase 2 tended to last about 300 to 500 days, Phase 3 an additional 500 to 600 days, and finally reaching Phase 4, 900 to 1,000 days after burn.

A hidden pseudogap under the 'dome' of superconductivity in electron-doped high-temperature superconductors.

PubMed

Alff, L; Krockenberger, Y; Welter, B; Schonecke, M; Gross, R; Manske, D; Naito, M

2003-04-17

The ground state of superconductors is characterized by the long-range order of condensed Cooper pairs: this is the only order present in conventional superconductors. The high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductors, in contrast, exhibit more complex phase behaviour, which might indicate the presence of other competing ground states. For example, the pseudogap--a suppression of the accessible electronic states at the Fermi level in the normal state of high-T(c) superconductors-has been interpreted as either a precursor to superconductivity or as tracer of a nearby ground state that can be separated from the superconducting state by a quantum critical point. Here we report the existence of a second order parameter hidden within the superconducting phase of the underdoped (electron-doped) high-T(c) superconductor Pr2-xCe(x)CuO4-y and the newly synthesized electron-doped material La2-xCe(x)CuO4-y (ref. 8). The existence of a pseudogap when superconductivity is suppressed excludes precursor superconductivity as its origin. Our observation is consistent with the presence of a (quantum) phase transition at T = 0, which may be a key to understanding high-T(c) superconductivity. This supports the picture that the physics of high-T(c) superconductors is determined by the interplay between competing and coexisting ground states.

Thermodynamic assessment of the rhodium-ruthenium-oxygen (Rh-Ru-O) system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gossé, S.; Bordier, S.; Guéneau, C.; Brackx, E.; Domenger, R.; Rogez, J.

2018-03-01

Ruthenium (Ru) and rhodium (Rh) are abundant platinum-group metals formed during burn-up of nuclear fuels. Under normal operating conditions, Rh and Ru accumulate and predominantly form metallic precipitates with other fission products like Mo, Pd and Tc. In the framework of vitrification of high-level nuclear waste, these fission products are poorly soluble in molten glasses. They precipitate as metallic particles and oxide phases. Moreover, these Ru and Rh rich phases strongly depend on temperature and the oxygen fugacity of the glass melt. In case of severe accidental conditions with air ingress, oxidation of the Ru and Rh is possible. At low temperatures (T < 1422 K for rhodium sesquioxide and T < 1815 K for ruthenium dioxide), the formed oxides are relatively stable. On the other hand, at high temperatures (T > 1422 K for rhodium sesquioxide and T > 1815 K for ruthenium dioxide), they may decompose into (Rh)-FCC or (Ru)-HCP metallic phases and radiotoxic volatile gaseous species. A thermodynamic assessment of the Rh-Ru-O system will enable the prediction of: (1) the metallic and oxide phases that form during the vitrification of high-level nuclear wastes and (2) the release of volatile gaseous species during a severe accident. The Calphad method developed herein employs a thermodynamic approach in the investigation of the thermochemistry of rhodium and ruthenium at high temperatures. Current literature on the thermodynamic properties and phase diagram data enables preliminary thermodynamic assessments of the Rh-O and Ru-O systems. Additionally, select compositions in the ternary Rh-Ru-O system underwent experimental tests to complement data found in literature and to establish the phase equilibria in the ternary system.

Electric double-layer transistor using layered iron selenide Mott insulator TlFe1.6Se2

PubMed Central

Katase, Takayoshi; Hiramatsu, Hidenori; Kamiya, Toshio; Hosono, Hideo

2014-01-01

A1–xFe2–ySe2 (A = K, Cs, Rb, Tl) are recently discovered iron-based superconductors with critical temperatures (Tc) ranging up to 32 K. Their parent phases have unique properties compared with other iron-based superconductors; e.g., their crystal structures include ordered Fe vacancies, their normal states are antiferromagnetic (AFM) insulating phases, and they have extremely high Néel transition temperatures. However, control of carrier doping into the parent AFM insulators has been difficult due to their intrinsic phase separation. Here, we fabricated an Fe-vacancy-ordered TlFe1.6Se2 insulating epitaxial film with an atomically flat surface and examined its electrostatic carrier doping using an electric double-layer transistor (EDLT) structure with an ionic liquid gate. The positive gate voltage gave a conductance modulation of three orders of magnitude at 25 K, and further induced and manipulated a phase transition; i.e., delocalized carrier generation by electrostatic doping is the origin of the phase transition. This is the first demonstration, to the authors' knowledge, of an EDLT using a Mott insulator iron selenide channel and opens a way to explore high Tc superconductivity in iron-based layered materials, where carrier doping by conventional chemical means is difficult. PMID:24591598

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

Alvarado, Andrew; Attapattu, Jeevake; Zhang, Yi

Zinc oxide (ZnO) undergoes a pressure-induced structural transition from its normal ambient-pressure wurtzite (WZ) phase to a rocksalt (RS) phase around 10 GPa. A recent experiment shows that the high-pressure RS ZnO phase can be recovered and stabilized at ambient conditions, which raises exciting prospects of expanding the range of properties of ZnO. For a fundamental understanding of the RS ZnO phase, we have performed first-principles calculations to determine its electronic, phonon, and thermodynamic properties at high (20 GPa) and ambient (0 GPa) pressure. Furthermore, we have calculated its electrical and thermal transport properties, which allow an evaluation of its thermoelectric figure ofmore » merit ZT at different temperature and doping levels. Our calculations show that the ambient-pressure RS ZnO phase can reach ZT values of 0.25 to 0.3 under both n-type and p-type doping in a large temperature range of 400 K to 800 K, which is considerably lower than the temperature range of 1400 K to 1600 K where WZ ZnO reaches similar ZT values. These results establish RS ZnO as a promising material for thermoelectric devices designed to operate at temperatures desirable for many heat recovery applications.« less

Application of Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov method in implicitly solving two-fluid six-equation two-phase flow problems: Implementation, validation and benchmark

DOE PAGES

Zou, Ling; Zhao, Haihua; Zhang, Hongbin

2016-03-09

This work represents a first-of-its-kind successful application to employ advanced numerical methods in solving realistic two-phase flow problems with two-fluid six-equation two-phase flow model. These advanced numerical methods include high-resolution spatial discretization scheme with staggered grids (high-order) fully implicit time integration schemes, and Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov (JFNK) method as the nonlinear solver. The computer code developed in this work has been extensively validated with existing experimental flow boiling data in vertical pipes and rod bundles, which cover wide ranges of experimental conditions, such as pressure, inlet mass flux, wall heat flux and exit void fraction. Additional code-to-code benchmark with the RELAP5-3Dmore » code further verifies the correct code implementation. The combined methods employed in this work exhibit strong robustness in solving two-phase flow problems even when phase appearance (boiling) and realistic discrete flow regimes are considered. Transitional flow regimes used in existing system analysis codes, normally introduced to overcome numerical difficulty, were completely removed in this work. As a result, this in turn provides the possibility to utilize more sophisticated flow regime maps in the future to further improve simulation accuracy.« less

Thermoelectric properties of rocksalt ZnO from first-principles calculations

DOE PAGES

Alvarado, Andrew; Attapattu, Jeevake; Zhang, Yi; ...

2015-10-22

Zinc oxide (ZnO) undergoes a pressure-induced structural transition from its normal ambient-pressure wurtzite (WZ) phase to a rocksalt (RS) phase around 10 GPa. A recent experiment shows that the high-pressure RS ZnO phase can be recovered and stabilized at ambient conditions, which raises exciting prospects of expanding the range of properties of ZnO. For a fundamental understanding of the RS ZnO phase, we have performed first-principles calculations to determine its electronic, phonon, and thermodynamic properties at high (20 GPa) and ambient (0 GPa) pressure. Furthermore, we have calculated its electrical and thermal transport properties, which allow an evaluation of itsmore » thermoelectric figure of merit ZT at different temperature and doping levels. Our calculations show that the ambient-pressure RS ZnO phase can reach ZT values of 0.25 to 0.3 under both n-type and p-type doping in a large temperature range of 400 K to 800 K, which is considerably lower than the temperature range of 1400 K to 1600 K where WZ ZnO reaches similar ZT values. Lastly, these results establish RS ZnO as a promising material for thermoelectric devices designed to operate at temperatures desirable for many heat recovery applications.« less

Effect of normalized plasma frequency on electron phase-space orbits in a free-electron laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Yu-Pin; Wang, Shi-Jian; Xu, Jing-Yue; Xu, Yong-Gen; Liu, Xiao-Xu; Lu, Hong; Huang, Xiao-Li; Zhang, Shi-Chang

2014-02-01

Irregular phase-space orbits of the electrons are harmful to the electron-beam transport quality and hence deteriorate the performance of a free-electron laser (FEL). In previous literature, it was demonstrated that the irregularity of the electron phase-space orbits could be caused in several ways, such as varying the wiggler amplitude and inducing sidebands. Based on a Hamiltonian model with a set of self-consistent differential equations, it is shown in this paper that the electron-beam normalized plasma frequency functions not only couple the electron motion with the FEL wave, which results in the evolution of the FEL wave field and a possible power saturation at a large beam current, but also cause the irregularity of the electron phase-space orbits when the normalized plasma frequency has a sufficiently large value, even if the initial energy of the electron is equal to the synchronous energy or the FEL wave does not reach power saturation.

Topological Superconductivity on the Surface of Fe-Based Superconductors.

PubMed

Xu, Gang; Lian, Biao; Tang, Peizhe; Qi, Xiao-Liang; Zhang, Shou-Cheng

2016-07-22

As one of the simplest systems for realizing Majorana fermions, the topological superconductor plays an important role in both condensed matter physics and quantum computations. Based on ab initio calculations and the analysis of an effective 8-band model with superconducting pairing, we demonstrate that the three-dimensional extended s-wave Fe-based superconductors such as Fe_{1+y}Se_{0.5}Te_{0.5} have a metallic topologically nontrivial band structure, and exhibit a normal-topological-normal superconductivity phase transition on the (001) surface by tuning the bulk carrier doping level. In the topological superconductivity (TSC) phase, a Majorana zero mode is trapped at the end of a magnetic vortex line. We further show that the surface TSC phase only exists up to a certain bulk pairing gap, and there is a normal-topological phase transition driven by the temperature, which has not been discussed before. These results pave an effective way to realize the TSC and Majorana fermions in a large class of superconductors.

High Temperature Tribometer. Phase 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-01

13 Figure 2.3.2 Setpoint and Gain Windows in FW.EXE ......... . Figure 2.4.1 Data-Flow Diagram for Data-Acquisition Module ..... .. 23 I Figure...mounted in a friction force measuring device. Optimally , material testing results should not be test machine sensitiye; but due to equipment variables...fixed. The friction force due to sliding should be continuously measured. This is optimally done in conjunction with the normal force measurement via

Multiple Ignition, Normal and Catalytic Combustion and Quenching of Fuel/Air Mixtures.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-05-10

spray ignition results. Spray systems will be produced using a TSI vibrating orifice aerosol generator. From a small liquid reservoir under high pressure...Liebman used laser ignition of electromagnetically -15- levitated particles. An interesting contradiction presents itself in Figures 7 and 8. Because...the substrate surface has been developed and tested. When the experimental wall temperature is used as boundary condition for the gas- phase equations

Phasic Dopaminergic Signaling and the Presymptomatic Phase of Parkinson’s Disease

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-07-01

provides an ambient , steady- state level of extracellular dopamine, whereas phasic signaling results in a transient increase (i.e., a short-lived...certain ambient extracellular level of dopamine is essential for movement to occur [116]. Phasic signaling involves synchronized high frequency firing of...microdialysis. A measurement of the ambient level of dopamine by microdialysis in animal studies shows that extracellular dopamine levels are normal

Effect of progesterone concentration and duration of proestrus on fertility in beef cattle after fixed-time artificial insemination.

PubMed

Dadarwal, D; Mapletoft, R J; Adams, G P; Pfeifer, L F M; Creelman, C; Singh, J

2013-03-15

The objective was to determine the effect of plasma progesterone concentration and the duration of proestrus during growth of the ovulatory follicle on fertility in beef cattle. Heifers (N = 61) and postpartum cows (N = 79) were assigned randomly to four groups in a two-by-two design involving luteal-phase versus subluteal-phase plasma progesterone concentrations and normal versus short proestrus. To synchronize follicular wave emergence, estradiol-17β was given im during the midluteal phase (Day 0) and concurrently, a once-used controlled intravaginal progesterone-releasing device was placed intravaginally. In the subluteal-phase progesterone groups, a luteolytic dose of PGF(2α) was given on Day 0 and again 12 hours later. In the luteal-phase progesterone groups, PGF(2α) was not given (so as to retain a functional CL). The controlled intravaginal progesterone-releasing device was removed and PGF(2α) was given on Days 7 or 8 in the normal- and short-proestrus groups, respectively. Cattle were given lutropin im 12 or 36 hours later in the short- and normal-proestrus groups, respectively, with AI at 12 hours after lutropin treatment. Transrectal ultrasonography was used to monitor ovarian response during treatments and to diagnose pregnancy 60 days after AI. Cattle (heifers and cows combined) in the subluteal-phase progesterone groups and normal proestrus groups had a larger follicle at the time of AI, and a larger CL that secreted more progesterone 9 days after AI than cattle with luteal-phase progesterone concentrations or those with short proestrus (P < 0.03). There was a higher incidence of ovulation (P < 0.01) the day after AI in heifers (55/61; 90%) than in cows (44/79; 56%). Pregnancy rates ranged from 11% to 54%, and were higher in cattle (heifers and cows combined) in the subluteal-phase progesterone groups and normal proestrus groups than in the luteal-phase progesterone or short proestrus groups, respectively, (P < 0.02). In conclusion, a short proestrous interval reduced pregnancy rate after fixed-time AI in beef cattle. A low progesterone environment during growth of the ovulatory follicle increased the preovulatory follicle size and subsequent CL size and function, and compensated for the effect of a short proestrus on pregnancy rates. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of high doses of oxytetracycline on metacarpophalangeal joint kinematics in neonatal foals.

PubMed

Kasper, C A; Clayton, H M; Wright, A K; Skuba, E V; Petrie, L

1995-07-01

Thirteen clinically normal Belgian-type foals were used to study the effects of high doses of oxytetracycline on metacarpophalangeal joint kinematics. Seven foals (treatment group) received 2 doses of oxytetracycline (3 g, IV). The first dose was given when foals were 4 days old; the second dose was given 24 hours later. Six foals (control group) received 2 doses of saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (15 ml, IV) at equivalent time periods. All foals were videotaped at a walk twice: immediately prior to the first treatment and 24 hours after the second treatment. The tapes were digitized, and metacarpophalangeal joint angle was measured along the palmar surface of the limb during 3 strides. The angular data were normalized for time, and data from the 3 strides were averaged to describe a representative stride. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to test for differences between groups and within groups over time. Values for stride duration, stance phase percentage, and minimum metacarpophalangeal joint angle obtained before treatment were not significantly different from values obtained after treatment. Maximum metacarpophalangeal joint angle, which occurred during the stance phase of the stride, and range of joint motion were significantly increased for foals in the treatment group, compared with foals in the control group.

Assessment of Comprehensive Analysis Calculation of Airloads on Helicopter Rotors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yeo, Hyeonsoo; Johnson, Wayne

2004-01-01

Blade section normal force and pitching moment were investigated for six rotors operating at transition and high speeds: H-34 in flight and wind tunnel, SA 330 (research Puma), SA 349/2, UH-60A full-scale and BO-105 model (HART-I). The measured data from flight and wind tunnel tests were compared with calculations obtained using the comprehensive analysis CAMRAD II. The calculations were made using two free wake models: rolled-up and multiple-trailer with consolidation models. At transition speed, there is fair to good agreement for the blade section normal force between the test data and analysis for the H-34, research Puma, and SA 349/2 with the rolled-up wake. The calculated airloads differ significantly from the measurements for the UH-60A and BO-105. Better correlation is obtained for the UH-60A and BO-105 by using the multiple-trailer with consolidation wake model. In the high speed condition, the analysis shows generally good agreement with the research Puma flight data in both magnitude and phase. However, poor agreement is obtained for the other rotors examined. The analysis shows that the aerodynamic tip design (chord length and quarter chord location) of the Puma has an important influence on the phase correlation.

Crystalline phase, microstructure, and aqueous stability of zirconolite-barium borosilicate glass-ceramics for immobilization of simulated sulfate bearing high-level liquid waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Lang; Xiao, Jizong; Wang, Xin; Teng, Yuancheng; Li, Yuxiang; Liao, Qilong

2018-01-01

The crystalline phase, microstructure, and aqueous stability of zirconolite-barium borosilicate glass-ceramics with different content (0-30 wt %) of simulated sulfate bearing high-level liquid waste (HLLW) were evaluated. The sulfate phase segregation in vitrification process was also investigated. The results show that the glass-ceramics with 0-20 wt% of HLLW possess mainly zirconolite phase along with a small amount baddeleyite phase. The amount of perovskite crystals increases while the amount of zirconolite crystals decreases when the HLLW content increases from 20 to 30 wt%. For the samples with 20-30 wt% HLLW, yellow phase was observed during the vitrification process and it disappeared after melting at 1150 °C for 2 h. The viscosity of the sample with 16 wt% HLLW (HLLW-16) is about 27 dPa·s at 1150 °C. The addition of a certain amount (≤20 wt %) of HLLW has no significant change on the aqueous stability of glass-ceramic waste forms. After 28 days, the 90 °C PCT-type normalized leaching rates of Na, B, Si, and La of the sample HLLW-16 are 7.23 × 10-3, 1.57 × 10-3, 8.06 × 10-4, and 1.23 × 10-4 g·m-2·d-1, respectively.

Quantification of sunscreen ethylhexyl triazone in topical skin-care products by normal-phase TLC/densitometry.

PubMed

Sobanska, Anna W; Pyzowski, Jaroslaw

2012-01-01

Ethylhexyl triazone (ET) was separated from other sunscreens such as avobenzone, octocrylene, octyl methoxycinnamate, and diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate and from parabens by normal-phase HPTLC on silica gel 60 as stationary phase. Two mobile phases were particularly effective: (A) cyclohexane-diethyl ether 1 : 1 (v/v) and (B) cyclohexane-diethyl ether-acetone 15 : 1 : 2 (v/v/v) since apart from ET analysis they facilitated separation and quantification of other sunscreens present in the formulations. Densitometric scanning was performed at 300 nm. Calibration curves for ET were nonlinear (second-degree polynomials), with R > 0.998. For both mobile phases limits of detection (LOD) were 0.03 and limits of quantification (LOQ) 0.1 μg spot(-1). Both methods were validated.

Biomechanical and morphological multi-parameter photoacoustic endoscope for identification of early esophageal disease

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Dayang; Yang, Fen; Chen, Zhongjiang; Yang, Sihua; Xing, Da

2017-09-01

The combination of phase-sensitive photoacoustic (PA) imaging of tissue viscoelasticity with the esophagus-adaptive PA endoscope (PAE) technique allows the characterization of the biomechanical and morphological changes in the early stage of esophageal disease with high accuracy. In this system, the tissue biomechanics and morphology are obtained by detecting the PA phase and PA amplitude information, respectively. The PAE has a transverse resolution of approximately 37 μm and an outer diameter of 1.2 mm, which is suitable for detecting rabbit esophagus. Here, an in-situ biomechanical and morphological study of normal and diseased rabbit esophagus (tumors of esophagus and reflux esophagitis) was performed. The in-situ findings were highly consistent with those observed by histology. In summary, we demonstrated the potential application of PAE for early clinical detection of esophageal diseases.

Fluorescence and Raman Spectroscopy of Doped Nanodiamonds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kudryavtsev, O. S.; Khomich, A. A.; Sedov, V. S.; Ekimov, E. A.; Vlasov, I. I.

2018-05-01

Raman and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques were used to study doped nanodiamonds synthesized at high pressure and high temperature (HPHT technique) and by chemical vapor deposition from the gas phase (CVD technique). For the CVD diamonds, a hundred-fold increase in fluorescence intensity of the silicon-vacancy centers normalized to the volume of the probe material was observed with an increase in synthesized diamond particle diameter from 150 to 300 nm. Graphitization temperature upon heating in the air significantly lower than for detonation nanodiamonds was found for the boron-doped HPHT nanodiamonds.

Mechanical properties of metal-organic frameworks: An indentation study on epitaxial thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bundschuh, S.; Kraft, O.; Arslan, H. K.; Gliemann, H.; Weidler, P. G.; Wöll, C.

2012-09-01

We have determined the hardness and Young's modulus of a highly porous metal-organic framework (MOF) using a standard nanoindentation technique. Despite the very low density of these films, 1.22 g cm-3, Young's modulus reaches values of almost 10 GPa for HKUST-1, demonstrating that this porous coordination polymer is substantially stiffer than normal polymers. This progress in characterizing mechanical properties of MOFs has been made possible by the use of high quality, oriented thin films grown using liquid phase epitaxy on modified Au substrates.

A Study on the Role of Grain-Boundary Engineering in Promoting High-Cycle Fatigue Resistance and Improving Reliability in Metallic Alloys for Propulsion Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-04-30

in addition, air cooling instead of water or oil quenching was adopted to avoid quench cracking. Based on a series of preliminary multi -parametric...microstructures were then grain- boundary engineered using four cycles of strain and high-temperature annealing of the single- phase alloy, specifically...automated load- shedding at a normalized K-gradient of -0.08 mm-, as specified in the standard. Multi -sample tests were conducted to verify the effect of

Digital Phase-Locked Loop With Phase And Frequency Feedback

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, J. Brooks

1991-01-01

Advanced design for digital phase-lock loop (DPLL) allows loop gains higher than those used in other designs. Divided into two major components: counterrotation processor and tracking processor. Notable features include use of both phase and rate-of-change-of-phase feedback instead of frequency feedback alone, normalized sine phase extractor, improved method for extracting measured phase, and improved method for "compressing" output rate.

Reducing the Schottky barrier between few-layer MoTe2 and gold

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Dianyu; Wang, Qixing; Han, Cheng; Jiang, Jizhou; Zheng, Yujie; Chen, Wei; Zhang, Wenjing; Thye Shen Wee, Andrew

2017-12-01

Schottky barriers greatly influence the performance of optoelectronic devices. Schottky barriers can be reduced by harnessing the polymorphism of 2D metal transition dichalcogenides, since both semiconducting and metallic phases exist. However, high energy, high temperature or chemicals are normally required for phase transformation, or the processes are complex. In this work, stable low-resistance contacts between few layer MoTe2 flakes and gold electrodes are achieved by a simple thermal annealing treatment at low temperature (200-400 °C). The resulting Schottky barrier height of the annealed MoTe2/Au interface is low (~23 meV). A new Raman A g mode of the 1T‧ metallic phase of MoTe2 on gold electrode is observed, indicating that the low-resistance contact is due to the phase transition of 2H-MoTe2. The gold substrate plays an important role in the transformation, and a higher gold surface roughness increases the transformation rate. With this method, the mobility and ON-state current of the MoTe2 transistor increase by ~3-4 orders of magnitude, the photocurrent of vertically stacked graphene/MoTe2/Au device increases ~300%, and the response time decreases by ~20%.

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

Wu, H.L.; Spronsen, G. van; Klaus, E.H.

A simulation model of the dynamics of a by-pass pig and related two-phase flow behavior along with field trials of the pig in a dry-gas pipeline have revealed significant gains in use of a by-pass pig in modifying gas and liquid production rates. The method can widen the possibility of applying two-phase flow pipeline transportation to cases in which separator or slug-catcher capacity is limited by practicality or cost. Pigging two-phase pipelines normally generates large liquid slug volumes in front of the pig. These require large separators or slug catchers. Using a high by-pass pig to disperse the liquid andmore » reduce the maximum liquid production rate before pig arrival has been investigated by Shell Exploration and Production companies. A simulation model of the dynamics of the pig and related two-phase flow behavior in the pipeline was used to predict the performance of by-pass pigs. Field trials in a dry-gas pipeline were carried out to provide friction data and to validate the model. The predicted mobility of the high by-pass pig in the pipeline and risers was verified and the beneficial effects due to the by-pass concept exceeded the prediction of the simplified model.« less

Partition Efficiency of High-Pitch Locular Multilayer Coil for Countercurrent Chromatographic Separation of Proteins Using Small-Scale Cross-Axis Coil Planet Centrifuge and Application to Purification of Various Collagenases with Aqueous-Aqueous Polymer Phase Systems

PubMed Central

Shinomiya, Kazufusa; Kobayashi, Hiroko; Inokuchi, Norio; Nakagomi, Kazuya; Ito, Yoichiro

2010-01-01

Partition efficiency of the high-pitch locular multilayer coil was evaluated in countercurrent chromatographic (CCC) separation of proteins with an aqueous-aqueous polymer phase system using the small-scale cross-axis coil planet centrifuge (X-axis CPC) fabricated in our laboratory. The separation column was specially made by high-pitch (ca 5 cm) winding of 1.0 mm I.D., 2.0 mm O.D. locular tubing compressed at 2 cm intervals with a total capacity of 29.5 mL. The protein separation was performed using a set of stable proteins including cytochrome C, myoglobin, and lysozyme with the 12.5% (w/w) polyethylene glycol (PEG) 1000 and 12.5% (w/w) dibasic potassium phosphate system (pH 9.2) under 1000 rpm of column revolution. This high-pitch locular tubing yielded substantially increased stationary phase retention than the normal locular tubing for both lower and upper mobile phases. In order to demonstrate the capability of the high-pitch locular tubing, the purification of collagenase from the crude commercial sample was carried out using an aqueous-aqueous polymer phase system. Using the 16.0% (w/w) PEG 1000 – 6.3% (w/w) dibasic potassium phosphate – 6.3% (w/w) monobasic potassium phosphate system (pH 6.6), collagenase I, II, V and X derived from Clostridium hystolyticum were separated from other proteins and colored small molecular weight compounds present in the crude commercial sample, while collagenase N-2 and S-1 from Streptomyces parvulus subsp. citrinus were eluted with impurities at the solvent front with the upper phase. The collagenase from C. hystolyticum retained its enzymatic activity in the purified fractions. The overall results demonstrated that the high-pitch locular multilayer coil is effectively used for the CCC purification of bioactive compounds without loss of their enzymatic activities. PMID:21869859

Access to high beta advanced inductive plasmas at low injected torque

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solomon, W. M.; Politzer, P. A.; Buttery, R. J.; Holcomb, C. T.; Ferron, J. R.; Garofalo, A. M.; Grierson, B. A.; Hanson, J. M.; In, Y.; Jackson, G. L.; Kinsey, J. E.; La Haye, R. J.; Lanctot, M. J.; Luce, T. C.; Okabayashi, M.; Petty, C. C.; Turco, F.; Welander, A. S.

2013-09-01

Recent experiments on DIII-D demonstrate that advanced inductive (AI) discharges with high equivalent normalized fusion gain can be accessed and sustained with very low amounts (∼1 N m) of externally injected torque, a level of torque that is anticipated to drive a similar amount of rotation as the beams on ITER, via simple consideration of the scaling of the moment of inertia and confinement time. The AI regime is typically characterized by high confinement, and high βN, allowing the possibility for high performance, high gain operation at reduced plasma current. Discharges achieved βN ∼ 3.1 with H98(y,2) ∼ 1 at q95 ∼ 4, and are sustained for the maximum duration of the counter neutral beams (NBs). In addition, plasmas using zero net NB torque from the startup all the way through to the high βN phase have been created. AI discharges are found to become increasingly susceptible to m/n = 2/1 neoclassical tearing modes as the torque is decreased, which if left unmitigated, generally slow and lock, terminating the high performance phase of the discharge. Access is not notably different whether one ramps the torque down at high βN, or ramps βN up at low torque. The use of electron cyclotron heating (ECH) and current drive proved to be an effective method of avoiding such modes, enabling stable operation at high beta and low torque, a portion of phase space that has otherwise been inaccessible. Thermal confinement is significantly reduced at low rotation, a result that is reproduced using the TGLF transport model. Although it is thought that stiffness is increased in regions of low magnetic shear, in these AI plasmas, the reduced confinement occurs at radii outside the low shear, and in fact, higher temperature gradients can be found in the low shear region at low rotation. Momentum transport is also larger at low rotation, but a significant intrinsic torque is measured that is consistent with a previous scaling considering the role of the turbulent Reynolds stress and thermal ion orbit loss. Although high normalized fusion performance has been achieved in these discharges, more detailed projections suggest that enhancement in the confinement needs to be realized in order to obtain a low current solution consistent with ITER Q = 10 performance, and this remains a future research challenge.

Triple-phase helical computed tomography in dogs with solid splenic masses

PubMed Central

KUTARA, Kenji; SEKI, Mamiko; ISHIGAKI, Kumiko; TESHIMA, Kenji; ISHIKAWA, Chieko; KAGAWA, Yumiko; EDAMURA, Kazuya; NAKAYAMA, Tomohiro; ASANO, Kazushi

2017-01-01

We investigated the utility of triple-phase helical computed tomography (CT) in differentiating between benign and malignant splenic masses in dogs. Forty-two dogs with primary splenic masses underwent triple-phase helical CT scanning (before administration of contrast, and in the arterial phase, portal venous phase, and delayed phase) prior to splenectomy. Tissue specimens were sent for pathological diagnosis; these included hematomas (n=14), nodular hyperplasias (n=12), hemangiosarcomas (n=11), and undifferentiated sarcomas (n=5). The CT findings were compared with the histological findings. Nodular hyperplasia significantly displayed a homogeneous normal enhancement pattern in all phases. Hemangiosarcoma displayed 2 significant contrast-enhancement patterns, including a homogeneous pattern of poor enhancement in all phases, and a heterogeneous remarkable enhancement pattern in the arterial and portal venous phases. Hematoma and undifferentiated sarcoma displayed a heterogeneous normal enhancement pattern in all phases. The contrast-enhanced volumetric ratios of hematoma tended to be greater than those of undifferentiated sarcoma. Our study demonstrated that the characteristic findings on triple-phase helical CT could be useful for the preoperative differentiation of hematoma, nodular hyperplasia, hemangiosarcoma, and undifferentiated sarcoma in dogs. Triple-phase helical CT may be a useful diagnostic tool in dogs with splenic masses. PMID:28993600

Sperm nuclear expansion and meiotic maturation in normal and gynogenetic eggs of the scallop, Chlamys farreri

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Ying; Li, Qi; Yu, Ruihai; Wang, Rucai

2008-02-01

Sperm nuclear expansion, meiosis and the association of the male and female pronuclei leading to the four-cell stage in normal Chlamys farreri eggs were observed under a fluorescence microscope. The effects of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on the fertilizing sperm were also examined. Both normal and UV-irradiated sperm nuclei enlarged at three distinct phases (phase A, metaphase I; phase B, polar body formation; and phase C, female pronuclear development and expansion) that were temporally correlated with meiotic process of the maternal chromosomes. Sperm nuclei underwent a rapid, initial enlargement during phase A, but condensed slightly during phase B, then re-enlarged during phase C. The effects of UV irradiation were not apparent during transformation of the sperm nucleus into a male pronucleus, and there was not any apparent effect on meiotic maturation and development of the female pronucleus. However, the rate of expansion of the UV-irradiated sperm nuclei and the size of male pronuclei were reduced apparently. Unlike the female pronucleus, the male pronucleus derived from sperm genome inactivated by UV irradiation did not form chromosomes, but became a dense chromatin body (DCB). At mitotic anaphase, DCB did not participate in the karyokinesis of the first cleavage as evidenced by chromosomal nondisjunction, demonstrating the effectiveness of using UV irradiation to induce gynogenetic scallop embryos.

Simultaneous estimation of liquid and solid gastric emptying using radiolabelled egg and water in supine normal subjects.

PubMed

Kris, M G; Yeh, S D; Gralla, R J; Young, C W

1986-01-01

To develop an additional method for the measurement of gastric emptying in supine subjects, 10 normal subjects were given a test meal containing 99Tc-labelled scrambled egg as the "solid" phase marker and 111In in tapwater as the marker for the "liquid" phase. The mean time for emptying 50% of the "solid" phase (t1/2) was 85 min and 29 min for the "liquid" phase. Three individuals were restudied with a mean difference between the two determinations of 10.8% for the "solid" phase and 6.5% for the "liquid" phase. Twenty-six additional studies attempted have been successfully completed in symptomatic patients with advanced cancer. This method provides a simple and reproducible procedure for the determination of gastric emptying that yields results similar to those reported for other test meals and can be used in debilitated patients.

The mathematical cell model reconstructed from interference microscopy data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogotnev, A. A.; Nikitiuk, A. S.; Naimark, O. B.; Nebogatikov, V. O.; Grishko, V. V.

2017-09-01

The mathematical model of cell dynamics is developed to link the dynamics of the phase cell thickness with the signs of the oncological pathology. The measurements of irregular oscillations of cancer cells phase thickness were made with laser interference microscope MIM-340 in order to substantiate this model. These data related to the dynamics of phase thickness for different cross-sections of cells (nuclei, nucleolus, and cytoplasm) allow the reconstruction of the attractor of dynamic system. The attractor can be associated with specific types of collective modes of phase thickness responsible for the normal and cancerous cell dynamics. Specific type of evolution operator was determined using an algorithm of designing of the mathematical cell model and temporal phase thickness data for cancerous and normal cells. Qualitative correspondence of attractor types to the cell states was analyzed in terms of morphological signs associated with maximum value of mean square irregular oscillations of phase thickness dynamics.

Phase Diagram of the Bose Hubbard Model with Weak Links

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hettiarachchilage, Kalani; Rousseau, Valy; Tam, Ka-Ming; Moreno, Juana; Jarrell, Mark; Sheehy, Daniel

2012-02-01

We study the ground state phase diagram of strongly interacting ultracold Bose gas in a one-dimensional optical lattice with a tunable weak link, by means of Quantum Monte Carlo simulation. This model contains an on-site repulsive interaction (U) and two different near-neighbor hopping terms, J and t, for the weak link and the remainder of the chain, respectively. We show that by reducing the strength of J, a novel intermediate phase develops which is compressible and non-superfluid. This novel phase is identified as a Normal Bose Liquid (NBL) which does not appear in the phase diagram of the homogeneous bosonic Hubbard model. Further, we find a linear variation of the phase boundary of Normal Bose Liquid (NBL) to SuperFluid (SF) as a function of the strength of the weak link. These results may provide a new path to design advanced atomtronic devices in the future.

Effects of solvent composition in the normal-phase liquid chromatography of alkylphenols and naphthols

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

Hurtubise, R.J.; Hussain, A.; Silver, H.F.

1981-11-01

The normal-phase liquid chromatographic models of Scott, Snyder, and Soczewinski were considered for a ..mu..-Bondapak NH/sub 2/ stationary phase. n-Heptane:2-propanol and n-heptane:ethyl acetate mobile phases of different compositions were used. Linear relationships were obtained from graphs of log K' vs. log mole fraction of the strong solvent for both n-heptane:2-propanol and n-heptane:ethyl acetate mobile phases. A linear relationship was obtained between the reciprocal of corrected retention volume and % wt/v of 2-propanol but not between the reciprocal of corrected retention volume and % wt/v of ethyl acetate. The slopes and intercept terms from the Snyder and Soczewinski models were foundmore » to approximately describe interactions with ..mu..-Bondapak NH/sub 2/. Capacity factors can be predicted for the compounds by using the equations obtained from mobile phase composition variation experiments.« less

Fluctuating serotonergic function in premenstrual dysphoric disorder and premenstrual syndrome: findings from neuroendocrine challenge tests.

PubMed

Inoue, Y; Terao, T; Iwata, N; Okamoto, K; Kojima, H; Okamoto, T; Yoshimura, R; Nakamura, J

2007-02-01

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) has been assumed to be a subtype of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) with depressive symptoms, such as depressive mood, tension, anxiety, and mood liability during luteal phase. At present, no conclusion has been established about serotonergic function in PMDD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the serotonergic function of PMDD subjects in comparison to PMS without PMDD subjects and normal controls via neuroendocrine challenge tests. Twenty-four women (seven with PMDD, eight with PMS without PMDD, and nine normal controls) were tested on three occasions (follicular phase, early luteal phase, and late luteal phase) receiving paroxetine 20 mg orally as a serotonergic probe at 8:00 A: .M: . Plasma ACTH and cortisol were measured prior to the administration and every hour for 6 h thereafter. As a whole, there were significant differences in serotonergic function measured by ACTH and cortisol responses to paroxetine challenge across these three groups. PMDD subjects showed higher serotonergic function in follicular phase but lower serotonergic function in luteal phase, compared with women with PMS without PMDD and normal controls. The present findings suggest that PMDD women have fluctuating serotonergic function across their menstrual cycles and that the pattern may be different from PMS without PMDD.

Behavior of U 3Si 2 Fuel and FeCrAl Cladding under Normal Operating and Accident Reactor Conditions

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

Gamble, Kyle Allan Lawrence; Hales, Jason Dean; Barani, Tommaso

2016-09-01

As part of the Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation program, an Accident Tolerant Fuel High Impact Problem was initiated at the beginning of fiscal year 2015 to investigate the behavior of \\usi~fuel and iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) claddings under normal operating and accident reactor conditions. The High Impact Problem was created in response to the United States Department of Energy's renewed interest in accident tolerant materials after the events that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011. The High Impact Problem is a multinational laboratory and university collaborative research effort between Idaho National Laboratory, Losmore » Alamos National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. This report primarily focuses on the engineering scale research in fiscal year 2016 with brief summaries of the lower length scale developments in the areas of density functional theory, cluster dynamics, rate theory, and phase field being presented.« less

Exploring resting-state EEG complexity before migraine attacks.

PubMed

Cao, Zehong; Lai, Kuan-Lin; Lin, Chin-Teng; Chuang, Chun-Hsiang; Chou, Chien-Chen; Wang, Shuu-Jiun

2018-06-01

Objective Entropy-based approaches to understanding the temporal dynamics of complexity have revealed novel insights into various brain activities. Herein, electroencephalogram complexity before migraine attacks was examined using an inherent fuzzy entropy approach, allowing the development of an electroencephalogram-based classification model to recognize the difference between interictal and preictal phases. Methods Forty patients with migraine without aura and 40 age-matched normal control subjects were recruited, and the resting-state electroencephalogram signals of their prefrontal and occipital areas were prospectively collected. The migraine phases were defined based on the headache diary, and the preictal phase was defined as within 72 hours before a migraine attack. Results The electroencephalogram complexity of patients in the preictal phase, which resembled that of normal control subjects, was significantly higher than that of patients in the interictal phase in the prefrontal area (FDR-adjusted p < 0.05) but not in the occipital area. The measurement of test-retest reliability (n = 8) using the intra-class correlation coefficient was good with r1 = 0.73 ( p = 0.01). Furthermore, the classification model, support vector machine, showed the highest accuracy (76 ± 4%) for classifying interictal and preictal phases using the prefrontal electroencephalogram complexity. Conclusion Entropy-based analytical methods identified enhancement or "normalization" of frontal electroencephalogram complexity during the preictal phase compared with the interictal phase. This classification model, using this complexity feature, may have the potential to provide a preictal alert to migraine without aura patients.

Evaluation of the Majorana phases of a general Majorana neutrino mass matrix: Testability of hierarchical flavour models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samanta, Rome; Chakraborty, Mainak; Ghosal, Ambar

2016-03-01

We evaluate the Majorana phases for a general 3 × 3 complex symmetric neutrino mass matrix on the basis of Mohapatra-Rodejohann's phase convention using the three rephasing invariant quantities I12, I13 and I23 proposed by Sarkar and Singh. We find them interesting as they allow us to evaluate each Majorana phase in a model independent way even if one eigenvalue is zero. Utilizing the solution of a general complex symmetric mass matrix for eigenvalues and mixing angles we determine the Majorana phases for both the hierarchies, normal and inverted, taking into account the constraints from neutrino oscillation global fit data as well as bound on the sum of the three light neutrino masses (Σimi) and the neutrinoless double beta decay (ββ0ν) parameter |m11 |. This methodology of finding the Majorana phases is applied thereafter in some predictive models for both the hierarchical cases (normal and inverted) to evaluate the corresponding Majorana phases and it is shown that all the sub cases presented in inverted hierarchy section can be realized in a model with texture zeros and scaling ansatz within the framework of inverse seesaw although one of the sub cases following the normal hierarchy is yet to be established. Except the case of quasi degenerate neutrinos, the methodology obtained in this work is able to evaluate the corresponding Majorana phases, given any model of neutrino masses.

Induced Abnormality In Mir- and Earth-Grown Super Dwarf Wheat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bubenheim, David L.; Stieber, Joseph; Campbell, William F.; Salisbury, Frank B.; Levinski, Margarita; Sytchev, Vladimir; Podolsky, Igor; Chernova, Lola; Ivanova, Irene; Kliss, Mark (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

Super-dwarf wheat grown on the Mir space station using the Svet "Greenhouse" exhibited morphological, metabolic and reproductive abnormalities compared with normal wheat. Of prominent importance were the abnormalities associated with reproductive ontogeny and the total absence of seed formation on Mir. Changes in the apical meristem associated with transition from the vegetative phase to floral initiation and development of the reproductive spike were all typical of 'Super Dwarf' wheat up to the point of anthesis. Observation of ruptured anthers from the Mir-grown plants revealed what appeared to be normally developed pollen. These pollen grains however, contain only one nucleus, while normal viable pollen is trinucleate. A potentially important difference in the flight experiment, compared with ground reference studies, was identified - a high level of atmospheric ethylene (1200 ppb). Ground studies conducted exposing "Super-dwarf" wheat to ethylene at just prior to anthesis resulted in manifestation of the same abnormalities observed in the space flight samples.

Anisotropic analysis of trabecular architecture in human femur bone radiographs using quaternion wavelet transforms.

PubMed

Sangeetha, S; Sujatha, C M; Manamalli, D

2014-01-01

In this work, anisotropy of compressive and tensile strength regions of femur trabecular bone are analysed using quaternion wavelet transforms. The normal and abnormal femur trabecular bone radiographic images are considered for this study. The sub-anatomic regions, which include compressive and tensile regions, are delineated using pre-processing procedures. These delineated regions are subjected to quaternion wavelet transforms and statistical parameters are derived from the transformed images. These parameters are correlated with apparent porosity, which is derived from the strength regions. Further, anisotropy is also calculated from the transformed images and is analyzed. Results show that the anisotropy values derived from second and third phase components of quaternion wavelet transform are found to be distinct for normal and abnormal samples with high statistical significance for both compressive and tensile regions. These investigations demonstrate that architectural anisotropy derived from QWT analysis is able to differentiate normal and abnormal samples.

Phase contrast imaging of buccal mucosa tissues-Feasibility study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fatima, A.; Tripathi, S.; Shripathi, T.; Kulkarni, V. K.; Banda, N. R.; Agrawal, A. K.; Sarkar, P. S.; Kashyap, Y.; Sinha, A.

2015-06-01

Phase Contrast Imaging (PCI) technique has been used to interpret physical parameters obtained from the image taken on the normal buccal mucosa tissue extracted from cheek of a patient. The advantages of this method over the conventional imaging techniques are discussed. PCI technique uses the X-ray phase shift at the edges differentiated by very minute density differences and the edge enhanced high contrast images reveal details of soft tissues. The contrast in the images produced is related to changes in the X-ray refractive index of the tissues resulting in higher clarity compared with conventional absorption based X-ray imaging. The results show that this type of imaging has better ability to visualize microstructures of biological soft tissues with good contrast, which can lead to the diagnosis of lesions at an early stage of the diseases.

Lattice Boltzmann model for three-phase viscoelastic fluid flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Chiyu; Lei, Wenhai; Wang, Moran

2018-02-01

A lattice Boltzmann (LB) framework is developed for simulation of three-phase viscoelastic fluid flows in complex geometries. This model is based on a Rothman-Keller type model for immiscible multiphase flows which ensures mass conservation of each component in porous media even for a high density ratio. To account for the viscoelastic effects, the Maxwell constitutive relation is correctly introduced into the momentum equation, which leads to a modified lattice Boltzmann evolution equation for Maxwell fluids by removing the normal but excess viscous term. Our simulation tests indicate that this excess viscous term may induce significant errors. After three benchmark cases, the displacement processes of oil by dispersed polymer are studied as a typical example of three-phase viscoelastic fluid flow. The results show that increasing either the polymer intrinsic viscosity or the elastic modulus will enhance the oil recovery.

Fully relativistic form factor for Thomson scattering.

PubMed

Palastro, J P; Ross, J S; Pollock, B; Divol, L; Froula, D H; Glenzer, S H

2010-03-01

We derive a fully relativistic form factor for Thomson scattering in unmagnetized plasmas valid to all orders in the normalized electron velocity, beta[over ]=v[over ]/c. The form factor is compared to a previously derived expression where the lowest order electron velocity, beta[over], corrections are included [J. Sheffield, (Academic Press, New York, 1975)]. The beta[over ] expansion approach is sufficient for electrostatic waves with small phase velocities such as ion-acoustic waves, but for electron-plasma waves the phase velocities can be near luminal. At high phase velocities, the electron motion acquires relativistic corrections including effective electron mass, relative motion of the electrons and electromagnetic wave, and polarization rotation. These relativistic corrections alter the scattered emission of thermal plasma waves, which manifest as changes in both the peak power and width of the observed Thomson-scattered spectra.

Scattering properties of normal and cancerous tissues from human stomach based on phase-contrast microscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hui; Li, Zhifang; Li, Hui

2012-12-01

In order to study scattering properties of normal and cancerous tissues from human stomach, we collect images for human gastric specimens by using phase-contrast microscope. The images were processed by the way of mathematics morphology. The equivalent particle size distribution of tissues can be obtained. Combining with Mie scattering theory, the scattering properties of tissues can be calculated. Assume scattering of light in biological tissue can be seen as separate scattering events by different particles, total scattering properties can be equivalent to as scattering sum of particles with different diameters. The results suggest that scattering coefficient of the cancerous tissue is significantly higher than that of normal tissue. The scattering phase function is different especially in the backscattering area. Those are significant clinical benefits to diagnosis cancerous tissue

Reversible voltage dependent transition of abnormal and normal bipolar resistive switching.

PubMed

Wang, Guangyu; Li, Chen; Chen, Yan; Xia, Yidong; Wu, Di; Xu, Qingyu

2016-11-14

Clear understanding the mechanism of resistive switching is the important prerequisite for the realization of high performance nonvolatile resistive random access memory. In this paper, binary metal oxide MoO x layer sandwiched by ITO and Pt electrodes was taken as a model system, reversible transition of abnormal and normal bipolar resistive switching (BRS) in dependence on the maximum voltage was observed. At room temperature, below a critical maximum voltage of 2.6 V, butterfly shaped I-V curves of abnormal BRS has been observed with low resistance state (LRS) to high resistance state (HRS) transition in both polarities and always LRS at zero field. Above 2.6 V, normal BRS was observed, and HRS to LRS transition happened with increasing negative voltage applied. Temperature dependent I-V measurements showed that the critical maximum voltage increased with decreasing temperature, suggesting the thermal activated motion of oxygen vacancies. Abnormal BRS has been explained by the partial compensation of electric field from the induced dipoles opposite to the applied voltage, which has been demonstrated by the clear amplitude-voltage and phase-voltage hysteresis loops observed by piezoelectric force microscopy. The normal BRS was due to the barrier modification at Pt/MoO x interface by the accumulation and depletion of oxygen vacancies.

Fibrinogen Brescia

PubMed Central

Brennan, Stephen O.; Wyatt, Jane; Medicina, Daniela; Callea, Francesco; George, Peter M.

2000-01-01

The proposita suffered from liver cirrhosis and biopsy showed type 1 membrane-bound fiberglass inclusions. The hepatic inclusion bodies were weakly periodic acid-Schiff diastase-positive, and on immunoperoxidase staining reacted specifically with anti-fibrinogen antisera. Coagulation investigations revealed low functional and antigenic fibrinogen together with a prolonged thrombin time of 37 seconds (normal, 17 to 22 seconds) suggestive of a hypodysfibrinogenemia. DNA sequencing of all three fibrinogen genes showed a single heterozygous mutation of GGG (Gly)→CGG (Arg) at codon 284 of the γ-chain gene. However, examination of purified fibrinogen chains by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography, and isoelectric focusing, failed to show any evidence of the mutant γBr chain in plasma fibrinogen. This finding was substantiated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, which showed only a normal γ (and Bβ) chain mass, but a large increase in the portion of their disialo isoforms. We speculate that misfolding of the variant protein causes hepatic retention and the subsequent hypofibrinogenemia, and that the functional defect (dysfibrinogenemia) results from hypersialylation of otherwise normal Bβ and γ chains consequent to the liver cirrhosis. These conclusions were supported by studies on six other family members with hypofibrinogenemia, and essentially normal clotting times, who were heterozygous for the γ284 Gly→Arg mutation. PMID:10880389

Evaluation of vocal fold vibration with an assessment form for high-speed digital imaging: comparative study between healthy young and elderly subjects.

PubMed

Yamauchi, Akihito; Imagawa, Hiroshi; Yokonishi, Hisayuki; Nito, Takaharu; Yamasoba, Tatsuya; Goto, Takao; Takano, Shingo; Sakakibara, Ken-Ichi; Tayama, Niro

2012-11-01

We conducted a prospective study with a subjective assessment form for high-speed digital imaging (HSDI) to elucidate the features of vocal fold vibrations in vocally healthy subjects and to clarify gender- and age-related differences. Healthy adult volunteers participated in this study. They were divided into young (aged 35 and younger) and elderly (aged 65 and older) groups, and the scores of an assessment form for HSDI characteristics elaborated at our institution were statistically analyzed. Twenty-six young subjects (males: 9, females: 17; mean age: 27 years) and 20 elderly subjects (males: 8, females: 12; mean age: 72 years) were assigned to our study. Posterior gap and posterior-to-anterior longitudinal phase difference were characteristic to young females, whereas in young males, mucosal wave, anterior-to-posterior longitudinal phase difference, and supraglottic hyperactivity were frequent. In elderly males, axis shift, asymmetry, supraglottic hyperactivity, increased mucosal wave, lateral phase difference, and anterior-to-posterior longitudinal phase difference were frequent; and in elderly females, high incidence of lateral phase difference, atrophic change, anterior gap, and asymmetry were observed. The results show that the behaviors of vocal fold vibrations were diverse even in healthy subjects with no vocal complaints or history of laryngeal diseases, and hence, the diversity of vocal fold vibrations in normal subjects must be taken into account in evaluating vocal fold vibrations. Copyright © 2012 The Voice Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Simulation study on characteristics of long-range interaction in randomly asymmetric exclusion process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Shi-Bo; Liu, Ming-Zhe; Yang, Lan-Ying

2015-04-01

In this paper we investigate the dynamics of an asymmetric exclusion process on a one-dimensional lattice with long-range hopping and random update via Monte Carlo simulations theoretically. Particles in the model will firstly try to hop over successive unoccupied sites with a probability q, which is different from previous exclusion process models. The probability q may represent the random access of particles. Numerical simulations for stationary particle currents, density profiles, and phase diagrams are obtained. There are three possible stationary phases: the low density (LD) phase, high density (HD) phase, and maximal current (MC) in the system, respectively. Interestingly, bulk density in the LD phase tends to zero, while the MC phase is governed by α, β, and q. The HD phase is nearly the same as the normal TASEP, determined by exit rate β. Theoretical analysis is in good agreement with simulation results. The proposed model may provide a better understanding of random interaction dynamics in complex systems. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41274109 and 11104022), the Fund for Sichuan Youth Science and Technology Innovation Research Team (Grant No. 2011JTD0013), and the Creative Team Program of Chengdu University of Technology.

Nature of the octahedral tilting phase transitions in perovskites: A case study of CaMnO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klarbring, Johan; Simak, Sergei I.

2018-01-01

The temperature-induced antiferrodistortive (AFD) structural phase transitions in CaMnO3, a typical perovskite oxide, are studied using first-principles density functional theory calculations. These transitions are caused by tilting of the MnO6 octahedra that are related to unstable phonon modes in the high-symmetry cubic perovskite phase. Transitions due to octahedral tilting in perovskites normally are believed to fit into the standard soft-mode picture of displacive phase transitions. We calculate phonon-dispersion relations and potential-energy landscapes as functions of the unstable phonon modes and argue based on the results that the phase transitions are better described as being of order-disorder type. This means that the cubic phase emerges as a dynamical average when the system hops between local minima on the potential-energy surface. We then perform ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and find explicit evidence of the order-disorder dynamics in the system. Our conclusions are expected to be valid for other perovskite oxides, and we finally suggest how to predict the nature (displacive or order-disorder) of the AFD phase transitions in any perovskite system.

Hb Molfetta [beta126(H4)Val-->Leu, GTG-->CTG]: a new, silent, neutral beta chain variant found in an Italian woman.

PubMed

Qualtieri, Antonio; Le, Pera Maria; Pedace, Vera; Magariello, Angela; Brancati, Carlo

2002-02-01

We have identified a new neutral hemoglobin variant in a pregnant Italian woman, that resulted from a GTG-->CTG replacement at codon 126 of the beta chain, corresponding to a Val-->Leu amino acid change at position beta126(H4). Thermal and isopropanol stability tests were normal and there were no abnormal clinical features. Routine electrophoretic and ion exchange chromatographic methods for hemoglobin separation failed to show this variant, but reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography revealed an abnormal peak eluting near the normal beta chain. No abnormal tryptic peptide was revealed on the high performance liquid chromatographic elution pattern of the total globin digest. The mutation was determined at the DNA level by amplification of the three beta exons by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing of one exon that showed an abnormal migration on single strand conformational polymorphism analysis.

[Study on relationship between prevalence or co-prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and blood pressure level in adults in China].

PubMed

Chen, Z H; Zhang, M; Li, Y C; Zhao, Z P; Zhang, X; Huang, Z J; Li, C; Wang, L M

2018-05-10

Objective: To study the relationship between blood pressure level and major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in adults in China. Methods: A total of 179 347 adults aged ≥18 years were recruited from 298 surveillance points in 31 provinces in China in 2013 through complex multistage stratified sampling. The survey included face to face interview and physical examination to collect information about risk factors, such as smoking, drinking, diet pattern, physical activity, overweight or obesity, and the prevalence of hypertension. The blood pressure was classified into 6 levels (ideal blood pressure, normal blood pressure, normal high blood pressure and hypertension phase Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ). The relationship between the prevalence or co-prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and blood pressure was analyzed. Results: The adults with ideal blood pressure, normal blood pressure, normal high pressure, hypertension phase Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ accounted for 36.14 % , 22.77 % , 16.22 % , 16.43 % , 5.97 % and 2.48 % , respectively. Among them, the blood pressure was higher in men, people in Han ethnic group and those married, and the blood pressure was higher in those with older age, lower income level and lower education level, the differences were all significant ( P <0.05). Whether taking antihypertensive drug or not, co-prevalence of risk factors influenced the blood pressure levels of both sexes ( P <0.05), and the blood pressure levels of those taking no antihypertensive drug was influenced more by the co-prevalence of risk factors. Finally, multiple logistic analysis showed that the risks for high blood pressure in adults with 1, 2 and ≥3 risk factors were 1.36, 1.79 and 2.38 times higher, respectively, than that of the adults without risk factor. Conclusion: The more the risk factors for cardiovascular disease in adults, the higher their blood pressure were. It is necessary to conduct comprehensive behavior intervention targeting ≥ 2 risk factors for the better control of blood pressure in general population.

Nanoscale Electronic Structure of Cuprate Superconductors Investigated with Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Tess Lawanna

Despite 25 years of intense research activity, high-temperature superconductors remain poorly understood, with the underlying pairing mechanism still unidentified. Efforts are complicated by the remarkably complex phase diagram, rich in energy-dependent charge and spin orders. In this thesis I describe the use of a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) to study energy-dependent charge orders in Bi2-- yPbySr2CuO6+delta , a cuprate high-temperature superconductor. STM, a surface-sensitive probe used to map electronic structure with sub-meV energy resolution and sub-A spatial resolution, has contributed greatly to our current understanding of the cuprate high-temperature superconductors. However, STM data is acquired with a constant-current normalization condition. The measured differential conductance, g(x, y, V), is often taken to be proportional to the density of states at energy eV (where V is the voltage applied between tip and sample). In fact, due to the normalization condition, the measured g(x, y, V) is actually the quotient of the density of states at energy eV and the integrated density of states from the Fermi energy to eV. This unavoidable quotient may fold electronic structure from its true energy range into other energies. I discuss a new method to correct STM differential conductance spectra to remove the constant-current normalization condition. Using local work function measurements and the constant-current topograph, I create a map which does not suffer from the setpoint effect and contains a mixture of topographic information and properly normalized spectroscopic information. I apply this method to the extraction of the incommensurate charge modulation at q⃗˜34 2pa0 . I also extend the study of electronic nematic order, an atomic-lattice-periodic C4 → C2 symmetry breaking, from highly underdoped Bi2 Sr2CaCu2O 8+delta [28] to overdoped Bi2--yPb ySr2CuO6+/-delta. I find that the electronic nematic order parameter is robust to change of scan angle. I define and contrast three different electronic nematic orders with different phases with respect to the crystal. I discuss the effect of the choice of normalization and possible alternate explanations for the source of the calculated nematic order. Finally, I discuss a drift-correction technique, which removes picometer scale drift that is introduced into a spectral map by experimental imperfections, and characterize the optimal algorithm and potential artifacts that drift-correction may introduce.

Pregnancy rates for embryos transferred from early postpartum beef cows into recipients with normal estrous cycles.

PubMed

Schrick, F N; Inskeep, E K; Butcher, R L

1993-09-01

Survival rate of embryos from first ovulations of postpartum cows with SHORT (6.9 +/- 0.3 days; n = 35) or NORMAL (17.1 +/- 0.3 days; n = 42) luteal phases and quality of the embryos on Day 6 were compared. At 19 to 23 days postpartum, cows were allotted to receive a norgestomet implant for 9 days (normal luteal phase) or to serve as untreated controls (short luteal phase). Calves were weaned 7 days after initiation of treatment to induce behavioral estrus in cows for mating. In 25 cows, growth of the ovulatory follicle was monitored by ultrasonography. On Day 6 after estrus, embryos were recovered nonsurgically, and live embryos were transferred into recipient cows exhibiting normal estrous cycles. The medium used to flush the embryos from the uterus of each donor cow was assayed for prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha). Days from calf removal to estrus and size of ovulatory follicles at ovulation (4.1 +/- 0.3 days and 16.7 +/- 0.7 mm, respectively) did not differ between NORMAL and SHORT cows. Interval from detection of the ovulatory follicle to ovulation was longer in NORMAL (10 +/- 0.7 days) than in SHORT cows (8 +/- 0.6 days; p < 0.05). Rates of recovery of an embryo or ovum (64%), rates of fertilization (65%), and quality or stage of development of Day 6 embryos did not differ between SHORT and NORMAL cows. Overall pregnancy rate from recovered oocytes was 13% for SHORT and 32% for NORMAL cows (p = 0.06); survival of fertilized oocytes was 23% for SHORT and 47% for NORMAL cows (p = 0.08).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Linear solvation energy relationships in normal phase chromatography based on gradient separations.

PubMed

Wu, Di; Lucy, Charles A

2017-09-22

Coupling the modified Soczewiñski model and one gradient run, a gradient method was developed to build a linear solvation energy relationship (LSER) for normal phase chromatography. The gradient method was tested on dinitroanilinopropyl (DNAP) and silica columns with hexane/dichloromethane (DCM) mobile phases. LSER models built based on the gradient separation agree with those derived from a series of isocratic separations. Both models have similar LSER coefficients and comparable goodness of fit, but the LSER model based on gradient separation required fewer trial and error experiments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structure refinement of the δ1p phase in the Fe-Zn system by single-crystal X-ray diffraction combined with scanning transmission electron microscopy.

PubMed

Okamoto, Norihiko L; Tanaka, Katsushi; Yasuhara, Akira; Inui, Haruyuki

2014-04-01

The structure of the δ1p phase in the iron-zinc system has been refined by single-crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction combined with scanning transmission electron microscopy. The large hexagonal unit cell of the δ1p phase with the space group of P63/mmc comprises more or less regular (normal) Zn12 icosahedra, disordered Zn12 icosahedra, Zn16 icosioctahedra and dangling Zn atoms that do not constitute any polyhedra. The unit cell contains 52 Fe and 504 Zn atoms so that the compound is expressed with the chemical formula of Fe13Zn126. All Fe atoms exclusively occupy the centre of normal and disordered icosahedra. Iron-centred normal icosahedra are linked to one another by face- and vertex-sharing forming two types of basal slabs, which are bridged with each other by face-sharing with icosioctahedra, whereas disordered icosahedra with positional disorder at their vertex sites are isolated from other polyhedra. The bonding features in the δ1p phase are discussed in comparison with those in the Γ and ζ phases in the iron-zinc system.

A van der Waals-like Transition Between Normal and Cancerous Phases in Cell Populations Dynamics of Colorectal Cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Kang; Wang, Li-Fang; Shen, Jian; Yousif, Alssadig A. M.; He, Peng; Shao, Dan-Dan; Zhang, Xiao-Min; Kirunda, John B.; Jia, Ya

2016-11-01

Based on a deterministic continuous model of cell populations dynamics in the colonic crypt and in colorectal cancer, we propose four combinations of feedback mechanisms in the differentiations from stem cells (SCs) to transit cells (TCs) and then to differentiated cells (DCs), the four combinations include the double linear (LL), the linear and saturating (LS), the saturating and linear (SL), and the double saturating (SS) feedbacks, respectively. The relative fluctuations of the population of SCs, TCs, and DCs around equilibrium states with four feedback mechanisms are studied by using the Langevin method. With the increasing of net growth rate of TCs, it is found that the Fano factors of TCs and DCs go to a peak in a transient phase, and then increase again to infinity in the cases of LS and SS feedbacks. The “up-down-up” characteristic on the Fano factor (like the van der Waals loop) demonstrates that there exists a transient phase between the normal and cancerous phases, our novel findings suggest that the mathematical model with LS or SS feedback might be better to elucidate the dynamics of a normal and abnormal (cancerous) phases.

A 12-month phase 3 study of pasireotide in Cushing's disease.

PubMed

Colao, Annamaria; Petersenn, Stephan; Newell-Price, John; Findling, James W; Gu, Feng; Maldonado, Mario; Schoenherr, Ulrike; Mills, David; Salgado, Luiz Roberto; Biller, Beverly M K

2012-03-08

Cushing's disease is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Pasireotide, a potential therapy, has a unique, broad somatostatin-receptor-binding profile, with high binding affinity for somatostatin-receptor subtype 5. In this double-blind, phase 3 study, we randomly assigned 162 adults with Cushing's disease and a urinary free cortisol level of at least 1.5 times the upper limit of the normal range to receive subcutaneous pasireotide at a dose of 600 μg (82 patients) or 900 μg (80 patients) twice daily. Patients with urinary free cortisol not exceeding 2 times the upper limit of the normal range and not exceeding the baseline level at month 3 continued to receive their randomly assigned dose; all others received an additional 300 μg twice daily. The primary end point was a urinary free cortisol level at or below the upper limit of the normal range at month 6 without an increased dose. Open-label treatment continued through month 12. Twelve of the 82 patients in the 600-μg group and 21 of the 80 patients in the 900-μg group met the primary end point. The median urinary free cortisol level decreased by approximately 50% by month 2 and remained stable in both groups. A normal urinary free cortisol level was achieved more frequently in patients with baseline levels not exceeding 5 times the upper limit of the normal range than in patients with higher baseline levels. Serum and salivary cortisol and plasma corticotropin levels decreased, and clinical signs and symptoms of Cushing's disease diminished. Pasireotide was associated with hyperglycemia-related adverse events in 118 of 162 patients; other adverse events were similar to those associated with other somatostatin analogues. Despite declines in cortisol levels, blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin levels increased soon after treatment initiation and then stabilized; treatment with a glucose-lowering medication was initiated in 74 of 162 patients. The significant decrease in cortisol levels in patients with Cushing's disease who received pasireotide supports its potential use as a targeted treatment for corticotropin-secreting pituitary adenomas. (Funded by Novartis Pharma; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00434148.).

Combined effect of MJO, ENSO and IOD on the intraseasonal variability of northeast monsoon rainfall over south peninsular India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sreekala, P. P.; Rao, S. Vijaya Bhaskara; Rajeevan, K.; Arunachalam, M. S.

2018-02-01

The present study has examined the combined effect of MJO, ENSO and IOD on the intraseasonal and interannual variability of northeast monsoon rainfall over south peninsular India. The study has revealed that the intraseasonal variation of daily rainfall over south peninsular India during NEM season is associated with various phases of eastward propagating MJO life cycle. Positive rainfall anomaly over south peninsular India and surrounding Indian Ocean (IO) is observed during the strong MJO phases 2, 3 and 4; and negative rainfall anomaly during the strong MJO phases 5,6,7,8 and 1. Above normal (below normal) convection over south peninsular India and suppressed convection over east Indian and West Pacific Ocean, high pressure (low pressure) anomaly over West Pacific Ocean, Positive (negative) SST anomalies over equatorial East and Central Pacific Ocean and easterly wind anomaly (westerly anomaly) over equatorial Indian Ocean are the observed features during the first three MJO (5, 6, 7) phases and all these features are observed in the excess (drought) NEMR composite. This suggests that a similar mode of physical mechanism is responsible for the intraseasonal and interannual variability of northeast monsoon rainfall. The number of days during the first three phases (last four phases) of MJO, where the enhanced convection and positive rainfall anomaly is over Indian Ocean (East Indian ocean and West Pacific Ocean), is more (less) during El Nino and IOD years and less during La Nina and NIOD years and vice versa. The observed excess (deficit) rainfall anomaly over west IO and south peninsular India and deficit (excess) rainfall anomaly over east IO including Bay of Bengal and West Pacific Ocean suggest that the more (less) number of first three phases during El Nino and IOD (La Nina and Negative IOD) is due to the interaction between eastward moving MJO and strong easterlies over equatorial IO present during El Nino and IOD years. This interaction would inhibit the development of long duration MJO and would result in short duration high frequency MJO type which confined over Indian Ocean and south peninsular India and hence make all the El Nino and IOD years to be excess rainfall years for NEM season.

PHAGE FORMATION IN STAPHYLOCOCCUS MUSCAE CULTURES

PubMed Central

Price, Winston H.

1949-01-01

1. The total nucleic acid synthesized by normal and by infected S. muscae suspensions is approximately the same. This is true for either lag phase cells or log phase cells. 2. The amount of nucleic acid synthesized per cell in normal cultures increases during the lag period and remains fairly constant during log growth. 3. The amount of nucleic acid synthesized per cell by infected cells increases during the whole course of the infection. 4. Infected cells synthesize less RNA and more DNA than normal cells. The ratio of RNA/DNA is larger in lag phase cells than in log phase cells. 5. Normal cells release neither ribonucleic acid nor desoxyribonucleic acid into the medium. 6. Infected cells release both ribonucleic acid and desoxyribonucleic acid into the medium. The time and extent of release depend upon the physiological state of the cells. 7. Infected lag phase cells may or may not show an increased RNA content. They release RNA, but not DNA, into the medium well before observable cellular lysis and before any virus is liberated. At virus liberation, the cell RNA content falls to a value below that initially present, while DNA, which increased during infection falls to approximately the original value. 8. Infected log cells show a continuous loss of cell RNA and a loss of DNA a short time after infection. At the time of virus liberation the cell RNA value is well below that initially present and the cells begin to lyse. PMID:18139006

Normal stresses in shear thickening granular suspensions.

PubMed

Pan, Zhongcheng; de Cagny, Henri; Habibi, Mehdi; Bonn, Daniel

2017-05-24

When subjected to shear, granular suspensions exhibit normal stresses perpendicular to the shear plane but the magnitude and sign of the different components of the normal stresses are still under debate. By performing both oscillatory and rotational rheology measurements on shear thickening granular suspensions and systematically varying the particle diameters and the gap sizes between two parallel-plates, we show that a transition from a positive to a negative normal stress can be observed. We find that frictional interactions which determine the shear thickening behavior of suspensions contribute to the positive normal stresses. Increasing the particle diameters or decreasing the gap sizes leads to a growing importance of hydrodynamic interactions, which results in negative normal stresses. We determine a relaxation time for the system, set by both the pore and the gap sizes, that governs the fluid flow through the inter-particle space. Finally, using a two-fluid model we determine the relative contributions from the particle phase and the liquid phase.

Quantification of Sunscreen Ethylhexyl Triazone in Topical Skin-Care Products by Normal-Phase TLC/Densitometry

PubMed Central

Sobanska, Anna W.; Pyzowski, Jaroslaw

2012-01-01

Ethylhexyl triazone (ET) was separated from other sunscreens such as avobenzone, octocrylene, octyl methoxycinnamate, and diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate and from parabens by normal-phase HPTLC on silica gel 60 as stationary phase. Two mobile phases were particularly effective: (A) cyclohexane-diethyl ether 1 : 1 (v/v) and (B) cyclohexane-diethyl ether-acetone 15 : 1 : 2 (v/v/v) since apart from ET analysis they facilitated separation and quantification of other sunscreens present in the formulations. Densitometric scanning was performed at 300 nm. Calibration curves for ET were nonlinear (second-degree polynomials), with R > 0.998. For both mobile phases limits of detection (LOD) were 0.03 and limits of quantification (LOQ) 0.1 μg spot−1. Both methods were validated. PMID:22629203

Thermodynamic compatibility and interactions between Speckled Sugar bean protein and xanthan gum for production of multilayer O/W emulsion.

PubMed

Rahmati, Nazanin Fatemeh; Koocheki, Arash; Varidi, Mehdi; Kadkhodaee, Rassoul

2018-03-01

Thermodynamic compatibility and probable interactions between Speckled Sugar been protein (SSBP) and xanthan gum for production of multilayer O/W emulsion (30% oil) were investigated. Different interactions were observed between SSBP and xanthan at different pH (3-7) including electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding. These interactions were predominant at pH 3. When low xanthan gum concentration (0.1%) was used, phase separation and complex coacervation observed at this pH (negative effect of interactions). However, at pH 5, only 0.1% xanthan was enough to drastically reduce non-dissolved protein and its precipitation which normally occurs at this pH. In addition, incompatibility or segregative phase behavior which normally occurs when protein and polysaccharide have same charges was not observed (positive effects of interactions). Protein-gum interactions influenced emulsion properties (zeta potential, particle size, PDI, rheology, emulsion capacity, heat stability and creaming rate). Interactions had considerable influence on emulsion shelf life and produced completely stable emulsions at all pH values. Results confirmed that SSBP-xanthan gum mixture has a high potential for production of multilayer emulsions.

Analysis of condensed and hydrolysable tannins from commercial plant extracts.

PubMed

Romani, A; Ieri, F; Turchetti, B; Mulinacci, N; Vincieri, F F; Buzzini, P

2006-05-03

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)/DAD and MS qualitative and quantitative analyses of polyphenols, hydrolysable and condensed tannins from Pinus maritima L. and tannic acid (TA) extracts were performed using normal and reverse phase. Normal-phase HPLC was more suitable for pine bark (PBE) and tannic acid extracts analysis. The chromatographic profile revealed that P. maritima L. extract was mainly composed by polymeric flavanols (containing from two to seven units) and tannic acid (characterized by a mixture of glucose gallates containing from three to seven units of gallic acid). Concerning their antimycotic properties, P. maritima L. extract exhibited a broad activity towards yeast strains of the genera Candida, Cryptococcus, Filobasidiella, Issatchenkia, Saccharomyces: MICs from 200 to 4000 microg/ml (corresponding to 140-2800 microg/ml of active polyphenols) were determined. Conversely, no activity of tannic acid was observed over the same target microorganisms. Taken into consideration the above results of HPLC analysis and on the basis of the current literature, we may conclude that only 70.2% of polyphenols (recognized as condensed tannins) occurring in P. maritima L. extract can be apparently considered responsible for its antimycotic activity.

Detecting coupling of Majorana bound states with an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos-Andrade, J. P.; Orellana, P. A.; Ulloa, S. E.

2018-01-01

We study the transport properties of an interferometer composed by a quantum dot (QD) coupled with two normal leads and two one-dimensional topological superconductor nanowires (TNWs) hosting Majorana bound states (MBS) at their ends. The geometry considered is such that one TNW has both ends connected with the QD, forming an Aharonov-Bohm (AB) interferometer threaded by an external magnetic flux, while the other TNW is placed near the interferometer TNW. This geometry can alternatively be seen as a long wire contacted across a local defect, with possible coupling between independent-MBS. We use the Green’s function formalism to calculate the conductance across normal current leads on the QD. We find that the conductance exhibits a half-quantum value regardless of the AB phase and location of the dot energy level, whenever the interferometer configuration interacts with the neighboring TNW. These findings suggest that such a geometry could be used for a sensitive detection of MBS interactions across TNWs, exploiting the high sensitivity of conductance to the AB phase in the interferometer.

First-principles study of the structural properties of Ge

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

Chang, K.J.; Cohen, M.L.

1986-12-15

With the use of an ab initio pseudopotential method, the structural properties of Ge are investigated at normal and high pressures. The pressure-induced structural phase transitions from cubic diamond to ..beta..-Sn, to simple hexagonal (sh), and to double hexagonal close packed (dhcp) are examined. With the possible exception of the dhcp structure, the calculated transition pressures, transition volumes, and axial ratios are in good agreement with experimental results. We find that sh Ge has characteristics similar to those of sh Si; the bonds between hexagonal layers are stronger than intralayer bonds and the transverse phonon modes become soft near themore » transitions from the sh to ..beta..-Sn and the sh to hcp structures. At normal pressures, we compare the crystal energies for the cubic diamond, hexagonal 2H, and hexagonal 4H structures. Because of the similar sp/sup 3/ bonds in these structures, the structural energy differences are less than about 14 meV, and the 2H and 4H phases are metastable with respect to the cubic diamond structure. The equation of state is also presented and compared with experiment.« less

Regulation of the Adrenal Cortex Function During Stress

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soliman, K. F. A.

1978-01-01

A proposal to study the function of the adrenal gland in the rat during stress is presented. In the proposed project, three different phases of experimentation will be undertaken. The first phase includes establishment of the circadian rhythm of both brain amines and glucocoticoids, under normal conditions and under chronic and acute stressful conditions. The second phase includes the study of the pharmacokinetics of glucocorticoid binding under normal and stress conditions. The third phase includes brain uptake and binding under different experimental conditions. In the outlined experiments brain biogenic amines will be evaluated, adrenal functions will be measured and stress effect on those parameters will be studied. It is hoped that this investigation can explain some of the complex relationships between the brain neurotransmitter and adrenal function.

The local magnetic properties of [MnIII6 CrIII]3+ and [FeIII6 CrIII]3+ single-molecule magnets deposited on surfaces studied by spin-polarized photoemission and XMCD with circularly polarized synchrotron radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heinzmann, U.; Helmstedt, A.; Dohmeier, N.; Müller, N.; Gryzia, A.; Brechling, A.; Hoeke, V.; Krickemeyer, E.; Glaser, T.; Fonin, M.; Bouvron, S.; Leicht, P.; Tietze, T.; Goering, E.; Kuepper, K.

2014-04-01

It is demonstrated that local magnetic moments of single molecule magnets (SMM) normally studied by XMCD at very low temperatures and high magnetic fields can be measured by means of spin-resolved electron emission in the paramagnetic phase at room temperature by use of circularly polarized radiation.

Electric vehicle power train instrumentation: Some constraints and considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Triner, J. E.; Hansen, I. G.

1977-01-01

The application of pulse modulation control (choppers) to dc motors creates unique instrumentation problems. In particular, the high harmonic components contained in the current waveforms require frequency response accommodations not normally considered in dc instrumentation. In addition to current sensing, accurate power measurement requires not only adequate frequency response but must also address phase errors caused by the finite bandwidths and component characteristics involved. The implications of these problems are assessed.

Endometrial blood flow measured by xenon 133 clearance in women with normal menstrual cycles and dysfunctional uterine bleeding

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

Fraser, I.S.; McCarron, G.; Hutton, B.

Endometrial blood flow was measured through the menstrual cycle in nonpregnant women (28 studies of 17 women with normal menstrual cycles and 32 studies of 20 women with dysfunctional uterine bleeding) with use of a clearance technique in which 100 to 400 microCi of the gamma-emitting isotope, xenon 133 in saline solution was instilled into the uterine cavity. The mean (+/- SEM) endometrial blood flow in normal cycles was 27.7 +/- 2.6 ml/100 gm/min, with a significant elevation in the middle to late follicular phase, followed by a substantial fall and a secondary slow luteal phase rise that was maintainedmore » until the onset of menstruation. There was a significant correlation between plasma estradiol levels and endometrial blood flow in the follicular but not the luteal phase. Blood flow patterns in women with ovulatory dysfunctional bleeding were similar to normal, except for a significantly lower middle follicular rate. Women with anovulatory dysfunctional bleeding exhibited exceedingly variable flow rates.« less

Searching for high-energy gamma-ray counterparts to gravitational-wave sources with Fermi-LAT: A needle in a haystack

DOE PAGES

Vianello, G.; Omodei, N.; Chiang, J.; ...

2017-05-20

At least a fraction of gravitational-wave (GW) progenitors are expected to emit an electromagnetic (EM) signal in the form of a short gamma-ray burst (sGRB). Discovering such a transient EM counterpart is challenging because the LIGO/VIRGO localization region is much larger (several hundreds of square degrees) than the field of view of X-ray, optical, and radio telescopes. The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) has a wide field of view (~2.4 sr) and detects ~2–3 sGRBs per year above 100 MeV. It can detect them not only during the short prompt phase, but also during their long-lasting high-energy afterglow phase. If other wide-field, high-energy instruments such as Fermi-GBM, Swift-BAT, or INTEGRAL-ISGRI cannot detect or localize with enough precision an EM counterpart during the prompt phase, the LAT can potentially pinpoint it withmore » $$\\lesssim 10$$ arcmin accuracy during the afterglow phase. This routinely happens with gamma-ray bursts. Moreover, the LAT will cover the entire localization region within hours of any triggers during normal operations, allowing the γ-ray flux of any EM counterpart to be measured or constrained. As a result, we illustrate two new ad hoc methods to search for EM counterparts with the LAT and their application to the GW candidate LVT151012.« less

Searching for high-energy gamma-ray counterparts to gravitational-wave sources with Fermi-LAT: A needle in a haystack

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

Vianello, G.; Omodei, N.; Chiang, J.

At least a fraction of gravitational-wave (GW) progenitors are expected to emit an electromagnetic (EM) signal in the form of a short gamma-ray burst (sGRB). Discovering such a transient EM counterpart is challenging because the LIGO/VIRGO localization region is much larger (several hundreds of square degrees) than the field of view of X-ray, optical, and radio telescopes. The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) has a wide field of view (~2.4 sr) and detects ~2–3 sGRBs per year above 100 MeV. It can detect them not only during the short prompt phase, but also during their long-lasting high-energy afterglow phase. If other wide-field, high-energy instruments such as Fermi-GBM, Swift-BAT, or INTEGRAL-ISGRI cannot detect or localize with enough precision an EM counterpart during the prompt phase, the LAT can potentially pinpoint it withmore » $$\\lesssim 10$$ arcmin accuracy during the afterglow phase. This routinely happens with gamma-ray bursts. Moreover, the LAT will cover the entire localization region within hours of any triggers during normal operations, allowing the γ-ray flux of any EM counterpart to be measured or constrained. As a result, we illustrate two new ad hoc methods to search for EM counterparts with the LAT and their application to the GW candidate LVT151012.« less

Obesity, change of body mass index and subsequent physical and mental health functioning: a 12-year follow-up study among ageing employees.

PubMed

Svärd, Anna; Lahti, Jouni; Roos, Eira; Rahkonen, Ossi; Lahelma, Eero; Lallukka, Tea; Mänty, Minna

2017-09-26

Studies suggest an association between weight change and subsequent poor physical health functioning, whereas the association with mental health functioning is inconsistent. We aimed to examine whether obesity and change of body mass index among normal weight, overweight and obese women and men associate with changes in physical and mental health functioning. The Helsinki Health Study cohort includes Finnish municipal employees aged 40 to 60 in 2000-02 (phase 1, response rate 67%). Phase 2 mail survey (response rate 82%) took place in 2007 and phase 3 in 2012 (response rate 76%). This study included 5668 participants (82% women). Seven weight change categories were formed based on body mass index (BMI) (phase 1) and weight change (BMI change ≥5%) (phase 1-2). The Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) measured physical and mental health functioning. The change in health functioning (phase 1-3) score was examined with repeated measures analyses. Covariates were age, sociodemographic factors, health behaviours, and somatic ill-health. Weight gain was common among women (34%) and men (25%). Weight-gaining normal weight (-1.3 points), overweight (-1.3 points) and obese (-3.6 points) women showed a greater decline in physical component summary scores than weight-maintaining normal weight women. Among weight-maintainers, only obese (-1.8 points) women showed a greater decline than weight-maintaining normal weight women. The associations were similar, but statistically non-significant for obese men. No statistically significant differences in the change in mental health functioning occurred. Preventing weight gain likely helps maintaining good physical health functioning and work ability.

Diffracting aperture based differential phase contrast for scanning X-ray microscopy.

PubMed

Kaulich, Burkhard; Polack, Francois; Neuhaeusler, Ulrich; Susini, Jean; di Fabrizio, Enzo; Wilhein, Thomas

2002-10-07

It is demonstrated that in a zone plate based scanning X-ray microscope, used to image low absorbing, heterogeneous matter at a mesoscopic scale, differential phase contrast (DPC) can be implemented without adding any additional optical component to the normal scheme of the microscope. The DPC mode is simply generated by an appropriate positioning and alignment of microscope apertures. Diffraction from the apertures produces a wave front with a non-uniform intensity. The signal recorded by a pinhole photo diode located in the intensity gradient is highly sensitive to phase changes introduced by the specimen to be recorded. The feasibility of this novel DPC technique was proven with the scanning X-ray microscope at the ID21 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation facility (ESRF) operated at 6 keV photon energy. We observe a differential phase contrast, similar to Nomarski's differential interference contrast for the light microscope, which results in a tremendous increase in image contrast of up to 20 % when imaging low absorbing specimen.

Simultaneous determination of all-trans and 13-cis retinoic acids and their 4-oxo metabolites by adsorption liquid chromatography after solid-phase extraction.

PubMed

Lefebvre, P; Agadir, A; Cornic, M; Gourmel, B; Hue, B; Dreux, C; Degos, L; Chomienne, C

1995-04-07

All-trans retinoic acid (all-trans RA), the active metabolite of vitamin A, has been demonstrated to be an efficient alternative to chemotherapy in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), the AML3 subtype of the FAB cytological classification. Complete remission is obtained by inducing terminal granulocytic differentiation of the leukemic cells. To study all-trans RA pharmacokinetics in patients with APL, a rapid, precise and selective high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay was developed. This method is easy and shows good repeatability (C.V. = 8.41-12.44%), reproducibility (C.V. = 9.19-14.73%), accuracy (C.V. = 3.5-11%) and sensitivity with a detection limit of 5 pmol/ml. The analysis is performed using normal-phase HPLC in an isocratic mode with UV detection after solid-phase extraction on octadecyl (C18) columns. The mobile phase is hexane-dichloromethane-dioxane (78:18:4, v/v) containing 1% acetic acid.

Solar Flare Impulsive Phase Observations from SDO and Other Observatories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chamberlin, Phillip C.; Woods, Thomas N.; Schrijver, Karel; Warren, Harry; Milligan, Ryan; Christe, Steven; Brosius, Jeffrey W.

2010-01-01

With the start of normal operations of the Solar Dynamics Observatory in May 2010, the Extreme ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) have been returning the most accurate solar XUV and EUV measurements every 10 and 12 seconds, respectively, at almost 100% duty cycle. The focus of the presentation will be the solar flare impulsive phase observations provided by EVE and AIA and what these observations can tell us about the evolution of the initial phase of solar flares. Also emphasized throughout is how simultaneous observations with other instruments, such as RHESSI, SOHO-CDS, and HINODE-EIS, will help provide a more complete characterization of the solar flares and the evolution and energetics during the impulsive phase. These co-temporal observations from the other solar instruments can provide information such as extending the high temperature range spectra and images beyond that provided by the EUV and XUV wavelengths, provide electron density input into the lower atmosphere at the footpoints, and provide plasma flows of chromospheric evaporation, among other characteristics.

Development of the simulation system {open_quotes}IMPACT{close_quotes} for analysis of nuclear power plant severe accidents

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

Naitoh, Masanori; Ujita, Hiroshi; Nagumo, Hiroichi

1997-07-01

The Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation (NUPEC) has initiated a long-term program to develop the simulation system {open_quotes}IMPACT{close_quotes} for analysis of hypothetical severe accidents in nuclear power plants. IMPACT employs advanced methods of physical modeling and numerical computation, and can simulate a wide spectrum of senarios ranging from normal operation to hypothetical, beyond-design-basis-accident events. Designed as a large-scale system of interconnected, hierarchical modules, IMPACT`s distinguishing features include mechanistic models based on first principles and high speed simulation on parallel processing computers. The present plan is a ten-year program starting from 1993, consisting of the initial one-year of preparatory work followed bymore » three technical phases: Phase-1 for development of a prototype system; Phase-2 for completion of the simulation system, incorporating new achievements from basic studies; and Phase-3 for refinement through extensive verification and validation against test results and available real plant data.« less

SU-E-J-178: A Normalization Method Can Remove Discrepancy in Ventilation Function Due to Different Breathing Patterns

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

Qu, H; Yu, N; Stephans, K

2014-06-01

Purpose: To develop a normalization method to remove discrepancy in ventilation function due to different breathing patterns. Methods: Twenty five early stage non-small cell lung cancer patients were included in this study. For each patient, a ten phase 4D-CT and the voluntarily maximum inhale and exhale CTs were acquired clinically and retrospectively used for this study. For each patient, two ventilation maps were calculated from voxel-to-voxel CT density variations from two phases of the quiet breathing and two phases of the extreme breathing. For the quiet breathing, 0% (inhale) and 50% (exhale) phases from 4D-CT were used. An in-house toolmore » was developed to calculate and display the ventilation maps. To enable normalization, the whole lung of each patient was evenly divided into three parts in the longitude direction at a coronal image with a maximum lung cross section. The ratio of cumulated ventilation from the top one-third region to the middle one-third region of the lung was calculated for each breathing pattern. Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated on the ratios of the two breathing patterns for the group. Results: For each patient, the ventilation map from the quiet breathing was different from that of the extreme breathing. When the cumulative ventilation was normalized to the middle one-third of the lung region for each patient, the normalized ventilation functions from the two breathing patterns were consistent. For this group of patients, the correlation coefficient of the normalized ventilations for the two breathing patterns was 0.76 (p < 0.01), indicating a strong correlation in the ventilation function measured from the two breathing patterns. Conclusion: For each patient, the ventilation map is dependent of the breathing pattern. Using a regional normalization method, the discrepancy in ventilation function induced by the different breathing patterns thus different tidal volumes can be removed.« less

Effects induced by an earthquake on its fault plane:a boundary element study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonafede, Maurizio; Neri, Andrea

2000-04-01

Mechanical effects left by a model earthquake on its fault plane, in the post-seismic phase, are investigated employing the `displacement discontinuity method'. Simple crack models, characterized by the release of a constant, unidirectional shear traction are investigated first. Both slip components-parallel and normal to the traction direction-are found to be non-vanishing and to depend on fault depth, dip, aspect ratio and fault plane geometry. The rake of the slip vector is similarly found to depend on depth and dip. The fault plane is found to suffer some small rotation and bending, which may be responsible for the indentation of a transform tectonic margin, particularly if cumulative effects are considered. Very significant normal stress components are left over the shallow portion of the fault surface after an earthquake: these are tensile for thrust faults, compressive for normal faults and are typically comparable in size to the stress drop. These normal stresses can easily be computed for more realistic seismic source models, in which a variable slip is assigned; normal stresses are induced in these cases too, and positive shear stresses may even be induced on the fault plane in regions of high slip gradient. Several observations can be explained from the present model: low-dip thrust faults and high-dip normal faults are found to be facilitated, according to the Coulomb failure criterion, in repetitive earthquake cycles; the shape of dip-slip faults near the surface is predicted to be upward-concave; and the shallower aftershock activity generally found in the hanging block of a thrust event can be explained by `unclamping' mechanisms.

Kinematics of syn- and post-exhumational shear zones at Lago di Cignana (Western Alps, Italy): constraints on the exhumation of Zermatt-Saas (ultra)high-pressure rocks and deformation along the Combin Fault and Dent Blanche Basal Thrust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirst, Frederik; Leiss, Bernd

2017-01-01

Kinematic analyses of shear zones at Lago di Cignana in the Italian Western Alps were used to constrain the structural evolution of units from the Piemont-Ligurian oceanic realm (Zermatt-Saas and Combin zones) and the Adriatic continental margin (Dent Blanche nappe) during Palaeogene syn- and post-exhumational deformation. Exhumation of Zermatt-Saas (U)HP rocks to approximately lower crustal levels at ca. 39 Ma occurred during normal-sense top-(S)E shearing under epidote-amphibolite-facies conditions. Juxtaposition with the overlying Combin zone along the Combin Fault at mid-crustal levels occurred during greenschist-facies normal-sense top-SE shearing at ca. 38 Ma. The scarcity of top-SE kinematic indicators in the hanging wall of the Combin Fault probably resulted from strain localization along the uppermost Zermatt-Saas zone and obliteration by subsequent deformation. A phase of dominant pure shear deformation around 35 Ma affected units in the direct footwall and hanging wall of the Combin Fault. It is interpreted to reflect NW-SE crustal elongation during updoming of the nappe stack as a result of underthrusting of European continental margin units and the onset of continental collision. This phase was partly accompanied and followed by ductile bulk top-NW shearing, especially at higher structural levels, which transitioned into semi-ductile to brittle normal-sense top-NW deformation due to Vanzone phase folding from ca. 32 Ma onwards. Our structural observations suggest that syn-exhumational deformation is partly preserved within units and shear zones exposed at Lago di Cignana but also that the Combin Fault and Dent Blanche Basal Thrust experienced significant post-exhumational deformation reworking and overprinting earlier structures.

STIMULATION OF TARSAL RECEPTORS OF THE BLOWFLY BY ALIPHATIC ALDEHYDES AND KETONES

PubMed Central

Chadwick, L. E.; Dethier, V. G.

1949-01-01

Rejection of eight aldehydes, eight ketones, five secondary alcohols, and 3-pentanol has been studied in the blowfly Phormia regina Meigen. The data agree with results previously reported for normal alcohols and several series of glycols in showing a logarithmic increase in stimulating effect with increasing chain length. The order of increasing effectiveness among the different species of compounds thus far investigated is the following: polyglycols, diols, secondary alcohols, iso-alcohols, normal alcohols, ketones, iso-aldehydes, normal aldehydes. Curves relating the logarithms of threshold concentration to the logarithms of chain length for diols, alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones show inflections in the 3 to 6 carbon range. Above and below the region of inflection the curves are nearly rectilinear. The slopes for the upper limbs (smaller molecules) are of the order of –2; for the lower limbs, about –10. Comparisons of the threshold data with numerical values for molecular weights, molecular areas and volumes, oil-water distribution coefficients, activity coefficients, standard free energies, vapor pressures, boiling points, melting points, dipole moments, dielectric constants, and degree of association are discussed briefly, and it is concluded that none of the comparisons serves to bring the data from the several series and from the two portions of each series into a single homogeneous system. A qualitative comparison with water solubilities shows fewer discrepancies. It is suggested that the existence of a combination of aqueous and lipoid phases at the receptor surface would fit best with what is presently known about the relationship between chemical structure and stimulating effect in contact chemoreception. In this hypothesis the smaller and more highly water-soluble compounds are envisaged as gaining access to the receptors partly through the aqueous phase, the larger molecules predominantly through the lipoid phase. PMID:18114559

Bioinspired phase-separated disordered nanostructures for thin photovoltaic absorbers.

PubMed

Siddique, Radwanul H; Donie, Yidenekachew J; Gomard, Guillaume; Yalamanchili, Sisir; Merdzhanova, Tsvetelina; Lemmer, Uli; Hölscher, Hendrik

2017-10-01

The wings of the black butterfly, Pachliopta aristolochiae , are covered by micro- and nanostructured scales that harvest sunlight over a wide spectral and angular range. Considering that these properties are particularly attractive for photovoltaic applications, we analyze the contribution of these micro- and nanostructures, focusing on the structural disorder observed in the wing scales. In addition to microspectroscopy experiments, we conduct three-dimensional optical simulations of the exact scale structure. On the basis of these results, we design nanostructured thin photovoltaic absorbers of disordered nanoholes, which combine efficient light in-coupling and light-trapping properties together with a high angular robustness. Finally, inspired by the phase separation mechanism of self-assembled biophotonic nanostructures, we fabricate these bioinspired absorbers using a scalable, self-assembly patterning technique based on the phase separation of binary polymer mixture. The nanopatterned absorbers achieve a relative integrated absorption increase of 90% at a normal incident angle of light to as high as 200% at large incident angles, demonstrating the potential of black butterfly structures for light-harvesting purposes in thin-film solar cells.

Bioinspired phase-separated disordered nanostructures for thin photovoltaic absorbers

PubMed Central

Siddique, Radwanul H.; Donie, Yidenekachew J.; Gomard, Guillaume; Yalamanchili, Sisir; Merdzhanova, Tsvetelina; Lemmer, Uli; Hölscher, Hendrik

2017-01-01

The wings of the black butterfly, Pachliopta aristolochiae, are covered by micro- and nanostructured scales that harvest sunlight over a wide spectral and angular range. Considering that these properties are particularly attractive for photovoltaic applications, we analyze the contribution of these micro- and nanostructures, focusing on the structural disorder observed in the wing scales. In addition to microspectroscopy experiments, we conduct three-dimensional optical simulations of the exact scale structure. On the basis of these results, we design nanostructured thin photovoltaic absorbers of disordered nanoholes, which combine efficient light in-coupling and light-trapping properties together with a high angular robustness. Finally, inspired by the phase separation mechanism of self-assembled biophotonic nanostructures, we fabricate these bioinspired absorbers using a scalable, self-assembly patterning technique based on the phase separation of binary polymer mixture. The nanopatterned absorbers achieve a relative integrated absorption increase of 90% at a normal incident angle of light to as high as 200% at large incident angles, demonstrating the potential of black butterfly structures for light-harvesting purposes in thin-film solar cells. PMID:29057320

Paleocene Pacific Plate reorganization mirrored in formation of the Suvarov Trough, Manihiki Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pietsch, Ricarda; Uenzelmann-Neben, Gabriele

2016-10-01

The Suvarov Trough is a graben structure that deviates from the Danger Islands Troughs within the Manihiki Plateau, a Large Igneous Province (LIP) located in the Central Pacific. New high-resolution seismic reflection data provide evidence that the graben formed in two phases during the Paleocene (65-45 Ma). In a first phase extension occurred in southwestward direction, pulling apart the northern part of the Suvarov Trough and a parallel trending unnamed trough. In a second phase a change of extensional force direction occurred from southwest to west-northwest, forming the southern part of the Suvarov Trough that extends onto the High Plateau. The formation of the Suvarov Trough is accompanied by a series of normal fault systems that apparently formed simultaneously. Comparing the seismic results to existing Pacific paleo strain reconstructions, the timing of increased strain and local deformation direction fits well to our findings. We thus suggest that the multiple strike directions of the Suvarov Trough represent an extensional structure that was caused by the major, stepwise Pacific Plate reorganization during the Paleocene.

Concentric circular focusing reflector realized using high index contrast gratings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Wenjing; Huang, Yongqing; Fei, Jiarui; Duan, Xiaofeng; Liu, Kai; Ren, Xiaomin

2017-11-01

A non-periodic concentric circular high index contrast grating (CC-HCG) focusing reflector on 500 nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform is fabricated and experimentally demonstrated. The proposed mirror is realized with phase modulation of wave front in a high reflectivity region. The circular structure based HCG focusing reflector has a spot of high concentration at the 10.87 mm with normal incidence for radially polarization, along with the center wavelength set at 1550 nm. The FWHM spot size of the focusing beam decreases to 260 μm, and the intensity increases to 1.26 compared with the incident beam. The focusing efficiency of about 80% is observed at 1550 nm in the experimental measurement.

78 FR 76789 - Additional Connect America Fund Phase II Issues

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-19

... inspection and copying during normal business hours in the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445... Phase I to Phase II. 2. Timing of Phase II Support Disbursements. In the USF/ICC Transformation Order... language in paragraph 180 of the USF/ICC Transformation Order. We now seek to more fully develop the record...

Calcite phase determination of CaCO3 nanoparticles synthesized by one step drying method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulimai, N. H.; Rani, Rozina Abdul; Khusaimi, Z.; Abdullah, S.; Salifairus, M. J.; Alrokayan, Salman; Khan, Haseeb; Rusop, M.

2018-05-01

Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) is a type of carbonic salt. It exist naturally as white odourless solid and may also be synthesized by chemical reactions. This work studies one-step precipitation of CaCO3 that was prepared by novel method of one-step precipitation method. The method was then proceeded by different types of drying. The first type is by normal drying in oven whereas the second type is with the presence of hydrothermal influence. From the results, precipitated CaCO3 dried by normal drying method produces CaCO3 with two polymorphs present; calcite and vaterite. Normal drying at 500°C has no vaterite phase left. Drying by hydrothermal precipitated CaCO3 has Nitrogen (N) left on the surfaces of the precipitated CaCO3. This work successfully identified calcite phase in the precipitated CaCO3.

Competing exchanges and spin-phonon coupling in Eu(1-x)R(x)MnO3 (R=Y, Lu).

PubMed

Mota, D A; Barcelay, Y Romaguera; Tavares, P B; Chaves, M R; Almeida, A; Oliveira, J; Ferreira, W S; Moreira, J Agostinho

2013-06-12

This work is focused on the phase diagrams and physical properties of Y-doped and Lu-doped EuMnO3. The differences in the corresponding phase boundaries in the (x,T) phase diagram could be overcome by considering a scaling of the Y(3+) and Lu(3+) concentrations to the tolerance factor. This outcome evidences that the tolerance factor is in fact a more reliable representative of the lattice deformation induced by doping. The normalization of the phase boundaries using the tolerance factor corroborates previous theoretical outcomes regarding the key role of competitive FM and AFM exchanges in determining the phase diagrams of manganite perovskites. However, significant differences in the nature and number of phases at low temperatures and concentrations could not be explained by just considering the normalization to the tolerance factor. The vertical phase boundary observed just for Lu-doped EuMnO3, close to 10% Lu, is understood by considering a low temperature Peierls-type spin-phonon coupling, which stabilizes the AFM-4 phase in Lu-doped EuMnO3.

Investigation of CO2 release pressures in pipeline cracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorenz, Paul; Herzog, Nicoleta; Egbers, Christoph

2013-04-01

The CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) technology can prevent or reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide. The main idea of this technology is the segregation and collection of CO2 from facilities with a high emission of that greenhouse gas, i.e. power plants which burn fossil fuels. To segregate CO2 from the exhaust gas the power plant must be upgraded. Up to now there are three possible procedures to segregate the carbon dioxide with different advantages and disadvantages. After segregation the carbon dioxide will be transported by pipeline to a subsurface storage location. As CO2 is at normal conditions (1013,25 Pa; 20 °C) in a gaseous phase state it must be set under high pressure to enter denser phase states to make a more efficient pipeline transport possible. Normally the carbon dioxide is set into the liquid or supercritical phase state by compressor stations which compress the gas up to 15 MPa. The pressure drop makes booster stations along the pipeline necessary which keep the CO2 in a dens phase state. Depending on the compression pressure CO2 can be transported over 300km without any booster station. The goal of this work is the investigation of release pressures in pipeline cracks. The high pressurised pipeline system consists of different parts with different failure probabilities. In most cases corrosion or obsolescence is the reason for pipeline damages. In case of a crack CO2 will escape from the pipeline and disperse into the atmosphere. Due to its nature CO2 can remain unattended for a long time. There are some studies of the CO2 dispersion process, e.g. Mazzoldi et al. (2007, 2008 and 2011) and Wang et al. (2008), but with different assumptions concerning the pipeline release pressures. To give an idea of realistic release pressures investigations with the CFD tool OpenFOAM were carried out and are presented within this work. To cover such a scenario with an accidental release of carbon dioxide a pipeline section with different diameters and leakage release holes were modelled. This pipeline section is 10m long with the leakage hole in the middle. Additionally a small environment subdomain is simulated around the crack. For computation a multiphase solver was utilised. In a first step incompressible and isothermal fluids with no phase change were assumed.

Generating high-current monoenergetic proton beams by a circularly polarized laser pulse in the phase-stable acceleration regime.

PubMed

Yan, X Q; Lin, C; Sheng, Z M; Guo, Z Y; Liu, B C; Lu, Y R; Fang, J X; Chen, J E

2008-04-04

A new ion acceleration method, namely, phase-stable acceleration, using circularly-polarized laser pulses is proposed. When the initial target density n(0) and thickness D satisfy a(L) approximately (n(0)/n(c))D/lambda(L) and D>l(s) with a(L), lambda(L), l(s), and n(c) the normalized laser amplitude, the laser wavelength in vacuum, the plasma skin depth, and the critical density of the incident laser pulse, respectively, a quasiequilibrium for the electrons is established by the light pressure and the space charge electrostatic field at the interacting front of the laser pulse. The ions within the skin depth of the laser pulse are synchronously accelerated and bunched by the electrostatic field, and thereby a high-intensity monoenergetic proton beam can be generated. The proton dynamics is investigated analytically and the results are verified by one- and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.

Identification of procyanidins in cocoa (Theobroma cacao) and chocolate using high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Hammerstone, J F; Lazarus, S A; Mitchell, A E; Rucker, R; Schmitz, H H

1999-02-01

Monomeric and oligomeric procyanidins present in cocoa and chocolate were separated and identified using a modified normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method coupled with on-line mass spectrometry (MS) analysis using an atmospheric pressure ionization electrospray chamber. The chromatographic separation was achieved using a silica stationary phase in combination with a gradient ascending in polarity. This qualitative report confirms the presence of a complex series of procyanidins in raw cocoa and certain chocolates using HPLC/MS techniques. Although both cocoa and chocolate contained monomeric and oligomeric procyanidin units 2-10, only use of negative mode provided MS data for the higher oligomers (i.e., >pentamer). Application of this method for qualitative analysis of proanthocyanidins in other food products and confirmation of this method as a reliable quantitative tool for determining levels of procyanidins in cocoa, chocolate, and other food products are currently being investigated.

On mechanism of explosive boiling in nanosecond regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Çelen, Serap

2016-06-01

Today laser-based machining is used to manufacture vital parts for biomedical, aviation and aerospace industries. The aim of the paper is to report theoretical, numerical and experimental investigations of explosive boiling under nanosecond pulsed ytterbium fiber laser irradiation. Experiments were performed in an effective peak power density range between 1397 and 1450 MW/cm2 on pure titanium specimens. The threshold laser fluence for phase explosion, the pressure and temperature at the target surface and the velocity of the expulsed material were reported. A narrow transition zone was realized between the normal vaporization and phase explosion fields. The proof of heterogeneous boiling was given with detailed micrographs. A novel thermal model was proposed for laser-induced splashing at high fluences. Packaging factor and scattering arc radius terms were proposed to state the level of the melt ejection process. Results of the present investigation explain the explosive boiling during high-power laser interaction with metal.

Detailed analysis of particle launch velocities, size distributions and gas densities during normal explosions at Stromboli

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, Andrew J. L.; Ripepe, Maurizio; Hughes, Elizabeth A.

2012-06-01

Using high frame rate (33 Hz) thermal video data we describe and parameterize the emission and ascent dynamics of a mixed plume of gas and particles emitted during a normal explosion at Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Italy). Analysis of 34 events showed that 31 of them were characterized by a first phase characterized by an initial diffuse spray of relatively small (lapilli-sized) particles moving at high velocities (up to 213 m s- 1; average 66-82 m s- 1). This was followed, typically within 0.1 s, by a burst comprising a mixture of ash and lapilli, but dominated by larger bomb-sized particles, moving at lower exit velocities of up to 129 m s- 1, but typically 46 m s- 1. We interpret these results as revealing initial emission of a previously unrecorded high velocity gas-jet phase, to which the lapilli are coupled. This is followed by emission of slower moving larger particles that are decoupled from the faster moving gas-phase. Diameters for particles carried by the gas phase are typically around 4 cm, but can be up to 9 cm, with the diameter of the particles carried by the gas jet (D) decreasing with increased density and velocity of the erupted gas cloud (ρgas and Ugas). Data for 101 particles identified as moving with the gas jet during 32 eruptions allow us to define a new relation, whereby Ugas = Uparticle + a [ρgas√{D}]b. Here, Uparticle is the velocity of bombs whose motion is decoupled from that of the gas cloud, and a and b are two empirically-derived coefficients. This replaces the old relation, whereby Ugas = Uparticle + k √{D}; a relation that requires a constant gas density for each eruption. This is an assumption that we show to be invalid, with gas density potentially varying between 0.04 kg m- 3 and 9 kg m- 3 for the 32 cases considered, so that k varies between 54 m1/2 s- 1 and 828 m1/2 s- 1, compared with the traditionally used constant of 150 m1/2 s- 1.

Activation energy of the low-load NaCl transition from nanoindentation loading curves.

PubMed

Kaupp, Gerd

2014-01-01

Access to activation energies E(a) of phase transitions is opened by unprecedented analyses of temperature dependent nanoindentation loading curves. It is based on kinks in linearized loading curves, with additional support by coincidence of kink and electrical conductivity of silicon loading curves. Physical properties of B1, B2, NaCl and further phases are discussed. The normalized low-load transition energy of NaCl (Wtrans/µN) increases with temperature and slightly decreases with load. Its semi-logarithmic plot versus T obtains activation energy E(a)/µN for calculation of the transition work for all interesting temperatures and pressures. Arrhenius-type activation energy (kJ/mol) is unavailable for indentation phase transitions. The E(a) per load normalization proves insensitive to creep-on-load, which excludes normalization to depth or volume for large temperature ranges. Such phase transition E(a)/µN is unprecedented material's property and will be of practical importance for the compatibility of composite materials under impact and further shearing interactions at elevated temperatures. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Superconducting Ga/GaSe layers grown by van der Waals epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desrat, W.; Moret, M.; Briot, O.; Ngo, T.-H.; Piot, B. A.; Jabakhanji, B.; Gil, B.

2018-04-01

We report on the growth of GaSe films by molecular beam epitaxy on both (111)B GaAs and sapphire substrates. X-ray diffraction reveals the perfect crystallinity of GaSe with the c-axis normal to the substrate surface. The samples grown under Ga rich conditions possess an additional gallium film on top of the monochalcogenide layer. This metallic film shows two normal-to-superconducting transitions which are detected at T c ≈ 1.1 K and 6.0 K. They correspond likely to the β and α-phases of gallium in the form of bulk and droplets respectively. Our results demonstrate that van der Waals epitaxy can lead to future high quality hybrid superconductor/monochalcogenide heterostructures.

Efficient parallel reconstruction for high resolution multishot spiral diffusion data with low rank constraint.

PubMed

Liao, Congyu; Chen, Ying; Cao, Xiaozhi; Chen, Song; He, Hongjian; Mani, Merry; Jacob, Mathews; Magnotta, Vincent; Zhong, Jianhui

2017-03-01

To propose a novel reconstruction method using parallel imaging with low rank constraint to accelerate high resolution multishot spiral diffusion imaging. The undersampled high resolution diffusion data were reconstructed based on a low rank (LR) constraint using similarities between the data of different interleaves from a multishot spiral acquisition. The self-navigated phase compensation using the low resolution phase data in the center of k-space was applied to correct shot-to-shot phase variations induced by motion artifacts. The low rank reconstruction was combined with sensitivity encoding (SENSE) for further acceleration. The efficiency of the proposed joint reconstruction framework, dubbed LR-SENSE, was evaluated through error quantifications and compared with ℓ1 regularized compressed sensing method and conventional iterative SENSE method using the same datasets. It was shown that with a same acceleration factor, the proposed LR-SENSE method had the smallest normalized sum-of-squares errors among all the compared methods in all diffusion weighted images and DTI-derived index maps, when evaluated with different acceleration factors (R = 2, 3, 4) and for all the acquired diffusion directions. Robust high resolution diffusion weighted image can be efficiently reconstructed from highly undersampled multishot spiral data with the proposed LR-SENSE method. Magn Reson Med 77:1359-1366, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Timing is everything - implications of a new correlation of Triassic-Jurassic boundary successions and the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindström, Sofie; van de Schootbrugge, Bas; Pedersen, Gunver K.; Alsen, Peter; Thibault, Nicolas; Hansen, Katrine H.; Dybkjær, Karen; Bjerrum, Christian J.; Nielsen, Lars Henrik

2017-04-01

Understanding mass extinctions requires a clear insight into the stratigraphy of boundary sections, which allows for long-distance correlations and correct distinction of the sequence of events. However, even after the ratification of a Global Stratotype Section and Point, global correlations of Triassic-Jurassic boundary (TJB) successions are hampered by the fact that many of the traditionally used fossil groups were severely affected by the end-Triassic mass extinction (ETE). Recently, a new correlation of key TJB successions in Europe, U.S.A. and Peru, based on a combination of biotic (palynology and ammonites), geochemical (δ13Corg) and radiometric (U/Pb ages) constraints, was presented. This new correlation has an impact on the causality and temporal development during the end-Triassic event, as it indicates that the bulk of the hitherto dated, high-titanium, quartz normalized volcanism of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) preceded or was contemporaneous to the onset of the mass extinction. It further shows that the maximum phase of the mass extinction, which affected both the terrestrial and marine ecosystems, was associated with a major regression and repeated, enhanced earthquake activity in Europe. A subsequent transgression resulted in the formation of hiati or condensed successions in many areas in Europe. Later phases of volcanic activity of the CAMP, producing low titanium, quartz normalized and high-iron, quartz normalized basaltic rocks, continued close to the first occurrence of Jurassic ammonites and the defined TJB. This new correlations enables a reconstruction of the sequence of events; including records of e.g. pCO2 from soil carbonates and plant fossils, rare earth elements, biomarkers, charcoal, which allows an insight into the causality of this biotic crises.

[Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE)--limitation of usual lung function test and challenge at practice].

PubMed

Takai, Daiya

2014-12-01

Spirometry and the flow-volume curve test are commonly performed lung function tests. However, a unique clinical entity occasionally shows almost normal data in these tests, and is therefore missed on screening tests. The clinical entity of combined pulmonary emphysema and pulmdoary fibrosis was recognized and documented in the 90's in Japan, the USA, and Europe. Typical emphysema shows obstructive disorders, and pulmonary fibrosis shows restrictive disorders. Thus, the combination of both should lead to a combined disorder pattern in lung function tests, but this is not the case. In 2005, Cottin reported and redefined this combination of emphysema and fibrosis of the lung as "Combined Pulmonary Fibrosis and Emphysema" (CPFE). The patients are typically heavily smoking males who show an almost normal lung function. The upper lobe of these patients usually shows severe emphysema, which contributes to a static volume and a late phase in the forced volume test. On the other hand their lower lobe shows fibrotic change. The fibrotic portion contributes to early phase flow in the flow-volume curve. These mechanisms are a reason for the normal pattern appearance in lung function tests in CPFE patients. As a matter of course, these patients have damaged upper and lower lobes: their diffusing capacity of the lung shows a low performance, their saturation of blood hemoglobin decreases soon after light exercise, and their KL-6 (a blood marker of pulmonary fibrosis) usually shows a high value. They are considered a high risk group regarding complications of post-surgical treatment. Thus, when medical technologists identify suspicious cases, they should advise doctors to add diffusing capacity and KL-6 tests. (Review).

"Phase capture" in amblyopia: the influence function for sampled shape.

PubMed

Levi, Dennis M; Li, Roger W; Klein, Stanley A

2005-06-01

This study was concerned with what stimulus information humans with amblyopia use to judge the shape of simple objects. We used a string of four Gabor patches to define a contour. A fifth, center patch served as the test pattern. The observers' task was to judge the location of the test pattern relative to the contour. The contour was either a straight line, or an arc with positive or negative curvature. We asked whether phase shifts in the inner or outer pairs of patches distributed along the contour influence the perceived shape. That is, we measured the phase shift influence function. Our results, consistent with previous studies, show that amblyopes are imprecise in shape discrimination, showing elevated thresholds for both lines and curves. We found that amblyopes often make much larger perceptual errors (biases) than do normal observers in the absence of phase shifts. These errors tend to be largest for curved shapes and at large separations. In normal observers, shifting the phase of inner patches of the string by 0.25 cycle results in almost complete phase capture (attraction) at the smallest separation (2 lambda), and the capture effect falls off rapidly with separation. A 0.25 cycle shift of the outer pair of patches has a much smaller effect, in the opposite direction (repulsion). While several amblyopic observers showed reduced capture by the phase of the inner patches, to our surprise, several of the amblyopes were sensitive to the phase of the outer patches. We used linear multiple regression to determine the weights of all cues to the task: the carrier phase of the inner patches, carrier phase of the outer patches and the envelope of the outer patches. Compared to normal observers, some amblyopes show a weaker influence of the phase of the inner patches, and a stronger influence of both the phase and envelope of the outer patches. We speculate that this may be a consequence of abnormal "crowding" of the inner patches by the outer ones.

Induction Plasma Sprayed Nano Hydroxyapatite Coatings on Titanium for Orthopaedic and Dental Implants

PubMed Central

Roy, Mangal; Bandyopadhyay, Amit; Bose, Susmita

2011-01-01

This paper reports preparation of a highly crystalline nano hydroxyapatite (HA) coating on commercially pure titanium (Cp-Ti) using inductively coupled radio frequency (RF) plasma spray and their in vitro and in vivo biological response. HA coatings were prepared on Ti using normal and supersonic plasma nozzles at different plate powers and working distances. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) analysis show that the normal plasma nozzle lead to increased phase decomposition, high amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) phase formation, and severe dehydroxylation of HA. In contrast, coatings prepared using supersonic nozzle retained the crystallinity and phase purity of HA due to relatively short exposure time of HA particles in the plasma. In addition, these coatings exhibited a microstructure that varied from porous and glassy structure at the coating-substrate interface to dense HA at the top surface. The microstructural analysis showed that the coating was made of multigrain HA particles of ~200 nm in size, which consisted of recrystallized HA grains in the size range of 15– 20 nm. Apart from the type of nozzle, working distance was also found to have a strong influence on the HA phase decomposition, while plate power had little influence. Depending on the plasma processing conditions, a coating thickness between 300 and 400 μm was achieved where the adhesive bond strengths were found to be between 4.8 MPa to 24 MPa. The cytotoxicity of HA coatings was examined by culturing human fetal osteoblast cells (hFOB) on coated surfaces. In vivo studies, using the cortical defect model in rat femur, evaluated the histological response of the HA coatings prepared with supersonic nozzle. After 2 weeks of implantation, osteoid formation was evident on the HA coated implant surface, which could indicate early implant- tissue integration in vivo. PMID:21552358

The Surface of Deimos: Contribution of Materials and Processes to Its Unique Appearance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, P. C.; Adinolfi, D.; Helfenstein, P.; Simonelli, D.; Veverka, J.

1996-10-01

Among the well-imaged small satellites and asteroids, Deimos displays a unique surface: very smooth with global-scale albedo features. We have examined the disk-resolved photometry of Deimos using Viking Orbiter images for clues to its distinctive appearance. Hapke parameters were fit to characterize the phase behavior and to compute normal reflectance. The opposition surge amplitude (B0) is smaller for Deimos than for Phobos. Outside the range of the opposition effect the two martian satellites have similarly shaped phase curves, but Deimos is about 20-30% brighter than Phobos from 10°-80° phase. The calculated mean normal reflectance of Deimos (λeff= 0.54 μm) is 0.068 ± 0.007. The brighter and darker areas on Deimos exhibit constant contrast between 0.6° and 81° phase; this characteristic allows a calculation of the range of normal reflectances over most of its surface, nearly all of which values are between 0.06 and 0.09. The trailing side of Deimos has a larger relative distribution of the brighter material, and is on average about 10% brighter than the leading side. The mean normal reflectance cannot be formally distinguished from that of Phobos (0.071 ± 0.012; Simonelli, D. P., M. Wisz, A. Switala, D. Adinolfi, J. Veverka, P. C. Thomas, and P. Helfenstein 1996. Submitted toIcarus). Although the statistical distribution of normal reflectances on the two satellites is similar, the geography of the albedo variations is very different. Deimos has gradational changes in albedo downslope from ridge crests, primarily manifested in long albedo “streamers.” On Phobos there is a more patchy global distribution of albedos, apparently related to ejecta from the large crater Stickney. Because of the similarity of mean density, spectral properties, mean normal reflectance, the range of normal reflectance, and phase function outside the opposition effect, Deimos appears to be made of materials with compositions very similar to those on Phobos, although the apparent wider distribution of ejecta on Deimos has been cited as indicating a greater role for strength scaling in cratering on Deimos (Lee, S. W., P. Thomas, and J. Veverka 1986.Icarus68, 77-86). Simple modeling of the formation of the albedo patterns by gardening, creep, and “weathering” of bright material from crater rims suggests that impact gardening contributes very little to the motion of the material downslope, and that vertical mixing and/or “weathering” must be important in addition to an unspecified creep process. The distinction of Deimos is primarily in the smooth surface that allows a particularly large scale of downslope movement of regolith on very gentle slopes. This smoothness is most easily explained by the effects from impact formation of a 10-km concavity at high southern latitudes in the latter half of Deimos' surface history. This impact scar is relatively much larger than is the crater Stickney on Phobos. The effects of this large impact probably include blanketing by an average of nearly 200 m of ejecta, but also may include seismic erasing of craters similar to that proposed for Ida by Asphauget al. (Asphaug, E., J. M. Moore, D. Morrison, W. Benz, and R. A. Sullivan 1996.Icarus120, 158-184).

Growing-finishing performance and carcass characteristics of pigs fed normal and genetically modified low-phytate corn.

PubMed

Spencer, J D; Allee, G L; Sauber, T E

2000-06-01

A genetically modified corn hybrid homozygous for the lpa1 allele, containing low phytate (LP), and its nearly isogenic equivalent hybrid (normal) were compared in two experiments with growing-finishing swine. In Exp. 1, 210 barrows (27 kg) were allotted to one of six dietary treatments with two corn hybrids (LP and normal) and three P feeding regimens. There were five replicate pens (seven pigs/pen) per treatment. Treatments consisted of diets that were supplemented with P throughout the growing-finishing period (.2% P and .15% supplemental P during growing and finishing phases, respectively) or only during the growing phase (.2% supplemental P) or that were not supplemented with P throughout the growing-finishing period. Performance at the end of the growing phase was based on a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments with two corn hybrids and two levels of added P (0 and .2%). This resulted in 10 replicates for the treatments supplemented with .2% P. The finishing phase (73 to 112 kg) was a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement of treatments with the two types of corn and three regimens of added P during the finishing period. Breaking load (BL) and ash of the fourth metacarpal were evaluated from one pig/pen at the end of the growing phase and from all pigs after slaughter. Pigs fed the LP corn diet without added P had greater body weight gain, feed efficiency, BL, and ash content of the fourth metacarpal than pigs fed the normal corn diet without added P. Performance was similar between pigs fed the LP diet without added P and pigs fed LP and normal corn with added P. In Exp. 2, 1,092 gilts (34 kg body weight) were allotted by weight in a commercial facility to one of three treatments: 1) normal corn/soybean meal diet containing .29% and .22% available P during the growing and finishing phases, respectively; 2) LP corn/soybean meal diet with the same available P level as Treatment 1; and 3) same as Treatment 2 for 8 wk, then no inorganic P supplementation during the finishing phase. All pigs were slaughtered at approximately 122 kg. There were no significant differences in growing-finishing performance or BL among treatments. However, pigs fed diets containing LP corn possessed carcasses with less backfat and a higher percentage of lean (P < .01). These results confirm that the P in LP corn is available to the pig and suggest that pigs fed diets containing this genetically modified corn will have more desirable carcasses.

Method and apparatus for bistable optical information storage for erasable optical disks

DOEpatents

Land, Cecil E.; McKinney, Ira D.

1990-01-01

A method and an optical device for bistable storage of optical information, together with reading and erasure of the optical information, using a photoactivated shift in a field dependent phase transition between a metastable or a bias-stabilized ferroelectric (FE) phase and a stable antiferroelectric (AFE) phase in an lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT). An optical disk contains the PLZT. Writing and erasing of optical information can be accomplished by a light beam normal to the disk. Reading of optical information can be accomplished by a light beam at an incidence angle of 15 to 60 degrees to the normal of the disk.

Method and apparatus for bistable optical information storage for erasable optical disks

DOEpatents

Land, C.E.; McKinney, I.D.

1988-05-31

A method and an optical device for bistable storage of optical information, together with reading and erasure of the optical information, using a photoactivated shift in a field dependent phase transition between a metastable or a bias-stabilized ferroelectric (FE) phase and a stable antiferroelectric (AFE) phase in a lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT). An optical disk contains the PLZT. Writing and erasing of optical information can be accomplished by a light beam normal to the disk. Reading of optical information can be accomplished by a light beam at an incidence angle of 15 to 60 degrees to the normal of the disk. 10 figs.

Luteinizing Hormone and Testosterone Levels during Acute Phase of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Prognostic Implications for Adult Male Patients

PubMed Central

Hohl, Alexandre; Zanela, Fernando Areas; Ghisi, Gabriela; Ronsoni, Marcelo Fernando; Diaz, Alexandre Paim; Schwarzbold, Marcelo Liborio; Dafre, Alcir Luiz; Reddi, Benjamin; Lin, Kátia; Pizzol, Felipe Dal; Walz, Roger

2018-01-01

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a worldwide core public health problem affecting mostly young male subjects. An alarming increase in incidence has turned TBI into a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in young adults as well as a tremendous resource burden on the health and welfare sector. Hormone dysfunction is highly prevalent during the acute phase of severe TBI. In particular, investigation of the luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone levels during the acute phase of severe TBI in male has identified a high incidence of low testosterone levels in male patients (36.5–100%) but the prognostic significance of which remains controversial. Two independent studies showed that normal or elevated levels of LH levels earlier during hospitalization are significantly associated with higher mortality/morbidity. The association between LH levels and prognosis was independent of other predictive variables such as neuroimaging, admission Glasgow coma scale, and pupillary reaction. The possible mechanisms underlying this association and further research directions in this field are discussed. Overall, current data suggest that LH levels during the acute phase of TBI might contribute to accurate prognostication and further prospective multicentric studies are required to develop more sophisticated predictive models incorporating biomarkers such as LH in the quest for accurate outcome prediction following TBI. Moreover, the potential therapeutic benefits of modulating LH during the acute phase of TBI warrant investigation. PMID:29487565

Cortisol reactivity and emotional memory after psychosocial stress in oral contraceptive users.

PubMed

Mordecai, Kristen L; Rubin, Leah H; Eatough, Erin; Sundermann, Erin; Drogos, Lauren; Savarese, Antonia; Maki, Pauline M

2017-01-02

Oral contraceptive (OC) users typically show a blunted or no cortisol response to psychosocial stress. Although most OC regimens include both an inactive (dummy) and active pill phase, studies have not systematically investigated cortisol responses during these pill phases. Further, high levels of cortisol following a stressor diminish retrieval of emotional material, but the effects of stress on memory among OC users are poorly understood. We examined the effects of a psychosocial stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test, vs. a control condition on cortisol responsivity and emotional memory retrieval in women tested either during their active (n = 18) or inactive pill phase (n = 21). In secondary analyses, we quantitatively compared OC users with normally cycling women and showed a significant lack of cortisol response during both active and inactive pill phase. Emotional recall did not differ between active and inactive pill phases. Stress differentially diminished recall of negative words compared with positive or neutral words, but cortisol levels were unrelated to memory performance. These findings indicate that OC users have distinct cortisol and memory responses to stress that are similar between the active and inactive pill phases. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Extracting surface waves, hum and normal modes: time-scale phase-weighted stack and beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ventosa, Sergi; Schimmel, Martin; Stutzmann, Eleonore

2017-10-01

Stacks of ambient noise correlations are routinely used to extract empirical Green's functions (EGFs) between station pairs. The time-frequency phase-weighted stack (tf-PWS) is a physically intuitive nonlinear denoising method that uses the phase coherence to improve EGF convergence when the performance of conventional linear averaging methods is not sufficient. The high computational cost of a continuous approach to the time-frequency transformation is currently a main limitation in ambient noise studies. We introduce the time-scale phase-weighted stack (ts-PWS) as an alternative extension of the phase-weighted stack that uses complex frames of wavelets to build a time-frequency representation that is much more efficient and fast to compute and that preserve the performance and flexibility of the tf-PWS. In addition, we propose two strategies: the unbiased phase coherence and the two-stage ts-PWS methods to further improve noise attenuation, quality of the extracted signals and convergence speed. We demonstrate that these approaches enable to extract minor- and major-arc Rayleigh waves (up to the sixth Rayleigh wave train) from many years of data from the GEOSCOPE global network. Finally we also show that fundamental spheroidal modes can be extracted from these EGF.

Microstructure of As-cast Co-Cr-Mo Alloy Prepared by Investment Casting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Jong Bum; Jung, Kyung-Hwan; Kim, Kang Min; Son, Yong; Lee, Jung-Il; Ryu, Jeong Ho

2018-04-01

The microstructure of a cobalt-base alloy (Co-Cr-Mo) obtained by an investment casting process was studied. This alloy complies with the ASTM F75 standard and is widely used in the manufacturing of orthopedic implants owing to its high strength, good corrosion resistance, and excellent biocompatibility. This work focuses on the resulting microstructures arising from normal industrial environmental conditions. The characterization of the samples was carried out using optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. In this study, the as-cast microstructure is an γ-Co (face-centered cubic) dendritic matrix with the presence of a secondary phase, such as M23C6 carbides precipitated at grain boundaries and interdendritic zones. These precipitates are the main strengthening mechanism in this type of alloy. Other minority phases, such as the σ phase, were also detected, and their presence could be linked to the manufacturing process and environment.

Electrical activity during the 2006 Mount St. Augustine volcanic eruptions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thomas, Ronald J.; Krehbiel, Paul R.; Rison, William; Edens, H. E.; Aulich, G. D.; McNutt, S.R.; Tytgat, Guy; Clark, E.

2007-01-01

By using a combination of radio frequency time-of-arrival and interferometer measurements, we observed a sequence of lightning and electrical activity during one of Mount St. Augustine's eruptions. The observations indicate that the electrical activity had two modes or phases. First, there was an explosive phase in which the ejecta from the explosion appeared to be highly charged upon exiting the volcano, resulting in numerous apparently disorganized discharges and some simple lightning. The net charge exiting the volcano appears to have been positive. The second phase, which followed the most energetic explosion, produced conventional-type discharges that occurred within plume. Although the plume cloud was undoubtedly charged as a result of the explosion itself, the fact that the lightning onset was delayed and continued after and well downwind of the eruption indicates that in situ charging of some kind was occurring, presumably similar in some respects to that which occurs in normal thunderstorms.

Second harmonic generation of off axial vortex beam in the case of walk-off effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Shunyi; Ding, Panfeng; Pu, Jixiong

2016-07-01

Process of off axial vortex beam propagating in negative uniaxial crystal is investigated in this work. Firstly, we get the formulae of the normalized electric field and calculate the location of vortices for second harmonic beam in two type of phase matching. Then, numerical analysis verifies that the intensity distribution and location of vortices of the first order original vortex beam depend on the walk-off angle and off axial magnitude. It is shown that, in type I phase matching, the distribution of vortices is symmetrical about the horizontal axis, the separation distance increases as the off axial magnitude increases or the off axial magnitude deceases. However, in type II phase matching, the vortices are symmetrical along with some vertical axis, and increase of the walk-off angle or off axial magnitude leads to larger separation distance. Finally, the case of high order original off axial vortex beam is also investigated.

Heat transfer in space systems; Proceedings of the Symposium, AIAA/ASME Thermophysics and Heat Transfer Conference, Seattle, WA, June 18-20, 1990

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, S. H. (Editor); Anderson, E. E. (Editor); Simoneau, R. J. (Editor); Chan, C. K. (Editor); Pepper, D. W. (Editor)

1990-01-01

Theoretical and experimental studies of heat-tranfer in a space environment are discussed in reviews and reports. Topics addressed include a small-scale two-phase thermosiphon to cool high-power electronics, a low-pressure-drop heat exchanger with integral heat pipe, an analysis of the thermal performance of heat-pipe radiators, measurements of temperature and concentration fields in a rectangular heat pipe, and a simplified aerothermal heating method for axisymmetric blunt bodies. Consideration is given to entropy production in a shock wave, bubble-slug transition in a two-phase liquid-gas flow under microgravity, plasma arc welding under normal and zero gravity, the Microgravity Thaw Experiment, the flow of a thin film on stationary and rotating disks, an advanced ceramic fabric body-mounted radiator for Space Station Freedom phase 0 design, and lunar radiators with specular reflectors.

Procyanidins (Condensed Tannins) in Green Cell Suspension Cultures of Douglas Fir Compared with Those in Strawberry and Avocado Leaves by Means of C18-Reversed-phase Chromatography 1

PubMed Central

Stafford, Helen A.; Lester, Hope H.

1980-01-01

The procyanidins (the most common type of proanthocyanidin or condensed tannin) from cell suspension cultures derived from cotyledons of Douglas Fir have been compared with those isolated from leaves of strawberry and avocado. Seventy per cent methanol (v/v) extracts from 100 milligrams fresh weight samples were analyzed by a combination of C18-reversed-phase columns with high-performance liquid chromatography, and normal phase paper chromatography. (−)-Epicatechin and its oligomers were generally retarded longer on C18 columns than the corresponding units made of (+)-catechin when eluted with solvents made up of 5% acetic acid alone or mixed with methanol up to 15% (v/v). Douglas fir preparations contained the most complex set of procyanidins and consisted of oligomers of catechin and epicatechin, whereas strawberry and avocado contained mainly (+)-catechin and (−)-epicatechin derivatives, respectively. PMID:16661581

Diurnal suppression of EGFR signalling by glucocorticoids and implications for tumour progression and treatment.

PubMed

Lauriola, Mattia; Enuka, Yehoshua; Zeisel, Amit; D'Uva, Gabriele; Roth, Lee; Sharon-Sevilla, Michal; Lindzen, Moshit; Sharma, Kirti; Nevo, Nava; Feldman, Morris; Carvalho, Silvia; Cohen-Dvashi, Hadas; Kedmi, Merav; Ben-Chetrit, Nir; Chen, Alon; Solmi, Rossella; Wiemann, Stefan; Schmitt, Fernando; Domany, Eytan; Yarden, Yosef

2014-10-03

Signal transduction by receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and nuclear receptors for steroid hormones is essential for body homeostasis, but the cross-talk between these receptor families is poorly understood. We observed that glucocorticoids inhibit signalling downstream of EGFR, an RTK. The underlying mechanism entails suppression of EGFR's positive feedback loops and simultaneous triggering of negative feedback loops that normally restrain EGFR. Our studies in mice reveal that the regulation of EGFR's feedback loops by glucocorticoids translates to circadian control of EGFR signalling: EGFR signals are suppressed by high glucocorticoids during the active phase (night-time in rodents), while EGFR signals are enhanced during the resting phase. Consistent with this pattern, treatment of animals bearing EGFR-driven tumours with a specific kinase inhibitor was more effective if administered during the resting phase of the day, when glucocorticoids are low. These findings support a circadian clock-based paradigm in cancer therapy.

N-acetylcysteine is able to reduce the oxidation status and the endothelial activation after a high-glucose content meal in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Masha, A; Brocato, L; Dinatale, S; Mascia, C; Biasi, F; Martina, V

2009-04-01

Post-prandial hyperglycemia seems to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of the cardiovascular complications of diabetes mellitus, as it leads to an oxidative stress which in turn causes a reduced NO bioavailability. These conditions produce an endothelial activation. The aim of this study was to assure that the administration of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), thiolic antioxidant, is able to decrease the oxidation status and endothelial activation after a high-glucose content meal. Ten patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DMT2) (Group 1) and 10 normal subjects (Group 2) were studied. They assumed a high-glucose content meal without (phase A) or after (phase B) the administration of NAC. Glycemia, insulinemia, intercellular adhesion molecule 1, vascular adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), E-selectin, malonaldehyde (MDA), and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) were assessed at -30, 0, +30, +60, +90, +120, and +180 min with respect to the meal consumption. During the phase A in Group 1, only HNE and MDA levels increased after the meal assumption; all parameters remained unchanged in Group 2. During the phase B, in Group 1, HNE, MDA, VCAM-1, and E-selectin levels after the meal were lower than those in phase A, while no change for all variables were observed in Group 2. A high-glucose meal produces an increase in oxidation parameters in patients with DMT2. The administration of NAC reduces the oxidative stress and, by doing so, reduces the endothelial activation. In conclusion, NAC could be efficacious in the slackening of the progression of vascular damage in DMT2.

Angiogenesis characteristics of infantile hemangioma and feasibility observation of transplantation model of human hemangioma on mice.

PubMed

Fu, Y; Yang, Z-G; Zhao, L-Y

2017-03-01

To study pathogenic features of pediatric hemangiomas, we successfully established a model in mice, by transplanting human hemangioma tissues. The hemangioma from the leg of a two-month-old infant was dissected and sliced into several pieces. During a careful surgical procedure, the hemangioma tissues were individually transplanted into skin incisions in anesthetized mice. The volume of the transplanted tumors was measured and the changes in shape recorded at 1 day, and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 months after the transplantation. HE dyeing, CD31 and Glut1 IHC were applied to tumors in the proliferation and involuting phases. Also, 10 survival tumors and 10 normal tissues from infants undergoing circumcisions (control tissues) were used to determine their Angiotensin 1 (Ang1), Angiotensin 2 (Ang2), Tie2, and endothelium growth factor (VEGF) expression levels by IHC method. We observed all the tumors going through the same stages, where after two months their volumes increased sharply and then after 4 months they all began to recede. During the proliferative phase, newly born capillaries could be seen and the tumor elasticity increased (bright red color). During the involuting phase, the color faded away and the tumors became harder and were almost gone by 6 months. During the first two months after transplantation, HE dyeing showed hypertrophied and proliferating endothelial cells accumulating inside the tumors with irregular cavities inside blood vessels being filled by them. During the involuting phase (at 4 months), the lumen in blood vessels was distinctly enlarged while fiber and adipose tissue had significantly deposited. The transplanted and original tumors tested positive for CD31 and Glut1 dyeing, without significant differences. Compared with control samples, the Ang1 expression of the transplanted tumor in both the hyperplasia and proliferative phases was stably low (p<0.05), while expressions of Ang2 and Tie2 were both stably high (p<0.05). The VEGF expression in the tumors, however, was high during the proliferative phase (p<0.05), while the VEGF of the involuting phase showed no significant differences from that of the normal samples (p>0.05). We showed the reliability of the mouse model in reflecting the pathologic evolution of the proliferation and involuting phases of infantile hemangiomas. Angiogenic mediators Ang1, Ang2 and Tie2 may be abnormally expressed and play important roles in the development of this angiogenic disease.

Neither Hematocrit Normalization nor Exercise Training Restores Oxygen Consumption to Normal Levels in Hemodialysis Patients

PubMed Central

Stray-Gundersen, James; Parsons, Dora Beth; Thompson, Jeffrey R.

2016-01-01

Patients treated with hemodialysis develop severely reduced functional capacity, which can be partially ameliorated by correcting anemia and through exercise training. In this study, we determined perturbations of an erythroid-stimulating agent and exercise training to examine if and where limitation to oxygen transport exists in patients on hemodialysis. Twenty-seven patients on hemodialysis completed a crossover study consisting of two exercise training phases at two hematocrit (Hct) values: 30% (anemic) and 42% (physiologic; normalized by treatment with erythroid-stimulating agent). To determine primary outcome measures of peak power and oxygen consumption (VO2) and secondary measures related to components of oxygen transport and utilization, all patients underwent numerous tests at five time points: baseline, untrained at Hct of 30%, after training at Hct of 30%, untrained at Hct of 42%, and after training at Hct of 42%. Hct normalization, exercise training, or the combination thereof significantly improved peak power and VO2 relative to values in the untrained anemic phase. Hct normalization increased peak arterial oxygen and arteriovenous oxygen difference, whereas exercise training improved cardiac output, citrate synthase activity, and peak tissue diffusing capacity. However, although the increase in arterial oxygen observed in the combination phase reached a value similar to that in healthy sedentary controls, the increase in peak arteriovenous oxygen difference did not. Muscle biopsy specimens showed markedly thickened endothelium and electron–dense interstitial deposits. In conclusion, exercise and Hct normalization had positive effects but failed to normalize exercise capacity in patients on hemodialysis. This effect may be caused by abnormalities identified within skeletal muscle. PMID:27153927

Multiple scale model for cell migration in monolayers: Elastic mismatch between cells enhances motility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palmieri, Benoit; Bresler, Yony; Wirtz, Denis; Grant, Martin

2015-07-01

We propose a multiscale model for monolayer of motile cells that comprise normal and cancer cells. In the model, the two types of cells have identical properties except for their elasticity; cancer cells are softer and normal cells are stiffer. The goal is to isolate the role of elasticity mismatch on the migration potential of cancer cells in the absence of other contributions that are present in real cells. The methodology is based on a phase-field description where each cell is modeled as a highly-deformable self-propelled droplet. We simulated two types of nearly confluent monolayers. One contains a single cancer cell in a layer of normal cells and the other contains normal cells only. The simulation results demonstrate that elasticity mismatch alone is sufficient to increase the motility of the cancer cell significantly. Further, the trajectory of the cancer cell is decorated by several speed “bursts” where the cancer cell quickly relaxes from a largely deformed shape and consequently increases its translational motion. The increased motility and the amplitude and frequency of the bursts are in qualitative agreement with recent experiments.

A protein anomaly in erythrocyte membranes of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

PubMed Central

1983-01-01

Raman spectroscopic comparisons of erythrocyte membranes from 20 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and 8 age-matched controls indicate a prominent and consistent protein anomaly in the patient samples. This was apparent in the following: (a) CH-stretching signals from control membranes reveal a thermotropic transition at 15.6 degrees C, attributable to a protein/lipid phase that is lacking in dystrophic membranes. (b) CH-stretching signals from control membranes also show a protein transition at 39 degrees C [pH 7.4] that is shifted to 45 degrees in dystrophic membranes. (c) A reduction in pH to 5.7 shifts this transition from 39 degrees C to 7 degrees C in normal membranes and from 45 degrees C to 24 degrees C in dystrophic membranes. (d) The Amide I/Amide III regions indicate a significant proportion of beta- structured peptide in dystrophic but not normal membranes. (e) Analysis of tyrosine signals indicates greater polar exposure of tyrosine hydroxyl groups in dystrophic vs normal membranes. All of the differences between dystrophic and normal membranes are highly significant (P less than 0.001). PMID:6854213

High-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance characterization of seminolipid from bovine spermatozoa.

PubMed

Alvarez, J G; Storey, B T; Hemling, M L; Grob, R L

1990-06-01

The high-resolution one- and two-dimensional proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) characterization of seminolipid from bovine spermatozoa is presented. The 1H-NMR data was confirmed by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of the partially methylated alditol acetates of the sugar unit, mild alkaline methanolysis of the glyceryl ester, mobility on normal phase and diphasic thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS). The structure of the molecule corresponds to 1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-hexadecanoyl-3-O-beta-D-(3'-sulfo)-galactopyranosyl- sn-glycerol.

Variability of winter and summer surface ozone in Mexico City on the intraseasonal timescale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrett, Bradford S.; Raga, Graciela B.

2016-12-01

Surface ozone concentrations in Mexico City frequently exceed the Mexican standard and have proven difficult to forecast due to changes in meteorological conditions at its tropical location. The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is largely responsible for intraseasonal variability in the tropics. Circulation patterns in the lower and upper troposphere and precipitation are associated with the oscillation as it progresses eastward around the planet. It is typically described by phases (labeled 1 through 8), which correspond to the broad longitudinal location of the active component of the oscillation with enhanced precipitation. In this study we evaluate the intraseasonal variability of winter and summer surface ozone concentrations in Mexico City, which was investigated over the period 1986-2014 to determine if there is a modulation by the MJO that would aid in the forecast of high-pollution episodes. Over 1 000 000 hourly observations of surface ozone from five stations around the metropolitan area were standardized and then binned by active phase of the MJO, with phase determined using the real-time multivariate MJO index. Highest winter ozone concentrations were found in Mexico City on days when the MJO was active and in phase 2 (over the Indian Ocean), and highest summer ozone concentrations were found on days when the MJO was active and in phase 6 (over the western Pacific Ocean). Lowest winter ozone concentrations were found during active MJO phase 8 (over the eastern Pacific Ocean), and lowest summer ozone concentrations were found during active MJO phase 1 (over the Atlantic Ocean). Anomalies of reanalysis-based cloud cover and UV-B radiation supported the observed variability in surface ozone in both summer and winter: MJO phases with highest ozone concentration had largest positive UV-B radiation anomalies and lowest cloud-cover fraction, while phases with lowest ozone concentration had largest negative UV-B radiation anomalies and highest cloud-cover fraction. Furthermore, geopotential height anomalies at 250 hPa favoring reduced cloudiness, and thus elevated surface ozone, were found in both seasons during MJO phases with above-normal ozone concentrations. Similar height anomalies at 250 hPa favoring enhanced cloudiness, and thus reduced surface ozone, were found in both seasons during MJO phases with below-normal ozone concentrations. These anomalies confirm a physical pathway for MJO modulation of surface ozone via modulation of the upper troposphere.

Meson properties in asymmetric matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mammarella, Andrea; Mannarelli, Massimo

2018-03-01

In this work we study dynamic and thermodynamic (at T = 0) properties of mesons in asymmetric matter in the framework of Chiral Perturbation Theory. We consider a system at vanishing temperature with nonzero isospin chemical potential and strangeness chemical potential; meson masses and mixing in the normal phase, the pion condensation phase and the kaon condensation phase are described. We find differences with previous works, but the results presented here are supported by both theory group analysis and by direct calculations. Some pion decay channels in the normal and the pion condensation phases are studied, finding a nonmonotonic behavior of the decay width as a function of µ I . Furthermore, pressure, density and equation of state of the system at T = 0 are studied, finding remarkable agreement with analogue studies performed by lattice calculations.

Mammalian Toxicity of Munition Compounds. Phase II. Effects of Multiple Doses. Part III. 2,6-Dinitrotoluene

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-07-01

Histopathology , Statistical Analysis, and Normal Values ..... ...... ........... 131 I Ii A.mmALIAN TOXICITY OF MUNITION COMPOUNDS PHASE II: Effects of...chemistry tests and histopathology , and the normal values are given in Appendix I. The concentrations of Ca 2+, Mg2 +, Na+ and K+ in serum were determined...mice fed 2,6-DNT included focal epicarditis or myocarditis, focal cystitis, chronic murine pneumonia or bronchopneumonia, metritis and focal myositis

Possible mechanism to enhance spin-fluctuation-mediated superconductivity in two-dimensional organic conductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nonoyama, Yoshito; Maekawa, Yukiko; Kobayashi, Akito; Suzumura, Yoshikazu; Yamada, Jun-ichi

2008-10-01

Mechanisms of superconductivity in quasi-two-dimensional organic conductors have been investigated using an extended Hubbard model by using the transfer energies between BDA-TTP molecules for β-(BDA-TTP)2I3 based on the X-ray experiment data and the extended Hückel calculation. We obtain several mean-field solutions with charge orderings which may represent short-range orderings or low-energy fluctuations in the low-dimensional electronic system. In the pressure-temperature phase diagram, a charge ordered metal state almost degenerates with a normal metal state between an insulating phase with charge ordering and the normal metal phase. Using the random phase approximation (RPA) and the linearized gap equation, the transition temperature of the superconducting state is estimated for the charge-ordered metal state and the normal metal state. It is found that transition temperature of the superconductivity induced by spin fluctuations in the charge-ordered metal state is much higher than that of the normal metal state and that the superconductivity in the charge-ordered metal state is the gapless d-wave. This suggests that the short range charge ordering may also contribute to an enhancement of spin-fluctuation-mediated superconductivity. The difference in the superconducting states between β-(BDA-TTP)2I3 and β-(BDA-TTP)2SbF6 are briefly discussed.

Near-zero thermal expansion in magnetically ordered state in dysprosium at high pressures and low temperatures

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

Hope, Kevin M.; Samudrala, Gopi K.; Vohra, Yogesh K.

The atomic volume of rare earth metal Dysprosium (Dy) has been measured up to high pressures of 35 GPa and low temperatures between 200 K and 7 K in a diamond anvil cell using angle dispersive x-ray diffraction at a synchrotron source. The hexagonal close-packed (hcp), alpha-Samarium (α-Sm), and double hexagonal close packed (dhcp) phases are observed to be stable in Dy under high-pressure and low-temperature conditions achieved in our experiments. Dy is known to undergo magnetic ordering below 176 K at ambient pressure with magnetic ordering Néel temperature (T N) that changes rapidly with increasing pressure. Our experimental measurementmore » shows that Dy has near-zero thermal expansion in the magnetically ordered state and normal thermal expansion in the paramagnetic state for all the three known high pressure phases (hcp, α-Sm, and dhcp) to 35 GPa. This near-zero thermal expansion behavior in Dy is observed below the magnetic ordering temperature T N at all pressures up to 35 GPa.« less

Effect-directed analysis via hyphenated high-performance thin-layer chromatography for bioanalytical profiling of sunflower leaves.

PubMed

Móricz, Ágnes M; Ott, Péter G; Yüce, Imanuel; Darcsi, András; Béni, Szabolcs; Morlock, Gertrud E

2018-01-19

High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) coupled with effect-directed analysis was used for non-targeted screening of sunflower leaf extract for components exhibiting antioxidant, antibacterial and/or cholinesterase enzyme inhibitory effects. The active compounds were characterized by HPTLC-electrospray ionization-high resolution mass spectrometry (ESI-HRMS) and HPTLC-Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART)-MS/MS. The latter ambient ionization technique (less soft than ESI) resulted in oxidation and fragmentation products and characteristic fragment ions. NMR spectroscopy after targeted isolation via preparative normal phase flash chromatography and semi-preparative reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography supported the identification of two diterpenes to be (-)-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid and 15-α-angeloyloxy-ent-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid. Both compounds found to be multi-potent as they inhibited acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase and showed antibacterial effects against Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis and Gram-negative Aliivibrio fischeri bacteria. Kaurenoic acid was also active against the Gram-negative pepper pathogenic Xanthomonas euvesicatoria bacteria. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.