High Temperature Polybenzimidazole Hollow Fiber Membranes for Hydrogen Separation and Carbon Dioxide Capture from Synthesis Gas

DOE PAGES

Singh, Rajinder P.; Dahe, Ganpat J.; Dudeck, Kevin W.; ...

2014-12-31

Sustainable reliance on hydrocarbon feedstocks for energy generation requires CO₂ separation technology development for energy efficient carbon capture from industrial mixed gas streams. High temperature H₂ selective glassy polymer membranes are an attractive option for energy efficient H₂/CO₂ separations in advanced power production schemes with integrated carbon capture. They enable high overall process efficiencies by providing energy efficient CO₂ separations at process relevant operating conditions and correspondingly, minimized parasitic energy losses. Polybenzimidazole (PBI)-based materials have demonstrated commercially attractive H₂/CO₂ separation characteristics and exceptional tolerance to hydrocarbon fuel derived synthesis (syngas) gas operating conditions and chemical environments. To realize a commerciallymore » attractive carbon capture technology based on these PBI materials, development of high performance, robust PBI hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) is required. In this work, we discuss outcomes of our recent efforts to demonstrate and optimize the fabrication and performance of PBI HFMs for use in pre-combustion carbon capture schemes. These efforts have resulted in PBI HFMs with commercially attractive fabrication protocols, defect minimized structures, and commercially attractive permselectivity characteristics at IGCC syngas process relevant conditions. The H₂/CO₂ separation performance of these PBI HFMs presented in this document regarding realistic process conditions is greater than that of any other polymeric system reported to-date.« less

Capture, Release and Culture of Circulating Tumor Cells from Pancreatic Cancer Patients using an Enhanced Mixing Chip

PubMed Central

Sheng, Weian; Ogunwobi, Olorunseun O.; Chen, Tao; Zhang, Jinling; George, Thomas J.; Liu, Chen; Fan, Z. Hugh

2013-01-01

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from peripheral blood hold important information for cancer diagnosis and disease monitoring. Analysis of this “liquid biopsy” holds the promise to usher in a new era of personalized therapeutic treatments and real-time monitoring for cancer patients. But the extreme rarity of CTCs in blood makes their isolation and characterization technologically challenging. This paper reports the development of a geometrically enhanced mixing (GEM) chip for high-efficiency and high-purity tumor cell capture. We also successfully demonstrated the release and culture of the captured tumor cells, as well as the isolation of CTCs from cancer patients. The high-performance microchip is based on geometrically optimized micromixer structures, which enhance the transverse flow and flow folding, maximizing the interaction between CTCs and antibody-coated surfaces. With the optimized channel geometry and flow rate, the capture efficiency reached >90% with a purity of >84% when capturing spiked tumor cells in buffer. The system was further validated by isolating a wide range of spiked tumor cells (50–50,000) in 1 mL of lysed blood and whole blood. With the combination of trypsinization and high flow rate washing, captured tumor cells were efficiently released. The released cells were viable and able to proliferate, and showed no difference compared with intact cells that were not subjected to the capture and release process. Furthermore, we applied the device for detecting CTCs from metastatic pancreatic cancer patients’ blood; and CTCs were found from 17 out of 18 samples (>94%). We also tested the potential utility of the device in monitoring the response to anti-cancer drug treatment in pancreatic cancer patients, and the CTC numbers correlated with the clinical computed tomograms (CT scans) of tumors. The presented technology shows great promise for accurate CTC enumeration, biological studies of CTCs and cancer metastasis, as well as for cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring. PMID:24220648

Optimization of wave-guided luminescence for higher efficiency of bifacial thin-film microscale GaAs solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Ling; Shen, Yifeng; Li, Feng

2018-01-01

In pursuit of capturing more wave-guided luminescence for surface-printed bifacial GaAs μ-cells, the pyramid structure has been incorporated with specular back side reflector (BSR) to change the direction of photon propagation. Based on ray tracing model, the calculated photon capturing efficiency of GaAs μ-cells from back side via pyramid, dependent on the parameters of pyramid structure, achieve the largest 1.7× increase for dye absorption peak of 480 nm compared to the case without pyramid. More significantly, the short circuit current in experiment has been improved from original 16.5 mA/cm2 to 23.75 mA/cm2 for the AM 1.5G solar spectrum. Further experiment demonstrates that the optimized pyramid structure enables the integrated luminescent intensity to reach ∼3× increase in a smaller distance of optical transport, which means the advantages in photon capturing efficiency for cells with higher aspect ratio. The calculation further confirms that the cells with higher aspect ratio, among all cells with the same area, realize the higher concentration ratio for the same geometric gain. This provides a guideline for design of cell geometries to guarantee a higher power output in terms of cell modules.

Optimization of ELISA Conditions to Quantify Colorectal Cancer Antigen-Antibody Complex Protein (GA733-FcK) Expressed in Transgenic Plant

PubMed Central

Ahn, Junsik; Lee, Kyung Jin

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to optimize ELISA conditions to quantify the colorectal cancer antigen GA733 linked to the Fc antibody fragment fused to KDEL, an ER retention motif (GA733-FcK) expressed in transgenic plant. Variable conditions of capture antibody, blocking buffer, and detection antibody for ELISA were optimized with application of leaf extracts from transgenic plant expressing GA733-FcK. In detection antibody, anti-EpCAM/CD362 IgG recognizing the GA733 did not detect any GA733-FcK whereas anti-human Fc IgG recognizing the human Fc existed in plant leaf extracts. For blocking buffer conditions, 3% BSA buffer clearly blocked the plate, compared to the 5% skim-milk buffer. For capture antibody, monoclonal antibody (MAb) CO17-1A was applied to coat the plate with different amounts (1, 0.5, and 0.25 μg/well). Among the amounts of the capture antibody, 1 and 0.5 μg/well (capture antibody) showed similar absorbance, whereas 0.25 μg/well of the capture antibody showed significantly less absorbance. Taken together, the optimized conditions to quantify plant-derived GA733-FcK were 0.5 μg/well of MAb CO17-1A per well for the capture antibody, 3% BSA for blocking buffer, and anti-human Fc conjugated HRP. To confirm the optimized ELISA conditions, correlation analysis was conducted between the quantified amount of GA733-FcK in ELISA and its protein density values of different leaf samples in Western blot. The co-efficient value R2 between the ELISA quantified value and protein density was 0.85 (p<0.01), which indicates that the optimized ELISA conditions feasibly provides quantitative information of GA733-FcK expression in transgenic plant. PMID:24555929

Hierarchical Surface Architecture of Plants as an Inspiration for Biomimetic Fog Collectors.

PubMed

Azad, M A K; Barthlott, W; Koch, K

2015-12-08

Fog collectors can enable us to alleviate the water crisis in certain arid regions of the world. A continuous fog-collection cycle consisting of a persistent capture of fog droplets and their fast transport to the target is a prerequisite for developing an efficient fog collector. In regard to this topic, a biological superior design has been found in the hierarchical surface architecture of barley (Hordeum vulgare) awns. We demonstrate here the highly wettable (advancing contact angle 16° ± 2.7 and receding contact angle 9° ± 2.6) barbed (barb = conical structure) awn as a model to develop optimized fog collectors with a high fog-capturing capability, an effective water transport, and above all an efficient fog collection. We compare the fog-collection efficiency of the model sample with other plant samples naturally grown in foggy habitats that are supposed to be very efficient fog collectors. The model sample, consisting of dry hydrophilized awns (DH awns), is found to be about twice as efficient (fog-collection rate 563.7 ± 23.2 μg/cm(2) over 10 min) as any other samples investigated under controlled experimental conditions. Finally, a design based on the hierarchical surface architecture of the model sample is proposed for the development of optimized biomimetic fog collectors.

Chemical Looping Gasification for Hydrogen Enhanced Syngas Production with In-Situ CO 2 Capture

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

Kathe, Mandar; Xu, Dikai; Hsieh, Tien-Lin

2014-12-31

This document is the final report for the project titled “Chemical Looping Gasification for Hydrogen Enhanced Syngas Production with In-Situ CO 2 Capture” under award number FE0012136 for the performance period 10/01/2013 to 12/31/2014.This project investigates the novel Ohio State chemical looping gasification technology for high efficiency, cost efficiency coal gasification for IGCC and methanol production application. The project developed an optimized oxygen carrier composition, demonstrated the feasibility of the concept and completed cold-flow model studies. WorleyParsons completed a techno-economic analysis which showed that for a coal only feed with carbon capture, the OSU CLG technology reduced the methanol requiredmore » selling price by 21%, lowered the capital costs by 28%, increased coal consumption efficiency by 14%. Further, using the Ohio State Chemical Looping Gasification technology resulted in a methanol required selling price which was lower than the reference non-capture case.« less

Microfluidic immunocapture of circulating pancreatic cells using parallel EpCAM and MUC1 capture: characterization, optimization and downstream analysis.

PubMed

Thege, Fredrik I; Lannin, Timothy B; Saha, Trisha N; Tsai, Shannon; Kochman, Michael L; Hollingsworth, Michael A; Rhim, Andrew D; Kirby, Brian J

2014-05-21

We have developed and optimized a microfluidic device platform for the capture and analysis of circulating pancreatic cells (CPCs) and pancreatic circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Our platform uses parallel anti-EpCAM and cancer-specific mucin 1 (MUC1) immunocapture in a silicon microdevice. Using a combination of anti-EpCAM and anti-MUC1 capture in a single device, we are able to achieve efficient capture while extending immunocapture beyond single marker recognition. We also have detected a known oncogenic KRAS mutation in cells spiked in whole blood using immunocapture, RNA extraction, RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing. To allow for downstream single-cell genetic analysis, intact nuclei were released from captured cells by using targeted membrane lysis. We have developed a staining protocol for clinical samples, including standard CTC markers; DAPI, cytokeratin (CK) and CD45, and a novel marker of carcinogenesis in CPCs, mucin 4 (MUC4). We have also demonstrated a semi-automated approach to image analysis and CPC identification, suitable for clinical hypothesis generation. Initial results from immunocapture of a clinical pancreatic cancer patient sample show that parallel capture may capture more of the heterogeneity of the CPC population. With this platform, we aim to develop a diagnostic biomarker for early pancreatic carcinogenesis and patient risk stratification.

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

Li, Liang; Nachtergaele, Sigrid; Seddon, Annela M.

This paper utilizes cyclodextrin-based host-guest chemistry in a microfluidic device to modulate the crystallization of membrane proteins and the process of concentration of membrane protein samples. Methyl-{beta}-cyclodextrin (MBCD) can efficiently capture a wide variety of detergents commonly used for the stabilization of membrane proteins by sequestering detergent monomers. Reaction Center (RC) from Blastochloris viridis was used here as a model system. In the process of concentrating membrane protein samples, MBCD was shown to break up free detergent micelles and prevent them from being concentrated. The addition of an optimal amount of MBCD to the RC sample captured loosely bound detergentmore » from the protein-detergent complex and improved sample homogeneity, as characterized by dynamic light scattering. Using plug-based microfluidics, RC crystals were grown in the presence of MBCD, giving a different morphology and space group than crystals grown without MBCD. The crystal structure of RC crystallized in the presence of MBCD was consistent with the changes in packing and crystal contacts hypothesized for removal of loosely bound detergent. The incorporation of MBCD into a plug-based microfluidic crystallization method allows efficient use of limited membrane protein sample by reducing the amount of protein required and combining sparse matrix screening and optimization in one experiment. The use of MBCD for detergent capture can be expanded to develop cyclodextrin-derived molecules for fine-tuned detergent capture and thus modulate membrane protein crystallization in an even more controllable way.« less

Comparative Evaluation of Different Optimization Algorithms for Structural Design Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patnaik, Surya N.; Coroneos, Rula M.; Guptill, James D.; Hopkins, Dale A.

1996-01-01

Non-linear programming algorithms play an important role in structural design optimization. Fortunately, several algorithms with computer codes are available. At NASA Lewis Research Centre, a project was initiated to assess the performance of eight different optimizers through the development of a computer code CometBoards. This paper summarizes the conclusions of that research. CometBoards was employed to solve sets of small, medium and large structural problems, using the eight different optimizers on a Cray-YMP8E/8128 computer. The reliability and efficiency of the optimizers were determined from the performance of these problems. For small problems, the performance of most of the optimizers could be considered adequate. For large problems, however, three optimizers (two sequential quadratic programming routines, DNCONG of IMSL and SQP of IDESIGN, along with Sequential Unconstrained Minimizations Technique SUMT) outperformed others. At optimum, most optimizers captured an identical number of active displacement and frequency constraints but the number of active stress constraints differed among the optimizers. This discrepancy can be attributed to singularity conditions in the optimization and the alleviation of this discrepancy can improve the efficiency of optimizers.

Performance Trend of Different Algorithms for Structural Design Optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patnaik, Surya N.; Coroneos, Rula M.; Guptill, James D.; Hopkins, Dale A.

1996-01-01

Nonlinear programming algorithms play an important role in structural design optimization. Fortunately, several algorithms with computer codes are available. At NASA Lewis Research Center, a project was initiated to assess performance of different optimizers through the development of a computer code CometBoards. This paper summarizes the conclusions of that research. CometBoards was employed to solve sets of small, medium and large structural problems, using different optimizers on a Cray-YMP8E/8128 computer. The reliability and efficiency of the optimizers were determined from the performance of these problems. For small problems, the performance of most of the optimizers could be considered adequate. For large problems however, three optimizers (two sequential quadratic programming routines, DNCONG of IMSL and SQP of IDESIGN, along with the sequential unconstrained minimizations technique SUMT) outperformed others. At optimum, most optimizers captured an identical number of active displacement and frequency constraints but the number of active stress constraints differed among the optimizers. This discrepancy can be attributed to singularity conditions in the optimization and the alleviation of this discrepancy can improve the efficiency of optimizers.

Coastal California's Fog Aerobiology and Ecology: Designing and Testing an Optimal Passive Impactor Collection Unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gentry, D.; Whinnery, J. T.; Ly, V. T.; Travers, S. V.; Sagaga, J.; Dahlgren, R. P.

2017-12-01

Microorganisms play a major role in our biosphere due to their ability to alter water, carbon and other geochemical cycles. Fog and low-level cloud water can play a major role in dispersing and supporting such microbial diversity. An ideal region to gather these microorganisms for characterization is the central coast of California, where dense fog is common. Fog captured from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at different altitudes will be analyzed to better understand the nature of microorganisms in the lower atmosphere and their potential geochemical impacts. The capture design consists of a square-meter hydrophobic mesh that hangs from a carbon fiber rod attached to a UAV. The DJI M600, a hexacopter, will be utilized as the transport for the payload, the passive impactor collection unit (PICU). The M600 will hover in a fog bank at altitudes between 10 and 100 m collecting water samples via the PICU. A computational flow dynamics (CFD) model will optimize the PICU's size, shape and placement for maximum capture efficiency and to avoid contamination from the UAV downwash. On board, there will also be an altitude, temperature and barometric pressure sensor whose output is logged to an SD card. A scale model of the PICU has been tested with several different types of hydrophobic meshes in a fog chamber at 90-95% humidity; polypropylene was found to capture the fog droplets most efficiently at a rate of .0042 g/cm2/hour. If the amount collected is proportional to the area of mesh, the estimated amount of water collected under optimal fog and flight conditions by the impactor is 21.3 g. If successful, this work will help identify the organisms living in the lower atmosphere as well as their potential geochemical impacts.

Capture of near-Earth objects with low-thrust propulsion and invariant manifolds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Gao; Jiang, Fanghua

2016-01-01

In this paper, a mission incorporating low-thrust propulsion and invariant manifolds to capture near-Earth objects (NEOs) is investigated. The initial condition has the spacecraft rendezvousing with the NEO. The mission terminates once it is inserted into a libration point orbit (LPO). The spacecraft takes advantage of stable invariant manifolds for low-energy ballistic capture. Low-thrust propulsion is employed to retrieve the joint spacecraft-asteroid system. Global optimization methods are proposed for the preliminary design. Local direct and indirect methods are applied to optimize the two-impulse transfers. Indirect methods are implemented to optimize the low-thrust trajectory and estimate the largest retrievable mass. To overcome the difficulty that arises from bang-bang control, a homotopic approach is applied to find an approximate solution. By detecting the switching moments of the bang-bang control the efficiency and accuracy of numerical integration are guaranteed. By using the homotopic approach as the initial guess the shooting function is easy to solve. The relationship between the maximum thrust and the retrieval mass is investigated. We find that both numerically and theoretically a larger thrust is preferred.

Panorama parking assistant system with improved particle swarm optimization method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Ruzhong; Zhao, Yong; Li, Zhichao; Jiang, Weigang; Wang, Xin'an; Xu, Yong

2013-10-01

A panorama parking assistant system (PPAS) for the automotive aftermarket together with a practical improved particle swarm optimization method (IPSO) are proposed in this paper. In the PPAS system, four fisheye cameras are installed in the vehicle with different views, and four channels of video frames captured by the cameras are processed as a 360-deg top-view image around the vehicle. Besides the embedded design of PPAS, the key problem for image distortion correction and mosaicking is the efficiency of parameter optimization in the process of camera calibration. In order to address this problem, an IPSO method is proposed. Compared with other parameter optimization methods, the proposed method allows a certain range of dynamic change for the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters, and can exploit only one reference image to complete all of the optimization; therefore, the efficiency of the whole camera calibration is increased. The PPAS is commercially available, and the IPSO method is a highly practical way to increase the efficiency of the installation and the calibration of PPAS in automobile 4S shops.

Optimizing Sampling Design to Deal with Mist-Net Avoidance in Amazonian Birds and Bats

PubMed Central

Marques, João Tiago; Ramos Pereira, Maria J.; Marques, Tiago A.; Santos, Carlos David; Santana, Joana; Beja, Pedro; Palmeirim, Jorge M.

2013-01-01

Mist netting is a widely used technique to sample bird and bat assemblages. However, captures often decline with time because animals learn and avoid the locations of nets. This avoidance or net shyness can substantially decrease sampling efficiency. We quantified the day-to-day decline in captures of Amazonian birds and bats with mist nets set at the same location for four consecutive days. We also evaluated how net avoidance influences the efficiency of surveys under different logistic scenarios using re-sampling techniques. Net avoidance caused substantial declines in bird and bat captures, although more accentuated in the latter. Most of the decline occurred between the first and second days of netting: 28% in birds and 47% in bats. Captures of commoner species were more affected. The numbers of species detected also declined. Moving nets daily to minimize the avoidance effect increased captures by 30% in birds and 70% in bats. However, moving the location of nets may cause a reduction in netting time and captures. When moving the nets caused the loss of one netting day it was no longer advantageous to move the nets frequently. In bird surveys that could even decrease the number of individuals captured and species detected. Net avoidance can greatly affect sampling efficiency but adjustments in survey design can minimize this. Whenever nets can be moved without losing netting time and the objective is to capture many individuals, they should be moved daily. If the main objective is to survey species present then nets should still be moved for bats, but not for birds. However, if relocating nets causes a significant loss of netting time, moving them to reduce effects of shyness will not improve sampling efficiency in either group. Overall, our findings can improve the design of mist netting sampling strategies in other tropical areas. PMID:24058579

78 FR 18974 - Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved Software; Notice of Technical...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-28

... bring together experts from diverse backgrounds and experiences including electric system operators... transmission switching; AC optimal power flow modeling; and use of active and dynamic transmission ratings. In... variability of the system, including forecast error? [cir] How can outage probability be captured in...

An efficient one-step condensation and activation strategy to synthesize porous carbons with optimal micropore sizes for highly selective CO₂ adsorption.

PubMed

Wang, Jiacheng; Liu, Qian

2014-04-21

A series of microporous carbons (MPCs) were successfully prepared by an efficient one-step condensation and activation strategy using commercially available dialdehyde and diamine as carbon sources. The resulting MPCs have large surface areas (up to 1881 m(2) g(-1)), micropore volumes (up to 0.78 cm(3) g(-1)), and narrow micropore size distributions (0.7-1.1 nm). The CO₂ uptakes of the MPCs prepared at high temperatures (700-750 °C) are higher than those prepared under mild conditions (600-650 °C), because the former samples possess optimal micropore sizes (0.7-0.8 nm) that are highly suitable for CO₂ capture due to enhanced adsorbate-adsorbent interactions. At 1 bar, MPC-750 prepared at 750 °C demonstrates the best CO₂ capture performance and can efficiently adsorb CO₂ molecules at 2.86 mmol g(-1) and 4.92 mmol g(-1) at 25 and 0 °C, respectively. In particular, the MPCs with optimal micropore sizes (0.7-0.8 nm) have extremely high CO₂/N₂ adsorption ratios (47 and 52 at 25 and 0 °C, respectively) at 1 bar, and initial CO₂/N₂ adsorption selectivities of up to 81 and 119 at 25 °C and 0 °C, respectively, which are far superior to previously reported values for various porous solids. These excellent results, combined with good adsorption capacities and efficient regeneration/recyclability, make these carbons amongst the most promising sorbents reported so far for selective CO₂ adsorption in practical applications.

Efficacy of Mosquito Traps for Collecting Potential West Nile Mosquito Vectors in a Natural Mediterranean Wetland

PubMed Central

Roiz, David; Roussel, Marion; Muñoz, Joaquin; Ruiz, Santiago; Soriguer, Ramón; Figuerola, Jordi

2012-01-01

Surveillance, research, and control of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus require efficient methods for sampling mosquitoes. We compared the efficacy of BG-Sentinel and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-CO2 traps in terms of the abundances of host-seeking and blood-fed female mosquitoes and the origin of mosquito bloodmeals. Our results indicate that BG-Sentinel traps that use CO2 and attractants are as effective as CDC-CO2 traps for Culex mosquito species, Ochlerotatus caspius, and they are also highly efficient at capturing Anopheles atroparvus host-seeking and blood-fed females with or without CO2. The CDC-CO2 trap is the least efficient method for capturing blood-fed females. BG-Sentinel traps with attractants and CO2 were significantly better at capturing mosquitoes that had fed on mammals than the unbaited BG-Sentinel and CDC-CO2 traps in the cases of An. atroparvus and Cx. theileri. These results may help researchers to optimize trapping methods by obtaining greater sample sizes and saving time and money. PMID:22492149

A metamaterial electromagnetic energy rectifying surface with high harvesting efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Xin; Chen, Xing; Zhou, Lin

2016-12-01

A novel metamaterial rectifying surface (MRS) for electromagnetic energy capture and rectification with high harvesting efficiency is presented. It is fabricated on a three-layer printed circuit board, which comprises an array of periodic metamaterial particles in the shape of mirrored split rings, a metal ground, and integrated rectifiers employing Schottky diodes. Perfect impedance matching is engineered at two interfaces, i.e. one between free space and the surface, and the other between the metamaterial particles and the rectifiers, which are connected through optimally positioned vias. Therefore, the incident electromagnetic power is captured with almost no reflection by the metamaterial particles, then channeled maximally to the rectifiers, and finally converted to direct current efficiently. Moreover, the rectifiers are behind the metal ground, avoiding the disturbance of high power incident electromagnetic waves. Such a MRS working at 2.45 GHz is designed, manufactured and measured, achieving a harvesting efficiency up to 66.9% under an incident power density of 5 mW/cm2, compared with a simulated efficiency of 72.9%. This high harvesting efficiency makes the proposed MRS an effective receiving device in practical microwave power transmission applications.

Clearing muddied waters: Capture of environmental DNA from turbid waters.

PubMed

Williams, Kelly E; Huyvaert, Kathryn P; Piaggio, Antoinette J

2017-01-01

Understanding the differences in efficiencies of various methods to concentrate, extract, and amplify environmental DNA (eDNA) is vital for best performance of eDNA detection. Aquatic systems vary in characteristics such as turbidity, eDNA concentration, and inhibitor load, thus affecting eDNA capture efficiency. Application of eDNA techniques to the detection of terrestrial invasive or endangered species may require sampling at intermittent water sources that are used for drinking and cooling; these water bodies may often be stagnant and turbid. We present our best practices technique for the detection of wild pig eDNA in water samples, a protocol that will have wide applicability to the detection of elusive vertebrate species. We determined the best practice for eDNA capture in a turbid water system was to concentrate DNA from a 15 mL water sample via centrifugation, purify DNA with the DNeasy mericon Food kit, and remove inhibitors with Zymo Inhibitor Removal Technology columns. Further, we compared the sensitivity of conventional PCR to quantitative PCR and found that quantitative PCR was more sensitive in detecting lower concentrations of eDNA. We show significant differences in efficiencies among methods in each step of eDNA capture, emphasizing the importance of optimizing best practices for the system of interest.

Clearing muddied waters: Capture of environmental DNA from turbid waters

PubMed Central

Huyvaert, Kathryn P.; Piaggio, Antoinette J.

2017-01-01

Understanding the differences in efficiencies of various methods to concentrate, extract, and amplify environmental DNA (eDNA) is vital for best performance of eDNA detection. Aquatic systems vary in characteristics such as turbidity, eDNA concentration, and inhibitor load, thus affecting eDNA capture efficiency. Application of eDNA techniques to the detection of terrestrial invasive or endangered species may require sampling at intermittent water sources that are used for drinking and cooling; these water bodies may often be stagnant and turbid. We present our best practices technique for the detection of wild pig eDNA in water samples, a protocol that will have wide applicability to the detection of elusive vertebrate species. We determined the best practice for eDNA capture in a turbid water system was to concentrate DNA from a 15 mL water sample via centrifugation, purify DNA with the DNeasy mericon Food kit, and remove inhibitors with Zymo Inhibitor Removal Technology columns. Further, we compared the sensitivity of conventional PCR to quantitative PCR and found that quantitative PCR was more sensitive in detecting lower concentrations of eDNA. We show significant differences in efficiencies among methods in each step of eDNA capture, emphasizing the importance of optimizing best practices for the system of interest. PMID:28686659

Filter Media Tests Under Simulated Martian Atmospheric Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Agui, Juan H.

2016-01-01

Human exploration of Mars will require the optimal utilization of planetary resources. One of its abundant resources is the Martian atmosphere that can be harvested through filtration and chemical processes that purify and separate it into its gaseous and elemental constituents. Effective filtration needs to be part of the suite of resource utilization technologies. A unique testing platform is being used which provides the relevant operational and instrumental capabilities to test articles under the proper simulated Martian conditions. A series of tests were conducted to assess the performance of filter media. Light sheet imaging of the particle flow provided a means of detecting and quantifying particle concentrations to determine capturing efficiencies. The media's efficiency was also evaluated by gravimetric means through a by-layer filter media configuration. These tests will help to establish techniques and methods for measuring capturing efficiency and arrestance of conventional fibrous filter media. This paper will describe initial test results on different filter media.

Rapid Characterization of Magnetic Moment of Cells for Magnetic Separation

PubMed Central

Ooi, Chinchun; Earhart, Christopher M.; Wilson, Robert J.; Wang, Shan X.

2014-01-01

NCI-H1650 lung cancer cell lines labeled with magnetic nanoparticles via the Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EpCAM) antigen were previously shown to be captured at high efficiencies by a microfabricated magnetic sifter. If fine control and optimization of the magnetic separation process is to be achieved, it is vital to be able to characterize the labeled cells’ magnetic moment rapidly. We have thus adapted a rapid prototyping method to obtain the saturation magnetic moment of these cells. This method utilizes a cross-correlation algorithm to analyze the cells’ motion in a simple fluidic channel to obtain their magnetophoretic velocity, and is effective even when the magnetic moments of cells are small. This rapid characterization is proven useful in optimizing our microfabricated magnetic sifter procedures for magnetic cell capture. PMID:24771946

The minimal amount of starting DNA for Agilent’s hybrid capture-based targeted massively parallel sequencing

PubMed Central

Chung, Jongsuk; Son, Dae-Soon; Jeon, Hyo-Jeong; Kim, Kyoung-Mee; Park, Gahee; Ryu, Gyu Ha; Park, Woong-Yang; Park, Donghyun

2016-01-01

Targeted capture massively parallel sequencing is increasingly being used in clinical settings, and as costs continue to decline, use of this technology may become routine in health care. However, a limited amount of tissue has often been a challenge in meeting quality requirements. To offer a practical guideline for the minimum amount of input DNA for targeted sequencing, we optimized and evaluated the performance of targeted sequencing depending on the input DNA amount. First, using various amounts of input DNA, we compared commercially available library construction kits and selected Agilent’s SureSelect-XT and KAPA Biosystems’ Hyper Prep kits as the kits most compatible with targeted deep sequencing using Agilent’s SureSelect custom capture. Then, we optimized the adapter ligation conditions of the Hyper Prep kit to improve library construction efficiency and adapted multiplexed hybrid selection to reduce the cost of sequencing. In this study, we systematically evaluated the performance of the optimized protocol depending on the amount of input DNA, ranging from 6.25 to 200 ng, suggesting the minimal input DNA amounts based on coverage depths required for specific applications. PMID:27220682

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

Firestone, Ryan; Marnay, Chris

The on-site generation of electricity can offer buildingowners and occupiers financial benefits as well as social benefits suchas reduced grid congestion, improved energy efficiency, and reducedgreenhouse gas emissions. Combined heat and power (CHP), or cogeneration,systems make use of the waste heat from the generator for site heatingneeds. Real-time optimal dispatch of CHP systems is difficult todetermine because of complicated electricity tariffs and uncertainty inCHP equipment availability, energy prices, and system loads. Typically,CHP systems use simple heuristic control strategies. This paper describesa method of determining optimal control in real-time and applies it to alight industrial site in San Diego, California, tomore » examine: 1) the addedbenefit of optimal over heuristic controls, 2) the price elasticity ofthe system, and 3) the site-attributable greenhouse gas emissions, allunder three different tariff structures. Results suggest that heuristiccontrols are adequate under the current tariff structure and relativelyhigh electricity prices, capturing 97 percent of the value of thedistributed generation system. Even more value could be captured bysimply not running the CHP system during times of unusually high naturalgas prices. Under hypothetical real-time pricing of electricity,heuristic controls would capture only 70 percent of the value ofdistributed generation.« less

Optimized digital speckle patterns for digital image correlation by consideration of both accuracy and efficiency.

PubMed

Chen, Zhenning; Shao, Xinxing; Xu, Xiangyang; He, Xiaoyuan

2018-02-01

The technique of digital image correlation (DIC), which has been widely used for noncontact deformation measurements in both the scientific and engineering fields, is greatly affected by the quality of speckle patterns in terms of its performance. This study was concerned with the optimization of the digital speckle pattern (DSP) for DIC in consideration of both the accuracy and efficiency. The root-mean-square error of the inverse compositional Gauss-Newton algorithm and the average number of iterations were used as quality metrics. Moreover, the influence of subset sizes and the noise level of images, which are the basic parameters in the quality assessment formulations, were also considered. The simulated binary speckle patterns were first compared with the Gaussian speckle patterns and captured DSPs. Both the single-radius and multi-radius DSPs were optimized. Experimental tests and analyses were conducted to obtain the optimized and recommended DSP. The vector diagram of the optimized speckle pattern was also uploaded as reference.

Solar Electric Propulsion Triple-Satellite-Aided Capture With Mars Flyby

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patrick, Sean

Triple-Satellite-aided-capture sequences use gravity-assists at three of Jupiter's four massive Galilean moons to reduce the DeltaV required to enter into Jupiter orbit. A triple-satellite-aided capture at Callisto, Ganymede, and Io is proposed to capture a SEP spacecraft into Jupiter orbit from an interplanetary Earth-Jupiter trajectory that employs low-thrust maneuvers. The principal advantage of this method is that it combines the ISP efficiency of ion propulsion with nearly impulsive but propellant-free gravity assists. For this thesis, two main chapters are devoted to the exploration of low-thrust triple-flyby capture trajectories. Specifically, the design and optimization of these trajectories are explored heavily. The first chapter explores the design of two solar electric propulsion (SEP), low-thrust trajectories developed using the JPL's MALTO software. The two trajectories combined represent a full Earth to Jupiter capture split into a heliocentric Earth to Jupiter Sphere of Influence (SOI) trajectory and a Joviocentric capture trajectory. The Joviocentric trajectory makes use of gravity assist flybys of Callisto, Ganymede, and Io to capture into Jupiter orbit with a period of 106.3 days. Following this, in chapter two, three more SEP low-thrust trajectories were developed based upon those in chapter one. These trajectories, devised using the high-fidelity Mystic software, also developed by JPL, improve upon the original trajectories developed in chapter one. Here, the developed trajectories are each three separate, full Earth to Jupiter capture orbits. As in chapter one, a Mars gravity assist is used to augment the heliocentric trajectories. Gravity-assist flybys of Callisto, Ganymede, and Io or Europa are used to capture into Jupiter Orbit. With between 89.8 and 137.2-day periods, the orbits developed in chapters one and two are shorter than most Jupiter capture orbits achieved using low-thrust propulsion techniques. Finally, chapter 3 presents an original trajectory design for a Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) satellite constellation. The design was created for the 8th Global Trajectory Optimization Competition (GTOC8) in which participants are tasked with creating and optimizing low-thrust trajectories to place a series of three space craft into formation to map given radio sources.

Statistical Learning of Origin-Specific Statically Optimal Individualized Treatment Rules

PubMed Central

van der Laan, Mark J.; Petersen, Maya L.

2008-01-01

Consider a longitudinal observational or controlled study in which one collects chronological data over time on a random sample of subjects. The time-dependent process one observes on each subject contains time-dependent covariates, time-dependent treatment actions, and an outcome process or single final outcome of interest. A statically optimal individualized treatment rule (as introduced in van der Laan et. al. (2005), Petersen et. al. (2007)) is a treatment rule which at any point in time conditions on a user-supplied subset of the past, computes the future static treatment regimen that maximizes a (conditional) mean future outcome of interest, and applies the first treatment action of the latter regimen. In particular, Petersen et. al. (2007) clarified that, in order to be statically optimal, an individualized treatment rule should not depend on the observed treatment mechanism. Petersen et. al. (2007) further developed estimators of statically optimal individualized treatment rules based on a past capturing all confounding of past treatment history on outcome. In practice, however, one typically wishes to find individualized treatment rules responding to a user-supplied subset of the complete observed history, which may not be sufficient to capture all confounding. The current article provides an important advance on Petersen et. al. (2007) by developing locally efficient double robust estimators of statically optimal individualized treatment rules responding to such a user-supplied subset of the past. However, failure to capture all confounding comes at a price; the static optimality of the resulting rules becomes origin-specific. We explain origin-specific static optimality, and discuss the practical importance of the proposed methodology. We further present the results of a data analysis in which we estimate a statically optimal rule for switching antiretroviral therapy among patients infected with resistant HIV virus. PMID:19122792

Energy-efficient stirred-tank photobioreactors for simultaneous carbon capture and municipal wastewater treatment.

PubMed

Mohammed, K; Ahammad, S Z; Sallis, P J; Mota, C R

2014-01-01

Algal based wastewater treatment (WWT) technologies are attracting renewed attention because they couple energy-efficient sustainable treatment with carbon capture, and reduce the carbon footprint of the process. A low-cost energy-efficient mixed microalgal culture-based pilot WWT system, coupled with carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration, was investigated. The 21 L stirred-tank photobioreactors (STPBR) used light-emitting diodes as the light source, resulting in substantially reduced operational costs. The STPBR were operated at average optimal light intensity of 582.7 μmol.s(-1).m(-2), treating synthetic municipal wastewater containing approximately 250, 90 and 10 mg.L(-1) of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD), ammonium (NH4-N), and phosphate, respectively. The STPBR were maintained for 64 days without oxygen supplementation, but had a supply of CO2 (25 mL.min(-1), 25% v/v in N2). Relatively high SCOD removal efficiency (>70%) was achieved in all STPBR. Low operational cost was achieved by eliminating the need for mechanical aeration, with microalgal photosynthesis providing all oxygenation. The STPBR achieved an energy saving of up to 95%, compared to the conventional AS system. This study demonstrates that microalgal photobioreactors can provide effective WWT and carbon capture, simultaneously, in a system with potential for scaling-up to municipal WWT plants.

Broad-search algorithms for finding triple-and quadruple-satellite-aided captures at Jupiter from 2020 to 2080

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lynam, Alfred E.

2015-04-01

Multiple-satellite-aided capture is a -efficient technique for capturing a spacecraft into orbit at Jupiter. However, finding the times when the Galilean moons of Jupiter align such that three or four of them can be encountered in a single pass is difficult using standard astrodynamics algorithms such as Lambert's problem. In this paper, we present simple but powerful techniques that simplify the dynamics and geometry of the Galilean satellites so that many of these triple- and quadruple-satellite-aided capture sequences can be found quickly over an extended 60-year time period from 2020 to 2080. The techniques find many low-fidelity trajectories that could be used as initial guesses for future high-fidelity optimization. Results indicate the existence of approximately 3,100 unique triple-satellite-aided capture trajectories and 6 unique quadruple-satellite-aided capture trajectories during the 60-year time period. The entire search takes less than one minute of computational time.

Automated On-tip Affinity Capture Coupled with Mass Spectrometry to Characterize Intact Antibody-Drug Conjugates from Blood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ke Sherry; Chu, Phillip Y.; Fourie-O'Donohue, Aimee; Srikumar, Neha; Kozak, Katherine R.; Liu, Yichin; Tran, John C.

2018-05-01

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) present unique challenges for ligand-binding assays primarily due to the dynamic changes of the drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR) distribution in vivo and in vitro. Here, an automated on-tip affinity capture platform with subsequent mass spectrometry analysis was developed to accurately characterize the DAR distribution of ADCs from biological matrices. A variety of elution buffers were tested to offer optimal recovery, with trastuzumab serving as a surrogate to the ADCs. High assay repeatability (CV 3%) was achieved for trastuzumab antibody when captured below the maximal binding capacity of 7.5 μg. Efficient on-tip deglycosylation was also demonstrated in 1 h followed by affinity capture. Moreover, this tip-based platform affords higher throughput for DAR characterization when compared with a well-characterized bead-based method.

CO2 Removal from Biogas by Cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp. CChF1 Isolated from the Lake Chapala, Mexico: Optimization of the Temperature and Light Intensity.

PubMed

Choix, Francisco J; Snell-Castro, Raúl; Arreola-Vargas, Jorge; Carbajal-López, Alberto; Méndez-Acosta, Hugo O

2017-12-01

In the present study, the capacity of the cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp. CChF1 to remove CO 2 from real and synthetic biogas was evaluated. The identification of the cyanobacterium, isolated from the lake Chapala, was carried out by means of morphological and molecular analyses, while its potential for CO 2 removal from biogas streams was evaluated by kinetic experiments and optimized by a central composite design coupled to a response surface methodology. Results demonstrated that Leptolyngbya sp. CChF1 is able to remove CO 2 and grow indistinctly in real or synthetic biogas streams, showing tolerance to high concentrations of CO 2 and CH 4 , 25 and 75%, respectively. The characterization of the biomass composition at the end of the kinetic assays revealed that the main accumulated by-products under both biogas streams were lipids, followed by proteins and carbohydrates. Regarding the optimization experiments, light intensity and temperature were the studied variables, while synthetic biogas was the carbon source. Results showed that light intensity was significant for CO 2 capture efficiency (p = 0.0290), while temperature was significant for biomass production (p = 0.0024). The predicted CO 2 capture efficiency under optimal conditions (27.1 °C and 920 lx) was 93.48%. Overall, the results of the present study suggest that Leptolyngbya sp. CChF1 is a suitable candidate for biogas upgrading.

High purity microfluidic sorting and analysis of circulating tumor cells: towards routine mutation detection.

PubMed

Autebert, Julien; Coudert, Benoit; Champ, Jérôme; Saias, Laure; Guneri, Ezgi Tulukcuoglu; Lebofsky, Ronald; Bidard, François-Clément; Pierga, Jean-Yves; Farace, Françoise; Descroix, Stéphanie; Malaquin, Laurent; Viovy, Jean-Louis

2015-05-07

A new generation of the Ephesia cell capture technology optimized for CTC capture and genetic analysis is presented, characterized in depth and compared with the CellSearch system as a reference. This technology uses magnetic particles bearing tumour-cell specific EpCAM antibodies, self-assembled in a regular array in a microfluidic flow cell. 48,000 high aspect-ratio columns are generated using a magnetic field in a high throughput (>3 ml h(-1)) device and act as sieves to specifically capture the cells of interest through antibody-antigen interactions. Using this device optimized for CTC capture and analysis, we demonstrated the capture of epithelial cells with capture efficiency above 90% for concentrations as low as a few cells per ml. We showed the high specificity of capture with only 0.26% of non-epithelial cells captured for concentrations above 10 million cells per ml. We investigated the capture behavior of cells in the device, and correlated the cell attachment rate with the EpCAM expression on the cell membranes for six different cell lines. We developed and characterized a two-step blood processing method to allow for rapid processing of 10 ml blood tubes in less than 4 hours, and showed a capture rate of 70% for as low as 25 cells spiked in 10 ml blood tubes, with less than 100 contaminating hematopoietic cells. Using this device and procedure, we validated our system on patient samples using an automated cell immunostaining procedure and a semi-automated cell counting method. Our device captured CTCs in 75% of metastatic prostate cancer patients and 80% of metastatic breast cancer patients, and showed similar or better results than the CellSearch device in 10 out of 13 samples. Finally, we demonstrated the possibility of detecting cancer-related PIK3CA gene mutation in 20 cells captured in the chip with a good correlation between the cell count and the quantitation value Cq of the post-capture qPCR.

Image preprocessing for improving computational efficiency in implementation of restoration and superresolution algorithms.

PubMed

Sundareshan, Malur K; Bhattacharjee, Supratik; Inampudi, Radhika; Pang, Ho-Yuen

2002-12-10

Computational complexity is a major impediment to the real-time implementation of image restoration and superresolution algorithms in many applications. Although powerful restoration algorithms have been developed within the past few years utilizing sophisticated mathematical machinery (based on statistical optimization and convex set theory), these algorithms are typically iterative in nature and require a sufficient number of iterations to be executed to achieve the desired resolution improvement that may be needed to meaningfully perform postprocessing image exploitation tasks in practice. Additionally, recent technological breakthroughs have facilitated novel sensor designs (focal plane arrays, for instance) that make it possible to capture megapixel imagery data at video frame rates. A major challenge in the processing of these large-format images is to complete the execution of the image processing steps within the frame capture times and to keep up with the output rate of the sensor so that all data captured by the sensor can be efficiently utilized. Consequently, development of novel methods that facilitate real-time implementation of image restoration and superresolution algorithms is of significant practical interest and is the primary focus of this study. The key to designing computationally efficient processing schemes lies in strategically introducing appropriate preprocessing steps together with the superresolution iterations to tailor optimized overall processing sequences for imagery data of specific formats. For substantiating this assertion, three distinct methods for tailoring a preprocessing filter and integrating it with the superresolution processing steps are outlined. These methods consist of a region-of-interest extraction scheme, a background-detail separation procedure, and a scene-derived information extraction step for implementing a set-theoretic restoration of the image that is less demanding in computation compared with the superresolution iterations. A quantitative evaluation of the performance of these algorithms for restoring and superresolving various imagery data captured by diffraction-limited sensing operations are also presented.

A portable circulating tumor cell capture microdevice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Datar, Ram H.

2009-03-01

Sensitive detection of earliest metastatic spread of tumors in a minimally invasive and user-friendly manner will revolutionize the clinical management of cancer patients. The current methodologies for circulating tumor cell (CTC) capture and identification have significant limitations including time, cost, limited capture efficiency and lack of standardization. We have developed and optimized a novel parylene membrane filter-based portable microdevice for size-based isolation of CTC from human peripheral blood. Following characterization with a model system to study the recovery rate and enrichment factor, a comparison of the microdevice with the commercially available system using blood from cancer patients demonstrated superior recovery rate and the promise of clinical utility of the microdevice. The development of the microdevice and its potential clinical applicability will be discussed.

Multi-focused microlens array optimization and light field imaging study based on Monte Carlo method.

PubMed

Li, Tian-Jiao; Li, Sai; Yuan, Yuan; Liu, Yu-Dong; Xu, Chuan-Long; Shuai, Yong; Tan, He-Ping

2017-04-03

Plenoptic cameras are used for capturing flames in studies of high-temperature phenomena. However, simulations of plenoptic camera models can be used prior to the experiment improve experimental efficiency and reduce cost. In this work, microlens arrays, which are based on the established light field camera model, are optimized into a hexagonal structure with three types of microlenses. With this improved plenoptic camera model, light field imaging of static objects and flame are simulated using the calibrated parameters of the Raytrix camera (R29). The optimized models improve the image resolution, imaging screen utilization, and shooting range of depth of field.

Soft Snakes: Construction, Locomotion, and Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Branyan, Callie; Courier, Taylor; Fleming, Chloe; Remaley, Jacquelin; Hatton, Ross; Menguc, Yigit

We fabricated modular bidirectional silicone pneumatic actuators to build a soft snake robot, applying geometric models of serpenoid swimmers to identify theoretically optimal gaits to realize serpentine locomotion. With the introduction of magnetic connections and elliptical cross-sections in fiber-reinforced modules, we can vary the number of continuum segments in the snake body to achieve more supple serpentine motion in a granular media. The performance of these gaits is observed using a motion capture system and efficiency is assessed in terms of pressure input and net displacement. These gaits are optimized using our geometric soap-bubble method of gait optimization, demonstrating the applicability of this tool to soft robot control and coordination.

Effectiveness Testing of a Piezoelectric Energy Harvester for an Automobile Wheel Using Stochastic Resonance

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yunshun; Zheng, Rencheng; Shimono, Keisuke; Kaizuka, Tsutomu; Nakano, Kimihiko

2016-01-01

The collection of clean power from ambient vibrations is considered a promising method for energy harvesting. For the case of wheel rotation, the present study investigates the effectiveness of a piezoelectric energy harvester, with the application of stochastic resonance to optimize the efficiency of energy harvesting. It is hypothesized that when the wheel rotates at variable speeds, the energy harvester is subjected to on-road noise as ambient excitations and a tangentially acting gravity force as a periodic modulation force, which can stimulate stochastic resonance. The energy harvester was miniaturized with a bistable cantilever structure, and the on-road noise was measured for the implementation of a vibrator in an experimental setting. A validation experiment revealed that the harvesting system was optimized to capture power that was approximately 12 times that captured under only on-road noise excitation and 50 times that captured under only the periodic gravity force. Moreover, the investigation of up-sweep excitations with increasing rotational frequency confirmed that stochastic resonance is effective in optimizing the performance of the energy harvester, with a certain bandwidth of vehicle speeds. An actual-vehicle experiment validates that the prototype harvester using stochastic resonance is capable of improving power generation performance for practical tire application. PMID:27763522

Effectiveness Testing of a Piezoelectric Energy Harvester for an Automobile Wheel Using Stochastic Resonance.

PubMed

Zhang, Yunshun; Zheng, Rencheng; Shimono, Keisuke; Kaizuka, Tsutomu; Nakano, Kimihiko

2016-10-17

The collection of clean power from ambient vibrations is considered a promising method for energy harvesting. For the case of wheel rotation, the present study investigates the effectiveness of a piezoelectric energy harvester, with the application of stochastic resonance to optimize the efficiency of energy harvesting. It is hypothesized that when the wheel rotates at variable speeds, the energy harvester is subjected to on-road noise as ambient excitations and a tangentially acting gravity force as a periodic modulation force, which can stimulate stochastic resonance. The energy harvester was miniaturized with a bistable cantilever structure, and the on-road noise was measured for the implementation of a vibrator in an experimental setting. A validation experiment revealed that the harvesting system was optimized to capture power that was approximately 12 times that captured under only on-road noise excitation and 50 times that captured under only the periodic gravity force. Moreover, the investigation of up-sweep excitations with increasing rotational frequency confirmed that stochastic resonance is effective in optimizing the performance of the energy harvester, with a certain bandwidth of vehicle speeds. An actual-vehicle experiment validates that the prototype harvester using stochastic resonance is capable of improving power generation performance for practical tire application.

Salmon fishing by bears and the dawn of cooperative predation.

PubMed

Stringham, Stephen F

2012-11-01

Although bears are an epitome of solitary predation, black (Ursus americanus) and brown bears (U. arctos) occasionally act in pairs to capture salmon (Onchorynchous spp.). I sought to identify conditions that promote pairing and how this relates to optimal foraging. This study on Alaskan black bears assessed whether each mode of fishing (solo vs. paired) occurs mainly where it is most efficient at harvesting salmon--that is, whether modal group size (1 vs. 2) is also optimal size. Not in this case. Pairing increased captures per attempt (benefit/cost ratio = profitability) by up to 47% and captures per minute by up to 5.2-fold. Yet, the ratio of paired versus solo fishing was significantly lower than either profitability or chance explains. Modal group size was 1, optimal size was 2. This discrepancy did not result from intervention by other current benefits and costs, but from unnecessary defensiveness toward any rapidly approaching conspecific, even though it was chasing salmon, not threatening. For bears to regularly hunt cooperatively, they would have to more readily habituate to agonistic-like predatory actions, communicate intentions from > 10 m apart, and assess situational variations in benefit/cost ratios for solo versus paired hunting. It would be revealing to discover how social carnivores overcame these challenges.

Polymer optical fiber compound parabolic concentrator tip for enhanced coupling efficiency for fluorescence based glucose sensors

PubMed Central

Hassan, Hafeez Ul; Nielsen, Kristian; Aasmul, Soren; Bang, Ole

2015-01-01

We demonstrate that the light excitation and capturing efficiency of fluorescence based fiber-optical sensors can be significantly increased by using a CPC (Compound Parabolic Concentrator) tip instead of the standard plane-cut tip. We use Zemax modelling to find the optimum CPC tip profile and fiber length of a polymer optical fiber diabetes sensor for continuous monitoring of glucose levels. We experimentally verify the improved performance of the CPC tipped sensor and the predicted production tolerances. Due to physical size requirements when the sensor has to be inserted into the body a non-optimal fiber length of 35 mm is chosen. For this length an average improvement in efficiency of a factor of 1.7 is experimentally demonstrated and critically compared to the predicted ideal factor of 3 in terms of parameters that should be improved through production optimization. PMID:26713213

Polymer optical fiber compound parabolic concentrator tip for enhanced coupling efficiency for fluorescence based glucose sensors.

PubMed

Hassan, Hafeez Ul; Nielsen, Kristian; Aasmul, Soren; Bang, Ole

2015-12-01

We demonstrate that the light excitation and capturing efficiency of fluorescence based fiber-optical sensors can be significantly increased by using a CPC (Compound Parabolic Concentrator) tip instead of the standard plane-cut tip. We use Zemax modelling to find the optimum CPC tip profile and fiber length of a polymer optical fiber diabetes sensor for continuous monitoring of glucose levels. We experimentally verify the improved performance of the CPC tipped sensor and the predicted production tolerances. Due to physical size requirements when the sensor has to be inserted into the body a non-optimal fiber length of 35 mm is chosen. For this length an average improvement in efficiency of a factor of 1.7 is experimentally demonstrated and critically compared to the predicted ideal factor of 3 in terms of parameters that should be improved through production optimization.

Driver electronics design and control for a total artificial heart linear motor.

PubMed

Unthan, Kristin; Cuenca-Navalon, Elena; Pelletier, Benedikt; Finocchiaro, Thomas; Steinseifer, Ulrich

2018-01-27

For any implantable device size and efficiency are critical properties. Thus, a linear motor for a Total Artificial Heart was optimized with focus on driver electronics and control strategies. Hardware requirements were defined from power supply and motor setup. Four full bridges were chosen for the power electronics. Shunt resistors were set up for current measurement. Unipolar and bipolar switching for power electronics control were compared regarding current ripple and power losses. Here, unipolar switching showed smaller current ripple and required less power to create the necessary motor forces. Based on calculations for minimal power losses Lorentz force was distributed to the actor's four coils. The distribution was determined as ratio of effective magnetic flux through each coil, which was captured by a force test rig. Static and dynamic measurements under physiological conditions analyzed interaction of control and hardware and all efficiencies were over 89%. In conclusion, the designed electronics, optimized control strategy and applied current distribution create the required motor force and perform optimal under physiological conditions. The developed driver electronics and control offer optimized size and efficiency for any implantable or portable device with multiple independent motor coils. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Fabrication and application of a non-contact double-tapered optical fiber tweezers.

PubMed

Liu, Z L; Liu, Y X; Tang, Y; Zhang, N; Wu, F P; Zhang, B

2017-09-18

A double-tapered optical fiber tweezers (DOFTs) was fabricated by a chemical etching called interfacial layer etching. In this method, the second taper angle (STA) of DOFTs can be controlled easily by the interfacial layer etching time. Application of the DOFTs to the optical trapping of the yeast cells was presented. Effects of the STA on the axile trapping efficiency and the trapping position were investigated experimentally and theoretically. The experimental results are good agreement with the theoretical ones. The results demonstrated that the non-contact capture can be realized for the large STA (e.g. 90 deg) and there was an optimal axile trapping efficiency as the STA increasing. In order to obtain a more accurate measurement result of the trapping force, a correction factor to Stokes drag coefficient was introduced. This work provided a way of designing and fabricating an optical fiber tweezers (OFTs) with a high trapping efficient or a non-contact capture.

Optimization of Polyplex Formation between DNA Oligonucleotide and Poly(ʟ-Lysine): Experimental Study and Modeling Approach.

PubMed

Vasiliu, Tudor; Cojocaru, Corneliu; Rotaru, Alexandru; Pricope, Gabriela; Pinteala, Mariana; Clima, Lilia

2017-06-17

The polyplexes formed by nucleic acids and polycations have received a great attention owing to their potential application in gene therapy. In our study, we report experimental results and modeling outcomes regarding the optimization of polyplex formation between the double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and poly(ʟ-Lysine) (PLL). The quantification of the binding efficiency during polyplex formation was performed by processing of the images captured from the gel electrophoresis assays. The design of experiments (DoE) and response surface methodology (RSM) were employed to investigate the coupling effect of key factors (pH and N/P ratio) affecting the binding efficiency. According to the experimental observations and response surface analysis, the N/P ratio showed a major influence on binding efficiency compared to pH. Model-based optimization calculations along with the experimental confirmation runs unveiled the maximal binding efficiency (99.4%) achieved at pH 5.4 and N/P ratio 125. To support the experimental data and reveal insights of molecular mechanism responsible for the polyplex formation between dsDNA and PLL, molecular dynamics simulations were performed at pH 5.4 and 7.4.

Optimization of Polyplex Formation between DNA Oligonucleotide and Poly(l-Lysine): Experimental Study and Modeling Approach

PubMed Central

Vasiliu, Tudor; Cojocaru, Corneliu; Rotaru, Alexandru; Pricope, Gabriela; Pinteala, Mariana; Clima, Lilia

2017-01-01

The polyplexes formed by nucleic acids and polycations have received a great attention owing to their potential application in gene therapy. In our study, we report experimental results and modeling outcomes regarding the optimization of polyplex formation between the double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and poly(l-Lysine) (PLL). The quantification of the binding efficiency during polyplex formation was performed by processing of the images captured from the gel electrophoresis assays. The design of experiments (DoE) and response surface methodology (RSM) were employed to investigate the coupling effect of key factors (pH and N/P ratio) affecting the binding efficiency. According to the experimental observations and response surface analysis, the N/P ratio showed a major influence on binding efficiency compared to pH. Model-based optimization calculations along with the experimental confirmation runs unveiled the maximal binding efficiency (99.4%) achieved at pH 5.4 and N/P ratio 125. To support the experimental data and reveal insights of molecular mechanism responsible for the polyplex formation between dsDNA and PLL, molecular dynamics simulations were performed at pH 5.4 and 7.4. PMID:28629130

Effects of trap design and placement on capture of emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis

Treesearch

Joseph A. Francese; Jason B. Oliver; Ivich Fraser; Nadeer Youssef; David R. Lance; Damon J. Crook; Victor C. Mastro

2007-01-01

The ongoing objective of this research is to develop a trap that can improve the sensitivity and efficiency of emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) Fairmaire (EAB) survey and aid the overall program in achieving its goals. As part of this work, we sought to determine the optimal location for trap placement. First we placed...

Variation in capture efficiency of a beach seine for small fishes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Parsley, M.J.; Palmer, D.E.; Burkhardt, R.W.

1989-01-01

We determined the capture efficiency of a beach seine as a means of improving abundance estimates of small fishes in littoral areas. Capture efficiency for 14 taxa (individual species or species groups) was determined by seining within an enclosure at night over fine and coarse substrates in the John Day Reservoir, Oregon–Washington. Mean efficiency ranged from 12% for prickly sculpin Cottus asper captured over coarse substrates to 96% for peamouth Mylocheilus caurinus captured over fine substrates. Mean capture efficiency for a taxon (genus or species) was generally higher over fine substrates than over coarse substrates, although mean capture efficiencies over fine substrates were significantly greater for only 3 of 10 taxa. Capture efficiency generally was not influenced by fish density or by water temperature (range, 8–26°C). Conclusions about the relative abundance of taxa captured by seining can change substantially after capture efficiencies are taken into account.

Study on the ultrasonic inspection method using the full matrix capture for the in service railway wheel

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

Peng, Jianping; Wang, Li; Zhang, Yu

The quality of wheel is especially important for the safety of high speed railway. In this paper, a new ultrasonic array inspection method, the Full Matrix Capture (FMC) has been studied and applied to the high speed railway wheel inspection, especially in the wheel web from the tread. Firstly, the principle of FMC and TFM algorithm is discussed, and then the new optimization is applied to the standard FMC; Secondly the fundamentals of optimization is described in detail and the performance is analyzed. Finally, the experiment has been built with a standard phased array block and railway wheel, and thenmore » the testing results are discussed and analyzed. It is demonstrated that this change for the ultrasonic data acquisition and image reconstruction has higher efficiency and lower cost comparing to the FMC's procedure.« less

Radiation shielding evaluation of the BNCT treatment room at THOR: a TORT-coupled MCNP Monte Carlo simulation study.

PubMed

Chen, A Y; Liu, Y-W H; Sheu, R J

2008-01-01

This study investigates the radiation shielding design of the treatment room for boron neutron capture therapy at Tsing Hua Open-pool Reactor using "TORT-coupled MCNP" method. With this method, the computational efficiency is improved significantly by two to three orders of magnitude compared to the analog Monte Carlo MCNP calculation. This makes the calculation feasible using a single CPU in less than 1 day. Further optimization of the photon weight windows leads to additional 50-75% improvement in the overall computational efficiency.

Choices of capture chromatography technology in antibody manufacturing processes.

PubMed

DiLeo, Michael; Ley, Arthur; Nixon, Andrew E; Chen, Jie

2017-11-15

The capture process employed in monoclonal antibody downstream purification is not only the most critically impacted process by increased antibody titer resulting from optimized mammalian cell culture expression systems, but also the most important purification step in determining overall process throughput, product quality, and economics. Advances in separation technology for capturing antibodies from complex feedstocks have been one focus of downstream purification process innovation for past 10 years. In this study, we evaluated new generation chromatography resins used in the antibody capture process including Protein A, cation exchange, and mixed mode chromatography to address the benefits and unique challenges posed by each chromatography approach. Our results demonstrate the benefit of improved binding capacity of new generation Protein A resins, address the concern of high concentration surge caused aggregation when using new generation cation exchange resins with over 100mg/mL binding capacity, and highlight the potential of multimodal cation exchange resins for capture process design. The new landscape of capture chromatography technologies provides options to achieve overall downstream purification outcome with high product quality and process efficiency. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

Toriello, Nicholas M.; Douglas, Erik S.; Mathies, Richard A.

A microchip that performs directed capture and chemical activation of surface-modified single-cells has been developed. The cell-capture system is comprised of interdigitated gold electrodes microfabricated on a glass substrate within PDMS channels. The cell surface is labeled with thiol functional groups using endogenous RGD receptors and adhesion to exposed gold pads on the electrodes is directed by applying a driving electric potential. Multiple cell types can thus be sequentially and selectively captured on desired electrodes. Single-cell capture efficiency is optimized by varying the duration of field application. Maximum single-cell capture is attained for the 10 min trial, with 63+-9 percentmore » (n=30) of the electrode pad rows having a single cell. In activation studies, single M1WT3 CHO cells loaded with the calcium-sensitive dye fluo-4 AM were captured; exposure to the muscarinic agonist carbachol increased the fluorescence to 220+-74percent (n=79) of the original intensity. These results demonstrate the ability to direct the adhesion of selected living single cells on electrodes in a microfluidic device and to analyze their response to chemical stimuli.« less

An approach for aerodynamic optimization of transonic fan blades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khelghatibana, Maryam

Aerodynamic design optimization of transonic fan blades is a highly challenging problem due to the complexity of flow field inside the fan, the conflicting design requirements and the high-dimensional design space. In order to address all these challenges, an aerodynamic design optimization method is developed in this study. This method automates the design process by integrating a geometrical parameterization method, a CFD solver and numerical optimization methods that can be applied to both single and multi-point optimization design problems. A multi-level blade parameterization is employed to modify the blade geometry. Numerical analyses are performed by solving 3D RANS equations combined with SST turbulence model. Genetic algorithms and hybrid optimization methods are applied to solve the optimization problem. In order to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the optimization method, a singlepoint optimization problem aiming to maximize design efficiency is formulated and applied to redesign a test case. However, transonic fan blade design is inherently a multi-faceted problem that deals with several objectives such as efficiency, stall margin, and choke margin. The proposed multi-point optimization method in the current study is formulated as a bi-objective problem to maximize design and near-stall efficiencies while maintaining the required design pressure ratio. Enhancing these objectives significantly deteriorate the choke margin, specifically at high rotational speeds. Therefore, another constraint is embedded in the optimization problem in order to prevent the reduction of choke margin at high speeds. Since capturing stall inception is numerically very expensive, stall margin has not been considered as an objective in the problem statement. However, improving near-stall efficiency results in a better performance at stall condition, which could enhance the stall margin. An investigation is therefore performed on the Pareto-optimal solutions to demonstrate the relation between near-stall efficiency and stall margin. The proposed method is applied to redesign NASA rotor 67 for single and multiple operating conditions. The single-point design optimization showed +0.28 points improvement of isentropic efficiency at design point, while the design pressure ratio and mass flow are, respectively, within 0.12% and 0.11% of the reference blade. Two cases of multi-point optimization are performed: First, the proposed multi-point optimization problem is relaxed by removing the choke margin constraint in order to demonstrate the relation between near-stall efficiency and stall margin. An investigation on the Pareto-optimal solutions of this optimization shows that the stall margin has been increased with improving near-stall efficiency. The second multi-point optimization case is performed with considering all the objectives and constraints. One selected optimized design on the Pareto front presents +0.41, +0.56 and +0.9 points improvement in near-peak efficiency, near-stall efficiency and stall margin, respectively. The design pressure ratio and mass flow are, respectively, within 0.3% and 0.26% of the reference blade. Moreover the optimized design maintains the required choking margin. Detailed aerodynamic analyses are performed to investigate the effect of shape optimization on shock occurrence, secondary flows, tip leakage and shock/tip-leakage interactions in both single and multi-point optimizations.

Removal of malaria-infected red blood cells using magnetic cell separators: A computational study

PubMed Central

Kim, Jeongho; Massoudi, Mehrdad; Antaki, James F.; Gandini, Alberto

2012-01-01

High gradient magnetic field separators have been widely used in a variety of biological applications. Recently, the use of magnetic separators to remove malaria-infected red blood cells (pRBCs) from blood circulation in patients with severe malaria has been proposed in a dialysis-like treatment. The capture efficiency of this process depends on many interrelated design variables and constraints such as magnetic pole array pitch, chamber height, and flow rate. In this paper, we model the malaria-infected RBCs (pRBCs) as paramagnetic particles suspended in a Newtonian fluid. Trajectories of the infected cells are numerically calculated inside a micro-channel exposed to a periodic magnetic field gradient. First-order stiff ordinary differential equations (ODEs) governing the trajectory of particles under periodic magnetic fields due to an array of wires are solved numerically using the 1st –5th order adaptive step Runge-Kutta solver. The numerical experiments show that in order to achieve a capture efficiency of 99% for the pRBCs it is required to have a longer length than 80 mm; this implies that in principle, using optimization techniques the length could be adjusted, i.e., shortened to achieve 99% capture efficiency of the pRBCs. PMID:22345827

Location of Biomarkers and Reagents within Agarose Beads of a Programmable Bio-nano-chip

PubMed Central

Jokerst, Jesse V.; Chou, Jie; Camp, James P.; Wong, Jorge; Lennart, Alexis; Pollard, Amanda A.; Floriano, Pierre N.; Christodoulides, Nicolaos; Simmons, Glennon W.; Zhou, Yanjie; Ali, Mehnaaz F.

2012-01-01

The slow development of cost-effective medical microdevices with strong analytical performance characteristics is due to a lack of selective and efficient analyte capture and signaling. The recently developed programmable bio-nano-chip (PBNC) is a flexible detection device with analytical behavior rivaling established macroscopic methods. The PBNC system employs ≈300 μm-diameter bead sensors composed of agarose “nanonets” that populate a microelectromechanical support structure with integrated microfluidic elements. The beads are an efficient and selective protein-capture medium suitable for the analysis of complex fluid samples. Microscopy and computational studies probe the 3D interior of the beads. The relative contributions that the capture and detection of moieties, analyte size, and bead porosity make to signal distribution and intensity are reported. Agarose pore sizes ranging from 45 to 620 nm are examined and those near 140 nm provide optimal transport characteristics for rapid (<15 min) tests. The system exhibits efficient (99.5%) detection of bead-bound analyte along with low (≈2%) nonspecific immobilization of the detection probe for carcinoembryonic antigen assay. Furthermore, the role analyte dimensions play in signal distribution is explored, and enhanced methods for assay building that consider the unique features of biomarker size are offered. PMID:21290601

Process for CO.sub.2 capture using zeolites from high pressure and moderate temperature gas streams

DOEpatents

Siriwardane, Ranjani V [Morgantown, WV; Stevens, Robert W [Morgantown, WV

2012-03-06

A method for separating CO.sub.2 from a gas stream comprised of CO.sub.2 and other gaseous constituents using a zeolite sorbent in a swing-adsorption process, producing a high temperature CO.sub.2 stream at a higher CO.sub.2 pressure than the input gas stream. The method utilizes CO.sub.2 desorption in a CO.sub.2 atmosphere and effectively integrates heat transfers for optimizes overall efficiency. H.sub.2O adsorption does not preclude effective operation of the sorbent. The cycle may be incorporated in an IGCC for efficient pre-combustion CO.sub.2 capture. A particular application operates on shifted syngas at a temperature exceeding 200.degree. C. and produces a dry CO.sub.2 stream at low temperature and high CO.sub.2 pressure, greatly reducing any compression energy requirements which may be subsequently required.

40 CFR 63.5875 - How do I determine the capture efficiency of the enclosure on my wet-out area and the capture...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... efficiency of the enclosure on my wet-out area and the capture efficiency of my oven(s) for continuous... efficiency of the enclosure on my wet-out area and the capture efficiency of my oven(s) for continuous lamination/casting operations? (a) The capture efficiency of a wet-out area enclosure is assumed to be 100...

An Example-Based Super-Resolution Algorithm for Selfie Images

PubMed Central

William, Jino Hans; Venkateswaran, N.; Narayanan, Srinath; Ramachandran, Sandeep

2016-01-01

A selfie is typically a self-portrait captured using the front camera of a smartphone. Most state-of-the-art smartphones are equipped with a high-resolution (HR) rear camera and a low-resolution (LR) front camera. As selfies are captured by front camera with limited pixel resolution, the fine details in it are explicitly missed. This paper aims to improve the resolution of selfies by exploiting the fine details in HR images captured by rear camera using an example-based super-resolution (SR) algorithm. HR images captured by rear camera carry significant fine details and are used as an exemplar to train an optimal matrix-value regression (MVR) operator. The MVR operator serves as an image-pair priori which learns the correspondence between the LR-HR patch-pairs and is effectively used to super-resolve LR selfie images. The proposed MVR algorithm avoids vectorization of image patch-pairs and preserves image-level information during both learning and recovering process. The proposed algorithm is evaluated for its efficiency and effectiveness both qualitatively and quantitatively with other state-of-the-art SR algorithms. The results validate that the proposed algorithm is efficient as it requires less than 3 seconds to super-resolve LR selfie and is effective as it preserves sharp details without introducing any counterfeit fine details. PMID:27064500

Designing capture trajectories to unstable periodic orbits around Europa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, Ryan P.; Lam, Try

2006-01-01

The hostile environment of third body perturbations restricts a mission designer's ability to find well-behaved reproducible capture trajectories when dealing with limited control authority as is typical with low-thrust missions. The approach outlined in this paper confronts this shortcoming by utilizing dynamical systems theory and an extensive preexisting database of Restricted Three Body Problem (RTBP) periodic orbits. The stable manifolds of unstable periodic orbits are utilized to attract a spacecraft towards Europa. By selecting an appropriate periodic orbit, a mission designer can control important characteristics of the captured state including stability, minimum altitudes, characteristic inclinations, and characteristic radii among others. Several free parameters are optimized in the non-trivial mapping from the RTBP to a more realistic model. Although the ephemeris capture orbit is ballistic by design, low-thrust is used to target the state that leads to the capture orbit, control the spacecraft after arriving on the unstable quasi-periodic orbit, and begin the spiral down towards the science orbit. The approach allows a mission designer to directly target fuel efficient captures at Europa in an ephemeris model. Furthermore, it provides structure and controllability to the design of capture trajectories that reside in a chaotic environment.

40 CFR 63.9322 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... capture system efficiency? 63.9322 Section 63.9322 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... capture system efficiency? You must use the procedures and test methods in this section to determine capture efficiency as part of the performance test required by § 63.9310. (a) Assuming 100 percent capture...

40 CFR 63.9322 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... capture system efficiency? 63.9322 Section 63.9322 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... capture system efficiency? You must use the procedures and test methods in this section to determine capture efficiency as part of the performance test required by § 63.9310. (a) Assuming 100 percent capture...

40 CFR 63.3554 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... system efficiency? 63.3554 Section 63.3554 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... Requirements for the Control Efficiency/outlet Concentration Option § 63.3554 How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency? The capture efficiency of your emission capture system must be 100 percent to...

40 CFR 63.3554 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... system efficiency? 63.3554 Section 63.3554 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... Requirements for the Control Efficiency/outlet Concentration Option § 63.3554 How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency? The capture efficiency of your emission capture system must be 100 percent to...

Large-scale optimal control of interconnected natural gas and electrical transmission systems

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

Chiang, Nai-Yuan; Zavala, Victor M.

2016-04-01

We present a detailed optimal control model that captures spatiotemporal interactions between gas and electric transmission networks. We use the model to study flexibility and economic opportunities provided by coordination. A large-scale case study in the Illinois system reveals that coordination can enable the delivery of significantly larger amounts of natural gas to the power grid. In particular, under a coordinated setting, gas-fired generators act as distributed demand response resources that can be controlled by the gas pipeline operator. This enables more efficient control of pressures and flows in space and time and overcomes delivery bottlenecks. We demonstrate that themore » additional flexibility not only can benefit the gas operator but can also lead to more efficient power grid operations and results in increased revenue for gas-fired power plants. We also use the optimal control model to analyze computational issues arising in these complex models. We demonstrate that the interconnected Illinois system with full physical resolution gives rise to a highly nonlinear optimal control problem with 4400 differential and algebraic equations and 1040 controls that can be solved with a state-of-the-art sparse optimization solver. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.« less

Experimental design, modeling and optimization of polyplex formation between DNA oligonucleotides and branched polyethylenimine.

PubMed

Clima, Lilia; Ursu, Elena L; Cojocaru, Corneliu; Rotaru, Alexandru; Barboiu, Mihail; Pinteala, Mariana

2015-09-28

The complexes formed by DNA and polycations have received great attention owing to their potential application in gene therapy. In this study, the binding efficiency between double-stranded oligonucleotides (dsDNA) and branched polyethylenimine (B-PEI) has been quantified by processing of the images captured from the gel electrophoresis assays. The central composite experimental design has been employed to investigate the effects of controllable factors on the binding efficiency. On the basis of experimental data and the response surface methodology, a multivariate regression model has been constructed and statistically validated. The model has enabled us to predict the binding efficiency depending on experimental factors, such as concentrations of dsDNA and B-PEI as well as the initial pH of solution. The optimization of the binding process has been performed using simplex and gradient methods. The optimal conditions determined for polyplex formation have yielded a maximal binding efficiency close to 100%. In order to reveal the mechanism of complex formation at the atomic-scale, a molecular dynamic simulation has been carried out. According to the computation results, B-PEI amine hydrogen atoms have interacted with oxygen atoms from dsDNA phosphate groups. These interactions have led to the formation of hydrogen bonds between macromolecules, stabilizing the polyplex structure.

Role of Pectoral Fin Flexibility in Robotic Fish Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazaz Behbahani, Sanaz; Tan, Xiaobo

2017-08-01

Pectoral fins play a vital role in the maneuvering and locomotion of fish, and they have become an important actuation mechanism for robotic fish. In this paper, we explore the effect of flexibility of robotic fish pectoral fins on the robot locomotion performance and mechanical efficiency. A dynamic model for the robotic fish is presented, where the flexible fin is modeled as multiple rigid elements connected via torsional springs and dampers. Blade element theory is used to capture the hydrodynamic force on the fin. The model is validated with experimental results obtained on a robotic fish prototype, equipped with 3D-printed fins of different flexibility. The model is then used to analyze the impacts of fin flexibility and power/recovery stroke speed ratio on the robot swimming speed and mechanical efficiency. It is found that, in general, flexible fins demonstrate advantages over rigid fins in speed and efficiency at relatively low fin-beat frequencies, while rigid fins outperform flexible fins at higher frequencies. For a given fin flexibility, the optimal frequency for speed performance differs from the optimal frequency for mechanical efficiency. In addition, for any given fin, there is an optimal power/recovery stroke speed ratio, typically in the range of 2-3, that maximizes the speed performance. Overall, the presented model offers a promising tool for fin flexibility and gait design, to achieve speed and efficiency objectives for robotic fish actuated with pectoral fins.

Efficacy of Fluon conditioning for capturing cerambycid beetles in different trap designs and rersistence on panel traps over time

Treesearch

Elizabeth E. Graham; Therese M. Poland

2012-01-01

Fluon PTFE is a fluoropolymer dispersion applied as a surface conditioner to cross-vane panel traps to enhance trap efficiency for cerambycid beetles. We describe the results of three experiments to further optimize cerambycid traps of different designs and to test the effect of Fluon over time. We tested Fluon with Lindgren funnel and panel traps fitted with either...

Nonlinear Dynamic Model-Based Multiobjective Sensor Network Design Algorithm for a Plant with an Estimator-Based Control System

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

Paul, Prokash; Bhattacharyya, Debangsu; Turton, Richard

Here, a novel sensor network design (SND) algorithm is developed for maximizing process efficiency while minimizing sensor network cost for a nonlinear dynamic process with an estimator-based control system. The multiobjective optimization problem is solved following a lexicographic approach where the process efficiency is maximized first followed by minimization of the sensor network cost. The partial net present value, which combines the capital cost due to the sensor network and the operating cost due to deviation from the optimal efficiency, is proposed as an alternative objective. The unscented Kalman filter is considered as the nonlinear estimator. The large-scale combinatorial optimizationmore » problem is solved using a genetic algorithm. The developed SND algorithm is applied to an acid gas removal (AGR) unit as part of an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant with CO 2 capture. Due to the computational expense, a reduced order nonlinear model of the AGR process is identified and parallel computation is performed during implementation.« less

Light-efficient photography.

PubMed

Hasinoff, Samuel W; Kutulakos, Kiriakos N

2011-11-01

In this paper, we consider the problem of imaging a scene with a given depth of field at a given exposure level in the shortest amount of time possible. We show that by 1) collecting a sequence of photos and 2) controlling the aperture, focus, and exposure time of each photo individually, we can span the given depth of field in less total time than it takes to expose a single narrower-aperture photo. Using this as a starting point, we obtain two key results. First, for lenses with continuously variable apertures, we derive a closed-form solution for the globally optimal capture sequence, i.e., that collects light from the specified depth of field in the most efficient way possible. Second, for lenses with discrete apertures, we derive an integer programming problem whose solution is the optimal sequence. Our results are applicable to off-the-shelf cameras and typical photography conditions, and advocate the use of dense, wide-aperture photo sequences as a light-efficient alternative to single-shot, narrow-aperture photography.

Nonlinear Dynamic Model-Based Multiobjective Sensor Network Design Algorithm for a Plant with an Estimator-Based Control System

DOE PAGES

Paul, Prokash; Bhattacharyya, Debangsu; Turton, Richard; ...

2017-06-06

Here, a novel sensor network design (SND) algorithm is developed for maximizing process efficiency while minimizing sensor network cost for a nonlinear dynamic process with an estimator-based control system. The multiobjective optimization problem is solved following a lexicographic approach where the process efficiency is maximized first followed by minimization of the sensor network cost. The partial net present value, which combines the capital cost due to the sensor network and the operating cost due to deviation from the optimal efficiency, is proposed as an alternative objective. The unscented Kalman filter is considered as the nonlinear estimator. The large-scale combinatorial optimizationmore » problem is solved using a genetic algorithm. The developed SND algorithm is applied to an acid gas removal (AGR) unit as part of an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant with CO 2 capture. Due to the computational expense, a reduced order nonlinear model of the AGR process is identified and parallel computation is performed during implementation.« less

Evaluation of microplate immunocapture method for detection of Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella Typhi and Shigella flexneri from food.

PubMed

Fakruddin, Md; Hossain, Md Nur; Ahmed, Monzur Morshed

2017-08-29

Improved methods with better separation and concentration ability for detection of foodborne pathogens are in constant need. The aim of this study was to evaluate microplate immunocapture (IC) method for detection of Salmonella Typhi, Shigella flexneri and Vibrio cholerae from food samples to provide a better alternative to conventional culture based methods. The IC method was optimized for incubation time, bacterial concentration, and capture efficiency. 6 h incubation and log 6 CFU/ml cell concentration provided optimal results. The method was shown to be highly specific for the pathogens concerned. Capture efficiency (CE) was around 100% of the target pathogens, whereas CE was either zero or very low for non-target pathogens. The IC method also showed better pathogen detection ability at different concentrations of cells from artificially contaminated food samples in comparison with culture based methods. Performance parameter of the method was also comparable (Detection limit- 25 CFU/25 g; sensitivity 100%; specificity-96.8%; Accuracy-96.7%), even better than culture based methods (Detection limit- 125 CFU/25 g; sensitivity 95.9%; specificity-97%; Accuracy-96.2%). The IC method poses to be the potential to be used as a method of choice for detection of foodborne pathogens in routine laboratory practice after proper validation.

Tilted pillar array fabrication by the combination of proton beam writing and soft lithography for microfluidic cell capture Part 2: Image sequence analysis based evaluation and biological application.

PubMed

Járvás, Gábor; Varga, Tamás; Szigeti, Márton; Hajba, László; Fürjes, Péter; Rajta, István; Guttman, András

2018-02-01

As a continuation of our previously published work, this paper presents a detailed evaluation of a microfabricated cell capture device utilizing a doubly tilted micropillar array. The device was fabricated using a novel hybrid technology based on the combination of proton beam writing and conventional lithography techniques. Tilted pillars offer unique flow characteristics and support enhanced fluidic interaction for improved immunoaffinity based cell capture. The performance of the microdevice was evaluated by an image sequence analysis based in-house developed single-cell tracking system. Individual cell tracking allowed in-depth analysis of the cell-chip surface interaction mechanism from hydrodynamic point of view. Simulation results were validated by using the hybrid device and the optimized surface functionalization procedure. Finally, the cell capture capability of this new generation microdevice was demonstrated by efficiently arresting cells from a HT29 cell-line suspension. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

UiO-66 and its Br-modified derivates for elemental mercury removal.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiao; Shen, Boxiong; Zhu, Sheaowen; Xu, Huan; Tian, Linghui

2016-12-15

Phenyl bromine-appended metal-organic frameworks (Br-MOFs) were synthesized and applied in elemental mercury (Hg 0 ) removal from simulated flue gas, considering the stability of bromine on the materials at the same time. The techniques of PXRD, nitrogen adsorption, TGA and XPS were used to characterize the materials. Phenyl bromide on the MOFs was the main active site for Hg 0 capture. The optimal Br-MOF showed high Hg 0 removal efficiency of more than 99% for 48h at 200°C, whereas the efficiency of un-functionalized MOF and conventional bromine impregnated active carbon dropped to 59.8% and 91.2% within 5h, respectively. The crystalline integrity of the Br-MOF was maintained after Hg 0 adsorption. Br-MOF exhibited enhanced Hg 0 removal efficiency when SO 2 was introduced to the flue gas. However, exposure Br-MOF to flue gas with steam resulted in low Hg 0 removal efficiency. Bromine leaching experiments proved that Br-MOFs have high bromine stability over the Hg 0 adsorption process, avoiding the possible bromine pollution caused by the conventional bromine impregnated adsorbents. All of these results demonstrated the phenyl bromine-appended MOFs to be potential Hg 0 adsorbent regarding its high Hg 0 capture efficiency and low environmental risk. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A framework for optimization and quantification of uncertainty and sensitivity for developing carbon capture systems

DOE PAGES

Eslick, John C.; Ng, Brenda; Gao, Qianwen; ...

2014-12-31

Under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Capture Simulation Initiative (CCSI), a Framework for Optimization and Quantification of Uncertainty and Sensitivity (FOQUS) has been developed. This tool enables carbon capture systems to be rapidly synthesized and rigorously optimized, in an environment that accounts for and propagates uncertainties in parameters and models. FOQUS currently enables (1) the development of surrogate algebraic models utilizing the ALAMO algorithm, which can be used for superstructure optimization to identify optimal process configurations, (2) simulation-based optimization utilizing derivative free optimization (DFO) algorithms with detailed black-box process models, and (3) rigorous uncertainty quantification throughmore » PSUADE. FOQUS utilizes another CCSI technology, the Turbine Science Gateway, to manage the thousands of simulated runs necessary for optimization and UQ. Thus, this computational framework has been demonstrated for the design and analysis of a solid sorbent based carbon capture system.« less

Folic Acid Targeting for Efficient Isolation and Detection of Ovarian Cancer CTCs from Human Whole Blood Based on Two-Step Binding Strategy.

PubMed

Nie, Liju; Li, Fulai; Huang, Xiaolin; Aguilar, Zoraida P; Wang, Yongqiang Andrew; Xiong, Yonghua; Fu, Fen; Xu, Hengyi

2018-04-25

Studies regarding circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have great significance for cancer prognosis, treatment monitoring, and metastasis diagnosis. However, due to their extremely low concentration in peripheral blood, isolation and enrichment of CTCs are the key steps for early detection. To this end, targeting the folic acid receptors (FRs) on the CTC surface for capture with folic acid (FA) using bovine serum albumin (BSA)-tether for multibiotin enhancement in combination with streptavidin-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs-SA) was developed for ovarian cancer CTC isolation. The streptavidin-biotin-system-mediated two-step binding strategy was shown to capture CTCs from whole blood efficiently without the need for a pretreatment process. The optimized parameters for this system exhibited an average capture efficiency of 80%, which was 25% higher than that of FA-decorated magnetic nanoparticles based on the one-step CTC separation method. Moreover, the isolated cells remained highly viable and were cultured directly without detachment from the MNPs-SA-biotin-CTC complex. Furthermore, when the system was applied for the isolation and detection of CTCs in ovarian cancer patients' peripheral blood samples, it exhibited an 80% correlation with clinical diagnostic criteria. The results indicated that FA targeting, in combination with BSA-based multibiotin enhancement magnetic nanoparticle separation, is a promising tool for CTC enrichment and detection of early-stage ovarian cancer.

Effects of species-specific leaf characteristics and reduced water availability on fine particle capture efficiency of trees.

PubMed

Räsänen, Janne V; Holopainen, Toini; Joutsensaari, Jorma; Ndam, Collins; Pasanen, Pertti; Rinnan, Åsmund; Kivimäenpää, Minna

2013-12-01

Trees can improve air quality by capturing particles in their foliage. We determined the particle capture efficiencies of coniferous Pinus sylvestris and three broadleaved species: Betula pendula, Betula pubescens and Tilia vulgaris in a wind tunnel using NaCl particles. The importance of leaf surface structure, physiology and moderate soil drought on the particle capture efficiencies of the trees were determined. The results confirm earlier findings of more efficient particle capture by conifers compared to broadleaved plants. The particle capture efficiency of P. sylvestris (0.21%) was significantly higher than those of B. pubescens, T. vulgaris and B. pendula (0.083%, 0.047%, 0.043%, respectively). The small leaf size of P. sylvestris was the major characteristic that increased particle capture. Among the broadleaved species, low leaf wettability, low stomatal density and leaf hairiness increased particle capture. Moderate soil drought tended to increase particle capture efficiency of P. sylvestris. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantified Event Automata: Towards Expressive and Efficient Runtime Monitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barringer, Howard; Falcone, Ylies; Havelund, Klaus; Reger, Giles; Rydeheard, David

2012-01-01

Runtime verification is the process of checking a property on a trace of events produced by the execution of a computational system. Runtime verification techniques have recently focused on parametric specifications where events take data values as parameters. These techniques exist on a spectrum inhabited by both efficient and expressive techniques. These characteristics are usually shown to be conflicting - in state-of-the-art solutions, efficiency is obtained at the cost of loss of expressiveness and vice-versa. To seek a solution to this conflict we explore a new point on the spectrum by defining an alternative runtime verification approach.We introduce a new formalism for concisely capturing expressive specifications with parameters. Our technique is more expressive than the currently most efficient techniques while at the same time allowing for optimizations.

Immunomagnetic separation for MEMS-based biosensor of waterborne pathogens detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jianjiang; Zhang, Rongbiao

2017-07-01

Rapid isolation and detection of special pathogens present in environmental drinking water is critical for water quality monitoring. Numerical analysis and experimental investigations on immunomagnetic capture and isolation of waterborne pathogens with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in microfluidic channel are performed. A finite-element COMSOL-based model is established to demonstrate the novel method of on-chip capturing pathogens using MNPs together with periodic pulse magnetic field. Simulation results determine the optimum magnetic pole current and switching frequency for magnetic separation. With the magnetic isolation experiment platform built up, as a pathogen example of Escherichia coli O157:H7, the performance of the method is experimentally verified. Both numerical and experimental results are found to agree reasonably well. Results of these investigations show that the capture efficiency of the immunomagnetic separation method is more than 92%, which could be encouraging for the design and optimization of MEMS-based biosensor of waterborne pathogen detection.

A non-linear data mining parameter selection algorithm for continuous variables

PubMed Central

Razavi, Marianne; Brady, Sean

2017-01-01

In this article, we propose a new data mining algorithm, by which one can both capture the non-linearity in data and also find the best subset model. To produce an enhanced subset of the original variables, a preferred selection method should have the potential of adding a supplementary level of regression analysis that would capture complex relationships in the data via mathematical transformation of the predictors and exploration of synergistic effects of combined variables. The method that we present here has the potential to produce an optimal subset of variables, rendering the overall process of model selection more efficient. This algorithm introduces interpretable parameters by transforming the original inputs and also a faithful fit to the data. The core objective of this paper is to introduce a new estimation technique for the classical least square regression framework. This new automatic variable transformation and model selection method could offer an optimal and stable model that minimizes the mean square error and variability, while combining all possible subset selection methodology with the inclusion variable transformations and interactions. Moreover, this method controls multicollinearity, leading to an optimal set of explanatory variables. PMID:29131829

Numerical Analysis of Neutral Entrainment Effect on Field-Reversed Configuration Thruster Efficiency

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

and acceleration. Whereas such a high Isp may be highly desirable for deep space missions, the low - Earth - orbit and geosynchronous- Earth - orbit ...Due to the aforementioned factors, the optimal conditions are achieved for low -Z plasma at high (∼50 eV) temperature and in strong magnetic fields...cannot capture strongly nonequilibrium velocity distributions of charged and neutral species typical for high-energy plasma –neutral interaction . A

Tethered catalysts for the hydration of carbon dioxide

DOEpatents

Valdez, Carlos A; Satcher, Jr., Joe H; Aines, Roger D; Wong, Sergio E; Baker, Sarah E; Lightstone, Felice C; Stolaroff, Joshuah K

2014-11-04

A system is provided that substantially increases the efficiency of CO.sub.2 capture and removal by positioning a catalyst within an optimal distance from the air-liquid interface. The catalyst is positioned within the layer determined to be the highest concentration of carbon dioxide. A hydrophobic tether is attached to the catalyst and the hydrophobic tether modulates the position of the catalyst within the liquid layer containing the highest concentration of carbon dioxide.

Extremophilic Enzymatic Response for Protection against UV-Radiation Damage

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-17

superoxide dismutase from the thermophile E1 is a very active enzyme and extremely efficient in its function as antioxidant by capturing superoxide radicals...Ollivet-Besson, Papić, L., Blamey J.M. “Optimization of the antioxidant activity of the enzyme superoxide dismutase from the thermophile E1 induced by...antioxidant enzymes , superoxide dismutase and catalase, from selected microorganisms and the contribution of these enzymes to the resistance to extreme and

Automated Adaptive Brightness in Wireless Capsule Endoscopy Using Image Segmentation and Sigmoid Function.

PubMed

Shrestha, Ravi; Mohammed, Shahed K; Hasan, Md Mehedi; Zhang, Xuechao; Wahid, Khan A

2016-08-01

Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) plays an important role in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases by capturing images of human small intestine. Accurate diagnosis of endoscopic images depends heavily on the quality of captured images. Along with image and frame rate, brightness of the image is an important parameter that influences the image quality which leads to the design of an efficient illumination system. Such design involves the choice and placement of proper light source and its ability to illuminate GI surface with proper brightness. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are normally used as sources where modulated pulses are used to control LED's brightness. In practice, instances like under- and over-illumination are very common in WCE, where the former provides dark images and the later provides bright images with high power consumption. In this paper, we propose a low-power and efficient illumination system that is based on an automated brightness algorithm. The scheme is adaptive in nature, i.e., the brightness level is controlled automatically in real-time while the images are being captured. The captured images are segmented into four equal regions and the brightness level of each region is calculated. Then an adaptive sigmoid function is used to find the optimized brightness level and accordingly a new value of duty cycle of the modulated pulse is generated to capture future images. The algorithm is fully implemented in a capsule prototype and tested with endoscopic images. Commercial capsules like Pillcam and Mirocam were also used in the experiment. The results show that the proposed algorithm works well in controlling the brightness level accordingly to the environmental condition, and as a result, good quality images are captured with an average of 40% brightness level that saves power consumption of the capsule.

Using maximum entropy modeling for optimal selection of sampling sites for monitoring networks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stohlgren, Thomas J.; Kumar, Sunil; Barnett, David T.; Evangelista, Paul H.

2011-01-01

Environmental monitoring programs must efficiently describe state shifts. We propose using maximum entropy modeling to select dissimilar sampling sites to capture environmental variability at low cost, and demonstrate a specific application: sample site selection for the Central Plains domain (453,490 km2) of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). We relied on four environmental factors: mean annual temperature and precipitation, elevation, and vegetation type. A “sample site” was defined as a 20 km × 20 km area (equal to NEON’s airborne observation platform [AOP] footprint), within which each 1 km2 cell was evaluated for each environmental factor. After each model run, the most environmentally dissimilar site was selected from all potential sample sites. The iterative selection of eight sites captured approximately 80% of the environmental envelope of the domain, an improvement over stratified random sampling and simple random designs for sample site selection. This approach can be widely used for cost-efficient selection of survey and monitoring sites.

Predicting power-optimal kinematics of avian wings

PubMed Central

Parslew, Ben

2015-01-01

A theoretical model of avian flight is developed which simulates wing motion through a class of methods known as predictive simulation. This approach uses numerical optimization to predict power-optimal kinematics of avian wings in hover, cruise, climb and descent. The wing dynamics capture both aerodynamic and inertial loads. The model is used to simulate the flight of the pigeon, Columba livia, and the results are compared with previous experimental measurements. In cruise, the model unearths a vast range of kinematic modes that are capable of generating the required forces for flight. The most efficient mode uses a near-vertical stroke–plane and a flexed-wing upstroke, similar to kinematics recorded experimentally. In hover, the model predicts that the power-optimal mode uses an extended-wing upstroke, similar to hummingbirds. In flexing their wings, pigeons are predicted to consume 20% more power than if they kept their wings full extended, implying that the typical kinematics used by pigeons in hover are suboptimal. Predictions of climbing flight suggest that the most energy-efficient way to reach a given altitude is to climb as steeply as possible, subjected to the availability of power. PMID:25392398

Selection of Thermal Worst-Case Orbits via Modified Efficient Global Optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moeller, Timothy M.; Wilhite, Alan W.; Liles, Kaitlin A.

2014-01-01

Efficient Global Optimization (EGO) was used to select orbits with worst-case hot and cold thermal environments for the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III. The SAGE III system thermal model changed substantially since the previous selection of worst-case orbits (which did not use the EGO method), so the selections were revised to ensure the worst cases are being captured. The EGO method consists of first conducting an initial set of parametric runs, generated with a space-filling Design of Experiments (DoE) method, then fitting a surrogate model to the data and searching for points of maximum Expected Improvement (EI) to conduct additional runs. The general EGO method was modified by using a multi-start optimizer to identify multiple new test points at each iteration. This modification facilitates parallel computing and decreases the burden of user interaction when the optimizer code is not integrated with the model. Thermal worst-case orbits for SAGE III were successfully identified and shown by direct comparison to be more severe than those identified in the previous selection. The EGO method is a useful tool for this application and can result in computational savings if the initial Design of Experiments (DoE) is selected appropriately.

Real-time PCR method combined with immunomagnetic separation for detecting healthy and heat-injured Salmonella Typhimurium on raw duck wings.

PubMed

Zheng, Qianwang; Mikš-Krajnik, Marta; Yang, Yishan; Xu, Wang; Yuk, Hyun-Gyun

2014-09-01

Conventional culture detection methods are time consuming and labor-intensive. For this reason, an alternative rapid method combining real-time PCR and immunomagnetic separation (IMS) was investigated in this study to detect both healthy and heat-injured Salmonella Typhimurium on raw duck wings. Firstly, the IMS method was optimized by determining the capture efficiency of Dynabeads(®) on Salmonella cells on raw duck wings with different bead incubation (10, 30 and 60 min) and magnetic separation (3, 10 and 30 min) times. Secondly, three Taqman primer sets, Sal, invA and ttr, were evaluated to optimize the real-time PCR protocol by comparing five parameters: inclusivity, exclusivity, PCR efficiency, detection probability and limit of detection (LOD). Thirdly, the optimized real-time PCR, in combination with IMS (PCR-IMS) assay, was compared with a standard ISO and a real-time PCR (PCR) method by analyzing artificially inoculated raw duck wings with healthy and heat-injured Salmonella cells at 10(1) and 10(0) CFU/25 g. Finally, the optimized PCR-IMS assay was validated for Salmonella detection in naturally contaminated raw duck wing samples. Under optimal IMS conditions (30 min bead incubation and 3 min magnetic separation times), approximately 85 and 64% of S. Typhimurium cells were captured by Dynabeads® from pure culture and inoculated raw duck wings, respectively. Although Sal and ttr primers exhibited 100% inclusivity and exclusivity for 16 Salmonella spp. and 36 non-Salmonella strains, the Sal primer showed lower LOD (10(3) CFU/ml) and higher PCR efficiency (94.1%) than the invA and ttr primers. Moreover, for Sal and invA primers, 100% detection probability on raw duck wings suspension was observed at 10(3) and 10(4) CFU/ml with and without IMS, respectively. Thus, the Sal primer was chosen for further experiments. The optimized PCR-IMS method was significantly (P=0.0011) better at detecting healthy Salmonella cells after 7-h enrichment than traditional PCR method. However there was no significant difference between the two methods with longer enrichment time (14 h). The diagnostic accuracy of PCR-IMS was shown to be 98.3% through the validation study. These results indicate that the optimized PCR-IMS method in this study could provide a sensitive, specific and rapid detection method for Salmonella on raw duck wings, enabling 10-h detection. However, a longer enrichment time could be needed for resuscitation and reliable detection of heat-injured cells. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Value-based attentional capture influences context-dependent decision-making

PubMed Central

Cha, Kexin; Rangsipat, Napat; Serences, John T.

2015-01-01

Normative theories posit that value-based decision-making is context independent. However, decisions between two high-value options can be suboptimally biased by the introduction of a third low-value option. This context-dependent modulation is consistent with the divisive normalization of the value of each stimulus by the total value of all stimuli. In addition, an independent line of research demonstrates that pairing a stimulus with a high-value outcome can lead to attentional capture that can mediate the efficiency of visual information processing. Here we tested the hypothesis that value-based attentional capture interacts with value-based normalization to influence the optimality of decision-making. We used a binary-choice paradigm in which observers selected between two targets and the color of each target indicated the magnitude of their reward potential. Observers also had to simultaneously ignore a task-irrelevant distractor rendered in a color that was previously associated with a specific reward magnitude. When the color of the task-irrelevant distractor was previously associated with a high reward, observers responded more slowly and less optimally. Moreover, as the learned value of the distractor increased, electrophysiological data revealed an attenuation of the lateralized N1 and N2Pc responses evoked by the relevant choice stimuli and an attenuation of the late positive deflection (LPD). Collectively, these behavioral and electrophysiological data suggest that value-based attentional capture and value-based normalization jointly mediate the influence of context on free-choice decision-making. PMID:25995350

Value-based attentional capture influences context-dependent decision-making.

PubMed

Itthipuripat, Sirawaj; Cha, Kexin; Rangsipat, Napat; Serences, John T

2015-07-01

Normative theories posit that value-based decision-making is context independent. However, decisions between two high-value options can be suboptimally biased by the introduction of a third low-value option. This context-dependent modulation is consistent with the divisive normalization of the value of each stimulus by the total value of all stimuli. In addition, an independent line of research demonstrates that pairing a stimulus with a high-value outcome can lead to attentional capture that can mediate the efficiency of visual information processing. Here we tested the hypothesis that value-based attentional capture interacts with value-based normalization to influence the optimality of decision-making. We used a binary-choice paradigm in which observers selected between two targets and the color of each target indicated the magnitude of their reward potential. Observers also had to simultaneously ignore a task-irrelevant distractor rendered in a color that was previously associated with a specific reward magnitude. When the color of the task-irrelevant distractor was previously associated with a high reward, observers responded more slowly and less optimally. Moreover, as the learned value of the distractor increased, electrophysiological data revealed an attenuation of the lateralized N1 and N2Pc responses evoked by the relevant choice stimuli and an attenuation of the late positive deflection (LPD). Collectively, these behavioral and electrophysiological data suggest that value-based attentional capture and value-based normalization jointly mediate the influence of context on free-choice decision-making. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Immunization Route Dictates Cross-Priming Efficiency and Impacts the Optimal Timing of Adjuvant Delivery

PubMed Central

Bouvier, Isabelle; Jusforgues-Saklani, Hélène; Lim, Annick; Lemaître, Fabrice; Lemercier, Brigitte; Auriau, Charlotte; Nicola, Marie-Anne; Leroy, Sandrine; Law, Helen K.; Bandeira, Antonio; Moon, James J.; Bousso, Philippe; Albert, Matthew L.

2011-01-01

Delivery of cell-associated antigen represents an important strategy for vaccination. While many experimental models have been developed in order to define the critical parameters for efficient cross-priming, few have utilized quantitative methods that permit the study of the endogenous repertoire. Comparing different strategies of immunization, we report that local delivery of cell-associated antigen results in delayed T cell cross-priming due to the increased time required for antigen capture and presentation. In comparison, delivery of disseminated antigen resulted in rapid T cell priming. Surprisingly, local injection of cell-associated antigen, while slower, resulted in the differentiation of a more robust, polyfunctional, effector response. We also evaluated the combination of cell-associated antigen with poly I:C delivery and observed an immunization route-specific effect regarding the optimal timing of innate immune stimulation. These studies highlight the importance of considering the timing and persistence of antigen presentation, and suggest that intradermal injection with delayed adjuvant delivery is the optimal strategy for achieving CD8+ T cell cross-priming. PMID:22566860

Integrating a dual-silicon photoelectrochemical cell into a redox flow battery for unassisted photocharging.

PubMed

Liao, Shichao; Zong, Xu; Seger, Brian; Pedersen, Thomas; Yao, Tingting; Ding, Chunmei; Shi, Jingying; Chen, Jian; Li, Can

2016-05-04

Solar rechargeable flow cells (SRFCs) provide an attractive approach for in situ capture and storage of intermittent solar energy via photoelectrochemical regeneration of discharged redox species for electricity generation. However, overall SFRC performance is restricted by inefficient photoelectrochemical reactions. Here we report an efficient SRFC based on a dual-silicon photoelectrochemical cell and a quinone/bromine redox flow battery for in situ solar energy conversion and storage. Using narrow bandgap silicon for efficient photon collection and fast redox couples for rapid interface charge injection, our device shows an optimal solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency of ∼5.9% and an overall photon-chemical-electricity energy conversion efficiency of ∼3.2%, which, to our knowledge, outperforms previously reported SRFCs. The proposed SRFC can be self-photocharged to 0.8 V and delivers a discharge capacity of 730 mAh l(-1). Our work may guide future designs for highly efficient solar rechargeable devices.

A welfare study into capture fisheries in cirata reservoir: a bio-economic model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anna, Z.; Hindayani, P.

2018-04-01

Capture fishery in inland such as reservoirs can be a source of food security and even the economy and public welfare of the surrounding community. This research was conducted on Cirata reservoir fishery in West Java, to see how far reservoir capture fishery can contribute economically in the form of resource rents. The method used is the bioeconomic model Copes, which can analyze the demand and supply functions to calculate the optimization of stakeholders’ welfare in various management regimes. The results showed that the management of capture fishery using Maximum Economic Yield regime (MEY) gave the most efficient result, where fewer inputs would produce maximum profit. In the MEY management, the producer surplus obtained is IDR 2,610.203.099, - per quarter and IDR 273.885.400,- of consumer surplus per quarter. Furthermore, researches showed that sustainable management regime policy MEY result in the government rent/surplus ofIDR 217.891,345, - per quarter with the average price of fish per kg being IDR 13.929. In open access fishery, it was shown that the producer surplus becomesIDR 0. Thus the implementation of the MEY-based instrument policy becomes a necessity for Cirata reservoir capture fishery.

Real-Time Imaging of Ground Cover: Relationships with Radiation Capture, Canopy Photosynthesis, and Daily Growth Rate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klassen, S. P.; Ritchie, G.; Frantz, J. M.; Pinnock, D.; Bugbee, B.

2003-01-01

Cumulative absorbed radiation is highly correlated with crop biomass and yield. In this chapter we describe the use of a digital camera and commercial imaging software for estimating daily radiation capture, canopy photosynthesis, and relative growth rate. Digital images were used to determine percentage of ground cover of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) communities grown at five temperatures. Plants were grown in a steady-state, 10-chamber CO2 gas exchange system, which was used to measure canopy photosynthesis and daily carbon gain. Daily measurements of percentage of ground cover were highly correlated with daily measurements of both absorbed radiation (r(sup 2) = 0.99) and daily carbon gain (r(sup 2) = 0.99). Differences among temperature treatments indicated that these relationships were influenced by leaf angle, leaf area index, and chlorophyll content. An analysis of the daily images also provided good estimates of relative growth rates, which were verified by gas exchange measurements of daily carbon gain. In a separate study we found that images taken at hourly intervals were effective for monitoring real-time growth. Our data suggests that hourly images can be used for early detection of plant stress. Applications, limitations, and potential errors are discussed. We have long known that crop yield is determined by the efficiency of four component processes: (i) radiation capture, (ii) quantum yield, (iii) carbon use efficiency, and (iv) carbon partitioning efficiency (Charles-Edwards, 1982; Penning de Vries & van Laar, 1982; Thornley, 1976). More than one-half century ago, Watson (1947, 1952) showed that variation in radiation capture accounted for almost all of the variation in yield between sites in temperate regions, because the three other components are relatively constant when the crop is not severely stressed. More recently, Monteith (1977) reviewed the literature on the close correlation between radiation capture and yield. Bugbee and Monje (1992) demonstrated the close relationship between absorbed radiation and yield in an optimal environment.

Plasma polymer facilitated magnetic technology for removal of oils from contaminated waters.

PubMed

Wahono, Satriyo Krido; Cavallaro, Alex; Vasilev, Krasimir; Mierczynska, Agnieszka

2018-05-16

Oil pollution of waters is one of the most serious environmental problems globally. The long half-life and persistence within the environment makes oil particularly toxic and difficult to remediate. There is a significant need for efficient and cost-effective oil recovery technologies to be brought in to practice. In this study, we developed a facile and efficient magnetic separation method. The surface of 316L stainless steel nanoparticles was modified by plasma deposition of 1,7-octadiene and perfluorooctane, producing relatively hydrophobic coatings having water contact angles of 86 and 100°, respectively. Both coatings had high oil removal efficiency (ORE) of >99%. The captured oil could be easily separated by applying an external magnetic force. The ease of material preparation and separation from the water after the oil is captured, and its high ORE is a compelling argument for further development and optimization of the technology to possible utilization into practice. Furthermore, the capacity of plasma polymerization to deliver desired surface properties can extend the application of the technology to removing other chemical and biological contaminants from polluted waters. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhanced photocurrent production by bio-dyes of photosynthetic macromolecules on designed TiO2 film

PubMed Central

Yu, Daoyong; Wang, Mengfei; Zhu, Guoliang; Ge, Baosheng; Liu, Shuang; Huang, Fang

2015-01-01

The macromolecular pigment-protein complex has the merit of high efficiency for light-energy capture and transfer after long-term photosynthetic evolution. Here bio-dyes of A. platensis photosystem I (PSI) and spinach light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) are spontaneously sensitized on three types of designed TiO2 films, to assess the effects of pigment-protein complex on the performance of bio-dye sensitized solar cells (SSC). Adsorption models of bio-dyes are proposed based on the 3D structures of PSI and LHCII, and the size of particles and inner pores in the TiO2 film. PSI shows its merit of high efficiency for captured energy transfer, charge separation and transfer in the electron transfer chain (ETC), and electron injection from FB to the TiO2 conducting band. After optimization, the best short current (JSC) and photoelectric conversion efficiency (η) of PSI-SSC and LHCII-SSC are 1.31 mA cm-2 and 0.47%, and 1.51 mA cm-2 and 0.52%, respectively. The potential for further improvement of this PSI based SSC is significant and could lead to better utilization of solar energy. PMID:25790735

Manifold optimization-based analysis dictionary learning with an ℓ1∕2-norm regularizer.

PubMed

Li, Zhenni; Ding, Shuxue; Li, Yujie; Yang, Zuyuan; Xie, Shengli; Chen, Wuhui

2018-02-01

Recently there has been increasing attention towards analysis dictionary learning. In analysis dictionary learning, it is an open problem to obtain the strong sparsity-promoting solutions efficiently while simultaneously avoiding the trivial solutions of the dictionary. In this paper, to obtain the strong sparsity-promoting solutions, we employ the ℓ 1∕2 norm as a regularizer. The very recent study on ℓ 1∕2 norm regularization theory in compressive sensing shows that its solutions can give sparser results than using the ℓ 1 norm. We transform a complex nonconvex optimization into a number of one-dimensional minimization problems. Then the closed-form solutions can be obtained efficiently. To avoid trivial solutions, we apply manifold optimization to update the dictionary directly on the manifold satisfying the orthonormality constraint, so that the dictionary can avoid the trivial solutions well while simultaneously capturing the intrinsic properties of the dictionary. The experiments with synthetic and real-world data verify that the proposed algorithm for analysis dictionary learning can not only obtain strong sparsity-promoting solutions efficiently, but also learn more accurate dictionary in terms of dictionary recovery and image processing than the state-of-the-art algorithms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Capturing CD4 cells using a functionalized circular microfluidic device and glutaraldehyde as biolinker for tuberculosis detection and diagnosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shih, Yeu-Farn; Huang, Nien-Tsu; Lee, Chih-Kung

2015-03-01

It is estimated that about one-third of the world's population has already been infected by tuberculosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in general, can result in an active case of tuberculosis in approximately 5%-10% of those who suffer from latent tuberculosis and the chance of becoming ill is the highest within one of year of getting the disease. Although a newly developed methods called interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) can monitor CD4 cells secreted cytokine to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) condition. However, it is difficult to count total numbers of cytokine secreted CD4 cells, which make the diagnosis less accurate. Therefore, we develop a functionalized polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) device using glutaraldehyde to capture CD4 cells. To enhance the capture efficiency, we use COMSOL simulation to optimize the arrangement of PDMS micro pillars to make cells uniformly distributed in the device. Our preliminary data showed the microfluidic configuration in a circular shape with HCP patterned micro pillars turned 30 degrees offers the highest cell capture rate.

Final Report from The University of Texas at Austin for DEGAS: Dynamic Global Address Space programming environments

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

Erez, Mattan; Yelick, Katherine; Sarkar, Vivek

The Dynamic, Exascale Global Address Space programming environment (DEGAS) project will develop the next generation of programming models and runtime systems to meet the challenges of Exascale computing. Our approach is to provide an efficient and scalable programming model that can be adapted to application needs through the use of dynamic runtime features and domain-specific languages for computational kernels. We address the following technical challenges: Programmability: Rich set of programming constructs based on a Hierarchical Partitioned Global Address Space (HPGAS) model, demonstrated in UPC++. Scalability: Hierarchical locality control, lightweight communication (extended GASNet), and ef- ficient synchronization mechanisms (Phasers). Performance Portability:more » Just-in-time specialization (SEJITS) for generating hardware-specific code and scheduling libraries for domain-specific adaptive runtimes (Habanero). Energy Efficiency: Communication-optimal code generation to optimize energy efficiency by re- ducing data movement. Resilience: Containment Domains for flexible, domain-specific resilience, using state capture mechanisms and lightweight, asynchronous recovery mechanisms. Interoperability: Runtime and language interoperability with MPI and OpenMP to encourage broad adoption.« less

Efficiency of insect capture by Sarracenia purpurea (Sarraceniaceae), the northern pitcher plant.

PubMed

Newell, S; Nastase, A

1998-01-01

Pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea L.) attract insects to pitchers and then capture them in fluid-filled, pitfall traps, but how efficient are pitcher plants at capturing prey in their natural environment? We monitored insect activity by videotaping pitchers and analyzing videotapes for several variables including identity of each visitor and outcome of each visit (e.g., departure or capture). Efficiency of capture (i.e., number of captures per number of visits) was low. Overall efficiency of capture was 0.83-0.93%, depending on whether potential prey were broadly or narrowly defined. Ants constituted 74% of the potential prey. Efficiency of capture of ants was even lower at 0.37%. Potential prey were more likely to visit pitchers with greater red venation and less water in the pitcher. There was no correlation between number of potential prey visiting a pitcher and pitcher age, length, or mouth width. Also, number of potential prey visits did not correlate with plant size, air temperature, time of day or date of videotaping. While the overall efficiency of prey capture was very low, pitcher plants may still benefit from the additional nutrients. However, the relationship between ants and S. purpurea remains an enigma, since it is unclear whether the plants capture enough ants to compensate for nectar lost to ants.

A Helical Flow, Circular Microreactor For Separating and Enriching “Smart” Polymer-Antibody Capture Reagents

PubMed Central

Hoffman, John M.; Ebara, Mitsuhiro; Lai, James J.; Hoffman, Allan S.; Folch, Albert

2011-01-01

We report a mechanistic study of how flow and recirculation in a microreactor can be used to optimize the capture and release of stimuli-responsive polymer-protein reagents on stimuli-responsive polymer-grafted channel surfaces. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) was grafted to poly(dimethyl)siloxane (PDMS) channel walls, creating switchable surfaces where PNIPAAm-protein conjugates would adhere at temperatures above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and released below the LCST. A PNIPAAm-streptavidin conjugate that can capture biotinylated antibody-antigen targets was first characterized. The conjugate’s immobilization and release were limited by mass transport to and from the functionalized PNIPAAm surface. Transport and adsorption efficiencies were dependent on the aggregate size of the PNIPAAm-streptavidin conjugate above the LCST and also was dependent on whether the conjugates were heated in the presence of the stimuli-responsive surface or pre-aggregated and then flowed across the surface. As conjugate size increased, through the addition of non-conjugated PNIPAAm, recirculation and mixing were shown to markedly improve conjugate immobilization compared to diffusion alone. Under optimized conditions of flow and reagent concentrations, approximately 60% of a streptavidin conjugate bolus could be captured at the surface and subsequently successfully released. The kinetic release profile sharpness was also strongly improved with recirculation and helical mixing. Finally, the concentration of protein-polymer conjugates could be achieved by continuous conjugate flow into the heated recirculator, allowing nearly linear enrichment of the conjugate reagent from larger volumes. This capability was shown with anti-p24 HIV monoclonal antibody reagents that were enriched over 5-fold using this protocol. These studies provide insight into the mechanism of smart polymer-protein conjugate capture and release in grafted channels and show the potential of this purification and enrichment module for processing diagnostic samples. PMID:20882219

Viscous Aerodynamic Shape Optimization with Installed Propulsion Effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heath, Christopher M.; Seidel, Jonathan A.; Rallabhandi, Sriram K.

2017-01-01

Aerodynamic shape optimization is demonstrated to tailor the under-track pressure signature of a conceptual low-boom supersonic aircraft. Primarily, the optimization reduces nearfield pressure waveforms induced by propulsion integration effects. For computational efficiency, gradient-based optimization is used and coupled to the discrete adjoint formulation of the Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes equations. The engine outer nacelle, nozzle, and vertical tail fairing are axi-symmetrically parameterized, while the horizontal tail is shaped using a wing-based parameterization. Overall, 48 design variables are coupled to the geometry and used to deform the outer mold line. During the design process, an inequality drag constraint is enforced to avoid major compromise in aerodynamic performance. Linear elastic mesh morphing is used to deform volume grids between design iterations. The optimization is performed at Mach 1.6 cruise, assuming standard day altitude conditions at 51,707-ft. To reduce uncertainty, a coupled thermodynamic engine cycle model is employed that captures installed inlet performance effects on engine operation.

Adaptation of Hybridization Capture of Chromatin-associated Proteins for Proteomics to Mammalian Cells.

PubMed

Guillen-Ahlers, Hector; Rao, Prahlad K; Perumalla, Danu S; Montoya, Maria J; Jadhav, Avinash Y L; Shortreed, Michael R; Smith, Lloyd M; Olivier, Michael

2018-06-01

The hybridization capture of chromatin-associated proteins for proteomics (HyCCAPP) technology was initially developed to uncover novel DNA-protein interactions in yeast. It allows analysis of a target region of interest without the need for prior knowledge about likely proteins bound to the target region. This, in theory, allows HyCCAPP to be used to analyze any genomic region of interest, and it provides sufficient flexibility to work in different cell systems. This method is not meant to study binding sites of known transcription factors, a task better suited for Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and ChIP-like methods. The strength of HyCCAPP lies in its ability to explore DNA regions for which there is limited or no knowledge about the proteins bound to it. It can also be a convenient method to avoid biases (present in ChIP-like methods) introduced by protein-based chromatin enrichment using antibodies. Potentially, HyCCAPP can be a powerful tool to uncover truly novel DNA-protein interactions. To date, the technology has been predominantly applied to yeast cells or to high copy repeat sequences in mammalian cells. In order to become the powerful tool we envision, HyCCAPP approaches need to be optimized to efficiently capture single-copy loci in mammalian cells. Here, we present our adaptation of the initial yeast HyCCAPP capture protocol to human cell lines, and show that single-copy chromatin regions can be efficiently isolated with this modified protocol.

Evaluation of different strategies for magnetic particle functionalization with DNA aptamers.

PubMed

Pérez-Ruiz, Elena; Lammertyn, Jeroen; Spasic, Dragana

2016-12-25

The optimal bio-functionalization of magnetic particles is essential for developing magnetic particle-based bioassays. Whereas functionalization with antibodies is generally well established, immobilization of DNA probes, such as aptamers, is not yet fully explored. In this work, four different types of commercially available magnetic particles, coated with streptavidin, maleimide or carboxyl groups, were evaluated for their surface coverage with aptamer bioreceptors, efficiency in capturing target protein and non-specific protein adsorption on their surface. A recently developed aptamer against the peanut allergen, Ara h 1 protein, was used as a model system. Conjugation of biotinylated Ara h 1 aptamer to the streptavidin particles led to the highest surface coverage, whereas the coverage of maleimide particles was 25% lower. Carboxylated particles appeared to be inadequate for DNA functionalization. Streptavidin particles also showed the greatest target capturing efficiency, comparable to the one of particles functionalized with anti-Ara h 1 antibody. The performance of streptavidin particles was additionally tested in a sandwich assay with the aptamer as a capture receptor on the particle surface. While the limit of detection obtained was comparable to the same assay system with antibody as capture receptor, it was superior to previously reported values using the same aptamer in similar assay schemes with different detection platforms. These results point to the promising application of the Ara h 1 aptamer-functionalized particles in bioassay development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Improving ED efficiency to capture additional revenue.

PubMed

Mandavia, Sujal; Samaniego, Loretta

2016-06-01

An increase in the number of patients visiting emergency departments (EDs) presents an opportunity for additional revenue if hospitals take four steps to optimize resources: Streamline the patient pathway and reduce the amount of time each patient occupies a bed in the ED. Schedule staff according to the busy and light times for patient arrivals. Perform registration and triage bedside, reducing initial wait times. Create an area for patients to wait for test results so beds can be freed up for new arrivals.

Optimal ballistically captured Earth-Moon transfers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ricord Griesemer, Paul; Ocampo, Cesar; Cooley, D. S.

2012-07-01

The optimality of a low-energy Earth-Moon transfer terminating in ballistic capture is examined for the first time using primer vector theory. An optimal control problem is formed with the following free variables: the location, time, and magnitude of the transfer insertion burn, and the transfer time. A constraint is placed on the initial state of the spacecraft to bind it to a given initial orbit around a first body, and on the final state of the spacecraft to limit its Keplerian energy with respect to a second body. Optimal transfers in the system are shown to meet certain conditions placed on the primer vector and its time derivative. A two point boundary value problem containing these necessary conditions is created for use in targeting optimal transfers. The two point boundary value problem is then applied to the ballistic lunar capture problem, and an optimal trajectory is shown. Additionally, the problem is then modified to fix the time of transfer, allowing for optimal multi-impulse transfers. The tradeoff between transfer time and fuel cost is shown for Earth-Moon ballistic lunar capture transfers.

Enhancement of photovoltaic cell performance using periodic triangular gratings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bordatchev, Evgueni; Tauhiduzzaman, Mohammed; Dey, Rajat

2014-01-01

The solar energy industry strives to produce more efficient and yet cost effective solar panels each consisting of an array of photovoltaic (PV) cells. The goal of this study was to enhance the performance of PV cells through increasing the cells' optical efficiency defined as a percentage of surface incident light that reaches the PV material. This was achieved through the reduction of waveguide decoupling loss and Fresnel reflection losses by integrating specific nonimaging micro-optical structures on the top surface of existing PV cells. Due to this integration, optical efficiency and performance were increased through the enhancement of light trapping, light guiding, and in-coupling functionalities. Periodic triangular gratings (PTGs) were designed, nonsequentially modeled, optimized, and fabricated in polydimethylsiloxane as proposed micro-optical structures. Then the performance of PV cells with and without integrated PTGs was evaluated and compared. Initial optical simulation results show that an original PV cell (without PTG) exhibits an average optical efficiency of 32.7% over a range of incident light angles between 15 and 90 deg. Integration of the PTG allows the capture of incoming sunlight by total internal reflection (TIR), whence it is reflected back onto the PV cell for multiple consecutive chances for absorption and PV conversion. Geometry of the PTG was optimized with respect to an angle of light incidence of {15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90} deg. Optical efficiency of the geometrically optimized PTGs was then analyzed under the same set of incident light angles and a maximum optical efficiency of 54.1% was observed for a PV cell with integrated PTG optimized at 90 deg. This is a 53.3% relative improvement in optical performance when compared to an original PV cell. Functional PTG prototypes were then fabricated with optical surface quality (below 10 nm Ra) and integrated with PV cells demonstrating an increase in maximum power by 1.08 mW/cm (7.6% improvement in PV performance) and in short circuit current by 2.39 mA/cm (6.4% improvement).

Optimizing human activity patterns using global sensitivity analysis.

PubMed

Fairchild, Geoffrey; Hickmann, Kyle S; Mniszewski, Susan M; Del Valle, Sara Y; Hyman, James M

2014-12-01

Implementing realistic activity patterns for a population is crucial for modeling, for example, disease spread, supply and demand, and disaster response. Using the dynamic activity simulation engine, DASim, we generate schedules for a population that capture regular (e.g., working, eating, and sleeping) and irregular activities (e.g., shopping or going to the doctor). We use the sample entropy (SampEn) statistic to quantify a schedule's regularity for a population. We show how to tune an activity's regularity by adjusting SampEn, thereby making it possible to realistically design activities when creating a schedule. The tuning process sets up a computationally intractable high-dimensional optimization problem. To reduce the computational demand, we use Bayesian Gaussian process regression to compute global sensitivity indices and identify the parameters that have the greatest effect on the variance of SampEn. We use the harmony search (HS) global optimization algorithm to locate global optima. Our results show that HS combined with global sensitivity analysis can efficiently tune the SampEn statistic with few search iterations. We demonstrate how global sensitivity analysis can guide statistical emulation and global optimization algorithms to efficiently tune activities and generate realistic activity patterns. Though our tuning methods are applied to dynamic activity schedule generation, they are general and represent a significant step in the direction of automated tuning and optimization of high-dimensional computer simulations.

Optimizing human activity patterns using global sensitivity analysis

PubMed Central

Hickmann, Kyle S.; Mniszewski, Susan M.; Del Valle, Sara Y.; Hyman, James M.

2014-01-01

Implementing realistic activity patterns for a population is crucial for modeling, for example, disease spread, supply and demand, and disaster response. Using the dynamic activity simulation engine, DASim, we generate schedules for a population that capture regular (e.g., working, eating, and sleeping) and irregular activities (e.g., shopping or going to the doctor). We use the sample entropy (SampEn) statistic to quantify a schedule’s regularity for a population. We show how to tune an activity’s regularity by adjusting SampEn, thereby making it possible to realistically design activities when creating a schedule. The tuning process sets up a computationally intractable high-dimensional optimization problem. To reduce the computational demand, we use Bayesian Gaussian process regression to compute global sensitivity indices and identify the parameters that have the greatest effect on the variance of SampEn. We use the harmony search (HS) global optimization algorithm to locate global optima. Our results show that HS combined with global sensitivity analysis can efficiently tune the SampEn statistic with few search iterations. We demonstrate how global sensitivity analysis can guide statistical emulation and global optimization algorithms to efficiently tune activities and generate realistic activity patterns. Though our tuning methods are applied to dynamic activity schedule generation, they are general and represent a significant step in the direction of automated tuning and optimization of high-dimensional computer simulations. PMID:25580080

Experimental study of hydraulics and sediment capture efficiency in catchbasins.

PubMed

Tang, Yangbo; Zhu, David Z; Rajaratnam, N; van Duin, Bert

2016-12-01

Catchbasins (also known as gully pot in the UK and Australia) are used to receive surface runoff and drain the stormwater into storm sewers. The recent interest in catchbasins is to improve their effectiveness in removing sediments in stormwater. An experimental study was conducted to examine the hydraulic features and sediment capture efficiency in catchbasins, with and without a bottom sump. A sump basin is found to increase the sediment capture efficiency significantly. The effect of inlet control devices, which are commonly used to control the amount of flow into the downstream storm sewer system, is also studied. These devices will increase the water depth in the catchbasin and increase the sediment capture efficiency. Equations are developed for predicting the sediment capture efficiency in catchbasins.

Manipulation of nanoscale V-pits to optimize internal quantum efficiency of InGaN multiple quantum wells

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

Chang, Chiao-Yun; Li, Heng; Shih, Yang-Ta

2015-03-02

We systematically investigated the influence of nanoscale V-pits on the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of InGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) by adjusting the underlying superlattices (SLS). The analysis indicated that high barrier energy of sidewall MQWs on V-pits and long diffusion distance between the threading dislocation (TD) center and V-pit boundary were crucial to effectively passivate the non-radiative centers of TDs. For a larger V-pit, the thicker sidewall MQW on V-pit would decrease the barrier energy. On the contrary, a shorter distance between the TD center and V-pit boundary would be observed in a smaller V-pit, which could increase themore » carrier capturing capability of TDs. An optimized V-pit size of approximately 200–250 nm in our experiment could be concluded for MQWs with 15 pairs SLS, which exhibited an IQE value of 70%.« less

Femtomolar detection of single mismatches by discriminant analysis of DNA hybridization events using gold nanoparticles.

PubMed

Ma, Xingyi; Sim, Sang Jun

2013-03-21

Even though DNA-based nanosensors have been demonstrated for quantitative detection of analytes and diseases, hybridization events have never been numerically investigated for further understanding of DNA mediated interactions. Here, we developed a nanoscale platform with well-designed capture and detection gold nanoprobes to precisely evaluate the hybridization events. The capture gold nanoprobes were mono-laid on glass and the detection probes were fabricated via a novel competitive conjugation method. The two kinds of probes combined in a suitable orientation following the hybridization with the target. We found that hybridization efficiency was markedly dependent on electrostatic interactions between DNA strands, which can be tailored by adjusting the salt concentration of the incubation solution. Due to the much lower stability of the double helix formed by mismatches, the hybridization efficiencies of single mismatched (MMT) and perfectly matched DNA (PMT) were different. Therefore, we obtained an optimized salt concentration that allowed for discrimination of MMT from PMT without stringent control of temperature or pH. The results indicated this to be an ultrasensitive and precise nanosensor for the diagnosis of genetic diseases.

40 CFR 63.4361 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... from the web coating/printing operation surfaces they are applied to occurs within the capture system... system efficiency? 63.4361 Section 63.4361 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... emission capture system efficiency? You must use the procedures and test methods in this section to...

40 CFR 63.4765 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., substitute TVH for each occurrence of the term volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the methods. (3) Use... building enclosure. During the capture efficiency measurement, all organic compound emitting operations... enclosure is a building enclosure. During the capture efficiency measurement, all organic compound emitting...

40 CFR 63.4765 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., substitute TVH for each occurrence of the term volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the methods. (3) Use... building enclosure. During the capture efficiency measurement, all organic compound emitting operations... enclosure is a building enclosure. During the capture efficiency measurement, all organic compound emitting...

Novel ZIF-300 Mixed-Matrix Membranes for Efficient CO2 Capture.

PubMed

Yuan, Jianwei; Zhu, Haipeng; Sun, Jiajia; Mao, Yangyang; Liu, Gongping; Jin, Wanqin

2017-11-08

Because of the high separation performance and easy preparation, mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) consisting of metal-organic frameworks have received much attention. In this article, we report a novel ZIF-300/PEBA MMM consisting of zeolite imidazolate framework (ZIF-300) crystals and polyether block amide (PEBA) matrix. The ZIF-300 crystal size was effectively reduced by optimizing the hydrothermal reaction condition from ∼15 to ∼1 μm. The morphology and physicochemical and sorption properties of the synthesized ZIF-300 crystals and as-prepared ZIF-300/PEBA MMMs were systematically studied. The results showed that ZIF-300 crystals with a size of ∼1 μm maintained excellent preferential CO 2 sorption over N 2 without degradation of the crystal structure in the MMMs. As a result, uniformly incorporated ZIF-300 crystals highly enhanced both the CO 2 permeability and the CO 2 /N 2 selectivity of pure PEBA membrane. The optimized ZIF-300-PEBA MMMs with a ZIF-300 loading of 30 wt % exhibited a high and stable CO 2 permeability of 83 Barrer and CO 2 /N 2 selectivity of 84, which are 59.2% and 53.5% higher than pure PEBA membrane, respectively. The obtained performance surpassed the upper bound of state-of-the-art membranes for CO 2 /N 2 separation. This work demonstrated that the proposed ZIF-300/PEBA MMM could be a potential candidate for an efficient CO 2 capture process.

A Novel, Real-Time, In Vivo Mouse Retinal Imaging System.

PubMed

Butler, Mark C; Sullivan, Jack M

2015-11-01

To develop an efficient, low-cost instrument for robust real-time imaging of the mouse retina in vivo, and assess system capabilities by evaluating various animal models. Following multiple disappointing attempts to visualize the mouse retina during a subretinal injection using commercially available systems, we identified the key limitation to be inadequate illumination due to off axis illumination and poor optical train optimization. Therefore, we designed a paraxial illumination system for Greenough-type stereo dissecting microscope incorporating an optimized optical launch and an efficiently coupled fiber optic delivery system. Excitation and emission filters control spectral bandwidth. A color coupled-charged device (CCD) camera is coupled to the microscope for image capture. Although, field of view (FOV) is constrained by the small pupil aperture, the high optical power of the mouse eye, and the long working distance (needed for surgical manipulations), these limitations can be compensated by eye positioning in order to observe the entire retina. The retinal imaging system delivers an adjustable narrow beam to the dilated pupil with minimal vignetting. The optic nerve, vasculature, and posterior pole are crisply visualized and the entire retina can be observed through eye positioning. Normal and degenerative retinal phenotypes can be followed over time. Subretinal or intraocular injection procedures are followed in real time. Real-time, intravenous fluorescein angiography for the live mouse has been achieved. A novel device is established for real-time viewing and image capture of the small animal retina during subretinal injections for preclinical gene therapy studies.

Estimation and modeling of electrofishing capture efficiency for fishes in wadeable warmwater streams

USGS Publications Warehouse

Price, A.; Peterson, James T.

2010-01-01

Stream fish managers often use fish sample data to inform management decisions affecting fish populations. Fish sample data, however, can be biased by the same factors affecting fish populations. To minimize the effect of sample biases on decision making, biologists need information on the effectiveness of fish sampling methods. We evaluated single-pass backpack electrofishing and seining combined with electrofishing by following a dual-gear, mark–recapture approach in 61 blocknetted sample units within first- to third-order streams. We also estimated fish movement out of unblocked units during sampling. Capture efficiency and fish abundances were modeled for 50 fish species by use of conditional multinomial capture–recapture models. The best-approximating models indicated that capture efficiencies were generally low and differed among species groups based on family or genus. Efficiencies of single-pass electrofishing and seining combined with electrofishing were greatest for Catostomidae and lowest for Ictaluridae. Fish body length and stream habitat characteristics (mean cross-sectional area, wood density, mean current velocity, and turbidity) also were related to capture efficiency of both methods, but the effects differed among species groups. We estimated that, on average, 23% of fish left the unblocked sample units, but net movement varied among species. Our results suggest that (1) common warmwater stream fish sampling methods have low capture efficiency and (2) failure to adjust for incomplete capture may bias estimates of fish abundance. We suggest that managers minimize bias from incomplete capture by adjusting data for site- and species-specific capture efficiency and by choosing sampling gear that provide estimates with minimal bias and variance. Furthermore, if block nets are not used, we recommend that managers adjust the data based on unconditional capture efficiency.

Immuno-affinity Capture Followed by TMPP N-Terminus Tagging to Study Catabolism of Therapeutic Proteins.

PubMed

Kullolli, Majlinda; Rock, Dan A; Ma, Ji

2017-02-03

Characterization of in vitro and in vivo catabolism of therapeutic proteins has increasingly become an integral part of discovery and development process for novel proteins. Unambiguous and efficient identification of catabolites can not only facilitate accurate understanding of pharmacokinetic profiles of drug candidates, but also enables follow up protein engineering to generate more catabolically stable molecules with improved properties (pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics). Immunoaffinity capture (IC) followed by top-down intact protein analysis using either matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization or electrospray ionization mass spectrometry analysis have been the primary methods of choice for catabolite identification. However, the sensitivity and efficiency of these methods is not always sufficient for characterization of novel proteins from complex biomatrices such as plasma or serum. In this study a novel bottom-up targeted protein workflow was optimized for analysis of proteolytic degradation of therapeutic proteins. Selective and sensitive tagging of the alpha-amine at the N-terminus of proteins of interest was performed by immunoaffinity capture of therapeutic protein and its catabolites followed by on-bead succinimidyloxycarbonylmethyl tri-(2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl N-terminus (TMPP-NTT) tagging. The positively charged hydrophobic TMPP tag facilitates unambiguous sequence identification of all N-terminus peptides from complex tryptic digestion samples via data dependent liquid chromatgraphy-tandem mass spectroscopy. Utility of the workflow was illustrated by definitive analysis of in vitro catabolic profile of neurotensin human Fc (NTs-huFc) protein in mouse serum. The results from this study demonstrated that the IC-TMPP-NTT workflow is a simple and efficient method for catabolite formation in therapeutic proteins.

Optimization of microwave-assisted extraction with saponification (MAES) for the determination of polybrominated flame retardants in aquaculture samples.

PubMed

Fajar, N M; Carro, A M; Lorenzo, R A; Fernandez, F; Cela, R

2008-08-01

The efficiency of microwave-assisted extraction with saponification (MAES) for the determination of seven polybrominated flame retardants (polybrominated biphenyls, PBBs; and polybrominated diphenyl ethers, PBDEs) in aquaculture samples is described and compared with microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). Chemometric techniques based on experimental designs and desirability functions were used for simultaneous optimization of the operational parameters used in both MAES and MAE processes. Application of MAES to this group of contaminants in aquaculture samples, which had not been previously applied to this type of analytes, was shown to be superior to MAE in terms of extraction efficiency, extraction time and lipid content extracted from complex matrices (0.7% as against 18.0% for MAE extracts). PBBs and PBDEs were determined by gas chromatography with micro-electron capture detection (GC-muECD). The quantification limits for the analytes were 40-750 pg g(-1) (except for BB-15, which was 1.43 ng g(-1)). Precision for MAES-GC-muECD (%RSD < 11%) was significantly better than for MAE-GC-muECD (%RSD < 20%). The accuracy of both optimized methods was satisfactorily demonstrated by analysis of appropriate certified reference material (CRM), WMF-01.

Bulk Data Dissemination in Low Power Sensor Networks: Present and Future Directions

PubMed Central

Xu, Zhirong; Hu, Tianlei; Song, Qianshu

2017-01-01

Wireless sensor network-based (WSN-based) applications need an efficient and reliable data dissemination service to facilitate maintenance, management and data distribution tasks. As WSNs nowadays are becoming pervasive and data intensive, bulk data dissemination protocols have been extensively studied recently. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of the state-of-the-art bulk data dissemination protocols. The large number of papers available in the literature propose various techniques to optimize the dissemination protocols. Different from the existing survey works which separately explores the building blocks of dissemination, our work categorizes the literature according to the optimization purposes: Reliability, Scalability and Transmission/Energy efficiency. By summarizing and reviewing the key insights and techniques, we further discuss on the future directions for each category. Our survey helps unveil three key findings for future direction: (1) The recent advances in wireless communications (e.g., study on cross-technology interference, error estimating codes, constructive interference, capture effect) can be potentially exploited to support further optimization on the reliability and energy efficiency of dissemination protocols; (2) Dissemination in multi-channel, multi-task and opportunistic networks requires more efforts to fully exploit the spatial-temporal network resources to enhance the data propagation; (3) Since many designs incur changes on MAC layer protocols, the co-existence of dissemination with other network protocols is another problem left to be addressed. PMID:28098830

Soft-X-Ray-Enhanced Electrostatic Precipitation for Protection against Inhalable Allergens, Ultrafine Particles, and Microbial Infections

PubMed Central

Kettleson, Eric M.; Schriewer, Jill M.; Buller, R. Mark L.

2013-01-01

Protection of the human lung from infectious agents, allergens, and ultrafine particles is difficult with current technologies. High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters remove airborne particles of >0.3 μm with 99.97% efficiency, but they are expensive to maintain. Electrostatic precipitation has been used as an inexpensive approach to remove large particles from airflows, but it has a collection efficiency minimum in the submicrometer size range, allowing for a penetration window for some allergens and ultrafine particles. Incorporating soft X-ray irradiation as an in situ component of the electrostatic precipitation process greatly improves capture efficiency of ultrafine particles. Here we demonstrate the removal and inactivation capabilities of soft-X-ray-enhanced electrostatic precipitation technology targeting infectious agents (Bacillus anthracis, Mycobacterium bovis BCG, and poxviruses), allergens, and ultrafine particles. Incorporation of in situ soft X-ray irradiation at low-intensity corona conditions resulted in (i) 2-fold to 9-fold increase in capture efficiency of 200- to 600-nm particles and (ii) a considerable delay in the mean day of death as well as lower overall mortality rates in ectromelia virus (ECTV) cohorts. At the high-intensity corona conditions, nearly complete protection from viral and bacterial respiratory infection was afforded to the murine models for all biological agents tested. When optimized for combined efficient particle removal with limited ozone production, this technology could be incorporated into stand-alone indoor air cleaners or scaled for installation in aircraft cabin, office, and residential heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. PMID:23263945

Soft-X-ray-enhanced electrostatic precipitation for protection against inhalable allergens, ultrafine particles, and microbial infections.

PubMed

Kettleson, Eric M; Schriewer, Jill M; Buller, R Mark L; Biswas, Pratim

2013-02-01

Protection of the human lung from infectious agents, allergens, and ultrafine particles is difficult with current technologies. High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters remove airborne particles of >0.3 μm with 99.97% efficiency, but they are expensive to maintain. Electrostatic precipitation has been used as an inexpensive approach to remove large particles from airflows, but it has a collection efficiency minimum in the submicrometer size range, allowing for a penetration window for some allergens and ultrafine particles. Incorporating soft X-ray irradiation as an in situ component of the electrostatic precipitation process greatly improves capture efficiency of ultrafine particles. Here we demonstrate the removal and inactivation capabilities of soft-X-ray-enhanced electrostatic precipitation technology targeting infectious agents (Bacillus anthracis, Mycobacterium bovis BCG, and poxviruses), allergens, and ultrafine particles. Incorporation of in situ soft X-ray irradiation at low-intensity corona conditions resulted in (i) 2-fold to 9-fold increase in capture efficiency of 200- to 600-nm particles and (ii) a considerable delay in the mean day of death as well as lower overall mortality rates in ectromelia virus (ECTV) cohorts. At the high-intensity corona conditions, nearly complete protection from viral and bacterial respiratory infection was afforded to the murine models for all biological agents tested. When optimized for combined efficient particle removal with limited ozone production, this technology could be incorporated into stand-alone indoor air cleaners or scaled for installation in aircraft cabin, office, and residential heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems.

Ability of an alkali-tolerant mutant strain of the microalga Chlorella sp. AT1 to capture carbon dioxide for increasing carbon dioxide utilization efficiency.

PubMed

Kuo, Chiu-Mei; Lin, Tsung-Hsien; Yang, Yi-Chun; Zhang, Wen-Xin; Lai, Jinn-Tsyy; Wu, Hsi-Tien; Chang, Jo-Shu; Lin, Chih-Sheng

2017-11-01

An alkali-tolerant Chlorella sp. AT1 mutant strain was screened by NTG mutagenesis. The strain grew well in pH 6-11 media, and the optimal pH for growth was 10. The CO 2 utilization efficiencies of Chlorella sp. AT1 cultured with intermittent 10% CO 2 aeration for 10, 20 and 30min at 3-h intervals were approximately 80, 42 and 30%, respectively. In alkaline medium (pH=11) with intermittent 10% CO 2 aeration for 30min at 3-, 6- and 12-h intervals, the medium pH gradually changed to 10, and the biomass productivities of Chlorella sp. AT1 were 0.987, 0.848 and 0.710gL -1 d -1 , respectively. When Chlorella sp. AT1 was aerated with 10% CO 2 intermittently for 30min at 3-h intervals in semi-continuous cultivation for 21days, the biomass concentration and biomass productivity were 4.35gL -1 and 0.726gL -1 d -1 , respectively. Our results show that CO 2 utilization efficiency can be markedly increased by intermittent CO 2 aeration and alkaline media as a CO 2 -capturing strategy for alkali-tolerant microalga cultivation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A quantile-based scenario analysis approach to biomass supply chain optimization under uncertainty

DOE PAGES

Zamar, David S.; Gopaluni, Bhushan; Sokhansanj, Shahab; ...

2016-11-21

Supply chain optimization for biomass-based power plants is an important research area due to greater emphasis on renewable power energy sources. Biomass supply chain design and operational planning models are often formulated and studied using deterministic mathematical models. While these models are beneficial for making decisions, their applicability to real world problems may be limited because they do not capture all the complexities in the supply chain, including uncertainties in the parameters. This study develops a statistically robust quantile-based approach for stochastic optimization under uncertainty, which builds upon scenario analysis. We apply and evaluate the performance of our approach tomore » address the problem of analyzing competing biomass supply chains subject to stochastic demand and supply. Finally, the proposed approach was found to outperform alternative methods in terms of computational efficiency and ability to meet the stochastic problem requirements.« less

Image contrast enhancement with brightness preservation using an optimal gamma correction and weighted sum approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, G.; Wong, C. Y.; Lin, S. C. F.; Rahman, M. A.; Ren, T. R.; Kwok, Ngaiming; Shi, Haiyan; Yu, Ying-Hao; Wu, Tonghai

2015-04-01

The enhancement of image contrast and preservation of image brightness are two important but conflicting objectives in image restoration. Previous attempts based on linear histogram equalization had achieved contrast enhancement, but exact preservation of brightness was not accomplished. A new perspective is taken here to provide balanced performance of contrast enhancement and brightness preservation simultaneously by casting the quest of such solution to an optimization problem. Specifically, the non-linear gamma correction method is adopted to enhance the contrast, while a weighted sum approach is employed for brightness preservation. In addition, the efficient golden search algorithm is exploited to determine the required optimal parameters to produce the enhanced images. Experiments are conducted on natural colour images captured under various indoor, outdoor and illumination conditions. Results have shown that the proposed method outperforms currently available methods in contrast to enhancement and brightness preservation.

A quantile-based scenario analysis approach to biomass supply chain optimization under uncertainty

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

Zamar, David S.; Gopaluni, Bhushan; Sokhansanj, Shahab

Supply chain optimization for biomass-based power plants is an important research area due to greater emphasis on renewable power energy sources. Biomass supply chain design and operational planning models are often formulated and studied using deterministic mathematical models. While these models are beneficial for making decisions, their applicability to real world problems may be limited because they do not capture all the complexities in the supply chain, including uncertainties in the parameters. This study develops a statistically robust quantile-based approach for stochastic optimization under uncertainty, which builds upon scenario analysis. We apply and evaluate the performance of our approach tomore » address the problem of analyzing competing biomass supply chains subject to stochastic demand and supply. Finally, the proposed approach was found to outperform alternative methods in terms of computational efficiency and ability to meet the stochastic problem requirements.« less

Computing Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponents with Optimally Time Dependent Reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babaee, Hessam; Farazmand, Mohammad; Sapsis, Themis; Haller, George

2016-11-01

We present a method to compute Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponents (FTLE) of a dynamical system using Optimally Time-Dependent (OTD) reduction recently introduced by H. Babaee and T. P. Sapsis. The OTD modes are a set of finite-dimensional, time-dependent, orthonormal basis {ui (x , t) } |i=1N that capture the directions associated with transient instabilities. The evolution equation of the OTD modes is derived from a minimization principle that optimally approximates the most unstable directions over finite times. To compute the FTLE, we evolve a single OTD mode along with the nonlinear dynamics. We approximate the FTLE from the reduced system obtained from projecting the instantaneous linearized dynamics onto the OTD mode. This results in a significant reduction in the computational cost compared to conventional methods for computing FTLE. We demonstrate the efficiency of our method for double Gyre and ABC flows. ARO project 66710-EG-YIP.

Integrating a dual-silicon photoelectrochemical cell into a redox flow battery for unassisted photocharging

PubMed Central

Liao, Shichao; Zong, Xu; Seger, Brian; Pedersen, Thomas; Yao, Tingting; Ding, Chunmei; Shi, Jingying; Chen, Jian; Li, Can

2016-01-01

Solar rechargeable flow cells (SRFCs) provide an attractive approach for in situ capture and storage of intermittent solar energy via photoelectrochemical regeneration of discharged redox species for electricity generation. However, overall SFRC performance is restricted by inefficient photoelectrochemical reactions. Here we report an efficient SRFC based on a dual-silicon photoelectrochemical cell and a quinone/bromine redox flow battery for in situ solar energy conversion and storage. Using narrow bandgap silicon for efficient photon collection and fast redox couples for rapid interface charge injection, our device shows an optimal solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency of ∼5.9% and an overall photon–chemical–electricity energy conversion efficiency of ∼3.2%, which, to our knowledge, outperforms previously reported SRFCs. The proposed SRFC can be self-photocharged to 0.8 V and delivers a discharge capacity of 730 mAh l−1. Our work may guide future designs for highly efficient solar rechargeable devices. PMID:27142885

Robust, Efficient Depth Reconstruction With Hierarchical Confidence-Based Matching.

PubMed

Sun, Li; Chen, Ke; Song, Mingli; Tao, Dacheng; Chen, Gang; Chen, Chun

2017-07-01

In recent years, taking photos and capturing videos with mobile devices have become increasingly popular. Emerging applications based on the depth reconstruction technique have been developed, such as Google lens blur. However, depth reconstruction is difficult due to occlusions, non-diffuse surfaces, repetitive patterns, and textureless surfaces, and it has become more difficult due to the unstable image quality and uncontrolled scene condition in the mobile setting. In this paper, we present a novel hierarchical framework with multi-view confidence-based matching for robust, efficient depth reconstruction in uncontrolled scenes. Particularly, the proposed framework combines local cost aggregation with global cost optimization in a complementary manner that increases efficiency and accuracy. A depth map is efficiently obtained in a coarse-to-fine manner by using an image pyramid. Moreover, confidence maps are computed to robustly fuse multi-view matching cues, and to constrain the stereo matching on a finer scale. The proposed framework has been evaluated with challenging indoor and outdoor scenes, and has achieved robust and efficient depth reconstruction.

Optimizing techniques to capture and extract environmental DNA for detection and quantification of fish.

PubMed

Eichmiller, Jessica J; Miller, Loren M; Sorensen, Peter W

2016-01-01

Few studies have examined capture and extraction methods for environmental DNA (eDNA) to identify techniques optimal for detection and quantification. In this study, precipitation, centrifugation and filtration eDNA capture methods and six commercially available DNA extraction kits were evaluated for their ability to detect and quantify common carp (Cyprinus carpio) mitochondrial DNA using quantitative PCR in a series of laboratory experiments. Filtration methods yielded the most carp eDNA, and a glass fibre (GF) filter performed better than a similar pore size polycarbonate (PC) filter. Smaller pore sized filters had higher regression slopes of biomass to eDNA, indicating that they were potentially more sensitive to changes in biomass. Comparison of DNA extraction kits showed that the MP Biomedicals FastDNA SPIN Kit yielded the most carp eDNA and was the most sensitive for detection purposes, despite minor inhibition. The MoBio PowerSoil DNA Isolation Kit had the lowest coefficient of variation in extraction efficiency between lake and well water and had no detectable inhibition, making it most suitable for comparisons across aquatic environments. Of the methods tested, we recommend using a 1.5 μm GF filter, followed by extraction with the MP Biomedicals FastDNA SPIN Kit for detection. For quantification of eDNA, filtration through a 0.2-0.6 μm pore size PC filter, followed by extraction with MoBio PowerSoil DNA Isolation Kit was optimal. These results are broadly applicable for laboratory studies on carps and potentially other cyprinids. The recommendations can also be used to inform choice of methodology for field studies. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

All-in-one centrifugal microfluidic device for size-selective circulating tumor cell isolation with high purity.

PubMed

Lee, Ada; Park, Juhee; Lim, Minji; Sunkara, Vijaya; Kim, Shine Young; Kim, Gwang Ha; Kim, Mi-Hyun; Cho, Yoon-Kyoung

2014-11-18

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have gained increasing attention owing to their roles in cancer recurrence and progression. Due to the rarity of CTCs in the bloodstream, an enrichment process is essential for effective target cell characterization. However, in a typical pressure-driven microfluidic system, the enrichment process generally requires complicated equipment and long processing times. Furthermore, the commonly used immunoaffinity-based positive selection method is limited, as its recovery rate relies on EpCAM expression of target CTCs, which shows heterogeneity among cell types. Here, we propose a centrifugal-force-based size-selective CTC isolation platform that can isolate and enumerate CTCs from whole blood within 30 s with high purity. The device was validated using the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line spiked in phosphate-buffered saline and whole blood, and an average capture efficiency of 61% was achieved, which is typical for size-based filtration. The capture efficiency for whole blood samples varied from 44% to 84% under various flow conditions and dilution factors. Under the optimized operating conditions, a few hundred white blood cells per 1 mL of whole blood were captured, representing a 20-fold decrease compared to those obtained using a commercialized size-based CTC isolation device. In clinical validation, normalized CTC counts varied from 10 to 60 per 7.5 mL of blood from gastric and lung cancer patients, yielding a detection rate of 50% and 38%, respectively. Overall, our CTC isolation device enables rapid and label-free isolation of CTCs with high purity, which should greatly improve downstream molecular analyses of captured CTCs.

Sequential Design of Experiments to Maximize Learning from Carbon Capture Pilot Plant Testing

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

Soepyan, Frits B.; Morgan, Joshua C.; Omell, Benjamin P.

Pilot plant test campaigns can be expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, it is of interest to maximize the amount of learning and the efficiency of the test campaign given the limited number of experiments that can be conducted. This work investigates the use of sequential design of experiments (SDOE) to overcome these challenges by demonstrating its usefulness for a recent solvent-based CO2 capture plant test campaign. Unlike traditional design of experiments methods, SDOE regularly uses information from ongoing experiments to determine the optimum locations in the design space for subsequent runs within the same experiment. However, there are challenges that needmore » to be addressed, including reducing the high computational burden to efficiently update the model, and the need to incorporate the methodology into a computational tool. We address these challenges by applying SDOE in combination with a software tool, the Framework for Optimization, Quantification of Uncertainty and Surrogates (FOQUS) (Miller et al., 2014a, 2016, 2017). The results of applying SDOE on a pilot plant test campaign for CO2 capture suggests that relative to traditional design of experiments methods, SDOE can more effectively reduce the uncertainty of the model, thus decreasing technical risk. Future work includes integrating SDOE into FOQUS and using SDOE to support additional large-scale pilot plant test campaigns.« less

Amine coupling versus biotin capture for the assessment of sulfonamide as ligands of hCA isoforms.

PubMed

Rogez-Florent, Tiphaine; Goossens, Laurence; Drucbert, Anne-Sophie; Duban-Deweer, Sophie; Six, Perrine; Depreux, Patrick; Danzé, Pierre-Marie; Goossens, Jean-François; Foulon, Catherine

2016-10-15

This work was dedicated to the development of a reliable SPR method allowing the simultaneous and quick determination of the affinity and selectivity of designed sulfonamide derivatives for hCAIX and hCAXII versus hCAII, in order to provide an efficient tool to discover drugs for anticancer therapy of solid tumors. We performed for the first time a comparison of two immobilization approaches of hCA isoforms. First one relies on the use of an amine coupling strategy, using a CM7 chip to obtain higher immobilization levels than with a CM5 chip and consequently the affinity with an higher precision (CV% < 10%). The second corresponds to a capture of proteins on a streptavidin chip, named CAP chip, after optimization of biotinylation conditions (amine versus carboxyl coupling, biotin to protein ratio). Thanks to the amine coupling approach, only hCAII and hCAXII isoforms were efficiently biotinylated to reach relevant immobilization (3000 RU and 2700 RU, respectively) to perform affinity studies. For hCAIX, despite a successful biotinylation, capture on the CAP chip was a failure. Finally, concordance between affinities obtained for the three derivatives to CAs isozymes on both chips has allowed to valid the approaches for a further screening of new derivatives. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Efficiency and robustness of different bus network designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pang, John Zhen Fu; Bin Othman, Nasri; Ng, Keng Meng; Monterola, Christopher

2015-07-01

We compare the efficiencies and robustness of four transport networks that can be possibly formed as a result of deliberate city planning. The networks are constructed based on their spatial resemblance to the cities of Manhattan (lattice), Sudan (random), Beijing (single-blob) and Greater Cairo (dual-blob). For a given type, a genetic algorithm is employed to obtain an optimized set of the bus routes. We then simulate how commuter travels using Yen's algorithms for k shortest paths on an adjacency matrix. The cost of traveling such as walking between stations is captured by varying the weighted sums of matrices. We also consider the number of transfers a posteriori by looking at the computed shortest paths. With consideration to distances via radius of gyration, redundancies of travel and number of bus transfers, our simulations indicate that random and dual-blob are more efficient than single-blob and lattice networks. Moreover, dual-blob type is least robust when node removals are targeted but is most resilient when node failures are random. The work hopes to guide and provide technical perspectives on how geospatial distribution of a city limits the optimality of transport designs.

Proper Orthogonal Decomposition in Optimal Control of Fluids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ravindran, S. S.

1999-01-01

In this article, we present a reduced order modeling approach suitable for active control of fluid dynamical systems based on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). The rationale behind the reduced order modeling is that numerical simulation of Navier-Stokes equations is still too costly for the purpose of optimization and control of unsteady flows. We examine the possibility of obtaining reduced order models that reduce computational complexity associated with the Navier-Stokes equations while capturing the essential dynamics by using the POD. The POD allows extraction of certain optimal set of basis functions, perhaps few, from a computational or experimental data-base through an eigenvalue analysis. The solution is then obtained as a linear combination of these optimal set of basis functions by means of Galerkin projection. This makes it attractive for optimal control and estimation of systems governed by partial differential equations. We here use it in active control of fluid flows governed by the Navier-Stokes equations. We show that the resulting reduced order model can be very efficient for the computations of optimization and control problems in unsteady flows. Finally, implementational issues and numerical experiments are presented for simulations and optimal control of fluid flow through channels.

Effect of CuO on the efficiency of sulfur capture of Ca-based compounds during coal combustion.

PubMed

Zheng, Li-Qing; Lu, Wen-Ying; Liu, Guo-Guang

2003-05-01

The efficiency of sulfur capture of CaO, Ca(OH)2 and CaCO3 as well as the effect of CuO on them were studied. Results showed that the efficiency of sulfur capture of Ca(OH)2 is the highest among these three compounds. When CuO was used with each of CaO, Ca(OH)2 and CaCO3 at the same time, the efficiency of all of them would rise, and that of Ca(OH)2 raise most. The efficiency of sulfur capture of Ca(OH)2 with CuO is 14.4% higher than that without CuO.

Method and Apparatus for Automated Isolation of Nucleic Acids from Small Cell Samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sundaram, Shivshankar; Prabhakarpandian, Balabhaskar; Pant, Kapil; Wang, Yi

2014-01-01

RNA isolation is a ubiquitous need, driven by current emphasis on microarrays and miniaturization. With commercial systems requiring 100,000 to 1,000,000 cells for successful isolation, there is a growing need for a small-footprint, easy-to-use device that can harvest nucleic acids from much smaller cell samples (1,000 to 10,000 cells). The process of extraction of RNA from cell cultures is a complex, multi-step one, and requires timed, asynchronous operations with multiple reagents/buffers. An added complexity is the fragility of RNA (subject to degradation) and its reactivity to surface. A novel, microfluidics-based, integrated cartridge has been developed that can fully automate the complex process of RNA isolation (lyse, capture, and elute RNA) from small cell culture samples. On-cartridge cell lysis is achieved using either reagents or high-strength electric fields made possible by the miniaturized format. Traditionally, silica-based, porous-membrane formats have been used for RNA capture, requiring slow perfusion for effective capture. In this design, high efficiency capture/elution are achieved using a microsphere-based "microfluidized" format. Electrokinetic phenomena are harnessed to actively mix microspheres with the cell lysate and capture/elution buffer, providing important advantages in extraction efficiency, processing time, and operational flexibility. Successful RNA isolation was demonstrated using both suspension (HL-60) and adherent (BHK-21) cells. Novel features associated with this development are twofold. First, novel designs that execute needed processes with improved speed and efficiency were developed. These primarily encompass electric-field-driven lysis of cells. The configurations include electrode-containing constructs, or an "electrode-less" chip design, which is easy to fabricate and mitigates fouling at the electrode surface; and the "fluidized" extraction format based on electrokinetically assisted mixing and contacting of microbeads in a shape-optimized chamber. A secondary proprietary feature is in the particular layout integrating these components to perform the desired operation of RNA isolation. Apart from a novel functional capability, advantages of the innovation include reduced or eliminated use of toxic reagents, and operator-independent extraction of RNA.

Capture Efficiency of Biocompatible Magnetic Nanoparticles in Arterial Flow: A Computer Simulation for Magnetic Drug Targeting.

PubMed

Lunnoo, Thodsaphon; Puangmali, Theerapong

2015-12-01

The primary limitation of magnetic drug targeting (MDT) relates to the strength of an external magnetic field which decreases with increasing distance. Small nanoparticles (NPs) displaying superparamagnetic behaviour are also required in order to reduce embolization in the blood vessel. The small NPs, however, make it difficult to vector NPs and keep them in the desired location. The aims of this work were to investigate parameters influencing the capture efficiency of the drug carriers in mimicked arterial flow. In this work, we computationally modelled and evaluated capture efficiency in MDT with COMSOL Multiphysics 4.4. The studied parameters were (i) magnetic nanoparticle size, (ii) three classes of magnetic cores (Fe3O4, Fe2O3, and Fe), and (iii) the thickness of biocompatible coating materials (Au, SiO2, and PEG). It was found that the capture efficiency of small particles decreased with decreasing size and was less than 5 % for magnetic particles in the superparamagnetic regime. The thickness of non-magnetic coating materials did not significantly influence the capture efficiency of MDT. It was difficult to capture small drug carriers (D<200 nm) in the arterial flow. We suggest that the MDT with high-capture efficiency can be obtained in small vessels and low-blood velocities such as micro-capillary vessels.

Pilot-Scale Silicone Process for Low-Cost Carbon Dioxide Capture. Final Scientific/Technical Report

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

Hancu, Dan; Wood, Benjamin; Genovese, Sarah

GE Global Research has developed, over the last 8 years, a platform of cost effective CO 2 capture technologies based on a non-aqueous aminosilicone solvent (GAP-1m). As demonstrated in a previous funded DOE project (DE-FE0007502), the GAP-1m solvent has increased CO 2 working capacity, lower volatility and corrosivity than the benchmark aqueous amine technology. The current report describes the cooperative program between GE Global Research (GE GRC), and the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) to design, construct, and operate a pilot-scale process using GAP-1m solvent to demonstrate its performance at 0.5 MWe. (i) Performance of the GAP-1m solvent was demonstratedmore » in a 0.5 MWe pilot with real flue gas for over 900 hrs. of operation using two alternative desorption designs: a Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR), and a Steam Stripper Column (SSC). The CSTR is a one-stage separation unit with reduced space requirements, and capital cost. The alternative is a multi-stage separation column, with improved desorption efficiency. Testing the two desorber options allowed us to identify the most cost effective, and space efficient desorber solution. (ii) CSTR Campaign: The CSTR desorber unit was designed, fabricated and integrated with the pilot solvent test unit (PSTU), replacing the PSTU Steam Stripper Column at NCCC. Solvent management and waste water special procedures were implemented to accommodate operation of the non-aqueous solvent in the PSTU. Performance of the GAP-1m solvent with the CSTR was demonstrated for over 500 hrs. while varying temperature of the desorption (230 – 265 oF), solvent circulation rate (GAP-1m : CO 2 (molar) = 1.5 – 4), and flue gas flow rates (0.2 – 0.5 MWe). Solvent carry-over in the CO 2 product was minimized by maintaining water content below 5 wt.%, and desorption pressure at 7 psig. CO 2 capture efficiency achieved was 95% at 0.25 MWe (GAP-1m : CO 2 = 4 (molar), 230 oF desorption), and 65% at 0.5 MWe (GAP-1m : CO 2 (molar) = 1.5, 248 oF). Solvent loss was dominated by thermal degradation of the rich solvent. (iii) Steam Stripper Column Campaign: Higher expected cost of the solvent vs. aqueous amines makes solvent management a top priority to maintain the low cost for the process. During the testing of the GAP-1m solvent with the CSTR, thermal degradation of the rich solvent was found to be the main mechanism in solvent loss. Small amounts of water in the working solution were found to be an effective way to enable steam stripping, thereby lowering desorption temperature, and hence reducing thermal degradation. Steam stripping also increased working capacity by 30% due to a more efficient desorption. The concept was first tested in a glass stripping column (lab scale, GE GRC), optimized in a continuous bench scale system (2 kWe, GE GRC), and demonstrated in a 0.5 MWe PSTU at NCCC. No special system modifications were required to the PSTU to accommodate the testing of the non-aqueous GAP-1 solvent with the regenerator column. SSC was found to be more robust towards solvent entrainment (H 2O < 35 wt.%). 90 – 95% CO 2 capture efficiency was achieved under stoichiometric conditions at 0.5 MWe (235 oF desorption, 2 psig and 19 wt. % H 2O). Both CO 2 capture efficiency and specific duty reached optimum conditions at 18 wt.% H 2O. Low amine degradation (< 0.05 wt.%/day) was recorded over 350 hrs. of operation. Controlled water addition to GAP-1m solvent decreased the desorption temperature, thermal degradation, and improved the CO 2 working capacity due to more efficient absorption and desorption processes. Under these conditions, the GAP-1m solvent exhibited a 25% increased working capacity, and 10% reduction in specific steam duty vs. MEA, at 10 oF lower desorption temperature. (iv) Techno-economic Analysis: The pilot-scale PSTU engineering data were used to update the capture system process models, and the techno-economic analysis was performed for a 550 MW coal fired power plant. The 1st year CO 2 removal cost for the aminosilicone-based carbon-capture process was evaluated at $48/ton CO 2 using the steam stripper column. This is a 20% reduction compared to MEA, primarily due to lower overall capital cost. CO 2 cost using the CSTR desorber is dominated by the economics of the solvent make-up. The steam stripper desorber is the preferred unit operation due to a more efficient desorption, and reduced solvent make-up rate. Further reduction in CO 2 capture cost is expected by lowering the manufacturing cost of the solvent, implementing flowsheet optimization and/or implementing the next generation aminosilicone solvent with improved stability and increased CO 2 working capacity.« less

40 CFR 63.3965 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...; coating solvent flash-off, curing, and drying occurs within the capture system; and the removal or... spray booth and a curing oven. (b) Measuring capture efficiency. If the capture system does not meet... surface preparation activities and drying and curing time. (c) Liquid-to-uncaptured-gas protocol using a...

An evaluation of multipass electrofishing for estimating the abundance of stream-dwelling salmonids

Treesearch

James T. Peterson; Russell F. Thurow; John W. Guzevich

2004-01-01

Failure to estimate capture efficiency, defined as the probability of capturing individual fish, can introduce a systematic error or bias into estimates of fish abundance. We evaluated the efficacy of multipass electrofishing removal methods for estimating fish abundance by comparing estimates of capture efficiency from multipass removal estimates to capture...

Comparative study on antibody immobilization strategies for efficient circulating tumor cell capture.

PubMed

Ates, Hatice Ceren; Ozgur, Ebru; Kulah, Haluk

2018-03-23

Methods for isolation and quantification of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are attracting more attention every day, as the data for their unprecedented clinical utility continue to grow. However, the challenge is that CTCs are extremely rare (as low as 1 in a billion of blood cells) and a highly sensitive and specific technology is required to isolate CTCs from blood cells. Methods utilizing microfluidic systems for immunoaffinity-based CTC capture are preferred, especially when purity is the prime requirement. However, antibody immobilization strategy significantly affects the efficiency of such systems. In this study, two covalent and two bioaffinity antibody immobilization methods were assessed with respect to their CTC capture efficiency and selectivity, using an anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) as the capture antibody. Surface functionalization was realized on plain SiO 2 surfaces, as well as in microfluidic channels. Surfaces functionalized with different antibody immobilization methods are physically and chemically characterized at each step of functionalization. MCF-7 breast cancer and CCRF-CEM acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines were used as EpCAM positive and negative cell models, respectively, to assess CTC capture efficiency and selectivity. Comparisons reveal that bioaffinity based antibody immobilization involving streptavidin attachment with glutaraldehyde linker gave the highest cell capture efficiency. On the other hand, a covalent antibody immobilization method involving direct antibody binding by N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC)-N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) reaction was found to be more time and cost efficient with a similar cell capture efficiency. All methods provided very high selectivity for CTCs with EpCAM expression. It was also demonstrated that antibody immobilization via EDC-NHS reaction in a microfluidic channel leads to high capture efficiency and selectivity.

Optimization of wind plant layouts using an adjoint approach

DOE PAGES

King, Ryan N.; Dykes, Katherine; Graf, Peter; ...

2017-03-10

Using adjoint optimization and three-dimensional steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations, we present a new gradient-based approach for optimally siting wind turbines within utility-scale wind plants. By solving the adjoint equations of the flow model, the gradients needed for optimization are found at a cost that is independent of the number of control variables, thereby permitting optimization of large wind plants with many turbine locations. Moreover, compared to the common approach of superimposing prescribed wake deficits onto linearized flow models, the computational efficiency of the adjoint approach allows the use of higher-fidelity RANS flow models which can capture nonlinear turbulent flowmore » physics within a wind plant. The steady-state RANS flow model is implemented in the Python finite-element package FEniCS and the derivation and solution of the discrete adjoint equations are automated within the dolfin-adjoint framework. Gradient-based optimization of wind turbine locations is demonstrated for idealized test cases that reveal new optimization heuristics such as rotational symmetry, local speedups, and nonlinear wake curvature effects. Layout optimization is also demonstrated on more complex wind rose shapes, including a full annual energy production (AEP) layout optimization over 36 inflow directions and 5 wind speed bins.« less

Optimization of wind plant layouts using an adjoint approach

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

King, Ryan N.; Dykes, Katherine; Graf, Peter

Using adjoint optimization and three-dimensional steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations, we present a new gradient-based approach for optimally siting wind turbines within utility-scale wind plants. By solving the adjoint equations of the flow model, the gradients needed for optimization are found at a cost that is independent of the number of control variables, thereby permitting optimization of large wind plants with many turbine locations. Moreover, compared to the common approach of superimposing prescribed wake deficits onto linearized flow models, the computational efficiency of the adjoint approach allows the use of higher-fidelity RANS flow models which can capture nonlinear turbulent flowmore » physics within a wind plant. The steady-state RANS flow model is implemented in the Python finite-element package FEniCS and the derivation and solution of the discrete adjoint equations are automated within the dolfin-adjoint framework. Gradient-based optimization of wind turbine locations is demonstrated for idealized test cases that reveal new optimization heuristics such as rotational symmetry, local speedups, and nonlinear wake curvature effects. Layout optimization is also demonstrated on more complex wind rose shapes, including a full annual energy production (AEP) layout optimization over 36 inflow directions and 5 wind speed bins.« less

Can an auditory multi-feature optimal paradigm be used for the study of processes associated with attention capture in passive listeners?

PubMed

Tavakoli, Paniz; Campbell, Kenneth

2016-10-01

A rarely occurring and highly relevant auditory stimulus occurring outside of the current focus of attention can cause a switching of attention. Such attention capture is often studied in oddball paradigms consisting of a frequently occurring "standard" stimulus which is changed at odd times to form a "deviant". The deviant may result in the capturing of attention. An auditory ERP, the P3a, is often associated with this process. To collect a sufficient amount of data is however very time-consuming. A more multi-feature "optimal" paradigm has been proposed but it is not known if it is appropriate for the study of attention capture. An optimal paradigm was run in which 6 different rare deviants (p=.08) were separated by a standard stimulus (p=.50) and compared to results when 4 oddball paradigms were also run. A large P3a was elicited by some of the deviants in the optimal paradigm but not by others. However, very similar results were observed when separate oddball paradigms were run. The present study indicates that the optimal paradigm provides a very time-saving method to study attention capture and the P3a. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimizing human activity patterns using global sensitivity analysis

DOE PAGES

Fairchild, Geoffrey; Hickmann, Kyle S.; Mniszewski, Susan M.; ...

2013-12-10

Implementing realistic activity patterns for a population is crucial for modeling, for example, disease spread, supply and demand, and disaster response. Using the dynamic activity simulation engine, DASim, we generate schedules for a population that capture regular (e.g., working, eating, and sleeping) and irregular activities (e.g., shopping or going to the doctor). We use the sample entropy (SampEn) statistic to quantify a schedule’s regularity for a population. We show how to tune an activity’s regularity by adjusting SampEn, thereby making it possible to realistically design activities when creating a schedule. The tuning process sets up a computationally intractable high-dimensional optimizationmore » problem. To reduce the computational demand, we use Bayesian Gaussian process regression to compute global sensitivity indices and identify the parameters that have the greatest effect on the variance of SampEn. Here we use the harmony search (HS) global optimization algorithm to locate global optima. Our results show that HS combined with global sensitivity analysis can efficiently tune the SampEn statistic with few search iterations. We demonstrate how global sensitivity analysis can guide statistical emulation and global optimization algorithms to efficiently tune activities and generate realistic activity patterns. Finally, though our tuning methods are applied to dynamic activity schedule generation, they are general and represent a significant step in the direction of automated tuning and optimization of high-dimensional computer simulations.« less

Shape-driven 3D segmentation using spherical wavelets.

PubMed

Nain, Delphine; Haker, Steven; Bobick, Aaron; Tannenbaum, Allen

2006-01-01

This paper presents a novel active surface segmentation algorithm using a multiscale shape representation and prior. We define a parametric model of a surface using spherical wavelet functions and learn a prior probability distribution over the wavelet coefficients to model shape variations at different scales and spatial locations in a training set. Based on this representation, we derive a parametric active surface evolution using the multiscale prior coefficients as parameters for our optimization procedure to naturally include the prior in the segmentation framework. Additionally, the optimization method can be applied in a coarse-to-fine manner. We apply our algorithm to the segmentation of brain caudate nucleus, of interest in the study of schizophrenia. Our validation shows our algorithm is computationally efficient and outperforms the Active Shape Model algorithm by capturing finer shape details.

[Engineering photosynthetic cyanobacterial chassis: a review].

PubMed

Wu, Qin; Chen, Lei; Wang, Jiangxin; Zhang, Weiwen

2013-08-01

Photosynthetic cyanobacteria possess a series of good properties, such as their abilities to capture solar energy for CO2 fixation, low nutritional requirements for growth, high growth rate, and relatively simple genetic background. Due to the high oil price and increased concern of the global warming in recent years, cyanobacteria have attracted widespread attention because they can serve as an 'autotrophic microbial factory' for producing renewable biofuels and fine chemicals directly from CO2. Particularly, significant progress has been made in applying synthetic biology techniques and strategies to construct and optimize cyanobacteria chassis. In this article, we critically summarized recent advances in developing new methods to optimize cyanobacteria chassis, improving cyanobacteria photosynthetic efficiency, and in constructing cyanobacteria chassis tolerant to products or environmental stresses. In addition, various industrial applications of cyanobacteria chassis are also discussed.

More are better, but the details matter: combinations of multiple Fresnel zone plates for improved resolution and efficiency in X-ray microscopy

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

Li, Kenan; Jacobsen, Chris

Fresnel zone plates used for X-ray nanofocusing face high-aspect-ratio nanofabrication challenges in combining narrow transverse features (for high spatial resolution) along with extended optical modulation along the X-ray beam direction (to improve efficiency). The stacking of multiple Fresnel zone plates along the beam direction has already been shown to offer improved characteristics of resolution and efficiency when compared with thin single zone plates. Using multislice wave propagation simulation methods, here a number of new schemes for the stacking of multiple Fresnel zone plates are considered. These include consideration of optimal thickness and spacing in the axial direction, and methods tomore » capture a fraction of the light otherwise diffracted into unwanted orders, and instead bring it into the desired first-order focus. In conclusion, the alignment tolerances for stacking multiple Fresnel zone plates are also considered.« less

Fastener Capture Plate Technology to Contain On-Orbit Debris

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eisenhower, Kevin

2010-01-01

The Fastener Capture Plate technology was developed to solve the problem of capturing loose hardware and small fasteners, items that were not originally intended to be disengaged in microgravity, thus preventing them from becoming space debris. This technology was incorporated into astronaut tools designed and successfully used on NASA s Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission #4. The technology s ultimate benefit is that it allows a very time-efficient method for disengaging fasteners and removing hardware while minimizing the chances of losing parts or generating debris. The technology aims to simplify the manual labor required of the operator. It does so by optimizing visibility and access to the work site and minimizing the operator's need to be concerned with debris while performing the operations. It has a range of unique features that were developed to minimize task time, as well as maximize the ease and confidence of the astronaut operator. This paper describes the technology and the astronaut tools developed specifically for a complicated on-orbit repair, and it includes photographs of the hardware being used in outer space.

Multimodal transport and dispersion of organelles in narrow tubular cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mogre, Saurabh S.; Koslover, Elena F.

2018-04-01

Intracellular components explore the cytoplasm via active motor-driven transport in conjunction with passive diffusion. We model the motion of organelles in narrow tubular cells using analytical techniques and numerical simulations to study the efficiency of different transport modes in achieving various cellular objectives. Our model describes length and time scales over which each transport mode dominates organelle motion, along with various metrics to quantify exploration of intracellular space. For organelles that search for a specific target, we obtain the average capture time for given transport parameters and show that diffusion and active motion contribute to target capture in the biologically relevant regime. Because many organelles have been found to tether to microtubules when not engaged in active motion, we study the interplay between immobilization due to tethering and increased probability of active transport. We derive parameter-dependent conditions under which tethering enhances long-range transport and improves the target capture time. These results shed light on the optimization of intracellular transport machinery and provide experimentally testable predictions for the effects of transport regulation mechanisms such as tethering.

Predicting Statistical Response and Extreme Events in Uncertainty Quantification through Reduced-Order Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, D.; Majda, A.

2017-12-01

A low-dimensional reduced-order statistical closure model is developed for quantifying the uncertainty in statistical sensitivity and intermittency in principal model directions with largest variability in high-dimensional turbulent system and turbulent transport models. Imperfect model sensitivity is improved through a recent mathematical strategy for calibrating model errors in a training phase, where information theory and linear statistical response theory are combined in a systematic fashion to achieve the optimal model performance. The idea in the reduced-order method is from a self-consistent mathematical framework for general systems with quadratic nonlinearity, where crucial high-order statistics are approximated by a systematic model calibration procedure. Model efficiency is improved through additional damping and noise corrections to replace the expensive energy-conserving nonlinear interactions. Model errors due to the imperfect nonlinear approximation are corrected by tuning the model parameters using linear response theory with an information metric in a training phase before prediction. A statistical energy principle is adopted to introduce a global scaling factor in characterizing the higher-order moments in a consistent way to improve model sensitivity. Stringent models of barotropic and baroclinic turbulence are used to display the feasibility of the reduced-order methods. Principal statistical responses in mean and variance can be captured by the reduced-order models with accuracy and efficiency. Besides, the reduced-order models are also used to capture crucial passive tracer field that is advected by the baroclinic turbulent flow. It is demonstrated that crucial principal statistical quantities like the tracer spectrum and fat-tails in the tracer probability density functions in the most important large scales can be captured efficiently with accuracy using the reduced-order tracer model in various dynamical regimes of the flow field with distinct statistical structures.

Role of Additives in Composite PEI/Oxide CO 2 Adsorbents: Enhancement in the Amine Efficiency of Supported PEI by PEG in CO 2 Capture from Simulated Ambient Air

DOE PAGES

Sakwa-Novak, Miles A.; Tan, Shuai; Jones, Christopher W.

2015-10-20

Supported amines are promising candidate adsorbents for the removal of CO 2 from flue gases and directly from ambient air. The incorporation of additives into polymeric amines such as poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) supported on mesoporous oxides is an effective strategy to improve the performance of the materials. Here, several practical aspects of this strategy are addressed with regards to direct air capture. The influence of three additives (CTAB, PEG200, PEG1000) was systematically explored under dry simulated air capture conditions (400 ppm of CO 2, 30 °C). With SBA-15 as a model support for poly(ethylenimine) (PEI), the nature of the additive inducedmore » heterogeneities in the deposition of organic on the interior and exterior of the particles, an important consideration for future scale up to practical systems. The PEG200 additive increased the observed thermodynamic performance (~60% increase in amine efficiency) of the adsorbents regardless of the PEI content, while the other molecules had less positive effects. A threshold PEG200/PEI value was identified at which the diffusional limitations of CO 2 within the materials were nearly eliminated. The threshold PEG/PEI ratio may have physical origin in the interactions between PEI and PEG, as the optimal ratio corresponded to nearly equimolar OH/reactive (1°, 2°) amine ratios. As a result, the strategy is shown to be robust to the characteristics of the host support, as PEG200 improved the amine efficiency of PEI when supported on two varieties of mesoporous γ-alumina with PEI.« less

Role of Additives in Composite PEI/Oxide CO 2 Adsorbents: Enhancement in the Amine Efficiency of Supported PEI by PEG in CO 2 Capture from Simulated Ambient Air

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

Sakwa-Novak, Miles A.; Tan, Shuai; Jones, Christopher W.

Supported amines are promising candidate adsorbents for the removal of CO 2 from flue gases and directly from ambient air. The incorporation of additives into polymeric amines such as poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) supported on mesoporous oxides is an effective strategy to improve the performance of the materials. Here, several practical aspects of this strategy are addressed with regards to direct air capture. The influence of three additives (CTAB, PEG200, PEG1000) was systematically explored under dry simulated air capture conditions (400 ppm of CO 2, 30 °C). With SBA-15 as a model support for poly(ethylenimine) (PEI), the nature of the additive inducedmore » heterogeneities in the deposition of organic on the interior and exterior of the particles, an important consideration for future scale up to practical systems. The PEG200 additive increased the observed thermodynamic performance (~60% increase in amine efficiency) of the adsorbents regardless of the PEI content, while the other molecules had less positive effects. A threshold PEG200/PEI value was identified at which the diffusional limitations of CO 2 within the materials were nearly eliminated. The threshold PEG/PEI ratio may have physical origin in the interactions between PEI and PEG, as the optimal ratio corresponded to nearly equimolar OH/reactive (1°, 2°) amine ratios. As a result, the strategy is shown to be robust to the characteristics of the host support, as PEG200 improved the amine efficiency of PEI when supported on two varieties of mesoporous γ-alumina with PEI.« less

CO2 Capture by Injection of Flue Gas or CO2-N2 Mixtures into Hydrate Reservoirs: Dependence of CO2 Capture Efficiency on Gas Hydrate Reservoir Conditions.

PubMed

Hassanpouryouzband, Aliakbar; Yang, Jinhai; Tohidi, Bahman; Chuvilin, Evgeny; Istomin, Vladimir; Bukhanov, Boris; Cheremisin, Alexey

2018-04-03

Injection of flue gas or CO 2 -N 2 mixtures into gas hydrate reservoirs has been considered as a promising option for geological storage of CO 2 . However, the thermodynamic process in which the CO 2 present in flue gas or a CO 2 -N 2 mixture is captured as hydrate has not been well understood. In this work, a series of experiments were conducted to investigate the dependence of CO 2 capture efficiency on reservoir conditions. The CO 2 capture efficiency was investigated at different injection pressures from 2.6 to 23.8 MPa and hydrate reservoir temperatures from 273.2 to 283.2 K in the presence of two different saturations of methane hydrate. The results showed that more than 60% of the CO 2 in the flue gas was captured and stored as CO 2 hydrate or CO 2 -mixed hydrates, while methane-rich gas was produced. The efficiency of CO 2 capture depends on the reservoir conditions including temperature, pressure, and hydrate saturation. For a certain reservoir temperature, there is an optimum reservoir pressure at which the maximum amount of CO 2 can be captured from the injected flue gas or CO 2 -N 2 mixtures. This finding suggests that it is essential to control the injection pressure to enhance CO 2 capture efficiency by flue gas or CO 2 -N 2 mixtures injection.

Use of natural clays as sorbent materials for rare earth ions: Materials characterization and set up of the operative parameters.

PubMed

Iannicelli-Zubiani, Elena Maria; Cristiani, Cinzia; Dotelli, Giovanni; Gallo Stampino, Paola; Pelosato, Renato; Mesto, Ernesto; Schingaro, Emanuela; Lacalamita, Maria

2015-12-01

Two mineral clays of the montmorillonite group were tested as sorbents for the removal of Rare Earths (REs) from liquid solutions. Lanthanum and neodymium model solutions were used to perform uptake tests in order to: (a) verify the clays sorption capability, (b) investigate the sorption mechanisms and (c) optimize the experimental parameters, such as contact time and pH. The desorption was also studied, in order to evaluate the feasibility of REs recovery from waters. The adsorption-desorption procedure with the optimized parameters was also tested on a leaching solution obtained by dissolution of a dismantled NdFeB magnet of a hard-disk. The clays were fully characterized after REs adsorption and desorption by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS); the liquid phase was characterized via Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analyses. The experimental results show that both clays are able to capture and release La and Nd ions, with an ion exchange mechanism. The best total efficiency (capture ≈ 50%, release ≈ 70%) is obtained when the uptake and release processes are performed at pH=5 and pH=1 respectively; in real leached scrap solutions, the uptake is around 40% but release efficiency is strongly decreased passing from a mono-ion system to a real system (from 80% to 5%). Furthermore, a strong matrix effect is found, with the matrix largely affecting both the uptake and the release of neodymium. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Novel, Real-Time, In Vivo Mouse Retinal Imaging System

PubMed Central

Butler, Mark C.; Sullivan, Jack M.

2015-01-01

Purpose To develop an efficient, low-cost instrument for robust real-time imaging of the mouse retina in vivo, and assess system capabilities by evaluating various animal models. Methods Following multiple disappointing attempts to visualize the mouse retina during a subretinal injection using commercially available systems, we identified the key limitation to be inadequate illumination due to off axis illumination and poor optical train optimization. Therefore, we designed a paraxial illumination system for Greenough-type stereo dissecting microscope incorporating an optimized optical launch and an efficiently coupled fiber optic delivery system. Excitation and emission filters control spectral bandwidth. A color coupled-charged device (CCD) camera is coupled to the microscope for image capture. Although, field of view (FOV) is constrained by the small pupil aperture, the high optical power of the mouse eye, and the long working distance (needed for surgical manipulations), these limitations can be compensated by eye positioning in order to observe the entire retina. Results The retinal imaging system delivers an adjustable narrow beam to the dilated pupil with minimal vignetting. The optic nerve, vasculature, and posterior pole are crisply visualized and the entire retina can be observed through eye positioning. Normal and degenerative retinal phenotypes can be followed over time. Subretinal or intraocular injection procedures are followed in real time. Real-time, intravenous fluorescein angiography for the live mouse has been achieved. Conclusions A novel device is established for real-time viewing and image capture of the small animal retina during subretinal injections for preclinical gene therapy studies. PMID:26551329

Continuously tunable nucleic acid hybridization probes.

PubMed

Wu, Lucia R; Wang, Juexiao Sherry; Fang, John Z; Evans, Emily R; Pinto, Alessandro; Pekker, Irena; Boykin, Richard; Ngouenet, Celine; Webster, Philippa J; Beechem, Joseph; Zhang, David Yu

2015-12-01

In silico-designed nucleic acid probes and primers often do not achieve favorable specificity and sensitivity tradeoffs on the first try, and iterative empirical sequence-based optimization is needed, particularly in multiplexed assays. We present a novel, on-the-fly method of tuning probe affinity and selectivity by adjusting the stoichiometry of auxiliary species, which allows for independent and decoupled adjustment of the hybridization yield for different probes in multiplexed assays. Using this method, we achieved near-continuous tuning of probe effective free energy. To demonstrate our approach, we enforced uniform capture efficiency of 31 DNA molecules (GC content, 0-100%), maximized the signal difference for 11 pairs of single-nucleotide variants and performed tunable hybrid capture of mRNA from total RNA. Using the Nanostring nCounter platform, we applied stoichiometric tuning to simultaneously adjust yields for a 24-plex assay, and we show multiplexed quantitation of RNA sequences and variants from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples.

Hi-C 2.0: An optimized Hi-C procedure for high-resolution genome-wide mapping of chromosome conformation.

PubMed

Belaghzal, Houda; Dekker, Job; Gibcus, Johan H

2017-07-01

Chromosome conformation capture-based methods such as Hi-C have become mainstream techniques for the study of the 3D organization of genomes. These methods convert chromatin interactions reflecting topological chromatin structures into digital information (counts of pair-wise interactions). Here, we describe an updated protocol for Hi-C (Hi-C 2.0) that integrates recent improvements into a single protocol for efficient and high-resolution capture of chromatin interactions. This protocol combines chromatin digestion and frequently cutting enzymes to obtain kilobase (kb) resolution. It also includes steps to reduce random ligation and the generation of uninformative molecules, such as unligated ends, to improve the amount of valid intra-chromosomal read pairs. This protocol allows for obtaining information on conformational structures such as compartment and topologically associating domains, as well as high-resolution conformational features such as DNA loops. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 63.5875 - How do I determine the capture efficiency of the enclosure on my wet-out area and the capture...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... lamination/casting operations? 63.5875 Section 63.5875 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... lamination/casting operations? (a) The capture efficiency of a wet-out area enclosure is assumed to be 100...

Exciton delocalization incorporated drift-diffusion model for bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zi Shuai; Sha, Wei E. I.; Choy, Wallace C. H.

2016-12-01

Modeling the charge-generation process is highly important to understand device physics and optimize power conversion efficiency of bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells (OSCs). Free carriers are generated by both ultrafast exciton delocalization and slow exciton diffusion and dissociation at the heterojunction interface. In this work, we developed a systematic numerical simulation to describe the charge-generation process by a modified drift-diffusion model. The transport, recombination, and collection of free carriers are incorporated to fully capture the device response. The theoretical results match well with the state-of-the-art high-performance organic solar cells. It is demonstrated that the increase of exciton delocalization ratio reduces the energy loss in the exciton diffusion-dissociation process, and thus, significantly improves the device efficiency, especially for the short-circuit current. By changing the exciton delocalization ratio, OSC performances are comprehensively investigated under the conditions of short-circuit and open-circuit. Particularly, bulk recombination dependent fill factor saturation is unveiled and understood. As a fundamental electrical analysis of the delocalization mechanism, our work is important to understand and optimize the high-performance OSCs.

Single Neuron Optimization as a Basis for Accurate Biophysical Modeling: The Case of Cerebellar Granule Cells.

PubMed

Masoli, Stefano; Rizza, Martina F; Sgritta, Martina; Van Geit, Werner; Schürmann, Felix; D'Angelo, Egidio

2017-01-01

In realistic neuronal modeling, once the ionic channel complement has been defined, the maximum ionic conductance (G i-max ) values need to be tuned in order to match the firing pattern revealed by electrophysiological recordings. Recently, selection/mutation genetic algorithms have been proposed to efficiently and automatically tune these parameters. Nonetheless, since similar firing patterns can be achieved through different combinations of G i-max values, it is not clear how well these algorithms approximate the corresponding properties of real cells. Here we have evaluated the issue by exploiting a unique opportunity offered by the cerebellar granule cell (GrC), which is electrotonically compact and has therefore allowed the direct experimental measurement of ionic currents. Previous models were constructed using empirical tuning of G i-max values to match the original data set. Here, by using repetitive discharge patterns as a template, the optimization procedure yielded models that closely approximated the experimental G i-max values. These models, in addition to repetitive firing, captured additional features, including inward rectification, near-threshold oscillations, and resonance, which were not used as features. Thus, parameter optimization using genetic algorithms provided an efficient modeling strategy for reconstructing the biophysical properties of neurons and for the subsequent reconstruction of large-scale neuronal network models.

Optimized Solvent for Energy-Efficient, Environmentally-Friendly Capture of CO{sub 2} at Coal-Fired Power Plants

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

Farthing, G. A.; Rimpf, L. M.

The overall goal of this project, as originally proposed, was to optimize the formulation of a novel solvent as a critical enabler for the cost-effective, energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly capture of CO{sub 2} at coal-fired utility plants. Aqueous blends of concentrated piperazine (PZ) with other compounds had been shown to exhibit high rates of CO{sub 2} absorption, low regeneration energy, and other desirable performance characteristics during an earlier 5-year development program conducted by B&W. The specific objective of this project was to identify PZ-based solvent formulations that globally optimize the performance of coal-fired power plants equipped with CO{sub 2} scrubbing systems. Whilemore » previous solvent development studies have tended to focus on energy consumption and absorber size, important issues to be sure, the current work seeks to explore, understand, and optimize solvent formulation across the full gamut of issues related to commercial application of the technology: capital and operating costs, operability, reliability, environmental, health and safety (EH&S), etc. Work on the project was intended to be performed under four budget periods. The objective of the work in the first budget period has been to identify several candidate formulations of a concentrated PZ-based solvent for detailed characterization and evaluation. Work in the second budget period would generate reliable and comprehensive property and performance data for the identified formulations. Work in the third budget period would quantify the expected performance of the selected formulations in a commercial CO{sub 2} scrubbing process. Finally, work in the fourth budget period would provide a final technology feasibility study and a preliminary technology EH&S assessment. Due to other business priorities, however, B&W has requested that this project be terminated at the end of the first budget period. This document therefore serves as the final report for this project. It is the first volume of the two-volume final report and summarizes Budget Period 1 accomplishments under Tasks 1-5 of the project, including the selection of four solvent formulations for further study.« less

Viability preserved capture of microorganism by plasma functionalized carbon-encapsulated iron nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viswan, Anchu; Sugiura, Kuniaki; Nagatsu, Masaaki

2015-09-01

Carbon-encapsulated iron nanoparticles (Fe@C NPs) were synthesized by DC arc discharge method. Carbon encapsulation makes the particles hydrophobic, however for most of the biomedical applications they need to be hydrophilic. To attain this, the particles were amino functionalized by RF plasma. Effect of gas mixture ratio (Ar/NH3), pretreatment, post-treatment times and RF power were optimized. By varying the RF plasma conditions, the amino group population on the surface of Fe@C NPs were increased. With conventional chemical method the amino group population on particles, synthesized in different conditions was found to be ranging from 3-7 × 104 per particle. Bioconjugation efficiency of the nanoparticles was examined by biotin-avidin system, which can be simulated for antigen-antibody reactions. Results from the UV absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy shows increment in bioconjugation efficiency, with the increase of amino group population on the nanoparticles. After confirming the bioconjugation efficiency, the amino functionalized Fe@C NPs were modified with antibodies for targeting specific microorganisms. Our aim is to capture the microbes in viable and concentrated form even from less populated samples, with lesser time compared to the presently available methods. This work has been supported in part by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Nos. 21110010 and 25246029) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

Harnessing the genetics of the modern dairy cow to continue improvements in feed efficiency.

PubMed

VandeHaar, M J; Armentano, L E; Weigel, K; Spurlock, D M; Tempelman, R J; Veerkamp, R

2016-06-01

Feed efficiency, as defined by the fraction of feed energy or dry matter captured in products, has more than doubled for the US dairy industry in the past 100 yr. This increased feed efficiency was the result of increased milk production per cow achieved through genetic selection, nutrition, and management with the desired goal being greater profitability. With increased milk production per cow, more feed is consumed per cow, but a greater portion of the feed is partitioned toward milk instead of maintenance and body growth. This dilution of maintenance has been the overwhelming driver of enhanced feed efficiency in the past, but its effect diminishes with each successive increment in production relative to body size and therefore will be less important in the future. Instead, we must also focus on new ways to enhance digestive and metabolic efficiency. One way to examine variation in efficiency among animals is residual feed intake (RFI), a measure of efficiency that is independent of the dilution of maintenance. Cows that convert feed gross energy to net energy more efficiently or have lower maintenance requirements than expected based on body weight use less feed than expected and thus have negative RFI. Cows with low RFI likely digest and metabolize nutrients more efficiently and should have overall greater efficiency and profitability if they are also healthy, fertile, and produce at a high multiple of maintenance. Genomic technologies will help to identify these animals for selection programs. Nutrition and management also will continue to play a major role in farm-level feed efficiency. Management practices such as grouping and total mixed ration feeding have improved rumen function and therefore efficiency, but they have also decreased our attention on individual cow needs. Nutritional grouping is key to helping each cow reach its genetic potential. Perhaps new computer-driven technologies, combined with genomics, will enable us to optimize management for each individual cow within a herd, or to optimize animal selection to match management environments. In the future, availability of feed resources may shift as competition for land increases. New approaches combining genetic, nutrition, and other management practices will help optimize feed efficiency, profitability, and environmental sustainability. Copyright © 2016 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stuart Cohen | NREL

Science.gov Websites

;Optimizing post-combustion CO2 capture in response to volatile electricity prices." International , S.M., H.L. Chalmers, M.E. Webber, C.W. King, and J. Gibbins. "Comparing post-combustion CO2 ., G.T. Rochelle, and M.E. Webber. "Optimal operation of flexible post- combustion CO2 capture in

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

Warren, Emily L.; Deceglie, Michael G.; Stradins, Paul

Three-terminal (3T) tandem cells fabricated by combining an interdigitated back contact (IBC) Si device with a wider bandgap top cell have the potential to provide a robust operating mechanism to efficiently capture the solar spectrum without the need to current match sub-cells or fabricate complicated metal interconnects between cells. Here we develop a two dimensional device physics model to study the behavior of IBC Si solar cells operated in a 3T configuration. We investigate how different cell designs impact device performance and discuss the analysis protocol used to understand and optimize power produced from a single junction, 3T device.

Selecting Pixels for Kepler Downlink

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bryson, Stephen T.; Jenkins, Jon M.; Klaus, Todd C.; Cote, Miles T.; Quintana, Elisa V.; Hall, Jennifer R.; Ibrahim, Khadeejah; Chandrasekaran, Hema; Caldwell, Douglas A.; Van Cleve, Jeffrey E.;

Transforming Clinical Documentation in EHRs for 2020: Recommendations from University of Minnesota's Big Data Conference Working Group.

PubMed

Weaver, Charlotte; O'Brien, Ann

2016-01-01

In 2014, a group of diverse informatics leaders from practice, academia, and the software industry formed to address how best to transform electronic documentation to provide knowledge at the point of care and to deliver value to front line nurses and nurse leaders. This presentation reports the recommendations from this Working Group geared towards a 2020 framework. The recommendations propose redesign to optimize nurses' documentation efficiency while contributing to knowledge generation and attaining a balance that ensures the capture of nursing's impact on safety, quality, yet minimizes "death by data entry."

Effect of pitcher age on trapping efficiency and natural prey capture in carnivorous Nepenthes rafflesiana plants.

PubMed

Bauer, Ulrike; Willmes, Christoph; Federle, Walter

2009-06-01

Nepenthes pitchers are sophisticated traps that employ a variety of mechanisms to attract, capture and retain prey. The underlying morphological structures and physiological processes are subject to change over the lifetime of a pitcher. Here an investigation was carried out on how pitcher properties and capture efficiency change over the first 2 weeks after pitcher opening. Prey capture, trapping efficiency, extrafloral nectar secretion, pitcher odour, as well as pH and viscoelasticity of the digestive fluid in N. rafflesiana pitchers were monitored in the natural habitat from pitcher opening up to an age of 2 weeks. Pitchers not only increased their attractiveness over this period by becoming more fragrant and secreting more nectar, but also gained mechanical trapping efficiency via an enhanced wettability of the upper pitcher rim (peristome). Consistently, natural prey capture was initially low and increased 3-6 d after opening. It was, however, highly variable within and among pitchers. At the same time, the pH and viscoelasticity of the digestive fluid decreased, suggesting that the latter is not essential for effective prey capture. Prey capture and attraction by Nepenthes are dynamic processes strongly influenced by the changing properties of the pitcher. The results confirm insect aquaplaning on the peristome as the main capture mechanism in N. rafflesiana.

Reassessing the Efficiency Penalty from Carbon Capture in Coal-Fired Power Plants.

PubMed

Supekar, Sarang D; Skerlos, Steven J

2015-10-20

This paper examines thermal efficiency penalties and greenhouse gas as well as other pollutant emissions associated with pulverized coal (PC) power plants equipped with postcombustion CO2 capture for carbon sequestration. We find that, depending on the source of heat used to meet the steam requirements in the capture unit, retrofitting a PC power plant that maintains its gross power output (compared to a PC power plant without a capture unit) can cause a drop in plant thermal efficiency of 11.3-22.9%-points. This estimate for efficiency penalty is significantly higher than literature values and corresponds to an increase of about 5.3-7.7 US¢/kWh in the levelized cost of electricity (COE) over the 8.4 US¢/kWh COE value for PC plants without CO2 capture. The results follow from the inclusion of mass and energy feedbacks in PC power plants with CO2 capture into previous analyses, as well as including potential quality considerations for safe and reliable transportation and sequestration of CO2. We conclude that PC power plants with CO2 capture are likely to remain less competitive than natural gas combined cycle (without CO2 capture) and on-shore wind power plants, both from a levelized and marginal COE point of view.

The influence of seine capture efficiency on fish abundance estimates in the upper Mississippi River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holland Bartels, L. E.; Dewey, M.R.

1997-01-01

The effects of season, presence of vegetation, and time of day on seine capture efficiency for fish were evaluated using test enclosures in the upper Mississippi River. Overall capture efficiency of the seine haul was 49% (53% during the day and 43% at night). During daytime tests, the efficiency ranged from 39% to 74% but did not differ statistically between sites or among dates. At night, the efficiency was higher at the vegetated than at the nonvegetated site (55% vs 32%) and declined through time from 56% in May to 28% in October. Although susceptibility to capture differed among taxa, we could not predict either total catch efficiency or efficiency within a given taxon for a given sample. Adjustment of catch data with various estimates of efficiency reduced the mean absolute error for all sampling dates from 51% to 24%, but the error of the adjusted data still ranged from -58% to +54% on any given sampling date. These results indicate that it is difficult to make accurate adjustment of catch data to compensate for gear bias in studies of seasonal habitat use.

Optimization of Passive Low Power Wireless Electromagnetic Energy Harvesters

PubMed Central

Nimo, Antwi; Grgić, Dario; Reindl, Leonhard M.

2012-01-01

This work presents the optimization of antenna captured low power radio frequency (RF) to direct current (DC) power converters using Schottky diodes for powering remote wireless sensors. Linearized models using scattering parameters show that an antenna and a matched diode rectifier can be described as a form of coupled resonator with different individual resonator properties. The analytical models show that the maximum voltage gain of the coupled resonators is mainly related to the antenna, diode and load (remote sensor) resistances at matched conditions or resonance. The analytical models were verified with experimental results. Different passive wireless RF power harvesters offering high selectivity, broadband response and high voltage sensitivity are presented. Measured results show that with an optimal resistance of antenna and diode, it is possible to achieve high RF to DC voltage sensitivity of 0.5 V and efficiency of 20% at −30 dBm antenna input power. Additionally, a wireless harvester (rectenna) is built and tested for receiving range performance. PMID:23202014

Optimization of passive low power wireless electromagnetic energy harvesters.

PubMed

Nimo, Antwi; Grgić, Dario; Reindl, Leonhard M

2012-10-11

This work presents the optimization of antenna captured low power radio frequency (RF) to direct current (DC) power converters using Schottky diodes for powering remote wireless sensors. Linearized models using scattering parameters show that an antenna and a matched diode rectifier can be described as a form of coupled resonator with different individual resonator properties. The analytical models show that the maximum voltage gain of the coupled resonators is mainly related to the antenna, diode and load (remote sensor) resistances at matched conditions or resonance. The analytical models were verified with experimental results. Different passive wireless RF power harvesters offering high selectivity, broadband response and high voltage sensitivity are presented. Measured results show that with an optimal resistance of antenna and diode, it is possible to achieve high RF to DC voltage sensitivity of 0.5 V and efficiency of 20% at -30 dBm antenna input power. Additionally, a wireless harvester (rectenna) is built and tested for receiving range performance.

Power Control for Direct-Driven Permanent Magnet Wind Generator System with Battery Storage

PubMed Central

Guang, Chu Xiao; Ying, Kong

2014-01-01

The objective of this paper is to construct a wind generator system (WGS) loss model that addresses the loss of the wind turbine and the generator. It aims to optimize the maximum effective output power and turbine speed. Given that the wind generator system has inertia and is nonlinear, the dynamic model of the wind generator system takes the advantage of the duty of the Buck converter and employs feedback linearization to design the optimized turbine speed tracking controller and the load power controller. According to that, this paper proposes a dual-mode dynamic coordination strategy based on the auxiliary load to reduce the influence of mode conversion on the lifetime of the battery. Optimized speed and power rapid tracking as well as the reduction of redundant power during mode conversion have gone through the test based on a 5 kW wind generator system test platform. The generator output power as the capture target has also been proved to be efficient. PMID:25050405

Power control for direct-driven permanent magnet wind generator system with battery storage.

PubMed

Guang, Chu Xiao; Ying, Kong

2014-01-01

The objective of this paper is to construct a wind generator system (WGS) loss model that addresses the loss of the wind turbine and the generator. It aims to optimize the maximum effective output power and turbine speed. Given that the wind generator system has inertia and is nonlinear, the dynamic model of the wind generator system takes the advantage of the duty of the Buck converter and employs feedback linearization to design the optimized turbine speed tracking controller and the load power controller. According to that, this paper proposes a dual-mode dynamic coordination strategy based on the auxiliary load to reduce the influence of mode conversion on the lifetime of the battery. Optimized speed and power rapid tracking as well as the reduction of redundant power during mode conversion have gone through the test based on a 5 kW wind generator system test platform. The generator output power as the capture target has also been proved to be efficient.

Systematic optimization of fed-batch simultaneous saccharification and fermentation at high-solid loading based on enzymatic hydrolysis and dynamic metabolic modeling of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

PubMed

Unrean, Pornkamol; Khajeeram, Sutamat; Laoteng, Kobkul

2016-03-01

An integrative simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) modeling is a useful guiding tool for rapid process optimization to meet the techno-economic requirement of industrial-scale lignocellulosic ethanol production. In this work, we have developed the SSF model composing of a metabolic network of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell associated with fermentation kinetics and enzyme hydrolysis model to quantitatively capture dynamic responses of yeast cell growth and fermentation during SSF. By using model-based design of feeding profiles for substrate and yeast cell in the fed-batch SSF process, an efficient ethanol production with high titer of up to 65 g/L and high yield of 85 % of theoretical yield was accomplished. The ethanol titer and productivity was increased by 47 and 41 %, correspondingly, in optimized fed-batch SSF as compared to batch process. The developed integrative SSF model is, therefore, considered as a promising approach for systematic design of economical and sustainable SSF bioprocessing of lignocellulose.

An optimization framework for measuring spatial access over healthcare networks.

PubMed

Li, Zihao; Serban, Nicoleta; Swann, Julie L

2015-07-17

Measurement of healthcare spatial access over a network involves accounting for demand, supply, and network structure. Popular approaches are based on floating catchment areas; however the methods can overestimate demand over the network and fail to capture cascading effects across the system. Optimization is presented as a framework to measure spatial access. Questions related to when and why optimization should be used are addressed. The accuracy of the optimization models compared to the two-step floating catchment area method and its variations is analytically demonstrated, and a case study of specialty care for Cystic Fibrosis over the continental United States is used to compare these approaches. The optimization models capture a patient's experience rather than their opportunities and avoid overestimating patient demand. They can also capture system effects due to change based on congestion. Furthermore, the optimization models provide more elements of access than traditional catchment methods. Optimization models can incorporate user choice and other variations, and they can be useful towards targeting interventions to improve access. They can be easily adapted to measure access for different types of patients, over different provider types, or with capacity constraints in the network. Moreover, optimization models allow differences in access in rural and urban areas.

Shape-Driven 3D Segmentation Using Spherical Wavelets

PubMed Central

Nain, Delphine; Haker, Steven; Bobick, Aaron; Tannenbaum, Allen

2013-01-01

This paper presents a novel active surface segmentation algorithm using a multiscale shape representation and prior. We define a parametric model of a surface using spherical wavelet functions and learn a prior probability distribution over the wavelet coefficients to model shape variations at different scales and spatial locations in a training set. Based on this representation, we derive a parametric active surface evolution using the multiscale prior coefficients as parameters for our optimization procedure to naturally include the prior in the segmentation framework. Additionally, the optimization method can be applied in a coarse-to-fine manner. We apply our algorithm to the segmentation of brain caudate nucleus, of interest in the study of schizophrenia. Our validation shows our algorithm is computationally efficient and outperforms the Active Shape Model algorithm by capturing finer shape details. PMID:17354875

A novel electron gun for inline MRI-linac configurations.

PubMed

Constantin, Dragoş E; Holloway, Lois; Keall, Paul J; Fahrig, Rebecca

2014-02-01

This work introduces a new electron gun geometry capable of robust functioning in the presence of a high strength external magnetic field for axisymmetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-linac configurations. This allows an inline MRI-linac to operate without the need to isolate the linear accelerator (linac) using a magnetic shield. This MRI-linac integration approach not only leaves the magnet homogeneity unchanged but also provides the linac flexibility to move along the magnet axis of symmetry if the source to target distance needs to be adjusted. Simple electron gun geometry modifications of a Varian 600 C electron gun are considered and solved in the presence of an external magnetic field in order to determine a set of design principles for the new geometry. Based on these results, a new gun geometry is proposed and optimized in the fringe field of a 0.5 T open bore MRI magnet (GE Signa SP). A computer model for the 6 MeV Varian 600 C linac is used to determine the capture efficiency of the new electron gun-linac system in the presence of the fringe field of the same MRI scanner. The behavior of the new electron gun plus the linac system is also studied in the fringe fields of two other magnets, a 1.0 T prototype open bore magnet and a 1.5 T GE Conquest scanner. Simple geometrical modifications of the original electron gun geometry do not provide feasible solutions. However, these tests show that a smaller transverse cathode diameter with a flat surface and a slightly larger anode diameter could alleviate the current loss due to beam interactions with the anode in the presence of magnetic fields. Based on these findings, an initial geometry resembling a parallel plate capacitor with a hole in the anode is proposed. The optimization procedure finds a cathode-anode distance of 5 mm, a focusing electrode angle of 5°, and an anode drift tube length of 17.1 mm. Also, the linac can be displaced with ± 15 cm along the axis of the 0.5 T magnet without capture efficiency reduction below the experimental value in zero field. In this range of linac displacements, the electron beam generated by the new gun geometry is more effectively injected into the linac in the presence of an external magnetic field, resulting in approximately 20% increase of the target current compared to the original gun geometry behavior at zero field. The new gun geometry can generate and accelerate electron beams in external magnetic fields without current loss for fields higher than 0.11 T. The new electron-gun geometry is robust enough to function in the fringe fields of the other two magnets with a target current loss of no more than 16% with respect to the current obtained with no external magnetic fields. In this work, a specially designed electron gun was presented which can operate in the presence of axisymmetric strong magnetic fringe fields of MRI magnets. Computer simulations show that the electron gun can produce high quality beams which can be injected into a straight through linac such as Varian 600 C and accelerated with more efficiency in the presence of the external magnetic fields. Also, the new configuration allows linac displacements along the magnet axis in a range equal to the diameter of the imaging spherical volume of the magnet under consideration. The new electron gun-linac system can function in the fringe field of a MRI magnet if the field strength at the cathode position is higher than 0.11 T. The capture efficiency of the linac depends on the magnetic field strength and the field gradient. The higher the gradient the better the capture efficiency. The capture efficiency does not degrade more than 16%.

A novel electron gun for inline MRI-linac configurations

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

Constantin, Dragoş E., E-mail: dragos.constantin@varian.com; Fahrig, Rebecca; Holloway, Lois

2014-02-15

Purpose: This work introduces a new electron gun geometry capable of robust functioning in the presence of a high strength external magnetic field for axisymmetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-linac configurations. This allows an inline MRI-linac to operate without the need to isolate the linear accelerator (linac) using a magnetic shield. This MRI-linac integration approach not only leaves the magnet homogeneity unchanged but also provides the linac flexibility to move along the magnet axis of symmetry if the source to target distance needs to be adjusted. Methods: Simple electron gun geometry modifications of a Varian 600C electron gun are considered andmore » solved in the presence of an external magnetic field in order to determine a set of design principles for the new geometry. Based on these results, a new gun geometry is proposed and optimized in the fringe field of a 0.5 T open bore MRI magnet (GE Signa SP). A computer model for the 6 MeV Varian 600C linac is used to determine the capture efficiency of the new electron gun-linac system in the presence of the fringe field of the same MRI scanner. The behavior of the new electron gun plus the linac system is also studied in the fringe fields of two other magnets, a 1.0 T prototype open bore magnet and a 1.5 T GE Conquest scanner. Results: Simple geometrical modifications of the original electron gun geometry do not provide feasible solutions. However, these tests show that a smaller transverse cathode diameter with a flat surface and a slightly larger anode diameter could alleviate the current loss due to beam interactions with the anode in the presence of magnetic fields. Based on these findings, an initial geometry resembling a parallel plate capacitor with a hole in the anode is proposed. The optimization procedure finds a cathode-anode distance of 5 mm, a focusing electrode angle of 5°, and an anode drift tube length of 17.1 mm. Also, the linac can be displaced with ±15 cm along the axis of the 0.5 T magnet without capture efficiency reduction below the experimental value in zero field. In this range of linac displacements, the electron beam generated by the new gun geometry is more effectively injected into the linac in the presence of an external magnetic field, resulting in approximately 20% increase of the target current compared to the original gun geometry behavior at zero field. The new gun geometry can generate and accelerate electron beams in external magnetic fields without current loss for fields higher than 0.11 T. The new electron-gun geometry is robust enough to function in the fringe fields of the other two magnets with a target current loss of no more than 16% with respect to the current obtained with no external magnetic fields. Conclusions: In this work, a specially designed electron gun was presented which can operate in the presence of axisymmetric strong magnetic fringe fields of MRI magnets. Computer simulations show that the electron gun can produce high quality beams which can be injected into a straight through linac such as Varian 600C and accelerated with more efficiency in the presence of the external magnetic fields. Also, the new configuration allows linac displacements along the magnet axis in a range equal to the diameter of the imaging spherical volume of the magnet under consideration. The new electron gun-linac system can function in the fringe field of a MRI magnet if the field strength at the cathode position is higher than 0.11 T. The capture efficiency of the linac depends on the magnetic field strength and the field gradient. The higher the gradient the better the capture efficiency. The capture efficiency does not degrade more than 16%.« less

A novel electron gun for inline MRI-linac configurations

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

Constantin, Dragoş E., E-mail: dragos.constantin@varian.com; Fahrig, Rebecca; Holloway, Lois

Purpose: This work introduces a new electron gun geometry capable of robust functioning in the presence of a high strength external magnetic field for axisymmetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-linac configurations. This allows an inline MRI-linac to operate without the need to isolate the linear accelerator (linac) using a magnetic shield. This MRI-linac integration approach not only leaves the magnet homogeneity unchanged but also provides the linac flexibility to move along the magnet axis of symmetry if the source to target distance needs to be adjusted. Methods: Simple electron gun geometry modifications of a Varian 600C electron gun are considered andmore » solved in the presence of an external magnetic field in order to determine a set of design principles for the new geometry. Based on these results, a new gun geometry is proposed and optimized in the fringe field of a 0.5 T open bore MRI magnet (GE Signa SP). A computer model for the 6 MeV Varian 600C linac is used to determine the capture efficiency of the new electron gun-linac system in the presence of the fringe field of the same MRI scanner. The behavior of the new electron gun plus the linac system is also studied in the fringe fields of two other magnets, a 1.0 T prototype open bore magnet and a 1.5 T GE Conquest scanner. Results: Simple geometrical modifications of the original electron gun geometry do not provide feasible solutions. However, these tests show that a smaller transverse cathode diameter with a flat surface and a slightly larger anode diameter could alleviate the current loss due to beam interactions with the anode in the presence of magnetic fields. Based on these findings, an initial geometry resembling a parallel plate capacitor with a hole in the anode is proposed. The optimization procedure finds a cathode-anode distance of 5 mm, a focusing electrode angle of 5°, and an anode drift tube length of 17.1 mm. Also, the linac can be displaced with ±15 cm along the axis of the 0.5 T magnet without capture efficiency reduction below the experimental value in zero field. In this range of linac displacements, the electron beam generated by the new gun geometry is more effectively injected into the linac in the presence of an external magnetic field, resulting in approximately 20% increase of the target current compared to the original gun geometry behavior at zero field. The new gun geometry can generate and accelerate electron beams in external magnetic fields without current loss for fields higher than 0.11 T. The new electron-gun geometry is robust enough to function in the fringe fields of the other two magnets with a target current loss of no more than 16% with respect to the current obtained with no external magnetic fields. Conclusions: In this work, a specially designed electron gun was presented which can operate in the presence of axisymmetric strong magnetic fringe fields of MRI magnets. Computer simulations show that the electron gun can produce high quality beams which can be injected into a straight through linac such as Varian 600C and accelerated with more efficiency in the presence of the external magnetic fields. Also, the new configuration allows linac displacements along the magnet axis in a range equal to the diameter of the imaging spherical volume of the magnet under consideration. The new electron gun-linac system can function in the fringe field of a MRI magnet if the field strength at the cathode position is higher than 0.11 T. The capture efficiency of the linac depends on the magnetic field strength and the field gradient. The higher the gradient the better the capture efficiency. The capture efficiency does not degrade more than 16%.« less

40 CFR 63.4181 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... commercial or industrial HVAC systems. Manufacturer's formulation data means data on a material (such as a.... Capture efficiency or capture system efficiency means the portion (expressed as a percentage) of the pollutants from an emission source that is delivered to an add-on control device. Capture system means one or...

40 CFR 63.4181 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... commercial or industrial HVAC systems. Manufacturer's formulation data means data on a material (such as a.... Capture efficiency or capture system efficiency means the portion (expressed as a percentage) of the pollutants from an emission source that is delivered to an add-on control device. Capture system means one or...

40 CFR 63.4181 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... commercial or industrial HVAC systems. Manufacturer's formulation data means data on a material (such as a.... Capture efficiency or capture system efficiency means the portion (expressed as a percentage) of the pollutants from an emission source that is delivered to an add-on control device. Capture system means one or...

Cationized Magnetoferritin Enables Rapid Labeling and Concentration of Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria in Magnetic Cell Separation Columns

PubMed Central

Spencer, J.; Schwarzacher, W.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT In order to identify pathogens rapidly and reliably, bacterial capture and concentration from large sample volumes into smaller ones are often required. Magnetic labeling and capture of bacteria using a magnetic field hold great promise for achieving this goal, but the current protocols have poor capture efficiency. Here, we present a rapid and highly efficient approach to magnetic labeling and capture of both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria using cationized magnetoferritin (cat-MF). Magnetic labeling was achieved within a 1-min incubation period with cat-MF, and 99.97% of the labeled bacteria were immobilized in commercially available magnetic cell separation (MACS) columns. Longer incubation times led to more efficient capture, with S. aureus being immobilized to a greater extent than E. coli. Finally, low numbers of magnetically labeled E. coli bacteria (<100 CFU per ml) were immobilized with 100% efficiency and concentrated 7-fold within 15 min. Therefore, our study provides a novel protocol for rapid and highly efficient magnetic labeling, capture, and concentration of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. IMPORTANCE Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant global challenge. Rapid identification of pathogens will retard the spread of AMR by enabling targeted treatment with suitable agents and by reducing inappropriate antimicrobial use. Rapid detection methods based on microfluidic devices require that bacteria are concentrated from large volumes into much smaller ones. Concentration of bacteria is also important to detect low numbers of pathogens with confidence. Here, we demonstrate that magnetic separation columns capture small amounts of bacteria with 100% efficiency. Rapid magnetization was achieved by exposing bacteria to cationic magnetic nanoparticles, and magnetized bacteria were concentrated 7-fold inside the column. Thus, bacterial capture and concentration were achieved within 15 min. This approach could be extended to encompass the capture and concentration of specific pathogens, for example, by functionalizing magnetic nanoparticles with antibodies or small molecule probes. PMID:27060124

Cationized Magnetoferritin Enables Rapid Labeling and Concentration of Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria in Magnetic Cell Separation Columns.

PubMed

Correia Carreira, S; Spencer, J; Schwarzacher, W; Seddon, A M

2016-06-15

In order to identify pathogens rapidly and reliably, bacterial capture and concentration from large sample volumes into smaller ones are often required. Magnetic labeling and capture of bacteria using a magnetic field hold great promise for achieving this goal, but the current protocols have poor capture efficiency. Here, we present a rapid and highly efficient approach to magnetic labeling and capture of both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria using cationized magnetoferritin (cat-MF). Magnetic labeling was achieved within a 1-min incubation period with cat-MF, and 99.97% of the labeled bacteria were immobilized in commercially available magnetic cell separation (MACS) columns. Longer incubation times led to more efficient capture, with S. aureus being immobilized to a greater extent than E. coli Finally, low numbers of magnetically labeled E. coli bacteria (<100 CFU per ml) were immobilized with 100% efficiency and concentrated 7-fold within 15 min. Therefore, our study provides a novel protocol for rapid and highly efficient magnetic labeling, capture, and concentration of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant global challenge. Rapid identification of pathogens will retard the spread of AMR by enabling targeted treatment with suitable agents and by reducing inappropriate antimicrobial use. Rapid detection methods based on microfluidic devices require that bacteria are concentrated from large volumes into much smaller ones. Concentration of bacteria is also important to detect low numbers of pathogens with confidence. Here, we demonstrate that magnetic separation columns capture small amounts of bacteria with 100% efficiency. Rapid magnetization was achieved by exposing bacteria to cationic magnetic nanoparticles, and magnetized bacteria were concentrated 7-fold inside the column. Thus, bacterial capture and concentration were achieved within 15 min. This approach could be extended to encompass the capture and concentration of specific pathogens, for example, by functionalizing magnetic nanoparticles with antibodies or small molecule probes. Copyright © 2016 Correia Carreira et al.

Information Management Workflow and Tools Enabling Multiscale Modeling Within ICME Paradigm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnold, Steven M.; Bednarcyk, Brett A.; Austin, Nic; Terentjev, Igor; Cebon, Dave; Marsden, Will

2016-01-01

With the increased emphasis on reducing the cost and time to market of new materials, the need for analytical tools that enable the virtual design and optimization of materials throughout their processing - internal structure - property - performance envelope, along with the capturing and storing of the associated material and model information across its lifecycle, has become critical. This need is also fueled by the demands for higher efficiency in material testing; consistency, quality and traceability of data; product design; engineering analysis; as well as control of access to proprietary or sensitive information. Fortunately, material information management systems and physics-based multiscale modeling methods have kept pace with the growing user demands. Herein, recent efforts to establish workflow for and demonstrate a unique set of web application tools for linking NASA GRC's Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) Granta MI database schema and NASA GRC's Integrated multiscale Micromechanics Analysis Code (ImMAC) software toolset are presented. The goal is to enable seamless coupling between both test data and simulation data, which is captured and tracked automatically within Granta MI®, with full model pedigree information. These tools, and this type of linkage, are foundational to realizing the full potential of ICME, in which materials processing, microstructure, properties, and performance are coupled to enable application-driven design and optimization of materials and structures.

Use of green coating (cork) in solid-phase microextraction for the determination of organochlorine pesticides in water by gas chromatography-electron capture detection.

PubMed

Neves Dias, Adriana; Simão, Vanessa; Merib, Josias; Carasek, Eduardo

2015-03-01

A novel method for the determination of organochlorine pesticides in water samples with extraction using cork fiber and analysis by gas chromatography with electron capture detector was developed. Also, the procedure to extract these pesticides with DVB/Car/PDMS fiber was optimized. The optimization of the variables involved in the extraction of organochlorine pesticides using the aforementioned fibers was carried out by multivariate design. The optimum extraction conditions were sample temperature 75 °C, extraction time 60 min and sodium chloride concentration 10% for the cork fiber and sample temperature 50 °C and extraction time 60 min (without salt) for the DVB/Car/PDMS fiber. The quantification limits for the two fibers varied between 1.0 and 10.0 ng L(-1). The linear correlation coefficients were >0.98 for both fibers. The method applied with the use of the cork fiber provided recovery values between 60.3 and 112.7 and RSD≤25.5 (n=3). The extraction efficiency values for the cork and DVB/Car/PDMS fibers were similar. The results show that cork is a promising alternative as a coating for SPME. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rendezvous missions with minimoons from L1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chyba, M.; Haberkorn, T.; Patterson, G.

2014-07-01

We propose to present asteroid capture missions with the so-called minimoons. Minimoons are small asteroids that are temporarily captured objects on orbits in the Earth-Moon system. It has been suggested that, despite their small capture probability, at any time there are one or two meter diameter minimoons, and progressively greater numbers at smaller diameters. The minimoons orbits differ significantly from elliptical orbits which renders a rendezvous mission more challenging, however they offer many advantages for such missions that overcome this fact. First, they are already on geocentric orbits which results in short duration missions with low Delta-v, this translates in cost efficiency and low-risk targets. Second, beside their close proximity to Earth, an advantage is their small size since it provides us with the luxury to retrieve the entire asteroid and not only a sample of material. Accessing the interior structure of a near-Earth satellite in its morphological context is crucial to an in-depth analysis of the structure of the asteroid. Historically, 2006 RH120 is the only minimoon that has been detected but work is ongoing to determine which modifications to current observation facilities is necessary to provide detection algorithm capabilities. In the event that detection is successful, an efficient algorithm to produce a space mission to rendezvous with the detected minimoon is highly desirable to take advantage of this opportunity. This is the main focus of our work. For the design of the mission we propose the following. The spacecraft is first placed in hibernation on a Lissajoux orbit around the liberation point L1 of the Earth-Moon system. We focus on eight-shaped Lissajoux orbits to take advantage of the stability properties of their invariant manifolds for our transfers since the cost to minimize is the spacecraft fuel consumption. Once a minimoon has been detected we must choose a point on its orbit to rendezvous (in position and velocities) with the spacecraft. This is determined using a combination of distance between the minimoon's orbit to L1 and its energy level with respect to the Lissajoux orbit on which the spacecraft is hibernating. Once the spacecraft rendezvous with the minimoon, it will escort the temporarily captured object to analyze it until the withdrawal time when the spacecraft exits the orbit to return to its hibernating location awaiting for another minimoon to be detected. The entire mission including the return portion can be stated as an optimal control problem, however we choose to break it into smaller sub-problems as a first step to be refined later. To model our control system, we use the circular three-body problem since it provides a good approximation in the vicinity of the Earth-Moon dynamics. Expansion to more refined models will be considered once the problem has been solved for this first approximation. The problem is solved in several steps. First, we consider the time minimal problem since we will use a multiple of it for the minimal fuel consumption problem with fixed time. The techniques used to produce the transfers involve an indirect method based on the necessary optimality condition of the Pontriagyn maximum principle coupled with a continuation method to address the sensitivity of the numerical algorithm to initial values. Time local optimality is verified by computing the Jacobi fields of the Hamiltonian system associated to our optimal control problem to check the second-order conditions of optimality and determine the non-existence of conjugate points.

Dynamic interrogative data capture (DIDC) : concept of operations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-04-01

This Concept of Operations (ConOps) describes the characteristics of the Dynamic Interrogative Data Capture (DIDC) algorithms and associated software. The objective of the DIDC algorithms and software is to optimize the capture and transmission of ve...

Reliability Analysis and Reliability-Based Design Optimization of Circular Composite Cylinders Under Axial Compression

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rais-Rohani, Masoud

2001-01-01

This report describes the preliminary results of an investigation on component reliability analysis and reliability-based design optimization of thin-walled circular composite cylinders with average diameter and average length of 15 inches. Structural reliability is based on axial buckling strength of the cylinder. Both Monte Carlo simulation and First Order Reliability Method are considered for reliability analysis with the latter incorporated into the reliability-based structural optimization problem. To improve the efficiency of reliability sensitivity analysis and design optimization solution, the buckling strength of the cylinder is estimated using a second-order response surface model. The sensitivity of the reliability index with respect to the mean and standard deviation of each random variable is calculated and compared. The reliability index is found to be extremely sensitive to the applied load and elastic modulus of the material in the fiber direction. The cylinder diameter was found to have the third highest impact on the reliability index. Also the uncertainty in the applied load, captured by examining different values for its coefficient of variation, is found to have a large influence on cylinder reliability. The optimization problem for minimum weight is solved subject to a design constraint on element reliability index. The methodology, solution procedure and optimization results are included in this report.

Optimization of 6LiF:ZnS(Ag) scintillator light yield using GEANT4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yehuda-Zada, Y.; Pritchard, K.; Ziegler, J. B.; Cooksey, C.; Siebein, K.; Jackson, M.; Hurlbut, C.; Kadmon, Y.; Cohen, Y.; Ibberson, R. M.; Majkrzak, C. F.; Maliszewskyj, N. C.; Orion, I.; Osovizky, A.

2018-06-01

A new cold neutron detector has been developed at the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) for the CANDoR (Chromatic Analysis Neutron Diffractometer or Reflectometer) project. Geometric and performance constraints dictate that this detector be exceptionally thin (∼ 2 mm). For this reason, the design of the detector consists of a 6LiF:ZnS(Ag) scintillator with embedded wavelength shifting (WLS) fibers. We used the GEANT4 package to simulate neutron capture and light transport in the detector to optimize the composition and arrangement of materials to satisfy the competing requirements of high neutron capture probability and light production and transport. In the process, we have developed a method for predicting light collection and total neutron detection efficiency for different detector configurations. The simulation was performed by adjusting crucial parameters such as the scintillator stoichiometry, light yield, component grain size, WLS fiber geometry, and reflectors at the outside edges of the scintillator volume. Three different detector configurations were fabricated and their test results were correlated with the simulations. Through this correlation we have managed to find a common photon threshold for the different detector configurations which was then used to simulate and predict the efficiencies for many other detector configurations. New detectors that have been fabricated based on simulation results yielding the desired sensitivity of 90% for 3.27 meV (5 Å) cold neutrons. The simulation has proven to be a useful tool by dramatically reducing the development period and the required number of detector prototypes. It can be used to test new designs with different thicknesses and different target neutron energies.

Features of spatial and functional segregation and integration of the primate connectome revealed by trade-off between wiring cost and efficiency

PubMed Central

Chen, Yuhan; Wang, Shengjun

2017-01-01

The primate connectome, possessing a characteristic global topology and specific regional connectivity profiles, is well organized to support both segregated and integrated brain function. However, the organization mechanisms shaping the characteristic connectivity and its relationship to functional requirements remain unclear. The primate brain connectome is shaped by metabolic economy as well as functional values. Here, we explored the influence of two competing factors and additional advanced functional requirements on the primate connectome employing an optimal trade-off model between neural wiring cost and the representative functional requirement of processing efficiency. Moreover, we compared this model with a generative model combining spatial distance and topological similarity, with the objective of statistically reproducing multiple topological features of the network. The primate connectome indeed displays a cost-efficiency trade-off and that up to 67% of the connections were recovered by optimal combination of the two basic factors of wiring economy and processing efficiency, clearly higher than the proportion of connections (56%) explained by the generative model. While not explicitly aimed for, the trade-off model captured several key topological features of the real connectome as the generative model, yet better explained the connectivity of most regions. The majority of the remaining 33% of connections unexplained by the best trade-off model were long-distance links, which are concentrated on few cortical areas, termed long-distance connectors (LDCs). The LDCs are mainly non-hubs, but form a densely connected group overlapping on spatially segregated functional modalities. LDCs are crucial for both functional segregation and integration across different scales. These organization features revealed by the optimization analysis provide evidence that the demands of advanced functional segregation and integration among spatially distributed regions may play a significant role in shaping the cortical connectome, in addition to the basic cost-efficiency trade-off. These findings also shed light on inherent vulnerabilities of brain networks in diseases. PMID:28961235

Features of spatial and functional segregation and integration of the primate connectome revealed by trade-off between wiring cost and efficiency.

PubMed

Chen, Yuhan; Wang, Shengjun; Hilgetag, Claus C; Zhou, Changsong

2017-09-01

The primate connectome, possessing a characteristic global topology and specific regional connectivity profiles, is well organized to support both segregated and integrated brain function. However, the organization mechanisms shaping the characteristic connectivity and its relationship to functional requirements remain unclear. The primate brain connectome is shaped by metabolic economy as well as functional values. Here, we explored the influence of two competing factors and additional advanced functional requirements on the primate connectome employing an optimal trade-off model between neural wiring cost and the representative functional requirement of processing efficiency. Moreover, we compared this model with a generative model combining spatial distance and topological similarity, with the objective of statistically reproducing multiple topological features of the network. The primate connectome indeed displays a cost-efficiency trade-off and that up to 67% of the connections were recovered by optimal combination of the two basic factors of wiring economy and processing efficiency, clearly higher than the proportion of connections (56%) explained by the generative model. While not explicitly aimed for, the trade-off model captured several key topological features of the real connectome as the generative model, yet better explained the connectivity of most regions. The majority of the remaining 33% of connections unexplained by the best trade-off model were long-distance links, which are concentrated on few cortical areas, termed long-distance connectors (LDCs). The LDCs are mainly non-hubs, but form a densely connected group overlapping on spatially segregated functional modalities. LDCs are crucial for both functional segregation and integration across different scales. These organization features revealed by the optimization analysis provide evidence that the demands of advanced functional segregation and integration among spatially distributed regions may play a significant role in shaping the cortical connectome, in addition to the basic cost-efficiency trade-off. These findings also shed light on inherent vulnerabilities of brain networks in diseases.

Efficient electrochemical refrigeration power plant using natural gas with ∼100% CO2 capture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-musleh, Easa I.; Mallapragada, Dharik S.; Agrawal, Rakesh

2015-01-01

We propose an efficient Natural Gas (NG) based Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) power plant equipped with ∼100% CO2 capture. The power plant uses a unique refrigeration based process to capture and liquefy CO2 from the SOFC exhaust. The capture of CO2 is carried out via condensation and purification using two rectifying columns operating at different pressures. The uncondensed gas mixture, comprising of relatively high purity unconverted fuel, is recycled to the SOFC and found to boost the power generation of the SOFC by 22%, when compared to a stand alone SOFC. If Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is available at the plant gate, then the refrigeration available from its evaporation is used for CO2 Capture and Liquefaction (CO2CL). If NG is utilized, then a Mixed Refrigerant (MR) vapor compression cycle is utilized for CO2CL. Alternatively, the necessary refrigeration can be supplied by evaporating the captured liquid CO2 at a lower pressure, which is then compressed to supercritical pressures for pipeline transportation. From rigorous simulations, the power generation efficiency of the proposed processes is found to be 70-76% based on lower heating value (LHV). The benefit of the proposed processes is evident when the efficiency of 73% for a conventional SOFC-Gas turbine power plant without CO2 capture is compared with an equivalent efficiency of 71.2% for the proposed process with CO2CL.

Comparison of the capture efficiency, prey processing, and nutrient extraction in a generalist and a specialist spider predator.

PubMed

García, Luis Fernando; Viera, Carmen; Pekár, Stano

2018-04-02

Predators are traditionally classified as generalists and specialists based on the presence of adaptations that increase efficiency of prey capture and consumption and selection of particular prey types. Nevertheless, empirical evidence comparing foraging efficiency between generalist and specialist carnivores is scarce. We compared the prey-capture and feeding efficiency in a generalist and a specialist (araneophagous) spider predator. By using two related species, the generalist Harpactea rubicunda (Dysderidae) and the specialist Nops cf. variabilis (Caponiidae), we evaluated their fundamental trophic niche by studying the acceptance of different prey. Then, we compared their predatory behavior, efficiency in capturing prey of varying sizes, feeding efficiency, and nutrient extraction. Nops accepted only spiders as prey, while Harpactea accepted all offered prey, confirming that Nops is stenophagous, while Harpactea is euryphagous. Further, Nops displayed more specialized (stereotyped) capture behavior than Harpactea, suggesting that Nops is a specialist, while Harpactea is a generalist. The specialist immobilized prey faster, overcame much larger prey, and gained more mass (due to feeding on larger prey) than the generalist. Both the specialist and the generalist spider extracted more proteins than lipids, but the extraction of macronutrients in the specialist was achieved mainly by consuming the prosoma of the focal prey. We show that the specialist has more efficient foraging strategy than the generalist.

Dynamics and control of robot for capturing objects in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Panfeng

Space robots are expected to perform intricate tasks in future space services, such as satellite maintenance, refueling, and replacing the orbital replacement unit (ORU). To realize these missions, the capturing operation may not be avoided. Such operations will encounter some challenges because space robots have some unique characteristics unfound on ground-based robots, such as, dynamic singularities, dynamic coupling between manipulator and space base, limited energy supply and working without a fixed base, and so on. In addition, since contacts and impacts may not be avoided during capturing operation. Therefore, dynamics and control problems of space robot for capturing objects are significant research topics if the robots are to be deployed for the space services. A typical servicing operation mainly includes three phases: capturing the object, berthing and docking the object, then repairing the target. Therefore, this thesis will focus on resolving some challenging problems during capturing the object, berthing and docking, and so on. In this thesis, I study and analyze the dynamics and control problems of space robot for capturing objects. This work has potential impact in space robotic applications. I first study the contact and impact dynamics of space robot and objects. I specifically focus on analyzing the impact dynamics and mapping the relationship of influence and speed. Then, I develop the fundamental theory for planning the minimum-collision based trajectory of space robot and designing the configuration of space robot at the moment of capture. To compensate for the attitude of the space base during the capturing approach operation, a new balance control concept which can effectively balance the attitude of the space base using the dynamic couplings is developed. The developed balance control concept helps to understand of the nature of space dynamic coupling, and can be readily applied to compensate or minimize the disturbance to the space base. After capturing the object, the space robot must complete the following two tasks: one is to berth the object, and the other is to re-orientate the attitude of the whole robot system for communication and power supply. Therefore, I propose a method to accomplish these two tasks simultaneously using manipulator motion only. The ultimate goal of space services is to realize the capture and manipulation autonomously. Therefore, I propose an affective approach based on learning human skill to track and capture the objects automatically in space. With human-teaching demonstration, the space robot is able to learn and abstract human tracking and capturing skill using an efficient neural-network learning architecture that combines flexible Cascade Neural Networks with Node Decoupled Extended Kalman Filtering (CNN-NDEKF). The simulation results attest that this approach is useful and feasible in tracking trajectory planning and capturing of space robot. Finally I propose a novel approach based on Genetic Algorithms (GAs) to optimize the approach trajectory of space robots in order to realize effective and stable operations. I complete the minimum-torque path planning in order to save the limited energy in space, and design the minimum jerk trajectory for the stabilization of the space manipulator and its space base. These optimal algorithms are very important and useful for the application of space robot.

Recovery Act: Innovative CO 2 Sequestration from Flue Gas Using Industrial Sources and Innovative Concept for Beneficial CO 2 Use

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

Dando, Neal; Gershenzon, Mike; Ghosh, Rajat

2012-07-31

The overall goal of this DOE Phase 2 project was to further develop and conduct pilot-scale and field testing of a biomimetic in-duct scrubbing system for the capture of gaseous CO 2 coupled with sequestration of captured carbon by carbonation of alkaline industrial wastes. The Phase 2 project, reported on here, combined efforts in enzyme development, scrubber optimization, and sequestrant evaluations to perform an economic feasibility study of technology deployment. The optimization of carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzyme reactivity and stability are critical steps in deployment of this technology. A variety of CA enzyme variants were evaluated for reactivity and stabilitymore » in both bench scale and in laboratory pilot scale testing to determine current limits in enzyme performance. Optimization of scrubber design allowed for improved process economics while maintaining desired capture efficiencies. A range of configurations, materials, and operating conditions were examined at the Alcoa Technical Center on a pilot scale scrubber. This work indicated that a cross current flow utilizing a specialized gas-liquid contactor offered the lowest system operating energy. Various industrial waste materials were evaluated as sources of alkalinity for the scrubber feed solution and as sources of calcium for precipitation of carbonate. Solids were mixed with a simulated sodium bicarbonate scrubber blowdown to comparatively examine reactivity. Supernatant solutions and post-test solids were analyzed to quantify and model the sequestration reactions. The best performing solids were found to sequester between 2.3 and 2.9 moles of CO 2 per kg of dry solid in 1-4 hours of reaction time. These best performing solids were cement kiln dust, circulating dry scrubber ash, and spray dryer absorber ash. A techno-economic analysis was performed to evaluate the commercial viability of the proposed carbon capture and sequestration process in full-scale at an aluminum smelter and a refinery location. For both cases the in-duct scrubber technology was compared to traditional amine- based capture. Incorporation of the laboratory results showed that for the application at the aluminum smelter, the in-duct scrubber system is more economical than traditional methods. However, the reverse is true for the refinery case, where the bauxite residue is not effective enough as a sequestrant, combined with challenges related to contaminants in the bauxite residue accumulating in and fouling the scrubber absorbent. Sensitivity analyses showed that the critical variables by which process economics could be improved are enzyme concentration, efficiency, and half-life. At the end of the first part of the Phase 2 project, a gate review (DOE Decision Zero Gate Point) was conducted to decide on the next stages of the project. The original plan was to follow the pre-testing phase with a detailed design for the field testing. Unfavorable process economics, however, resulted in a decision to conclude the project before moving to field testing. It is noted that CO 2 Solutions proposed an initial solution to reduce process costs through more advanced enzyme management, however, DOE program requirements restricting any technology development extending beyond 2014 as commercial deployment timeline did not allow this solution to be undertaken.« less

Selecting optimal monitoring site locations for peak ambient particulate material concentrations using the MM5-CAMx4 numerical modelling system.

PubMed

Sturman, Andrew; Titov, Mikhail; Zawar-Reza, Peyman

2011-01-15

Installation of temporary or long term monitoring sites is expensive, so it is important to rationally identify potential locations that will achieve the requirements of regional air quality management strategies. A simple, but effective, numerical approach to selecting ambient particulate matter (PM) monitoring site locations has therefore been developed using the MM5-CAMx4 air pollution dispersion modelling system. A new method, 'site efficiency,' was developed to assess the ability of any monitoring site to provide peak ambient air pollution concentrations that are representative of the urban area. 'Site efficiency' varies from 0 to 100%, with the latter representing the most representative site location for monitoring peak PM concentrations. Four heavy pollution episodes in Christchurch (New Zealand) during winter 2005, representing 4 different aerosol dispersion patterns, were used to develop and test this site assessment technique. Evaluation of the efficiency of monitoring sites was undertaken for night and morning aerosol peaks for 4 different particulate material (PM) spatial patterns. The results demonstrate that the existing long term monitoring site at Coles Place is quite well located, with a site efficiency value of 57.8%. A temporary ambient PM monitoring site (operating during winter 2006) showed a lower ability to capture night and morning peak aerosol concentrations. Evaluation of multiple site locations used during an extensive field campaign in Christchurch (New Zealand) in 2000 indicated that the maximum efficiency achieved by any site in the city would be 60-65%, while the efficiency of a virtual background site is calculated to be about 7%. This method of assessing the appropriateness of any potential monitoring site can be used to optimize monitoring site locations for any air pollution measurement programme. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of the number of people on efficient capture and sample collection: a lion case study.

PubMed

Ferreira, Sam M; Maruping, Nkabeng T; Schoultz, Darius; Smit, Travis R

2013-05-24

Certain carnivore research projects and approaches depend on successful capture of individuals of interest. The number of people present at a capture site may determine success of a capture. In this study 36 lion capture cases in the Kruger National Park were used to evaluate whether the number of people present at a capture site influenced lion response rates and whether the number of people at a sampling site influenced the time it took to process the collected samples. The analyses suggest that when nine or fewer people were present, lions appeared faster at a call-up locality compared with when there were more than nine people. The number of people, however, did not influence the time it took to process the lions. It is proposed that efficient lion capturing should spatially separate capture and processing sites and minimise the number of people at a capture site.

Scalable Coding of Plenoptic Images by Using a Sparse Set and Disparities.

PubMed

Li, Yun; Sjostrom, Marten; Olsson, Roger; Jennehag, Ulf

2016-01-01

One of the light field capturing techniques is the focused plenoptic capturing. By placing a microlens array in front of the photosensor, the focused plenoptic cameras capture both spatial and angular information of a scene in each microlens image and across microlens images. The capturing results in a significant amount of redundant information, and the captured image is usually of a large resolution. A coding scheme that removes the redundancy before coding can be of advantage for efficient compression, transmission, and rendering. In this paper, we propose a lossy coding scheme to efficiently represent plenoptic images. The format contains a sparse image set and its associated disparities. The reconstruction is performed by disparity-based interpolation and inpainting, and the reconstructed image is later employed as a prediction reference for the coding of the full plenoptic image. As an outcome of the representation, the proposed scheme inherits a scalable structure with three layers. The results show that plenoptic images are compressed efficiently with over 60 percent bit rate reduction compared with High Efficiency Video Coding intra coding, and with over 20 percent compared with an High Efficiency Video Coding block copying mode.

Simultaneous high efficiency capture of CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2S from pressurized gas

DOEpatents

Gal, Eli; Krishnan, Gopala N.; Jayaweera, Indira S.

2016-10-11

Low-cost and energy-efficient CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2S capture is provided obtaining greater than 99.9% capture efficiency from pressurized gas. The acid species are captured in an ammonia solution, which is then regenerated by stripping the absorbed species. The solution can capture as much as 330 grams of CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2S per 1000 gram of water and when regenerated it produces pure pressurized acid gas containing more than 99.7% CO.sub.2 and H2S. The absorption of the acid species is accomplished in two absorbers in-series, each having multiple stages. More than 95% of the acid species are captured in the first absorber and the balance is captured in the second absorber to below 10 ppm concentration in the outlet gas. The two absorbers operate at temperatures ranging from 20-70 degrees Celsius. The two absorbers and the main stripper of the alkaline solution operate at similar pressures ranging from 5-200 bara.

Compact, Lightweight Adsorber and Sabatier Reactor for CO2 Capture and Reduction for Consumable and Propellant Production

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Junaedi, Christian; Hawley, Kyle; Walsh, Dennis; Roychoudhury, Subir; Busby, Stacy A.; Abney, Morgan B.; Perry, Jay L.; Knox, James C.

2012-01-01

The utilization of CO2 to produce (or recycle) life support consumables, such as O2 and H2O, and to generate propellant fuels is an important aspect of NASA's concept for future, long duration planetary exploration. One potential approach is to capture and use CO2 from the Martian atmosphere to generate the consumables and propellant fuels. Precision Combustion, Inc. (PCI), with support from NASA, continues to develop its regenerable adsorber technology for capturing CO2 from gaseous atmospheres (for cabin atmosphere revitalization and in-situ resource utilization applications) and its Sabatier reactor for converting CO2 to methane and water. Both technologies are based on PCI's Microlith(R) substrates and have been demonstrated to reduce size, weight, and power consumption during CO2 capture and methanation process. For adsorber applications, the Microlith substrates offer a unique resistive heating capability that shows potential for short regeneration time and reduced power requirements compared to conventional systems. For the Sabatier applications, the combination of the Microlith substrates and durable catalyst coating permits efficient CO2 methanation that favors high reactant conversion, high selectivity, and durability. Results from performance testing at various operating conditions will be presented. An effort to optimize the Sabatier reactor and to develop a bench-top Sabatier Development Unit (SDU) will be discussed.

Fast and robust group-wise eQTL mapping using sparse graphical models.

PubMed

Cheng, Wei; Shi, Yu; Zhang, Xiang; Wang, Wei

2015-01-16

Genome-wide expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) studies have emerged as a powerful tool to understand the genetic basis of gene expression and complex traits. The traditional eQTL methods focus on testing the associations between individual single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and gene expression traits. A major drawback of this approach is that it cannot model the joint effect of a set of SNPs on a set of genes, which may correspond to hidden biological pathways. We introduce a new approach to identify novel group-wise associations between sets of SNPs and sets of genes. Such associations are captured by hidden variables connecting SNPs and genes. Our model is a linear-Gaussian model and uses two types of hidden variables. One captures the set associations between SNPs and genes, and the other captures confounders. We develop an efficient optimization procedure which makes this approach suitable for large scale studies. Extensive experimental evaluations on both simulated and real datasets demonstrate that the proposed methods can effectively capture both individual and group-wise signals that cannot be identified by the state-of-the-art eQTL mapping methods. Considering group-wise associations significantly improves the accuracy of eQTL mapping, and the successful multi-layer regression model opens a new approach to understand how multiple SNPs interact with each other to jointly affect the expression level of a group of genes.

The Quest CCS Project - MMV Technology Deployment Through Two Years of Operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Brien, S.

2017-12-01

In September 2012, Shell, on behalf of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project venture (Shell Canada Energy, Chevron Canada Limited, Marathon Oil Canada Corporation), announced that it was proceeding to construct the Quest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project near Fort Saskatchewan. Quest is the world's first large-scale commercial application of CCS at an oil sands operation, and it is now capturing more than one million tonnes of CO2 per year from the Scotford Upgrader. It is a fully integrated project, involving CO2 capture at the bitumen upgrader, transportation along a 65 km pipeline, and CO2 storage in a deep saline aquifer (the Basal Cambrian Sands). Construction was completed in August 2015, and the Quest project was certified for commercial operation in September 2015. The Measurement, Monitoring and Verification (MMV) program for Quest is comprehensive, with a variety of technologies being used to monitor the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere. These include a Lightsource system for atmospheric monitoring, extensive groundwater sampling, DAS VSPs to assess the development of the CO2 plume, a microseismic array to measure any induced seismic activity, and temperature and pressure gauges for reservoir monitoring. Over two years of operations, this program has been optimized to address key risks while improving operational efficiency. Quest has now successfully captured and stored more than 2 million tonnes of CO2 with no MMV indications of any storage issues.

Harmless nectar source or deadly trap: Nepenthes pitchers are activated by rain, condensation and nectar

PubMed Central

Bauer, Ulrike; Bohn, Holger F; Federle, Walter

2007-01-01

The leaves of Nepenthes pitcher plants are specialized pitfall traps which capture and digest arthropod prey. In many species, insects become trapped by ‘aquaplaning’ on the wet pitcher rim (peristome). Here we investigate the ecological implications of this capture mechanism in Nepenthes rafflesiana var. typica. We combine meteorological data and continuous field measurements of peristome wetness using electrical conductance with experimental assessments of the pitchers' capture efficiency. Our results demonstrate that pitchers can be highly effective traps with capture rates as high as 80% but completely ineffective at other times. These dramatic changes are due to the wetting condition of the peristome. Variation of peristome wetness and capture efficiency was perfectly synchronous, and caused by rain, condensation and nectar secreted from peristome nectaries. The presence of nectar on the peristome increased surface wetness mainly indirectly by its hygroscopic properties. Experiments confirmed that pitchers with removed peristome nectaries remained generally drier and captured prey less efficiently than untreated controls. This role of nectar in prey capture represents a novel function of plant nectar. We propose that the intermittent and unpredictable activation of Nepenthes pitcher traps facilitates ant recruitment and constitutes a strategy to maximize prey capture. PMID:18048280

Harmless nectar source or deadly trap: Nepenthes pitchers are activated by rain, condensation and nectar.

PubMed

Bauer, Ulrike; Bohn, Holger F; Federle, Walter

2008-02-07

The leaves of Nepenthes pitcher plants are specialized pitfall traps which capture and digest arthropod prey. In many species, insects become trapped by 'aquaplaning' on the wet pitcher rim (peristome). Here we investigate the ecological implications of this capture mechanism in Nepenthes rafflesiana var. typica. We combine meteorological data and continuous field measurements of peristome wetness using electrical conductance with experimental assessments of the pitchers' capture efficiency. Our results demonstrate that pitchers can be highly effective traps with capture rates as high as 80% but completely ineffective at other times. These dramatic changes are due to the wetting condition of the peristome. Variation of peristome wetness and capture efficiency was perfectly synchronous, and caused by rain, condensation and nectar secreted from peristome nectaries. The presence of nectar on the peristome increased surface wetness mainly indirectly by its hygroscopic properties. Experiments confirmed that pitchers with removed peristome nectaries remained generally drier and captured prey less efficiently than untreated controls. This role of nectar in prey capture represents a novel function of plant nectar. We propose that the intermittent and unpredictable activation of Nepenthes pitcher traps facilitates ant recruitment and constitutes a strategy to maximize prey capture.

Naturalistic drive cycle synthesis for pickup trucks.

PubMed

Liu, Zifan; Ivanco, Andrej; Filipi, Zoran

2015-09-01

Future pick-up trucks are meeting much stricter fuel economy and exhaust emission standards. Design tradeoffs will have to be carefully evaluated to satisfy consumer expectations within the regulatory and cost constraints. Boundary conditions will obviously be critical for decision making: thus, the understanding of how customers are driving in naturalistic settings is indispensable. Federal driving schedules, while critical for certification, do not capture the richness of naturalistic cycles, particularly the aggressive maneuvers that often shape consumer perception of performance. While there are databases with large number of drive cycles, applying all of them directly in the design process is impractical. Therefore, representative drive cycles that capture the essence of the naturalistic driving should be synthesized from naturalistic driving data. Naturalistic drive cycles are firstly categorized by investigating their micro-trip components, defined as driving activities between successive stops. Micro-trips are expected to characterize underlying local traffic conditions, and separate different driving patterns. Next, the transitions from one vehicle state to another vehicle state in each cycle category are captured with Transition Probability Matrix (TPM). Candidate drive cycles can subsequently be synthesized using Markov Chain based on TPMs for each category. Finally, representative synthetic drive cycles are selected through assessment of significant cycle metrics to identify the ones with smallest errors. This paper provides a framework for synthesis of representative drive cycles from naturalistic driving data, which can subsequently be used for efficient optimization of design or control of pick-up truck powertrains. Manufacturers will benefit from representative drive cycles in several aspects, including quick assessments of vehicle performance and energy consumption in simulations, component sizing and design, optimization of control strategies, and vehicle testing under real-world conditions. This is in contrast to using federal certification test cycles, which were never intended to capture pickup truck segment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.

Optimal moment determination in POME-copula based hydrometeorological dependence modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Dengfeng; Wang, Dong; Singh, Vijay P.; Wang, Yuankun; Wu, Jichun; Wang, Lachun; Zou, Xinqing; Chen, Yuanfang; Chen, Xi

2017-07-01

Copula has been commonly applied in multivariate modelling in various fields where marginal distribution inference is a key element. To develop a flexible, unbiased mathematical inference framework in hydrometeorological multivariate applications, the principle of maximum entropy (POME) is being increasingly coupled with copula. However, in previous POME-based studies, determination of optimal moment constraints has generally not been considered. The main contribution of this study is the determination of optimal moments for POME for developing a coupled optimal moment-POME-copula framework to model hydrometeorological multivariate events. In this framework, margins (marginals, or marginal distributions) are derived with the use of POME, subject to optimal moment constraints. Then, various candidate copulas are constructed according to the derived margins, and finally the most probable one is determined, based on goodness-of-fit statistics. This optimal moment-POME-copula framework is applied to model the dependence patterns of three types of hydrometeorological events: (i) single-site streamflow-water level; (ii) multi-site streamflow; and (iii) multi-site precipitation, with data collected from Yichang and Hankou in the Yangtze River basin, China. Results indicate that the optimal-moment POME is more accurate in margin fitting and the corresponding copulas reflect a good statistical performance in correlation simulation. Also, the derived copulas, capturing more patterns which traditional correlation coefficients cannot reflect, provide an efficient way in other applied scenarios concerning hydrometeorological multivariate modelling.

Frosted Slides Decorated with Silica Nanowires for Detecting Circulating Tumor Cells from Prostate Cancer Patients.

PubMed

Cui, Haijun; Wang, Binshuai; Wang, Wenshuo; Hao, Yuwei; Liu, Chuanyong; Song, Kai; Zhang, Shudong; Wang, Shutao

2018-06-13

Developing low-cost and highly efficient nanobiochips are important for liquid biopsies, real-time monitoring, and precision medicine. By in situ growth of silica nanowires on a commercial frosted slide, we develop a biochip for effective circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detection after modifying epithelial cell adhesion molecule antibody (anti-EpCAM). The biochip shows the specificity and high capture efficiency of 85.4 ± 8.3% for prostate cancer cell line (PC-3). The microsized frosted slides and silica nanowires allow enhanced efficiency in capture EpCAM positive cells by synergistic topographic interactions. And the capture efficiency of biochip increased with the increase of silica nanowires length on frosted slide. The biochip shows that micro/nanocomposite structures improve the capture efficiency of PC-3 more than 70% toward plain slide. Furthermore, the nanobiochip has been successfully applied to identify CTCs from whole blood specimens of prostate cancer patients. Thus, this frosted slide-based biochip may provide a cheap and effective way of clinical monitoring of CTCs.

Mining the Mind Research Network: A Novel Framework for Exploring Large Scale, Heterogeneous Translational Neuroscience Research Data Sources

PubMed Central

Bockholt, Henry J.; Scully, Mark; Courtney, William; Rachakonda, Srinivas; Scott, Adam; Caprihan, Arvind; Fries, Jill; Kalyanam, Ravi; Segall, Judith M.; de la Garza, Raul; Lane, Susan; Calhoun, Vince D.

2009-01-01

A neuroinformatics (NI) system is critical to brain imaging research in order to shorten the time between study conception and results. Such a NI system is required to scale well when large numbers of subjects are studied. Further, when multiple sites participate in research projects organizational issues become increasingly difficult. Optimized NI applications mitigate these problems. Additionally, NI software enables coordination across multiple studies, leveraging advantages potentially leading to exponential research discoveries. The web-based, Mind Research Network (MRN), database system has been designed and improved through our experience with 200 research studies and 250 researchers from seven different institutions. The MRN tools permit the collection, management, reporting and efficient use of large scale, heterogeneous data sources, e.g., multiple institutions, multiple principal investigators, multiple research programs and studies, and multimodal acquisitions. We have collected and analyzed data sets on thousands of research participants and have set up a framework to automatically analyze the data, thereby making efficient, practical data mining of this vast resource possible. This paper presents a comprehensive framework for capturing and analyzing heterogeneous neuroscience research data sources that has been fully optimized for end-users to perform novel data mining. PMID:20461147

The quantum mitochondrion and optimal health

PubMed Central

Nunn, Alistair V.W.; Guy, Geoffrey W.; Bell, Jimmy D.

2016-01-01

A sufficiently complex set of molecules, if subject to perturbation, will self-organize and show emergent behaviour. If such a system can take on information it will become subject to natural selection. This could explain how self-replicating molecules evolved into life and how intelligence arose. A pivotal step in this evolutionary process was of course the emergence of the eukaryote and the advent of the mitochondrion, which both enhanced energy production per cell and increased the ability to process, store and utilize information. Recent research suggest that from its inception life embraced quantum effects such as ‘tunnelling’ and ‘coherence’ while competition and stressful conditions provided a constant driver for natural selection. We believe that the biphasic adaptive response to stress described by hormesis–a process that captures information to enable adaptability, is central to this whole process. Critically, hormesis could improve mitochondrial quantum efficiency, improving the ATP/ROS ratio, whereas inflammation, which is tightly associated with the aging process, might do the opposite. This all suggests that to achieve optimal health and healthy aging, one has to sufficiently stress the system to ensure peak mitochondrial function, which itself could reflect selection of optimum efficiency at the quantum level. PMID:27528758

Nanocrystal sensitized photovoltaics and photodetectors with performance enhanced using ligand engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schut, David M.; Williams, George M., Jr.; Arteaga, Stefan; Allen, Thomas L.; Novet, Thomas

2011-06-01

Nanocrystal quantum dot photovoltaics and photodetectors with performance optimized by engineering the nanocrystals size and the optoelectronic properties of the nanocrystal's chemical coating are reported. Due to the large surface-to-volume ratio inherent to nanocrystals, the surface effects of ligands used to chemically coat and passivate nanocrystals play a significant role in device performance. However, the optoelectronic properties of ligands are difficult to ascertain, as the band structure of the ligand-capped nanoparticle system is complex and difficult to model. Using density-of-states measurements, we demonstrate that modeling of electropositive and electronegative substituents and use of the Hammett equation, are useful tools in optimizing nanocrystal detector performance. A new particle, the Janus-II nanoparticles, developed using 'charge-donating' and 'charge-withdrawing' ligands distributed over opposite surfaces of the nanocrystal, is described. The polarizing ligands of the Janus-II nanoparticle form a degeneracy-splitting dipole, which reduces the overlap integral between excitonic states, and thus reduces the probability of carrier recombination, allowing carrier extraction to take place more efficiently. This is shown to allow increased photodetection efficiencies and to allow the capture of multiple exciton events in working photodetectors.

Regarding the optimization of O1-mode ECRH and the feasibility of EBW startup on NSTX-U

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez, N. A.; Poli, F. M.

2018-06-01

Recently published scenarios for fully non-inductive startup and operation on the National Spherical Torus eXperiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) (Menard et al 2012 Nucl. Fusion 52 083015) show Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) as an important component in preparing a target plasma for efficient High Harmonic Fast Wave and Neutral Beam heating. The modeling of the propagation and absorption of EC waves in the evolving plasma is required to define the most effective window of operation, and to optimize the launcher geometry for maximal heating and current drive during this window. Here, we extend a previous optimization of O1-mode ECRH on NSTX-U to account for the full time-dependent performance of the ECRH using simulations performed with TRANSP. We find that the evolution of the density profile has a prominent role in the optimization by defining the time window of operation, which in certain cases may be a more important metric to compare launcher performance than the average power absorption. This feature cannot be captured by analysis on static profiles, and should be accounted for when optimizing ECRH on any device that operates near the cutoff density. Additionally, the utility of the electron Bernstein wave (EBW) in driving current and generating closed flux surfaces in the early startup phase has been demonstrated on a number of devices. Using standalone GENRAY simulations, we find that efficient EBW current drive is possible on NSTX-U if the injection angle is shifted below the midplane and aimed towards the top half of the vacuum vessel. However, collisional damping of the EBW is projected to be significant, in some cases accounting for up to 97% of the absorbed EBW power.

Regarding the optimization of O1-mode ECRH and the feasibility of EBW startup on NSTX-U

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

Lopez, Nicolas; Poli, Francesca M.

Recently published scenarios for fully non-inductive startup and operation on the National Spherical Torus eXperiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) [Menard J et al 2012 Nucl. Fusion 52 083015] show Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) as an important component in preparing a target plasma for efficient High Harmonic Fast Wave and Neutral Beam heating. The modelling of the propagation and absorption of EC waves in the evolving plasma is required to define the most effective window of operation, and to optimize the launcher geometry for maximal heating and current drive during this window. Here in this paper, we extend a previous optimization ofmore » O1-mode ECRH on NSTX-U to account for the full time-dependent performance of the ECRH using simulations performed with TRANSP. We find that the evolution of the density profile has a prominent role in the optimization by defining the time window of operation, which in certain cases may be a more important metric to compare launcher performance than the average power absorption. This feature cannot be captured by analysis on static profiles, and should be accounted for when optimizing ECRH on any device that operates near the cutoff density. Additionally, the utility of the electron Bernstein wave (EBW) in driving current and generating closed flux surfaces in the early startup phase has been demonstrated on a number of devices. Using standalone GENRAY simulations, we find that efficient EBW current drive is possible on NSTX-U if the injection angle is shifted below the midplane and aimed towards the top half of the vacuum vessel. However, collisional damping of the EBW is projected to be significant, in some cases accounting for up to 97\\% of the absorbed EBW power.« less

Regarding the optimization of O1-mode ECRH and the feasibility of EBW startup on NSTX-U

DOE PAGES

Lopez, Nicolas; Poli, Francesca M.

2018-03-29

Recently published scenarios for fully non-inductive startup and operation on the National Spherical Torus eXperiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) [Menard J et al 2012 Nucl. Fusion 52 083015] show Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) as an important component in preparing a target plasma for efficient High Harmonic Fast Wave and Neutral Beam heating. The modelling of the propagation and absorption of EC waves in the evolving plasma is required to define the most effective window of operation, and to optimize the launcher geometry for maximal heating and current drive during this window. Here in this paper, we extend a previous optimization ofmore » O1-mode ECRH on NSTX-U to account for the full time-dependent performance of the ECRH using simulations performed with TRANSP. We find that the evolution of the density profile has a prominent role in the optimization by defining the time window of operation, which in certain cases may be a more important metric to compare launcher performance than the average power absorption. This feature cannot be captured by analysis on static profiles, and should be accounted for when optimizing ECRH on any device that operates near the cutoff density. Additionally, the utility of the electron Bernstein wave (EBW) in driving current and generating closed flux surfaces in the early startup phase has been demonstrated on a number of devices. Using standalone GENRAY simulations, we find that efficient EBW current drive is possible on NSTX-U if the injection angle is shifted below the midplane and aimed towards the top half of the vacuum vessel. However, collisional damping of the EBW is projected to be significant, in some cases accounting for up to 97\\% of the absorbed EBW power.« less

Bedside to Bench: Integrating Quantitative Clinical Pharmacology and Reverse Translation to Optimize Drug Development.

PubMed

Gibbs, John P; Menon, Rajeev; Kasichayanula, Sreeneeranj

2018-02-01

With so much emphasis on reducing attrition and becoming more efficient in the delivery of healthcare, there are many opportunities to leverage existing clinical data in drug development and to foster the practice of reverse translation. The application of quantitative approaches to convert clinical trial and real-world data to knowledge will continue to drive innovation. Herein we discuss recent examples of reverse translation and consider future opportunities to capture critical clinical knowledge to inform decision-making in drug development. © 2017 The Authors. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Continuously Tunable Nucleic Acid Hybridization Probes

PubMed Central

Wu, Lucia R.; Wang, J. Sherry; Fang, John Z.; Reiser, Emily; Pinto, Alessandro; Pekker, Irena; Boykin, Richard; Ngouenet, Celine; Webster, Philippa J.; Beechem, Joseph; Zhang, David Yu

2015-01-01

In silico designed nucleic acid probes and primers often fail to achieve favorable specificity and sensitivity tradeoffs on the first try, and iterative empirical sequence-based optimization is needed, particularly in multiplexed assays. Here, we present a novel, on-the-fly method of tuning probe affinity and selectivity via the stoichiometry of auxiliary species, allowing independent and decoupled adjustment of hybridization yield for different probes in multiplexed assays. Using this method, we achieve near-continuous tuning of probe effective free energy (0.03 kcal·mol−1 granularity). As applications, we enforced uniform capture efficiency of 31 DNA molecules (GC content 0% – 100%), maximized signal difference for 11 pairs of single nucleotide variants, and performed tunable hybrid-capture of mRNA from total RNA. Using the Nanostring nCounter platform, we applied stoichiometric tuning to simultaneously adjust yields for a 24-plex assay, and we show multiplexed quantitation of RNA sequences and variants from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples (FFPE). PMID:26480474

Directed transport by surface chemical potential gradients for enhancing analyte collection in nanoscale sensors.

PubMed

Sitt, Amit; Hess, Henry

2015-05-13

Nanoscale detectors hold great promise for single molecule detection and the analysis of small volumes of dilute samples. However, the probability of an analyte reaching the nanosensor in a dilute solution is extremely low due to the sensor's small size. Here, we examine the use of a chemical potential gradient along a surface to accelerate analyte capture by nanoscale sensors. Utilizing a simple model for transport induced by surface binding energy gradients, we study the effect of the gradient on the efficiency of collecting nanoparticles and single and double stranded DNA. The results indicate that chemical potential gradients along a surface can lead to an acceleration of analyte capture by several orders of magnitude compared to direct collection from the solution. The improvement in collection is limited to a relatively narrow window of gradient slopes, and its extent strongly depends on the size of the gradient patch. Our model allows the optimization of gradient layouts and sheds light on the fundamental characteristics of chemical potential gradient induced transport.

Isolation of N-linked glycopeptides by hydrazine-functionalized magnetic particles.

PubMed

Sun, Shisheng; Yang, Ganglong; Wang, Ting; Wang, Qinzhe; Chen, Chao; Li, Zheng

2010-04-01

We introduce a novel combination of magnetic particles with hydrazine chemistry, dubbed as hydrazine-functionalized magnetic particles (HFMP) for isolation of glycopeptides. Four methods have been developed and compared for the production of HFMP by hydrazine modification of the surface of the carboxyl and epoxy-silanized magnetic particles, respectively. The evaluation of the capability and specificity of HFMP as well as the optimization of the coupling condition for capturing of glycoproteins were systematically investigated. The results showed that HFMP prepared by adipic dihydrazide functionalization from carboxyl-silanized magnetic particles (HFCA) displayed the maximum capture capacity and isolated efficiency for glycoprotein. When measured with glycoproteins, the capacity of the HFCA (1 g) for coupling bovine fetuin was 130 +/- 5.3 mg. The capability of this method was also confirmed by successful isolation of all formerly glycosylated peptides from standard glycoproteins and identification of their glycosylation sites, which demonstrated the feasibility of the HFCA as an alternative solid support for isolation of glycoproteins/glycopeptides.

Simultaneous capture of metal, sulfur and chlorine by sorbents during fluidized bed incineration.

PubMed

Ho, T C; Chuang, T C; Chelluri, S; Lee, Y; Hopper, J R

2001-01-01

Metal capture experiments were carried out in an atmospheric fluidized bed incinerator to investigate the effect of sulfur and chlorine on metal capture efficiency and the potential for simultaneous capture of metal, sulfur and chlorine by sorbents. In addition to experimental investigation, the effect of sulfur and chlorine on the metal capture process was also theoretically investigated through performing equilibrium calculations based on the minimization of system free energy. The observed results have indicated that, in general, the existence of sulfur and chlorine enhances the efficiency of metal capture especially at low to medium combustion temperatures. The capture mechanisms appear to include particulate scrubbing and chemisorption depending on the type of sorbents. Among the three sorbents tested, calcined limestone is capable of capturing all the three air pollutants simultaneously. The results also indicate that a mixture of the three sorbents, in general, captures more metals than a single sorbent during the process. In addition, the existence of sulfur and chlorine apparently enhances the metal capture process.

Evaluation of capture techniques on lesser prairie-chicken trap injury and survival

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grisham, Blake A.; Boal, Clint W.; Mitchell, Natasia R.; Gicklhorn, Trevor S.; Borsdorf, Philip K.; Haukos, David A.; Dixon, Charles

2015-01-01

Ethical treatment of research animals is required under the Animal Welfare Act. This includes trapping methodologies that reduce unnecessary pain and duress. Traps used in research should optimize animal welfare conditions within the context of the proposed research study. Several trapping techniques are used in the study of lesser prairie-chickens, despite lack of knowledge of trap injury caused by the various methods. From 2006 to 2012, we captured 217, 40, and 144 lesser prairie-chickens Tympanuchus pallidicinctus using walk-in funnel traps, rocket nets, and drop nets, respectively, in New Mexico and Texas, to assess the effects of capture technique on injury and survival of the species. We monitored radiotagged, injured lesser prairie-chickens 7–65 d postcapture to assess survival rates of injured individuals. Injuries occurred disproportionately among trap type, injury type, and sex. The predominant injuries were superficial cuts to the extremities of males captured in walk-in funnel traps. However, we observed no mortalities due to trapping, postcapture survival rates of injured birds did not vary across trap types, and the daily survival probability of an injured and uninjured bird was ≥99%. Frequency and intensity of injuries in walk-in funnel traps are due to the passive nature of these traps (researcher cannot select specific individuals for capture) and incidental capture of individuals not needed for research. Comparatively, rocket nets and drop nets allow observers to target birds for capture and require immediate removal of captured individuals from the trap. Based on our results, trap injuries would be reduced if researchers monitor and immediately remove birds from walk-in funnels before they injure themselves; move traps to target specific birds and reduce recaptures; limit the number of consecutive trapping days on a lek; and use proper netting techniques that incorporate quick, efficient, trained handling procedures.

Exploring the resilience of industrial ecosystems.

PubMed

Zhu, Junming; Ruth, Matthias

2013-06-15

Industrial ecosystems improve eco-efficiency at the system level through optimizing material and energy flows, which however raises a concern for system resilience because efficiency, as traditionally conceived, not necessarily promotes resilience. By drawing on the concept of resilience in ecological systems and in supply chains, resilience in industrial ecosystems is specified on the basis of a system's ability to maintain eco-efficient material and energy flows under disruptions. Using a network model that captures supply, asset, and organizational dependencies and propagation of disruptions among firms, the resilience, and particularly resistance as an important dimension of resilience, of two real industrial ecosystems and generalized specifications are examined. The results show that an industrial ecosystem is less resistant and less resilient with high inter-firm dependency, preferentially organized physical exchanges, and under disruptions targeted at highly connected firms. An industrial ecosystem with more firms and exchanges is less resistant, but has more eco-efficient flows and potentials, and therefore is less likely to lose its function of eco-efficiency. Taking these determinants for resilience into consideration improves the adaptability of an industrial ecosystem, which helps increase its resilience. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Packet Capture Solutions: PcapDB Benchmark for High-Bandwidth Capture, Storage, and Searching

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

Steinfadt, Shannon Irene; Ferrell, Paul Steven

PcapDB stands alone when looking at the overall field of competitors, from the cost-effective COTS hardware, to the efficient utilization of disk space that enables a longer packet history. A scalable, 100GbE-enabled system that indexes every packet and indexes flow data without complicated load-balancing requirements. The Transport Layer search and indexing approach led to patent-pending flow indexing technology, providing a specialized database system specifically optimized around providing fast flow searches. While there are a plethora of options in network packet capture, there are very few that are able to effectively manage capture rates of more than 10 Gb/s, distributed capturemore » and querying, and a responsive user interface. By far, the primary competitor in the market place is Endace and DeepSee; in addition to meeting the technical requirements we set out in this document, they provide technical support and a fully 'appliance like' system. In terms of cost, however, our experience has been that the yearly maintenance charges alone outstrip the entire hardware cost of solutions like PcapDB. Investment in cyber security research and development is a large part of what has enabled us to build the base of knowlegable workers needed to defend government resources in the rapidly evolving cyber security landscape. We believe projects like Bro, WireCap, and Farm do more than just fill temporary gaps in our capabilities. They give allow us to build the firm foundation needed to tackle the next generation of cyber challenges. PcapDB was built with loftier ambitions than simply solving the packet capture of a single lab site, but instead to provide a robust, scaleable packet capture solution to the DOE complex and beyond.« less

Gold nanoparticle-based enhanced lateral flow immunoassay for detection of Cronobacter sakazakii in powdered infant formula.

PubMed

Pan, Ruili; Jiang, Yujun; Sun, Luhong; Wang, Rui; Zhuang, Kejin; Zhao, Yueming; Wang, Hui; Ali, Md Aslam; Xu, Honghua; Man, Chaoxin

2018-05-01

Cronobacter sakazakii is an opportunistic foodborne pathogen that can infect newborns through powdered infant formula (PIF). In this study, we developed a novel enhanced lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) with enhanced sensitivity for detection of C. sakazakii in PIF by the naked eye. The proposed strategy for signal enhancement of the traditional LFA used concentrated gold nanoparticles (AuNP) as the enhancer to conjugate with capture antibodies, which could increase the immobilized capture antibodies concentration at the detection zone to improve capture efficiency. Besides, the detection signal was further amplified by accumulated AuNP as the C. sakazakii labeled with AuNP probes was captured by antibodies conjugated with enhancer at the test line. We also studied the effect of different concentrations of capture antibodies and concentrated AuNP on detection performance, and found that 2.2 mg/mL of capture antibodies and 0.06 nM concentrated AuNP were the optimal combination that could avoid a false-positive signal and maximally amplify the detection signal of the enhanced LFA. Using this strategy, the detection sensitivity of the enhanced LFA was 10 3 cfu/mL and improved 100-fold compared with traditional LFA. The strip was highly specific to C. sakazakii, and the time for detection of C. sakazakii in PIF was shortened by 3 h. In summary, the enhanced LFA developed by the addition of concentrated AuNP as the enhancer can be used as a sensitive, rapid, visual qualitative and point-of-care test method for detecting target analytes. Copyright © 2018 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimal cost-effective designs of Phase II proof of concept trials and associated go-no go decisions.

PubMed

Chen, Cong; Beckman, Robert A

2009-01-01

This manuscript discusses optimal cost-effective designs for Phase II proof of concept (PoC) trials. Unlike a confirmatory registration trial, a PoC trial is exploratory in nature, and sponsors of such trials have the liberty to choose the type I error rate and the power. The decision is largely driven by the perceived probability of having a truly active treatment per patient exposure (a surrogate measure to development cost), which is naturally captured in an efficiency score to be defined in this manuscript. Optimization of the score function leads to type I error rate and power (and therefore sample size) for the trial that is most cost-effective. This in turn leads to cost-effective go-no go criteria for development decisions. The idea is applied to derive optimal trial-level, program-level, and franchise-level design strategies. The study is not meant to provide any general conclusion because the settings used are largely simplified for illustrative purposes. However, through the examples provided herein, a reader should be able to gain useful insight into these design problems and apply them to the design of their own PoC trials.

An improved real time image detection system for elephant intrusion along the forest border areas.

PubMed

Sugumar, S J; Jayaparvathy, R

2014-01-01

Human-elephant conflict is a major problem leading to crop damage, human death and injuries caused by elephants, and elephants being killed by humans. In this paper, we propose an automated unsupervised elephant image detection system (EIDS) as a solution to human-elephant conflict in the context of elephant conservation. The elephant's image is captured in the forest border areas and is sent to a base station via an RF network. The received image is decomposed using Haar wavelet to obtain multilevel wavelet coefficients, with which we perform image feature extraction and similarity match between the elephant query image and the database image using image vision algorithms. A GSM message is sent to the forest officials indicating that an elephant has been detected in the forest border and is approaching human habitat. We propose an optimized distance metric to improve the image retrieval time from the database. We compare the optimized distance metric with the popular Euclidean and Manhattan distance methods. The proposed optimized distance metric retrieves more images with lesser retrieval time than the other distance metrics which makes the optimized distance method more efficient and reliable.

Fast flux module detection using matroid theory.

PubMed

Reimers, Arne C; Bruggeman, Frank J; Olivier, Brett G; Stougie, Leen

2015-05-01

Flux balance analysis (FBA) is one of the most often applied methods on genome-scale metabolic networks. Although FBA uniquely determines the optimal yield, the pathway that achieves this is usually not unique. The analysis of the optimal-yield flux space has been an open challenge. Flux variability analysis is only capturing some properties of the flux space, while elementary mode analysis is intractable due to the enormous number of elementary modes. However, it has been found by Kelk et al. (2012) that the space of optimal-yield fluxes decomposes into flux modules. These decompositions allow a much easier but still comprehensive analysis of the optimal-yield flux space. Using the mathematical definition of module introduced by Müller and Bockmayr (2013b), we discovered useful connections to matroid theory, through which efficient algorithms enable us to compute the decomposition into modules in a few seconds for genome-scale networks. Using that every module can be represented by one reaction that represents its function, in this article, we also present a method that uses this decomposition to visualize the interplay of modules. We expect the new method to replace flux variability analysis in the pipelines for metabolic networks.

Catch of channel catfish with tandem-set hoop nets and gill nets in lentic systems of Nebraska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Richters, Lindsey K.; Pope, Kevin L.

2011-01-01

Twenty-six Nebraska water bodies representing two ecosystem types (small standing waters and large standing waters) were surveyed during 2008 and 2009 with tandem-set hoop nets and experimental gill nets to determine if similar trends existed in catch rates and size structures of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus captured with these gears. Gear efficiency was assessed as the number of sets (nets) that would be required to capture 100 channel catfish given observed catch per unit effort (CPUE). Efficiency of gill nets was not correlated with efficiency of hoop nets for capturing channel catfish. Small sample sizes prohibited estimation of proportional size distributions in most surveys; in the four surveys for which sample size was sufficient to quantify length-frequency distributions of captured channel catfish, distributions differed between gears. The CPUE of channel catfish did not differ between small and large water bodies for either gear. While catch rates of hoop nets were lower than rates recorded in previous studies, this gear was more efficient than gill nets at capturing channel catfish. However, comparisons of size structure between gears may be problematic.

Polyethylene Glycol-Functionalized Magnetic Fe₃O₄/P(MMA-AA) Composite Nanoparticles Enhancing Efficient Capture of Circulating Tumor Cells.

PubMed

Ma, Shaohua; Zhan, Xiaohui; Yang, Minggang; Lan, Fang; Wu, Yao; Gu, Zhongwei

2018-04-01

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) played a significant role in early diagnosis and prognosis of carcinomas, and efficient capture of CTCs was highly desired to provide important and reliable evidence for clinical diagnosis. In present work, we successfully synthesized functional magnetic Fe3O4/P(MMA-AA) composite nanoparticles (FCNPs) inspired by a counterbalance concept for recognition and capture of CTCs. This counterbalance, composed of polyethylene glycol (PEG) suppressing cell adhesion and anti-epithelial-cell-adhesion-molecule (anti-EpCAM) antibody targeting tumor cells, could both enhance the specific capture of tumor cells and reduce unspecific adhesion of normal cells. The study showed that the PEG density on the surface of the FCNPs affected the specificity of the materials, and a density of ca. 15% was efficient for reducing the unspecific adhesion. After incubation with the mixture of HepG2 cells and Jurkat T cells, the FCNPs reached a capture efficiency as high as about 86.5% of the cancer cells, suggesting great potential on detection of CTCs in the diagnoses and prognoses of cancer metastasis.

BSM (+BMM) Data Emulator Dynamic Interrogative Data Capture (DIDC) Assessment Report: Impacts of DIDC

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-04-01

The objective of the Dynamic Interrogative Data Capture (DIDC) algorithms and software is to optimize the capture and transmission of vehicle-based data under a range of dynamically configurable messaging strategies. The key hypothesis of DIDC is tha...

Technology demonstration for reducing mercury emissions from small-scale gold refining facilities.

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

Habegger, L. J.; Fernandez, L. E.; Engle, M.

2008-06-30

Gold that is brought from artisanal and small-scale gold mining areas to gold shops for processing and sale typically contains 5-40% mercury. The uncontrolled removal of the residual mercury in gold shops by using high-temperature evaporation can be a significant source of mercury emissions in urban areas where the shops are located. Emissions from gold shop hoods during a burn can exceed 1,000 mg/m{sup 3}. Because the saturation concentration of mercury vapor at operating temperatures at the hood exhaust is less than 100 mg/m{sup 3}, the dominant component of the exhaust is in the form of aerosol or liquid particles.more » The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with technical support from Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne), has completed a project to design and test a technology to remove the dominant aerosol component in the emissions from gold shops. The objective was to demonstrate a technology that could be manufactured at low cost and by using locally available materials and manufacturing capabilities. Six prototypes designed by Argonne were locally manufactured, installed, and tested in gold shops in Itaituba and Creporizao, Brazil. The initial prototype design incorporated a pebble bed as the media for collecting the mercury aerosols, and a mercury collection efficiency of over 90% was demonstrated. Though achieving high efficiencies, the initial prototype was determined to have practical disadvantages such as excessive weight, a somewhat complex construction, and high costs (>US$1,000). To further simplify the construction, operation, and associated costs, a second prototype design was developed in which the pebble bed was replaced with slotted steel baffle plates. The system was designed to have flexibility for installation in various hood configurations. The second prototype with the baffle plate design was installed and tested in several different hood/exhaust systems to determine the optimal installation configuration. The significance of coagulation and collection of the mercury aerosols in exhaust ducts, which is dependent on the hood and collector configuration, was also evaluated. Prototype demonstration tests verified the theoretical basis for mercury aerosol capture that can be used to optimize the baffle plate design, flow rates, and hood exhaust ducts and plenum to achieve 80% or higher removal efficiencies. Results indicated that installation configuration significantly influences a system's capture efficiency. Configurations that retained existing inlet ducts resulted in system efficiencies of more than 80%, whereas installation configurations without inlet ducts significantly reduced capture efficiency. As an alternative to increasing the volume of inlet ducts, the number of baffle plates in the system baffle assembly could be doubled to increase efficiency. Recommended installation and operation procedures were developed on the basis of these results. A water-based mercury capture system developed in Indonesia for installation in smaller shops was also tested and shown to be effective for certain applications. The cost of construction and installation of the baffle plate prototype was approximately US$400. These costs were reported as acceptable by local gold shop owners and government regulators, and were significantly lower than the cost of an alternate charcoal/copper mesh mercury filter available in the region, which costs about US$10,000. A sampling procedure that consists of a particle filter combined with a vapor analyzer was demonstrated as an effective procedure for analyzing both the aerosol and vapor components of the mercury concentrations. Two key findings for enhancing higher mercury collection were identified. First, the aerosol/vapor mercury emissions must be given sufficient time for the mercury particles to coagulate to a size that can be readily captured by the baffle plates. An interval of at least 6 seconds of transit time between the point of evaporation and contact with the slotted baffle plates is recommended. Some particles will also deposit in the exhaust ducts between the point of evaporation and the baffle plates. Second, the slots in the baffle plates create jets that force the mercury particles to impinge and adhere on downstream surfaces. The baffle plates should closely follow the designs developed for this system to be most effective.« less

A two-stage stochastic optimization model for scheduling electric vehicle charging loads to relieve distribution-system constraints

DOE PAGES

Wu, Fei; Sioshansi, Ramteen

2017-05-25

Electric vehicles (EVs) hold promise to improve the energy efficiency and environmental impacts of transportation. However, widespread EV use can impose significant stress on electricity-distribution systems due to their added charging loads. This paper proposes a centralized EV charging-control model, which schedules the charging of EVs that have flexibility. This flexibility stems from EVs that are parked at the charging station for a longer duration of time than is needed to fully recharge the battery. The model is formulated as a two-stage stochastic optimization problem. The model captures the use of distributed energy resources and uncertainties around EV arrival timesmore » and charging demands upon arrival, non-EV loads on the distribution system, energy prices, and availability of energy from the distributed energy resources. We use a Monte Carlo-based sample-average approximation technique and an L-shaped method to solve the resulting optimization problem efficiently. We also apply a sequential sampling technique to dynamically determine the optimal size of the randomly sampled scenario tree to give a solution with a desired quality at minimal computational cost. Here, we demonstrate the use of our model on a Central-Ohio-based case study. We show the benefits of the model in reducing charging costs, negative impacts on the distribution system, and unserved EV-charging demand compared to simpler heuristics. Lastly, we also conduct sensitivity analyses, to show how the model performs and the resulting costs and load profiles when the design of the station or EV-usage parameters are changed.« less

Affinity capture of aflatoxin B1 and B2 by aptamer-functionalized magnetic agarose microspheres prior to their determination by HPLC.

PubMed

Liu, Hongmei; Lu, Anxiang; Fu, Hailong; Li, Bingru; Yang, Meihua; Wang, Jihua; Luan, Yunxia

2018-06-12

A novel adsorbent is described for magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) of the aflatoxins AFB 1 and AFB 2 (AFBs). Magnetic agarose microspheres (MAMs) were functionalized with an aptamer to bind the AFBs which then were quantified by HPLC and on-line post-column photochemical derivatization with fluorescence detection. Streptavidin-conjugated MAMs were synthesized first by a highly reproducible strategy. They possess strong magnetism and high surface area. The MAMs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, laser diffraction particle size analyzer, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, vibrating sample magnetometry and laser scanning confocal microscopy. Then, the AFB-aptamers were immobilized on MAMs through biotin-streptavidin interaction. Finally, the MSPE is performed by suspending the aptamer-modified MAMs in the sample. They are then collected by an external magnetic field and the AFBs are eluted with methanol/buffer (20:80). Several parameters affecting the coupling, capturing and eluting efficiency were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the method is fast, has good linearity, high selectivity, and sensitivity. The LODs are 25 pg·mL -1 for AFB 1 and 10 pg·mL -1 for AFB 2 . The binding capacity is 350 ± 8 ng·g -1 for AFB 1 and 384 ± 8 ng·g -1 for AFB 2 , and the precision of the assay is <8%. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of AFBs in spiked maize samples. Graphical abstract Schematic of novel aptamer functionalized magnetic agarose microspheres (Apt-MAM) as magnetic adsorbents for simultaneous and specific affinity capture of aflatoxins B 1 and B 2 (AFBs).

Convenient and large-scale synthesis of nitrogen-rich hierarchical porous carbon spheres for supercapacitors and CO2 capture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Binbin; Zhang, Shouren; Yin, Hang; Yang, Baocheng

2017-08-01

Herein, considering the great potential of nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbons in energy storage and CO2 capture, we designed a convenient and easily large-scale production strategy for preparing nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon sphere (NHPCS) materials. In this synthesis route, spherical resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resins were selected as carbon precursor, and then the ZnCl2-impregnated RF resin spheres were carbonized in a NH3 atmosphere at a temperature range of 600-800 °C. During the one-step heat-treatment process, nitrogen atom could be efficiently incorporated into the carbon skeleton, and the interconnected and hierarchical pore structure with different micro/mesopore proportion could be generated and tuned by adjusting the activating agent ZnCl2 dosage and carbonization temperature. The resultant nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon sphere materials exhibited a satisfactory charge storage capacity, and the optimal sample of NHPCS-2-8 with a high mesopore proportion obtained at 800 °C with a ZnCl2/RF mass ratio of 2:1 presented a specific capacitance of 273.8 F g-1 at a current density of 0.5 A g-1. More importantly, the assembled NHPCS-2-8-based symmetric capacitor displayed a high energy density of 17.2 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 178.9 W kg-1 within a voltage window of 0 ∼ 1.8 V in 0.5 M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte. In addition, the CO2 capture application of these NHPCS materials was also explored, and the optimal sample of NHPCS-0-8 with a large micropore proportion prepared at 800 °C exhibited an exceptional CO2 uptake capacity at ambient pressures of up to 4.23 mmol g-1 at 0 °C.

The Ca-looping process for CO2 capture and energy storage: role of nanoparticle technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valverde, Jose Manuel

2018-02-01

The calcium looping (CaL) process, based on the cyclic carbonation/calcination of CaO, has come into scene in the last years with a high potential to be used in large-scale technologies aimed at mitigating global warming. In the CaL process for CO2 capture, the CO2-loaded flue gas is used to fluidize a bed of CaO particles at temperatures around 650 °C. The carbonated particles are then circulated into a calciner reactor wherein the CaO solids are regenerated at temperatures near 950 °C under high CO2 concentration. Calcination at such harsh conditions causes a marked sintering and loss of reactivity of the regenerated CaO. This main drawback could be however compensated from the very low cost of natural CaO precursors such as limestone or dolomite. Another emerging application of the CaL process is thermochemical energy storage (TCES) in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. Importantly, carbonation/calcination conditions to maximize the global CaL-CSP plant efficiency could differ radically from those used for CO2 capture. Thus, carbonation could be carried out at high temperatures under high CO2 partial pressure for maximum efficiency, whereas the solids could be calcined at relatively low temperatures in the absence of CO2 to promote calcination. Our work highlights the critical role of carbonation/calcination conditions on the performance of CaO derived from natural precursors. While conditions in the CaL process for CO2 capture lead to a severe CaO deactivation with the number of cycles, the same material may exhibit a high and stable conversion at optimum CaL-CSP conditions. Moreover, the type of CaL conditions influences critically the reaction kinetics, which plays a main role on the optimization of relevant operation parameters such as the residence time in the reactors. This paper is devoted to a brief review on the latest research activity in our group concerning these issues as well as the possible role of nanoparticle technology to enhance the activity of Ca-based materials at CaL conditions for CO2 capture and energy storage.

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

Basha, Omar M.; Keller, Murphy J.; Luebke, David R.

The Ionic Liquid (IL) [hmim][Tf 2N] was used as a physical solvent in an Aspen Plus simulation, employing the Peng-Robinson Equation of State (P-R EOS) with Boston-Mathias (BM) alpha function and standard mixing rules, to develop a conceptual process for CO 2 capture from a shifted warm fuel gas stream produced from Pittsburgh # 8 coal for a 400 MWe power plant. The physical properties of the IL, including density, viscosity, surface tension, vapor pressure and heat capacity were obtained from literature and modeled as a function of temperature. Also, available experimental solubility values for CO 2, H 2, Hmore » 2S, CO, and CH 4 in this IL were compiled and their binary interaction parameters (Δ ij and l ij) were optimized and correlated as functions of temperature. The Span-Wager Equation-of-State EOS was also employed to generate CO 2 solubilities in [hmim][Tf 2N] at high pressures (up to 10 MPa) and temperatures (up to 510 K). The conceptual process developed consisted of 4 adiabatic absorbers (2.4 m ID, 30 m high) arranged in parallel and packed with Plastic Pall Rings of 0.025 m for CO 2 capture; 3 flash drums arranged in series for solvent (IL) regeneration with the pressure-swing option; and a pressure-intercooling system for separating and pumping CO 2 up to 153 bar to the sequestration sites. The compositions of all process streams, CO 2 capture efficiency, and net power were calculated using Aspen Plus simulator. The results showed that, based on the composition of the inlet gas stream to the absorbers, 95.67 mol% of CO 2 was captured and sent to sequestration sites; 99.5 mol% of H 2 was separated and sent to turbines; the solvent exhibited a minimum loss of 0.31 mol%; and the net power balance of the entire system was 30.81 MW. These results indicated that [hmim][Tf 2N] IL could be used as a physical solvent for CO 2 capture from warm shifted fuel gas streams with high efficiency.« less

Estimating juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) abundance from beach seine data collected in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Perry, Russell W.; Kirsch, Joseph E.; Hendrix, A. Noble

2016-06-17

Resource managers rely on abundance or density metrics derived from beach seine surveys to make vital decisions that affect fish population dynamics and assemblage structure. However, abundance and density metrics may be biased by imperfect capture and lack of geographic closure during sampling. Currently, there is considerable uncertainty about the capture efficiency of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) by beach seines. Heterogeneity in capture can occur through unrealistic assumptions of closure and from variation in the probability of capture caused by environmental conditions. We evaluated the assumptions of closure and the influence of environmental conditions on capture efficiency and abundance estimates of Chinook salmon from beach seining within the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta and the San Francisco Bay. Beach seine capture efficiency was measured using a stratified random sampling design combined with open and closed replicate depletion sampling. A total of 56 samples were collected during the spring of 2014. To assess variability in capture probability and the absolute abundance of juvenile Chinook salmon, beach seine capture efficiency data were fitted to the paired depletion design using modified N-mixture models. These models allowed us to explicitly test the closure assumption and estimate environmental effects on the probability of capture. We determined that our updated method allowing for lack of closure between depletion samples drastically outperformed traditional data analysis that assumes closure among replicate samples. The best-fit model (lowest-valued Akaike Information Criterion model) included the probability of fish being available for capture (relaxed closure assumption), capture probability modeled as a function of water velocity and percent coverage of fine sediment, and abundance modeled as a function of sample area, temperature, and water velocity. Given that beach seining is a ubiquitous sampling technique for many species, our improved sampling design and analysis could provide significant improvements in density and abundance estimation.

Mercury in coal and the impact of coal quality on mercury emissions from combustion systems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kolker, A.; Senior, C.L.; Quick, J.C.

2006-01-01

The proportion of Hg in coal feedstock that is emitted by stack gases of utility power stations is a complex function of coal chemistry and properties, combustion conditions, and the positioning and type of air pollution control devices employed. Mercury in bituminous coal is found primarily within Fe-sulfides, whereas lower rank coal tends to have a greater proportion of organic-bound Hg. Preparation of bituminous coal to reduce S generally reduces input Hg relative to in-ground concentrations, but the amount of this reduction varies according to the fraction of Hg in sulfides and the efficiency of sulfide removal. The mode of occurrence of Hg in coal does not directly affect the speciation of Hg in the combustion flue gas. However, other constituents in the coal, notably Cl and S, and the combustion characteristics of the coal, influence the species of Hg that are formed in the flue gas and enter air pollution control devices. The formation of gaseous oxidized Hg or particulate-bound Hg occurs post-combustion; these forms of Hg can be in part captured in the air pollution control devices that exist on coal-fired boilers, without modification. For a given coal type, the capture efficiency of Hg by pollution control systems varies according to type of device and the conditions of its deployment. For bituminous coal, on average, more than 60% of Hg in flue gas is captured by fabric filter (FF) and flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) systems. Key variables affecting performance for Hg control include Cl and S content of the coal, the positioning (hot side vs. cold side) of the system, and the amount of unburned C in coal ash. Knowledge of coal quality parameters and their effect on the performance of air pollution control devices allows optimization of Hg capture co-benefit. ?? 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using data from an encounter sampler to model fish dispersal

USGS Publications Warehouse

Obaza, A.; DeAngelis, D.L.; Trexler, J.C.

2011-01-01

A method to estimate speed of free-ranging fishes using a passive sampling device is described and illustrated with data from the Everglades, U.S.A. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) from minnow traps embedded in drift fences was treated as an encounter rate and used to estimate speed, when combined with an independent estimate of density obtained by use of throw traps that enclose 1 m2 of marsh habitat. Underwater video was used to evaluate capture efficiency and species-specific bias of minnow traps and two sampling studies were used to estimate trap saturation and diel-movement patterns; these results were used to optimize sampling and derive correction factors to adjust species-specific encounter rates for bias and capture efficiency. Sailfin mollies Poecilia latipinna displayed a high frequency of escape from traps, whereas eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki were most likely to avoid a trap once they encountered it; dollar sunfish Lepomis marginatus were least likely to avoid the trap once they encountered it or to escape once they were captured. Length of sampling and time of day affected CPUE; fishes generally had a very low retention rate over a 24 h sample time and only the Everglades pygmy sunfish Elassoma evergladei were commonly captured at night. Dispersal speed of fishes in the Florida Everglades, U.S.A., was shown to vary seasonally and among species, ranging from 0.05 to 0.15 m s-1 for small poeciliids and fundulids to 0.1 to 1.8 m s-1 for L. marginatus. Speed was generally highest late in the wet season and lowest in the dry season, possibly tied to dispersal behaviours linked to finding and remaining in dry-season refuges. These speed estimates can be used to estimate the diffusive movement rate, which is commonly employed in spatial ecological models.

Real-time quantification of antibody-short interfering RNA conjugate in serum by antigen capture reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

PubMed

Tan, Martha; Vernes, Jean-Michel; Chan, Joyce; Cuellar, Trinna L; Asundi, Aarati; Nelson, Christopher; Yip, Victor; Shen, Ben; Vandlen, Richard; Siebel, Christian; Meng, Y Gloria

2012-11-15

Short interfering RNA (siRNA) has therapeutic potential. However, efficient delivery is a formidable task. To facilitate delivery of siRNA into cells, we covalently conjugated siRNA to antibodies that bind to cell surface proteins and internalize. Understanding how these antibody-siRNA conjugates function in vivo requires pharmacokinetic analysis. Thus, we developed a simple real-time antigen capture reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay to detect intact antibody-siRNA conjugates. Biotinylated antigen bound to streptavidin-coated PCR tubes was used to capture antibody-siRNA conjugate. The captured antibody-siRNA conjugate was then reverse-transcribed in the same tube, avoiding a sample transfer step. This reproducible assay had a wide standard curve range of 0.029 to 480ng/ml and could detect as low as 0.58ng/ml antibody-siRNA conjugates in mouse serum. The presence of unconjugated antibody that could be generated from siRNA degradation in vivo did not affect the assay as long as the total antibody concentration in the antigen capture step did not exceed 480ng/ml. Using this assay, we observed a more rapid decrease in serum antibody-siRNA conjugate concentrations than the total antibody concentrations in mice dosed with antibody-siRNA conjugates, suggesting loss of siRNA from the antibody. This assay is useful for optimizing antibody-siRNA and likely aptamer-siRNA conjugates to improve pharmacokinetics and aid siRNA delivery. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimal scheduling and its Lyapunov stability for advanced load-following energy plants with CO 2 capture

DOE PAGES

Bankole, Temitayo; Jones, Dustin; Bhattacharyya, Debangsu; ...

2017-11-03

In this study, a two-level control methodology consisting of an upper-level scheduler and a lower-level supervisory controller is proposed for an advanced load-following energy plant with CO 2 capture. With the use of an economic objective function that considers fluctuation in electricity demand and price at the upper level, optimal scheduling of energy plant electricity production and carbon capture with respect to several carbon tax scenarios is implemented. The optimal operational profiles are then passed down to corresponding lower-level supervisory controllers designed using a methodological approach that balances control complexity with performance. Finally, it is shown how optimal carbon capturemore » and electricity production rate profiles for an energy plant such as the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant are affected by electricity demand and price fluctuations under different carbon tax scenarios. As a result, the paper also presents a Lyapunov stability analysis of the proposed scheme.« less

Optimal scheduling and its Lyapunov stability for advanced load-following energy plants with CO 2 capture

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

Bankole, Temitayo; Jones, Dustin; Bhattacharyya, Debangsu

In this study, a two-level control methodology consisting of an upper-level scheduler and a lower-level supervisory controller is proposed for an advanced load-following energy plant with CO 2 capture. With the use of an economic objective function that considers fluctuation in electricity demand and price at the upper level, optimal scheduling of energy plant electricity production and carbon capture with respect to several carbon tax scenarios is implemented. The optimal operational profiles are then passed down to corresponding lower-level supervisory controllers designed using a methodological approach that balances control complexity with performance. Finally, it is shown how optimal carbon capturemore » and electricity production rate profiles for an energy plant such as the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant are affected by electricity demand and price fluctuations under different carbon tax scenarios. As a result, the paper also presents a Lyapunov stability analysis of the proposed scheme.« less

Instrumentation and Performance Analysis Plans for the HIFiRE Flight 2 Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gruber, Mark; Barhorst, Todd; Jackson, Kevin; Eklund, Dean; Hass, Neal; Storch, Andrea M.; Liu, Jiwen

2009-01-01

Supersonic combustion performance of a bi-component gaseous hydrocarbon fuel mixture is one of the primary aspects under investigation in the HIFiRE Flight 2 experiment. In-flight instrumentation and post-test analyses will be two key elements used to determine the combustion performance. Pre-flight computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses provide valuable information that can be used to optimize the placement of a constrained set of wall pressure instrumentation in the experiment. The simulations also allow pre-flight assessments of performance sensitivities leading to estimates of overall uncertainty in the determination of combustion efficiency. Based on the pre-flight CFD results, 128 wall pressure sensors have been located throughout the isolator/combustor flowpath to minimize the error in determining the wall pressure force at Mach 8 flight conditions. Also, sensitivity analyses show that mass capture and combustor exit stream thrust are the two primary contributors to uncertainty in combustion efficiency.

Optimal sensors placement and spillover suppression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanis, Tomas; Hromcik, Martin

2012-04-01

A new approach to optimal placement of sensors (OSP) in mechanical structures is presented. In contrast to existing methods, the presented procedure enables a designer to seek for a trade-off between the presence of desirable modes in captured measurements and the elimination of influence of those mode shapes that are not of interest in a given situation. An efficient numerical algorithm is presented, developed from an existing routine based on the Fischer information matrix analysis. We consider two requirements in the optimal sensor placement procedure. On top of the classical EFI approach, the sensors configuration should also minimize spillover of unwanted higher modes. We use the information approach to OSP, based on the effective independent method (EFI), and modify the underlying criterion to meet both of our requirements—to maximize useful signals and minimize spillover of unwanted modes at the same time. Performance of our approach is demonstrated by means of examples, and a flexible Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft case study related to a running European-level FP7 research project 'ACFA 2020—Active Control for Flexible Aircraft'.

Co-Simulation for Advanced Process Design and Optimization

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

Stephen E. Zitney

2009-01-01

Meeting the increasing demand for clean, affordable, and secure energy is arguably the most important challenge facing the world today. Fossil fuels can play a central role in a portfolio of carbon-neutral energy options provided CO{sub 2} emissions can be dramatically reduced by capturing CO{sub 2} and storing it safely and effectively. Fossil energy industry faces the challenge of meeting aggressive design goals for next-generation power plants with CCS. Process designs will involve large, highly-integrated, and multipurpose systems with advanced equipment items with complex geometries and multiphysics. APECS is enabling software to facilitate effective integration, solution, and analysis of high-fidelitymore » process/equipment (CFD) co-simulations. APECS helps to optimize fluid flow and related phenomena that impact overall power plant performance. APECS offers many advanced capabilities including ROMs, design optimization, parallel execution, stochastic analysis, and virtual plant co-simulations. NETL and its collaborative R&D partners are using APECS to reduce the time, cost, and technical risk of developing high-efficiency, zero-emission power plants with CCS.« less

Eye-fixation behavior, lexical storage, and visual word recognition in a split processing model.

PubMed

Shillcock, R; Ellison, T M; Monaghan, P

2000-10-01

Some of the implications of a model of visual word recognition in which processing is conditioned by the anatomical splitting of the visual field between the two hemispheres of the brain are explored. The authors investigate the optimal processing of visually presented words within such an architecture, and, for a realistically sized lexicon of English, characterize a computationally optimal fixation point in reading. They demonstrate that this approach motivates a range of behavior observed in reading isolated words and text, including the optimal viewing position and its relationship with the preferred viewing location, the failure to fixate smaller words, asymmetries in hemisphere-specific processing, and the priority given to the exterior letters of words. The authors also show that split architectures facilitate the uptake of all the letter-position information necessary for efficient word recognition and that this information may be less specific than is normally assumed. A split model of word recognition captures a range of behavior in reading that is greater than that covered by existing models of visual word recognition.

Microfluidic device with integrated microfilter of conical-shaped holes for high efficiency and high purity capture of circulating tumor cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Yadong; Shi, Jian; Li, Sisi; Wang, Li; Cayre, Yvon E.; Chen, Yong

2014-08-01

Capture of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from peripheral blood of cancer patients has major implications for metastatic detection and therapy analyses. Here we demonstrated a microfluidic device for high efficiency and high purity capture of CTCs. The key novelty of this approach lies on the integration of a microfilter with conical-shaped holes and a micro-injector with cross-flow components for size dependent capture of tumor cells without significant retention of non-tumor cells. Under conditions of constant flow rate, tumor cells spiked into phosphate buffered saline could be recovered and then cultured for further analyses. When tumor cells were spiked in blood of healthy donors, they could also be recovered at high efficiency and high clearance efficiency of white blood cells. When the same device was used for clinical validation, CTCs could be detected in blood samples of cancer patients but not in that of healthy donors. Finally, the capture efficiency of tumor cells is cell-type dependent but the hole size of the filter should be more closely correlated to the nuclei size of the tumor cells. Together with the advantage of easy operation, low-cost and high potential of integration, this approach offers unprecedented opportunities for metastatic detection and cancer treatment monitoring.

Predicting the performance uncertainty of a 1-MW pilot-scale carbon capture system after hierarchical laboratory-scale calibration and validation

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

Xu, Zhijie; Lai, Canhai; Marcy, Peter William

2017-05-01

A challenging problem in designing pilot-scale carbon capture systems is to predict, with uncertainty, the adsorber performance and capture efficiency under various operating conditions where no direct experimental data exist. Motivated by this challenge, we previously proposed a hierarchical framework in which relevant parameters of physical models were sequentially calibrated from different laboratory-scale carbon capture unit (C2U) experiments. Specifically, three models of increasing complexity were identified based on the fundamental physical and chemical processes of the sorbent-based carbon capture technology. Results from the corresponding laboratory experiments were used to statistically calibrate the physical model parameters while quantifying some of theirmore » inherent uncertainty. The parameter distributions obtained from laboratory-scale C2U calibration runs are used in this study to facilitate prediction at a larger scale where no corresponding experimental results are available. In this paper, we first describe the multiphase reactive flow model for a sorbent-based 1-MW carbon capture system then analyze results from an ensemble of simulations with the upscaled model. The simulation results are used to quantify uncertainty regarding the design’s predicted efficiency in carbon capture. In particular, we determine the minimum gas flow rate necessary to achieve 90% capture efficiency with 95% confidence.« less

Identification of pre-impact conditions of a cyclist involved in a vehicle-bicycle accident using an optimized MADYMO reconstruction combined with motion capture.

PubMed

Sun, Jie; Li, Zhengdong; Pan, Shaoyou; Feng, Hao; Shao, Yu; Liu, Ningguo; Huang, Ping; Zou, Donghua; Chen, Yijiu

2018-05-01

The aim of the present study was to develop an improved method, using MADYMO multi-body simulation software combined with an optimization method and three-dimensional (3D) motion capture, for identifying the pre-impact conditions of a cyclist (walking or cycling) involved in a vehicle-bicycle accident. First, a 3D motion capture system was used to analyze coupled motions of a volunteer while walking and cycling. The motion capture results were used to define the posture of the human model during walking and cycling simulations. Then, cyclist, bicycle and vehicle models were developed. Pre-impact parameters of the models were treated as unknown design variables. Finally, a multi-objective genetic algorithm, the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II, was used to find optimal solutions. The objective functions of the walk parameter were significantly lower than cycle parameter; thus, the cyclist was more likely to have been walking with the bicycle than riding the bicycle. In the most closely matched result found, all observed contact points matched and the injury parameters correlated well with the real injuries sustained by the cyclist. Based on the real accident reconstruction, the present study indicates that MADYMO multi-body simulation software, combined with an optimization method and 3D motion capture, can be used to identify the pre-impact conditions of a cyclist involved in a vehicle-bicycle accident. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effects of nanopillar array diameter and spacing on cancer cell capture and cell behaviors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Shunqiang; Wan, Yuan; Liu, Yaling

2014-10-01

While substrates with nanopillars (NPs) have emerged as promising platforms for isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), the influence of diameter and spacing of NPs on CTC capture is still unclear. In this paper, CTC-capture yield and cell behaviors have been investigated by using antibody functionalized NPs of various diameters (120-1100 nm) and spacings (35-800 nm). The results show a linear relationship between the cell capture yield and effective contact area of NP substrates where a NP array of small diameter and reasonable spacing is preferred; however, spacing that is too small or too large adversely impairs the capture efficiency and specificity, respectively. In addition, the formation of pseudopodia between captured cells and the substrate is found to be dependent not only on cell adhesion status but also on elution strength and shear direction. These findings provide essential guidance in designing NP substrates for more efficient capture of CTCs and manipulation of cytomorphology in future.While substrates with nanopillars (NPs) have emerged as promising platforms for isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), the influence of diameter and spacing of NPs on CTC capture is still unclear. In this paper, CTC-capture yield and cell behaviors have been investigated by using antibody functionalized NPs of various diameters (120-1100 nm) and spacings (35-800 nm). The results show a linear relationship between the cell capture yield and effective contact area of NP substrates where a NP array of small diameter and reasonable spacing is preferred; however, spacing that is too small or too large adversely impairs the capture efficiency and specificity, respectively. In addition, the formation of pseudopodia between captured cells and the substrate is found to be dependent not only on cell adhesion status but also on elution strength and shear direction. These findings provide essential guidance in designing NP substrates for more efficient capture of CTCs and manipulation of cytomorphology in future. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Additional details about calculation of maximal displacement of an individual NP; additional study of substrate wettability through Cassie's Law; additional details about selection of incubation time and shaking speeds. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr02854f

Highly efficient capture and harvest of circulating tumor cells on a microfluidic chip integrated with herringbone and micropost arrays.

PubMed

Xue, Peng; Wu, Yafeng; Guo, Jinhong; Kang, Yuejun

2015-04-01

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which are derived from primary tumor site and transported to distant organs, are considered as the major cause of metastasis. So far, various techniques have been applied for CTC isolation and enumeration. However, there exists great demand to improve the sensitivity of CTC capture, and it remains challenging to elute the cells efficiently from device for further biomolecular and cellular analyses. In this study, we fabricate a dual functional chip integrated with herringbone structure and micropost array to achieve CTC capture and elution through EpCAM-based immunoreaction. Hep3B tumor cell line is selected as the model of CTCs for processing using this device. The results demonstrate that the capture limit of Hep3B cells can reach up to 10 cells (per mL of sample volume) with capture efficiency of 80% on average. Moreover, the elution rate of the captured Hep3B cells can reach up to 69.4% on average for cell number ranging from 1 to 100. These results demonstrate that this device exhibits dual functions with considerably high capture rate and elution rate, indicating its promising capability for cancer diagnosis and therapeutics.

A horizontally polarizing liquid trap enhances the tabanid-capturing efficiency of the classic canopy trap.

PubMed

Egri, Á; Blahó, M; Száz, D; Kriska, G; Majer, J; Herczeg, T; Gyurkovszky, M; Farkas, R; Horváth, G

2013-12-01

Host-seeking female tabanid flies, that need mammalian blood for the development of their eggs, can be captured by the classic canopy trap with an elevated shiny black sphere as a luring visual target. The design of more efficient tabanid traps is important for stock-breeders to control tabanids, since these blood-sucking insects can cause severe problems for livestock, especially for horse- and cattle-keepers: reduced meat/milk production in cattle farms, horses cannot be ridden, decreased quality of hides due to biting scars. We show here that male and female tabanids can be caught by a novel, weather-proof liquid-filled black tray laid on the ground, because the strongly and horizontally polarized light reflected from the black liquid surface attracts water-seeking polarotactic tabanids. We performed field experiments to reveal the ideal elevation of the liquid trap and to compare the tabanid-capturing efficiency of three different traps: (1) the classic canopy trap, (2) the new polarization liquid trap, and (3) the combination of the two traps. In field tests, we showed that the combined trap captures 2.4-8.2 times more tabanids than the canopy trap alone. The reason for the larger efficiency of the combined trap is that it captures simultaneously the host-seeking female and the water-seeking male and female tabanids. We suggest supplementing the traditional canopy trap with the new liquid trap in order to enhance the tabanid-capturing efficiency.

Efficient Algorithms for Segmentation of Item-Set Time Series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chundi, Parvathi; Rosenkrantz, Daniel J.

We propose a special type of time series, which we call an item-set time series, to facilitate the temporal analysis of software version histories, email logs, stock market data, etc. In an item-set time series, each observed data value is a set of discrete items. We formalize the concept of an item-set time series and present efficient algorithms for segmenting a given item-set time series. Segmentation of a time series partitions the time series into a sequence of segments where each segment is constructed by combining consecutive time points of the time series. Each segment is associated with an item set that is computed from the item sets of the time points in that segment, using a function which we call a measure function. We then define a concept called the segment difference, which measures the difference between the item set of a segment and the item sets of the time points in that segment. The segment difference values are required to construct an optimal segmentation of the time series. We describe novel and efficient algorithms to compute segment difference values for each of the measure functions described in the paper. We outline a dynamic programming based scheme to construct an optimal segmentation of the given item-set time series. We use the item-set time series segmentation techniques to analyze the temporal content of three different data sets—Enron email, stock market data, and a synthetic data set. The experimental results show that an optimal segmentation of item-set time series data captures much more temporal content than a segmentation constructed based on the number of time points in each segment, without examining the item set data at the time points, and can be used to analyze different types of temporal data.

Convolutional neural network approach for enhanced capture of breast parenchymal complexity patterns associated with breast cancer risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oustimov, Andrew; Gastounioti, Aimilia; Hsieh, Meng-Kang; Pantalone, Lauren; Conant, Emily F.; Kontos, Despina

2017-03-01

We assess the feasibility of a parenchymal texture feature fusion approach, utilizing a convolutional neural network (ConvNet) architecture, to benefit breast cancer risk assessment. Hypothesizing that by capturing sparse, subtle interactions between localized motifs present in two-dimensional texture feature maps derived from mammographic images, a multitude of texture feature descriptors can be optimally reduced to five meta-features capable of serving as a basis on which a linear classifier, such as logistic regression, can efficiently assess breast cancer risk. We combine this methodology with our previously validated lattice-based strategy for parenchymal texture analysis and we evaluate the feasibility of this approach in a case-control study with 424 digital mammograms. In a randomized split-sample setting, we optimize our framework in training/validation sets (N=300) and evaluate its descriminatory performance in an independent test set (N=124). The discriminatory capacity is assessed in terms of the the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operator characteristic (ROC). The resulting meta-features exhibited strong classification capability in the test dataset (AUC = 0.90), outperforming conventional, non-fused, texture analysis which previously resulted in an AUC=0.85 on the same case-control dataset. Our results suggest that informative interactions between localized motifs exist and can be extracted and summarized via a fairly simple ConvNet architecture.

Enhancement of mercury capture by the simultaneous addition of hydrogen bromide (HBr) and fly ashes in a slipstream facility.

PubMed

Cao, Yan; Wang, Quan-Hai; Li, Jun; Cheng, Jen-Chieh; Chan, Chia-Chun; Cohron, Marten; Pan, Wei-Ping

2009-04-15

Low halogen content in tested Powder River Basin (PRB) coals and low loss of ignition content (LOI) in PRB-derived fly ash were likely responsible for higher elemental mercury content (averaging about 75%) in the flue gas and also lower mercury capture efficiency by electrostatic precipitator (ESP) and wet-FGD. To develop a cost-effective approach to mercury capture in a full-scale coal-fired utility boiler burning PRB coal, experiments were conducted adding hydrogen bromide (HBr) or simultaneously adding HBr and selected fly ashes in a slipstream reactor (0.152 x 0.152 m) under real flue gas conditions. The residence time of the flue gas inside the reactorwas about 1.4 s. The average temperature of the slipstream reactor was controlled at about 155 degrees C. Tests were organized into two phases. In Phase 1, only HBr was added to the slipstream reactor, and in Phase 2, HBr and selected fly ash were added simultaneously. HBr injection was effective (>90%) for mercury oxidation at a low temperature (155 degrees C) with an HBr addition concentration of about 4 ppm in the flue gas. Additionally, injected HBr enhanced mercury capture by PRB fly ash in the low-temperature range. The mercury capture efficiency, attesting conditions of the slipstream reactor, reached about 50% at an HBr injection concentration of 4 ppm in the flue gas. Compared to only the addition of HBr, simultaneously adding bituminous-derived fly ash in a minimum amount (30 lb/MMacf), together with HBr injection at 4 ppm, could increase mercury capture efficiency by 30%. Injection of lignite-derived fly ash at 30 lb/MMacf could achieve even higher mercury removal efficiency (an additional 35% mercury capture efficiency compared to HBr addition alone).

Data Capture Technique for High Speed Signaling

DOEpatents

Barrett, Wayne Melvin; Chen, Dong; Coteus, Paul William; Gara, Alan Gene; Jackson, Rory; Kopcsay, Gerard Vincent; Nathanson, Ben Jesse; Vranas, Paylos Michael; Takken, Todd E.

2008-08-26

A data capture technique for high speed signaling to allow for optimal sampling of an asynchronous data stream. This technique allows for extremely high data rates and does not require that a clock be sent with the data as is done in source synchronous systems. The present invention also provides a hardware mechanism for automatically adjusting transmission delays for optimal two-bit simultaneous bi-directional (SiBiDi) signaling.

40 CFR 52.320 - Identification of plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... of Group II VOC sources were submitted on January 6, 1981, and the supplemental information received... Gasoline Transfer at Bulk Plants-Vapor Balance System), and D (Test Procedures for Annual Pressure/Vacuum... recent EPA capture efficiency protocols, and the commitment to adopt federal capture efficiency test...

40 CFR 52.320 - Identification of plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... of Group II VOC sources were submitted on January 6, 1981, and the supplemental information received... at Bulk Plants-Vapor Balance System), and D (Test Procedures for Annual Pressure/Vacuum Testing of... recent EPA capture efficiency protocols, and the commitment to adopt federal capture efficiency test...

40 CFR 52.320 - Identification of plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... of Group II VOC sources were submitted on January 6, 1981, and the supplemental information received... at Bulk Plants-Vapor Balance System), and D (Test Procedures for Annual Pressure/Vacuum Testing of... recent EPA capture efficiency protocols, and the commitment to adopt federal capture efficiency test...

A quartz nanopillar hemocytometer for high-yield separation and counting of CD4+ T lymphocytes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Dong-Joo; Seol, Jin-Kyeong; Wu, Yu; Ji, Seungmuk; Kim, Gil-Sung; Hyung, Jung-Hwan; Lee, Seung-Yong; Lim, Hyuneui; Fan, Rong; Lee, Sang-Kwon

2012-03-01

We report the development of a novel quartz nanopillar (QNP) array cell separation system capable of selectively capturing and isolating a single cell population including primary CD4+ T lymphocytes from the whole pool of splenocytes. Integrated with a photolithographically patterned hemocytometer structure, the streptavidin (STR)-functionalized-QNP (STR-QNP) arrays allow for direct quantitation of captured cells using high content imaging. This technology exhibits an excellent separation yield (efficiency) of ~95.3 +/- 1.1% for the CD4+ T lymphocytes from the mouse splenocyte suspensions and good linear response for quantitating captured CD4+ T-lymphoblasts, which is comparable to flow cytometry and outperforms any non-nanostructured surface capture techniques, i.e. cell panning. This nanopillar hemocytometer represents a simple, yet efficient cell capture and counting technology and may find immediate applications for diagnosis and immune monitoring in the point-of-care setting.We report the development of a novel quartz nanopillar (QNP) array cell separation system capable of selectively capturing and isolating a single cell population including primary CD4+ T lymphocytes from the whole pool of splenocytes. Integrated with a photolithographically patterned hemocytometer structure, the streptavidin (STR)-functionalized-QNP (STR-QNP) arrays allow for direct quantitation of captured cells using high content imaging. This technology exhibits an excellent separation yield (efficiency) of ~95.3 +/- 1.1% for the CD4+ T lymphocytes from the mouse splenocyte suspensions and good linear response for quantitating captured CD4+ T-lymphoblasts, which is comparable to flow cytometry and outperforms any non-nanostructured surface capture techniques, i.e. cell panning. This nanopillar hemocytometer represents a simple, yet efficient cell capture and counting technology and may find immediate applications for diagnosis and immune monitoring in the point-of-care setting. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c2nr11338d

Optimizing and Quantifying CO 2 Storage Resource in Saline Formations and Hydrocarbon Reservoirs

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

Bosshart, Nicholas W.; Ayash, Scott C.; Azzolina, Nicholas A.

In an effort to reduce carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions from large stationary sources, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is being investigated as one approach. This work assesses CO 2 storage resource estimation methods for deep saline formations (DSFs) and hydrocarbon reservoirs undergoing CO 2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Project activities were conducted using geologic modeling and simulation to investigate CO 2 storage efficiency. CO 2 storage rates and efficiencies in DSFs classified by interpreted depositional environment were evaluated at the regional scale over a 100-year time frame. A focus was placed on developing results applicable to future widespread commercial-scalemore » CO 2 storage operations in which an array of injection wells may be used to optimize storage in saline formations. The results of this work suggest future investigations of prospective storage resource in closed or semiclosed formations need not have a detailed understanding of the depositional environment of the reservoir to generate meaningful estimates. However, the results of this work also illustrate the relative importance of depositional environment, formation depth, structural geometry, and boundary conditions on the rate of CO 2 storage in these types of systems. CO 2 EOR occupies an important place in the realm of geologic storage of CO 2, as it is likely to be the primary means of geologic CO 2 storage during the early stages of commercial implementation, given the lack of a national policy and the viability of the current business case. This work estimates CO 2 storage efficiency factors using a unique industry database of CO 2 EOR sites and 18 different reservoir simulation models capturing fluvial clastic and shallow shelf carbonate depositional environments for reservoir depths of 1219 and 2438 meters (4000 and 8000 feet) and 7.6-, 20-, and 64-meter (25-, 66,- and 209-foot) pay zones. The results of this work provide practical information that can be used to quantify CO 2 storage resource estimates in oil reservoirs during CO 2 EOR operations (as opposed to storage following depletion) and the uncertainty associated with those estimates.« less

Back-illuminate fiber system research for multi-object fiber spectroscopic telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Zengxiang; Liu, Zhigang; Hu, Hongzhuan; Wang, Jianping; Zhai, Chao; Chu, Jiaru

2016-07-01

In the telescope observation, the position of fiber will highly influence the spectra efficient input in the fiber to the spectrograph. When the fibers were back illuminated on the spectra end, they would export light on the positioner end, so the CCD cameras could capture the photo of fiber tip position covered the focal plane, calculates the precise position information by light centroid method and feeds back to control system. A set of fiber back illuminated system was developed which combined to the low revolution spectro instruments in LAMOST. It could provide uniform light output to the fibers, meet the requirements for the CCD camera measurement. The paper was introduced the back illuminated system design and different test for the light resource. After optimization, the effect illuminated system could compare with the integrating sphere, meet the conditions of fiber position measurement.Using parallel controlled fiber positioner as the spectroscopic receiver is an efficiency observation system for spectra survey, has been used in LAMOST recently, and will be proposed in CFHT and rebuilt telescope Mayall. In the telescope observation, the position of fiber will highly influence the spectra efficient input in the fiber to the spectrograph. When the fibers were back illuminated on the spectra end, they would export light on the positioner end, so the CCD cameras could capture the photo of fiber tip position covered the focal plane, calculates the precise position information by light centroid method and feeds back to control system. After many years on these research, the back illuminated fiber measurement was the best method to acquire the precision position of fibers. In LAMOST, a set of fiber back illuminated system was developed which combined to the low revolution spectro instruments in LAMOST. It could provide uniform light output to the fibers, meet the requirements for the CCD camera measurement and was controlled by high-level observation system which could shut down during the telescope observation. The paper was introduced the back illuminated system design and different test for the light resource. After optimization, the effect illuminated system could compare the integrating sphere, meet the conditions of fiber position measurement.

Comparative Assessment of Gasification Based Coal Power Plants with Various CO2 Capture Technologies Producing Electricity and Hydrogen

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Seven different types of gasification-based coal conversion processes for producing mainly electricity and in some cases hydrogen (H2), with and without carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, were compared on a consistent basis through simulation studies. The flowsheet for each process was developed in a chemical process simulation tool “Aspen Plus”. The pressure swing adsorption (PSA), physical absorption (Selexol), and chemical looping combustion (CLC) technologies were separately analyzed for processes with CO2 capture. The performances of the above three capture technologies were compared with respect to energetic and exergetic efficiencies, and the level of CO2 emission. The effect of air separation unit (ASU) and gas turbine (GT) integration on the power output of all the CO2 capture cases is assessed. Sensitivity analysis was carried out for the CLC process (electricity-only case) to examine the effect of temperature and water-cooling of the air reactor on the overall efficiency of the process. The results show that, when only electricity production in considered, the case using CLC technology has an electrical efficiency 1.3% and 2.3% higher than the PSA and Selexol based cases, respectively. The CLC based process achieves an overall CO2 capture efficiency of 99.9% in contrast to 89.9% for PSA and 93.5% for Selexol based processes. The overall efficiency of the CLC case for combined electricity and H2 production is marginally higher (by 0.3%) than Selexol and lower (by 0.6%) than PSA cases. The integration between the ASU and GT units benefits all three technologies in terms of electrical efficiency. Furthermore, our results suggest that it is favorable to operate the air reactor of the CLC process at higher temperatures with excess air supply in order to achieve higher power efficiency. PMID:24578590

Comparative Assessment of Gasification Based Coal Power Plants with Various CO2 Capture Technologies Producing Electricity and Hydrogen.

PubMed

Mukherjee, Sanjay; Kumar, Prashant; Hosseini, Ali; Yang, Aidong; Fennell, Paul

2014-02-20

Seven different types of gasification-based coal conversion processes for producing mainly electricity and in some cases hydrogen (H 2 ), with and without carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture, were compared on a consistent basis through simulation studies. The flowsheet for each process was developed in a chemical process simulation tool "Aspen Plus". The pressure swing adsorption (PSA), physical absorption (Selexol), and chemical looping combustion (CLC) technologies were separately analyzed for processes with CO 2 capture. The performances of the above three capture technologies were compared with respect to energetic and exergetic efficiencies, and the level of CO 2 emission. The effect of air separation unit (ASU) and gas turbine (GT) integration on the power output of all the CO 2 capture cases is assessed. Sensitivity analysis was carried out for the CLC process (electricity-only case) to examine the effect of temperature and water-cooling of the air reactor on the overall efficiency of the process. The results show that, when only electricity production in considered, the case using CLC technology has an electrical efficiency 1.3% and 2.3% higher than the PSA and Selexol based cases, respectively. The CLC based process achieves an overall CO 2 capture efficiency of 99.9% in contrast to 89.9% for PSA and 93.5% for Selexol based processes. The overall efficiency of the CLC case for combined electricity and H 2 production is marginally higher (by 0.3%) than Selexol and lower (by 0.6%) than PSA cases. The integration between the ASU and GT units benefits all three technologies in terms of electrical efficiency. Furthermore, our results suggest that it is favorable to operate the air reactor of the CLC process at higher temperatures with excess air supply in order to achieve higher power efficiency.

Microfluidic separation of magnetic nanoparticles on an ordered array of magnetized micropillars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orlandi, G.; Kuzhir, P.; Izmaylov, Y.; Alves Marins, J.; Ezzaier, H.; Robert, L.; Doutre, F.; Noblin, X.; Lomenech, C.; Bossis, G.; Meunier, A.; Sandoz, G.; Zubarev, A.

2016-06-01

Microfluidic separation of magnetic particles is based on their capture by magnetized microcollectors while the suspending fluid flows past the microcollectors inside a microchannel. Separation of nanoparticles is often challenging because of strong Brownian motion. Low capture efficiency of nanoparticles limits their applications in bioanalysis. However, at some conditions, magnetic nanoparticles may undergo field-induced aggregation that amplifies the magnetic attractive force proportionally to the aggregate volume and considerably increases nanoparticle capture efficiency. In this paper, we have demonstrated the role of such aggregation on an efficient capture of magnetic nanoparticles (about 80 nm in diameter) in a microfluidic channel equipped with a nickel micropillar array. This array was magnetized by an external uniform magnetic field, of intensity as low as 6-10 kA/m, and experiments were carried out at flow rates ranging between 0.3 and 30 μ L /min . Nanoparticle capture is shown to be mostly governed by the Mason number Ma, while the dipolar coupling parameter α does not exhibit a clear effect in the studied range, 1.4 < α < 4.5. The capture efficiency Λ shows a strongly decreasing Mason number behavior, Λ ∝M a-1.78 within the range 32 ≤ Ma ≤ 3250. We have proposed a simple theoretical model which considers destructible nanoparticle chains and gives the scaling behavior, Λ ∝M a-1.7 , close to the experimental findings.

COMPARISON OF MERCURY CAPTURE EFFICIENCIES OF THREE DIFFERENT IN SITU GENERATED SORBENTS

EPA Science Inventory

Three different sorbent materials (Ti, Si and Ca based) were compared for their mercury capture efficiencies in an entrained flow reactor. Agglomerated particles with a high specific surface area were generated in situ by injecting gas phase sorbent precursors into a high tempera...

40 CFR 63.4765 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... determination, substitute TVH for each occurrence of the term volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the methods... organic compound emitting operations inside the building enclosure, other than the coating operation for... the capture efficiency measurement, all organic compound emitting operations inside the building...

40 CFR 63.4765 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... determination, substitute TVH for each occurrence of the term volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the methods... organic compound emitting operations inside the building enclosure, other than the coating operation for... the capture efficiency measurement, all organic compound emitting operations inside the building...

Enhanced mutual capture of colored solitons by matched modulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feigenbaum, Eyal; Orenstein, Meir

2004-08-01

The mutual capture of two colored solitons is enhanced by a modulator, to a level which enables its practical exploitation, e.g., for a read- write mechanism in a soliton buffer. The enhanced capture was analyzed using closed form particle-like soliton perturbation, and verified by numerical simulations. Optimal modulator frequency and modulation depth are obtained. This mutual capture can be utilized for all-optical soliton logic and memory.

The behavior of bouncing disks and pizza tossing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, K.-C.; Friend, J.; Yeo, L.

2009-03-01

We investigate the dynamics of a disk bouncing on a vibrating platform - a variation of the classic bouncing ball problem - that captures the physics of pizza tossing and the operation of certain standing-wave ultrasonic motors (SWUMs). The system's dynamics explains why certain tossing motions are used by dough-toss performers for different tricks: a helical trajectory is used in single tosses because it maximizes energy efficiency and the dough's airborne rotational speed, a semi-elliptical motion is used in multiple tosses because it is easier for maintaining dough rotation at the maximum rotational speed. The system's bifurcation diagram and basins of attraction also informs SWUM designers about the optimal design for high speed and minimal sensitivity to perturbation.

Factorizable Schemes for the Equations of Fluid Flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sidilkover, David

1999-01-01

We present an upwind high-resolution factorizable (UHF) discrete scheme for the compressible Euler equations that allows to distinguish between full-potential and advection factors at the discrete level. The scheme approximates equations in their general conservative form and is related to the family of genuinely multidimensional upwind schemes developed previously and demonstrated to have good shock-capturing capabilities. A unique property of this scheme is that in addition to the aforementioned features it is also factorizable, i.e., it allows to distinguish between full-potential and advection factors at the discrete level. The latter property facilitates the construction of optimally efficient multigrid solvers. This is done through a relaxation procedure that utilizes the factorizability property.

Mercury capture by selected Bulgarian fly ashes: Influence of coal rank and fly ash carbon pore structure on capture efficiency

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kostova, I.J.; Hower, J.C.; Mastalerz, Maria; Vassilev, S.V.

2011-01-01

Mercury capture by fly ash C was investigated at five lignite- and subbituminous-coal-burning Bulgarian power plants (Republika, Bobov Dol, Maritza East 2, Maritza East 3, and Sliven). Although the C content of the ashes is low, never exceeding 1.6%, the Hg capture on a unit C basis demonstrates that the low-rank-coal-derived fly ash carbons are more efficient in capturing Hg than fly ash carbons from bituminous-fired power plants. While some low-C and low-Hg fly ashes do not reveal any trends of Hg versus C, the 2nd and, in particular, the 3rd electrostatic precipitator (ESP) rows at the Republika power plant do have sufficient fly ash C range and experience flue gas sufficiently cool to capture measurable amounts of Hg. The Republika 3rd ESP row exhibits an increase in Hg with increasing C, as observed in other power plants, for example, in Kentucky power plants burning Appalachian-sourced bituminous coals. Mercury/C decreases with an increase in fly ash C, suggesting that some of the C is isolated from the flue gas stream and does not contribute to Hg capture. Mercury capture increases with an increase in Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and micropore surface area. The differences in Hg capture between the Bulgarian plants burning low-rank coal and high volatile bituminous-fed Kentucky power plants suggests that the variations in C forms resulting from the combustion of the different ranks also influence the efficiency of Hg capture. ?? 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Mission Design, Guidance, and Navigation of a Callisto-Io-Ganymede Triple Flyby Jovian Capture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Didion, Alan M.

Use of a triple-satellite-aided capture maneuver to enter Jovian orbit reduces insertion DeltaV and provides close flyby science opportunities at three of Jupiter's four large Galilean moons. This capture can be performed while maintaining appropriate Jupiter standoff distance and setting up a suitable apojove for plotting an extended tour. This paper has three main chapters, the first of which discusses the design and optimization of a triple-flyby capture trajectory. A novel triple-satellite-aided capture uses sequential flybys of Callisto, Io, and Ganymede to reduce the DeltaV required to capture into orbit about Jupiter. An optimal broken-plane maneuver is added between Earth and Jupiter to form a complete chemical/impulsive interplanetary trajectory from Earth to Jupiter. Such a trajectory can yield significant fuel savings over single and double-flyby capture schemes while maintaining a brief and simple interplanetary transfer phase. The second chapter focuses on the guidance and navigation of such trajectories in the presence of spacecraft navigation errors, ephemeris errors, and maneuver execution errors. A powered-flyby trajectory correction maneuver (TCM) is added to the nominal trajectory at Callisto and the nominal Jupiter orbit insertion (JOI) maneuver is modified to both complete the capture and target the Ganymede flyby. A third TCM is employed after all the flybys to act as a JOI cleanup maneuver. A Monte Carlo simulation shows that the statistical DeltaV required to correct the trajectory is quite manageable and the flyby characteristics are very consistent. The developed methods maintain flexibility for adaptation to similar launch, cruise, and capture conditions. The third chapter details the methodology and results behind a completely separate project to design and optimize an Earth-orbiting three satellite constellation to perform very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) as part of the 8th annual Global Trajectory Optimisation Competition (GTOC8). A script is designed to simulate the prescribed constellation and record its observations; the observations made are scored according to a provided performance index.

An efficient dictionary learning algorithm and its application to 3-D medical image denoising.

PubMed

Li, Shutao; Fang, Leyuan; Yin, Haitao

2012-02-01

In this paper, we propose an efficient dictionary learning algorithm for sparse representation of given data and suggest a way to apply this algorithm to 3-D medical image denoising. Our learning approach is composed of two main parts: sparse coding and dictionary updating. On the sparse coding stage, an efficient algorithm named multiple clusters pursuit (MCP) is proposed. The MCP first applies a dictionary structuring strategy to cluster the atoms with high coherence together, and then employs a multiple-selection strategy to select several competitive atoms at each iteration. These two strategies can greatly reduce the computation complexity of the MCP and assist it to obtain better sparse solution. On the dictionary updating stage, the alternating optimization that efficiently approximates the singular value decomposition is introduced. Furthermore, in the 3-D medical image denoising application, a joint 3-D operation is proposed for taking the learning capabilities of the presented algorithm to simultaneously capture the correlations within each slice and correlations across the nearby slices, thereby obtaining better denoising results. The experiments on both synthetically generated data and real 3-D medical images demonstrate that the proposed approach has superior performance compared to some well-known methods. © 2011 IEEE

Optimizing local capture of atrial fibrillation by rapid pacing: study of the influence of tissue dynamics.

PubMed

Uldry, Laurent; Virag, Nathalie; Jacquemet, Vincent; Vesin, Jean-Marc; Kappenberger, Lukas

2010-12-01

While successful termination by pacing of organized atrial tachycardias has been observed in patients, rapid pacing of AF can induce a local capture of the atrial tissue but in general no termination. The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic evaluation of the ability to capture AF by rapid pacing in a biophysical model of the atria with different dynamics in terms of conduction velocity (CV) and action potential duration (APD). Rapid pacing was applied during 30 s at five locations on the atria, for pacing cycle lengths in the range 60-110% of the mean AF cycle length (AFCL(mean)). Local AF capture could be achieved using rapid pacing at pacing sites located distal to major anatomical obstacles. Optimal pacing cycle lengths were found in the range 74-80% AFCL(mean) (capture window width: 14.6 ± 3% AFCL(mean)). An increase/decrease in CV or APD led to a significant shrinking/stretching of the capture window. Capture did not depend on AFCL, but did depend on the atrial substrate as characterized by an estimate of its wavelength, a better capture being achieved at shorter wavelengths. This model-based study suggests that a proper selection of the pacing site and cycle length can influence local capture results and that atrial tissue properties (CV and APD) are determinants of the response to rapid pacing.

40 CFR 63.4565 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... occurrence of the term volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the methods. (3) Use Equation 1 of this section to... the capture efficiency measurement, all organic compound emitting operations inside the building... organic compound emitting operations inside the building enclosure, other than the coating operation for...

40 CFR 63.4565 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... occurrence of the term volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the methods. (3) Use Equation 1 of this section to... the capture efficiency measurement, all organic compound emitting operations inside the building... organic compound emitting operations inside the building enclosure, other than the coating operation for...

40 CFR 63.4565 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... the term volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the methods. (3) Use Equation 1 of this section to... the capture efficiency measurement, all organic compound emitting operations inside the building... organic compound emitting operations inside the building enclosure, other than the coating operation for...

40 CFR 63.4565 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... the term volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the methods. (3) Use Equation 1 of this section to... the capture efficiency measurement, all organic compound emitting operations inside the building... organic compound emitting operations inside the building enclosure, other than the coating operation for...

SIMULTANEOUS CAPTURE OF METAL, SULFUR AND CHLORINE BY SORBENTS DURING FLUIDIZED BED INCINERATION. (R826694C697)

EPA Science Inventory

Metal capture experiments were carried out in an atmospheric fluidized bed incinerator to investigate the effect of sulfur and chlorine on metal capture efficiency and the potential for simultaneous capture of metal, sulfur and chlorine by sorbents. In addition to experimental...

Efficient, quality-assured data capture in operational research through innovative use of open-access technology

PubMed Central

Naik, B.; Guddemane, D. K.; Bhat, P.; Wilson, N.; Sreenivas, A. N.; Lauritsen, J. M.; Rieder, H. L.

2013-01-01

Ensuring quality of data during electronic data capture has been one of the most neglected components of operational research. Multicentre studies are also challenged with issues about logistics of travel, training, supervision, monitoring and troubleshooting support. Allocating resources to these issues can pose a significant bottleneck for operational research in resource-limited settings. In this article, we describe an innovative and efficient way of coordinating data capture in multicentre operational research using a combination of three open access technologies—EpiData for data capture, Dropbox for sharing files and TeamViewer for providing remote support. PMID:26392997

Improved object optimal synthetic description, modeling, learning, and discrimination by GEOGINE computational kernel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiorini, Rodolfo A.; Dacquino, Gianfranco

2005-03-01

GEOGINE (GEOmetrical enGINE), a state-of-the-art OMG (Ontological Model Generator) based on n-D Tensor Invariants for n-Dimensional shape/texture optimal synthetic representation, description and learning, was presented in previous conferences elsewhere recently. Improved computational algorithms based on the computational invariant theory of finite groups in Euclidean space and a demo application is presented. Progressive model automatic generation is discussed. GEOGINE can be used as an efficient computational kernel for fast reliable application development and delivery in advanced biomedical engineering, biometric, intelligent computing, target recognition, content image retrieval, data mining technological areas mainly. Ontology can be regarded as a logical theory accounting for the intended meaning of a formal dictionary, i.e., its ontological commitment to a particular conceptualization of the world object. According to this approach, "n-D Tensor Calculus" can be considered a "Formal Language" to reliably compute optimized "n-Dimensional Tensor Invariants" as specific object "invariant parameter and attribute words" for automated n-Dimensional shape/texture optimal synthetic object description by incremental model generation. The class of those "invariant parameter and attribute words" can be thought as a specific "Formal Vocabulary" learned from a "Generalized Formal Dictionary" of the "Computational Tensor Invariants" language. Even object chromatic attributes can be effectively and reliably computed from object geometric parameters into robust colour shape invariant characteristics. As a matter of fact, any highly sophisticated application needing effective, robust object geometric/colour invariant attribute capture and parameterization features, for reliable automated object learning and discrimination can deeply benefit from GEOGINE progressive automated model generation computational kernel performance. Main operational advantages over previous, similar approaches are: 1) Progressive Automated Invariant Model Generation, 2) Invariant Minimal Complete Description Set for computational efficiency, 3) Arbitrary Model Precision for robust object description and identification.

Optimal selection of epitopes for TXP-immunoaffinity mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Planatscher, Hannes; Supper, Jochen; Poetz, Oliver; Stoll, Dieter; Joos, Thomas; Templin, Markus F; Zell, Andreas

2010-06-25

Mass spectrometry (MS) based protein profiling has become one of the key technologies in biomedical research and biomarker discovery. One bottleneck in MS-based protein analysis is sample preparation and an efficient fractionation step to reduce the complexity of the biological samples, which are too complex to be analyzed directly with MS. Sample preparation strategies that reduce the complexity of tryptic digests by using immunoaffinity based methods have shown to lead to a substantial increase in throughput and sensitivity in the proteomic mass spectrometry approach. The limitation of using such immunoaffinity-based approaches is the availability of the appropriate peptide specific capture antibodies. Recent developments in these approaches, where subsets of peptides with short identical terminal sequences can be enriched using antibodies directed against short terminal epitopes, promise a significant gain in efficiency. We show that the minimal set of terminal epitopes for the coverage of a target protein list can be found by the formulation as a set cover problem, preceded by a filtering pipeline for the exclusion of peptides and target epitopes with undesirable properties. For small datasets (a few hundred proteins) it is possible to solve the problem to optimality with moderate computational effort using commercial or free solvers. Larger datasets, like full proteomes require the use of heuristics.

The quantum mitochondrion and optimal health.

PubMed

Nunn, Alistair V W; Guy, Geoffrey W; Bell, Jimmy D

2016-08-15

A sufficiently complex set of molecules, if subject to perturbation, will self-organize and show emergent behaviour. If such a system can take on information it will become subject to natural selection. This could explain how self-replicating molecules evolved into life and how intelligence arose. A pivotal step in this evolutionary process was of course the emergence of the eukaryote and the advent of the mitochondrion, which both enhanced energy production per cell and increased the ability to process, store and utilize information. Recent research suggest that from its inception life embraced quantum effects such as 'tunnelling' and 'coherence' while competition and stressful conditions provided a constant driver for natural selection. We believe that the biphasic adaptive response to stress described by hormesis-a process that captures information to enable adaptability, is central to this whole process. Critically, hormesis could improve mitochondrial quantum efficiency, improving the ATP/ROS ratio, whereas inflammation, which is tightly associated with the aging process, might do the opposite. This all suggests that to achieve optimal health and healthy aging, one has to sufficiently stress the system to ensure peak mitochondrial function, which itself could reflect selection of optimum efficiency at the quantum level. © 2016 The Author(s). published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Intermittent Swimming with a Flexible Propulsor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akoz, Emre; Moored, Keith

2017-11-01

Aquatic animals use a variety of swimming gaits to propel themselves efficiently through the oceans. One type of gait known as intermittent or burst-and-coast swimming is used by species such as saithe, cod and trout. Recent studies have shown that this gait can save up to 60% of a swimmer's energy by exploiting an inviscid Garrick mechanism. These detailed studies have examined the effects of an intermittent swimming gait on rigid propulsors, yet the caudal fins of intermittent swimmers are in fact highly flexible propulsors. In this respect, to gain a comprehensive understanding of intermittent swimming, the effect of elasticity on the swimming performance and wake flow of an intermittent swimmer is investigated. To accomplish this a torsional spring structural model is strongly coupled to a fast boundary element method solver that captures the fluid-structure interaction of a two-dimensional self-propelled intermittently pitching hydrofoil. It is shown that flexibility introduces extra vortices to the coasting phase of motion that can either promote or diminish thrust production depending upon the hydrofoil parameters. An optimal intermittent flexible swimmer is shown to increase its efficiency by as much as 28% when compared to an optimal continuous flexible swimmer. Supported by the Office of Naval Research under Program Director Dr. Bob Brizzolara, MURI Grant Number N00014-14-1-0533.

Application of acoustic agglomeration to enhance air filtration efficiency in air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation (ACMV) systems.

PubMed

Ng, Bing Feng; Xiong, Jin Wen; Wan, Man Pun

2017-01-01

The recent episodes of haze in Southeast Asia have caused some of the worst regional atmospheric pollution ever recorded in history. In order to control the levels of airborne fine particulate matters (PM) indoors, filtration systems providing high PM capturing efficiency are often sought, which inadvertently also results in high airflow resistance (or pressure drop) that increases the energy consumption for air distribution. A pre-conditioning mechanism promoting the formation of particle clusters to enhance PM capturing efficiency without adding flow resistance in the air distribution ductwork could provide an energy-efficient solution. This pre-conditioning mechanism can be fulfilled by acoustic agglomeration, which is a phenomenon that promotes the coagulation of suspended particles by acoustic waves propagating in the fluid medium. This paper discusses the basic mechanisms of acoustic agglomeration along with influencing factors that could affect the agglomeration efficiency. The feasibility to apply acoustic agglomeration to improve filtration in air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation (ACMV) systems is investigated experimentally in a small-scale wind tunnel. Experimental results indicate that this novel application of acoustic pre-conditioning improves the PM2.5 filtration efficiency of the test filters by up to 10% without introducing additional pressure drop. The fan energy savings from not having to switch to a high capturing efficiency filter largely outstrip the additional energy consumed by the acoustics system. This, as a whole, demonstrates potential energy savings from the combined acoustic-enhanced filtration system without compromising on PM capturing efficiency.

Application of acoustic agglomeration to enhance air filtration efficiency in air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation (ACMV) systems

PubMed Central

Xiong, Jin Wen; Wan, Man Pun

2017-01-01

The recent episodes of haze in Southeast Asia have caused some of the worst regional atmospheric pollution ever recorded in history. In order to control the levels of airborne fine particulate matters (PM) indoors, filtration systems providing high PM capturing efficiency are often sought, which inadvertently also results in high airflow resistance (or pressure drop) that increases the energy consumption for air distribution. A pre-conditioning mechanism promoting the formation of particle clusters to enhance PM capturing efficiency without adding flow resistance in the air distribution ductwork could provide an energy-efficient solution. This pre-conditioning mechanism can be fulfilled by acoustic agglomeration, which is a phenomenon that promotes the coagulation of suspended particles by acoustic waves propagating in the fluid medium. This paper discusses the basic mechanisms of acoustic agglomeration along with influencing factors that could affect the agglomeration efficiency. The feasibility to apply acoustic agglomeration to improve filtration in air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation (ACMV) systems is investigated experimentally in a small-scale wind tunnel. Experimental results indicate that this novel application of acoustic pre-conditioning improves the PM2.5 filtration efficiency of the test filters by up to 10% without introducing additional pressure drop. The fan energy savings from not having to switch to a high capturing efficiency filter largely outstrip the additional energy consumed by the acoustics system. This, as a whole, demonstrates potential energy savings from the combined acoustic-enhanced filtration system without compromising on PM capturing efficiency. PMID:28594862

Long-term energy capture and the effects of optimizing wind turbine operating strategies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, A. H.; Formica, W. J.

1982-01-01

Methods of increasing energy capture without affecting the turbine design were investigated. The emphasis was on optimizing the wind turbine operating strategy. The operating strategy embodies the startup and shutdown algorithm as well as the algorithm for determining when to yaw (rotate) the axis of the turbine more directly into the wind. Using data collected at a number of sites, the time-dependent simulation of a MOD-2 wind turbine using various, site-dependent operating strategies provided evidence that site-specific fine tuning can produce significant increases in long-term energy capture as well as reduce the number of start-stop cycles and yawing maneuvers, which may result in reduced fatigue and subsequent maintenance.

The capture and recreation of 3D auditory scenes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhiyun

The main goal of this research is to develop the theory and implement practical tools (in both software and hardware) for the capture and recreation of 3D auditory scenes. Our research is expected to have applications in virtual reality, telepresence, film, music, video games, auditory user interfaces, and sound-based surveillance. The first part of our research is concerned with sound capture via a spherical microphone array. The advantage of this array is that it can be steered into any 3D directions digitally with the same beampattern. We develop design methodologies to achieve flexible microphone layouts, optimal beampattern approximation and robustness constraint. We also design novel hemispherical and circular microphone array layouts for more spatially constrained auditory scenes. Using the captured audio, we then propose a unified and simple approach for recreating them by exploring the reciprocity principle that is satisfied between the two processes. Our approach makes the system easy to build, and practical. Using this approach, we can capture the 3D sound field by a spherical microphone array and recreate it using a spherical loudspeaker array, and ensure that the recreated sound field matches the recorded field up to a high order of spherical harmonics. For some regular or semi-regular microphone layouts, we design an efficient parallel implementation of the multi-directional spherical beamformer by using the rotational symmetries of the beampattern and of the spherical microphone array. This can be implemented in either software or hardware and easily adapted for other regular or semi-regular layouts of microphones. In addition, we extend this approach for headphone-based system. Design examples and simulation results are presented to verify our algorithms. Prototypes are built and tested in real-world auditory scenes.

Enhanced Adsorption Efficiency through Materials Design for Direct Air Capture over Supported Polyethylenimine.

PubMed

Sayari, Abdelhamid; Liu, Qing; Mishra, Prashant

2016-10-06

Until recently, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) was regarded as the most promising technology to address the alarming increase in the concentration of anthropogenic CO 2 in the atmosphere. There is now an increasing interest in carbon capture and utilization (CCU). In this context, the capture of CO 2 from air is an ideal solution to supply pure CO 2 wherever it is needed. Here, we describe innovative materials for direct air capture (DAC) with unprecedented efficiency. Polyethylenimine (PEI) was supported on PME, which is an extra-large-pore silica (pore-expanded MCM-41) with its internal surfaces fully covered by a uniform layer of readily accessible C 16 chains from cetyltrimethylammonium (CTMA + ) cations. The CTMA + layer plays a key role in enhancing the amine efficiency toward dry or humid ultradilute CO 2 (400 ppm CO 2 /N 2 ) to unprecedented levels. At the same PEI content, the amine efficiency of PEI/PME was two to four times higher than that of the corresponding calcined mesoporous silica loaded with PEI or with different combinations of C 16 chains and PEI. Under humid conditions, the amine efficiency of 40 wt % PEI/PME reached 7.31 mmolCO2 /g PEI , the highest ever reported for any supported PEI in the presence of 400 ppm CO 2 . Thus, amine accessibility, which reflects both the state of PEI dispersion and the adsorption efficiency, is intimately associated with the molecular design of the adsorbent. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Optimization of multi-objective integrated process planning and scheduling problem using a priority based optimization algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ausaf, Muhammad Farhan; Gao, Liang; Li, Xinyu

2015-12-01

For increasing the overall performance of modern manufacturing systems, effective integration of process planning and scheduling functions has been an important area of consideration among researchers. Owing to the complexity of handling process planning and scheduling simultaneously, most of the research work has been limited to solving the integrated process planning and scheduling (IPPS) problem for a single objective function. As there are many conflicting objectives when dealing with process planning and scheduling, real world problems cannot be fully captured considering only a single objective for optimization. Therefore considering multi-objective IPPS (MOIPPS) problem is inevitable. Unfortunately, only a handful of research papers are available on solving MOIPPS problem. In this paper, an optimization algorithm for solving MOIPPS problem is presented. The proposed algorithm uses a set of dispatching rules coupled with priority assignment to optimize the IPPS problem for various objectives like makespan, total machine load, total tardiness, etc. A fixed sized external archive coupled with a crowding distance mechanism is used to store and maintain the non-dominated solutions. To compare the results with other algorithms, a C-matric based method has been used. Instances from four recent papers have been solved to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The experimental results show that the proposed method is an efficient approach for solving the MOIPPS problem.

Assessment of Micro-Basin Tillage as a Soil and Water Conservation Practice in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China.

PubMed

Sui, Yuanyuan; Ou, Yang; Yan, Baixing; Xu, Xiaohong; Rousseau, Alain N; Zhang, Yu

2016-01-01

Micro-basin tillage is a soil and water conservation practice that requires building individual earth blocks along furrows. In this study, plot experiments were conducted to assess the efficiency of micro-basin tillage on sloping croplands between 2012 and 2013 (5°and 7°). The conceptual, optimal, block interval model was used to design micro-basins which are meant to capture the maximum amount of water per unit area. Results indicated that when compared to the up-down slope tillage, micro-basin tillage could increase soil water content and maize yield by about 45% and 17%, and reduce runoff, sediment and nutrients loads by about 63%, 96% and 86%, respectively. Meanwhile, micro-basin tillage could reduce the peak runoff rates and delay the initial runoff-yielding time. In addition, micro-basin tillage with the optimal block interval proved to be the best one among all treatments with different intervals. Compared with treatments of other block intervals, the optimal block interval treatments increased soil moisture by around 10% and reduced runoff rate by around 15%. In general, micro-basin tillage with optimal block interval represents an effective soil and water conservation practice for sloping farmland of the black soil region.

Assessment of Micro-Basin Tillage as a Soil and Water Conservation Practice in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China

PubMed Central

Sui, Yuanyuan; Ou, Yang; Yan, Baixing; Xu, Xiaohong; Rousseau, Alain N.; Zhang, Yu

2016-01-01

Micro-basin tillage is a soil and water conservation practice that requires building individual earth blocks along furrows. In this study, plot experiments were conducted to assess the efficiency of micro-basin tillage on sloping croplands between 2012 and 2013 (5°and 7°). The conceptual, optimal, block interval model was used to design micro-basins which are meant to capture the maximum amount of water per unit area. Results indicated that when compared to the up-down slope tillage, micro-basin tillage could increase soil water content and maize yield by about 45% and 17%, and reduce runoff, sediment and nutrients loads by about 63%, 96% and 86%, respectively. Meanwhile, micro-basin tillage could reduce the peak runoff rates and delay the initial runoff-yielding time. In addition, micro-basin tillage with the optimal block interval proved to be the best one among all treatments with different intervals. Compared with treatments of other block intervals, the optimal block interval treatments increased soil moisture by around 10% and reduced runoff rate by around 15%. In general, micro-basin tillage with optimal block interval represents an effective soil and water conservation practice for sloping farmland of the black soil region. PMID:27031339

[Sampling optimization for tropical invertebrates: an example using dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) in Venezuela].

PubMed

Ferrer-Paris, José Rafael; Sánchez-Mercado, Ada; Rodríguez, Jon Paul

2013-03-01

The development of efficient sampling protocols is an essential prerequisite to evaluate and identify priority conservation areas. There are f ew protocols for fauna inventory and monitoring in wide geographical scales for the tropics, where the complexity of communities and high biodiversity levels, make the implementation of efficient protocols more difficult. We proposed here a simple strategy to optimize the capture of dung beetles, applied to sampling with baited traps and generalizable to other sampling methods. We analyzed data from eight transects sampled between 2006-2008 withthe aim to develop an uniform sampling design, that allows to confidently estimate species richness, abundance and composition at wide geographical scales. We examined four characteristics of any sampling design that affect the effectiveness of the sampling effort: the number of traps, sampling duration, type and proportion of bait, and spatial arrangement of the traps along transects. We used species accumulation curves, rank-abundance plots, indicator species analysis, and multivariate correlograms. We captured 40 337 individuals (115 species/morphospecies of 23 genera). Most species were attracted by both dung and carrion, but two thirds had greater relative abundance in traps baited with human dung. Different aspects of the sampling design influenced each diversity attribute in different ways. To obtain reliable richness estimates, the number of traps was the most important aspect. Accurate abundance estimates were obtained when the sampling period was increased, while the spatial arrangement of traps was determinant to capture the species composition pattern. An optimum sampling strategy for accurate estimates of richness, abundance and diversity should: (1) set 50-70 traps to maximize the number of species detected, (2) get samples during 48-72 hours and set trap groups along the transect to reliably estimate species abundance, (3) set traps in groups of at least 10 traps to suitably record the local species composition, and (4) separate trap groups by a distance greater than 5-10km to avoid spatial autocorrelation. For the evaluation of other sampling protocols we recommend to, first, identify the elements of sampling design that could affect the sampled effort (the number of traps, sampling duration, type and proportion of bait) and their spatial distribution (spatial arrangement of the traps) and then, to evaluate how they affect richness, abundance and species composition estimates.

Quantifying, Visualizing, and Monitoring Lead Optimization.

PubMed

Maynard, Andrew T; Roberts, Christopher D

2016-05-12

Although lead optimization (LO) is by definition a process, process-centric analysis and visualization of this important phase of pharmaceutical R&D has been lacking. Here we describe a simple statistical framework to quantify and visualize the progression of LO projects so that the vital signs of LO convergence can be monitored. We refer to the resulting visualizations generated by our methodology as the "LO telemetry" of a project. These visualizations can be automated to provide objective, holistic, and instantaneous analysis and communication of LO progression. This enhances the ability of project teams to more effectively drive LO process, while enabling management to better coordinate and prioritize LO projects. We present the telemetry of five LO projects comprising different biological targets and different project outcomes, including clinical compound selection, termination due to preclinical safety/tox, and termination due to lack of tractability. We demonstrate that LO progression is accurately captured by the telemetry. We also present metrics to quantify LO efficiency and tractability.

Six-Degree-of-Freedom Trajectory Optimization Utilizing a Two-Timescale Collocation Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Desai, Prasun N.; Conway, Bruce A.

2005-01-01

Six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) trajectory optimization of a reentry vehicle is solved using a two-timescale collocation methodology. This class of 6DOF trajectory problems are characterized by two distinct timescales in their governing equations, where a subset of the states have high-frequency dynamics (the rotational equations of motion) while the remaining states (the translational equations of motion) vary comparatively slowly. With conventional collocation methods, the 6DOF problem size becomes extraordinarily large and difficult to solve. Utilizing the two-timescale collocation architecture, the problem size is reduced significantly. The converged solution shows a realistic landing profile and captures the appropriate high-frequency rotational dynamics. A large reduction in the overall problem size (by 55%) is attained with the two-timescale architecture as compared to the conventional single-timescale collocation method. Consequently, optimum 6DOF trajectory problems can now be solved efficiently using collocation, which was not previously possible for a system with two distinct timescales in the governing states.

Fourier ptychographic reconstruction using Poisson maximum likelihood and truncated Wirtinger gradient.

PubMed

Bian, Liheng; Suo, Jinli; Chung, Jaebum; Ou, Xiaoze; Yang, Changhuei; Chen, Feng; Dai, Qionghai

2016-06-10

Fourier ptychographic microscopy (FPM) is a novel computational coherent imaging technique for high space-bandwidth product imaging. Mathematically, Fourier ptychographic (FP) reconstruction can be implemented as a phase retrieval optimization process, in which we only obtain low resolution intensity images corresponding to the sub-bands of the sample's high resolution (HR) spatial spectrum, and aim to retrieve the complex HR spectrum. In real setups, the measurements always suffer from various degenerations such as Gaussian noise, Poisson noise, speckle noise and pupil location error, which would largely degrade the reconstruction. To efficiently address these degenerations, we propose a novel FP reconstruction method under a gradient descent optimization framework in this paper. The technique utilizes Poisson maximum likelihood for better signal modeling, and truncated Wirtinger gradient for effective error removal. Results on both simulated data and real data captured using our laser-illuminated FPM setup show that the proposed method outperforms other state-of-the-art algorithms. Also, we have released our source code for non-commercial use.

Information-Theoretic Assessment of Sample Imaging Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huck, Friedrich O.; Alter-Gartenberg, Rachel; Park, Stephen K.; Rahman, Zia-ur

1999-01-01

By rigorously extending modern communication theory to the assessment of sampled imaging systems, we develop the formulations that are required to optimize the performance of these systems within the critical constraints of image gathering, data transmission, and image display. The goal of this optimization is to produce images with the best possible visual quality for the wide range of statistical properties of the radiance field of natural scenes that one normally encounters. Extensive computational results are presented to assess the performance of sampled imaging systems in terms of information rate, theoretical minimum data rate, and fidelity. Comparisons of this assessment with perceptual and measurable performance demonstrate that (1) the information rate that a sampled imaging system conveys from the captured radiance field to the observer is closely correlated with the fidelity, sharpness and clarity with which the observed images can be restored and (2) the associated theoretical minimum data rate is closely correlated with the lowest data rate with which the acquired signal can be encoded for efficient transmission.

A Broadband High Dynamic Range Digital Receiving System for Electromagnetic Signals

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-26

dB. [0014] In Steinbrecher (United States Patent No. 7,250,920), an air interface metasurface is described that efficiently captures incident...broadband electromagnetic energy and provides a method for segmenting the total metasurface capture area into a plurality of smaller capture areas...such that the sum of the capture areas is equal to the total capture area of the metasurface . The segmentation of the electromagnetic capture area is

40 CFR 63.4361 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... determine the mass fraction of TVH liquid input from each regulated material used in the web coating.../printing or dyeing/finishing operation during the capture efficiency test run, kg. TVHi = Mass fraction of... enclosure or building enclosure. The liquid-to-uncaptured-gas protocol compares the mass of liquid TVH in...

In matrix derivatization of trichloroethylene metabolites in human plasma with methyl chloroformate and their determination by solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-electron capture detector.

PubMed

Mudiam, Mohana Krishna Reddy; Jain, Rajeev; Varshney, Meenu; Ch, Ratnasekhar; Chauhan, Abhishek; Goyal, Sudhir Kumar; Khan, Haider A; Murthy, R C

2013-04-15

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a common industrial chemical that has been widely used as metal degreaser and for many industrial purposes. In humans, TCE is metabolized into dichloroacetic acid (DCA), trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and trichloroethanol (TCOH). A simple and rapid method has been developed for the quantitative determination of TCE metabolites. The procedure involves the in situ derivatization of TCE metabolites with methyl chloroformate (MCF) directly in diluted plasma samples followed by extraction and analysis with solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-electron capture detector (GC-ECD). Factors which can influence the efficiency of derivatization such as amount of MCF and pyridine (PYR), ratio of water/methanol were optimized. The factors which can affect the extraction efficiencies of SPME were screened using 2(7-4) Placket-Burman Design (PBD). A central composite design (CCD) was then applied to further optimize the most significant factors for optimum SPME extraction. The optimum factors for the SPME extraction were found to be 562.5mg of NaCl, pH at 1 and an extraction time of 22 min. Recoveries and detection limits of all three analytes in plasma were found to be in the range of 92.69-97.55% and 0.036-0.068 μg mL(-1) of plasma, respectively. The correlation coefficients were found to be in the range of 0.990-0.995. The intra- and inter-day precisions for TCE metabolites were found to be in the range of 2.37-4.81% and 5.13-7.61%, respectively. The major advantage of this method is that MCF derivatization allows conversion of TCE metabolites into their methyl esters in very short time (≤30 s) at room temperature directly in the plasma samples, thus makes it a solventless analysis. The method developed was successfully applied to the plasma samples of humans exposed to TCE. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial and temporal variation in efficiency of the Moore egg collector

USGS Publications Warehouse

Worthington, Thomas A.; Brewer, Shannon K.; Farless, Nicole

2013-01-01

The Moore egg collector (MEC) was developed for quantitative and nondestructive capture of semibuoyant fish eggs. Previous studies have indicated that capture efficiency of the MEC was low and the use of one device did not adequately represent the spatial distribution within the water column of egg surrogates (gellan beads) of pelagic broadcast-spawning cyprinids. The objective of this study was to assess whether use of multiple MECs showed differences in spatial and temporal distribution of bead catches. Capture efficiency of three MECs was tested at four 500-m sites on the South Canadian River, a Great Plains river in Oklahoma. For each trial, approximately 100,000 beads were released and mean capture efficiency was 0.47–2.16%. Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests indicated the spatial distributions of bead catches were different among multiple MECs at three of four sites. Temporal variability in timing of peak catches of gellan beads was also evident between MECs. We concluded that the use of multiple MECs is necessary to properly sample eggs of pelagic broadcast-spawning cyprinids.

Enhancement of mercury capture by the simultaneous addition of hydrogen bromide (HBr) and fly ashes in a slipstream facility

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

Yan Cao; Quan-Hai Wang; Jun Li

2009-04-15

Low halogen content in tested Powder River Basin (PRB) coals and low loss of ignition content (LOI) in PRB-derived fly ash were likely responsible for higher elemental mercury content (averaging about 75%) in the flue gas and also lower mercury capture efficiency by electrostatic precipitator (ESP) and wet-FGD. To develop a cost-effective approach to mercury capture in a full-scale coal-fired utility boiler burning PRB coal, experiments were conducted adding hydrogen bromide (HBr) or simultaneously adding HBr and selected fly ashes in a slipstream reactor (0.152 x 0.152 m) under real flue gas conditions. The residence time of the flue gasmore » inside the reactor was about 1.4 s. The average temperature of the slipstream reactor was controlled at about 155{sup o}C. Tests were organized into two phases. In Phase 1, only HBr was added to the slipstream reactor, and in Phase 2, HBr and selected fly ash were added simultaneously. HBr injection was effective (>90%) for mercury oxidation at a low temperature (155{sup o}C) with an HBr addition concentration of about 4 ppm in the flue gas. Additionally, injected HBr enhanced mercury capture by PRB fly ash in the low-temperature range. The mercury capture efficiency, at testing conditions of the slipstream reactor, reached about 50% at an HBr injection concentration of 4 ppm in the flue gas. Compared to only the addition of HBr, simultaneously adding bituminous-derived fly ash in a minimum amount (30 lb/MMacf), together with HBr injection at 4 ppm, could increase mercury capture efficiency by 30%. Injection of lignite-derived fly ash at 30 lb/MMacf could achieve even higher mercury removal efficiency (an additional 35% mercury capture efficiency compared to HBR addition alone). 25 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.« less

A Generalizable Methodology for Quantifying User Satisfaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Te-Yuan; Chen, Kuan-Ta; Huang, Polly; Lei, Chin-Laung

Quantifying user satisfaction is essential, because the results can help service providers deliver better services. In this work, we propose a generalizable methodology, based on survival analysis, to quantify user satisfaction in terms of session times, i. e., the length of time users stay with an application. Unlike subjective human surveys, our methodology is based solely on passive measurement, which is more cost-efficient and better able to capture subconscious reactions. Furthermore, by using session times, rather than a specific performance indicator, such as the level of distortion of voice signals, the effects of other factors like loudness and sidetone, can also be captured by the developed models. Like survival analysis, our methodology is characterized by low complexity and a simple model-developing process. The feasibility of our methodology is demonstrated through case studies of ShenZhou Online, a commercial MMORPG in Taiwan, and the most prevalent VoIP application in the world, namely Skype. Through the model development process, we can also identify the most significant performance factors and their impacts on user satisfaction and discuss how they can be exploited to improve user experience and optimize resource allocation.

Integrated Data Capturing Requirements for 3d Semantic Modelling of Cultural Heritage: the Inception Protocol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Giulio, R.; Maietti, F.; Piaia, E.; Medici, M.; Ferrari, F.; Turillazzi, B.

2017-02-01

The generation of high quality 3D models can be still very time-consuming and expensive, and the outcome of digital reconstructions is frequently provided in formats that are not interoperable, and therefore cannot be easily accessed. This challenge is even more crucial for complex architectures and large heritage sites, which involve a large amount of data to be acquired, managed and enriched by metadata. In this framework, the ongoing EU funded project INCEPTION - Inclusive Cultural Heritage in Europe through 3D semantic modelling proposes a workflow aimed at the achievements of efficient 3D digitization methods, post-processing tools for an enriched semantic modelling, web-based solutions and applications to ensure a wide access to experts and non-experts. In order to face these challenges and to start solving the issue of the large amount of captured data and time-consuming processes in the production of 3D digital models, an Optimized Data Acquisition Protocol (DAP) has been set up. The purpose is to guide the processes of digitization of cultural heritage, respecting needs, requirements and specificities of cultural assets.

Depth-aware image seam carving.

PubMed

Shen, Jianbing; Wang, Dapeng; Li, Xuelong

2013-10-01

Image seam carving algorithm should preserve important and salient objects as much as possible when changing the image size, while not removing the secondary objects in the scene. However, it is still difficult to determine the important and salient objects that avoid the distortion of these objects after resizing the input image. In this paper, we develop a novel depth-aware single image seam carving approach by taking advantage of the modern depth cameras such as the Kinect sensor, which captures the RGB color image and its corresponding depth map simultaneously. By considering both the depth information and the just noticeable difference (JND) model, we develop an efficient JND-based significant computation approach using the multiscale graph cut based energy optimization. Our method achieves the better seam carving performance by cutting the near objects less seams while removing distant objects more seams. To the best of our knowledge, our algorithm is the first work to use the true depth map captured by Kinect depth camera for single image seam carving. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach produces better seam carving results than previous content-aware seam carving methods.

Simulation of geothermal water extraction in heterogeneous reservoirs using dynamic unstructured mesh optimisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salinas, P.; Pavlidis, D.; Jacquemyn, C.; Lei, Q.; Xie, Z.; Pain, C.; Jackson, M.

2017-12-01

It is well known that the pressure gradient into a production well increases with decreasing distance to the well. To properly capture the local pressure drawdown into the well a high grid or mesh resolution is required; moreover, the location of the well must be captured accurately. In conventional simulation models, the user must interact with the model to modify grid resolution around wells of interest, and the well location is approximated on a grid defined early in the modelling process.We report a new approach for improved simulation of near wellbore flow in reservoir scale models through the use of dynamic mesh optimisation and the recently presented double control volume finite element method. Time is discretized using an adaptive, implicit approach. Heterogeneous geologic features are represented as volumes bounded by surfaces. Within these volumes, termed geologic domains, the material properties are constant. Up-, cross- or down-scaling of material properties during dynamic mesh optimization is not required, as the properties are uniform within each geologic domain. A given model typically contains numerous such geologic domains. Wells are implicitly coupled with the domain, and the fluid flows is modelled inside the wells. The method is novel for two reasons. First, a fully unstructured tetrahedral mesh is used to discretize space, and the spatial location of the well is specified via a line vector, ensuring its location even if the mesh is modified during the simulation. The well location is therefore accurately captured, the approach allows complex well trajectories and wells with many laterals to be modelled. Second, computational efficiency is increased by use of dynamic mesh optimization, in which an unstructured mesh adapts in space and time to key solution fields (preserving the geometry of the geologic domains), such as pressure, velocity or temperature, this also increases the quality of the solutions by placing higher resolution where required to reduce an error metric based on the Hessian of the field. This allows the local pressure drawdown to be captured without user¬ driven modification of the mesh. We demonstrate that the method has wide application in reservoir ¬scale models of geothermal fields, and regional models of groundwater resources.

PcapDB: Search Optimized Packet Capture, Version 0.1.0.0

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

Ferrell, Paul; Steinfadt, Shannon

PcapDB is a packet capture system designed to optimize the captured data for fast search in the typical (network incident response) use case. The technology involved in this software has been submitted via the IDEAS system and has been filed as a provisional patent. It includes the following primary components: capture: The capture component utilizes existing capture libraries to retrieve packets from network interfaces. Once retrieved the packets are passed to additional threads for sorting into flows and indexing. The sorted flows and indexes are passed to other threads so that they can be written to disk. These components aremore » written in the C programming language. search: The search components provide a means to find relevant flows and the associated packets. A search query is parsed and represented as a search tree. Various search commands, written in C, are then used resolve this tree into a set of search results. The tree generation and search execution management components are written in python. interface: The PcapDB web interface is written in Python on the Django framework. It provides a series of pages, API's, and asynchronous tasks that allow the user to manage the capture system, perform searches, and retrieve results. Web page components are written in HTML,CSS and Javascript.« less

Bacteriophage-based nanoprobes for rapid bacteria separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Juhong; Duncan, Bradley; Wang, Ziyuan; Wang, Li-Sheng; Rotello, Vincent M.; Nugen, Sam R.

2015-10-01

The lack of practical methods for bacterial separation remains a hindrance for the low-cost and successful development of rapid detection methods from complex samples. Antibody-tagged magnetic particles are commonly used to pull analytes from a liquid sample. While this method is well-established, improvements in capture efficiencies would result in an increase of the overall detection assay performance. Bacteriophages represent a low-cost and more consistent biorecognition element as compared to antibodies. We have developed nanoscale bacteriophage-tagged magnetic probes, where T7 bacteriophages were bound to magnetic nanoparticles. The nanoprobe allowed the specific recognition and attachment to E. coli cells. The phage magnetic nanprobes were directly compared to antibody-conjugated magnetic nanoprobes. The capture efficiencies of bacteriophages and antibodies on nanoparticles for the separation of E. coli K12 at varying concentrations were determined. The results indicated a similar bacteria capture efficiency between the two nanoprobes.The lack of practical methods for bacterial separation remains a hindrance for the low-cost and successful development of rapid detection methods from complex samples. Antibody-tagged magnetic particles are commonly used to pull analytes from a liquid sample. While this method is well-established, improvements in capture efficiencies would result in an increase of the overall detection assay performance. Bacteriophages represent a low-cost and more consistent biorecognition element as compared to antibodies. We have developed nanoscale bacteriophage-tagged magnetic probes, where T7 bacteriophages were bound to magnetic nanoparticles. The nanoprobe allowed the specific recognition and attachment to E. coli cells. The phage magnetic nanprobes were directly compared to antibody-conjugated magnetic nanoprobes. The capture efficiencies of bacteriophages and antibodies on nanoparticles for the separation of E. coli K12 at varying concentrations were determined. The results indicated a similar bacteria capture efficiency between the two nanoprobes. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03779d

Micropallet arrays for the capture, isolation and culture of circulating tumor cells from whole blood of mice engrafted with primary human pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

PubMed

Gach, Philip C; Attayek, Peter J; Whittlesey, Rebecca L; Yeh, Jen Jen; Allbritton, Nancy L

2014-04-15

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are important biomarkers of cancer progression and metastatic potential. The rarity of CTCs in peripheral blood has driven the development of technologies to isolate these tumor cells with high specificity; however, there are limited techniques available for isolating target CTCs following enumeration. A strategy is described to capture and isolate viable tumor cells from whole blood using an array of releasable microstructures termed micropallets. Specific capture of nucleated cells or cells expressing epithelial cell adhesion molecules (EpCAM) was achieved by functionalizing micropallet surfaces with either fibronectin, Matrigel or anti-EpCAM antibody. Surface grafting of poly(acrylic acid) followed by covalent binding of protein A/G enabled efficient capture of EpCAM antibody on the micropallet surface. MCF-7 cells, a human breast adenocarcinoma, were retained on the array surface with 90±8% efficiency when using an anti-EpCAM-coated array. To demonstrate the efficiency of tumor cell retention on micropallet arrays in the presence of blood, MCF-7 cells were mixed into whole blood and added to small arrays (71 mm(2)) coated with fibronectin, Matrigel or anti-EpCAM. These approaches achieved MCF-7 cell capture from ≤10 µL of whole blood with efficiencies greater than 85%. Furthermore, MCF-7 cells intermixed with 1 mL blood and loaded onto large arrays (7171 mm(2)) were captured with high efficiencies (≥97%), could be isolated from the array by a laser-based approach and were demonstrated to yield a high rate of colony formation (≥85%) after removal from the array. Clinical utility of this technology was shown through the capture, isolation and successful culture of CTCs from the blood of mice engrafted with primary human pancreatic tumors. Direct capture and isolation of living tumor cells from blood followed by analysis or culture will be a valuable tool for cancer cell characterization. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiresolution strategies for the numerical solution of optimal control problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Sachin

There exist many numerical techniques for solving optimal control problems but less work has been done in the field of making these algorithms run faster and more robustly. The main motivation of this work is to solve optimal control problems accurately in a fast and efficient way. Optimal control problems are often characterized by discontinuities or switchings in the control variables. One way of accurately capturing the irregularities in the solution is to use a high resolution (dense) uniform grid. This requires a large amount of computational resources both in terms of CPU time and memory. Hence, in order to accurately capture any irregularities in the solution using a few computational resources, one can refine the mesh locally in the region close to an irregularity instead of refining the mesh uniformly over the whole domain. Therefore, a novel multiresolution scheme for data compression has been designed which is shown to outperform similar data compression schemes. Specifically, we have shown that the proposed approach results in fewer grid points in the grid compared to a common multiresolution data compression scheme. The validity of the proposed mesh refinement algorithm has been verified by solving several challenging initial-boundary value problems for evolution equations in 1D. The examples have demonstrated the stability and robustness of the proposed algorithm. The algorithm adapted dynamically to any existing or emerging irregularities in the solution by automatically allocating more grid points to the region where the solution exhibited sharp features and fewer points to the region where the solution was smooth. Thereby, the computational time and memory usage has been reduced significantly, while maintaining an accuracy equivalent to the one obtained using a fine uniform mesh. Next, a direct multiresolution-based approach for solving trajectory optimization problems is developed. The original optimal control problem is transcribed into a nonlinear programming (NLP) problem that is solved using standard NLP codes. The novelty of the proposed approach hinges on the automatic calculation of a suitable, nonuniform grid over which the NLP problem is solved, which tends to increase numerical efficiency and robustness. Control and/or state constraints are handled with ease, and without any additional computational complexity. The proposed algorithm is based on a simple and intuitive method to balance several conflicting objectives, such as accuracy of the solution, convergence, and speed of the computations. The benefits of the proposed algorithm over uniform grid implementations are demonstrated with the help of several nontrivial examples. Furthermore, two sequential multiresolution trajectory optimization algorithms for solving problems with moving targets and/or dynamically changing environments have been developed. For such problems, high accuracy is desirable only in the immediate future, yet the ultimate mission objectives should be accommodated as well. An intelligent trajectory generation for such situations is thus enabled by introducing the idea of multigrid temporal resolution to solve the associated trajectory optimization problem on a non-uniform grid across time that is adapted to: (i) immediate future, and (ii) potential discontinuities in the state and control variables.

Highly Efficient Interception and Precipitation of Uranium(VI) from Aqueous Solution by Iron-Electrocoagulation Combined with Cooperative Chelation by Organic Ligands.

PubMed

Li, Peng; Zhun, Bao; Wang, Xuegang; Liao, PingPing; Wang, Guanghui; Wang, Lizhang; Guo, Yadan; Zhang, Weimin

2017-12-19

A new strategy combining iron-electrocoagulation and organic ligands (OGLs) cooperative chelation was proposed to screen and precipitate low concentrations (0-18.52 μmol/L) of uranium contaminant in aqueous solution. We hypothesized that OGLs with amino, hydroxyl, and carboxyl groups hydrophobically/hydrophilically would realize precuring of uranyl ion at pH < 3.0, and the following iron-electrocoagulation would achieve faster and more efficient uranium precipitation. Experimentally, the strategy demonstrated highly efficient uranium(VI) precipitation efficiency, especially with hydrophilic macromolecular OGLs. The uranium removal efficiency at optimized experimental condition reached 99.65%. The decrease of zeta potential and the lattice enwrapping between U-OGLs chelates and flocculation precursor were ascribed to the enhanced uranium precipitation activity. Uranium was precipitated as oxides of U(VI) or higher valences that were easily captured in aggregated micelles under low operation current potential. The actual uranium tailing wastewater was treated, and a satisfied uranium removal efficiency of 99.02% was discovered. After elution of the precipitated flocs, a concentrated uranium solution (up to 106.52 μmol/L) with very few other metallic impurities was obtained. Therefore, the proposed strategy could remove uranium and concentrate it concurrently. This work could provide new insights into the purification and recovery of uranium from aqueous solutions in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly process.

Water resources planning and management : A stochastic dual dynamic programming approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goor, Q.; Pinte, D.; Tilmant, A.

2008-12-01

Allocating water between different users and uses, including the environment, is one of the most challenging task facing water resources managers and has always been at the heart of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). As water scarcity is expected to increase over time, allocation decisions among the different uses will have to be found taking into account the complex interactions between water and the economy. Hydro-economic optimization models can capture those interactions while prescribing efficient allocation policies. Many hydro-economic models found in the literature are formulated as large-scale non linear optimization problems (NLP), seeking to maximize net benefits from the system operation while meeting operational and/or institutional constraints, and describing the main hydrological processes. However, those models rarely incorporate the uncertainty inherent to the availability of water, essentially because of the computational difficulties associated stochastic formulations. The purpose of this presentation is to present a stochastic programming model that can identify economically efficient allocation policies in large-scale multipurpose multireservoir systems. The model is based on stochastic dual dynamic programming (SDDP), an extension of traditional SDP that is not affected by the curse of dimensionality. SDDP identify efficient allocation policies while considering the hydrologic uncertainty. The objective function includes the net benefits from the hydropower and irrigation sectors, as well as penalties for not meeting operational and/or institutional constraints. To be able to implement the efficient decomposition scheme that remove the computational burden, the one-stage SDDP problem has to be a linear program. Recent developments improve the representation of the non-linear and mildly non- convex hydropower function through a convex hull approximation of the true hydropower function. This model is illustrated on a cascade of 14 reservoirs on the Nile river basin.

Dielectrophoretic capture of low abundance cell population using thick electrodes.

PubMed

Marchalot, Julien; Chateaux, Jean-François; Faivre, Magalie; Mertani, Hichem C; Ferrigno, Rosaria; Deman, Anne-Laure

2015-09-01

Enrichment of rare cell populations such as Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) is a critical step before performing analysis. This paper presents a polymeric microfluidic device with integrated thick Carbon-PolyDimethylSiloxane composite (C-PDMS) electrodes designed to carry out dielectrophoretic (DEP) trapping of low abundance biological cells. Such conductive composite material presents advantages over metallic structures. Indeed, as it combines properties of both the matrix and doping particles, C-PDMS allows the easy and fast integration of conductive microstructures using a soft-lithography approach while preserving O2 plasma bonding properties of PDMS substrate and avoiding a cumbersome alignment procedure. Here, we first performed numerical simulations to demonstrate the advantage of such thick C-PDMS electrodes over a coplanar electrode configuration. It is well established that dielectrophoretic force ([Formula: see text]) decreases quickly as the distance from the electrode surface increases resulting in coplanar configuration to a low trapping efficiency at high flow rate. Here, we showed quantitatively that by using electrodes as thick as a microchannel height, it is possible to extend the DEP force influence in the whole volume of the channel compared to coplanar electrode configuration and maintaining high trapping efficiency while increasing the throughput. This model was then used to numerically optimize a thick C-PDMS electrode configuration in terms of trapping efficiency. Then, optimized microfluidic configurations were fabricated and tested at various flow rates for the trapping of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line. We reached trapping efficiencies of 97% at 20 μl/h and 78.7% at 80 μl/h, for 100 μm thick electrodes. Finally, we applied our device to the separation and localized trapping of CTCs (MDA-MB-231) from a red blood cells sample (concentration ratio of 1:10).

Optimizing DNA nanotechnology through coarse-grained modeling: a two-footed DNA walker.

PubMed

Ouldridge, Thomas E; Hoare, Rollo L; Louis, Ard A; Doye, Jonathan P K; Bath, Jonathan; Turberfield, Andrew J

2013-03-26

DNA has enormous potential as a programmable material for creating artificial nanoscale structures and devices. For more complex systems, however, rational design and optimization can become difficult. We have recently proposed a coarse-grained model of DNA that captures the basic thermodynamic, structural, and mechanical changes associated with the fundamental process in much of DNA nanotechnology, the formation of duplexes from single strands. In this article, we demonstrate that the model can provide powerful insight into the operation of complex nanotechnological systems through a detailed investigation of a two-footed DNA walker that is designed to step along a reusable track, thereby offering the possibility of optimizing the design of such systems. We find that applying moderate tension to the track can have a large influence on the operation of the walker, providing a bias for stepping forward and helping the walker to recover from undesirable overstepped states. Further, we show that the process by which spent fuel detaches from the walker can have a significant impact on the rebinding of the walker to the track, strongly influencing walker efficiency and speed. Finally, using the results of the simulations, we propose a number of modifications to the walker to improve its operation.

Traj_opt User's Guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saunders, David A.

2005-01-01

Trajectory optimization program Traj_opt was developed at Ames Research Center to help assess the potential benefits of ultrahigh temperature ceramic materials applied to reusable space vehicles with sharp noses and wing leading edges. Traj_opt loosely couples the Ames three-degrees-of-freedom trajectory package Traj (see NASA-TM-2004-212847) with the SNOPT optimization package (Stanford University Technical Report SOL 98-1). Traj_opt version January 22, 2003 is covered by this user guide. The program has been applied extensively to entry and ascent abort trajectory calculations for sharp and blunt crew transfer vehicles. The main optimization variables are control points for the angle of attack and bank angle time histories. No propulsion options are provided, but numerous objective functions may be specified and the nonlinear constraints implemented include a distributed surface heating constraint capability. Aero-capture calculations are also treated with an option to minimize orbital eccentricity at apoapsis. Traj_opt runs efficiently on a single processor, using forward or central differences for the gradient calculations. Results may be displayed conveniently with Gnuplot scripts. Control files recommended for five standard reentry and ascent abort trajectories are included along with detailed descriptions of the inputs and outputs.

Spatial optimization for decentralized non-potable water reuse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kavvada, Olga; Nelson, Kara L.; Horvath, Arpad

2018-06-01

Decentralization has the potential to reduce the scale of the piped distribution network needed to enable non-potable water reuse (NPR) in urban areas by producing recycled water closer to its point of use. However, tradeoffs exist between the economies of scale of treatment facilities and the size of the conveyance infrastructure, including energy for upgradient distribution of recycled water. To adequately capture the impacts from distribution pipes and pumping requirements, site-specific conditions must be accounted for. In this study, a generalized framework (a heuristic modeling approach using geospatial algorithms) is developed that estimates the financial cost, the energy use, and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with NPR (for toilet flushing) as a function of scale of treatment and conveyance networks with the goal of determining the optimal degree of decentralization. A decision-support platform is developed to assess and visualize NPR system designs considering topography, economies of scale, and building size. The platform can be used for scenario development to explore the optimal system size based on the layout of current or new buildings. The model also promotes technology innovation by facilitating the systems-level comparison of options to lower costs, improve energy efficiency, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Optimization of process condition for the preparation of amine-impregnated activated carbon developed for CO2 capture and applied to methylene blue adsorption by response surface methodology.

PubMed

Das, Dipa; Meikap, Bhim C

2017-10-15

The present research describes the optimal adsorption condition for methylene blue (MB). The adsorbent used here was monoethanol amine-impregnated activated carbon (MEA-AC) prepared from green coconut shell. Response surface methodology (RSM) is the multivariate statistical technique used for the optimization of the process variables. The central composite design is used to determine the effect of activation temperature, activation time and impregnation ratio on the MB removal. The percentage (%) MB adsorption by MEA-AC is evaluated as a response of the system. A quadratic model was developed for response. From the analysis of variance, the factor which was the most influential on the experimental design response has been identified. The optimum condition for the preparation of MEA-AC from green coconut shells is the temperature of activation 545.6°C, activation time of 41.64 min and impregnation ratio of 0.33 to achieve the maximum removal efficiency of 98.21%. At the same optimum parameter, the % MB removal from the textile-effluent industry was examined and found to be 96.44%.

Relative efficiency of anuran sampling methods in a restinga habitat (Jurubatiba, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

PubMed

Rocha, C F D; Van Sluys, M; Hatano, F H; Boquimpani-Freitas, L; Marra, R V; Marques, R V

2004-11-01

Studies on anurans in restinga habitats are few and, as a result, there is little information on which methods are more efficient for sampling them in this environment. Ten methods are usually used for sampling anuran communities in tropical and sub-tropical areas. In this study we evaluate which methods are more appropriate for this purpose in the restinga environment of Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba. We analyzed six methods among those usually used for anuran samplings. For each method, we recorded the total amount of time spent (in min.), the number of researchers involved, and the number of species captured. We calculated a capture efficiency index (time necessary for a researcher to capture an individual frog) in order to make comparable the data obtained. Of the methods analyzed, the species inventory (9.7 min/searcher /ind.- MSI; richness = 6; abundance = 23) and the breeding site survey (9.5 MSI; richness = 4; abundance = 22) were the most efficient. The visual encounter inventory (45.0 MSI) and patch sampling (65.0 MSI) methods were of comparatively lower efficiency restinga, whereas the plot sampling and the pit-fall traps with drift-fence methods resulted in no frog capture. We conclude that there is a considerable difference in efficiency of methods used in the restinga environment and that the complete species inventory method is highly efficient for sampling frogs in the restinga studied and may be so in other restinga environments. Methods that are usually efficient in forested areas seem to be of little value in open restinga habitats.

Optimal Low Energy Earth-Moon Transfers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Griesemer, Paul Ricord; Ocampo, Cesar; Cooley, D. S.

2010-01-01

The optimality of a low-energy Earth-Moon transfer is examined for the first time using primer vector theory. An optimal control problem is formed with the following free variables: the location, time, and magnitude of the transfer insertion burn, and the transfer time. A constraint is placed on the initial state of the spacecraft to bind it to a given initial orbit around a first body, and on the final state of the spacecraft to limit its Keplerian energy with respect to a second body. Optimal transfers in the system are shown to meet certain conditions placed on the primer vector and its time derivative. A two point boundary value problem containing these necessary conditions is created for use in targeting optimal transfers. The two point boundary value problem is then applied to the ballistic lunar capture problem, and an optimal trajectory is shown. Additionally, the ballistic lunar capture trajectory is examined to determine whether one or more additional impulses may improve on the cost of the transfer.

Thermodynamic Modeling and Dispatch of Distributed Energy Technologies including Fuel Cell -- Gas Turbine Hybrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLarty, Dustin Fogle

Distributed energy systems are a promising means by which to reduce both emissions and costs. Continuous generators must be responsive and highly efficiency to support building dynamics and intermittent on-site renewable power. Fuel cell -- gas turbine hybrids (FC/GT) are fuel-flexible generators capable of ultra-high efficiency, ultra-low emissions, and rapid power response. This work undertakes a detailed study of the electrochemistry, chemistry and mechanical dynamics governing the complex interaction between the individual systems in such a highly coupled hybrid arrangement. The mechanisms leading to the compressor stall/surge phenomena are studied for the increased risk posed to particular hybrid configurations. A novel fuel cell modeling method introduced captures various spatial resolutions, flow geometries, stack configurations and novel heat transfer pathways. Several promising hybrid configurations are analyzed throughout the work and a sensitivity analysis of seven design parameters is conducted. A simple estimating method is introduced for the combined system efficiency of a fuel cell and a turbine using component performance specifications. Existing solid oxide fuel cell technology is capable of hybrid efficiencies greater than 75% (LHV) operating on natural gas, and existing molten carbonate systems greater than 70% (LHV). A dynamic model is calibrated to accurately capture the physical coupling of a FC/GT demonstrator tested at UC Irvine. The 2900 hour experiment highlighted the sensitivity to small perturbations and a need for additional control development. Further sensitivity studies outlined the responsiveness and limits of different control approaches. The capability for substantial turn-down and load following through speed control and flow bypass with minimal impact on internal fuel cell thermal distribution is particularly promising to meet local demands or provide dispatchable support for renewable power. Advanced control and dispatch heuristics are discussed using a case study of the UCI central plant. Thermal energy storage introduces a time horizon into the dispatch optimization which requires novel solution strategies. Highly efficient and responsive generators are required to meet the increasingly dynamic loads of today's efficient buildings and intermittent local renewable wind and solar power. Fuel cell gas turbine hybrids will play an integral role in the complex and ever-changing solution to local electricity production.

Integrating Waste Heat from CO 2 Removal and Coal-Fired Flue Gas to Increase Plant Efficiency

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

Irvin, Nick; Kowalczyk, Joseph

In project DE-FE0007525, Southern Company Services demonstrated heat integration methods for the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide produced from pulverized coal combustion. A waste heat recovery technology (termed High Efficiency System) from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America was integrated into an existing 25-MW amine-based CO 2 capture process (Kansai Mitsubishi Carbon Dioxide Recovery Process®1) at Southern Company’s Plant Barry to evaluate improvements in the energy performance of the pulverized coal plant and CO 2 capture process. The heat integration system consists of two primary pieces of equipment: (1) the CO 2 Cooler which uses product CO 2 gas from themore » capture process to heat boiler condensate, and (2) the Flue Gas Cooler which uses air heater outlet flue gas to further heat boiler condensate. Both pieces of equipment were included in the pilot system. The pilot CO 2 Cooler used waste heat from the 25-MW CO 2 capture plant (but not always from product CO 2 gas, as intended). The pilot Flue Gas Cooler used heat from a slipstream of flue gas taken from downstream of Plant Barry’s air heater. The pilot also included a 0.25-MW electrostatic precipitator. The 25-MW High Efficiency System operated for approximately six weeks over a four month time period in conjunction with the 25-MW CO 2 capture facility at Plant Barry. Results from the program were used to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of full-scale implementation of this technology. The test program quantified energy efficiency improvements to a host power plant that could be realized due to the High Efficiency System. Through the execution of this project, the team verified the integrated operation of the High Efficiency System and Kansai Mitsubishi Carbon Dioxide Recovery Process®. The ancillary benefits of the High Efficiency System were also quantified, including reduced water consumption, a decrease in toxic air emissions, and better overall air quality control systems performance.« less

40 CFR 63.4964 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... to 40 CFR part 51 to determine the mass fraction, kg TVH per kg material, of TVH liquid input from... the coating operation during the capture efficiency test run, lb. TVHi = Mass fraction of TVH in... temporary total enclosure or building enclosure. The liquid-to-uncaptured-gas protocol compares the mass of...

40 CFR 63.3544 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... mass fraction of TVH liquid input from each coating and thinner used in the coating operation during... materials used in the coating operation during the capture efficiency test run, kg. TVHi = Mass fraction of... protocol compares the mass of liquid TVH in materials used in the coating operation to the mass of TVH...

40 CFR 63.4964 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... to 40 CFR part 51 to determine the mass fraction, kg TVH per kg material, of TVH liquid input from... the coating operation during the capture efficiency test run, lb. TVHi = Mass fraction of TVH in... temporary total enclosure or building enclosure. The liquid-to-uncaptured-gas protocol compares the mass of...

40 CFR 63.4165 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... to 40 CFR part 51 to determine the mass fraction of TVH liquid input from each coating, thinner, and... operation during the capture efficiency test run, kg. TVHi = mass fraction of TVH in coating, thinner, or... temporary total enclosure or building enclosure. The liquid-to-uncaptured-gas protocol compares the mass of...

40 CFR 63.4964 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... determine the mass fraction, kg TVH per kg material, of TVH liquid input from each coating, thinner, and... capture efficiency test run, lb. TVHi = Mass fraction of TVH in coating, thinner, or cleaning material, i... enclosure. The liquid-to-uncaptured-gas protocol compares the mass of liquid TVH in materials used in the...

40 CFR 63.3544 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... mass fraction of TVH liquid input from each coating and thinner used in the coating operation during... materials used in the coating operation during the capture efficiency test run, kg. TVHi = Mass fraction of... protocol compares the mass of liquid TVH in materials used in the coating operation to the mass of TVH...

40 CFR 63.4165 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... to 40 CFR part 51 to determine the mass fraction of TVH liquid input from each coating, thinner, and... operation during the capture efficiency test run, kg. TVHi = mass fraction of TVH in coating, thinner, or... temporary total enclosure or building enclosure. The liquid-to-uncaptured-gas protocol compares the mass of...

40 CFR 63.3544 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... mass fraction of TVH liquid input from each coating and thinner used in the coating operation during... materials used in the coating operation during the capture efficiency test run, kg. TVHi = Mass fraction of... protocol compares the mass of liquid TVH in materials used in the coating operation to the mass of TVH...

40 CFR 63.4964 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... to 40 CFR part 51 to determine the mass fraction, kg TVH per kg material, of TVH liquid input from... the coating operation during the capture efficiency test run, lb. TVHi = Mass fraction of TVH in... temporary total enclosure or building enclosure. The liquid-to-uncaptured-gas protocol compares the mass of...

40 CFR 63.4981 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... defined in the CAA, in 40 CFR 63.2, and in this section as follows: Add-on control means an air pollution control device such as a thermal oxidizer or carbon adsorber that reduces pollution in an air stream by... add-on air pollution control device. Capture efficiency or capture system efficiency means the portion...

The mechanisms of filter feeding on oil droplets: Theoretical considerations.

PubMed

Mehrabian, Sasan; Letendre, Francis; Cameron, Christopher B

2018-04-01

Filter feeding animals capture food particles and oil droplets from the fluid environment using cilia or appendages composed of arrays of fibers. Here we review the theoretical models that have provided a foundation for observations on the efficiency of particle capture. We then provide the mathematical theoretical framework to characterize the efficient filtration of oil droplets. In the aquatic and marine environments oil droplets are released from the decay of organisms or as hydrocarbons. Droplet size and flow velocity, oil-to-water viscosity ratio, oil-water interfacial tension, oil and water density difference, and the surface wettability, or surface texture, of the filter fiber are the key parameters for oil droplet capture. Following capture, capillary force maintains the droplet at its location due to the oil-water interfacial tension. If the oil-coated fiber is subject to any external force such as viscous or gravitational forces, it may deform and separate from the fiber and re-enter the fluid stream. We show oil droplet capture in Daphnia and the barnacle Balanus glandula, and outline some of the ecological unknowns regarding oil capture in the oceans. Awareness of these mechanisms and their interrelationships will provide a foundation for investigations into the efficiency of various modes of filter feeding on oil droplets. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Engineering cholesterol-based fibers for antibody immobilization and cell capture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohn, Celine

In 2015, the United States is expected to have nearly 600,000 deaths attributed to cancer. Of these 600,000 deaths, 90% will be a direct result of cancer metastasis, the spread of cancer throughout the body. During cancer metastasis, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are shed from primary tumors and migrate through bodily fluids, establishing secondary cancer sites. As cancer metastasis is incredibly lethal, there is a growing emphasis on developing "liquid biopsies" that can screen peripheral blood, search for and identify CTCs. One popular method for capturing CTCs is the use of a detection platform with antibodies specifically suited to recognize and capture cancer cells. These antibodies are immobilized onto the platform and can then bind and capture cells of interest. However, current means to immobilize antibodies often leave them with drastically reduced function. The antibodies are left poorly suited for cell capture, resulting in low cell capture efficiencies. This body of work investigates the use of lipid-based fibers to immobilize proteins in a way that retains protein function, ultimately leading to increased cell capture efficiencies. The resulting increased efficiencies are thought to arise from the retained three-dimensional structure of the protein as well as having a complete coating of the material surface with antibodies that are capable of interacting with their antigens. It is possible to electrospin cholesterol-based fibers that are similar in design to the natural cell membrane, providing proteins a more natural setting during immobilization. Such fibers have been produced from cholesterol-based cholesteryl succinyl silane (CSS). These fibers have previously illustrated a keen aptitude for retaining protein function and increasing cell capture. Herein the work focuses on three key concepts. First, a model is developed to understand the immobilization mechanism used by electrospun CSS fibers. The antibody immobilization and cell capturing abilities of the CSS fibers were compared to that of hydrophobic polycaprolactone (PCL) fibers and hydrophilic plasma-treated PCL fibers. Electrospun CSS fibers were found to immobilize equivalent amounts of protein as hydrophobically immobilized proteins. However, these proteins captured 6 times more cells, indicative of retained protein function. The second key concept was the design and fabrication of a hybridized lipid fiber. Lipid fibers provide improved protein function but fabrication difficulties have limited their adoption. Thus, we sought to fabricate a lipid-polymer hybrid that is easily fabricated while maintaining protein function. The hybrid fiber consists of a PCL backbone with conjugated CSS. The hybrid lipid fibers showed improved protein function. In addition, higher lipid concentrations were directly correlated to higher cell capture efficiencies. The third key concept was on the development of dually functionalized lipid fibers and understanding the resulting cell capture efficiencies. Many platforms are unable to simultaneously search for heterogeneous populations of CTCs -- the ability to dually functionalize cell-capturing platforms would address this technological weakness. Studies indicated that dually functionalizing the lipid fibers did not compromise the platforms' abilities to capture the cells of interest. Such dually functionalized fibers allow for a single cell-capture platform to successfully detect heterogeneous populations of CTCs. The body of work encompassed herein describes the use of lipid fibers for antibody immobilization and cell capture. Data from various projects indicate that the use of cholesterol-based fibers produced from electrospun CSS are well suited for protein immobilization. The CSS fibers are able to immobilize equivalent amounts of protein as compared to other immobilization techniques. However, the benefit of these fibers is illustrated by the strong cell-capturing efficiencies, indicating that the immobilized proteins are able to retain their function and selectively target cells of interest. The successful immobilization of proteins and their retained function allows for the development of increasingly sensitive cancer diagnostic tools that are able to screen for CTCs early on in the cancer disease cycle.

Exploring Thermoresponsive Affinity Agents to Enhance Microdialysis Sampling Efficiency of Proteins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasicek, Thaddeus

Affinity agents increase microdialysis protein relative recovery, yet they have not seen widespread use within the microdialysis community due to their additional instrumentation requirements and prohibitive cost. This dissertation describes new affinity agents for microdialysis that require no additional instrumentation to use, have nearly 100% particle recovery, are 7 times more cost efficient than alternatives, and have low specificity enabling their use for a wide variety of proteins. Initially gold nanoparticles were chosen as an affinity ligand support due to their high surface area/volume ratio and colloidal stability. Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) was immobilized to the gold nanoparticles, which served to sterically stabilize the particles and to act as a generic, reversible protein capture agent. A method was developed to reproducibly vary and quantify poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) graft density from 0.09 to 0.40 ligands/nm2 on gold nanoparticles. During characterization of the polymer coated gold nanoparticles, irreversible particle agglomeration was observed at low polymer graft density in ionic solutions, which prevented further development as a protein capture agent. Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) nanogels, which have low nonspecific adsorption, low interparticle attractive forces owing to the low curvature of the particle, and a low Hamaker constant, were synthesized to overcome the agglomeration problem. A generic protein affinity ligand cibacron blue, was immobilized to the nanogels, which enabled rapid determination of particle recovery. The perfusion of the nanogels through a microdialysis probe was optimized yielding 100% particle recovery using a combination of a syringe and peristaltic pump. The microdialysis collection efficiency of CCL2, a physiologically relevant cytokine, was increased 3-fold with addition of the nanogel to the microdialysis perfusion fluid. The reduction in instrumentation requirements, low cost, and low specificity obtained with the new affinity agents will lead to increased affinity agent use for microdiaylsis protein sampling.

Microfluidic chip for isolation of viable circulating tumor cells of hepatocellular carcinoma for their culture and drug sensitivity assay.

PubMed

Zhang, Yu; Zhang, Xiaofeng; Zhang, Jinling; Sun, Bin; Zheng, Lulu; Li, Jun; Liu, Sixiu; Sui, Guodong; Yin, Zhengfeng

2016-11-01

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been proposed to be an active source of metastasis or recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The enumeration and characterization of CTCs has important clinical significance in recurrence prediction and treatment monitoring in HCC patients. We previously developed a unique method to separate HCC CTCs based on the interaction of the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) expressed on their membranes with its ligand. The current study applied the ligand-receptor binding assay to a CTC-chip in a microfluidic device. Efficient capture of HCC CTCs originates from the small dimensions of microfluidic channels and enhanced local topographic interactions between the microfluidic channel and extracellular extensions. With the optimized conditions, a capture yield reached > 85% for artificial CTC blood samples. Clinical utility of the system was further validated. CTCs were detected in all the examined 36 patients with HCC, with an average of 14 ± 10/2 mL. On the contrary, no CTCs were detected in healthy, benign liver disease or non-HCC cancer subjects. The current study also successfully demonstrated that the captured CTCs on our CTC-chip were readily released with ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA); released CTCs remained alive and could be expanded to form a spheroid-like structure in a 3-dimensional cell culture assay; furthermore, sensitivity of released CTCs to chemotherapeutic agents (sorafenib or oxaliplatin) could be effectively tested utilizing this culture assay. In conclusion, the methodologies presented here offer great promise for accurate enumeration and easy release of captured CTCs, and released CTCs could be cultured for further functional studies.

A Mixed Integer Efficient Global Optimization Framework: Applied to the Simultaneous Aircraft Design, Airline Allocation and Revenue Management Problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Satadru

Traditional approaches to design and optimize a new system, often, use a system-centric objective and do not take into consideration how the operator will use this new system alongside of other existing systems. This "hand-off" between the design of the new system and how the new system operates alongside other systems might lead to a sub-optimal performance with respect to the operator-level objective. In other words, the system that is optimal for its system-level objective might not be best for the system-of-systems level objective of the operator. Among the few available references that describe attempts to address this hand-off, most follow an MDO-motivated subspace decomposition approach of first designing a very good system and then provide this system to the operator who decides the best way to use this new system along with the existing systems. The motivating example in this dissertation presents one such similar problem that includes aircraft design, airline operations and revenue management "subspaces". The research here develops an approach that could simultaneously solve these subspaces posed as a monolithic optimization problem. The monolithic approach makes the problem a Mixed Integer/Discrete Non-Linear Programming (MINLP/MDNLP) problem, which are extremely difficult to solve. The presence of expensive, sophisticated engineering analyses further aggravate the problem. To tackle this challenge problem, the work here presents a new optimization framework that simultaneously solves the subspaces to capture the "synergism" in the problem that the previous decomposition approaches may not have exploited, addresses mixed-integer/discrete type design variables in an efficient manner, and accounts for computationally expensive analysis tools. The framework combines concepts from efficient global optimization, Kriging partial least squares, and gradient-based optimization. This approach then demonstrates its ability to solve an 11 route airline network problem consisting of 94 decision variables including 33 integer and 61 continuous type variables. This application problem is a representation of an interacting group of systems and provides key challenges to the optimization framework to solve the MINLP problem, as reflected by the presence of a moderate number of integer and continuous type design variables and expensive analysis tool. The result indicates simultaneously solving the subspaces could lead to significant improvement in the fleet-level objective of the airline when compared to the previously developed sequential subspace decomposition approach. In developing the approach to solve the MINLP/MDNLP challenge problem, several test problems provided the ability to explore performance of the framework. While solving these test problems, the framework showed that it could solve other MDNLP problems including categorically discrete variables, indicating that the framework could have broader application than the new aircraft design-fleet allocation-revenue management problem.

Direct determination of resonance energy transfer in photolyase: structural alignment for the functional state.

PubMed

Tan, Chuang; Guo, Lijun; Ai, Yuejie; Li, Jiang; Wang, Lijuan; Sancar, Aziz; Luo, Yi; Zhong, Dongping

2014-11-13

Photoantenna is essential to energy transduction in photoinduced biological machinery. A photoenzyme, photolyase, has a light-harvesting pigment of methenyltetrahydrofolate (MTHF) that transfers its excitation energy to the catalytic flavin cofactor FADH¯ to enhance DNA-repair efficiency. Here we report our systematic characterization and direct determination of the ultrafast dynamics of resonance energy transfer from excited MTHF to three flavin redox states in E. coli photolyase by capturing the intermediates formed through the energy transfer and thus excluding the electron-transfer quenching pathway. We observed 170 ps for excitation energy transferring to the fully reduced hydroquinone FADH¯, 20 ps to the fully oxidized FAD, and 18 ps to the neutral semiquinone FADH(•), and the corresponding orientation factors (κ(2)) were determined to be 2.84, 1.53 and 1.26, respectively, perfectly matching with our calculated theoretical values. Thus, under physiological conditions and over the course of evolution, photolyase has adopted the optimized orientation of its photopigment to efficiently convert solar energy for repair of damaged DNA.

Time-variant random interval natural frequency analysis of structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Binhua; Wu, Di; Gao, Wei; Song, Chongmin

2018-02-01

This paper presents a new robust method namely, unified interval Chebyshev-based random perturbation method, to tackle hybrid random interval structural natural frequency problem. In the proposed approach, random perturbation method is implemented to furnish the statistical features (i.e., mean and standard deviation) and Chebyshev surrogate model strategy is incorporated to formulate the statistical information of natural frequency with regards to the interval inputs. The comprehensive analysis framework combines the superiority of both methods in a way that computational cost is dramatically reduced. This presented method is thus capable of investigating the day-to-day based time-variant natural frequency of structures accurately and efficiently under concrete intrinsic creep effect with probabilistic and interval uncertain variables. The extreme bounds of the mean and standard deviation of natural frequency are captured through the embedded optimization strategy within the analysis procedure. Three particularly motivated numerical examples with progressive relationship in perspective of both structure type and uncertainty variables are demonstrated to justify the computational applicability, accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method.

Nonlinear model-order reduction for compressible flow solvers using the Discrete Empirical Interpolation Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fosas de Pando, Miguel; Schmid, Peter J.; Sipp, Denis

2016-11-01

Nonlinear model reduction for large-scale flows is an essential component in many fluid applications such as flow control, optimization, parameter space exploration and statistical analysis. In this article, we generalize the POD-DEIM method, introduced by Chaturantabut & Sorensen [1], to address nonlocal nonlinearities in the equations without loss of performance or efficiency. The nonlinear terms are represented by nested DEIM-approximations using multiple expansion bases based on the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition. These extensions are imperative, for example, for applications of the POD-DEIM method to large-scale compressible flows. The efficient implementation of the presented model-reduction technique follows our earlier work [2] on linearized and adjoint analyses and takes advantage of the modular structure of our compressible flow solver. The efficacy of the nonlinear model-reduction technique is demonstrated to the flow around an airfoil and its acoustic footprint. We could obtain an accurate and robust low-dimensional model that captures the main features of the full flow.

Function-Space-Based Solution Scheme for the Size-Modified Poisson-Boltzmann Equation in Full-Potential DFT.

PubMed

Ringe, Stefan; Oberhofer, Harald; Hille, Christoph; Matera, Sebastian; Reuter, Karsten

2016-08-09

The size-modified Poisson-Boltzmann (MPB) equation is an efficient implicit solvation model which also captures electrolytic solvent effects. It combines an account of the dielectric solvent response with a mean-field description of solvated finite-sized ions. We present a general solution scheme for the MPB equation based on a fast function-space-oriented Newton method and a Green's function preconditioned iterative linear solver. In contrast to popular multigrid solvers, this approach allows us to fully exploit specialized integration grids and optimized integration schemes. We describe a corresponding numerically efficient implementation for the full-potential density-functional theory (DFT) code FHI-aims. We show that together with an additional Stern layer correction the DFT+MPB approach can describe the mean activity coefficient of a KCl aqueous solution over a wide range of concentrations. The high sensitivity of the calculated activity coefficient on the employed ionic parameters thereby suggests to use extensively tabulated experimental activity coefficients of salt solutions for a systematic parametrization protocol.

Shock capturing finite-difference and characteristic reference plane techniques for the prediction of three-dimensional nozzle-exhaust flowfields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dash, S.; Delguidice, P.

1978-01-01

This report summarizes work accomplished under Contract No. NAS1-12726 towards the development of computational procedures and associated numerical. The flow fields considered were those associated with airbreathing hypersonic aircraft which require a high degree of engine/airframe integration in order to achieve optimized performance. The exhaust flow, due to physical area limitations, was generally underexpanded at the nozzle exit; the vehicle afterbody undersurface was used to provide additional expansion to obtain maximum propulsive efficiency. This resulted in a three dimensional nozzle flow, initialized at the combustor exit, whose boundaries are internally defined by the undersurface, cowling and walls separating individual modules, and externally, by the undersurface and slipstream separating the exhaust flow and external stream.

Intelligent Work Process Engineering System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Kent E.

2003-01-01

Optimizing performance on work activities and processes requires metrics of performance for management to monitor and analyze in order to support further improvements in efficiency, effectiveness, safety, reliability and cost. Information systems are therefore required to assist management in making timely, informed decisions regarding these work processes and activities. Currently information systems regarding Space Shuttle maintenance and servicing do not exist to make such timely decisions. The work to be presented details a system which incorporates various automated and intelligent processes and analysis tools to capture organize and analyze work process related data, to make the necessary decisions to meet KSC organizational goals. The advantages and disadvantages of design alternatives to the development of such a system will be discussed including technologies, which would need to bedesigned, prototyped and evaluated.

Optimization of fluorescent imaging in the operating room through pulsed acquisition and gating to ambient background cycling

PubMed Central

Sexton, Kristian J.; Zhao, Yan; Davis, Scott C.; Jiang, Shudong; Pogue, Brian W.

2017-01-01

The design of fluorescence imaging instruments for surgical guidance is rapidly evolving, and a key issue is to efficiently capture signals with high ambient room lighting. Here, we introduce a novel time-gated approach to fluorescence imaging synchronizing acquisition to the 120 Hz light of the room, with pulsed LED excitation and gated ICCD detection. It is shown that under bright ambient room light this technique allows for the detection of physiologically relevant nanomolar fluorophore concentrations, and in particular reduces the light fluctuations present from the room lights, making low concentration measurements more reliable. This is particularly relevant for the light bands near 700nm that are more dominated by ambient lights. PMID:28663895

Electrostatically driven fog collection using space charge injection

PubMed Central

Damak, Maher; Varanasi, Kripa K.

2018-01-01

Fog collection can be a sustainable solution to water scarcity in many regions around the world. Most proposed collectors are meshes that rely on inertial collision for droplet capture and are inherently limited by aerodynamics. We propose a new approach in which we introduce electrical forces that can overcome aerodynamic drag forces. Using an ion emitter, we introduce a space charge into the fog to impart a net charge to the incoming fog droplets and direct them toward a collector using an imposed electric field. We experimentally measure the collection efficiency on single wires, two-wire systems, and meshes and propose a physical model to quantify it. We identify the regimes of optimal collection and provide insights into designing effective fog harvesting systems. PMID:29888324

Distributed Sensing and Processing for Multi-Camera Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sankaranarayanan, Aswin C.; Chellappa, Rama; Baraniuk, Richard G.

Sensor networks with large numbers of cameras are becoming increasingly prevalent in a wide range of applications, including video conferencing, motion capture, surveillance, and clinical diagnostics. In this chapter, we identify some of the fundamental challenges in designing such systems: robust statistical inference, computationally efficiency, and opportunistic and parsimonious sensing. We show that the geometric constraints induced by the imaging process are extremely useful for identifying and designing optimal estimators for object detection and tracking tasks. We also derive pipelined and parallelized implementations of popular tools used for statistical inference in non-linear systems, of which multi-camera systems are examples. Finally, we highlight the use of the emerging theory of compressive sensing in reducing the amount of data sensed and communicated by a camera network.

Optimization of PMA-PCR Protocol for Viability Detection of Pathogens

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mikkelson, Brian J.; Lee, Christine M.; Ponce, Adrian

2011-01-01

This presented study demonstrates the need that PMA-PCR can be used to capture the loss of viability of a sample that is much more specific and time-efficient than alternative methods. This protocol is particularly useful in scenarios in which sterilization treatments may inactivate organisms but not degrade their DNA. The use of a PCR-based method of pathogen detection without first inactivating the DNA of nonviable cells will potentially lead to false positives. The loss of culturability, by heat-killing, did not prevent amplified PCR products, which supports the use of PMA to prevent amplification and differentiate between viable and dead cells. PMA was shown to inhibit the amplification of DNA by PCR in vegetative cells that had been heat-killed.

T4 bacteriophage conjugated magnetic particles for E. coli capturing: Influence of bacteriophage loading, temperature and tryptone.

PubMed

Liana, Ayu Ekajayanthi; Marquis, Christopher P; Gunawan, Cindy; Gooding, J Justin; Amal, Rose

2017-03-01

This work demonstrates the use of bacteriophage conjugated magnetic particles (Fe 3 O 4 ) for the rapid capturing and isolation of Escherichia coli. The investigation of T4 bacteriophage adsorption to silane functionalised Fe 3 O 4 with amine (NH 2 ), carboxylic (COOH) and methyl (CH 3 ) surface functional groups reveals the domination of net electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions in governing bacteriophage adsorption. The bare Fe 3 O 4 and Fe 3 O 4 -NH 2 with high T4 loading captured 3-fold more E. coli (∼70% capturing efficiency) compared to the low loading T4 on Fe 3 O 4 -COOH, suggesting the significance of T4 loading in E. coli capturing efficiency. Importantly, it is further revealed that E. coli capture is highly dependent on the incubation temperature and the presence of tryptone in the media. Effective E. coli capturing only occurs at 37°C in tryptone-containing media with the absence of either conditions resulted in poor bacteria capture. The incubation temperature dictates the capturing ability of Fe 3 O 4 /T4, whereby T4 and E. coli need to establish an irreversible binding that occurred at 37°C. The presence of tryptophan-rich tryptone in the suspending media was also critical, as shown by a 3-fold increase in E. coli capture efficiency of Fe 3 O 4 /T4 in tryptone-containing media compared to that in tryptone-free media. This highlights for the first time that successful bacteria capturing requires not only an optimum tailoring of the particle's surface physicochemical properties for favourable bacteriophage loading, but also an in-depth understanding of how factors, such as temperature and solution chemistry influence the subsequent bacteriophage-bacteria interactions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimization of forest wildlife objectives

Treesearch

John Hof; Robert Haight

2007-01-01

This chapter presents an overview of methods for optimizing wildlife-related objectives. These objectives hinge on landscape pattern, so we refer to these methods as "spatial optimization." It is currently possible to directly capture deterministic characterizations of the most basic spatial relationships: proximity relationships (including those that lead to...

High-sensitivity HLA typing by Saturated Tiling Capture Sequencing (STC-Seq).

PubMed

Jiao, Yang; Li, Ran; Wu, Chao; Ding, Yibin; Liu, Yanning; Jia, Danmei; Wang, Lifeng; Xu, Xiang; Zhu, Jing; Zheng, Min; Jia, Junling

2018-01-15

Highly polymorphic human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes are responsible for fine-tuning the adaptive immune system. High-resolution HLA typing is important for the treatment of autoimmune and infectious diseases. Additionally, it is routinely performed for identifying matched donors in transplantation medicine. Although many HLA typing approaches have been developed, the complexity, low-efficiency and high-cost of current HLA-typing assays limit their application in population-based high-throughput HLA typing for donors, which is required for creating large-scale databases for transplantation and precision medicine. Here, we present a cost-efficient Saturated Tiling Capture Sequencing (STC-Seq) approach to capturing 14 HLA class I and II genes. The highly efficient capture (an approximately 23,000-fold enrichment) of these genes allows for simplified allele calling. Tests on five genes (HLA-A/B/C/DRB1/DQB1) from 31 human samples and 351 datasets using STC-Seq showed results that were 98% consistent with the known two sets of digitals (field1 and field2) genotypes. Additionally, STC can capture genomic DNA fragments longer than 3 kb from HLA loci, making the library compatible with the third-generation sequencing. STC-Seq is a highly accurate and cost-efficient method for HLA typing which can be used to facilitate the establishment of population-based HLA databases for the precision and transplantation medicine.

Predicting the ultimate potential of natural gas SOFC power cycles with CO2 capture - Part B: Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campanari, Stefano; Mastropasqua, Luca; Gazzani, Matteo; Chiesa, Paolo; Romano, Matteo C.

2016-09-01

An important advantage of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) as future systems for large scale power generation is the possibility of being efficiently integrated with processes for CO2 capture. Focusing on natural gas power generation, Part A of this work assessed the performances of advanced pressurised and atmospheric plant configurations (SOFC + GT and SOFC + ST, with fuel cell integration within a gas turbine or a steam turbine cycle) without CO2 separation. This Part B paper investigates such kind of power cycles when applied to CO2 capture, proposing two ultra-high efficiency plant configurations based on advanced intermediate-temperature SOFCs with internal reforming and low temperature CO2 separation process. The power plants are simulated at the 100 MW scale with a set of realistic assumptions about FC performances, main components and auxiliaries, and show the capability of exceeding 70% LHV efficiency with high CO2 capture (above 80%) and a low specific primary energy consumption for the CO2 avoided (1.1-2.4 MJ kg-1). Detailed results are presented in terms of energy and material balances, and a sensitivity analysis of plant performance is developed vs. FC voltage and fuel utilisation to investigate possible long-term improvements. Options for further improvement of the CO2 capture efficiency are also addressed.

Marker optimization for facial motion acquisition and deformation.

PubMed

Le, Binh H; Zhu, Mingyang; Deng, Zhigang

2013-11-01

A long-standing problem in marker-based facial motion capture is what are the optimal facial mocap marker layouts. Despite its wide range of potential applications, this problem has not yet been systematically explored to date. This paper describes an approach to compute optimized marker layouts for facial motion acquisition as optimization of characteristic control points from a set of high-resolution, ground-truth facial mesh sequences. Specifically, the thin-shell linear deformation model is imposed onto the example pose reconstruction process via optional hard constraints such as symmetry and multiresolution constraints. Through our experiments and comparisons, we validate the effectiveness, robustness, and accuracy of our approach. Besides guiding minimal yet effective placement of facial mocap markers, we also describe and demonstrate its two selected applications: marker-based facial mesh skinning and multiresolution facial performance capture.

Characterization of the Gamma Response of a Cadmium Capture-gated Neutron Spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hogan, Nathaniel; Rees, Lawrence; Czirr, Bart; Bastola, Suraj

2010-10-01

We have studied the gamma response of a newly developed capture-gated neutron spectrometer. Such spectrometers detect a dual signal from incoming neutrons, allowing for differentiation between other particles, such as gamma rays. The neutron provides a primary light pulse in either plastic or liquid scintillator through neutron-proton collisions. A capture material then delivers a second pulse as the moderated neutron captures in the intended material, which then de-excites with the release of gamma energy. The presented spectrometer alternates one centimeter thick plastic scintillators with sheets of cadmium inserted in between for neutron capture. The neutron capture in cadmium offers a release of gamma energy ˜ 9 MeV. To verify that the interaction was caused by a neutron, the response functions of both events must be well known. Due to the prior existence of many capture-gated neutron spectrometers, the proton recoil pulse has already been studied, but the capture pulse is unique to each spectrometer and must be measured. Experimental results agree with theoretical Monte-Carlo code, both suggesting that the optics and geometry of the spectrometer play a large role in its efficiency. Results prove promising for the efficiency of the spectrometer.

40 CFR 63.4165 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... of appendix M to 40 CFR part 51 to determine the mass fraction of TVH liquid input from each coating... materials used in the coating operation during the capture efficiency test run, kg. TVHi = mass fraction of... compares the mass of liquid TVH in materials used in the coating operation, to the mass of TVH emissions...

40 CFR 63.4165 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... of appendix M to 40 CFR part 51 to determine the mass fraction of TVH liquid input from each coating... materials used in the coating operation during the capture efficiency test run, kg. TVHi = mass fraction of... compares the mass of liquid TVH in materials used in the coating operation, to the mass of TVH emissions...

40 CFR 63.4361 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Method 204A or 204F of appendix M to 40 CFR part 51 to determine the mass fraction of TVH liquid input... the capture efficiency test run, kg. TVHi = Mass fraction of TVH in regulated material, i, that is... protocol compares the mass of liquid TVH in regulated materials applied in the web coating/printing or...

40 CFR 63.4361 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Method 204A or 204F of appendix M to 40 CFR part 51 to determine the mass fraction of TVH liquid input... the capture efficiency test run, kg. TVHi = Mass fraction of TVH in regulated material, i, that is... protocol compares the mass of liquid TVH in regulated materials applied in the web coating/printing or...

Electronic Equipment Proposal to Improve the Photovoltaic Systems Efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores-Mena, J. E.; Juárez Morán, L. A.; Díaz Reyes, J.

2011-05-01

This paper reports a new technique proposal to improve the photovoltaic systems. It was made to design and implement an electronic system that will detect, capture, and transfer the maximum power of the photovoltaic (PV) panel to optimize the supplied power of a solar panel. The electronic system works on base technical proposal of electrical sweeping of electric characteristics using capacitive impedance. The maximum power is transformed and the solar panel energy is sent to an automotive battery. This electronic system reduces the energy lost originated when the solar radiation level decreases or the PV panel temperature is increased. This electronic system tracks, captures, and stores the PV module's maximum power into a capacitor. After, a higher voltage level step-up circuit was designed to increase the voltage of the PV module's maximum power and then its current can be sent to a battery. The experimental results show that the developed electronic system has 95% efficiency. The measurement was made to 50 W, the electronic system works rightly with solar radiation rate from 100 to 1,000 W m - 2 and the PV panel temperature rate changed from 1 to 75°C. The main advantage of this electronic system compared with conventional methods is the elimination of microprocessors, computers, and sophisticated numerical approximations, and it does not need any small electrical signals to track the maximum power. The proposed method is simple, fast, and it is also cheaper.

Quasi-isochronous muon collection channels

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

Ankenbrandt, Charles M.; Neuffer, David; Johnson, Rolland P.

2015-04-26

Intense muon beams have many potential commercial and scientific applications, ranging from low-energy investigations of the basic properties of matter using spin resonance to large energy-frontier muon colliders. However, muons originate from a tertiary process that produces a diffuse swarm. To make useful beams, the swarm must be rapidly captured and cooled before the muons decay. In this STTR project a promising new concept for the collection and cooling of muon beams to increase their intensity and reduce their emittances was investigated, namely, the use of a nearly isochronous helical cooling channel (HCC) to facilitate capture of the muons intomore » RF bunches. The muon beam can then be cooled quickly and coalesced efficiently to optimize the luminosity of a muon collider, or could provide compressed muon beams for other applications. Optimal ways to integrate such a subsystem into the rest of a muon collection and cooling system, for collider and other applications, were developed by analysis and simulation. The application of quasi-isochronous helical cooling channels (QIHCC) for RF capture of muon beams was developed. Innovative design concepts for a channel incorporating straight solenoids, a matching section, and an HCC, including RF and absorber, were developed, and its subsystems were simulated. Additionally, a procedure that uses an HCC to combine bunches for a muon collider was invented and simulated. Difficult design aspects such as matching sections between subsystems and intensity-dependent effects were addressed. The bunch recombination procedure was developed into a complete design with 3-D simulations. Bright muon beams are needed for many commercial and scientific reasons. Potential commercial applications include low-dose radiography, muon catalyzed fusion, and the use of muon beams to screen cargo containers for homeland security. Scientific uses include low energy beams for rare process searches, muon spin resonance applications, muon beams for neutrino factories, and muon colliders as Higgs factories or energy-frontier discovery machines.« less

The effects of surface wettability on the fog and dew moisture harvesting performance on tubular surfaces

PubMed Central

Seo, Donghyun; Lee, Junghun; Lee, Choongyeop; Nam, Youngsuk

2016-01-01

The efficient water harvesting from air-laden moisture has been a subject of great interest to address world-wide water shortage issues. Recently, it has been shown that tailoring surface wettability can enhance the moisture harvesting performance. However, depending on the harvesting condition, a different conclusion has often been reported and it remains unclear what type of surface wettability would be desirable for the efficient water harvesting under the given condition. Here we compare the water harvesting performance of the surfaces with various wettability under two different harvesting conditions–dewing and fogging, and show that the different harvesting efficiency of each surface under these two conditions can be understood by considering the relative importance of the water capturing and removal efficiency of the surface. At fogging, the moisture harvesting performance is determined by the water removal efficiency of the surface with the oil-infused surfaces exhibiting the best performance. Meanwhile, at dewing, both the water capturing and removal efficiency are crucial to the harvesting performance. And well-wetting surfaces with a lower barrier to nucleation of condensates exhibit a better harvesting performance due to the increasing importance of the water capture efficiency over the water removal efficiency at dewing. PMID:27063149

Robust portfolio selection based on asymmetric measures of variability of stock returns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wei; Tan, Shaohua

2009-10-01

This paper addresses a new uncertainty set--interval random uncertainty set for robust optimization. The form of interval random uncertainty set makes it suitable for capturing the downside and upside deviations of real-world data. These deviation measures capture distributional asymmetry and lead to better optimization results. We also apply our interval random chance-constrained programming to robust mean-variance portfolio selection under interval random uncertainty sets in the elements of mean vector and covariance matrix. Numerical experiments with real market data indicate that our approach results in better portfolio performance.

Annual Report: Carbon Capture Simulation Initiative (CCSI) (30 September 2013)

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

Miller, David C.; Syamlal, Madhava; Cottrell, Roger

2013-09-30

The Carbon Capture Simulation Initiative (CCSI) is a partnership among national laboratories, industry and academic institutions that is developing and deploying state-of-the-art computational modeling and simulation tools to accelerate the commercialization of carbon capture technologies from discovery to development, demonstration, and ultimately the widespread deployment to hundreds of power plants. The CCSI Toolset will provide end users in industry with a comprehensive, integrated suite of scientifically validated models, with uncertainty quantification (UQ), optimization, risk analysis and decision making capabilities. The CCSI Toolset incorporates commercial and open-source software currently in use by industry and is also developing new software tools asmore » necessary to fill technology gaps identified during execution of the project. Ultimately, the CCSI Toolset will (1) enable promising concepts to be more quickly identified through rapid computational screening of devices and processes; (2) reduce the time to design and troubleshoot new devices and processes; (3) quantify the technical risk in taking technology from laboratory-scale to commercial-scale; and (4) stabilize deployment costs more quickly by replacing some of the physical operational tests with virtual power plant simulations. CCSI is led by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and leverages the Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories’ core strengths in modeling and simulation, bringing together the best capabilities at NETL, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The CCSI’s industrial partners provide representation from the power generation industry, equipment manufacturers, technology providers and engineering and construction firms. The CCSI’s academic participants (Carnegie Mellon University, Princeton University, West Virginia University, Boston University and the University of Texas at Austin) bring unparalleled expertise in multiphase flow reactors, combustion, process synthesis and optimization, planning and scheduling, and process control techniques for energy processes. During Fiscal Year (FY) 13, CCSI announced the initial release of its first set of computational tools and models during the October 2012 meeting of its Industry Advisory Board. This initial release led to five companies licensing the CCSI Toolset under a Test and Evaluation Agreement this year. By the end of FY13, the CCSI Technical Team had completed development of an updated suite of computational tools and models. The list below summarizes the new and enhanced toolset components that were released following comprehensive testing during October 2013. 1. FOQUS. Framework for Optimization and Quantification of Uncertainty and Sensitivity. Package includes: FOQUS Graphic User Interface (GUI), simulation-based optimization engine, Turbine Client, and heat integration capabilities. There is also an updated simulation interface and new configuration GUI for connecting Aspen Plus or Aspen Custom Modeler (ACM) simulations to FOQUS and the Turbine Science Gateway. 2. A new MFIX-based Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to predict particle attrition. 3. A new dynamic reduced model (RM) builder, which generates computationally efficient RMs of the behavior of a dynamic system. 4. A completely re-written version of the algebraic surrogate model builder for optimization (ALAMO). The new version is several orders of magnitude faster than the initial release and eliminates the MATLAB dependency. 5. A new suite of high resolution filtered models for the hydrodynamics associated with horizontal cylindrical objects in a flow path. 6. The new Turbine Science Gateway (Cluster), which supports FOQUS for running multiple simulations for optimization or UQ using a local computer or cluster. 7. A new statistical tool (BSS-ANOVA-UQ) for calibration and validation of CFD models. 8. A new basic data submodel in Aspen Plus format for a representative high viscosity capture solvent, 2-MPZ system. 9. An updated RM tool for CFD (REVEAL) that can create a RM from MFIX. A new lightweight, stand-alone version will be available in late 2013. 10. An updated RM integration tool to convert the RM from REVEAL into a CAPE-OPEN or ACM model for use in a process simulator. 11. An updated suite of unified steady-state and dynamic process models for solid sorbent carbon capture included bubbling fluidized bed and moving bed reactors. 12. An updated and unified set of compressor models including steady-state design point model and dynamic model with surge detection. 13. A new framework for the synthesis and optimization of coal oxycombustion power plants using advanced optimization algorithms. This release focuses on modeling and optimization of a cryogenic air separation unit (ASU). 14. A new technical risk model in spreadsheet format. 15. An updated version of the sorbent kinetic/equilibrium model for parameter estimation for the 1st generation sorbent model. 16. An updated process synthesis superstructure model to determine optimal process configurations utilizing surrogate models from ALAMO for adsorption and regeneration in a solid sorbent process. 17. Validation models for NETL Carbon Capture Unit utilizing sorbent AX. Additional validation models will be available for sorbent 32D in 2014. 18. An updated hollow fiber membrane model and system example for carbon capture. 19. An updated reference power plant model in Thermoflex that includes additional steam extraction and reinjection points to enable heat integration module. 20. An updated financial risk model in spreadsheet format.« less

Automated generation and optimization of ballistic lunar capture transfer trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griesemer, Paul Ricord

The successful completion of the Hiten mission in 1991 provided real-world validation of a class of trajectories defined as ballistic lunar capture transfers. This class of transfers is often considered for missions to the Moon and for tours of the moons of other planets. In this study, the dynamics of the three and four body problems are examined to better explain the mechanisms of low energy transfers in the Earth-Moon system, and to determine their optimality. Families of periodic orbits in the restricted Earth-Sun-spacecraft three body problem are shown to be generating families for low energy transfers between orbits of the Earth. The low energy orbit-to-orbit transfers are shown to require less fuel than optimal direct transfers between the same orbits in the Earth-Sun-spacecraft circular restricted three body problem. The low energy transfers are categorized based on their generating family and the number of flybys in the reference three body trajectory. The practical application of these generating families to spacecraft mission design is demonstrated through a robust nonlinear targeting algorithm for finding Sun-Earth-Moon-spacecraft four body transfers based on startup transfers indentified in the Earth-Sun three body problem. The local optimality of the transfers is examined through use of Lawden's primer vector theory, and new conditions of optimality for single-impulse-to-capture lunar transfers are established.

Optimal Allocation of Sampling Effort in Depletion Surveys

EPA Science Inventory

We consider the problem of designing a depletion or removal survey as part of estimating animal abundance for populations with imperfect capture or detection rates. In a depletion survey, animals are captured from a given area, counted, and withheld from the population. This proc...

Optimization of Pressurized Oxy-Combustion with Flameless Reactor

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

Malavasi, Massimo; Landegger, Gregory

2014-06-30

Pressurized OxyECombustion is one of the most promising technologies for utility-scale power generation plants. Benefits include the ability to burn low rank coal and capture CO 2. By increasing the flue gas pressure during this process, greater efficiencies are derived from increased quantity and quality of thermal energy recovery. UPA with modeling support from MIT and testing and data verification by Georgia Tech’s Research Center designed and built a 100 kW system capable of demonstrating pressurized oxyEcombustion using a flameless combustor. Wyoming PRB coal was run at 15 and 32 bar. Additional tests were not completed but sampled data demonstratedmore » the viability of the technology over a broader range of operating pressures, Modeling results illustrated a flat efficiency curve over 20 bar, with optimum efficiency achieved at 29 bar. This resulted in a 33% (HHV) efficiency, a 5 points increase in efficiency versus atmospheric oxy-combustion, and a competitive cost of electricity plus greater CO 2 avoidance costs then prior study’s presented. UPA’s operation of the bench-scale system provided evidence that key performance targets were achieved: flue gas sampled at the combustor outlet had non-detectable residual fly ashes, and low levels of SO3 and heavy-metal. These results correspond to prior pressurized oxy-combustion testing completed by IteaEEnel.« less

Trade-off between bandwidth and efficiency in semipolar (20 2 ¯ 1 ¯) InGaN/GaN single- and multiple-quantum-well light-emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monavarian, M.; Rashidi, A.; Aragon, A. A.; Nami, M.; Oh, S. H.; DenBaars, S. P.; Feezell, D.

2018-05-01

InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with large modulation bandwidths are desirable for visible-light communication. Along with modulation speed, the consideration of the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) under operating conditions is also important. Here, we report the modulation characteristics of semipolar (20 2 ¯ 1 ¯ ) InGaN/GaN (LEDs) with single-quantum well (SQW) and multiple-quantum-well (MQW) active regions grown on free-standing semipolar GaN substrates with peak internal quantum efficiencies (IQEs) of 0.93 and 0.73, respectively. The MQW LEDs exhibit on average about 40-80% higher modulation bandwidth, reaching 1.5 GHz at 13 kA/cm2, but about 27% lower peak IQE than the SQW LEDs. We extract the differential carrier lifetimes (DLTs), RC parasitics, and carrier escape lifetimes and discuss their role in the bandwidth and IQE characteristics. A coulomb-enhanced capture process is shown to rapidly reduce the DLT of the MQW LED at high current densities. Auger recombination is also shown to play little role in increasing the speed of the LEDs. Finally, we investigate the trade-offs between the bandwidth and efficiency and introduce the bandwidth-IQE product as a potential figure of merit for optimizing speed and efficiency in InGaN/GaN LEDs.

Effective remediation of phenol,2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in farm effluent using Guar gum--A plant based biopolymer.

PubMed

Kee, Yang Ling; Mukherjee, Sumona; Pariatamby, Agamuthu

2015-10-01

This study was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of Guar gum in removing Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), viz. phenol,2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), from farm effluent. The removal efficiency was compared with alum. The results indicated that 4.0 mg L(-1) of Guar gum at pH 7 could remove 99.70% and 99.99% of phenol,2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl) and DEHP, respectively. Box Behnken design was used for optimization of the operating parameters for optimal POPs removal. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy studies were conducted on the flocs. SEM micrographs showed numerous void spaces in the flocs produced by Guar gum as opposed to those produced by alum. This indicated why Guar gum was more effective in capturing and removal of suspended particles and POPs as compared to alum. FTIR spectra indicated a shift in the bonding of functional groups in the flocs produced by Guar gum as compared to raw Guar gum powder signifying chemical attachment of the organics present in the effluent to the coagulant resulting in their removal. Guar gum is highly recommended as a substitute to chemical coagulant in treating POPs due to its non-toxic and biodegradable characteristics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Regulation of C:N:P stoichiometry of microbes and soil organic matter by optimizing enzyme allocation: an omics-informed model study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Y.; Yao, Q.; Wang, G.; Yang, X.; Mayes, M. A.

2017-12-01

Increasing evidences is indicating that soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition and stabilization process is a continuum process and controlled by both microbial functions and their interaction with minerals (known as the microbial efficiency-matrix stabilization theory (MEMS)). Our metagenomics analysis of soil samples from both P-deficit and P-fertilization sites in Panama has demonstrated that community-level enzyme functions could adapt to maximize the acquisition of limiting nutrients and minimize energy demand for foraging (known as the optimal foraging theory). This optimization scheme can mitigate the imbalance of C/P ratio between soil substrate and microbial community and relieve the P limitation on microbial carbon use efficiency over the time. Dynamic allocation of multiple enzyme groups and their interaction with microbial/substrate stoichiometry has rarely been considered in biogeochemical models due to the difficulties in identifying microbial functional groups and quantifying the change in enzyme expression in response to soil nutrient availability. This study aims to represent the omics-informed optimal foraging theory in the Continuum Microbial ENzyme Decomposition model (CoMEND), which was developed to represent the continuum SOM decomposition process following the MEMS theory. The SOM pools in the model are classified based on soil chemical composition (i.e. Carbohydrates, lignin, N-rich SOM and P-rich SOM) and the degree of SOM depolymerization. The enzyme functional groups for decomposition of each SOM pool and N/P mineralization are identified by the relative composition of gene copy numbers. The responses of microbial activities and SOM decomposition to nutrient availability are simulated by optimizing the allocation of enzyme functional groups following the optimal foraging theory. The modeled dynamic enzyme allocation in response to P availability is evaluated by the metagenomics data measured from P addition and P-deficit soil samples in Panama sites.The implementation of dynamic enzyme allocation in response to nutrient availability in the CoMEND model enables us to capture the varying microbial C/P ratio and soil carbon dynamics in response to shifting nutrient constraints over time in tropical soils.

Analysis and Optimization of Building Energy Consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuah, Jun Wei

Energy is one of the most important resources required by modern human society. In 2010, energy expenditures represented 10% of global gross domestic product (GDP). By 2035, global energy consumption is expected to increase by more than 50% from current levels. The increased pace of global energy consumption leads to significant environmental and socioeconomic issues: (i) carbon emissions, from the burning of fossil fuels for energy, contribute to global warming, and (ii) increased energy expenditures lead to reduced standard of living. Efficient use of energy, through energy conservation measures, is an important step toward mitigating these effects. Residential and commercial buildings represent a prime target for energy conservation, comprising 21% of global energy consumption and 40% of the total energy consumption in the United States. This thesis describes techniques for the analysis and optimization of building energy consumption. The thesis focuses on building retrofits and building energy simulation as key areas in building energy optimization and analysis. The thesis first discusses and evaluates building-level renewable energy generation as a solution toward building energy optimization. The thesis next describes a novel heating system, called localized heating. Under localized heating, building occupants are heated individually by directed radiant heaters, resulting in a considerably reduced heated space and significant heating energy savings. To support localized heating, a minimally-intrusive indoor occupant positioning system is described. The thesis then discusses occupant-level sensing (OLS) as the next frontier in building energy optimization. OLS captures the exact environmental conditions faced by each building occupant, using sensors that are carried by all building occupants. The information provided by OLS enables fine-grained optimization for unprecedented levels of energy efficiency and occupant comfort. The thesis also describes a retrofit-oriented building energy simulator, ROBESim, that natively supports building retrofits. ROBESim extends existing building energy simulators by providing a platform for the analysis of novel retrofits, in addition to simulating existing retrofits. Using ROBESim, retrofits can be automatically applied to buildings, obviating the need for users to manually update building characteristics for comparisons between different building retrofits. ROBESim also includes several ease-of-use enhancements to support users of all experience levels.

Shockley-Read-Hall recombination in pre-filled and photo-filled intermediate band solar cells

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

Mayani, Maryam Gholami; Reenaas, Turid Worren, E-mail: turid.reenaas@ntnu.no

2014-08-18

In this work, we study how Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination via energy levels in the bandgap, caused by defects or impurities, affects the performance of both photo-filled and pre-filled intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs). For a pre-filled cell, the IB is half-filled in equilibrium, while it is empty for the photo-filled cell in equilibrium. The energy level, density, and capture cross-sections of the defects/impurities are varied systematically. We find that the photo-filled cells are, in general, less efficient than pre-filled cells, except when the defect level is between the conduction band and the IB. In that case, for a range ofmore » light intensities, the photo-filled cell performs better than the pre-filled. When the defect level is at the same energy as the IB, the efficiency is above 82% of the defect-free case, when less than 50% of the states at the IB lead to SRH recombination. This shows that even if SRH recombination via the IB takes place, high efficiencies can be achieved. We also show that band gap optimization can be used to reduce the SRH recombination.« less

Development of an efficient pheromone-based trapping method for the banana root borer Cosmopolites sordidus.

PubMed

Reddy, G V P; Cruz, Z T; Guerrero, A

2009-01-01

The banana root borer Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a major pest of bananas throughout the world. Chemical control is both undesirable and expensive, where biological control alternatives are limited, and pheromone-based trapping results in low captures. In this study, several important factors that affect pheromone-based catches, such as trap type, trap dimensions, and color and position of the traps, were optimized. Ground traps were found to be superior to ramp and pitfall traps, and larger traps (40 x 25 cm and above) were more efficient than smaller ones (30 x 15 cm). In a color-choice test, the banana weevil clearly preferred brown traps over yellow, red, gray, blue, black, white, and green, with mahogany being more attractive than other shades of brown. In addition, pheromone baited ground traps positioned in the shade of the canopy caught significantly more adults than those placed in sunlight. Therefore, mahogany-brown ground traps 40 x 25 cm appear to be the most efficient at catching C. sordidus adults and have the greatest potential for use in mass trapping and programs for eradication of this pest.

Cash efficiency for bank branches.

PubMed

Cabello, Julia García

2013-01-01

Bank liquidity management has become a major issue during the financial crisis as liquidity shortages have intensified and have put pressure on banks to diversity and improve their liquidity sources. While a significant strand of the literature concentrates on wholesale liquidity generation and on the alternative to deposit funding, the management of an inventory of cash holdings within the banks' branches is also a relevant issue as any significant improvement in cash management at the bank distribution channels may have a positive effect in reducing liquidity tensions. In this paper, we propose a simple programme of cash efficiency for the banks' branches, very easy to implement, which conform to a set of instructions to be imposed from the bank to their branches. This model proves to significantly reduce cash holdings at branches thereby providing efficiency improvements in liquidity management. The methodology we propose is based on the definition of some stochastic processes combined with renewal processes, which capture the random elements of the cash flow, before applying suitable optimization programmes to all the costs involved in cash movements. The classical issue of the Transaction Demand for the Cash and some aspects of Inventory Theory are also present. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) C02, C60, E50.

An efficient intensity-based ready-to-use X-ray image stitcher.

PubMed

Wang, Junchen; Zhang, Xiaohui; Sun, Zhen; Yuan, Fuzhen

2018-06-14

The limited field of view of the X-ray image intensifier makes it difficult to cover a large target area with a single X-ray image. X-ray image stitching techniques have been proposed to produce a panoramic X-ray image. This paper presents an efficient intensity-based X-ray image stitcher, which does not rely on accurate C-arm motion control or auxiliary devices and hence is ready to use in clinic. The stitcher consumes sequentially captured X-ray images with overlap areas and automatically produces a panoramic image. The gradient information for optimization of image alignment is obtained using a back-propagation scheme so that it is convenient to adopt various image warping models. The proposed stitcher has the following advantages over existing methods: (1) no additional hardware modification or auxiliary markers are needed; (2) it is robust against feature-based approaches; (3) arbitrary warping models and shapes of the region of interest are supported; (4) seamless stitching is achieved using multi-band blending. Experiments have been performed to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed X-ray image stitcher is efficient, accurate and ready to use in clinic. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

40 CFR 63.3544 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... the coating operation during the capture efficiency test run, kg. TVHi = Mass fraction of TVH in... the mass of liquid TVH in materials used in the coating operation to the mass of TVH emissions not... 40 CFR part 51. (2) Use Method 204A or 204F of appendix M to 40 CFR part 51 to determine the mass...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Kk of... - Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... approach follows: 4.3A source conducts an initial series of at least three runs. The owner or operator may... Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency Protocols and Test Methods A Appendix A to... to Subpart KK of Part 63—Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Kk of... - Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... approach follows: 4.3A source conducts an initial series of at least three runs. The owner or operator may... Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency Protocols and Test Methods A Appendix A to... to Subpart KK of Part 63—Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Kk of... - Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... of the LCL approach follows: 4.3A source conducts an initial series of at least three runs. The owner... Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency Protocols and Test Methods A Appendix A to... to Subpart KK of Part 63—Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Kk of... - Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... approach follows: 4.3A source conducts an initial series of at least three runs. The owner or operator may... Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative Capture Efficiency Protocols and Test Methods A Appendix A to... to Subpart KK of Part 63—Data Quality Objective and Lower Confidence Limit Approaches for Alternative...

Washable antimicrobial polyester/aluminum air filter with a high capture efficiency and low pressure drop.

PubMed

Choi, Dong Yun; Heo, Ki Joon; Kang, Juhee; An, Eun Jeong; Jung, Soo-Ho; Lee, Byung Uk; Lee, Hye Moon; Jung, Jae Hee

2018-06-05

Here, we introduce a reusable bifunctional polyester/aluminum (PET/Al) air filter for the high efficiency simultaneous capture and inactivation of airborne microorganisms. Both bacteria of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis were collected on the PET/Al filter with a high efficiency rate (∼99.99%) via the electrostatic interactions between the charged bacteria and fibers without sacrificing pressure drop. The PET/Al filter experienced a pressure drop approximately 10 times lower per thickness compared with a commercial high-efficiency particulate air filter. As the Al nanograins grew on the fibers, the antimicrobial activity against airborne E. coli and S. epidermidis improved to ∼94.8% and ∼96.9%, respectively, due to the reinforced hydrophobicity and surface roughness of the filter. Moreover, the capture and antimicrobial performances were stably maintained during a cyclic washing test of the PET/Al filter, indicative of its reusability. The PET/Al filter shows great potential for use in energy-efficient bioaerosol control systems suitable for indoor environments. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A CO2-Free Synthetic Host-Odor Mixture That Attracts and Captures Triatomines: Effect of Emitted Odorant Ratios.

PubMed

Guidobaldi, F; Guerenstein, P G

2016-07-01

Triatomines, vectors of Chagas Disease, are hematophagous insects. Efforts have been made to develop synthetic attractants based on vertebrate odor-to lure them into traps. However, because those lures are not practical or have low capture efficiency, they are not in use in control programs. Therefore, more work is needed to reach a practical and efficient odor lure. Recently, a three-component, CO 2 -free, synthetic blend of vertebrate odor (consisting of ammonia, l-(+)-lactic acid, and hexanoic acid), known as Sweetscent (Biogents AG, Regensburg, Germany), was shown to attract and capture triatomines in the laboratory. In this study, using a trap olfactometer and an odor blend with constituents similar to those of Sweetscent (delivered from low-density polyethylene sachets) we found that the odorant ratios of the mixtures have a strong effect in the capture of triatomines. The blend with the most efficient combination of odorant ratios evoked ca. 81% capture in two relevant triatomine species. In the case of the most effective odor mixtures, we measured the odor mass emission for the three components of the mixture and therefore were able to estimate the odorant ratios emitted that were responsible for such a high capture performance. Thus, in those mixtures, pentanoic acid was the main component (ca. 65 %) followed by ammonia (ca. 28%) and, l(+)-lactic acid (ca. 7 %). Our results are encouraging as efficient, practical, and cheap odor baits to trap triatomines in the field would be within reach. The odor-delivery system used should be improved to increase stability of odor emission. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A Study on The Development of Local Exhaust Ventilation System (LEV’s) for Installation of Laser Cutting Machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harun, S. I.; Idris, S. R. A.; Tamar Jaya, N.

2017-09-01

Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) is an engineering system frequently used in the workplace to protect operators from hazardous substances. The objective of this project is design and fabricate the ventilation system as installation for chamber room of laser cutting machine and to stimulate the air flow inside chamber room of laser cutting machine with the ventilation system that designed. LEV’s fabricated with rated voltage D.C 10.8V and 1.5 ampere. Its capacity 600 ml, continuously use limit approximately 12-15 minute, overall length LEV’s fabricated is 966 mm with net weight 0.88 kg and maximum airflow is 1.3 meter cubic per minute. Stimulate the air flow inside chamber room of laser cutting machine with the ventilation system that designed and fabricated overall result get 2 main gas vapor which air and carbon dioxide. For air gas which experimented by using anemometer, general duct velocity that produce is same with other gas produce, carbon dioxide which 5 m/s until 10 m/s. Overall result for 5 m/s and 10 m/s as minimum and maximum duct velocity produce for both air and carbon dioxide. The air gas flow velocity that captured by LEV’s fabricated, 3.998 m/s average velocity captured from 5 m/s duct velocity which it efficiency of 79.960% and 7.667 m/s average velocity captured from 10 m/s duct velocity with efficiency of 76.665%. For carbon dioxide gas flow velocity that captured by LEV’s fabricated, 3.674 m/s average velocity captured from 5 m/s duct velocity which it efficiency of 73.480% and 8.255 m/s average velocity captured from 10 m/s duct velocity with efficiency of 82.545%.

Comparison of Artificial Immune System and Particle Swarm Optimization Techniques for Error Optimization of Machine Vision Based Tool Movements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahapatra, Prasant Kumar; Sethi, Spardha; Kumar, Amod

2015-10-01

In conventional tool positioning technique, sensors embedded in the motion stages provide the accurate tool position information. In this paper, a machine vision based system and image processing technique for motion measurement of lathe tool from two-dimensional sequential images captured using charge coupled device camera having a resolution of 250 microns has been described. An algorithm was developed to calculate the observed distance travelled by the tool from the captured images. As expected, error was observed in the value of the distance traversed by the tool calculated from these images. Optimization of errors due to machine vision system, calibration, environmental factors, etc. in lathe tool movement was carried out using two soft computing techniques, namely, artificial immune system (AIS) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). The results show better capability of AIS over PSO.

Enhanced Cell Capture on Functionalized Graphene Oxide Nanosheets through Oxygen Clustering.

PubMed

Bardhan, Neelkanth M; Kumar, Priyank V; Li, Zeyang; Ploegh, Hidde L; Grossman, Jeffrey C; Belcher, Angela M; Chen, Guan-Yu

2017-02-28

With the global rise in incidence of cancer and infectious diseases, there is a need for the development of techniques to diagnose, treat, and monitor these conditions. The ability to efficiently capture and isolate cells and other biomolecules from peripheral whole blood for downstream analyses is a necessary requirement. Graphene oxide (GO) is an attractive template nanomaterial for such biosensing applications. Favorable properties include its two-dimensional architecture and wide range of functionalization chemistries, offering significant potential to tailor affinity toward aromatic functional groups expressed in biomolecules of interest. However, a limitation of current techniques is that as-synthesized GO nanosheets are used directly in sensing applications, and the benefits of their structural modification on the device performance have remained unexplored. Here, we report a microfluidic-free, sensitive, planar device on treated GO substrates to enable quick and efficient capture of Class-II MHC-positive cells from murine whole blood. We achieve this by using a mild thermal annealing treatment on the GO substrates, which drives a phase transformation through oxygen clustering. Using a combination of experimental observations and MD simulations, we demonstrate that this process leads to improved reactivity and density of functionalization of cell capture agents, resulting in an enhanced cell capture efficiency of 92 ± 7% at room temperature, almost double the efficiency afforded by devices made using as-synthesized GO (54 ± 3%). Our work highlights a scalable, cost-effective, general approach to improve the functionalization of GO, which creates diverse opportunities for various next-generation device applications.

EVALUATION OF ENGINEERING CONTROLS FOR THE MIXING OF FLAVORINGS CONTAINING DIACETYL AND OTHER VOLATILE INGREDIENTS

PubMed Central

Hirst, Deborah V.L.; Dunn, Kevin H.; Shulman, Stanley A.; Hammond, Duane R.; Sestito, Nicholas

2015-01-01

Exposures to diacetyl, a primary ingredient of butter flavoring, have been shown to cause respiratory disease among workers who mix flavorings. This study focused on evaluating ventilation controls designed to reduce emissions from the flavor mixing tanks, the major source of diacetyl in the plants. Five exhaust hood configurations were evaluated in the laboratory: standard hinged lid-opened, standard hinged lid-closed, hinged lid-slotted, dome with 38-mm gap, and dome with 114-mm gap. Tracer gas tests were performed to evaluate quantitative capture efficiency for each hood. A perforated copper coil was used to simulate an area source within the 1.2-meter diameter mixing tank. Capture efficiencies were measured at four hood exhaust flow rates (2.83, 5.66, 11.3, and 17.0 cubic meters per minute) and three cross draft velocities (0, 30, and 60 meters per minute). All hoods evaluated performed well with capture efficiencies above 90% for most combinations of exhaust volume and cross drafts. The standard hinged lid was the least expensive to manufacture and had the best average capture efficiency (over 99%) in the closed configuration for all exhaust flow rates and cross drafts. The hinged lid-slotted hood had some of the lowest capture efficiencies at the low exhaust flow rates compared to the other hood designs. The standard hinged lid performed well, even in the open position, and it provided a flexible approach to controlling emissions from mixing tanks. The dome hood gave results comparable to the standard hinged lid but it is more expensive to manufacture. The results of the study indicate that emissions from mixing tanks used in the production of flavorings can be controlled using simple inexpensive exhaust hoods. PMID:24649880

Bioinspired Pollen-Like Hierarchical Surface for Efficient Recognition of Target Cancer Cells.

PubMed

Wang, Wenshuo; Yang, Gao; Cui, Haijun; Meng, Jingxin; Wang, Shutao; Jiang, Lei

2017-08-01

The efficient recognition and isolation of rare cancer cells holds great promise for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. In nature, pollens exploit spiky structures to realize recognition and adhesion to stigma. Herein, a bioinspired pollen-like hierarchical surface is developed by replicating the assembly of pollen grains, and efficient and specific recognition to target cancer cells is achieved. The pollen-like surface is fabricated by combining filtering-assisted assembly and soft lithography-based replication of pollen grains of wild chrysanthemum. After modification with a capture agent specific to cancer cells, the pollen-like surface enables the capture of target cancer cells with high efficiency and specificity. In addition, the pollen-like surface not only assures high viability of captured cells but also performs well in cell mixture system and at low cell density. This study represents a good example of constructing cell recognition biointerfaces inspired by pollen-stigma adhesion. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Neutron capture measurement on {sup 173}Lu at LANSCE with DANCE detector

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

Theroine, C.; Ebran, A.; Meot, V.

2013-06-10

The (n,{gamma}) cross section on the unstable {sup 173}Lu(t{sub 1/2} = 1.37y) has been measured from thermal energy up to 200 eV at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) with The Detector for Advanced Neutron Capture Experiements (DANCE). The main aim of this study is to validate and optimize reaction models for unstable nucleus. A preliminary capture yield will be presented in this paper.

Air Force/Industry F-35/F-22 Technology Interchange Workshop for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR): Plenary Session

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-11-28

order to optimize pilot performance in the JSF tactical maneuvering environment • Binaural Capture and Synthesis of Ambient Soundscapes –Create a...technique for capturing and replicating ambient soundscapes , and use the technique to statistically model ambient soundscapes for a wide range of...Actuator (HTCA) • Binaural Capture and Synthesis of Ambient Soundscapes • High Temperature PM Actuator Motor • Manufacturing of New Active Noise

Simultaneous capture and in situ analysis of circulating tumor cells using multiple hybrid nanoparticles.

PubMed

Lee, Hun Joo; Cho, Hyeon-Yeol; Oh, Jin Ho; Namkoong, Kak; Lee, Jeong Gun; Park, Jong-Myeon; Lee, Soo Suk; Huh, Nam; Choi, Jeong-Woo

2013-09-15

Using hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs), we demonstrate simultaneous capture, in situ protein expression analysis, and cellular phenotype identification of circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Each HNP consists of three parts: (i) antibodies that bind specifically to a known biomarker for CTCs, (ii) a quantum dot that emits fluorescence signals, and (iii) biotinylated DNA that allows capture and release of CTC-HNP complex to an in-house developed capture & recovery chip (CRC). To evaluate our approach, cells representative of different breast cancer subtypes (MCF-7: luminal; SK-BR-3: HER2; and MDA-MB-231: basal-like) were captured onto CRC and expressions of EpCAM, HER2, and EGFR were detected concurrently. The average capture efficiency of CTCs was 87.5% with identification accuracy of 92.4%. Subsequently, by cleaving the DNA portion with restriction enzymes, captured cells were released at efficiencies of 86.1%. Further studies showed that these recovered cells are viable and can proliferate in vitro. Using HNPs, it is possible to count, analyze in situ protein expression, and culture CTCs, all from the same set of cells, enabling a wide range of molecular- and cellular-based studies using CTCs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical Capture and Release of CO2 in Aqueous Electrolytes Using an Organic Semiconductor Electrode

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Developing efficient methods for capture and controlled release of carbon dioxide is crucial to any carbon capture and utilization technology. Herein we present an approach using an organic semiconductor electrode to electrochemically capture dissolved CO2 in aqueous electrolytes. The process relies on electrochemical reduction of a thin film of a naphthalene bisimide derivative, 2,7-bis(4-(2-(2-ethylhexyl)thiazol-4-yl)phenyl)benzo[lmn][3,8]phenanthroline-1,3,6,8(2H,7H)-tetraone (NBIT). This molecule is specifically tailored to afford one-electron reversible and one-electron quasi-reversible reduction in aqueous conditions while not dissolving or degrading. The reduced NBIT reacts with CO2 to form a stable semicarbonate salt, which can be subsequently oxidized electrochemically to release CO2. The semicarbonate structure is confirmed by in situ IR spectroelectrochemistry. This process of capturing and releasing carbon dioxide can be realized in an oxygen-free environment under ambient pressure and temperature, with uptake efficiency for CO2 capture of ∼2.3 mmol g–1. This is on par with the best solution-phase amine chemical capture technologies available today. PMID:28378994

Hybrid Power Management-Based Vehicle Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eichenberg, Dennis J.

2011-01-01

Hybrid Power Management (HPM) is the integration of diverse, state-of-the-art power devices in an optimal configuration for space and terrestrial applications (s ee figure). The appropriate application and control of the various power devices significantly improves overall system performance and efficiency. The basic vehicle architecture consists of a primary power source, and possibly other power sources, that provides all power to a common energy storage system that is used to power the drive motors and vehicle accessory systems. This architecture also provides power as an emergency power system. Each component is independent, permitting it to be optimized for its intended purpose. The key element of HPM is the energy storage system. All generated power is sent to the energy storage system, and all loads derive their power from that system. This can significantly reduce the power requirement of the primary power source, while increasing the vehicle reliability. Ultracapacitors are ideal for an HPM-based energy storage system due to their exceptionally long cycle life, high reliability, high efficiency, high power density, and excellent low-temperature performance. Multiple power sources and multiple loads are easily incorporated into an HPM-based vehicle. A gas turbine is a good primary power source because of its high efficiency, high power density, long life, high reliability, and ability to operate on a wide range of fuels. An HPM controller maintains optimal control over each vehicle component. This flexible operating system can be applied to all vehicles to considerably improve vehicle efficiency, reliability, safety, security, and performance. The HPM-based vehicle architecture has many advantages over conventional vehicle architectures. Ultracapacitors have a much longer cycle life than batteries, which greatly improves system reliability, reduces life-of-system costs, and reduces environmental impact as ultracapacitors will probably never need to be replaced and disposed of. The environmentally safe ultracapacitor components reduce disposal concerns, and their recyclable nature reduces the environmental impact. High ultracapacitor power density provides high power during surges, and the ability to absorb high power during recharging. Ultracapacitors are extremely efficient in capturing recharging energy, are rugged, reliable, maintenance-free, have excellent lowtemperature characteristic, provide consistent performance over time, and promote safety as they can be left indefinitely in a safe, discharged state whereas batteries cannot.

A high gradient and strength bioseparator with nano-sized immunomagnetic particles for specific separation and efficient concentration of E. coli O157:H7

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Jianhan; Li, Min; Li, Yanbin; Chen, Qi

2015-03-01

Sample pretreatment is a key to rapid screening of pathogens for prevention and control of foodborne diseases. Magnetic immunoseparation is a specific method based on antibody-antigen reaction to capture the target bacteria and concentrate them in a smaller-volume buffer. The use of nano-sized magnetic particles could improve the separation efficiency of bacteria but require much higher gradient and strength magnetic field. In this study, a strong magnetic bioseparator with a mean field strength of 1.35 T and a mean gradient of 90 T/m was developed with the use of the 30 nm and 180 nm magnetic particles to specifically separate and efficiently concentrate foodborne bacterial pathogens using Escherichia coli O157:H7 as a model bacterium. The polyclonal antibodies against E. coli were evaluated using Dot ELISA analysis for their good affinity with the target bacteria and then used to modify the surface of the magnetic nanoparticles by 1-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC·HCl) method and streptavidin-biotin binding. The magnetic particle concentrations were optimized to be 40 μg/ml and 100 μg/ml for the 30 nm and 180 nm particles, respectively, the immunoreaction time was optimized to be 45 min for both sizes of particles, and the separation times were optimized to be 60 min and 2 min for the 30 nm and 180 nm particles, respectively. The total magnetic separation time was 2 h and 1 h for the 30 nm and 180 nm particles, respectively. The experimental results demonstrated that the bioseparator with the use of either 30 nm or 180 nm immunomagnetic particles could achieve a separation efficiency of >90% for E. coli O157:H7 at the concentrations ranging from 102 to 105 cfu/ml. No obvious interferences from non-target foodborne pathogens, such as SalmonellaTyphimurium and Listeria innocua, were found. For overall consideration of the consuming time, the cost, and the separation efficiency, the 180 nm magnetic particles are practical for rapid screening applications; however the 30 nm magnetic particles are preferable for specific detection applications. This immunomagnetic bioseparator can be integrated with either conventional culture methods or some rapid detection methods, such as biosensors and PCR, for more sensitive detection of foodborne pathogens.

Anodal right ventricular capture during left ventricular stimulation in CRT-implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

PubMed

Thibault, Bernard; Roy, Denis; Guerra, Peter G; Macle, Laurent; Dubuc, Marc; Gagné, Pierre; Greiss, Isabelle; Novak, Paul; Furlani, Aldo; Talajic, Mario

2005-07-01

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been shown to improve symptoms of patients with moderate to severe heart failure. Optimal CRT involves biventricular or left ventricular (LV) stimulation alone, atrio-ventricular (AV) delay optimization, and possibly interventricular timing adjustment. Recently, anodal capture of the right ventricle (RV) has been described for patients with CRT-pacemakers. It is unknown whether the same phenomenon exists in CRT systems associated with defibrillators (CRT-ICD). The RV leads used in these systems are different from pacemaker leads: they have a larger diameter and shocking coils, which may affect the occurrence of anodal capture. We looked for anodal RV capture during LV stimulation in 11 consecutive patients who received a CRT-ICD system with RV leads with a true bipolar design. Fifteen patients who had RV leads with an integrated design were used as controls. Anodal RV and LV thresholds were determined at pulse width (pw) durations of 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 ms. RV anodal capture during LV pacing was found in 11/11 patients at some output with true bipolar RV leads versus 0/15 patients with RV leads with an integrated bipolar design. Anodal RV capture threshold was more affected by changes in pw duration than LV capture threshold. In CRT-ICD systems, RV leads with a true bipolar design with the proximal ring also used as the anode for LV pacing are associated with a high incidence of anodal RV capture during LV pacing. This may affect the clinical response to alternative resynchronization methods using single LV stimulation or interventricular delay programming.

A Learning Theory Conceptual Foundation for Using Capture Technology in Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berardi, Victor; Blundell, Greg

2014-01-01

Lecture capture technologies are increasingly being used by instructors, programs, and institutions to deliver online lectures and courses. This lecture capture movement is important as it increases access to education opportunities that were not possible before, it can improve efficiency, and it can increase student engagement. However, this is…

40 CFR 63.4181 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... commercial or industrial HVAC systems. Manufacturer's formulation data means data on a material (such as a... capture system efficiency means the portion (expressed as a percentage) of the pollutants from an emission source that is delivered to an add-on control device. Capture system means one or more capture devices...

40 CFR 63.4181 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... commercial or industrial HVAC systems. Manufacturer's formulation data means data on a material (such as a... capture system efficiency means the portion (expressed as a percentage) of the pollutants from an emission source that is delivered to an add-on control device. Capture system means one or more capture devices...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Dddd... - Alternative Procedure To Determine Capture Efficiency From Enclosures Around Hot Presses in the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

....2Response Time Test. Conduct this test once prior to each test series. Introduce zero gas into the... analysis. 3.0Definitions 3.1Capture efficiency (CE). The weight per unit time of SF6 entering the control device divided by the weight per unit time of SF6 released through manifolds at multiple locations within...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Dddd... - Alternative Procedure To Determine Capture Efficiency From Enclosures Around Hot Presses in the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

....2Response Time Test. Conduct this test once prior to each test series. Introduce zero gas into the... analysis. 3.0Definitions 3.1Capture efficiency (CE). The weight per unit time of SF6 entering the control device divided by the weight per unit time of SF6 released through manifolds at multiple locations within...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Dddd... - Alternative Procedure To Determine Capture Efficiency From Enclosures Around Hot Presses in the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

....2Response Time Test. Conduct this test once prior to each test series. Introduce zero gas into the... analysis. 3.0Definitions 3.1Capture efficiency (CE). The weight per unit time of SF6 entering the control device divided by the weight per unit time of SF6 released through manifolds at multiple locations within...

40 CFR Appendix A to Subpart Dddd... - Alternative Procedure To Determine Capture Efficiency From Enclosures Around Hot Presses in the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

....2Response Time Test. Conduct this test once prior to each test series. Introduce zero gas into the... analysis. 3.0Definitions 3.1Capture efficiency (CE). The weight per unit time of SF6 entering the control device divided by the weight per unit time of SF6 released through manifolds at multiple locations within...

Path Planning Algorithms for Autonomous Border Patrol Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lau, George Tin Lam

This thesis presents an online path planning algorithm developed for unmanned vehicles in charge of autonomous border patrol. In this Pursuit-Evasion game, the unmanned vehicle is required to capture multiple trespassers on its own before any of them reach a target safe house where they are safe from capture. The problem formulation is based on Isaacs' Target Guarding problem, but extended to the case of multiple evaders. The proposed path planning method is based on Rapidly-exploring random trees (RRT) and is capable of producing trajectories within several seconds to capture 2 or 3 evaders. Simulations are carried out to demonstrate that the resulting trajectories approach the optimal solution produced by a nonlinear programming-based numerical optimal control solver. Experiments are also conducted on unmanned ground vehicles to show the feasibility of implementing the proposed online path planning algorithm on physical applications.

Amidine-Functionalized Poly(2-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone) for Selective and Efficient CO 2 Fixing

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

Barkakaty, Balaka; Browning, Katie L.; Sumpter, Bobby

Development of novel polymeric materials capable of efficient CO 2 capture and separation under ambient conditions is crucial for cost-effective and practical industrial applications. Here we report the facile synthesis of a new CO 2-responsive polymer through post-polymerization modification of poly(2 vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone) (PVDMA). The reactive pendant azlactone groups of PVDMA are easily modified with 4-(N-methyltetrahydropyrimidine) benzyl alcohol (PBA) without any by-product formation. FTIR and TGA experiments show the new PBA functionalized polymer powder can reversibly capture CO 2 at room temperature and under atmospheric pressure. CO2 capture was selective, showing a high fixing efficiency even with a mixed gas systemmore » (20% CO 2, 80% N 2) similar to flue gas. CO 2 release occurred at room temperature and release profiles were investigated as a function of temperature. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations coupled with modeling and simulation reveal the presence of two CO 2 binding sites in the PBA functionalized polymer resulting in a two-step CO 2 release at room temperature. Finally, we find that the ease of material preparation, high fixing efficiency, and robust release characteristics suggest that post-polymerization modification may be a useful route to designing new materials for CO 2 capture.« less

Amidine-Functionalized Poly(2-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone) for Selective and Efficient CO 2 Fixing

DOE PAGES

Barkakaty, Balaka; Browning, Katie L.; Sumpter, Bobby; ...

2016-02-12

Development of novel polymeric materials capable of efficient CO 2 capture and separation under ambient conditions is crucial for cost-effective and practical industrial applications. Here we report the facile synthesis of a new CO 2-responsive polymer through post-polymerization modification of poly(2 vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone) (PVDMA). The reactive pendant azlactone groups of PVDMA are easily modified with 4-(N-methyltetrahydropyrimidine) benzyl alcohol (PBA) without any by-product formation. FTIR and TGA experiments show the new PBA functionalized polymer powder can reversibly capture CO 2 at room temperature and under atmospheric pressure. CO2 capture was selective, showing a high fixing efficiency even with a mixed gas systemmore » (20% CO 2, 80% N 2) similar to flue gas. CO 2 release occurred at room temperature and release profiles were investigated as a function of temperature. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations coupled with modeling and simulation reveal the presence of two CO 2 binding sites in the PBA functionalized polymer resulting in a two-step CO 2 release at room temperature. Finally, we find that the ease of material preparation, high fixing efficiency, and robust release characteristics suggest that post-polymerization modification may be a useful route to designing new materials for CO 2 capture.« less

Simulation of mercury capture by sorbent injection using a simplified model.

PubMed

Zhao, Bingtao; Zhang, Zhongxiao; Jin, Jing; Pan, Wei-Ping

2009-10-30

Mercury pollution by fossil fuel combustion or solid waste incineration is becoming the worldwide environmental concern. As an effective control technology, powdered sorbent injection (PSI) has been successfully used for mercury capture from flue gas with advantages of low cost and easy operation. In order to predict the mercury capture efficiency for PSI more conveniently, a simplified model, which is based on the theory of mass transfer, isothermal adsorption and mass balance, is developed in this paper. The comparisons between theoretical results of this model and experimental results by Meserole et al. [F.B. Meserole, R. Chang, T.R. Carrey, J. Machac, C.F.J. Richardson, Modeling mercury removal by sorbent injection, J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc. 49 (1999) 694-704] demonstrate that the simplified model is able to provide good predictive accuracy. Moreover, the effects of key parameters including the mass transfer coefficient, sorbent concentration, sorbent physical property and sorbent adsorption capacity on mercury adsorption efficiency are compared and evaluated. Finally, the sensitive analysis of impact factor indicates that the injected sorbent concentration plays most important role for mercury capture efficiency.

Freeze the Moment: High Speed Capturing of Weakly Bonded Dynamic Nanoparticle Assemblies in Solution by Ag Ion Soldering.

PubMed

Wang, Yueliang; Fang, Lingling; Chen, Gaoli; Song, Lei; Deng, Zhaoxiang

2018-02-01

Despite the versatile forms of colloidal aggregates, these spontaneously formed structures are often hard to find a suitable application in nanotechnology and materials science. A determinate reason is the lack of a suitable method to capture the transiently formed and quickly evolving colloidal structures in solution. To address this challenge, a simple but highly efficient strategy is herein reported to capture the dynamic and metastable colloidal assemblies formed in an aqueous or nonaqueous solution. This process takes advantage of a recently developed Ag ion soldering reaction to realize a rapid fixation of as-formed metastable assemblies. This method works efficiently for both solid (3D) nanoparticle aggregates and weakly bonded fractal nanoparticle chains (1D). In both cases, very high capturing speed and close to 100% efficiency are achieved to fully retain a quickly growing structure. The soldered nanochains further enable a fabrication of discrete, uniform, and functionalizable nanoparticle clusters with enriched linear conformation by mechanical shearing, which would otherwise be difficult to make. The captured products are water dispersible and mechanically robust, favoring an exploration of their properties toward possible applications. The work paves a way to previously untouched aspects of colloidal science and thus would create new chances in nanotechnology. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Assessing performance in complex team environments.

PubMed

Whitmore, Jeffrey N

2005-07-01

This paper provides a brief introduction to team performance assessment. It highlights some critical aspects leading to the successful measurement of team performance in realistic console operations; discusses the idea of process and outcome measures; presents two types of team data collection systems; and provides an example of team performance assessment. Team performance assessment is a complicated endeavor relative to assessing individual performance. Assessing team performance necessitates a clear understanding of each operator's task, both at the individual and team level, and requires planning for efficient data capture and analysis. Though team performance assessment requires considerable effort, the results can be very worthwhile. Most tasks performed in Command and Control environments are team tasks, and understanding this type of performance is becoming increasingly important to the evaluation of mission success and for overall system optimization.

Towards Modeling False Memory With Computational Knowledge Bases.

PubMed

Li, Justin; Kohanyi, Emma

2017-01-01

One challenge to creating realistic cognitive models of memory is the inability to account for the vast common-sense knowledge of human participants. Large computational knowledge bases such as WordNet and DBpedia may offer a solution to this problem but may pose other challenges. This paper explores some of these difficulties through a semantic network spreading activation model of the Deese-Roediger-McDermott false memory task. In three experiments, we show that these knowledge bases only capture a subset of human associations, while irrelevant information introduces noise and makes efficient modeling difficult. We conclude that the contents of these knowledge bases must be augmented and, more important, that the algorithms must be refined and optimized, before large knowledge bases can be widely used for cognitive modeling. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Taming the Wild: A Unified Analysis of Hogwild!-Style Algorithms.

PubMed

De Sa, Christopher; Zhang, Ce; Olukotun, Kunle; Ré, Christopher

2015-12-01

Stochastic gradient descent (SGD) is a ubiquitous algorithm for a variety of machine learning problems. Researchers and industry have developed several techniques to optimize SGD's runtime performance, including asynchronous execution and reduced precision. Our main result is a martingale-based analysis that enables us to capture the rich noise models that may arise from such techniques. Specifically, we use our new analysis in three ways: (1) we derive convergence rates for the convex case (Hogwild!) with relaxed assumptions on the sparsity of the problem; (2) we analyze asynchronous SGD algorithms for non-convex matrix problems including matrix completion; and (3) we design and analyze an asynchronous SGD algorithm, called Buckwild!, that uses lower-precision arithmetic. We show experimentally that our algorithms run efficiently for a variety of problems on modern hardware.

Real Time Phase Noise Meter Based on a Digital Signal Processor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Angrisani, Leopoldo; D'Arco, Mauro; Greenhall, Charles A.; Schiano Lo Morille, Rosario

2006-01-01

A digital signal-processing meter for phase noise measurement on sinusoidal signals is dealt with. It enlists a special hardware architecture, made up of a core digital signal processor connected to a data acquisition board, and takes advantage of a quadrature demodulation-based measurement scheme, already proposed by the authors. Thanks to an efficient measurement process and an optimized implementation of its fundamental stages, the proposed meter succeeds in exploiting all hardware resources in such an effective way as to gain high performance and real-time operation. For input frequencies up to some hundreds of kilohertz, the meter is capable both of updating phase noise power spectrum while seamlessly capturing the analyzed signal into its memory, and granting as good frequency resolution as few units of hertz.

A CPV Thesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, David S.; Ghosh, Shondip; Grimmer, Christopher S.; Mack, Hunter

2011-10-01

The viability of a concentrator technology is determined by five interrelated factors: economic benefit, cell performance under concentration, thermal management, optical performance and manufacturability. Considering these factors, the 5- 10x concentration range is ideal for silicon-based receivers because this level of concentration captures the bulk of available economic gains while mitigating technical risk. Significant gains in capital efficiency are forsaken below the 5x concentration level. Above the 10x level of concentration, marginal improvements to economic benefit are achieved, but threats to reliability emerge and tend to erode the available economic benefit. Furthermore, optic solutions that provide for concentration above 10x tend to force a departure from low-profile flat-plate designs that are most adoptable. For silicon based receivers, a 5-10x level of concentration within a traditional module form factor is optimal.

Numerical Simulation and Performance Optimization of a Magnetophoretic Bio-separation chip

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golozar, Matin; Darabi, Jeff; Molki, Majid

Separation of micro/nanoparticles is important in biomedicine and biotechnology. This research presents the modeling and optimization of a magnetophoretic bio-separation chip for the isolation of biomaterials, such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from the peripheral blood. The chip consists of a continuous flow through microfluidic channels that contains locally engineered magnetic field gradients. The high gradient magnetic field produced by the magnets is spatially non-uniform and gives rise to an attractive force on magnetic particles that move through the flow channel. The computational model takes into account the magnetic and fluidic forces as well as the effect of the volume fraction of particles on the continuous phase. The model is used to investigate the effect of two-way particle-fluid coupling on both the capture efficiency and the flow pattern in the separation chip. The results show that the microfluidic device has the capability of separating CTCs from their native environment. Additionally, a parametric study is performed to investigate the effects of the channel height, substrate thickness, magnetic bead size, bioparticle size, and the number of beads per cell on the cell separation performance.

Electrodeposited polyaniline as a fiber coating for solid-phase microextraction of organochlorine pesticides from water.

PubMed

Li, Xiang; Zhong, Ming; Chen, Jianmin

2008-08-01

The study on the performance of polyaniline as a fiber coating for solid-phase microextraction (SPME) purposes has been reported. Polyaniline coatings were directly electrodeposited on the surface of a stainless steel wire and applied for the extraction of some organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from water samples. Analyses were performed using GC-electron capture detection (GC-ECD). The results obtained show that polyaniline fiber coating is suitable for the successful extraction of organochlorine compounds. This behavior is most probably due to the porous surface structure of polyaniline film, which provides large surface areas and allowed for high extraction efficiency. Experimental parameters such as adsorption and desorption conditions were studied and optimized. The optimized method has an acceptable linearity, with a concentration range of 1-5000 ng/L. Single fiber repeatability and fiber-to-fiber reproducibility were less than 12 and 17%, respectively. High environmental resistance and lower cost are among the advantages of polyaniline fibers over commercially available SPME fibers. The developed method was applied to the analysis of real water samples from Yangtse River and Tianmu Lake.

Tour of Jupiter Galilean moons: Winning solution of GTOC6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colasurdo, Guido; Zavoli, Alessandro; Longo, Alessandro; Casalino, Lorenzo; Simeoni, Francesco

2014-09-01

The paper presents the trajectory designed by the Italian joint team Politecnico di Torino & Sapienza Università di Roma (Team5), winner of the 6th edition of the Global Trajectory Optimization Competition (GTOC6). In the short time available in these competitions, Team5 resorted to basic knowledge, simple tools and a powerful indirect optimization procedure. The mission concerns a 4-year tour of the Jupiter Galilean moons. The paper explains the strategy that was preliminarily devised and eventually implemented by looking for a viable trajectory. The first phase is a capture that moves the spacecraft from the arrival hyperbola to a low-energy orbit around Jupiter. Six series of flybys follow; in each one the spacecraft orbits Jupiter in resonance with a single moon; criteria to construct efficient chains of resonant flybys are presented. Transfer legs move the spacecraft from resonance with a moon to another one; precise phasing of the relevant moons is required; mission opportunities in a 11-year launch window are found by assuming ballistic trajectories and coplanar circular orbits for the Jovian satellites. The actual trajectory is found by using an indirect technique.

GVIPS Models and Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnold, Steven M.; Gendy, Atef; Saleeb, Atef F.; Mark, John; Wilt, Thomas E.

2007-01-01

Two reports discuss, respectively, (1) the generalized viscoplasticity with potential structure (GVIPS) class of mathematical models and (2) the Constitutive Material Parameter Estimator (COMPARE) computer program. GVIPS models are constructed within a thermodynamics- and potential-based theoretical framework, wherein one uses internal state variables and derives constitutive equations for both the reversible (elastic) and the irreversible (viscoplastic) behaviors of materials. Because of the underlying potential structure, GVIPS models not only capture a variety of material behaviors but also are very computationally efficient. COMPARE comprises (1) an analysis core and (2) a C++-language subprogram that implements a Windows-based graphical user interface (GUI) for controlling the core. The GUI relieves the user of the sometimes tedious task of preparing data for the analysis core, freeing the user to concentrate on the task of fitting experimental data and ultimately obtaining a set of material parameters. The analysis core consists of three modules: one for GVIPS material models, an analysis module containing a specialized finite-element solution algorithm, and an optimization module. COMPARE solves the problem of finding GVIPS material parameters in the manner of a design-optimization problem in which the parameters are the design variables.

Dynamic Systems Analysis for Turbine Based Aero Propulsion Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Csank, Jeffrey T.

2016-01-01

The aircraft engine design process seeks to optimize the overall system-level performance, weight, and cost for a given concept. Steady-state simulations and data are used to identify trade-offs that should be balanced to optimize the system in a process known as systems analysis. These systems analysis simulations and data may not adequately capture the true performance trade-offs that exist during transient operation. Dynamic systems analysis provides the capability for assessing the dynamic tradeoffs at an earlier stage of the engine design process. The dynamic systems analysis concept, developed tools, and potential benefit are presented in this paper. To provide this capability, the Tool for Turbine Engine Closed-loop Transient Analysis (TTECTrA) was developed to provide the user with an estimate of the closed-loop performance (response time) and operability (high pressure compressor surge margin) for a given engine design and set of control design requirements. TTECTrA along with engine deterioration information, can be used to develop a more generic relationship between performance and operability that can impact the engine design constraints and potentially lead to a more efficient engine.

Response of Integrated CO 2 Capture and Storage Systems in Saline Aquifers and Fractured Shale Formations to Changes in CO 2 Capture Costs

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

Langenfeld, Julie K.; Bielicki, Jeffrey M.; Tao, Zhiyuan

Fractured shale formations are new potential target reservoirs for CO 2 capture and storage (CCS) and provide several potential advantages over storage in saline aquifers in terms of storage capacity, leakage risk, and cost savings from brownfield development. Here, we used a geospatial-optimization, engineering-economic model to investigate the sensitivity of integrated CCS networks in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia to reductions in CO 2 capture costs. The resulting reductions in CO 2 capture costs were based on hypothetical cases where technological innovation reduced CO 2 capture costs. There were also small differences in the spatial organization of the CCS deploymentmore » when the capture costs were reduced. We also found that the percent reduction in average cost of CCS systems became smaller as the CO 2 capture costs were decreased.« less

Response of Integrated CO 2 Capture and Storage Systems in Saline Aquifers and Fractured Shale Formations to Changes in CO 2 Capture Costs

DOE PAGES

Langenfeld, Julie K.; Bielicki, Jeffrey M.; Tao, Zhiyuan; ...

2017-08-18

Fractured shale formations are new potential target reservoirs for CO 2 capture and storage (CCS) and provide several potential advantages over storage in saline aquifers in terms of storage capacity, leakage risk, and cost savings from brownfield development. Here, we used a geospatial-optimization, engineering-economic model to investigate the sensitivity of integrated CCS networks in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia to reductions in CO 2 capture costs. The resulting reductions in CO 2 capture costs were based on hypothetical cases where technological innovation reduced CO 2 capture costs. There were also small differences in the spatial organization of the CCS deploymentmore » when the capture costs were reduced. We also found that the percent reduction in average cost of CCS systems became smaller as the CO 2 capture costs were decreased.« less

Optimization of beam shaping assembly based on D-T neutron generator and dose evaluation for BNCT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naeem, Hamza; Chen, Chaobin; Zheng, Huaqing; Song, Jing

2017-04-01

The feasibility of developing an epithermal neutron beam for a boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) facility based on a high intensity D-T fusion neutron generator (HINEG) and using the Monte Carlo code SuperMC (Super Monte Carlo simulation program for nuclear and radiation process) is proposed in this study. The Monte Carlo code SuperMC is used to determine and optimize the final configuration of the beam shaping assembly (BSA). The optimal BSA design in a cylindrical geometry which consists of a natural uranium sphere (14 cm) as a neutron multiplier, AlF3 and TiF3 as moderators (20 cm each), Cd (1 mm) as a thermal neutron filter, Bi (5 cm) as a gamma shield, and Pb as a reflector and collimator to guide neutrons towards the exit window. The epithermal neutron beam flux of the proposed model is 5.73 × 109 n/cm2s, and other dosimetric parameters for the BNCT reported by IAEA-TECDOC-1223 have been verified. The phantom dose analysis shows that the designed BSA is accurate, efficient and suitable for BNCT applications. Thus, the Monte Carlo code SuperMC is concluded to be capable of simulating the BSA and the dose calculation for BNCT, and high epithermal flux can be achieved using proposed BSA.

Optimizing Air Transportation Service to Metroplex Airports. Par 2; Analysis Using the Airline Schedule Optimization Model (ASOM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Donoue, George; Hoffman, Karla; Sherry, Lance; Ferguson, John; Kara, Abdul Qadar

2010-01-01

The air transportation system is a significant driver of the U.S. economy, providing safe, affordable, and rapid transportation. During the past three decades airspace and airport capacity has not grown in step with demand for air transportation; the failure to increase capacity at the same rate as the growth in demand results in unreliable service and systemic delay. This report describes the results of an analysis of airline strategic decision-making that affects geographic access, economic access, and airline finances, extending the analysis of these factors using historic data (from Part 1 of the report). The Airline Schedule Optimization Model (ASOM) was used to evaluate how exogenous factors (passenger demand, airline operating costs, and airport capacity limits) affect geographic access (markets-served, scheduled flights, aircraft size), economic access (airfares), airline finances (profit), and air transportation efficiency (aircraft size). This analysis captures the impact of the implementation of airport capacity limits, as well as the effect of increased hedged fuel prices, which serve as a proxy for increased costs per flight that might occur if auctions or congestion pricing are imposed; also incorporated are demand elasticity curves based on historical data that provide information about how passenger demand is affected by airfare changes.

Atmospheric carbon mineralization in an industrial-scale chrysotile mining waste pile.

PubMed

Nowamooz, Ali; Dupuis, J Christian; Beaudoin, Georges; Molson, John; Lemieux, Jean-Michel; Horswill, Micha; Fortier, Richard; Larachi, Faïçal; Maldague, Xavier; Constantin, Marc; Duchesne, Josee; Therrien, René

2018-06-12

Magnesium rich minerals that are abundant in ultramafic mining waste have the potential to be used as a safe and permanent sequestration solution for carbon dioxide (CO2). Our understanding of thermo-hydro-chemical regimes that govern this reaction at an industrial scale, however, has remained an important challenge to its widespread implementation. Through a year-long monitoring experiment performed at a 110Mt chrysotile waste pile, we have documented the existence of two distinct thermo-hydro-chemical regimes that control the ingress of CO2 and the subsequent mineral carbonation of the waste. The experimental results are supported by coupled free-air/porous media numerical flow and transport model that provides insights into optimization strategies to increase the efficiency of mineral sequestration at an industrial-scale. Although functioning passively under less than optimal conditions compared to lab-scale experiments, the 110Mt Thetford Mines pile is nevertheless estimated to be sequestering up to 100 tonnes of CO2 per year, with a potential total carbon capture capacity under optimal conditions of 3 Mt. Yearly, over 100 Mt of ultramafic mine waste suitable for mineral carbonation are generated by the global mining industry. Our results show that this waste material could become a safe and permanent carbon sink for diffuse sources of CO2.

Efficient Operation of a Multi-purpose Reservoir in Chile: Integration of Economic Water Value for Irrigation and Hydropower

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olivares, M. A.; Gonzalez Cabrera, J. M., Sr.; Moreno, R.

2016-12-01

Operation of hydropower reservoirs in Chile is prescribed by an Independent Power System Operator. This study proposes a methodology that integrates power grid operations planning with basin-scale multi-use reservoir operations planning. The aim is to efficiently manage a multi-purpose reservoir, in which hydroelectric generation is competing with other water uses, most notably irrigation. Hydropower and irrigation are competing water uses due to a seasonality mismatch. Currently, the operation of multi-purpose reservoirs with substantial power capacity is prescribed as the result of a grid-wide cost-minimization model which takes irrigation requirements as constraints. We propose advancing in the economic co-optimization of reservoir water use for irrigation and hydropower at the basin level, by explicitly introducing the economic value of water for irrigation represented by a demand function for irrigation water. The proposed methodology uses the solution of a long-term grid-wide operations planning model, a stochastic dual dynamic program (SDDP), to obtain the marginal benefit function for water use in hydropower. This marginal benefit corresponds to the energy price in the power grid as a function of the water availability in the reservoir and the hydrologic scenarios. This function allows capture technical and economic aspects to the operation of hydropower reservoir in the power grid and is generated with the dual variable of the power-balance constraint, the optimal reservoir operation and the hydrologic scenarios used in SDDP. The economic value of water for irrigation and hydropower are then integrated into a basin scale stochastic dynamic program, from which stored water value functions are derived. These value functions are then used to re-optimize reservoir operations under several inflow scenarios.

Exploring Relationships between Canopy Architecture, Light Distribution, and Photosynthesis in Contrasting Rice Genotypes Using 3D Canopy Reconstruction

PubMed Central

Burgess, Alexandra J.; Retkute, Renata; Herman, Tiara; Murchie, Erik H.

2017-01-01

The arrangement of leaf material is critical in determining the light environment, and subsequently the photosynthetic productivity of complex crop canopies. However, links between specific canopy architectural traits and photosynthetic productivity across a wide genetic background are poorly understood for field grown crops. The architecture of five genetically diverse rice varieties—four parental founders of a multi-parent advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) population plus a high yielding Philippine variety (IR64)—was captured at two different growth stages using a method for digital plant reconstruction based on stereocameras. Ray tracing was employed to explore the effects of canopy architecture on the resulting light environment in high-resolution, whilst gas exchange measurements were combined with an empirical model of photosynthesis to calculate an estimated carbon gain and total light interception. To further test the impact of different dynamic light patterns on photosynthetic properties, an empirical model of photosynthetic acclimation was employed to predict the optimal light-saturated photosynthesis rate (Pmax) throughout canopy depth, hypothesizing that light is the sole determinant of productivity in these conditions. First, we show that a plant type with steeper leaf angles allows more efficient penetration of light into lower canopy layers and this, in turn, leads to a greater photosynthetic potential. Second the predicted optimal Pmax responds in a manner that is consistent with fractional interception and leaf area index across this germplasm. However, measured Pmax, especially in lower layers, was consistently higher than the optimal Pmax indicating factors other than light determine photosynthesis profiles. Lastly, varieties with more upright architecture exhibit higher maximum quantum yield of photosynthesis indicating a canopy-level impact on photosynthetic efficiency. PMID:28567045

Toward a Developmental Psychology of Sehnsucht (Life Longings): The Optimal (Utopian) Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scheibe, Susanne; Freund, Alexandra M.; Baltes, Paul B.

2007-01-01

The topic of an optimal or utopian life has received much attention across the humanities and the arts but not in psychology. The German concept of Sehnsucht captures individual and collective thoughts and feelings about one's optimal or utopian life. Sehnsucht (life longings; LLs) is defined as an intense desire for alternative states and…

Petascale computation of multi-physics seismic simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabriel, Alice-Agnes; Madden, Elizabeth H.; Ulrich, Thomas; Wollherr, Stephanie; Duru, Kenneth C.

2017-04-01

Capturing the observed complexity of earthquake sources in concurrence with seismic wave propagation simulations is an inherently multi-scale, multi-physics problem. In this presentation, we present simulations of earthquake scenarios resolving high-detail dynamic rupture evolution and high frequency ground motion. The simulations combine a multitude of representations of model complexity; such as non-linear fault friction, thermal and fluid effects, heterogeneous fault stress and fault strength initial conditions, fault curvature and roughness, on- and off-fault non-elastic failure to capture dynamic rupture behavior at the source; and seismic wave attenuation, 3D subsurface structure and bathymetry impacting seismic wave propagation. Performing such scenarios at the necessary spatio-temporal resolution requires highly optimized and massively parallel simulation tools which can efficiently exploit HPC facilities. Our up to multi-PetaFLOP simulations are performed with SeisSol (www.seissol.org), an open-source software package based on an ADER-Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) scheme solving the seismic wave equations in velocity-stress formulation in elastic, viscoelastic, and viscoplastic media with high-order accuracy in time and space. Our flux-based implementation of frictional failure remains free of spurious oscillations. Tetrahedral unstructured meshes allow for complicated model geometry. SeisSol has been optimized on all software levels, including: assembler-level DG kernels which obtain 50% peak performance on some of the largest supercomputers worldwide; an overlapping MPI-OpenMP parallelization shadowing the multiphysics computations; usage of local time stepping; parallel input and output schemes and direct interfaces to community standard data formats. All these factors enable aim to minimise the time-to-solution. The results presented highlight the fact that modern numerical methods and hardware-aware optimization for modern supercomputers are essential to further our understanding of earthquake source physics and complement both physic-based ground motion research and empirical approaches in seismic hazard analysis. Lastly, we will conclude with an outlook on future exascale ADER-DG solvers for seismological applications.

Magnetically Actuated Cilia for Microfluidic Manipulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanasoge, Srinivas; Owen, Drew; Ballard, Matt; Hesketh, Peter J.; Alexeev, Alexander; Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering Collaboration; Petit InstituteBioengineering; Biosciences Collaboration

2015-11-01

We demonstrate magnetic micro-cilia based microfluidic mixing and capture techniques. For this, we use a simple and easy to fabricate high aspect ratio cilia, which are actuated magnetically. These micro-features are fabricated by evaporating NiFe alloy at room temperature, on to patterned photoresist. The evaporated alloy curls upwards when the seed layer is removed to release the cilia, thus making a free standing `C' shaped magnetic microstructure. This is actuated using an external electromagnet or a rotating magnet. The artificial cilia can be actuated upto 20Hz. We demonstrate the active mixing these cilia can produce in the microchannel. Also, we demonstrate the capture of target species in a sample using these fast oscillating cilia. The surface of the cilia is functionalized by streptavidin which binds to biotin labelled fluorescent microspheres and mimic the capture of bacteria. We show very high capture efficiencies by using these methods. These simple to fabricate micro cilia can easily be incorporated into many microfluidic systems which require high mixing and capture efficiencies.

A surface-associated activity trap for capturing water surface and aquatic invertebrates in wetlands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hanson, Mark A.; Roy, Christiane C.; Euliss, Ned H.; Zimmer, Kyle D.; Riggs, Michael R.; Butler, Malcolm G.

2000-01-01

We developed a surface-associated activity trap (SAT) for sampling aquatic invertebrates in wetlands. We compared performance of this trap with that of a conventional activity trap (AT) based on non-detection rates and relative abundance estimates for 13 taxa of common wetland invertebrates and for taxon richness using data from experiments in constructed wetlands. Taxon-specific non-detection rates for ATs generally exceeded those of SATs, and largest improvements using SATs were for Chironomidae and Gastropoda. SATs were efficient at capturing cladocera, Chironomidae, Gastropoda, total Crustacea, and multiple taxa (taxon richness) but were only slightly better than ATs at capturing Dytiscidae. Temporal differences in capture rates were observed only for cladocera, Chironomidae, Dytiscidae, and total Crustacea, with capture efficiencies of SATs usually decreasing from mid-June through mid-July for these taxa. We believe that SATs may be useful for characterizing wetland invertebrate communities and for developing improved measures of prey available to foraging waterfowl and other aquatic birds.

A surface-associated activity trap for capturing water-surface and aquatic invertebrates in wetlands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hanson, M.A.; Roy, C.C.; Euliss, N.H.; Zimmer, K.D.; Riggs, M.R.; Butler, Malcolm G.

2000-01-01

We developed a surface-associated activity trap (SAT) for sampling aquatic invertebrates in wetlands. We compared performance of this trap with that of a conventional activity trap (AT) based on non-detection rates and relative abundance estimates for 13 taxa of common wetland invertebrates and for taxon richness using data from experiments in constructed wetlands. Taxon-specific non-detection rates for ATs generally exceeded those of SATs, and largest improvements using SATs were for Chironomidae and Gastropoda. SATs were efficient at capturing cladocera, Chironomidae, Gastropoda, total Crustacea, and multiple taxa (taxon richness) but were only slightly better than ATs at capturing Dytiscidae. Temporal differences in capture rates were observed only for cladocera, Chironomidae, Dytiscidae, and total Crustacea, with capture efficiencies of SATs usually decreasing from mid-June through mid-July for these taxa. We believe that SATs may be useful for characterizing wetland invertebrate communities and for developing improved measures of prey available to foraging waterfowl and other aquatic birds.

A Highly Sensitive Porous Silicon (P-Si)-Based Human Kallikrein 2 (hK2) Immunoassay Platform toward Accurate Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer

PubMed Central

Lee, Sang Wook; Hosokawa, Kazuo; Kim, Soyoun; Jeong, Ok Chan; Lilja, Hans; Laurell, Thomas; Maeda, Mizuo

2015-01-01

Levels of total human kallikrein 2 (hK2), a protein involved the pathology of prostate cancer (PCa), could be used as a biomarker to aid in the diagnosis of this disease. In this study, we report on a porous silicon antibody immunoassay platform for the detection of serum levels of total hK2. The surface of porous silicon has a 3-dimensional macro- and nanoporous structure, which offers a large binding capacity for capturing probe molecules. The tailored pore size of the porous silicon also allows efficient immobilization of antibodies by surface adsorption, and does not require chemical immobilization. Monoclonal hK2 capture antibody (6B7) was dispensed onto P-Si chip using a piezoelectric dispenser. In total 13 × 13 arrays (169 spots) were spotted on the chip with its single spot volume of 300 pL. For an optimization of capture antibody condition, we firstly performed an immunoassay of the P-Si microarray under a titration series of hK2 in pure buffer (PBS) at three different antibody densities (75, 100 and 145 µg/mL). The best performance of the microarray platform was seen at 100 µg/mL of the capture antibody concentration (LOD was 100 fg/mL). The platform then was subsequently evaluated for a titration series of serum-spiked hK2 samples. The developed platform utilizes only 15 µL of serum per test and the total assay time is about 3 h, including immobilization of the capture antibody. The detection limit of the hK2 assay was 100 fg/mL in PBS buffer and 1 pg/mL in serum with a dynamic range of 106 (10−4 to 102 ng/mL). PMID:26007739

A Highly Sensitive Porous Silicon (P-Si)-Based Human Kallikrein 2 (hK2) Immunoassay Platform toward Accurate Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer.

PubMed

Lee, Sang Wook; Hosokawa, Kazuo; Kim, Soyoun; Jeong, Ok Chan; Lilja, Hans; Laurell, Thomas; Maeda, Mizuo

2015-05-22

Levels of total human kallikrein 2 (hK2), a protein involved the pathology of prostate cancer (PCa), could be used as a biomarker to aid in the diagnosis of this disease. In this study, we report on a porous silicon antibody immunoassay platform for the detection of serum levels of total hK2. The surface of porous silicon has a 3-dimensional macro- and nanoporous structure, which offers a large binding capacity for capturing probe molecules. The tailored pore size of the porous silicon also allows efficient immobilization of antibodies by surface adsorption, and does not require chemical immobilization. Monoclonal hK2 capture antibody (6B7) was dispensed onto P-Si chip using a piezoelectric dispenser. In total 13 × 13 arrays (169 spots) were spotted on the chip with its single spot volume of 300 pL. For an optimization of capture antibody condition, we firstly performed an immunoassay of the P-Si microarray under a titration series of hK2 in pure buffer (PBS) at three different antibody densities (75, 100 and 145 µg/mL). The best performance of the microarray platform was seen at 100 µg/mL of the capture antibody concentration (LOD was 100 fg/mL). The platform then was subsequently evaluated for a titration series of serum-spiked hK2 samples. The developed platform utilizes only 15 µL of serum per test and the total assay time is about 3 h, including immobilization of the capture antibody. The detection limit of the hK2 assay was 100 fg/mL in PBS buffer and 1 pg/mL in serum with a dynamic range of 106 (10(-4) to 10(2) ng/mL).

Rare Cell Capture in Microfluidic Devices

PubMed Central

Pratt, Erica D.; Huang, Chao; Hawkins, Benjamin G.; Gleghorn, Jason P.; Kirby, Brian J.

2010-01-01

This article reviews existing methods for the isolation, fractionation, or capture of rare cells in microfluidic devices. Rare cell capture devices face the challenge of maintaining the efficiency standard of traditional bulk separation methods such as flow cytometers and immunomagnetic separators while requiring very high purity of the target cell population, which is typically already at very low starting concentrations. Two major classifications of rare cell capture approaches are covered: (1) non-electrokinetic methods (e.g., immobilization via antibody or aptamer chemistry, size-based sorting, and sheath flow and streamline sorting) are discussed for applications using blood cells, cancer cells, and other mammalian cells, and (2) electrokinetic (primarily dielectrophoretic) methods using both electrode-based and insulative geometries are presented with a view towards pathogen detection, blood fractionation, and cancer cell isolation. The included methods were evaluated based on performance criteria including cell type modeled and used, number of steps/stages, cell viability, and enrichment, efficiency, and/or purity. Major areas for improvement are increasing viability and capture efficiency/purity of directly processed biological samples, as a majority of current studies only process spiked cell lines or pre-diluted/lysed samples. Despite these current challenges, multiple advances have been made in the development of devices for rare cell capture and the subsequent elucidation of new biological phenomena; this article serves to highlight this progress as well as the electrokinetic and non-electrokinetic methods that can potentially be combined to improve performance in future studies. PMID:21532971

A stochastic multi-agent optimization model for energy infrastructure planning under uncertainty and competition.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-07-04

This paper presents a stochastic multi-agent optimization model that supports energy infrastruc- : ture planning under uncertainty. The interdependence between dierent decision entities in the : system is captured in an energy supply chain network, w...

Evolving a Method to Capture Science Stakeholder Inputs to Optimize Instrument, Payload, and Program Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, P. E.; Rilee, M. L.; Curtis, S. A.; Bailin, S.

2012-03-01

We are developing Frontier, a highly adaptable, stably reconfigurable, web-accessible intelligent decision engine capable of optimizing design as well as the simulating operation of complex systems in response to evolving needs and environment.

Signal processing using sparse derivatives with applications to chromatograms and ECG

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ning, Xiaoran

In this thesis, we investigate the sparsity exist in the derivative domain. Particularly, we focus on the type of signals which posses up to Mth (M > 0) order sparse derivatives. Efforts are put on formulating proper penalty functions and optimization problems to capture properties related to sparse derivatives, searching for fast, computationally efficient solvers. Also the effectiveness of these algorithms are applied to two real world applications. In the first application, we provide an algorithm which jointly addresses the problems of chromatogram baseline correction and noise reduction. The series of chromatogram peaks are modeled as sparse with sparse derivatives, and the baseline is modeled as a low-pass signal. A convex optimization problem is formulated so as to encapsulate these non-parametric models. To account for the positivity of chromatogram peaks, an asymmetric penalty function is also utilized with symmetric penalty functions. A robust, computationally efficient, iterative algorithm is developed that is guaranteed to converge to the unique optimal solution. The approach, termed Baseline Estimation And Denoising with Sparsity (BEADS), is evaluated and compared with two state-of-the-art methods using both simulated and real chromatogram data. Promising result is obtained. In the second application, a novel Electrocardiography (ECG) enhancement algorithm is designed also based on sparse derivatives. In the real medical environment, ECG signals are often contaminated by various kinds of noise or artifacts, for example, morphological changes due to motion artifact, non-stationary noise due to muscular contraction (EMG), etc. Some of these contaminations severely affect the usefulness of ECG signals, especially when computer aided algorithms are utilized. By solving the proposed convex l1 optimization problem, artifacts are reduced by modeling the clean ECG signal as a sum of two signals whose second and third-order derivatives (differences) are sparse respectively. At the end, the algorithm is applied to a QRS detection system and validated using the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia database (109452 anotations), resulting a sensitivity of Se = 99.87%$ and a positive prediction of +P = 99.88%.

Modeling and optimal design of CO2 Direct Air Capture systems in large arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadri Irani, Samaneh; Luzzatto-Fegiz, Paolo

2017-11-01

As noted by the 2014 IPCC report, while the rise in atmospheric CO2 would be slowed by emissions reductions, removing atmospheric CO2 is an important part of possible paths to climate stabilization. Direct Air Capture of CO2 with chemicals (DAC) is one of several proposed carbon capture technologies. There is an ongoing debate on whether DAC is an economically viable approach to alleviate climate change. In addition, like all air capture strategies, DAC is strongly constrained by the net-carbon problem, namely the need to control CO2 emissions associated with the capture process (for example, if DAC not powered by renewables). Research to date has focused on the chemistry and economics of individual DAC devices. However, the fluid mechanics of their large-scale deployment has not been examined in the literature, to the best of our knowledge. In this presentation, we develop a model for flow through an array of DAC devices, varying their lateral extent and their separation. We build on a recent theory of canopy flows, introducing terms for CO2 entrainment into the array boundary layer, and transport into the farm. In addition, we examine the possibility of driving flow passively by wind, thereby reducing energy consumption. The optimal operational design is established considering the total cost, drag force, energy consumption and total CO2 capture.

Factors Affecting the Capture Efficiency of a Fume Extraction Torch for Gas Metal Arc Welding.

PubMed

Bonthoux, Francis

2016-07-01

Welding fumes are classified as Group 2B 'possibly carcinogenic' and this prompts to the implementation of local exhaust ventilation (LEV). The fume extraction torch with LEV integrated into the tool is the most attractive solution but its capture efficiency is often disappointing in practice. This study assesses the main parameters affecting fume capture efficiency namely the extraction flow rate, the positioning of the suction openings on the torch, the angle of inclination of the torch to the workpiece during welding, the metal transfer modes, and the welding deposition rate. The theoretical velocity induced by suction, estimated from the extraction flow rate and the position of the suction openings, is the main parameter affecting effectiveness of the device. This is the design parameter and its value should never be <0.25 m s(-1) The angle of the torch relative to the workpiece also has a great deal of influence. To improve efficiency, work station layouts need to favour positions where the torch is held with angles closer to perpendicular (<15°). Welding with high deposition rates (>1.1g s(-1)) and spray transfer leads to low capture efficiency if induced velocities are <0.5 m s(-1) The results of the study can be used in the design of integrated on-torch extraction systems and provide information for fixing system objectives. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.

Transfection efficiency and uptake process of polyplexes in human lung endothelial cells: a comparative study in non-polarized and polarized cells.

PubMed

Mennesson, Eric; Erbacher, Patrick; Piller, Véronique; Kieda, Claudine; Midoux, Patrick; Pichon, Chantal

2005-06-01

Following systemic administration, polyplexes must cross the endothelium barrier to deliver genes to the target cells underneath. To design an efficient gene delivery system into lung epithelium, we evaluated capture and transfection efficiencies of DNA complexed with either Jet-PEI (PEI-polyplexes) or histidylated polylysine (His-polyplexes) in human lung microvascular endothelial cells (HLMEC) and tracheal epithelial cells. After optimizing growth conditions to obtain a tight HLMEC monolayer, we characterized uptake of polyplexes by flow cytometry and evaluated their transfection efficiency. Polyplexes were formulated as small particles. YOYO-labelled plasmid fluorescence intensity and luciferase activity were used as readouts for uptake and gene expression, respectively. PEI-polyplexes were more efficiently taken up than His-polyplexes by both non-polarized (2-fold) and polarized HLMEC (10-fold). They were mainly internalized by a clathrin-dependent pathway whatever the cell state. In non-polarized cells, His-polyplexes entered also mainly via a clathrin-dependent pathway but with an involvement of cholesterol. The cell polarization decreased this way and a clathrin-independent pathway became predominant. PEI-polyplexes transfected more efficiently HLMEC than His-polyplexes (10(7) vs. 10(5) relative light units (RLU)/mg of proteins) with a more pronounced difference in polarized cells. In contrast, no negative effect of the cell polarization was observed with tracheal epithelial cells in which both polyplexes had comparable efficiency. We show that the efficiency of polyplex uptake by HLMEC and their internalization mechanism are polymer-dependent. By contrast with His-polyplexes, the HLMEC polarization has little influence on the uptake process and on the transfection efficiency of PEI-polyplexes. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Electrical guidance efficiency of downstream-migrating juvenile Sea Lamprey decreases with increasing water velocity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miehls, Scott M.; Johnson, Nicholas; Haro, Alexander

2017-01-01

We tested the efficacy of a vertically oriented field of pulsed direct current (VEPDC) created by an array of vertical electrodes for guiding downstream-moving juvenile Sea Lampreys Petromyzon marinus to a bypass channel in an artificial flume at water velocities of 10–50 cm/s. Sea Lampreys were more likely to be captured in the bypass channel than in other sections of the flume regardless of electric field status (on or off) or water velocity. Additionally, Sea Lampreys were more likely to be captured in the bypass channel when the VEPDC was active; however, an interaction between the effects of VEPDC and water velocity was observed, as the likelihood of capture decreased with increases in water velocity. The distribution of Sea Lampreys shifted from right to left across the width of the flume toward the bypass channel when the VEPDC was active at water velocities less than 25 cm/s. The VEPDC appeared to have no effect on Sea Lamprey distribution in the flume at water velocities greater than 25 cm/s. We also conducted separate tests to determine the threshold at which Sea Lampreys would become paralyzed. Individuals were paralyzed at a mean power density of 37.0 µW/cm3. Future research should investigate the ability of juvenile Sea Lampreys to detect electric fields and their specific behavioral responses to electric field characteristics so as to optimize the use of this technology as a nonphysical guidance tool across variable water velocities.

How green can black be? Assessing the potential for equipping USA's existing coal fleet with carbon capture and storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patrizio, Piera; Leduc, Sylvain; Mesfun, Sennai; Yowargana, Ping; Kraxner, Florian

2017-04-01

The mitigation of adverse environmental impacts due to climate change requires the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions - also from the U.S. energy sector, a dominant source of greenhouse-gas emissions. This is especially true for the existing fleet of coal-fired power plants, accounting for roughly two-thirds of the U.S. energy sectors' total CO2 emissions. With this aim, different carbon mitigation options have been proposed in literature, such as increasing the energy efficiency, co-firing of biomass and/or the adoption of carbon capturing technologies (BECCS). However, the extent to which these solutions can be adopted depends on a suite of site specific factors and therefore needs to be evaluated on a site-specific basis. We propose a spatially explicit approach to identify candidate coal plants for which carbon capture technologies are economically feasible, according to different economic and policy frameworks. The methodology implies the adoption of IIASA's techno economic model BeWhere, which optimizes the cost of the entire BECCS supply chain, from the biomass resources to the storage of the CO2 in the nearest geological sink. The results shows that biomass co-firing appears to be the most appealing economic solution for a larger part of the existing U.S. coal fleet, while the adoption of CCS technologies is highly dependent on the level of CO2 prices as well as on local factors such as the type of coal firing technology and proximity of storage sites.

Glovebox stripper system tritium capture efficiency-literature review

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

James, D. W.; Poore, A. S.

2015-09-28

Glovebox Stripper Systems (GBSS) are intended to minimize tritium emissions from glovebox confinement systems in Tritium facilities. A question was raised to determine if an assumed 99% stripping (decontamination) efficiency in the design of a GBBS was appropriate. A literature review showed the stated 99% tritium capture efficiency used for design of the GBSS is reasonable. Four scenarios were indicated for GBSSs. These include release with a single or dual stage setup which utilizes either single-pass or recirculation for stripping purposes. Examples of single-pass as well as recirculation stripper systems are presented and reviewed in this document.

40 CFR 63.4165 - How do I determine the emission capture system efficiency?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... system; coating solvent flash-off and coating, curing, and drying occurs within the capture system and... when being moved between a spray booth and a curing oven. (b) If the capture system does not meet both... surface preparation activities and drying or curing time. (c) Liquid-to-uncaptured-gas protocol using a...

Optimization under uncertainty of parallel nonlinear energy sinks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boroson, Ethan; Missoum, Samy; Mattei, Pierre-Olivier; Vergez, Christophe

2017-04-01

Nonlinear Energy Sinks (NESs) are a promising technique for passively reducing the amplitude of vibrations. Through nonlinear stiffness properties, a NES is able to passively and irreversibly absorb energy. Unlike the traditional Tuned Mass Damper (TMD), NESs do not require a specific tuning and absorb energy over a wider range of frequencies. Nevertheless, they are still only efficient over a limited range of excitations. In order to mitigate this limitation and maximize the efficiency range, this work investigates the optimization of multiple NESs configured in parallel. It is well known that the efficiency of a NES is extremely sensitive to small perturbations in loading conditions or design parameters. In fact, the efficiency of a NES has been shown to be nearly discontinuous in the neighborhood of its activation threshold. For this reason, uncertainties must be taken into account in the design optimization of NESs. In addition, the discontinuities require a specific treatment during the optimization process. In this work, the objective of the optimization is to maximize the expected value of the efficiency of NESs in parallel. The optimization algorithm is able to tackle design variables with uncertainty (e.g., nonlinear stiffness coefficients) as well as aleatory variables such as the initial velocity of the main system. The optimal design of several parallel NES configurations for maximum mean efficiency is investigated. Specifically, NES nonlinear stiffness properties, considered random design variables, are optimized for cases with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 NESs in parallel. The distributions of efficiency for the optimal parallel configurations are compared to distributions of efficiencies of non-optimized NESs. It is observed that the optimization enables a sharp increase in the mean value of efficiency while reducing the corresponding variance, thus leading to more robust NES designs.

Carbonated Science Cleans Power Plants

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

Rousseau, Roger; Heldebrant, David; Glezakou, Vand

Similar to the properties of soda, liquid solvents can efficiently capture and convert carbon dioxide from coal power plants. Researchers at PNNL explain this process and how this method can turn captured carbon into plastic or fuel.

Improved porous silicon (P-Si) microarray based PSA (prostate specific antigen) immunoassay by optimized surface density of the capture antibody

PubMed Central

Lee, SangWook; Kim, Soyoun; Malm, Johan; Jeong, Ok Chan; Lilja, Hans; Laurell, Thomas

2014-01-01

Enriching the surface density of immobilized capture antibodies enhances the detection signal of antibody sandwich microarrays. In this study, we improved the detection sensitivity of our previously developed P-Si (porous silicon) antibody microarray by optimizing concentrations of the capturing antibody. We investigated immunoassays using a P-Si microarray at three different capture antibody (PSA - prostate specific antigen) concentrations, analyzing the influence of the antibody density on the assay detection sensitivity. The LOD (limit of detection) for PSA was 2.5ngmL−1, 80pgmL−1, and 800fgmL−1 when arraying the PSA antibody, H117 at the concentration 15µgmL−1, 35µgmL−1 and 154µgmL−1, respectively. We further investigated PSA spiked into human female serum in the range of 800fgmL−1 to 500ngmL−1. The microarray showed a LOD of 800fgmL−1 and a dynamic range of 800 fgmL−1 to 80ngmL−1 in serum spiked samples. PMID:24016590

Predicting the ultimate potential of natural gas SOFC power cycles with CO2 capture - Part A: Methodology and reference cases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campanari, Stefano; Mastropasqua, Luca; Gazzani, Matteo; Chiesa, Paolo; Romano, Matteo C.

2016-08-01

Driven by the search for the highest theoretical efficiency, in the latest years several studies investigated the integration of high temperature fuel cells in natural gas fired power plants, where fuel cells are integrated with simple or modified Brayton cycles and/or with additional bottoming cycles, and CO2 can be separated via chemical or physical separation, oxy-combustion and cryogenic methods. Focusing on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) and following a comprehensive review and analysis of possible plant configurations, this work investigates their theoretical potential efficiency and proposes two ultra-high efficiency plant configurations based on advanced intermediate-temperature SOFCs integrated with a steam turbine or gas turbine cycle. The SOFC works at atmospheric or pressurized conditions and the resulting power plant exceeds 78% LHV efficiency without CO2 capture (as discussed in part A of the work) and 70% LHV efficiency with substantial CO2 capture (part B). The power plants are simulated at the 100 MW scale with a complete set of realistic assumptions about fuel cell (FC) performance, plant components and auxiliaries, presenting detailed energy and material balances together with a second law analysis.

Integrated isolation and quantitative analysis of exosome shuttled proteins and nucleic acids using immunocapture approaches.

PubMed

Zarovni, Natasa; Corrado, Antonietta; Guazzi, Paolo; Zocco, Davide; Lari, Elisa; Radano, Giorgia; Muhhina, Jekatarina; Fondelli, Costanza; Gavrilova, Julia; Chiesi, Antonio

2015-10-01

Clinical implementation of exosome based diagnostic and therapeutic applications is still limited by the lack of standardized technologies that integrate efficient isolation of exosomes with comprehensive detection of relevant biomarkers. Conventional methods for exosome isolation based on their physical properties such as size and density (filtration, ultracentrifugation or density gradient), or relying on their differential solubility (chemical precipitation) are established primarily for processing of cell supernatants and later adjusted to complex biological samples such as plasma. Though still representing gold standard in the field, these methods are clearly suboptimal for processing of routine clinical samples and have intrinsic limits that impair their use in biomarker discovery and development of novel diagnostics. Immunoisolation (IA) offers unique advantages for the recovery of exosomes from complex and viscous fluids, in terms of increased efficiency and specificity of exosome capture, integrity and selective origin of isolated vesicles. We have evaluated several commercially available solutions for immunoplate- and immunobead-based affinity isolation and have further optimized protocols to decrease non-specific binding due to exosomes complexity and matrix contaminants. In order to identify best molecular targets for total exosome capture from diverse biological sources, as well as for selective enrichment in populations of interest (e.g. tumor derived exosomes) several exosome displayed proteins and respective antibodies have been evaluated for plate and bead functionalisation. Moreover, we have optimized and directly implemented downstream steps allowing on-line quantification and characterization of bound exosome markers, namely proteins and RNAs. Thus assembled assays enabled rapid overall quantification and validation of specific exosome associated targets in/on plasma exosomes, with multifold increased yield and enrichment ratio over benchmarking technologies. Assays directly coupling selective immobilization of exosomes to a solid phase and their immune- and or molecular profiling through conventional ELISA and PCR analysis, resulted in easy-to-elaborate, quantitative readouts, with high low-end sensitivity and dynamic range, low costs and hands-on time, minimal sample handling and downscaling of a working plasma volumes to as few as 100 μl. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Decoy trapping and rocket-netting for northern pintails in spring

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grand, James B.; Fondell, Thomas F.

1994-01-01

Decoy traps and rocket-nets were compared for capturing Northern Pintails (Anas acuta: hereafter pintails) during May 1991 on the Yukon Flats, Alaska. Males were captured at similar rates using both methods (1.38 vs. 1.07 males/trap d, respectively), but baited rocket-nets were more efficient than decoy traps for capturing females (0.52 vs. 0.12 females/trap d). There were no significant differences in masses of pintails captured by each method.

Active chemisorption sites in functionalized ionic liquids for carbon capture.

PubMed

Cui, Guokai; Wang, Jianji; Zhang, Suojiang

2016-07-25

Development of novel technologies for the efficient and reversible capture of CO2 is highly desired. In the last decade, CO2 capture using ionic liquids has attracted intensive attention from both academia and industry, and has been recognized as a very promising technology. Recently, a new approach has been developed for highly efficient capture of CO2 by site-containing ionic liquids through chemical interaction. This perspective review focuses on the recent advances in the chemical absorption of CO2 using site-containing ionic liquids, such as amino-based ionic liquids, azolate ionic liquids, phenolate ionic liquids, dual-functionalized ionic liquids, pyridine-containing ionic liquids and so on. Other site-containing liquid absorbents such as amine-based solutions, switchable solvents, and functionalized ionic liquid-amine blends are also investigated. Strategies have been discussed for how to activate the existent reactive sites and develop novel reactive sites by physical and chemical methods to enhance CO2 absorption capacity and reduce absorption enthalpy. The carbon capture mechanisms of these site-containing liquid absorbents are also presented. Particular attention has been paid to the latest progress in CO2 capture in multiple-site interactions by amino-free anion-functionalized ionic liquids. In the last section, future directions and prospects for carbon capture by site-containing ionic liquids are outlined.

Peptide-Mediated Platelet Capture at Gold Micropore Arrays.

PubMed

Adamson, Kellie; Spain, Elaine; Prendergast, Una; Moran, Niamh; Forster, Robert J; Keyes, Tia E

2016-11-30

Ordered spherical cap gold cavity arrays with 5.4, 1.6, and 0.98 μm diameter apertures were explored as capture surfaces for human blood platelets to investigate the impact of surface geometry and chemical modification on platelet capture efficiency and their potential as platforms for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy of single platelets. The substrates were chemically modified with single-constituent self-assembled monolayers (SAM) or mixed SAMs comprised of thiol-functionalized arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD, a platelet integrin target) with or without 1-octanethiol (adhesion inhibitor). As expected, platelet adhesion was promoted and inhibited at RGD and alkanethiol modified surfaces, respectively. Platelet adhesion was reversible, and binding efficiency at the peptide modified substrates correlated inversely with pore diameter. Captured platelets underwent morphological change on capture, the extent of which depended on the topology of the underlying substrate. Regioselective capture of the platelets enabled study for the first time of the surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy of single blood platelets, yielding high quality Raman spectroscopy of individual platelets at 1.6 μm diameter pore arrays. Given the medical importance of blood platelets across a range of diseases from cancer to psychiatric illness, such approaches to platelet capture may provide a useful route to Raman spectroscopy for platelet related diagnostics.

Sustainable Capture: Concepts for Managing Stream-Aquifer Systems.

PubMed

Davids, Jeffrey C; Mehl, Steffen W

2015-01-01

Most surface water bodies (i.e., streams, lakes, etc.) are connected to the groundwater system to some degree so that changes to surface water bodies (either diversions or importations) can change flows in aquifer systems, and pumping from an aquifer can reduce discharge to, or induce additional recharge from streams, springs, and lakes. The timescales of these interactions are often very long (decades), making sustainable management of these systems difficult if relying only on observations of system responses. Instead, management scenarios are often analyzed based on numerical modeling. In this paper we propose a framework and metrics that can be used to relate the Theis concepts of capture to sustainable measures of stream-aquifer systems. We introduce four concepts: Sustainable Capture Fractions, Sustainable Capture Thresholds, Capture Efficiency, and Sustainable Groundwater Storage that can be used as the basis for developing metrics for sustainable management of stream-aquifer systems. We demonstrate their utility on a hypothetical stream-aquifer system where pumping captures both streamflow and discharge to phreatophytes at different amounts based on pumping location. In particular, Capture Efficiency (CE) can be easily understood by both scientists and non-scientist alike, and readily identifies vulnerabilities to sustainable stream-aquifer management when its value exceeds 100%. © 2014, National Ground Water Association.

Value recovery from two mechanized bucking operations in the southeastern United States

Treesearch

Kevin Boston; Glen. Murphy

2003-01-01

The value recovered from two mechanized bucking operations in the southeastern United States was compared with the optimal value computed using an individual-stem log optimization program, AVIS. The first operation recovered 94% of the optimal value. The main cause for the value loss was a failure to capture potential sawlog volume; logs were bucked to a larger average...

Low Pt-content ternary PdCuPt nanodendrites: an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

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

Fu, Shaofang; Zhu, Chengzhou; Song, Junhua

2017-01-01

Dendritic nanostructures are capturing increasing attentions in electrocatalysis owing to their unique structural features and low density. Herein, we report for the first time bromide ions mediated synthesis of low-Pt-content PdCuPt ternary nanodendrites via galvanic replacement reaction between Pt precursor and PdCu template in aqueous solution. The experimental results show that the ternary PdCuPt nanodendrites present enhanced electrocatalytic performance for oxygen reduction reaction in acid solution compared with commercial Pt/C as well as some state-of-the-art catalysts. In details, the mass activity of the PdCuPt catalyst with optimized composition is 1.73 A/mgPt at 0.85 V vs RHE, which is 14 timesmore » higher than that of commercial Pt/C catalyst. Moreover, the long-term stability test demonstrates its better durability in acid solution. After 5k cycles, there is still 70% electrochemical surface area maintained. This method provides an efficient way to synthesize trimetallic alloys with controllable composition and specific structure for oxygen reduction reaction.« less

Electric train energy consumption modeling

DOE PAGES

Wang, Jinghui; Rakha, Hesham A.

2017-05-01

For this paper we develop an electric train energy consumption modeling framework considering instantaneous regenerative braking efficiency in support of a rail simulation system. The model is calibrated with data from Portland, Oregon using an unconstrained non-linear optimization procedure, and validated using data from Chicago, Illinois by comparing model predictions against the National Transit Database (NTD) estimates. The results demonstrate that regenerative braking efficiency varies as an exponential function of the deceleration level, rather than an average constant as assumed in previous studies. The model predictions are demonstrated to be consistent with the NTD estimates, producing a predicted error ofmore » 1.87% and -2.31%. The paper demonstrates that energy recovery reduces the overall power consumption by 20% for the tested Chicago route. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates that the proposed modeling approach is able to capture energy consumption differences associated with train, route and operational parameters, and thus is applicable for project-level analysis. The model can be easily implemented in traffic simulation software, used in smartphone applications and eco-transit programs given its fast execution time and easy integration in complex frameworks.« less

Electric train energy consumption modeling

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

Wang, Jinghui; Rakha, Hesham A.

For this paper we develop an electric train energy consumption modeling framework considering instantaneous regenerative braking efficiency in support of a rail simulation system. The model is calibrated with data from Portland, Oregon using an unconstrained non-linear optimization procedure, and validated using data from Chicago, Illinois by comparing model predictions against the National Transit Database (NTD) estimates. The results demonstrate that regenerative braking efficiency varies as an exponential function of the deceleration level, rather than an average constant as assumed in previous studies. The model predictions are demonstrated to be consistent with the NTD estimates, producing a predicted error ofmore » 1.87% and -2.31%. The paper demonstrates that energy recovery reduces the overall power consumption by 20% for the tested Chicago route. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates that the proposed modeling approach is able to capture energy consumption differences associated with train, route and operational parameters, and thus is applicable for project-level analysis. The model can be easily implemented in traffic simulation software, used in smartphone applications and eco-transit programs given its fast execution time and easy integration in complex frameworks.« less

Physicochemical approach to freshwater microalgae harvesting with magnetic particles.

PubMed

Prochazkova, Gita; Podolova, Nikola; Safarik, Ivo; Zachleder, Vilem; Branyik, Tomas

2013-12-01

Magnetic harvesting of microalgal biomass provides an attractive alternative to conventional methods. The approach to this issue has so far been pragmatic, focused mainly on finding cheap magnetic agents in combination with harvestable microalgae species. The aim of this work was to study experimentally and theoretically the mechanisms leading to cell-magnetic agent attachment/detachment using real experiments and predictions made by colloidal adhesion (XDLVO) model. Two types of well defined magnetic beads (MBs) carrying ion exchange functional groups (DEAE - diethylaminoethyl and PEI - polyethylenimine) were studied in connection with microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris). Optimal harvesting efficiencies (>90%) were found for DEAE and PEI MBs, while efficient detachment was achieved only for DEAE MBs (>90%). These findings were in accordance with the predictions by XDLVO model. Simultaneously there was found a discrepancy between the XDLVO prediction and the poor detachment of PEI MBs from microalgal surface. This can be ascribed to an additional interaction (probably covalent bonds) between PEI and algal surface, which the XDLVO model is unable to capture given by its non-covalent nature. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The prediction of crystal structure by merging knowledge methods with first principles quantum mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceder, Gerbrand

2007-03-01

The prediction of structure is a key problem in computational materials science that forms the platform on which rational materials design can be performed. Finding structure by traditional optimization methods on quantum mechanical energy models is not possible due to the complexity and high dimensionality of the coordinate space. An unusual, but efficient solution to this problem can be obtained by merging ideas from heuristic and ab initio methods: In the same way that scientist build empirical rules by observation of experimental trends, we have developed machine learning approaches that extract knowledge from a large set of experimental information and a database of over 15,000 first principles computations, and used these to rapidly direct accurate quantum mechanical techniques to the lowest energy crystal structure of a material. Knowledge is captured in a Bayesian probability network that relates the probability to find a particular crystal structure at a given composition to structure and energy information at other compositions. We show that this approach is highly efficient in finding the ground states of binary metallic alloys and can be easily generalized to more complex systems.

Binary video codec for data reduction in wireless visual sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khursheed, Khursheed; Ahmad, Naeem; Imran, Muhammad; O'Nils, Mattias

2013-02-01

Wireless Visual Sensor Networks (WVSN) is formed by deploying many Visual Sensor Nodes (VSNs) in the field. Typical applications of WVSN include environmental monitoring, health care, industrial process monitoring, stadium/airports monitoring for security reasons and many more. The energy budget in the outdoor applications of WVSN is limited to the batteries and the frequent replacement of batteries is usually not desirable. So the processing as well as the communication energy consumption of the VSN needs to be optimized in such a way that the network remains functional for longer duration. The images captured by VSN contain huge amount of data and require efficient computational resources for processing the images and wide communication bandwidth for the transmission of the results. Image processing algorithms must be designed and developed in such a way that they are computationally less complex and must provide high compression rate. For some applications of WVSN, the captured images can be segmented into bi-level images and hence bi-level image coding methods will efficiently reduce the information amount in these segmented images. But the compression rate of the bi-level image coding methods is limited by the underlined compression algorithm. Hence there is a need for designing other intelligent and efficient algorithms which are computationally less complex and provide better compression rate than that of bi-level image coding methods. Change coding is one such algorithm which is computationally less complex (require only exclusive OR operations) and provide better compression efficiency compared to image coding but it is effective for applications having slight changes between adjacent frames of the video. The detection and coding of the Region of Interest (ROIs) in the change frame efficiently reduce the information amount in the change frame. But, if the number of objects in the change frames is higher than a certain level then the compression efficiency of both the change coding and ROI coding becomes worse than that of image coding. This paper explores the compression efficiency of the Binary Video Codec (BVC) for the data reduction in WVSN. We proposed to implement all the three compression techniques i.e. image coding, change coding and ROI coding at the VSN and then select the smallest bit stream among the results of the three compression techniques. In this way the compression performance of the BVC will never become worse than that of image coding. We concluded that the compression efficiency of BVC is always better than that of change coding and is always better than or equal that of ROI coding and image coding.

Optimal design of microtube recuperators for an indirect supercritical carbon dioxide recompression closed Brayton cycle

DOE PAGES

Jiang, Yuan; Liese, Eric; Zitney, Stephen E.; ...

2018-02-25

This paper presents a baseline design and optimization approach developed in Aspen Custom Modeler (ACM) for microtube shell-and-tube exchangers (MSTEs) used for high- and low-temperature recuperation in a 10 MWe indirect supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2) recompression closed Brayton cycle (RCBC). The MSTE-type recuperators are designed using one-dimensional models with thermal-hydraulic correlations appropriate for sCO 2 and properties models that capture considerable nonlinear changes in CO 2 properties near the critical and pseudo-critical points. Using the successive quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm in ACM, optimal recuperator designs are obtained for either custom or industry-standard microtubes considering constraints based on current advancedmore » manufacturing techniques. The three decision variables are the number of tubes, tube pitch-to-diameter ratio, and tube diameter. Five different objective functions based on different key design measures are considered: minimization of total heat transfer area, heat exchanger volume, metal weight, thermal residence time, and maximization of compactness. Sensitivities studies indicate the constraint on the maximum number of tubes per shell does affect the number of parallel heat exchanger trains but not the tube selection, total number of tubes, tube length and other key design measures in the final optimal design when considering industry-standard tubes. In this study, the optimally designed high- and low-temperature recuperators have 47,000 3/32 inch tubes and 63,000 1/16 inch tubes, respectively. In addition, sensitivities to the design temperature approach and maximum allowable pressure drop are studied, since these specifications significantly impact the optimal design of the recuperators as well as the thermal efficiency and the economic performance of the entire sCO 2 Brayton cycle.« less

Optimal design of microtube recuperators for an indirect supercritical carbon dioxide recompression closed Brayton cycle

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

Jiang, Yuan; Liese, Eric; Zitney, Stephen E.

This paper presents a baseline design and optimization approach developed in Aspen Custom Modeler (ACM) for microtube shell-and-tube exchangers (MSTEs) used for high- and low-temperature recuperation in a 10 MWe indirect supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2) recompression closed Brayton cycle (RCBC). The MSTE-type recuperators are designed using one-dimensional models with thermal-hydraulic correlations appropriate for sCO 2 and properties models that capture considerable nonlinear changes in CO 2 properties near the critical and pseudo-critical points. Using the successive quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm in ACM, optimal recuperator designs are obtained for either custom or industry-standard microtubes considering constraints based on current advancedmore » manufacturing techniques. The three decision variables are the number of tubes, tube pitch-to-diameter ratio, and tube diameter. Five different objective functions based on different key design measures are considered: minimization of total heat transfer area, heat exchanger volume, metal weight, thermal residence time, and maximization of compactness. Sensitivities studies indicate the constraint on the maximum number of tubes per shell does affect the number of parallel heat exchanger trains but not the tube selection, total number of tubes, tube length and other key design measures in the final optimal design when considering industry-standard tubes. In this study, the optimally designed high- and low-temperature recuperators have 47,000 3/32 inch tubes and 63,000 1/16 inch tubes, respectively. In addition, sensitivities to the design temperature approach and maximum allowable pressure drop are studied, since these specifications significantly impact the optimal design of the recuperators as well as the thermal efficiency and the economic performance of the entire sCO 2 Brayton cycle.« less

Assessing efficiency and economic viability of rainwater harvesting systems for meeting non-potable water demands in four climatic zones of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, S.; Jing, X.

2017-12-01

Rainwater harvesting is now increasingly used to manage urban flood and alleviate water scarcity crisis. In this study, a computational tool based on water balance equation is developed to assess stormwater capture and water saving efficiency and economic viability of rainwater harvesting systems (RHS) in eight cities across four climatic zones of China. It requires daily rainfall, contributing area, runoff losses, first flush volume, storage capacity, daily water demand and economic parameters as inputs. Three non-potable water demand scenarios (i.e., toilet flushing, lawn irrigation, and combination of them) are considered. The water demand for lawn irrigation is estimated using the Cropwat 8.0 and Climwat 2.0. Results indicate that higher water saving efficiency and water supply time reliability can be achieved for RHS with larger storage capacities, for lower water demand scenarios and located in more humid regions, while higher stormwater capture efficiency is associated with larger storage capacity, higher water demand scenarios and less rainfall. For instance, a 40 m3 RHS in Shanghai (humid climate) for lawn irrigation can capture 17% of stormwater, while its water saving efficiency and time reliability can reach 96 % and 98%, respectively. The water saving efficiency and time reliability of a 20 m3 RHS in Xining (semi-arid climate) for toilet flushing are 19% and 16%, respectively, but it can capture 63% of stormwater. With the current values of economic parameters, economic viability of RHS can be achieved in humid and semi-humid regions for reasonably designed RHS; however, it is not financially viable to install RHS in arid regions as the benefit-cost ratio is much smaller than 1.0.

Model based adaptive control of a continuous capture process for monoclonal antibodies production.

PubMed

Steinebach, Fabian; Angarita, Monica; Karst, Daniel J; Müller-Späth, Thomas; Morbidelli, Massimo

2016-04-29

A two-column capture process for continuous processing of cell-culture supernatant is presented. Similar to other multicolumn processes, this process uses sequential countercurrent loading of the target compound in order maximize resin utilization and productivity for a given product yield. The process was designed using a novel mechanistic model for affinity capture, which takes both specific adsorption as well as transport through the resin beads into account. Simulations as well as experimental results for the capture of an IgG antibody are discussed. The model was able to predict the process performance in terms of yield, productivity and capacity utilization. Compared to continuous capture with two columns operated batch wise in parallel, a 2.5-fold higher capacity utilization was obtained for the same productivity and yield. This results in an equal improvement in product concentration and reduction of buffer consumption. The developed model was used not only for the process design and optimization but also for its online control. In particular, the unit operating conditions are changed in order to maintain high product yield while optimizing the process performance in terms of capacity utilization and buffer consumption also in the presence of changing upstream conditions and resin aging. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

C3 and C4 biomass allocation responses to elevated CO2 and nitrogen: contrasting resource capture strategies

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, K.P.; Langley, J.A.; Cahoon, D.R.; Megonigal, J.P.

2012-01-01

Plants alter biomass allocation to optimize resource capture. Plant strategy for resource capture may have important implications in intertidal marshes, where soil nitrogen (N) levels and atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are changing. We conducted a factorial manipulation of atmospheric CO2 (ambient and ambient + 340 ppm) and soil N (ambient and ambient + 25 g m-2 year-1) in an intertidal marsh composed of common North Atlantic C3 and C4 species. Estimation of C3 stem turnover was used to adjust aboveground C3 productivity, and fine root productivity was partitioned into C3-C4 functional groups by isotopic analysis. The results suggest that the plants follow resource capture theory. The C3 species increased aboveground productivity under the added N and elevated CO2 treatment (P 2 alone. C3 fine root production decreased with added N (P 2 (P = 0.0481). The C4 species increased growth under high N availability both above- and belowground, but that stimulation was diminished under elevated CO2. The results suggest that the marsh vegetation allocates biomass according to resource capture at the individual plant level rather than for optimal ecosystem viability in regards to biomass influence over the processes that maintain soil surface elevation in equilibrium with sea level.

A Simple Method for Amplifying RNA Targets (SMART)

PubMed Central

McCalla, Stephanie E.; Ong, Carmichael; Sarma, Aartik; Opal, Steven M.; Artenstein, Andrew W.; Tripathi, Anubhav

2012-01-01

We present a novel and simple method for amplifying RNA targets (named by its acronym, SMART), and for detection, using engineered amplification probes that overcome existing limitations of current RNA-based technologies. This system amplifies and detects optimal engineered ssDNA probes that hybridize to target RNA. The amplifiable probe-target RNA complex is captured on magnetic beads using a sequence-specific capture probe and is separated from unbound probe using a novel microfluidic technique. Hybridization sequences are not constrained as they are in conventional target-amplification reactions such as nucleic acid sequence amplification (NASBA). Our engineered ssDNA probe was amplified both off-chip and in a microchip reservoir at the end of the separation microchannel using isothermal NASBA. Optimal solution conditions for ssDNA amplification were investigated. Although KCl and MgCl2 are typically found in NASBA reactions, replacing 70 mmol/L of the 82 mmol/L total chloride ions with acetate resulted in optimal reaction conditions, particularly for low but clinically relevant probe concentrations (≤100 fmol/L). With the optimal probe design and solution conditions, we also successfully removed the initial heating step of NASBA, thus achieving a true isothermal reaction. The SMART assay using a synthetic model influenza DNA target sequence served as a fundamental demonstration of the efficacy of the capture and microfluidic separation system, thus bridging our system to a clinically relevant detection problem. PMID:22691910

Measurement of gamma-ray production from thermal neutron capture on gadolinium for neutrino experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yano, Takatomi; 2012B0025 Collaboration; 2014B0126 Collaboration

2017-02-01

Recently, several scientific applications of gadolinium are found in neutrino physics experiments. Gadolinium-157 is the nucleus, which has the largest thermal neutron capture cross-section among all stable nuclei. Gadolinium-155 also has the large cross-section. These neutron capture reactions provide the gamma-ray cascade with the total energy of about 8 MeV. This reaction is applied for several neutrino experiments, e.g. reactor neutrino experiments and Gd doped large water Cherenkov detector experiments, to recognize inverse-beta-decay reaction. A good Gd(n,γ) simulation model is needed to evaluate the detection efficiency of the neutron capture reaction, i.e. the efficiency of IBD detection. In this presentation, we will report the development and study status of a Gd(n,γ) calculation model and comparison with our experimental data taken at ANNRI/MLF beam line, J-PARC.

Status of the Neutron Capture Measurement on 237Np with the DANCE Array at LANSCE

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

Esch, E.-I.; Bond, E.M.; Bredeweg, T. A.

2005-05-24

Neptunium-237 is a major constituent of spent nuclear fuel. Estimates place the amount of 237Np bound for the Yucca Mountain high-level waste repository at 40 metric tons. The Department of Energy's Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative program is evaluating methods for transmuting the actinide waste that will be generated by future operation of commercial nuclear power plants. The critical parameter that defines the transmutation efficiency of actinide isotopes is the neutron fission-to-capture ratio for the particular isotope in a given neutron spectrum. The calculation of transmutation efficiency therefore requires accurate fission and capture cross sections. Current 237Np evaluations available for transmutermore » system studies show significant discrepancies in both the fission and capture cross sections in the energy regions of interest. Herein we report on 237Np (n,{gamma}) measurements using the recently commissioned DANCE array.« less

Improvement in defect classification efficiency by grouping disposition for reticle inspection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lai, Rick; Hsu, Luke T. H.; Chang, Peter; Ho, C. H.; Tsai, Frankie; Long, Garrett; Yu, Paul; Miller, John; Hsu, Vincent; Chen, Ellison

2005-11-01

As the lithography design rule of IC manufacturing continues to migrate toward more advanced technology nodes, the mask error enhancement factor (MEEF) increases and necessitates the use of aggressive OPC features. These aggressive OPC features pose challenges to reticle inspection due to high false detection, which is time-consuming for defect classification and impacts the throughput of mask manufacturing. Moreover, higher MEEF leads to stricter mask defect capture criteria so that new generation reticle inspection tool is equipped with better detection capability. Hence, mask process induced defects, which were once undetectable, are now detected and results in the increase of total defect count. Therefore, how to review and characterize reticle defects efficiently is becoming more significant. A new defect review system called ReviewSmart has been developed based on the concept of defect grouping disposition. The review system intelligently bins repeating or similar defects into defect groups and thus allows operators to review massive defects more efficiently. Compared to the conventional defect review method, ReviewSmart not only reduces defect classification time and human judgment error, but also eliminates desensitization that is formerly inevitable. In this study, we attempt to explore the most efficient use of ReviewSmart by evaluating various defect binning conditions. The optimal binning conditions are obtained and have been verified for fidelity qualification through inspection reports (IRs) of production masks. The experiment results help to achieve the best defect classification efficiency when using ReviewSmart in the mask manufacturing and development.

Efficient Purification and Release of Circulating Tumor Cells by Synergistic Effect of Biomarker and SiO2 @Gel-Microbead-Based Size Difference Amplification.

PubMed

Huang, Qinqin; Cai, Bo; Chen, Bolei; Rao, Lang; He, Zhaobo; He, Rongxiang; Guo, Feng; Zhao, Libo; Kondamareddy, Kiran Kumar; Liu, Wei; Guo, Shishang; Zhao, Xing-Zhong

2016-07-01

Microfluidics-based circulating tumor cell (CTC) isolation is achieved by using gelatin-coated silica microbeads conjugated to CTC-specific antibodies. Bead-binding selectively enlarges target cell size, providing efficient high-purity capture. CTCs captured can be further released non-invasively. This stratagem enables high-performance CTC isolation for subsequent studies. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Solvent Effects on the Photothermal Regeneration of CO 2 in Monoethanolamine Nanofluids

DOE PAGES

Nguyen, Du; Stolaroff, Joshuah; Esser-Kahn, Aaron

2015-11-02

We present that a potential approach to reduce energy costs associated with carbon capture is to use external and renewable energy sources. The photothermal release of CO 2 from monoethanolamine mediated by nanoparticles is a unique solution to this problem. When combined with light-absorbing nanoparticles, vapor bubbles form inside the capture solution and release the CO 2 without heating the bulk solvent. The mechanism by which CO 2 is released remained unclear, and understanding this process would improve the efficiency of photothermal CO 2 release. Here we report the use of different cosolvents to improve or reduce the photothermal regenerationmore » of CO 2 captured by monoethanolamine. We found that properties that reduce the residence time of the gas bubbles (viscosity, boiling point, and convection direction) can enhance the regeneration efficiencies. The reduction of bubble residence times minimizes the reabsorption of CO 2 back into the capture solvent where bulk temperatures remain lower than the localized area surrounding the nanoparticle. These properties shed light on the mechanism of release and indicated methods for improving the efficiency of the process. We used this knowledge to develop an improved photothermal CO 2 regeneration system in a continuously flowing setup. Finally, using techniques to reduce residence time in the continuously flowing setup, such as alternative cosolvents and smaller fluid volumes, resulted in regeneration efficiency enhancements of over 200%.« less

Solvent Effects on the Photothermal Regeneration of CO 2 in Monoethanolamine Nanofluids

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

Nguyen, Du; Stolaroff, Joshuah; Esser-Kahn, Aaron

We present that a potential approach to reduce energy costs associated with carbon capture is to use external and renewable energy sources. The photothermal release of CO 2 from monoethanolamine mediated by nanoparticles is a unique solution to this problem. When combined with light-absorbing nanoparticles, vapor bubbles form inside the capture solution and release the CO 2 without heating the bulk solvent. The mechanism by which CO 2 is released remained unclear, and understanding this process would improve the efficiency of photothermal CO 2 release. Here we report the use of different cosolvents to improve or reduce the photothermal regenerationmore » of CO 2 captured by monoethanolamine. We found that properties that reduce the residence time of the gas bubbles (viscosity, boiling point, and convection direction) can enhance the regeneration efficiencies. The reduction of bubble residence times minimizes the reabsorption of CO 2 back into the capture solvent where bulk temperatures remain lower than the localized area surrounding the nanoparticle. These properties shed light on the mechanism of release and indicated methods for improving the efficiency of the process. We used this knowledge to develop an improved photothermal CO 2 regeneration system in a continuously flowing setup. Finally, using techniques to reduce residence time in the continuously flowing setup, such as alternative cosolvents and smaller fluid volumes, resulted in regeneration efficiency enhancements of over 200%.« less

Highly efficient SO2 capture through tuning the interaction between anion-functionalized ionic liquids and SO2.

PubMed

Wang, Congmin; Zheng, Junjie; Cui, Guokai; Luo, Xiaoyan; Guo, Yan; Li, Haoran

2013-02-11

A strategy to improve SO(2) capture through tuning the electronegativity of the interaction site in ILs has been presented. Two types of imidazolium ionic liquids that include less electronegative sulfur or carbon sites were used for the capture of SO(2), which exhibit extremely highly available capacity, rapid absorption rate and excellent reversibility.

Analysis of daylight performance of solar light pipes influenced by size and shape of sunlight captures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yanpeng; Jin, Rendong; Zhang, Wenming; Liu, Li; Zou, Dachao

2009-11-01

Experimental investigations on three different sunlight captures with diameter 150mm, 212mm, 300mm were carried out under different conditions such as sunny conditions, cloudy conditions and overcast conditions and the two different size solar light pipes with diameter 360mm and 160mm under sunny conditions. The illuminance in the middle of the sunlight capture have relationship with its size, but not linear. To improve the efficiency of the solar light pipes, the structure and the performance of the sunlight capture must be enhanced. For example, University of Science and Technology Beijing Gymnasium, Beijing 2008 Olympic events of Judo and Taekwondo, 148 solar light pipes were installed with the diameter 530mm for each light pipe. Two sunlight captures with different shape were installed and tested. From the measuring results of the illuminance on the work plane of the gymnasium, the improvement sunlight captures have better effects with the size of augmenting and the machining of the internal surface at the same time, so that the refraction increased and the efficiency of solar light pipes improved. The better effects of supplementary lighting for the gymnasium have been achieved.

Efficiency enhancement for natural gas liquefaction with CO2 capture and sequestration through cycles innovation and process optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alabdulkarem, Abdullah

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants are energy intensive. As a result, the power plants operating these LNG plants emit high amounts of CO2 . To mitigate global warming that is caused by the increase in atmospheric CO2, CO2 capture and sequestration (CCS) using amine absorption is proposed. However, the major challenge of implementing this CCS system is the associated power requirement, increasing power consumption by about 15--25%. Therefore, the main scope of this work is to tackle this challenge by minimizing CCS power consumption as well as that of the entire LNG plant though system integration and rigorous optimization. The power consumption of the LNG plant was reduced through improving the process of liquefaction itself. In this work, a genetic algorithm (GA) was used to optimize a propane pre-cooled mixed-refrigerant (C3-MR) LNG plant modeled using HYSYS software. An optimization platform coupling Matlab with HYSYS was developed. New refrigerant mixtures were found, with savings in power consumption as high as 13%. LNG plants optimization with variable natural gas feed compositions was addressed and the solution was proposed through applying robust optimization techniques, resulting in a robust refrigerant which can liquefy a range of natural gas feeds. The second approach for reducing the power consumption is through process integration and waste heat utilization in the integrated CCS system. Four waste heat sources and six potential uses were uncovered and evaluated using HYSYS software. The developed models were verified against experimental data from the literature with good agreement. Net available power enhancement in one of the proposed CCS configuration is 16% more than the conventional CCS configuration. To reduce the CO2 pressurization power into a well for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications, five CO2 pressurization methods were explored. New CO2 liquefaction cycles were developed and modeled using HYSYS software. One of the developed liquefaction cycles using NH3 as a refrigerant resulted in 5% less power consumption than the conventional multi-stage compression cycle. Finally, a new concept of providing the CO2 regeneration heat is proposed. The proposed concept is using a heat pump to provide the regeneration heat as well as process heat and CO2 liquefaction heat. Seven configurations of heat pumps integrated with CCS were developed. One of the heat pumps consumes 24% less power than the conventional system or 59% less total equivalent power demand than the conventional system with steam extraction and CO2 compression.

Capture and separation of l-histidine through optimized zinc-decorated magnetic silica spheres.

PubMed

Cardoso, Vanessa F; Sebastián, Víctor; Silva, Carlos J R; Botelho, Gabriela; Lanceros-Méndez, Senentxu

2017-09-01

Zinc-decorated magnetic silica spheres were developed, optimized and tested for the capture and separation of l-histidine. The magnetic silica spheres were prepared using a simple sol-gel method and show excellent magnetic characteristics, adsorption capacity toward metal ions, and stability in aqueous solution in a wide pH range. The binding capacity of zinc-decorated magnetic silica spheres to histidine proved to be strongly influenced by the morphology, composition and concentration of metal at the surface of the magnetic silica spheres and therefore these parameters should be carefully controlled in order to maximize the performance for protein purification purposes. Optimized zinc-decorated magnetic silica spheres demonstrate a binding capacity to l-histidine of approximately 44mgg -1 at the optimum binding pH buffer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DyHAP: Dynamic Hybrid ANFIS-PSO Approach for Predicting Mobile Malware.

PubMed

Afifi, Firdaus; Anuar, Nor Badrul; Shamshirband, Shahaboddin; Choo, Kim-Kwang Raymond

2016-01-01

To deal with the large number of malicious mobile applications (e.g. mobile malware), a number of malware detection systems have been proposed in the literature. In this paper, we propose a hybrid method to find the optimum parameters that can be used to facilitate mobile malware identification. We also present a multi agent system architecture comprising three system agents (i.e. sniffer, extraction and selection agent) to capture and manage the pcap file for data preparation phase. In our hybrid approach, we combine an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Evaluations using data captured on a real-world Android device and the MalGenome dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, in comparison to two hybrid optimization methods which are differential evolution (ANFIS-DE) and ant colony optimization (ANFIS-ACO).

DyHAP: Dynamic Hybrid ANFIS-PSO Approach for Predicting Mobile Malware

PubMed Central

Afifi, Firdaus; Anuar, Nor Badrul; Shamshirband, Shahaboddin

2016-01-01

To deal with the large number of malicious mobile applications (e.g. mobile malware), a number of malware detection systems have been proposed in the literature. In this paper, we propose a hybrid method to find the optimum parameters that can be used to facilitate mobile malware identification. We also present a multi agent system architecture comprising three system agents (i.e. sniffer, extraction and selection agent) to capture and manage the pcap file for data preparation phase. In our hybrid approach, we combine an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Evaluations using data captured on a real-world Android device and the MalGenome dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, in comparison to two hybrid optimization methods which are differential evolution (ANFIS-DE) and ant colony optimization (ANFIS-ACO). PMID:27611312

Finite-size effect on optimal efficiency of heat engines.

PubMed

Tajima, Hiroyasu; Hayashi, Masahito

2017-07-01

The optimal efficiency of quantum (or classical) heat engines whose heat baths are n-particle systems is given by the strong large deviation. We give the optimal work extraction process as a concrete energy-preserving unitary time evolution among the heat baths and the work storage. We show that our optimal work extraction turns the disordered energy of the heat baths to the ordered energy of the work storage, by evaluating the ratio of the entropy difference to the energy difference in the heat baths and the work storage, respectively. By comparing the statistical mechanical optimal efficiency with the macroscopic thermodynamic bound, we evaluate the accuracy of the macroscopic thermodynamics with finite-size heat baths from the statistical mechanical viewpoint. We also evaluate the quantum coherence effect on the optimal efficiency of the cycle processes without restricting their cycle time by comparing the classical and quantum optimal efficiencies.

[Fluorine removal efficiency of organic-calcium during coal combustion].

PubMed

Liu, Jing; Liu, Jian-Zhong; Zhou, Jun-Hu; Xiao, Hai-Ping; Cen, Ke-Fa

2006-08-01

Effectiveness of calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) and calcium acetate(CA) as feasible HF capture were studied by means of fixed bed tube furnaces. The effects of temperature, particle diameter and Ca/S molar ratio on the fluorine removal efficiency were studied. By contract with CaCO3 at the same condition, we find that the HF capture effectiveness of those sorbents is superior to CaCO3, especially at high temperature. At 1 000 - 1 100 degrees C, the efficiency of fluorine removal during coal combustion of CMA is 1.68 - 1.74 times as that of CaCO3; the efficiency of fluorine removal during coal combustion of CA is 1.28 - 1.37 times as that of CaCO3.

Nonlinear dynamical modes of climate variability: from curves to manifolds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gavrilov, Andrey; Mukhin, Dmitry; Loskutov, Evgeny; Feigin, Alexander

2016-04-01

The necessity of efficient dimensionality reduction methods capturing dynamical properties of the system from observed data is evident. Recent study shows that nonlinear dynamical mode (NDM) expansion is able to solve this problem and provide adequate phase variables in climate data analysis [1]. A single NDM is logical extension of linear spatio-temporal structure (like empirical orthogonal function pattern): it is constructed as nonlinear transformation of hidden scalar time series to the space of observed variables, i. e. projection of observed dataset onto a nonlinear curve. Both the hidden time series and the parameters of the curve are learned simultaneously using Bayesian approach. The only prior information about the hidden signal is the assumption of its smoothness. The optimal nonlinearity degree and smoothness are found using Bayesian evidence technique. In this work we do further extension and look for vector hidden signals instead of scalar with the same smoothness restriction. As a result we resolve multidimensional manifolds instead of sum of curves. The dimension of the hidden manifold is optimized using also Bayesian evidence. The efficiency of the extension is demonstrated on model examples. Results of application to climate data are demonstrated and discussed. The study is supported by Government of Russian Federation (agreement #14.Z50.31.0033 with the Institute of Applied Physics of RAS). 1. Mukhin, D., Gavrilov, A., Feigin, A., Loskutov, E., & Kurths, J. (2015). Principal nonlinear dynamical modes of climate variability. Scientific Reports, 5, 15510. http://doi.org/10.1038/srep15510

Solar Reforming of Carbon Dioxide to Produce Diesel Fuel

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

Dennis Schuetzle; Robert Schuetzle

2010-12-31

This project focused on the demonstration of an innovative technology, referred to as the Sunexus CO2 Solar Reformer, which utilizes waste CO2 as a feedstock for the efficient and economical production of synthetic diesel fuel using solar thermal energy as the primary energy input. The Sunexus technology employs a two stage process for the conversion of CO2 to diesel fuel. A solar reforming system, including a specially designed reactor and proprietary CO2 reforming catalyst, was developed and used to convert captured CO2 rich gas streams into syngas (primarily hydrogen and carbon monoxide) using concentrated solar energy at high conversion efficiencies.more » The second stage of the system (which has been demonstrated under other funding) involves the direct conversion of the syngas into synthetic diesel fuel using a proprietary catalyst (Terra) previously developed and validated by Pacific Renewable Fuels and Chemicals (PRFC). The overall system energy efficiency for conversion of CO2 to diesel fuel is 74%, due to the use of solar energy. The results herein describe modeling, design, construction, and testing of the Sunexus CO2 Solar Reformer. Extensive parametric testing of the solar reformer and candidate catalysts was conducted and chemical kinetic models were developed. Laboratory testing of the Solar Reformer was successfully completed using various gas mixtures, temperatures, and gas flow rates/space velocities to establish performance metrics which can be employed for the design of commercial plants. A variety of laboratory tests were conducted including dry reforming (CO2 and CH{sub 4}), combination dry/steam reforming (CO2, CH{sub 4} & H{sub 2}O), and tri-reforming (CO2, CH{sub 4}, H{sub 2}O & O{sub 2}). CH{sub 4} and CO2 conversions averaged 95-100% and 50-90% per reformer cycle, respectively, depending upon the temperatures and gas space velocities. No formation of carbon deposits (coking) on the catalyst was observed in any of these tests. A 16 ft. diameter, concentrating solar dish was modified to accommodate the Sunexus CO2 Solar Reformer and the integrated system was installed at the Pacific Renewable Fuels and Chemicals test site at McClellan, CA. Several test runs were conducted without catalyst during which the ceramic heat exchanger in the Sunexus Solar Reformer reached temperatures between 1,050 F (566 C) and 2,200 F (1,204 C) during the test period. A dry reforming mixture of CO2/CH{sub 4} (2.0/1.0 molar ratio) was chosen for all of the tests on the integrated solar dish/catalytic reformer during December 2010. Initial tests were carried out to determine heat transfer from the collimated solar beam to the catalytic reactor. The catalyst was operated successfully at a steady-state temperature of 1,125 F (607 C), which was sufficient to convert 35% of the 2/1 CO2/CH{sub 4} mixture to syngas. This conversion efficiency confirmed the results from laboratory testing of this catalyst which provided comparable syngas production efficiencies (40% at 1,200 F [650 C]) with a resulting syngas composition of 20% CO, 16% H{sub 2}, 39% CO2 and 25% CH{sub 4}. As based upon the laboratory results, it is predicted that 90% of the CO2 will be converted to syngas in the solar reformer at 1,440 F (782 C) resulting in a syngas composition of 50% CO: 43% H{sub 2}: 7% CO2: 0% CH{sub 4}. Laboratory tests show that the higher catalyst operating temperature of 1,440 F (782 C) for efficient conversion of CO2 can certainly be achieved by optimizing solar reactor heat transfer, which would result in the projected 90% CO2-to-syngas conversion efficiencies. Further testing will be carried out during 2011, through other funding support, to further optimize the solar dish CO2 reformer. Additional studies carried out in support of this project and described in this report include: (1) An Assessment of Potential Contaminants in Captured CO2 from Various Industrial Processes and Their Possible Effect on Sunexus CO2 Reforming Catalysts; (2) Recommended Measurement Methods for Assessing Contaminant Levels in Captured CO2 Streams; (3) An Assessment of Current Commercial Scale Fisher-Tropsch (F-T) Technologies for the Conversion of Syngas to Fuels; (4) An Overview of CO2 Capture Technologies from Various Industrial Sources; and (5) Lifecycle Analysis for the Capture and Conversion of CO2 to Synthetic Diesel Fuel. Commercial scale Sunexus CO2 Solar Reformer plant designs, proposed in this report, should be able to utilize waste CO2 from a wide variety of industrial sources to produce a directly usable synthetic diesel fuel that replaces petroleum derived fuel, thus improving the United States energy security while also sequestering CO2. Our material balance model shows that every 5.0 lbs of CO2 is transformed using solar energy into 6.26 lbs (1.0 U.S. gallon) of diesel fuel and into by-products, which includes water. Details are provided in the mass and energy model in this report.« less

Antibody-mediated targeting of replication-competent retroviral vectors.

PubMed

Tai, Chien-Kuo; Logg, Christopher R; Park, Jinha M; Anderson, W French; Press, Michael F; Kasahara, Noriyuki

2003-05-20

Replication-competent murine leukemia virus (MLV) vectors can be engineered to achieve high efficiency gene transfer to solid tumors in vivo and tumor-restricted replication, however their safety can be further enhanced by redirecting tropism of the virus envelope. We have therefore tested the targeting capability and replicative stability of ecotropic and amphotropic replication-competent retrovirus (RCR) vectors containing two tandem repeats from the immunoglobulin G-binding domain of Staphylococcal protein A inserted into the proline-rich "hinge" region of the envelope, which enables modular use of antibodies of various specificities for vector targeting. The modified envelopes were efficiently expressed and incorporated into virions, were capable of capturing monoclonal anti-HER2 antibodies, and mediated efficient binding of the virus-antibody complex to HER2-positive target cells. While infectivity was markedly reduced by pseudotyping with targeted envelopes alone, coexpression of wild-type envelope rescued efficient cellular entry. Both ecotropic and amphotropic RCR vector/anti-HER2 antibody complexes achieved significant enhancement of transduction on murine target cells overexpressing HER2, which could be competed by preincubation with excess free antibodies. Interestingly, HER2-expressing human breast cancer cells did not show enhancement of transduction despite efficient antibody-mediated cell surface binding, suggesting that target cell-specific parameters markedly affect the efficiency of post-binding entry processes. Serial replication of targeted vectors resulted in selection of Z domain deletion variants, but reduction of the overall size of the vector genome enhanced its stability. Application of antibody-mediated targeting to the initial localization of replication-competent virus vectors to tumor sites will thus require optimized target selection and vector design.

CO₂ carbonation under aqueous conditions using petroleum coke combustion fly ash.

PubMed

González, A; Moreno, N; Navia, R

2014-12-01

Fly ash from petroleum coke combustion was evaluated for CO2 capture in aqueous medium. Moreover the carbonation efficiency based on different methodologies and the kinetic parameters of the process were determined. The results show that petroleum coke fly ash achieved a CO2 capture yield of 21% at the experimental conditions of 12 g L(-1), 363°K without stirring. The carbonation efficiency by petroleum coke fly ash based on reactive calcium species was within carbonation efficiencies reported by several authors. In addition, carbonation by petroleum coke fly ash follows a pseudo-second order kinetic model. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.