Product carbon footprint assessment supporting the green supply chain construction in household appliance manufacturers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jianhua; Sun, Liang; Guo, Huiting

2017-11-01

Supply chain carbon emission is one of the factors considered in the green supply chain management. A method was designed to support the green supply chain measures based on the carbon footprint assessment for products. A research for 3 typical household appliances carbon footprint assessment was conducted to explore using product carbon footprint assessment method to guide the green supply chain management of the manufacturers. The result could reflect the differences directions on green supply chain management of manufacturers of washing machine, air conditioner and microwave, respectively That is, the washing machine manufacturer should pay attention to the low carbon activities in upstream suppliers in highest priority, and also the promotion of product energy efficiency. The air conditioner manufacturer should pay attention to the product energy efficiency increasing in highest priority, and the improvement of refrigerant to decrease its GWP. And the microwave manufacture could only focus on the energy efficiency increasing because it contributes most of the carbon emission to its carbon footprint. Besides, the representativeness of product and the applicability of the method were also discussed. As the manufacturer could master the technical information on raw material and components of its products to conduct the product carbon footprint assessment, this method could help the manufacturer to identify the effective green supply chain measures in the preliminary stage.

The importance of male partner involvement for women's acceptability and adherence to female-initiated HIV prevention methods in Zimbabwe.

PubMed

Montgomery, Elizabeth T; van der Straten, Ariane; Chidanyika, Agnes; Chipato, Tsungai; Jaffar, Shabbar; Padian, Nancy

2011-07-01

Enlisting male partner involvement is perceived as an important component of women's successful uptake of female-initiated HIV prevention methods. We conducted a longitudinal study among a cohort of 955 Zimbabwean women participating in a clinical trial of the effectiveness of a female-initiated HIV prevention method (the diaphragm and lubricant gel) to: (a) describe the extent to which women involved their male partners in the decision to use the study products, and (b) measure the effect perceived male partner support had on their acceptability and consistent use of these methods. Reported levels of male partner involvement in discussions and decisions regarding: joining the study, study activities, the outcome of HIV/STI test results, and product use were very high. In multivariate analyses, regular disclosure of study product use and partner approval for the diaphragm and gel were significantly associated with women's acceptability and consistent use of the products; an essential component for determining efficacy of investigational prevention methods. These results support the need for more sophisticated measurement of how couples interact to make decisions that impact study participation and investigational product use as well as more rigorous adaptations and evaluations of existing strategies to involve male partners in female-initiated HIV prevention trials.

Strategies of Production Control as Tools of Efficient Management of Production Enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budynek, Mateusz; Celińska, Elżbieta; Dybikowska, Adrianna; Kozak, Monika; Ratajczak, Joanna; Urban, Jagoda; Materne, Karolina

2016-03-01

The paper discusses the problem of principle methods of production control as a strategy supporting the production system and stimulating efficient solutions in respect management in production enterprises. The article describes MRP, ERP, JIT, KANBAN and TOC methods and focuses on their main goals, principles of functioning as well as benefits resulting from their application. The methods represent two diverse strategies of production control, i.e. pull and push strategies. Push strategies are used when the plans apply to the first and principle part of production and are based on the demand forecasts. Pull strategies are used when all planning decisions apply to the final stage and depend on the actual demand or orders from customers.

Relaxed Fidelity CFD Methods Applied to Store Separation Problems

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-06-01

accuracy-productivity characteristics of influence function methods and time-accurate CFD methods. Two methods are presented in this paper, both of...which provide significant accuracy improvements over influence function methods while providing rapid enough turn around times to support parameter and

Systematic development of technical textiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beer, M.; Schrank, V.; Gloy, Y.-S.; Gries, T.

2016-07-01

Technical textiles are used in various fields of applications, ranging from small scale (e.g. medical applications) to large scale products (e.g. aerospace applications). The development of new products is often complex and time consuming, due to multiple interacting parameters. These interacting parameters are production process related and also a result of the textile structure and used material. A huge number of iteration steps are necessary to adjust the process parameter to finalize the new fabric structure. A design method is developed to support the systematic development of technical textiles and to reduce iteration steps. The design method is subdivided into six steps, starting from the identification of the requirements. The fabric characteristics vary depending on the field of application. If possible, benchmarks are tested. A suitable fabric production technology needs to be selected. The aim of the method is to support a development team within the technology selection without restricting the textile developer. After a suitable technology is selected, the transformation and correlation between input and output parameters follows. This generates the information for the production of the structure. Afterwards, the first prototype can be produced and tested. The resulting characteristics are compared with the initial product requirements.

Method of fabricating lipid bilayer membranes on solid supports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cho, Nam-Joon (Inventor); Frank, Curtis W. (Inventor); Glenn, Jeffrey S. (Inventor); Cheong, Kwang Ho (Inventor)

2012-01-01

The present invention provides a method of producing a planar lipid bilayer on a solid support. With this method, a solution of lipid vesicles is first deposited on the solid support. Next, the lipid vesicles are destabilized by adding an amphipathic peptide solution to the lipid vesicle solution. This destabilization leads to production of a planar lipid bilayer on the solid support. The present invention also provides a supported planar lipid bilayer, where the planar lipid bilayer is made of naturally occurring lipids and the solid support is made of unmodified gold or titanium oxide. Preferably, the supported planar lipid bilayer is continuous. The planar lipid bilayer may be made of any naturally occurring lipid or mixture of lipids, including, but not limited to phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinsitol, cardiolipin, cholesterol, and sphingomyelin.

VIIRS Product Evaluation at the Ocean PEATE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patt, Frederick S.; Feldman, Gene C.

2010-01-01

The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) mission will support the continuation of climate records generated from NASA missions. The NASA Science Data Segment (SDS) relies upon discipline-specific centers of expertise to evaluate the NPP data products for suitability as climate data records, The Ocean Product Evaluation and Analysis Tool Element (PEATE) will build upon Well established NASA capabilities within the Ocean Color program in order to evaluate the NPP Visible and Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Ocean Color and Chlorophyll data products. The specific evaluation methods will support not only the evaluation of product quality but also the sources of differences with existing data records.

A Proposal of Product Development Collaboration Method Using User Support Information and its Experimental Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Mitsuru; Kataoka, Masatoshi; Koizumi, Hisao

As the market changes more rapidly and new products continue to get more complex and multifunctional, product development collaboration with competent partners and leading users is getting more important to come up with new products that are successful in the market in a timely manner. ECM (engineering chain management) and SCM (supply chain management) are supply-side approaches toward this collaboration. In this paper, we propose a demand-side approach toward product development collaboration with users based on the information gathered through user support interactions. The approach and methodology proposed here was applied to a real data set, and its effectiveness was verified.

Product demand forecasts using wavelet kernel support vector machine and particle swarm optimization in manufacture system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Qi

2010-03-01

Demand forecasts play a crucial role in supply chain management. The future demand for a certain product is the basis for the respective replenishment systems. Aiming at demand series with small samples, seasonal character, nonlinearity, randomicity and fuzziness, the existing support vector kernel does not approach the random curve of the sales time series in the space (quadratic continuous integral space). In this paper, we present a hybrid intelligent system combining the wavelet kernel support vector machine and particle swarm optimization for demand forecasting. The results of application in car sale series forecasting show that the forecasting approach based on the hybrid PSOWv-SVM model is effective and feasible, the comparison between the method proposed in this paper and other ones is also given, which proves that this method is, for the discussed example, better than hybrid PSOv-SVM and other traditional methods.

Web-based decision support system to predict risk level of long term rice production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukhlash, Imam; Maulidiyah, Ratna; Sutikno; Setiyono, Budi

2017-09-01

Appropriate decision making in risk management of rice production is very important in agricultural planning, especially for Indonesia which is an agricultural country. Good decision would be obtained if the supporting data required are satisfied and using appropriate methods. This study aims to develop a Decision Support System that can be used to predict the risk level of rice production in some districts which are central of rice production in East Java. Web-based decision support system is constructed so that the information can be easily accessed and understood. Components of the system are data management, model management, and user interface. This research uses regression models of OLS and Copula. OLS model used to predict rainfall while Copula model used to predict harvested area. Experimental results show that the models used are successfully predict the harvested area of rice production in some districts which are central of rice production in East Java at any given time based on the conditions and climate of a region. Furthermore, it can predict the amount of rice production with the level of risk. System generates prediction of production risk level in the long term for some districts that can be used as a decision support for the authorities.

A Study of Quantitative Measurements of Programmer Productivity for Fleet Material Support Office (FMSO).

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-12-01

paper examines the various measures discussed in the literature and used in selected corpora- tions which develop software. It presents several methods ...examines the various measures discassed in the literature and used in selected corporations which develop software. It presents several methods for...HOUR .... 40 D. SELECTED INDUSrRY METHODS FOR MEASURING PRODUCTIVITY 41 _ I1. 1IBM 41.. . . . . . . . ; 2. Amdahl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Why do local communities support or oppose seawater desalination?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirza Ordshahi, B.; Heck, N.; Faraola, S.; Paytan, A.; Haddad, B.; Potts, D. C.

2016-12-01

Freshwater shortages have become a global problem due to increasing water consumption and environmental changes which are reducing the reliability of traditional water resources. One option to address water shortages in coastal areas is the use of seawater desalination. Desalination technology is particularly valued for the production of high quality drinking water and consistent production. However, seawater desalination is controversial due to potential environmental, economic, and societal impacts and lack of public support for this water supply method. Compared to alternative potable water production methods, such as water recycling, little is known about public attitudes towards seawater desalination and factors that shape local support or rejection. Our research addresses this gap and explores variables that influence support for proposed desalination plants in the Monterey Bay region, where multiple facilities have been proposed in recent years. Data was collected via a questionnaire-based survey among a random sample of coastal residents and marine stakeholders between June-July, 2016. Findings of the study identify the influence of socio-demographic variables, knowledge about desalination, engagement in marine activities, perception of the environmental context, and the existence of a National Marine Sanctuary on local support. Research outcome provide novel insights into public attitudes towards desalination and enhances our understanding of why communities might support or reject this water supply technology.

Working with Persistent Pain: An Exploration of Strategies Utilised to Stay Productive at Work.

PubMed

Oakman, Jodi; Kinsman, Natasha; Briggs, Andrew M

2017-03-01

Purpose Maintaining productive employment for people with persistent pain conditions is challenging. This study aims to explore supports-work and non-work- used by employees to assist them in maintaining productive employment. Methods An exploratory, mixed-methods study comprising a questionnaire battery followed by semi-structured interviews to collect in-depth qualitative data was undertaken. The questionnaires measured descriptive variables used to select participants for interviews based on maximum heterogeneity sampling. Thirty-five semi-structured interviews were undertaken (14 males; 21 females). The interview schedule covered: employment situation, workplace challenges, workplace supports, coping strategies, motivations, future employment options and any other resources utilised. Inductive content analysis was undertaken using a grounded theory approach to systematically explore the data. Results Three key themes were identified: barriers to working productively, enablers to working productively, disclosing my condition at work. A key determinant of maintaining productive employment was a supportive employer. In addition, flexibility in the work organisation was also pivotal in maintaining sustainable, productive employment. An important issue emerged with regard to disclosure of one's condition to an employer. For some, this was a significant barrier to employment. Conclusions To ensure sustainable employment is attainable for those with persistent pain conditions, a good match is required between an employee and their work. Workplace accommodations may assist with improving job fit but this requires disclosure of a condition to an employer. Weighing up the risks and benefits of disclosure is difficult, and may be assisted by knowledge of available supports to assist with maintaining ongoing employment.

Synthesis, characterization, and activity of Co/Fe alumina/silica supported Ft catalysts and the study of promoter effect of ruthenium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esumike, Sunday Azubike

The alumina and hybrid alumina-silica FT catalyst were prepared by one-step solgel/oil-drop methods using metal-nitrate-solutions (method-I), and nanoparticle-metaloxides (method-2). The nanoparticle-metal-oxides did not participate in solubility equilibria in contrast to metal nitrate in method-1 causing no metal ion seepage; therefore, method-2 yields higher XRF metal loading efficiency than method-1. The thermal analysis confirmed that the metal loading by method-1 and method-2 involved two different pathways. Method-1 involves solubility equilibria in the conversion of metal-nitrate to metal- hydroxide and finally to metal-oxide, while in method-2 nanoparticle-metal-oxide remained intact during sol-gel-oil-drop and calcination steps. The alumina supported catalysts were dominated by gamma-alumina PXRD peaks in alumina catalysts while amorphous alumino-silicate phase was the bulk of hybrid alumina-silica catalysts. The presence of cobalt oxides (CoO, Co3O4) and iron oxides (FeO, Fe2O3) phases are confirmed in the catalysts prepared by method-1 and method-2. The PXRD analysis indicated weak peak intensities in catalysts with 5 wt. % total metal loading. PXRD pattern confirmed alloy formation in the bimetallic catalysts (CoFe2O4) on alumina support phase gamma-A12 O3. The surface area and pore diameter of hybrid alumina-silica granules (301 - 372 m2/g and 7.3 nm) showed better values than the alumina granules (251 - 256 m2/g and 6.5 nm). The support pore diameter of both types of granules is within the mesoporous range (1 - 50 nm). The morphology of all the catalysts is preserved upon metal loading and heat treatments. The surface characteristics of the sol-gel-oil-drop method prepared catalysts indicate there was no significant pore blockage of the support below 10 wt % total metal loading. The CO conversion of the FT catalysts was measured to screen catalytic active metals and determine the optimum temperatures of the FT reaction for the alumina catalysts. The alumina FT catalysts showed an optimum reaction temperature of 250 °C. Hydrocarbon production and CO conversion of alumina and hybrid alumina-silica FT catalysts were investigated. Among monometallic alumina catalysts, Co(5%) showed a higher CO conversion. The incorporation of Fe to Co increased CO conversion and hydrocarbon production. Increased Fe content in the bimetallic catalysts prepared by combined method-1&2, decreased CO conversion and hydrocarbon production, and increased CO 2 production. The bimetallic nano-Co(2.5%)nano-Fe(2.5%) prepared by method-2 alone showed higher CO conversion comparable to the Co(4%)nano-Fe(l %). Hybrid alumina-silica FT catalysts showed a higher CO conversion than the alumina FT catalysts due to better surface characteristics. The monometallic catalysts showed higher selectivity to C1-C4 hydrocarbon than bimetallic. The bimetallic alumina FT catalysts prepared by method-2 showed slightly higher C5+ selectivity compared to the higher Co catalysts prepared by combined method- I &2. The Ru promotion showed a significant effect on the CO conversion and 11 product distribution of the monometallic catalysts. There was no significant effect on the CO conversion on the (Co-Fe) bimetallic catalysts, but hydrocarbon production slightly increased when promoted by 0.5 wt.% Ru.

Toxicity assessment of tobacco products in vitro.

PubMed

Manuppello, Joseph R; Sullivan, Kristie M

2015-03-01

Driven by new regulatory demands to demonstrate risk reduction, the toxicity assessment of tobacco products increasingly employs innovative in vitro methods, including biphasic cell and tissue cultures exposed to whole cigarette smoke at the air-liquid interface, cell transformation assays, and genomic analyses. At the same time, novel tobacco products are increasingly compared to traditional cigarettes. This overview of in vitro toxicology studies of tobacco products reported in the last five years provides evidence to support the prioritisation of in vitro over in vivo methods by industry and their recommendation by regulatory authorities. 2015 FRAME.

Scalable software architectures for decision support.

PubMed

Musen, M A

1999-12-01

Interest in decision-support programs for clinical medicine soared in the 1970s. Since that time, workers in medical informatics have been particularly attracted to rule-based systems as a means of providing clinical decision support. Although developers have built many successful applications using production rules, they also have discovered that creation and maintenance of large rule bases is quite problematic. In the 1980s, several groups of investigators began to explore alternative programming abstractions that can be used to build decision-support systems. As a result, the notions of "generic tasks" and of reusable problem-solving methods became extremely influential. By the 1990s, academic centers were experimenting with architectures for intelligent systems based on two classes of reusable components: (1) problem-solving methods--domain-independent algorithms for automating stereotypical tasks--and (2) domain ontologies that captured the essential concepts (and relationships among those concepts) in particular application areas. This paper highlights how developers can construct large, maintainable decision-support systems using these kinds of building blocks. The creation of domain ontologies and problem-solving methods is the fundamental end product of basic research in medical informatics. Consequently, these concepts need more attention by our scientific community.

Application of FT-IR Classification Method in Silica-Plant Extracts Composites Quality Testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bicu, A.; Drumea, V.; Mihaiescu, D. E.; Purcareanu, B.; Florea, M. A.; Trică, B.; Vasilievici, G.; Draga, S.; Buse, E.; Olariu, L.

2018-06-01

Our present work is concerned with the validation and quality testing efforts of mesoporous silica - plant extracts composites, in order to sustain the standardization process of plant-based pharmaceutical products. The synthesis of the silica support were performed by using a TEOS based synthetic route and CTAB as a template, at room temperature and normal pressure. The silica support was analyzed by advanced characterization methods (SEM, TEM, BET, DLS and FT-IR), and loaded with Calendula officinalis and Salvia officinalis standardized extracts. Further desorption studies were performed in order to prove the sustained release properties of the final materials. Intermediate and final product identification was performed by a FT-IR classification method, using the MID-range of the IR spectra, and statistical representative samples from repetitive synthetic stages. The obtained results recommend this analytical method as a fast and cost effective alternative to the classic identification methods.

Selective alkane activation with single-site atoms on amorphous support

DOEpatents

Hock, Adam S.; Schweitzer, Neil M.; Miller, Jeffrey T.; Hu, Bo

2015-11-24

The present invention relates generally to catalysts and methods for use in olefin production. More particularly, the present invention relates to novel amorphously supported single-center, Lewis acid metal ions and use of the same as catalysts.

Waterjet processes for coating removal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burgess, Fletcher; Cosby, Steve; Hoppe, David

1995-01-01

USBI and NASA have been testing and investigating the use of high pressure water for coating removal for approximately the past 12 years at the Automated TPS (Thermal Protection System - ablative materials used for thermal protection during ascent and descent of the solid rocket boosters) Removal Facility located in the Productivity Enhancement Complex at Marshall Space Flight Center. Originally the task was to develop and automate the removal process and transfer the technology to a production facility at Kennedy Space Center. Since that time more and more applications and support roles for the waterjet technology have been realized. The facility has become a vital part of development activities ongoing at MSFC. It supports the development of environmentally compliant insulations, sealants, and coatings. It also supports bonding programs, test motors, and pressure vessels. The most recent role of the cell is supporting Thiokol Corporation's solid rocket motor program in the development of waterjet degreasing and paint stripping methods. Currently vapor degreasing methods use 500,000 lbs. of ozone depleting chemicals per year. This paper describes the major cell equipment, test methods practiced, and coatings that have been removed.

Controlled Ecological Life Support System: Regenerative Life Support Systems in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macelroy, Robert D.; Smernoff, David T.

1987-01-01

A wide range of topics related to the extended support of humans in space are covered. Overviews of research conducted in Japan, Europe, and the U.S. are presented. The methods and technologies required to recycle materials, especially respiratory gases, within a closed system are examined. Also presented are issues related to plant and algal productivity, efficiency, and processing methods. Computer simulation of closed systems, discussions of radiation effects on systems stability, and modeling of a computer bioregenerative system are also covered.

Best Practices in Stability Indicating Method Development and Validation for Non-clinical Dose Formulations.

PubMed

Henry, Teresa R; Penn, Lara D; Conerty, Jason R; Wright, Francesca E; Gorman, Gregory; Pack, Brian W

2016-11-01

Non-clinical dose formulations (also known as pre-clinical or GLP formulations) play a key role in early drug development. These formulations are used to introduce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) into test organisms for both pharmacokinetic and toxicological studies. Since these studies are ultimately used to support dose and safety ranges in human studies, it is important to understand not only the concentration and PK/PD of the active ingredient but also to generate safety data for likely process impurities and degradation products of the active ingredient. As such, many in the industry have chosen to develop and validate methods which can accurately detect and quantify the active ingredient along with impurities and degradation products. Such methods often provide trendable results which are predictive of stability, thus leading to the name; stability indicating methods. This document provides an overview of best practices for those choosing to include development and validation of such methods as part of their non-clinical drug development program. This document is intended to support teams who are either new to stability indicating method development and validation or who are less familiar with the requirements of validation due to their position within the product development life cycle.

Rational design of the column of a heavy multipurpose machining center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atapin, V. V.; Kurlaev, N. V.

2016-04-01

The main purpose in the design of supporting constructions of heavy multipurpose machining center is the reduction of mass at the given precision and productivity of machining. Accomplish these ends the technology of rational design of supporting constructions is offered. This technology is based on the decomposition method and the finite elements method in the combination with optimization methods. The technology has four stages: 1) calculation of external forces and loads, 2) as a result the boundary conditions (force, kinematics) for individual supporting constructions are formed, 3) a problem about final optimal distribution of a material by the individual supporting constructions with the real cross-section is solved; 4) dynamic analysis. By the example of design of the column of a heavy multipurpose machining center the main stages of rational design of the individual supporting constructions are shown. At a design stage of the carrying system consisting of load-bearing structures with simplified geometry, optimum overall dimensions of the column are identified. For the admitted system of preferences, it is necessary to accept the fact that the carrying system with the column with the sizes of cross section of 1.8 m (along x axis) and 2.6 m (along y axis) is the best. The analysis of the work of the column under the torsion condition with the use of method of mechanics shows that the column with square cross sections = 2.46·2.46 m which rigidity on torsion is 26 % higher in comparison with a production version is the best. The results of calculation show that a production-release design of the column with longitudinal and transverse edges of rigidity is 24 % heavier than the column with the edges located on a diagonally at equal rigidity.

Utilization of the wastes of vital activity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gusarov, B. G.; Drigo, Y. A.; Novikov, V. M.; Samsonov, N. M.; Farafonov, N. S.; Chizhov, S. V.; Yazdovskiy, V. I.

1979-01-01

The recycling of wastes from the biological complex for use in life-support systems is discussed. Topics include laboratory equipment, heat treatment of waste materials, mineralization of waste products, methods for production of ammonium hydroxide and nitric acid, the extraction of sodium chloride from mineralized products, and the recovery of nutrient substances for plants from urine.

16 CFR 1031.7 - Commission support of voluntary standards activities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...) Providing epidemiological and health science information and explanations of hazards for consumer products... or subsidizing technical assistance, including research, health science data, and engineering support.... (5) Providing assistance on methods of disseminating information and education about the voluntary...

16 CFR 1031.7 - Commission support of voluntary standards activities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...) Providing epidemiological and health science information and explanations of hazards for consumer products... or subsidizing technical assistance, including research, health science data, and engineering support.... (5) Providing assistance on methods of disseminating information and education about the voluntary...

16 CFR 1031.7 - Commission support of voluntary standards activities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...) Providing epidemiological and health science information and explanations of hazards for consumer products... or subsidizing technical assistance, including research, health science data, and engineering support.... (5) Providing assistance on methods of disseminating information and education about the voluntary...

16 CFR 1031.7 - Commission support of voluntary standards activities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...) Providing epidemiological and health science information and explanations of hazards for consumer products... or subsidizing technical assistance, including research, health science data, and engineering support.... (5) Providing assistance on methods of disseminating information and education about the voluntary...

EPA/ORD NATIONAL EXPOSURE RESEARCH LABORATORY MEASUREMENT SCIENCE SUPPORT FOR HOMELAND SECURITY

EPA Science Inventory

This product describes the National Exposure Research Laboratory research and development support for homeland security through the proposed National Exposure Measurements Center (NEMC). Key NEMC functional areas depicted in this poster are: standardized analytical method develo...

Methods of making textured catalysts

DOEpatents

Werpy, Todd [West Richland, WA; Frye, Jr., John G.; Wang, Yong [Richland, WA; Zacher, Alan H [Kennewick, WA

2010-08-17

A textured catalyst having a hydrothermally-stable support, a metal oxide and a catalyst component is described. Methods of conducting aqueous phase reactions that are catalyzed by a textured catalyst are also described. The invention also provides methods of making textured catalysts and methods of making chemical products using a textured catalyst.

Catalytic conversion of hydrocarbons to hydrogen and high-value carbon

DOEpatents

Shah, Naresh; Panjala, Devadas; Huffman, Gerald P.

2005-04-05

The present invention provides novel catalysts for accomplishing catalytic decomposition of undiluted light hydrocarbons to a hydrogen product, and methods for preparing such catalysts. In one aspect, a method is provided for preparing a catalyst by admixing an aqueous solution of an iron salt, at least one additional catalyst metal salt, and a suitable oxide substrate support, and precipitating metal oxyhydroxides onto the substrate support. An incipient wetness method, comprising addition of aqueous solutions of metal salts to a dry oxide substrate support, extruding the resulting paste to pellet form, and calcining the pellets in air is also discloses. In yet another aspect, a process is provided for producing hydrogen from an undiluted light hydrocarbon reactant, comprising contacting the hydrocarbon reactant with a catalyst as described above in a reactor, and recovering a substantially carbon monoxide-free hydrogen product stream. In still yet another aspect, a process is provided for catalytic decomposition of an undiluted light hydrocarbon reactant to obtain hydrogen and a valuable multi-walled carbon nanotube coproduct.

Leveraging object-oriented development at Ames

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wenneson, Greg; Connell, John

1994-01-01

This paper presents lessons learned by the Software Engineering Process Group (SEPG) from results of supporting two projects at NASA Ames using an Object Oriented Rapid Prototyping (OORP) approach supported by a full featured visual development environment. Supplemental lessons learned from a large project in progress and a requirements definition are also incorporated. The paper demonstrates how productivity gains can be made by leveraging the developer with a rich development environment, correct and early requirements definition using rapid prototyping, and earlier and better effort estimation and software sizing through object-oriented methods and metrics. Although the individual elements of OO methods, RP approach and OO metrics had been used on other separate projects, the reported projects were the first integrated usage supported by a rich development environment. Overall the approach used was twice as productive (measured by hours per OO Unit) as a C++ development.

Melamine detection by mid- and near-infrared (MIR/NIR) spectroscopy: a quick and sensitive method for dairy products analysis including liquid milk, infant formula, and milk powder.

PubMed

Balabin, Roman M; Smirnov, Sergey V

2011-07-15

Melamine (2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-triazine) is a nitrogen-rich chemical implicated in the pet and human food recalls and in the global food safety scares involving milk products. Due to the serious health concerns associated with melamine consumption and the extensive scope of affected products, rapid and sensitive methods to detect melamine's presence are essential. We propose the use of spectroscopy data-produced by near-infrared (near-IR/NIR) and mid-infrared (mid-IR/MIR) spectroscopies, in particular-for melamine detection in complex dairy matrixes. None of the up-to-date reported IR-based methods for melamine detection has unambiguously shown its wide applicability to different dairy products as well as limit of detection (LOD) below 1 ppm on independent sample set. It was found that infrared spectroscopy is an effective tool to detect melamine in dairy products, such as infant formula, milk powder, or liquid milk. ALOD below 1 ppm (0.76±0.11 ppm) can be reached if a correct spectrum preprocessing (pretreatment) technique and a correct multivariate (MDA) algorithm-partial least squares regression (PLS), polynomial PLS (Poly-PLS), artificial neural network (ANN), support vector regression (SVR), or least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM)-are used for spectrum analysis. The relationship between MIR/NIR spectrum of milk products and melamine content is nonlinear. Thus, nonlinear regression methods are needed to correctly predict the triazine-derivative content of milk products. It can be concluded that mid- and near-infrared spectroscopy can be regarded as a quick, sensitive, robust, and low-cost method for liquid milk, infant formula, and milk powder analysis. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of ecosystem productivity damage due to land use.

PubMed

Kaenchan, Piyanon; Guinée, Jeroen; Gheewala, Shabbir H

2018-04-15

Land use can affect ecosystems on land and their services. Because land use has mainly local effects, damage to ecosystem productivity due to land use should be modelled spatially dependent. Unfortunately, even though land use of impacts are particular importance for countries whose economies are highly agriculture-based, ecosystem productivity damage due to land use has not yet been assessed in Thailand so far. This study presents the method for assessing the damage to ecosystem productivity due to land use (land occupation and land transformation) in Thailand. Ecosystem productivity damage is expressed through net primary production (NPP). To convert the damage into monetary units, this study performs an economic valuation of NPP using the production function approach. The results show that the value of marginal product of NPP is around 10-15 Thai baht (THB) (1 USD≈36 THB), per tonne dry weight biomass. The results are applied to the case of biodiesel production. The method presented in this paper could be a guideline for future land use impact assessment research. In addition, converting the NPP damage results into monetary units facilitates integration of impact assessment and economic analysis results for supporting decision support tools such as cost benefit analysis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Textured catalysts and methods of making textured catalysts

DOEpatents

Werpy, Todd [West Richland, WA; Frye, Jr., John G.; Wang, Yong [Richland, WA; Zacher, Alan H [Kennewick, WA

2007-03-06

A textured catalyst having a hydrothermally-stable support, a metal oxide and a catalyst component is described. Methods of conducting aqueous phase reactions that are catalyzed by a textured catalyst are also described. The invention also provides methods of making textured catalysts and methods of making chemical products using a textured catalyst.

Method of removing and detoxifying a phosphorus-based substance

DOEpatents

Vandegrift, G.F.; Steindler, M.J.

1985-05-21

A method of removing a phosphorus-based poisonous substance from water contaminated is presented. In addition, the toxicity of the phosphorus-based substance is also subsequently destroyed. A water-immiscible organic solvent is first immobilized on a supported liquid membrane before the contaminated water is contacted with one side of the supported liquid membrane to absorb the phosphorus-based substance in the organic solvent. The other side of the supported liquid membrane is contacted with a hydroxy-affording strong base to react with phosphorus-based solvated species to form a non-toxic product.

Production of aromatics from di- and polyoxygenates

DOEpatents

Beck, Taylor; Blank, Brian; Jones, Casey; Woods, Elizabeth; Cortright, Randy

2016-08-02

Methods, catalysts, and reactor systems for producing in high yield aromatic chemicals and liquid fuels from a mixture of oxygenates comprising di- and polyoxygenates are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods, catalysts, and reactor systems for producing aromatic chemicals and liquid fuels from oxygenated hydrocarbons such as carbohydrates, sugars, sugar alcohols, sugar degradation products, and the like; and methods, catalysts, and reactor systems for producing the mixture of oxygenates from oxygenated hydrocarbons such as carbohydrates, sugars, sugar alcohols, sugar degradation products, and the like. The disclosed catalysts for preparing the mixture of oxygenates comprise a Ni.sub.nSn.sub.m alloy and a crystalline alumina support.

Production of aromatics from di- and polyoxygenates

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

Beck, Taylor; Blank, Brian; Jones, Casey

Methods, catalysts, and reactor systems for producing in high yield aromatic chemicals and liquid fuels from a mixture of oxygenates comprising di- and polyoxygenates are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods, catalysts, and reactor systems for producing aromatic chemicals and liquid fuels from oxygenated hydrocarbons such as carbohydrates, sugars, sugar alcohols, sugar degradation products, and the like; and methods, catalysts, and reactor systems for producing the mixture of oxygenates from oxygenated hydrocarbons such as carbohydrates, sugars, sugar alcohols, sugar degradation products, and the like. The disclosed catalysts for preparing the mixture of oxygenates comprise a Ni.sub.nSn.sub.m alloy and a crystalline aluminamore » support.« less

Production of aromatics from di- and polyoxygenates

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

Beck, Taylor; Blank, Brian; Jones, Casey

Methods, catalysts, and reactor systems for producing in high yield aromatic chemicals and liquid fuels from a mixture of oxygenates comprising di- and polyoxygenates are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods, catalysts, and reactor systems for producing aromatic chemicals and liquid fuels from oxygenated hydrocarbons such as carbohydrates, sugars, sugar alcohols, sugar degradation products, and the like; and methods, catalysts, and reactor systems for producing the mixture of oxygenates from oxygenated hydrocarbons such as carbohydrates, sugars, sugar alcohols, sugar degradation products, and the like. The disclosed catalysts for preparing the mixture of oxygenates comprise a Group VIII metal and a crystallinemore » alumina support.« less

Two Synthetic Methods for Preparation of Chiral Stationary Phases Using Crystalline Degradation Products of Vancomycin: Column Performance for Enantioseparation of Acidic and Basic Drugs.

PubMed

Abdollahpour, Assem; Heydari, Rouhollah; Shamsipur, Mojtaba

2017-07-01

Two chiral stationary phases (CSPs) based on crystalline degradation products (CDPs) of vancomycin by using different synthetic methods were prepared and compared. Crystalline degradation products of vancomycin were produced by hydrolytic loss of ammonia from vancomycin molecules. Performances of two chiral columns prepared with these degradation products were investigated using several acidic and basic drugs as model analytes. Retention and resolution of these analytes on the prepared columns, as two main parameters, in enantioseparation were studied. The results demonstrated that the stationary phase preparation procedure has a significant effect on the column performance. The resolving powers of prepared columns for enantiomers resolution were changed with the variation in vancomycin-CDP coverage on the silica support. Elemental analysis was used to monitor the surface coverage of silica support by vancomycin-CDP. The results showed that both columns can be successfully applied to chiral separation studies.

Reactive flash volatilization of fluid fuels

DOEpatents

Schmidt, Lanny D.; Dauenhauer, Paul J.; Dreyer, Bradon J.; Salge, James R.

2013-01-08

The invention provides methods for the production of synthesis gas. More particularly, various embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for volatilizing fluid fuel to produce synthesis gas by using a metal catalyst on a solid support matrix.

The evaluation of the optimization design and application effect of same-well-injection-production technique’s injection-production circulatory system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guoxing, Zheng; Minghu, Jiang; Hongliang, Gong; Nannan, Zhang; Jianguang, Wei

2018-02-01

According to basic principles of combining series of strata and demands of same-well injection-production technique, the optimization designing method of same-well injection-production technique’s injection-production circulatory system is given. Based on oil-water two-phase model with condition of arbitrarily well network, a dynamic forecast method for the application of same-well injection-production reservoir is established with considering the demands and capacity of same-well injection-production technique, sample wells are selected to launch the forecast evaluation and analysis of same-well injection-production reservoir application’s effect. Results show: single-test-well composite water cut decreases by 4.7% and test-well-group composite water cut decreases by 1.56% under the condition of basically invariant ground water injection rate. The method provides theoretical support for the proof of same-well injection-production technique’s reservoir development improving effect and further tests.

Production of fungal antibiotics using polymeric solid supports in solid-state and liquid fermentation.

PubMed

Bigelis, Ramunas; He, Haiyin; Yang, Hui Y; Chang, Li-Ping; Greenstein, Michael

2006-10-01

The use of inert absorbent polymeric supports for cellular attachment in solid-state fungal fermentation influenced growth, morphology, and production of bioactive secondary metabolites. Two filamentous fungi exemplified the utility of this approach to facilitate the discovery of new antimicrobial compounds. Cylindrocarpon sp. LL-Cyan426 produced pyrrocidines A and B and Acremonium sp. LL-Cyan416 produced acremonidins A-E when grown on agar bearing moist polyester-cellulose paper and generated distinctly different metabolite profiles than the conventional shaken or stationary liquid fermentations. Differences were also apparent when tenfold concentrated methanol extracts from these fermentations were tested against antibiotic-susceptible and antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria, and zones of inhibition were compared. Shaken broth cultures of Acremonium sp. or Cylindrocarpon sp. showed complex HPLC patterns, lower levels of target compounds, and high levels of unwanted compounds and medium components, while agar/solid support cultures showed significantly increased yields of pyrrocidines A and B and acremonidins A-E, respectively. This method, mixed-phase fermentation (fermentation with an inert solid support bearing liquid medium), exploited the increase in surface area available for fungal growth on the supports and the tendency of some microorganisms to adhere to solid surfaces, possibly mimicking their natural growth habits. The production of dimeric anthraquinones by Penicillium sp. LL-WF159 was investigated in liquid fermentation using various inert polymeric immobilization supports composed of polypropylene, polypropylene cellulose, polyester-cellulose, or polyurethane. This culture produced rugulosin, skyrin, flavomannin, and a new bisanthracene, WF159-A, after fermentation in the presence and absence of polymeric supports for mycelial attachment. The physical nature of the different support systems influenced culture morphology and relative metabolite yields, as determined by HPLC analysis and measurement of antimicrobial activity. The application of such immobilized-cell fermentation methods under solid and liquid conditions facilitated the discovery of new antibiotic compounds, and offers new approaches to fungal fermentation for natural product discovery.

Assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption in LCA.

PubMed

Pfister, Stephan; Koehler, Annette; Hellweg, Stefanie

2009-06-01

A method for assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption was developed. This method considers damages to three areas of protection: human health, ecosystem quality, and resources. The method can be used within most existing life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods. The relative importance of water consumption was analyzed by integrating the method into the Eco-indicator-99 LCIA method. The relative impact of water consumption in LCIA was analyzed with a case study on worldwide cotton production. The importance of regionalized characterization factors for water use was also examined in the case study. In arid regions, water consumption may dominate the aggregated life-cycle impacts of cotton-textile production. Therefore, the consideration of water consumption is crucial in life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies that include water-intensive products, such as agricultural goods. A regionalized assessment is necessary, since the impacts of water use vary greatly as a function of location. The presented method is useful for environmental decision-support in the production of water-intensive products as well as for environmentally responsible value-chain management.

SAGA: A project to automate the management of software production systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, R. H.; Badger, W.; Beckman, C. S.; Beshers, G.; Hammerslag, D.; Kimball, J.; Kirslis, P. A.; Render, H.; Richards, P.; Terwilliger, R.

1984-01-01

The project to automate the management of software production systems is described. The SAGA system is a software environment that is designed to support most of the software development activities that occur in a software lifecycle. The system can be configured to support specific software development applications using given programming languages, tools, and methodologies. Meta-tools are provided to ease configuration. Several major components of the SAGA system are completed to prototype form. The construction methods are described.

Structured decision making as a method for linking quantitative decision support to community fundamental objectives

EPA Science Inventory

Decision support intended to improve ecosystem sustainability requires that we link stakeholder priorities directly to quantitative tools and measures of desired outcomes. Actions taken at the community level can have large impacts on production and delivery of ecosystem service...

Challenges and opportunities in bioanalytical support for gene therapy medicinal product development.

PubMed

Ma, Mark; Balasubramanian, Nanda; Dodge, Robert; Zhang, Yan

2017-09-01

Gene and nucleic acid therapies have demonstrated patient benefits to address unmet medical needs. Beside considerations regarding the biological nature of the gene therapy, the quality of bioanalytical methods plays an important role in ensuring the success of these novel therapies. Inconsistent approaches among bioanalytical labs during preclinical and clinical phases have been observed. There are many underlying reasons for this inconsistency. Various platforms and reagents used in quantitative methods, lacking of detailed regulatory guidance on method validation and uncertainty of immunogenicity strategy in supporting gene therapy may all be influential. This review summarizes recent practices and considerations in bioanalytical support of pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics and immunogenicity evaluations in gene therapy development with insight into method design, development and validations.

Massachusetts Lowell low speed wind tunnel (LSWT) test section

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Erik William

The alumina and hybrid alumina-silica FT catalyst were prepared by one-step solgel/oil-drop methods using metal-nitrate-solutions (method-I), and nanoparticle-metaloxides (method-2). The nanoparticle-metal-oxides did not participate in solubility equilibria in contrast to metal nitrate in method-1 causing no metal ion seepage; therefore, method-2 yields higher XRF metal loading efficiency than method-1. The thermal analysis confirmed that the metal loading by method-1 and method-2 involved two different pathways. Method-1 involves solubility equilibria in the conversion of metal-nitrate to metal- hydroxide and finally to metal-oxide, while in method-2 nanoparticle-metal-oxide remained intact during sol-gel-oil-drop and calcination steps. The alumina supported catalysts were dominated by gamma-alumina PXRD peaks in alumina catalysts while amorphous alumino-silicate phase was the bulk of hybrid alumina-silica catalysts. The presence of cobalt oxides (CoO, Co3O4) and iron oxides (FeO, Fe2O3) phases are confirmed in the catalysts prepared by method-1 and method-2. The PXRD analysis indicated weak peak intensities in catalysts with 5 wt. % total metal loading. PXRD pattern confirmed alloy formation in the bimetallic catalysts (CoFe2O4) on alumina support phase gamma-A12 O3. The surface area and pore diameter of hybrid alumina-silica granules (301 - 372 m2/g and 7.3 nm) showed better values than the alumina granules (251 - 256 m2/g and 6.5 nm). The support pore diameter of both types of granules is within the mesoporous range (1 - 50 nm). The morphology of all the catalysts is preserved upon metal loading and heat treatments. The surface characteristics of the sol-gel-oil-drop method prepared catalysts indicate there was no significant pore blockage of the support below 10 wt % total metal loading. The CO conversion of the FT catalysts was measured to screen catalytic active metals and determine the optimum temperatures of the FT reaction for the alumina catalysts. The alumina FT catalysts showed an optimum reaction temperature of 250 °C. Hydrocarbon production and CO conversion of alumina and hybrid alumina-silica FT catalysts were investigated. Among monometallic alumina catalysts, Co(5%) showed a higher CO conversion. The incorporation of Fe to Co increased CO conversion and hydrocarbon production. Increased Fe content in the bimetallic catalysts prepared by combined method-1&2, decreased CO conversion and hydrocarbon production, and increased CO 2 production. The bimetallic nano-Co(2.5%)nano-Fe(2.5%) prepared by method-2 alone showed higher CO conversion comparable to the Co(4%)nano-Fe(l %). Hybrid alumina-silica FT catalysts showed a higher CO conversion than the alumina FT catalysts due to better surface characteristics. The monometallic catalysts showed higher selectivity to C1-C4 hydrocarbon than bimetallic. The bimetallic alumina FT catalysts prepared by method-2 showed slightly higher C5+ selectivity compared to the higher Co catalysts prepared by combined method- I &2. The Ru promotion showed a significant effect on the CO conversion and 11 product distribution of the monometallic catalysts. There was no significant effect on the CO conversion on the (Co-Fe) bimetallic catalysts, but hydrocarbon production slightly increased when promoted by 0.5 wt.% Ru.

Vaccine production training to develop the workforce of foreign institutions supported by the BARDA influenza vaccine capacity building program.

PubMed

Tarbet, E Bart; Dorward, James T; Day, Craig W; Rashid, Kamal A

2013-03-15

In the event of an influenza pandemic, vaccination will be the best method to limit virus spread. However, lack of vaccine biomanufacturing capacity means there will not be enough vaccine for the world's population. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) provides support to the World Health Organization to enhance global vaccine production capacity in developing countries. However, developing a trained workforce in some of those countries is necessary. Biomanufacturing is labor-intensive, requiring unique skills not found in traditional academic programs. Employees must understand the scientific basis of biotechnology, operate specialized equipment, and work in an environment regulated by good manufacturing practices (cGMP). Therefore, BARDA supported development of vaccine biomanufacturing training at Utah State University. The training consisted of a three-week industry-focused course for participants from institutions supported by the BARDA and WHO influenza vaccine production capacity building program. The curriculum was divided into six components: (1) biosafety, (2) cell culture and growth of cells in bioreactors, (3) virus assays and inactivation, (4) scale-up strategies, (5) downstream processing, and (6) egg- and cell-based vaccine production and cGMP. Lectures were combined with laboratory exercises to provide a balance of theory and hands-on training. The initial course included sixteen participants from seven countries including: Egypt, Romania, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. The participant's job responsibilities included: Production, Quality Control, Quality Assurance, and Research; and their education ranged from bachelors to doctoral level. Internal course evaluations utilized descriptive methods including surveys, observation of laboratory activities, and interviews with participants. Generally, participants had appropriate academic backgrounds, but lacked expertise in vaccine production. All participants acknowledged the utility of the training, and many expressed interest in receiving additional support to implement new practices at their home institutions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Completion of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 1992-2001 Land Cover Change Retrofit Product

EPA Science Inventory

The Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium has supported the development of two national digital land cover products: the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) 1992 and National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001. Substantial differences in imagery, legends, and methods betwe...

Framework for Considering Productive Aging and Work.

PubMed

Schulte, Paul A; Grosch, James; Scholl, Juliann C; Tamers, Sara L

2018-05-01

The U.S. population is experiencing a demographic transition resulting in an aging workforce. The objective of this article is to elucidate and expand an approach to keep that workforce safe, healthy, and productive. This article elucidates the framework for the National Center for Productive Aging at Work of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Subject matter experts used a snowball method to review published literature to substantiate elements in the framework. Evidence-based literature supports a productive aging framework for the workforce involving the following elements: 1) life span perspective; 2) comprehensive and integrated approaches to occupational safety and health; 3) emphasis on positive outcomes for both workers and organizations; and 4) supportive work culture for multigenerational issues. The productive aging framework provides a foundational and comprehensive approach for addressing the aging workforce.

Use of LOGIC to support lidar operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis-Lunde, Kimberley; Jugan, Laurie A.; Shoemaker, J. Todd

1999-10-01

The Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) and Planning Systems INcorporated are developing the Littoral Optics Geospatial Integrated Capability (LOGIC). LOGIC supports NAVOCEANO's directive to assess the impact of the environment on Fleet systems in areas of operational interest. LOGIC is based in the Geographic Information System (GIS) ARC/INFO and offers a method to view and manipulate optics and ancillary data to support emerging Fleet lidar systems. LOGIC serves as a processing (as required) and quality-checking mechanism for data entering NAVOCEANO's Data Warehouse and handles both remotely sensed and in-water data. LOGIC provides a link between these data and the GIS-based Graphical User Interface, allowing the user to select data manipulation routines and/or system support products. The results of individual modules are displayed via the GIS to provide such products as lidar system performance, laser penetration depth, and asset vulnerability from a lidar threat. LOGIC is being developed for integration into other NAVOCEANO programs, most notably for Comprehensive Environmental Assessment System, an established tool supporting sonar-based systems. The prototype for LOGIC was developed for the Yellow Sea, focusing on a diver visibility support product.

The voice of the customer--Part 2: Benchmarking battery chargers against the Consumer's Ideal Product.

PubMed

Bauer, S M; Lane, J P; Stone, V I; Unnikrishnan, N

1998-01-01

The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology Evaluation and Transfer is exploring how the end users of assistive technology devices define the ideal device. This work is called the Consumer Ideal Product program. In this work, end users identify and establish the importance of a broad range of product design features, along with the related product support and service provided by manufacturers and vendors. This paper describes a method for systematically transforming end-user defined requirements into a form that is useful and accessible to product designers, manufacturers, and vendors. In particular, product requirements, importance weightings, and metrics are developed from the Consumer Ideal Product battery charger outcomes. Six battery charges are benchmarked against these product requirements using the metrics developed. The results suggest improvements for each product's design, service, and support. Overall, the six chargers meet roughly 45-75% of the ideal product's requirements. Many of the suggested improvements are low-cost changes that, if adopted, could provide companies a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Research and application of knowledge resources network for product innovation.

PubMed

Li, Chuan; Li, Wen-qiang; Li, Yan; Na, Hui-zhen; Shi, Qian

2015-01-01

In order to enhance the capabilities of knowledge service in product innovation design service platform, a method of acquiring knowledge resources supporting for product innovation from the Internet and providing knowledge active push is proposed. Through knowledge modeling for product innovation based on ontology, the integrated architecture of knowledge resources network is put forward. The technology for the acquisition of network knowledge resources based on focused crawler and web services is studied. Knowledge active push is provided for users by user behavior analysis and knowledge evaluation in order to improve users' enthusiasm for participation in platform. Finally, an application example is illustrated to prove the effectiveness of the method.

Textured catalysts, methods of making textured catalysts, and methods of catalyzing reactions conducted in hydrothermal conditions

DOEpatents

Werpy, Todd [West Richland, WA; Wang, Yong [Richland, WA

2003-12-30

A textured catalyst having a hydrothermally-stable support, a metal oxide and a catalyst component is described. Methods of conducting aqueous phase reactions that are catalyzed by a textured catalyst are also described. The invention also provides methods of making textured catalysts and methods of making chemical products using a textured catalyst.

Design for Usability; practice-oriented research for user-centered product design.

PubMed

van Eijk, Daan; van Kuijk, Jasper; Hoolhorst, Frederik; Kim, Chajoong; Harkema, Christelle; Dorrestijn, Steven

2012-01-01

The Design for Usability project aims at improving the usability of electronic professional and consumer products by creating new methodology and methods for user-centred product development, which are feasible to apply in practice. The project was focused on 5 key areas: (i) design methodology, expanding the existing approach of scenario-based design to incorporate the interaction between product design, user characteristics, and user behaviour; (ii) company processes, barriers and enablers for usability in practice; (iii) user characteristics in relation to types of products and use-situations; (iv) usability decision-making; and (v) product impact on user behaviour. The project team developed methods and techniques in each of these areas to support the design of products with a high level of usability. This paper brings together and summarizes the findings.

Extraction of mineral elements from inedible wastes of biological components of a life-support system and their utilization for plant nutrition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gribovskaya, I. V.; Gladchenko, I. A.; Zinenko, G. K.

Two methods of extracting mineral elements from otherwise deadlock products of a life-support system are presented. We describe first optimum conditions for recovering elements by water extraction from dry wastes of plants, biomass ash, and solid human wastes after passing them through the catalytic furnace; and, second, we describe acid extracts of biogenous elements by 1N and 2N HNO_3 from these products. Ways to use the extracts of elements in plant nutrition are considered in order to increase the extent to which the mineral loop of a life-support system can be closed.

The Controlled Ecological Life Support System Antarctic Analog Project: Prototype Crop Production and Water Treatment System Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bubenheim, David L.; Flynn, Michael T.; Bates, Maynard; Schlick, Greg; Kliss, Mark (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

The Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Antarctic Analog Project (CAAP), is a joint endeavor between the National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs (NSF-OPP) and the NASA. The fundamental objective is to develop, deploy, and operate a testbed of advanced life support technologies at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station that enable the objectives of both the NSF and NASA. The functions of food production, water purification, and waste treatment, recycle and reduction provided by CAAP will improve the quality of life for the South Pole inhabitants, reduce logistics dependence, enhance safety and minimize environmental impacts associated with human presence on the polar plateau. Because of the analogous technical, scientific, and mission features with Planetary missions such as a mission to Mars, CAAP provides NASA with a method for validating technologies and overall approaches to supporting humans. Prototype systems for sewage treatment, water recycle and crop production are being evaluated at Ames Research Center. The product water from sewage treatment using a Wiped-Film Rotating Disk is suitable for input to the crop production system. The crop production system has provided an enhanced level of performance compared with projected performance for plant-based life support: an approximate 50% increase in productivity per unit area, more than a 65% decrease in power for plant lighting, and more than a 75% decrease in the total power requirement to produce an equivalent mass of edible biomass.

Keeping It Simple: Can We Estimate Malting Quality Potential Using an Isothermal Mashing Protocol and Common Laboratory Instrumentation?

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Current methods for generating malting quality metrics have been developed largely to support commercial malting and brewing operations, providing accurate, reproducible analytical data to guide malting and brewing production. Infrastructure to support these analytical operations often involves sub...

Forecasting Fuels Support Equipment Requisitions

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-26

Blackstone , & Hoffmann, 1991). Problem Statement Which forecasting method is most appropriate to forecast fuels support equipment requisitions...over allocating financial resources. 14 Characteristics According to Fogarty, Blackstone , and Hoffman (1991), service, repair, replacement...Econometrica , 187-222. Fogarty, D., Blackstone , J., & Hoffmann, T. (1991). Production & Inventory Management (2d ed.). Cincinnati, OH: South-Western

Kickstarting Creativity: Supporting the Productive Faces of Uncertainty in Information Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Theresa Dirndorfer

2010-01-01

Introduction: Examines implications of research suggesting fast access to information may reduce the time needed for creative thinking and reflection. To support human thought through information provision, more opportunities to experience and work with imperfect information and to engage with ambiguities are needed. Method: Four linked arguments…

Physician Order Entry Clerical Support Improves Physician Satisfaction and Productivity.

PubMed

Contratto, Erin; Romp, Katherine; Estrada, Carlos A; Agne, April; Willett, Lisa L

2017-05-01

To examine the impact of clerical support personnel for physician order entry on physician satisfaction, productivity, timeliness with electronic health record (EHR) documentation, and physician attitudes. All seven part-time physicians at an academic general internal medicine practice were included in this quasi-experimental (single group, pre- and postintervention) mixed-methods study. One full-time clerical support staff member was trained and hired to enter physician orders in the EHR and conduct previsit planning. Physician satisfaction, productivity, timeliness with EHR documentation, and physician attitudes toward the intervention were measured. Four months after the intervention, physicians reported improvements in overall quality of life (good quality, 71%-100%), personal balance (43%-71%), and burnout (weekly, 43%-14%; callousness, 14%-0%). Matched for quarter, productivity increased: work relative value unit (wRVU) per session increased by 20.5% (before, April-June 2014; after, April-June 2015; range -9.2% to 27.5%). Physicians reported feeling more supported, more focused on patient care, and less stressed and fatigued after the intervention. This study supports the use of physician order entry clerical personnel as a simple, cost-effective intervention to improve the work lives of primary care physicians.

Software development environments: Status and trends

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duffel, Larry E.

1988-01-01

Currently software engineers are the essential integrating factors tying several components together. The components consist of process, methods, computers, tools, support environments, and software engineers. The engineers today empower the tools versus the tools empowering the engineers. Some of the issues in software engineering are quality, managing the software engineering process, and productivity. A strategy to accomplish this is to promote the evolution of software engineering from an ad hoc, labor intensive activity to a managed, technology supported discipline. This strategy may be implemented by putting the process under management control, adopting appropriate methods, inserting the technology that provides automated support for the process and methods, collecting automated tools into an integrated environment and educating the personnel.

Assessing consumer responses to potential reduced-exposure tobacco products: a review of tobacco industry and independent research methods.

PubMed

Rees, Vaughan W; Kreslake, Jennifer M; Cummings, K Michael; O'Connor, Richard J; Hatsukami, Dorothy K; Parascandola, Mark; Shields, Peter G; Connolly, Gregory N

2009-12-01

Internal tobacco industry documents and the mainstream literature are reviewed to identify methods and measures for evaluating tobacco consumer response. The review aims to outline areas in which established methods exist, identify gaps in current methods for assessing consumer response, and consider how these methods might be applied to evaluate potentially reduced exposure tobacco products and new products. Internal industry research reviewed included published articles, manuscript drafts, presentations, protocols, and instruments relating to consumer response measures were identified and analyzed. Peer-reviewed research was identified using PubMed and Scopus. Industry research on consumer response focuses on product development and marketing. To develop and refine new products, the tobacco industry has developed notable strategies for assessing consumers' sensory and subjective responses to product design characteristics. Independent research is often conducted to gauge the likelihood of future product adoption by measuring consumers' risk perceptions, responses to product, and product acceptability. A model that conceptualizes consumer response as comprising the separate, but interacting, domains of product perceptions and response to product is outlined. Industry and independent research supports the dual domain model and provides a wide range of methods for assessment of the construct components of consumer response. Further research is needed to validate consumer response constructs, determine the relationship between consumer response and tobacco user behavior, and improve reliability of consumer response measures. Scientifically rigorous consumer response assessment methods will provide a needed empirical basis for future regulation of potentially reduced-exposure tobacco products and new products, to counteract tobacco industry influence on consumers, and enhance the public health.

Electromagnetic Compatibility in the Defense Systems of Future Years

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-06-01

Technology activities. Its mission is to conduct and promote cooperative research and information exchange . The objective is to support the development...testing CLEARANCE PRODUCTION AND IN-SERVICE SUPPORT Modelling in support of conceptual design (structure & installation design) EMH Design guides for the... marketed by Advanced Electromagnetics [6-1]. Transmission Line Matrix Method The link between field theory and circuit theory, the major theories on

The use of U.S. Geological Survey digital geospatial data products for science research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Varanka, Dalia E.; Deering, Carol; Caro, Holly

2012-01-01

The development of geographic information system (GIS) transformed the practice of geographic science research. The availability of low-cost, reliable data by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) supported the advance of GIS in the early stages of the transition to digital technology. To estimate the extent of the scientific use of USGS digital geospatial data products, a search of science literature databases yielded numbers of articles citing USGS products. Though this method requires careful consideration to avoid false positives, these citation numbers of three types of products (vector, land-use/land-cover, and elevation data) were graphed, and the frequency trends were examined. Trends indicated that the use of several, but not all, products increased with time. The use of some products declined and reasons for these declines are offered. To better understand how these data affected the design and outcomes of research projects, the study begins to build a context for the data by discussing digital cartographic research preceding the production of mass-produced products. The data distribution methods used various media for different system types and were supported by instructional material. The findings are an initial assessment of the affect of USGS products on GIS-enabled science research. A brief examination of the specific papers indicates that USGS data were used for science and GIS conceptual research, advanced education, and problem analysis and solution applications.

Product competitiveness analysis for e-commerce platform of special agricultural products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Fucheng; Ma, Ning; Yang, Dongwei; Xiong, Zhangyuan

2017-09-01

On the basis of analyzing the influence factors of the product competitiveness of the e-commerce platform of the special agricultural products and the characteristics of the analytical methods for the competitiveness of the special agricultural products, the price, the sales volume, the postage included service, the store reputation, the popularity, etc. were selected in this paper as the dimensionality for analyzing the competitiveness of the agricultural products, and the principal component factor analysis was taken as the competitiveness analysis method. Specifically, the web crawler was adopted to capture the information of various special agricultural products in the e-commerce platform ---- chi.taobao.com. Then, the original data captured thereby were preprocessed and MYSQL database was adopted to establish the information library for the special agricultural products. Then, the principal component factor analysis method was adopted to establish the analysis model for the competitiveness of the special agricultural products, and SPSS was adopted in the principal component factor analysis process to obtain the competitiveness evaluation factor system (support degree factor, price factor, service factor and evaluation factor) of the special agricultural products. Then, the linear regression method was adopted to establish the competitiveness index equation of the special agricultural products for estimating the competitiveness of the special agricultural products.

Catalytic method for synthesizing hydrocarbons

DOEpatents

Sapienza, R.S.; Sansone, M.J.; Slegeir, W.A.R.

A method for synthesizing hydrocarbons from carbon monoxide and hydrogen by contacting said gases with a slurry of a catalyst composed of palladium or platinum and cobalt supported on a solid phase is disclosed. The catalyst is prepared by heating a heterogeneous component of the palladium or platinum deposited on the solid support in a solution of cobalt carbonyl or precursors thereof. The catalyst exhibits excellent activity, stability in air, and produces highly desirable product fractions even with dilute gaseous reactants.

Catalytic method for synthesizing hydrocarbons

DOEpatents

Sapienza, Richard S.; Sansone, Michael J.; Slegeir, William A. R.

1984-01-01

A method for synthesizing hydrocarbons from carbon monoxide and hydrogen by contacting said gases with a slurry of a catalyst composed of palladium or platinum and cobalt supported on a solid phase is disclosed. The catalyst is prepared by heating a heterogeneous component of the palladium or platinum deposited on the solid support in a solution of cobalt carbonyl or precursors thereof. The catalyst exhibits excellent activity, stability in air, and produces highly desirable product fractions even with dilute gaseous reactants.

Direct bonded HOPG - Analyzer support without background source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groitl, Felix; Kitaura, Hidetoshi; Nishiki, Naomi; Rønnow, Henrik M.

2018-04-01

A new production process allows a direct bonding of HOPG crystals on Si wafers. This new method facilitates the production of analyzer crystals with support structure without the use of additional, background inducing fixation material, e.g. glue, wax and screws. This new method is especially interesting for the upcoming generation of CAMEA-type multiplexing spectrometers. These instruments allow for a drastic performance increase due to the increased angular coverage and multiple energy analysis. Exploiting the transparency of multiple HOPG for cold neutrons, a consecutive arrangement of HOPG analyzer crystals per Q-channel can be achieved. This implies that neutrons travel through up to 10 arrays of analyzer crystals before reaching the analyzer corresponding to their energy. Hence, a careful choice of the fixation method for the analyzer crystals in regards to transparency and background is necessary. Here, we present first results on the diffraction and mechanical performance of direct bonded analyzer crystals.

Yeast Immobilization Systems for Alcoholic Wine Fermentations: Actual Trends and Future Perspectives

PubMed Central

Moreno-García, Jaime; García-Martínez, Teresa; Mauricio, Juan C.; Moreno, Juan

2018-01-01

Yeast immobilization is defined as the physical confinement of intact cells to a region of space with conservation of biological activity. The use of these methodologies for alcoholic fermentation (AF) offers many advantages over the use of the conventional free yeast cell method and different immobilization systems have been proposed so far for different applications, like winemaking. The most studied methods for yeast immobilization include the use of natural supports (e.g., fruit pieces), organic supports (e.g., alginate), inorganic (e.g., porous ceramics), membrane systems, and multi-functional agents. Some advantages of the yeast-immobilization systems include: high cell densities, product yield improvement, lowered risk of microbial contamination, better control and reproducibility of the processes, as well as reuse of the immobilization system for batch fermentations and continuous fermentation technologies. However, these methods have some consequences on the behavior of the yeasts, affecting the final products of the fermentative metabolism. This review compiles current information about cell immobilizer requirements for winemaking purposes, the immobilization methods applied to the production of fermented beverages to date, and yeast physiological consequences of immobilization strategies. Finally, a recent inter-species immobilization methodology has been revised, where yeast cells are attached to the hyphae of a Generally Recognized As Safe fungus and remain adhered following loss of viability of the fungus. The bio-capsules formed with this method open new and promising strategies for alcoholic beverage production (wine and low ethanol content beverages). PMID:29497415

Supported phosphate and carbonate salts for heterogeneous catalysis of triglycerides to fatty acid methyl esters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Britton, Stephanie Lynne

Fatty acid methyl esters made from vegetable oil, or biodiesel, have been identified as a substitute for diesel derived from crude oil. Biodiesel is currently made using a homogeneous base catalyst to perform the transesterification of triglycerides with methanol to generate fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). The use of a homogeneous catalyst necessitates additional purification of the product and byproducts before sale, and the catalyst is consumed and discarded. The development of a heterogeneous basic catalyst for the production of FAME is desirable. Tribasic phosphate salts and dibasic carbonate salts are active for the production of FAME but generally operate as homogeneous catalysts. Supporting these phosphate and carbonate salts on mesoporous MCM-41, microporous silica gel, and nonporous a-alumina proved successful to greater or lesser degrees depending on the identity of the support and pretreatment of the support. Although these salts were supported and were active for the production of FAME from canola oil, they proved to be operating as homogeneous catalysts due to leaching of the active species off the surface of the support. Further investigation of the active species present in the tribasic phosphate catalysts identified the active support as orthophosphate, and NMR studies revealed the phosphorus to be present as orthophosphate and diphosphate in varying proportions in each catalyst. Evaluation of the acid-washing support pretreatment process revealed that the exposure of the support to acid plays a large role in the development of activity on the surface of the catalyst, but manipulation of these parameters did not prevent leaching of the active site off the surface of the catalyst. Alternate methods of support pretreatment were no more effective in preventing leaching. Tribasic phosphate supported on silica gel is not effective as a heterogeneous catalyst for FAME production from triglycerides because of the lack of stability of the phosphate on the support. The support is not stable under the reaction conditions, and alternatives should be explored to develop a heterogeneous base catalyst for the production of FAME.

A Bayesian-based two-stage inexact optimization method for supporting stream water quality management in the Three Gorges Reservoir region.

PubMed

Hu, X H; Li, Y P; Huang, G H; Zhuang, X W; Ding, X W

2016-05-01

In this study, a Bayesian-based two-stage inexact optimization (BTIO) method is developed for supporting water quality management through coupling Bayesian analysis with interval two-stage stochastic programming (ITSP). The BTIO method is capable of addressing uncertainties caused by insufficient inputs in water quality model as well as uncertainties expressed as probabilistic distributions and interval numbers. The BTIO method is applied to a real case of water quality management for the Xiangxi River basin in the Three Gorges Reservoir region to seek optimal water quality management schemes under various uncertainties. Interval solutions for production patterns under a range of probabilistic water quality constraints have been generated. Results obtained demonstrate compromises between the system benefit and the system failure risk due to inherent uncertainties that exist in various system components. Moreover, information about pollutant emission is accomplished, which would help managers to adjust production patterns of regional industry and local policies considering interactions of water quality requirement, economic benefit, and industry structure.

Synthesis Methods of Carbon Nanotubes and Related Materials

PubMed Central

Szabó, Andrea; Perri, Caterina; Csató, Anita; Giordano, Girolamo; Vuono, Danilo; Nagy, János B.

2010-01-01

The challenge on carbon nanotubes is still the subject of many research groups. While in the first years the focus was on the new synthesis methods, new carbon sources and support materials, recently, the application possibilities are the principal arguments of the studies. The three main synthesis methods discussed in this review are the arc discharge, the laser ablation and the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) with a special regard to the latter one. In the early stage of the nanotube production the first two methods were utilized mainly for the production of SWNTs while the third one produced mainly MWNTs. The principle of CVD is the decomposition of various hydrocarbons over transition metal supported catalyst. Single-walled (SWNT), multi-walled (MWNT) and coiled carbon nanotubes are produced. In some case, interesting carbonaceous materials are formed during the synthesis process, such as bamboo-like tubes, onions, horn-like structures. In this paper, we refer to the progresses made in the field of the synthesis techniques of carbon nanotubes in the last decade.

Assessing Consumer Responses to PREPs: A Review of Tobacco Industry and Independent Research Methods

PubMed Central

Rees, Vaughan W.; Kreslake, Jennifer M.; Cummings, K. Michael; O'Connor, Richard J.; Hatsukami, Dorothy K.; Parascandola, Mark; Shields, Peter G.; Connolly, Gregory N.

2009-01-01

Objective Internal tobacco industry documents and the mainstream literature are reviewed to identify methods and measures for evaluating tobacco consumer response. The review aims to outline areas in which established methods exist, identify gaps in current methods for assessing CR, and consider how these methods might be applied to evaluate PREPs and new products. Methods Internal industry research reviewed included published papers, manuscript drafts, presentations, protocols, and instruments relating to consumer response measures were identified and analyzed. Peer-reviewed research was identified using PubMed and Scopus. Results Industry research on consumer response focuses on product development and marketing. To develop and refine new products, the tobacco industry has developed notable strategies for assessing consumers' sensory and subjective responses to product design characteristics. Independent research is often conducted to gauge the likelihood of future product adoption by measuring consumers' risk perceptions, responses to product, and product acceptability. Conclusions A model which conceptualizes consumer response as comprising the separate, but interacting domains of product perceptions and response to product is outlined. Industry and independent research supports the dual domain model, and provides a wide range of methods for assessment of the construct components of consumer response. Further research is needed to validate consumer response constructs, determine the relationship between consumer response and tobacco user behavior, and improve reliability of consumer response measures. Scientifically rigorous consumer response assessment methods will provide a needed empirical basis for future regulation of PREPs and new products, to counteract tobacco industry influence on consumers, and enhance the public health. PMID:19959675

Too many chemicals, too little time: Rapid in silico methods to characterize and predict ADME properties for chemical toxicity and exposure potential

EPA Science Inventory

Evaluating proposed alternative chemical structures to support the design of safer chemicals and products is an important component of EPA's Green Chemistry and Design for the Environment (DfE) Programs. As such, science-based alternatives assessment is essential to support EPA's...

The current state of Bayesian methods in medical product development: survey results and recommendations from the DIA Bayesian Scientific Working Group.

PubMed

Natanegara, Fanni; Neuenschwander, Beat; Seaman, John W; Kinnersley, Nelson; Heilmann, Cory R; Ohlssen, David; Rochester, George

2014-01-01

Bayesian applications in medical product development have recently gained popularity. Despite many advances in Bayesian methodology and computations, increase in application across the various areas of medical product development has been modest. The DIA Bayesian Scientific Working Group (BSWG), which includes representatives from industry, regulatory agencies, and academia, has adopted the vision to ensure Bayesian methods are well understood, accepted more broadly, and appropriately utilized to improve decision making and enhance patient outcomes. As Bayesian applications in medical product development are wide ranging, several sub-teams were formed to focus on various topics such as patient safety, non-inferiority, prior specification, comparative effectiveness, joint modeling, program-wide decision making, analytical tools, and education. The focus of this paper is on the recent effort of the BSWG Education sub-team to administer a Bayesian survey to statisticians across 17 organizations involved in medical product development. We summarize results of this survey, from which we provide recommendations on how to accelerate progress in Bayesian applications throughout medical product development. The survey results support findings from the literature and provide additional insight on regulatory acceptance of Bayesian methods and information on the need for a Bayesian infrastructure within an organization. The survey findings support the claim that only modest progress in areas of education and implementation has been made recently, despite substantial progress in Bayesian statistical research and software availability. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Research and Application of Knowledge Resources Network for Product Innovation

PubMed Central

Li, Chuan; Li, Wen-qiang; Li, Yan; Na, Hui-zhen; Shi, Qian

2015-01-01

In order to enhance the capabilities of knowledge service in product innovation design service platform, a method of acquiring knowledge resources supporting for product innovation from the Internet and providing knowledge active push is proposed. Through knowledge modeling for product innovation based on ontology, the integrated architecture of knowledge resources network is put forward. The technology for the acquisition of network knowledge resources based on focused crawler and web services is studied. Knowledge active push is provided for users by user behavior analysis and knowledge evaluation in order to improve users' enthusiasm for participation in platform. Finally, an application example is illustrated to prove the effectiveness of the method. PMID:25884031

Influence of E-Learning on Sales Productivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Livingston, David T.

2012-01-01

For companies to stay competitive, they must continually bring new products and services to the marketplace. One strategy organizations can use to support this requirement is to provide their sales force with training that enables revenue generation. The types of instructional methods and media used to deploy the training can have an impact on the…

Product assurance policies and procedures for flight dynamics software development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perry, Sandra; Jordan, Leon; Decker, William; Page, Gerald; Mcgarry, Frank E.; Valett, Jon

1987-01-01

The product assurance policies and procedures necessary to support flight dynamics software development projects for Goddard Space Flight Center are presented. The quality assurance and configuration management methods and tools for each phase of the software development life cycles are described, from requirements analysis through acceptance testing; maintenance and operation are not addressed.

Methods to identify and analyze gene products involved in neuronal intracellular transport using Drosophila

PubMed Central

Neisch, Amanda L.; Avery, Adam W.; Machame, James B.; Li, Min-gang; Hays, Thomas S.

2017-01-01

Proper neuronal function critically depends on efficient intracellular transport and disruption of transport leads to neurodegeneration. Molecular pathways that support or regulate neuronal transport are not fully understood. A greater understanding of these pathways will help reveal the pathological mechanisms underlying disease. Drosophila melanogaster is the premier model system for performing large-scale genetic functional screens. Here we describe methods to carry out primary and secondary genetic screens in Drosophila aimed at identifying novel gene products and pathways that impact neuronal intracellular transport. These screens are performed using whole animal or live cell imaging of intact neural tissue to ensure integrity of neurons and their cellular environment. The primary screen is used to identify gross defects in neuronal function indicative of a disruption in microtubule-based transport. The secondary screens, conducted in both motoneurons and dendritic arborization neurons, will confirm the function of candidate gene products in intracellular transport. Together, the methodologies described here will support labs interested in identifying and characterizing gene products that alter intracellular transport in Drosophila. PMID:26794520

The rain water management model on an appropriate hilly area to fulfil the needs of cocoa farm during dry season

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasbi, M.; Darma, R.; Yamin, M.; Nurdin, M.; Rizal, M.

2018-05-01

Cocoa is an important commodity because 90% farmers involved, easily marketed, and potentially harvested along the year. However, cocoa productivity tended to decrease by an average of only 300 kg hectare-1 year-1 or away from the potential productivity of two tons. Water management was an alternative method to increase its productivity by harvesting rainwater on the hilly cocoa farm area and distributing the water based on the gravity law. The research objective was to describes how to manage rainwater at the hilly cocoa farm area, so that the water needs of cocoa farm were met during the dry season. The important implication of the management was the water availability that supports the cocoa cultivation during the year. This research used qualitative method with descriptive approach to explain the appropriate technical specification of infrastructure to support the rainwater management. This research generated several mathematical formulas to support rainwater management infrastructure. The implementation of an appropriate rainwater utilization management for cocoa farm will ensuring the availability of water during dry season, so the cocoa farm allowed to produce cacao fruit during the year.

Analysis of edible oil processing options for the BIO-Plex advanced life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenwalt, C. J.; Hunter, J.

2000-01-01

Edible oil is a critical component of the proposed plant-based Advanced Life Support (ALS) diet. Soybean, peanut, and single-cell oil are the oil source options to date. In terrestrial manufacture, oil is ordinarily extracted with hexane, an organic solvent. However, exposed solvents are not permitted in the spacecraft environment or in enclosed human tests by National Aeronautics and Space Administration due to their potential danger and handling difficulty. As a result, alternative oil-processing methods will need to be utilized. Preparation and recovery options include traditional dehulling, crushing, conditioning, and flaking, extrusion, pressing, water extraction, and supercritical extraction. These processing options were evaluated on criteria appropriate to the Advanced Life Support System and BIO-Plex application including: product quality, product stability, waste production, risk, energy needs, labor requirements, utilization of nonrenewable resources, usefulness of by-products, and versatility and mass of equipment to determine the most appropriate ALS edible oil-processing operation.

Hydrogen production from biomass gasification using biochar as a catalyst/support.

PubMed

Yao, Dingding; Hu, Qiang; Wang, Daqian; Yang, Haiping; Wu, Chunfei; Wang, Xianhua; Chen, Hanping

2016-09-01

Biochar is a promising catalyst/support for biomass gasification. Hydrogen production from biomass steam gasification with biochar or Ni-based biochar has been investigated using a two stage fixed bed reactor. Commercial activated carbon was also studied as a comparison. Catalyst was prepared with an impregnation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, specific surface and porosity analysis, X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron micrograph. The effects of gasification temperature, steam to biomass ratio, Ni loading and bio-char properties on catalyst activity in terms of hydrogen production were explored. The Ni/AC catalyst showed the best performance at gasification temperature of 800°C, S/B=4, Ni loading of 15wt.%. Texture and composition characterization of the catalysts suggested the interaction between volatiles and biochar promoted the reforming of pyrolysis volatiles. Cotton-char supported Ni exhibited the highest activity of H2 production (64.02vol.%, 92.08mgg(-1) biomass) from biomass gasification, while rice-char showed the lowest H2 production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Network support for system initiated checkpoints

DOEpatents

Chen, Dong; Heidelberger, Philip

2013-01-29

A system, method and computer program product for supporting system initiated checkpoints in parallel computing systems. The system and method generates selective control signals to perform checkpointing of system related data in presence of messaging activity associated with a user application running at the node. The checkpointing is initiated by the system such that checkpoint data of a plurality of network nodes may be obtained even in the presence of user applications running on highly parallel computers that include ongoing user messaging activity.

Catalysts for the production of hydrocarbons from carbon monoxide and water

DOEpatents

Sapienza, Richard S.; Slegeir, William A.; Goldberg, Robert I.

1987-04-07

A method of converting low H.sub.2 /CO ratio syngas to carbonaceous products comprising reacting the syngas with water or steam at 200.degree. to 350.degree. C. in the presence of a metal catalyst supported on zinc oxide. Hydrocarbons are produced with a catalyst selected from cobalt, nickel or ruthenium and alcohols are produced with a catalyst selected from palladium, platinium, ruthenium or copper on the zinc oxide support. The ratio of the reactants are such that for alcohols and saturated hydrocarbons: and for olefinic hydrocarbons: where n is the number of carbon atoms in the product and x is the molar amount of water in the reaction mixture.

NASA/SPoRt: GOES-R Activities in Support of Product Development, Management, and Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuell, Kevin; Jedlovec, Gary; Molthan, Andrew; Stano, Geoffrey

2012-01-01

SPoRT is using current capabilities of MODIS and VIIRS, combined with current GOES (i.e. Hybrid Imagery) to demonstrate mesoscale capabilities of future ABI instrument. SPoRT is transitioning RGBs from EUMETSAT standard "recipes" to demonstrate a method to more efficiently handle the increase channels/frequency of ABI. Challenges for RGB production exist. Internal vs. external production, Bit depth needed, Adding quantitative information, etc. SPoRT forming group to address these issues. SPoRT is leading efforts on the application of total lightning in operations and to educate users of this new capability. Training in many forms is used to support testbed activities and is a key part to the transition process.

Conditioning biomass for microbial growth

DOEpatents

Bodie, Elizabeth A; England, George

2015-03-31

The present invention relates to methods for improving the yield of microbial processes that use lignocellulose biomass as a nutrient source. The methods comprise conditioning a composition comprising lignocellulose biomass with an enzyme composition that comprises a phenol oxidizing enzyme. The conditioned composition can support a higher rate of growth of microorganisms in a process. In one embodiment, a laccase composition is used to condition lignocellulose biomass derived from non-woody plants, such as corn and sugar cane. The invention also encompasses methods for culturing microorganisms that are sensitive to inhibitory compounds in lignocellulose biomass. The invention further provides methods of making a product by culturing the production microorganisms in conditioned lignocellulose biomass.

TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE METHODS FOR DECONTAMINATION OF INDOOR SURFACES CONTAMINATED WITH BIOLOGICAL OR CHEMICAL AGENTS

EPA Science Inventory

To support the Nation's Homeland Security Program, this U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) project is conducted to verify the performance of commercially available products, methods, and equipment for decontamination of hard and...

Completion of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 1992–2001 Land Cover Change Retrofit product

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fry, J.A.; Coan, Michael; Homer, Collin G.; Meyer, Debra K.; Wickham, J.D.

2009-01-01

The Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium has supported the development of two national digital land cover products: the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) 1992 and National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001. Substantial differences in imagery, legends, and methods between these two land cover products must be overcome in order to support direct comparison. The NLCD 1992-2001 Land Cover Change Retrofit product was developed to provide more accurate and useful land cover change data than would be possible by direct comparison of NLCD 1992 and NLCD 2001. For the change analysis method to be both national in scale and timely, implementation required production across many Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) path/rows simultaneously. To meet these requirements, a hybrid change analysis process was developed to incorporate both post-classification comparison and specialized ratio differencing change analysis techniques. At a resolution of 30 meters, the completed NLCD 1992-2001 Land Cover Change Retrofit product contains unchanged pixels from the NLCD 2001 land cover dataset that have been cross-walked to a modified Anderson Level I class code, and changed pixels labeled with a 'from-to' class code. Analysis of the results for the conterminous United States indicated that about 3 percent of the land cover dataset changed between 1992 and 2001.

Hydrogen separation process

DOEpatents

Mundschau, Michael [Longmont, CO; Xie, Xiaobing [Foster City, CA; Evenson, IV, Carl; Grimmer, Paul [Longmont, CO; Wright, Harold [Longmont, CO

2011-05-24

A method for separating a hydrogen-rich product stream from a feed stream comprising hydrogen and at least one carbon-containing gas, comprising feeding the feed stream, at an inlet pressure greater than atmospheric pressure and a temperature greater than 200.degree. C., to a hydrogen separation membrane system comprising a membrane that is selectively permeable to hydrogen, and producing a hydrogen-rich permeate product stream on the permeate side of the membrane and a carbon dioxide-rich product raffinate stream on the raffinate side of the membrane. A method for separating a hydrogen-rich product stream from a feed stream comprising hydrogen and at least one carbon-containing gas, comprising feeding the feed stream, at an inlet pressure greater than atmospheric pressure and a temperature greater than 200.degree. C., to an integrated water gas shift/hydrogen separation membrane system wherein the hydrogen separation membrane system comprises a membrane that is selectively permeable to hydrogen, and producing a hydrogen-rich permeate product stream on the permeate side of the membrane and a carbon dioxide-rich product raffinate stream on the raffinate side of the membrane. A method for pretreating a membrane, comprising: heating the membrane to a desired operating temperature and desired feed pressure in a flow of inert gas for a sufficient time to cause the membrane to mechanically deform; decreasing the feed pressure to approximately ambient pressure; and optionally, flowing an oxidizing agent across the membrane before, during, or after deformation of the membrane. A method of supporting a hydrogen separation membrane system comprising selecting a hydrogen separation membrane system comprising one or more catalyst outer layers deposited on a hydrogen transport membrane layer and sealing the hydrogen separation membrane system to a porous support.

A new method for the prediction of chatter stability lobes based on dynamic cutting force simulation model and support vector machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Chong; Wang, Lun; Liao, T. Warren

2015-10-01

Currently, chatter has become the critical factor in hindering machining quality and productivity in machining processes. To avoid cutting chatter, a new method based on dynamic cutting force simulation model and support vector machine (SVM) is presented for the prediction of chatter stability lobes. The cutting force is selected as the monitoring signal, and the wavelet energy entropy theory is used to extract the feature vectors. A support vector machine is constructed using the MATLAB LIBSVM toolbox for pattern classification based on the feature vectors derived from the experimental cutting data. Then combining with the dynamic cutting force simulation model, the stability lobes diagram (SLD) can be estimated. Finally, the predicted results are compared with existing methods such as zero-order analytical (ZOA) and semi-discretization (SD) method as well as actual cutting experimental results to confirm the validity of this new method.

Product Quality Modelling Based on Incremental Support Vector Machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Zhang, W.; Qin, B.; Shi, W.

2012-05-01

Incremental Support vector machine (ISVM) is a new learning method developed in recent years based on the foundations of statistical learning theory. It is suitable for the problem of sequentially arriving field data and has been widely used for product quality prediction and production process optimization. However, the traditional ISVM learning does not consider the quality of the incremental data which may contain noise and redundant data; it will affect the learning speed and accuracy to a great extent. In order to improve SVM training speed and accuracy, a modified incremental support vector machine (MISVM) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the margin vectors are extracted according to the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) condition; then the distance from the margin vectors to the final decision hyperplane is calculated to evaluate the importance of margin vectors, where the margin vectors are removed while their distance exceed the specified value; finally, the original SVs and remaining margin vectors are used to update the SVM. The proposed MISVM can not only eliminate the unimportant samples such as noise samples, but also can preserve the important samples. The MISVM has been experimented on two public data and one field data of zinc coating weight in strip hot-dip galvanizing, and the results shows that the proposed method can improve the prediction accuracy and the training speed effectively. Furthermore, it can provide the necessary decision supports and analysis tools for auto control of product quality, and also can extend to other process industries, such as chemical process and manufacturing process.

Toward fish and seafood traceability: anchovy species determination in fish products by molecular markers and support through a public domain database.

PubMed

Jérôme, Marc; Martinsohn, Jann Thorsten; Ortega, Delphine; Carreau, Philippe; Verrez-Bagnis, Véronique; Mouchel, Olivier

2008-05-28

Traceability in the fish food sector plays an increasingly important role for consumer protection and confidence building. This is reflected by the introduction of legislation and rules covering traceability on national and international levels. Although traceability through labeling is well established and supported by respective regulations, monitoring and enforcement of these rules are still hampered by the lack of efficient diagnostic tools. We describe protocols using a direct sequencing method based on 212-274-bp diagnostic sequences derived from species-specific mitochondria DNA cytochrome b, 16S rRNA, and cytochrome oxidase subunit I sequences which can efficiently be applied to unambiguously determine even closely related fish species in processed food products labeled "anchovy". Traceability of anchovy-labeled products is supported by the public online database AnchovyID ( http://anchovyid.jrc.ec.europa.eu), which provided data obtained during our study and tools for analytical purposes.

Au and Pt nanoparticle supported catalysts tailored for H-2 production: From models to powder catalysts

DOE PAGES

T. D. Nguyen-Phan; Baber, A. E.; Rodriguez, J. A.; ...

2015-12-10

The use of metal nanoparticles (NPs), including Au and Pt, supported over oxides has been pivotal, and is ever increasing in enabling catalytic reactions which target the production of hydrogen. We review here the most recent works pertaining to the fundamental understanding of the structure, morphology, growth, characterization, and intrinsic phenomenological properties of Au– and Pt– based catalysts that influence the reactivity and selectivity to target hydrogen production. We draw on surface science and theoretical methods of model and powder catalysts using high resolution imaging, spectroscopy, scattering experiments, and theoretical studies. Based on these insights we identify key aspects ofmore » studies of supported metal nanoparticle (NP) catalysts for several reactions. The main focus of this review is on the intersection of catalytic chemistry related to the water-gas shift (WGS), oxygenate steam reforming (OSR), and solarassisted reactions (SAR).« less

The control of Pt and Ru nanoparticle size on high surface area supports.

PubMed

Liu, Qiuli; Joshi, Upendra A; Über, Kevin; Regalbuto, John R

2014-12-28

Supported Ru and Pt nanoparticles are synthesized by the method of strong electrostatic adsorption and subsequently treated under different steaming-reduction conditions to achieve a series of catalysts with controlled particle sizes, ranging from 1 to 8 nm. While in the case of oxidation-reduction conditions, only Pt yielded particles ranging from 2.5 to 8 nm in size and a loss of Ru was observed. Both Ru and Pt sinter faster in air than in hydrogen. This methodology allows the control of particle size using a "production-scalable" catalyst synthesis method which can be applied to high surface area supports with common metal precursors.

Creating Simulations for An "Introduction to Research Methods" Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adamson, Bob

2010-01-01

This paper describes the production of a software program for Master of Education students studying the "Introduction to Research Methods" course at a tertiary institution in Hong Kong. The course was originally delivered in a lecture mode, which proved unsatisfactory in providing sufficient learning support for the students. The paper…

A Flexible Electronic Commerce Recommendation System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Songjie

Recommendation systems have become very popular in E-commerce websites. Many of the largest commerce websites are already using recommender technologies to help their customers find products to purchase. An electronic commerce recommendation system learns from a customer and recommends products that the customer will find most valuable from among the available products. But most recommendation methods are hard-wired into the system and they support only fixed recommendations. This paper presented a framework of flexible electronic commerce recommendation system. The framework is composed by user model interface, recommendation engine, recommendation strategy model, recommendation technology group, user interest model and database interface. In the recommender strategy model, the method can be collaborative filtering, content-based filtering, mining associate rules method, knowledge-based filtering method or the mixed method. The system mapped the implementation and demand through strategy model, and the whole system would be design as standard parts to adapt to the change of the recommendation strategy.

Agricultural residues for cellulolytic enzyme production by Aspergillus niger: effects of pretreatment.

PubMed

Salihu, Aliyu; Abbas, Olagunju; Sallau, Abdullahi Balarabe; Alam, Md Zahangir

2015-12-01

Different agricultural residues were considered in this study for their ability to support cellulolytic enzyme production by Aspergillus niger. A total of eleven agricultural residues including finger millet hulls, sorghum hulls, soybean hulls, groundnut husk, banana peels, corn stalk, cassava peels, sugarcane bagasse, saw dust, rice straw and sheanut cake were subjected to three pretreatment (acid, alkali and oxidative) methods. All the residues supported the growth and production of cellulases by A. niger after 96 h of incubation. Maximum cellulase production was found in alkali-treated soybean hulls with CMCase, FPase and β-glucosidase yields of 9.91 ± 0.04, 6.20 ± 0.13 and 5.69 ± 0.29 U/g, respectively. Further studies in assessing the potential of soybean hulls are being considered to optimize the medium composition and process parameters for enhanced cellulase production.

Performance of the AOAC use-dilution method with targeted modifications: collaborative study.

PubMed

Tomasino, Stephen F; Parker, Albert E; Hamilton, Martin A; Hamilton, Gordon C

2012-01-01

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration with an industry work group, spearheaded a collaborative study designed to further enhance the AOAC use-dilution method (UDM). Based on feedback from laboratories that routinely conduct the UDM, improvements to the test culture preparation steps were prioritized. A set of modifications, largely based on culturing the test microbes on agar as specified in the AOAC hard surface carrier test method, were evaluated in a five-laboratory trial. The modifications targeted the preparation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa test culture due to the difficulty in separating the pellicle from the broth in the current UDM. The proposed modifications (i.e., the modified UDM) were compared to the current UDM methodology for P. aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Salmonella choleraesuis was not included in the study. The goal was to determine if the modifications reduced method variability. Three efficacy response variables were statistically analyzed: the number of positive carriers, the log reduction, and the pass/fail outcome. The scope of the collaborative study was limited to testing one liquid disinfectant (an EPA-registered quaternary ammonium product) at two levels of presumed product efficacies, high and low. Test conditions included use of 400 ppm hard water as the product diluent and a 5% organic soil load (horse serum) added to the inoculum. Unfortunately, the study failed to support the adoption of the major modification (use of an agar-based approach to grow the test cultures) based on an analysis of method's variability. The repeatability and reproducibility standard deviations for the modified method were equal to or greater than those for the current method across the various test variables. However, the authors propose retaining the frozen stock preparation step of the modified method, and based on the statistical equivalency of the control log densities, support its adoption as a procedural change to the current UDM. The current UDM displayed acceptable responsiveness to changes in product efficacy; acceptable repeatability across multiple tests in each laboratory for the control counts and log reductions; and acceptable reproducibility across multiple laboratories for the control log density values and log reductions. Although the data do not support the adoption of all modifications, the UDM collaborative study data are valuable for assessing sources of method variability and a reassessment of the performance standard for the UDM.

Factors affecting RFID adoption in the agricultural product distribution industry: empirical evidence from China.

PubMed

Shi, Ping; Yan, Bo

2016-01-01

We conducted an exploratory investigation of factors influencing the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) methods in the agricultural product distribution industry. Through a literature review and field research, and based on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) theoretical framework, this paper analyzes factors influencing RFID adoption in the agricultural product distribution industry in reference to three contexts: technological, organizational, and environmental contexts. An empirical analysis of the TOE framework was conducted by applying structural equation modeling based on actual data from a questionnaire survey on the agricultural product distribution industry in China. The results show that employee resistance and uncertainty are not supported by the model. Technological compatibility, perceived effectiveness, organizational size, upper management support, trust between enterprises, technical knowledge, competitive pressure and support from the Chinese government, which are supported by the model, have significantly positive effects on RFID adoption. Meanwhile, organizational size has the strongest positive effect, while competitive pressure levels have the smallest effect. Technological complexities and costs have significantly negative effects on RFID adoption, with cost being the most significantly negative influencing factor. These research findings will afford enterprises in the agricultural products supply chain with a stronger understanding of the factors that influence RFID adoption in the agricultural product distribution industry. In addition, these findings will help enterprises remain aware of how these factors affect RFID adoption and will thus help enterprises make more accurate and rational decisions by promoting RFID application in the agricultural product distribution industry.

Semipermeable polymers and method for producing same

DOEpatents

Buschmann, Wayne E [Boulder, CO

2012-04-03

A polyamide membrane comprising reaction product of an anhydrous solution comprising an anhydrous solvent, at least one polyfunctional secondary amine and a pre-polymer deposition catalyst; and an anhydrous, organic solvent solution comprising a polyfunctional aromatic amine-reactive reactant comprising one ring. A composite semipermeable membrane comprising the polyamide membrane on a porous support. A method of making a composite semipermeable membrane by coating a porous support with an anhydrous solution comprising an anhydrous solvent, a polyfunctional secondary amine and a pre-polymer deposition catalyst, to form an activated pre-polymer layer on the porous support and contacting the activated pre-polymer layer with an anhydrous, organic solvent solution comprising a polyfunctional amine-reactive reactant to interfacially condense the amine-reactive reactant with the polyfunctional secondary amine, thereby forming a cross-linked, interfacial polyamide layer on the porous support. A method of impregnating a composite semipermeable membrane with nanoparticles selected from heavy metals and/or oxides of heavy metals.

Workshop on Production and Uses of Simulated Lunar Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

A workshop entitled, Production and Uses of Simulated Lunar Materials, was convened to define the need for simulated lunar materials and examine related issues in support of extended space exploration and development. Lunar samples are a national treasure and cannot be sacrificed in sufficient quantity to test lunar resource utilization process adequately. Hence, the workshop focused on a detailed examination of the variety of potential simulants and the methods for their production.

Worker productivity outcome measures: OMERACT filter evidence and agenda for future research.

PubMed

Tang, Kenneth; Boonen, Annelies; Verstappen, Suzanne M M; Escorpizo, Reuben; Luime, Jolanda J; Lacaille, Diane; Fautrel, Bruno; Bosworth, Ailsa; Cifaldi, Mary; Gignac, Monique A M; Hofstetter, Cathy; Leong, Amye; Montie, Pam; Petersson, Ingemar F; Purcaru, Oana; Bombardier, Claire; Tugwell, Peter S; Beaton, Dorcas E

2014-01-01

The objective of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Worker Productivity working group is to identify worker productivity outcome measures that meet the requirements of the OMERACT filter. At the OMERACT 11 Workshop, we focused on the at-work limitations/productivity component of worker productivity (i.e., presenteeism) - an area with diverse conceptualization and instrumentation approaches. Various approaches to quantify at-work limitations/productivity (e.g., single-item global and multi-item measures) were examined, and available evidence pertaining to OMERACT truth, discrimination, and feasibility were presented to conference participants. Four candidate global measures of presenteeism were put forth for a plenary vote to determine whether current evidence meets the OMERACT filter requirements. Presenteeism globals from the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (72% support) and Rheumatoid Arthritis-specific Work Productivity Survey (71% support) were endorsed by conference participants; however, neither the presenteeism global item from the Health and Work Performance Questionnaire nor the Quantity and Quality method achieved the level of support required for endorsement at the present time. The plenary was also asked whether the central item from the Work Ability Index should also be considered as a candidate measure for potential endorsement in the future. Of participants at the plenary, 70% supported this presenteeism global measure. Progress was also made in other areas through discussions at individual breakout sessions. Topics examined include the merits of various multi-item measures of at-work limitations/productivity, methodological issues related to interpretability of outcome scores, and approaches to appraise and classify contextual factors of worker productivity. Feedback gathered from conference participants will inform the future research agenda of the working group.

Universal immunogenicity validation and assessment during early biotherapeutic development to support a green laboratory.

PubMed

Bautista, Ami C; Zhou, Lei; Jawa, Vibha

2013-10-01

Immunogenicity support during nonclinical biotherapeutic development can be resource intensive if supported by conventional methodologies. A universal indirect species-specific immunoassay can eliminate the need for biotherapeutic-specific anti-drug antibody immunoassays without compromising quality. By implementing the R's of sustainability (reduce, reuse, rethink), conservation of resources and greener laboratory practices were achieved in this study. Statistical analysis across four biotherapeutics supported identification of consistent product performance standards (cut points, sensitivity and reference limits) and a streamlined universal anti-drug antibody immunoassay method implementation strategy. We propose an efficient, fit-for-purpose, scientifically and statistically supported nonclinical immunogenicity assessment strategy. Utilization of a universal method and streamlined validation, while retaining comparability to conventional immunoassays and meeting the industry recommended standards, provides environmental credits in the scientific laboratory. Collectively, individual reductions in critical material consumption, energy usage, waste and non-environment friendly consumables, such as plastic and paper, support a greener laboratory environment.

Wet Oxidation as a Waste Treatment Method in Closed Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Onisko, B. L.; Wydeven, T.

1982-01-01

The chemistry of the wet oxidation process was investigated in relation to production of plant nutrients from plant and human waste materials as required for a closed life support system. Hydroponically grown lettuce plants were used as a model plant waste, and oxygen gas was used as an oxidant. Organic nitrogen content was decreased 88-100%, depending on feed material. Production of ammonia and nitrogen gas accounted for all of the observed decrease in organic nitrogen content. No nitrous oxide (N2O) was detected. The implications of these results for closed life support systems are discussed.

Systematic Product Development of Control and Diagnosis Functionalities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stetter, R.; Simundsson, A.

2017-01-01

In the scientific field of systematic product development a wide range of helpful methods, guidelines and tools were generated and published in recent years. Until now little special attention was given to design guidelines aiming at supporting product development engineers to design products that allow and support control or diagnosis functions. The general trend to ubiquitous computing and the first development steps towards cognitive systems as well as a general trend toward higher product safety, reliability and reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) in many engineering fields lead to a higher importance of control and diagnosis. In this paper a first attempt is made to formulate general valid guidelines how products can be developed in order to allow and to achieve effective and efficient control and diagnosis. The guidelines are elucidated on the example of an automated guided vehicle. One main concern of this paper is the integration of control and diagnosis functionalities into the development of complete systems which include mechanical, electrical and electronic subsystems. For the development of such systems the strategies, methods and tools of systematic product development have attracted significant attention during the last decades. Today, the functionality and safety of most products is to a large degree dependent on control and diagnosis functionalities. Still, there is comparatively little research concentrating on the integration of the development of these functionalities into the overall product development processes. The paper starts with a background describing Systematic Product Development. The second section deals with the product development of the sample product. The third part clarifies the notions monitoring, control and diagnosis. The following parts summarize some insights and formulate first hypotheses concerning control and diagnosis in Systematic Product Development.

Assessing Management Support for Worksite Health Promotion: Psychometric Analysis of the Leading by Example (LBE) Instrument

PubMed Central

Della, Lindsay J.; DeJoy, David M.; Goetzel, Ron Z.; Ozminkowski, Ronald J.; Wilson, Mark G.

2009-01-01

Objective This paper describes the development of the Leading by Example (LBE) instrument. Methods Exploratory factor analysis was used to obtain an initial factor structure. Factor validity was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis methods. Cronbach’s alpha and item-total correlations provided information on the reliability of the factor subscales. Results Four subscales were identified: business alignment with health promotion objectives; awareness of the health-productivity link; worksite support for health promotion; leadership support for health promotion. Factor by group comparisons revealed that the initial factor structure is effective in detecting differences in organizational support for health promotion across different employee groups Conclusions Management support for health promotion can be assessed using the LBE, a brief, self-report questionnaire. Researchers can use the LBE to diagnose, track, and evaluate worksite health promotion programs. PMID:18517097

Supported inorganic membranes

DOEpatents

Sehgal, Rakesh; Brinker, Charles Jeffrey

1998-01-01

Supported inorganic membranes capable of molecular sieving, and methods for their production, are provided. The subject membranes exhibit high flux and high selectivity. The subject membranes are substantially defect free and less than about 100 nm thick. The pores of the subject membranes have an average critical pore radius of less than about 5 .ANG., and have a narrow pore size distribution. The subject membranes are prepared by coating a porous substrate with a polymeric sol, preferably under conditions of low relative pressure of the liquid constituents of the sol. The coated substrate is dried and calcined to produce the subject supported membrane. Also provided are methods of derivatizing the surface of supported inorganic membranes with metal alkoxides. The subject membranes find use in a variety of applications, such as the separation of constituents of gaseous streams, as catalysts and catalyst supports, and the like.

A methodology for evaluating the usability of audiovisual consumer electronic products.

PubMed

Kwahk, Jiyoung; Han, Sung H

2002-09-01

Usability evaluation is now considered an essential procedure in consumer product development. Many studies have been conducted to develop various techniques and methods of usability evaluation hoping to help the evaluators choose appropriate methods. However, planning and conducting usability evaluation requires considerations of a number of factors surrounding the evaluation process including the product, user, activity, and environmental characteristics. In this perspective, this study suggested a new methodology of usability evaluation through a simple, structured framework. The framework was outlined by three major components: the interface features of a product as design variables, the evaluation context consisting of user, product, activity, and environment as context variables, and the usability measures as dependent variables. Based on this framework, this study established methods to specify the product interface features, to define evaluation context, and to measure usability. The effectiveness of this methodology was demonstrated through case studies in which the usability of audiovisual products was evaluated by using the methods developed in this study. This study is expected to help the usability practitioners in consumer electronics industry in various ways. Most directly, it supports the evaluators' plan and conduct usability evaluation sessions in a systematic and structured manner. In addition, it can be applied to other categories of consumer products (such as appliances, automobiles, communication devices, etc.) with minor modifications as necessary.

Combinatorial chemistry on solid support in the search for central nervous system agents.

PubMed

Zajdel, Paweł; Pawłowski, Maciej; Martinez, Jean; Subra, Gilles

2009-08-01

The advent of combinatorial chemistry was one of the most important developments, that has significantly contributed to the drug discovery process. Within just a few years, its initial concept aimed at production of libraries containing huge number of compounds (thousands to millions), so called screening libraries, has shifted towards preparation of small and medium-sized rationally designed libraries. When applicable, the use of solid supports for the generation of libraries has been a real breakthrough in enhancing productivity. With a limited amount of resin and simple manual workups, the split/mix procedure may generate thousands of bead-tethered compounds. Beads can be chemically or physically encoded to facilitate the identification of a hit after the biological assay. Compartmentalization of solid supports using small reactors like teabags, kans or pellicular discrete supports like Lanterns resulted in powerful sort and combine technologies, relying on codes 'written' on the reactor, and thus reducing the need for automation and improving the number of compounds synthesized. These methods of solid-phase combinatorial chemistry have been recently supported by introduction of solid-supported reagents and scavenger resins. The first part of this review discusses the general premises of combinatorial chemistry and some methods used in the design of primary and focused combinatorial libraries. The aim of the second part is to present combinatorial chemistry methodologies aimed at discovering bioactive compounds acting on diverse GPCR involved in central nervous system disorders.

Open source Matrix Product States: Opening ways to simulate entangled many-body quantum systems in one dimension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaschke, Daniel; Wall, Michael L.; Carr, Lincoln D.

2018-04-01

Numerical simulations are a powerful tool to study quantum systems beyond exactly solvable systems lacking an analytic expression. For one-dimensional entangled quantum systems, tensor network methods, amongst them Matrix Product States (MPSs), have attracted interest from different fields of quantum physics ranging from solid state systems to quantum simulators and quantum computing. Our open source MPS code provides the community with a toolset to analyze the statics and dynamics of one-dimensional quantum systems. Here, we present our open source library, Open Source Matrix Product States (OSMPS), of MPS methods implemented in Python and Fortran2003. The library includes tools for ground state calculation and excited states via the variational ansatz. We also support ground states for infinite systems with translational invariance. Dynamics are simulated with different algorithms, including three algorithms with support for long-range interactions. Convenient features include built-in support for fermionic systems and number conservation with rotational U(1) and discrete Z2 symmetries for finite systems, as well as data parallelism with MPI. We explain the principles and techniques used in this library along with examples of how to efficiently use the general interfaces to analyze the Ising and Bose-Hubbard models. This description includes the preparation of simulations as well as dispatching and post-processing of them.

Spinning of Fibers from Aqueous Solutions

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-08-01

recombinant silk product BioSteel . Publications, patents and presentations 1. Arcidiacono, S., et al., Purification and characterization of recombinant...ABSTRACT Previous funding supporting this research focused primarily on development of the aqueous-based method for processing silk into spin solutions. Much...of this effort consisted of production of recombinant silk protein in bacterial and yeast expression systems. In spite of the small quantities

Stampless fabrication of sheet bars using disposable templates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolentsev, V. P.; Safonov, S. V.; Smolentsev, E. V.; Fedonin, O. N.

2016-04-01

The article is devoted to the new method of small-scale fabrication of sheet bars. The procedure is performed by using disposable overlay templates, or those associated with a sheet, which parameters are obtained directly from the drawing. The proposed method used as a substitution of die cutting enables to intensify the preparatory technological process, which is particularly effective when launching the market-oriented items into production. It significantly increases the competitiveness of mechanical engineering and creates the conditions for technical support of present-day flexible production systems.

Determination of Protein Content by NIR Spectroscopy in Protein Powder Mix Products.

PubMed

Ingle, Prashant D; Christian, Roney; Purohit, Piyush; Zarraga, Veronica; Handley, Erica; Freel, Keith; Abdo, Saleem

2016-01-01

Protein is a principal component in commonly used dietary supplements and health food products. The analysis of these products, within the consumer package form, is of critical importance for the purpose of ensuring quality and supporting label claims. A rapid test method was developed using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as a compliment to current protein determination by the Dumas combustion method. The NIR method was found to be a rapid, low-cost, and green (no use of chemicals and reagents) complimentary technique. The protein powder samples analyzed in this study were in the range of 22-90% protein. The samples were prepared as mixtures of soy protein, whey protein, and silicon dioxide ingredients, which are common in commercially sold protein powder drink-mix products in the market. A NIR regression model was developed with 17 samples within the constituent range and was validated with 20 independent samples of known protein levels (85-88%). The results show that the NIR method is capable of predicting the protein content with a bias of ±2% and a maximum bias of 3% between NIR and the external Dumas method.

[Spectralsignatures of nickel and vanadium supported photocatalysts and their photocatalytic properties].

PubMed

Hai, Feng; Zhang, Qian-Cheng; Wang, Zhi-Wei; Jian, Li

2011-04-01

Using SiO2, activated carbon (AC) and Al2O3 as supports, the supported photocatalysts Ni-V-O/SiO2, Ni-V-O/AC and Ni-V-O/Al2O3 were prepared by impregnation method, and their spectralsignatures were investigated. The carbonylation of methanol with CO2 under UV irradiation was used as a probe reaction to compare the photocatalytic performance of the prepared catalysts. Integrated with the testing results of carbonylation, the effects of different supports on selectivity for the carbonylation products of methyl formate (MF) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) were discussed by pyridine-IR and UV-Vis techniques. XRD results showed that the particles of nickel and vanadium supported on SiO2 had the highest degree of dispersion. Results of pyridine-IR indicated that all catalysts retained Lewis acid sites. The acid strength was different from catalyst samples with different supports but with the same active components. The acid strengths could be arranged as follows: Ni-V-O/SiO2 > Ni-V-O/Al2 O3 > Ni-V-O/AC. Different acid strengths exhibited different influence on the selectivity of products MF and DMC of carbonylation. The surface acid strengths of catalysts were the major factor influencing the selectivity of carbonylation products.

Analysis of the possibility of SysML and BPMN application in formal data acquisition system description

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ćwikła, G.; Gwiazda, A.; Banaś, W.; Monica, Z.; Foit, K.

2017-08-01

The article presents the study of possible application of selected methods of complex description, that can be used as a support of the Manufacturing Information Acquisition System (MIAS) methodology, describing how to design a data acquisition system, allowing for collecting and processing real-time data on the functioning of a production system, necessary for management of a company. MIAS can allow conversion into Cyber-Physical Production System. MIAS is gathering and pre-processing data on the state of production system, including e.g. realisation of production orders, state of machines, materials and human resources. Systematised approach and model-based development is proposed for improving the quality of the design of MIAS methodology-based complex systems supporting data acquisition in various types of companies. Graphical specification can be the baseline for any model-based development in specified areas. The possibility of application of SysML and BPMN, both being UML-based languages, representing different approaches to modelling of requirements, architecture and implementation of the data acquisition system, as a tools supporting description of required features of MIAS, were considered.

Carbon isotope ratios and isotopic correlations between components in fruit juices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wierzchnicki, Ryszard

2013-04-01

Nowadays food products are defined by geographical origin, method of production and by some regulations concerning terms of their authenticity. Important data for confirm the authenticity of product are providing by isotopic methods of food control. The method checks crucial criteria which characterize the authenticity of inspected product. The European Union Regulations clearly show the tendency for application of the isotopic methods for food authenticity control (wine, honey, juice). The aim of the legislation steps is the protection of European market from possibility of the commercial frauds. Method of isotope ratio mass spectrometry is very effective tool for the use distinguishably the food products of various geographical origin. The basic problem for identification of the sample origin is the lack of databases of isotopic composition of components and information about the correlations of the data. The subject of the work was study the isotopic correlations existing between components of fruits. The chemical and instrumental methods of separation: water, sugars, organic acids and pulp from fruit were implemented. IRMS technique was used to measure isotopic composition of samples. The final results for original samples of fruits (apple, strawberry etc.) will be presented and discussed. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education under grant NR12-0043-10/2010.

A PBOM configuration and management method based on templates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Kai; Qiao, Lihong; Qie, Yifan

2018-03-01

The design of Process Bill of Materials (PBOM) holds a hinge position in the process of product development. The requirements of PBOM configuration design and management for complex products are analysed in this paper, which include the reuse technique of configuration procedure and urgent management need of huge quantity of product family PBOM data. Based on the analysis, the function framework of PBOM configuration and management has been established. Configuration templates and modules are defined in the framework to support the customization and the reuse of configuration process. The configuration process of a detection sensor PBOM is shown as an illustration case in the end. The rapid and agile PBOM configuration and management can be achieved utilizing template-based method, which has a vital significance to improve the development efficiency for complex products.

The path to producing pharmaceuticals from natural products uncovered by academia-from the perspective of a science coordinator.

PubMed

Fujie, Akihiko

2017-01-01

To actualize the invention of all-Japanese medicines, the Department of Innovative Drug Discovery and Development (iD3) in the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) serves as the headquarters for the Drug Discovery Support Network. iD3 assists with creating research strategies for the seeds of medicines discovered by academia and provides technological support, intellectual property management, and aid for applying the seeds through industry-led efforts. In this review, from the perspective of a science coordinator, I will describe the current activities of the drug discovery support network and iD3 as well as the challenges and future developments of pharmaceutical research and development using the natural product drug discovery method.

Preliminary evaluation of waste processing in a CELSS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacquez, Ricardo B.

1990-01-01

Physical/chemical, biological, and hybrid methods can be used in a space environment for processing wastes generated by a Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). Two recycling scenarios are presented. They reflect differing emphases on and responses to the waste system formation rates and their composition, as well as indicate the required products from waste treatment that are needed in a life support system.

The Effects of Mobile-Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: Meta-Analysis and Critical Synthesis.

PubMed

Sung, Yao-Ting; Yang, Je-Ming; Lee, Han-Yueh

2017-08-01

One of the trends in collaborative learning is using mobile devices for supporting the process and products of collaboration, which has been forming the field of mobile-computer-supported collaborative learning (mCSCL). Although mobile devices have become valuable collaborative learning tools, evaluative evidence for their substantial contributions to collaborative learning is still scarce. The present meta-analysis, which included 48 peer-reviewed journal articles and doctoral dissertations written over a 16-year period (2000-2015) involving 5,294 participants, revealed that mCSCL has produced meaningful improvements for collaborative learning, with an overall mean effect size of 0.516. Moderator variables, such as domain subject, group size, teaching method, intervention duration, and reward method were related to different effect sizes. The results provided implications for future research and practice, such as suggestions on how to appropriately use the functionalities of mobile devices, how to best leverage mCSCL through effective group learning mechanisms, and what outcome variables should be included in future studies to fully elucidate the process and products of mCSCL.

The Effects of Mobile-Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: Meta-Analysis and Critical Synthesis

PubMed Central

Sung, Yao-Ting; Yang, Je-Ming; Lee, Han-Yueh

2017-01-01

One of the trends in collaborative learning is using mobile devices for supporting the process and products of collaboration, which has been forming the field of mobile-computer-supported collaborative learning (mCSCL). Although mobile devices have become valuable collaborative learning tools, evaluative evidence for their substantial contributions to collaborative learning is still scarce. The present meta-analysis, which included 48 peer-reviewed journal articles and doctoral dissertations written over a 16-year period (2000–2015) involving 5,294 participants, revealed that mCSCL has produced meaningful improvements for collaborative learning, with an overall mean effect size of 0.516. Moderator variables, such as domain subject, group size, teaching method, intervention duration, and reward method were related to different effect sizes. The results provided implications for future research and practice, such as suggestions on how to appropriately use the functionalities of mobile devices, how to best leverage mCSCL through effective group learning mechanisms, and what outcome variables should be included in future studies to fully elucidate the process and products of mCSCL. PMID:28989193

Catalysts for the production of hydrocarbons from carbon monoxide and water

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

Sapienza, Richard S.; Slegeir, William A.; Goldberg, Robert I.

1987-01-01

A method of converting low H.sub.2 /CO ratio syngas to carbonaceous products comprising reacting the syngas with water or steam at 200.degree. to 350.degree. C. in the presence of a metal catalyst supported on zinc oxide. Hydrocarbons are produced with a catalyst selected from cobalt, nickel or ruthenium and alcohols are produced with a catalyst selected from palladium, platinium, ruthenium or copper on the zinc oxide support. The ratio of the reactants are such that for alcohols and saturated hydrocarbons: (2n+1).gtoreq.x.gtoreq.O and for olefinic hydrocarbons: 2n.gtoreq.x.gtoreq.O where n is the number of carbon atoms in the product and x ismore » the molar amount of water in the reaction mixture.« less

Supporting evidence-based analysis for modified risk tobacco products through a toxicology data-sharing infrastructure

PubMed Central

Boué, Stéphanie; Exner, Thomas; Ghosh, Samik; Belcastro, Vincenzo; Dokler, Joh; Page, David; Boda, Akash; Bonjour, Filipe; Hardy, Barry; Vanscheeuwijck, Patrick; Hoeng, Julia; Peitsch, Manuel

2017-01-01

The US FDA defines modified risk tobacco products (MRTPs) as products that aim to reduce harm or the risk of tobacco-related disease associated with commercially marketed tobacco products.  Establishing a product’s potential as an MRTP requires scientific substantiation including toxicity studies and measures of disease risk relative to those of cigarette smoking.  Best practices encourage verification of the data from such studies through sharing and open standards. Building on the experience gained from the OpenTox project, a proof-of-concept database and website ( INTERVALS) has been developed to share results from both in vivo inhalation studies and in vitro studies conducted by Philip Morris International R&D to assess candidate MRTPs. As datasets are often generated by diverse methods and standards, they need to be traceable, curated, and the methods used well described so that knowledge can be gained using data science principles and tools. The data-management framework described here accounts for the latest standards of data sharing and research reproducibility. Curated data and methods descriptions have been prepared in ISA-Tab format and stored in a database accessible via a search portal on the INTERVALS website. The portal allows users to browse the data by study or mechanism (e.g., inflammation, oxidative stress) and obtain information relevant to study design, methods, and the most important results. Given the successful development of the initial infrastructure, the goal is to grow this initiative and establish a public repository for 21 st-century preclinical systems toxicology MRTP assessment data and results that supports open data principles. PMID:29123642

Performance and reliability of the NASA biomass production chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fortson, R. E.; Sager, J. C.; Chetirkin, P. V.

1994-01-01

The Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) at the Kennedy Space Center is part of the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Breadboard Project. Plants are grown in a closed environment in an effort to quantify their contributions to the requirements for life support. Performance of this system is described. Also, in building this system, data from component and subsystem failures are being recorded. These data are used to identify problem areas in the design and implementation. The techniques used to measure the reliability will be useful in the design and construction of future CELSS. Possible methods for determining the reliability of a green plant, the primary component of CELSS, are discussed.

Process service quality evaluation based on Dempster-Shafer theory and support vector machine.

PubMed

Pei, Feng-Que; Li, Dong-Bo; Tong, Yi-Fei; He, Fei

2017-01-01

Human involvement influences traditional service quality evaluations, which triggers an evaluation's low accuracy, poor reliability and less impressive predictability. This paper proposes a method by employing a support vector machine (SVM) and Dempster-Shafer evidence theory to evaluate the service quality of a production process by handling a high number of input features with a low sampling data set, which is called SVMs-DS. Features that can affect production quality are extracted by a large number of sensors. Preprocessing steps such as feature simplification and normalization are reduced. Based on three individual SVM models, the basic probability assignments (BPAs) are constructed, which can help the evaluation in a qualitative and quantitative way. The process service quality evaluation results are validated by the Dempster rules; the decision threshold to resolve conflicting results is generated from three SVM models. A case study is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the SVMs-DS method.

Rule-based optimization and multicriteria decision support for packaging a truck chassis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berger, Martin; Lindroth, Peter; Welke, Richard

2017-06-01

Trucks are highly individualized products where exchangeable parts are flexibly combined to suit different customer requirements, this leading to a great complexity in product development. Therefore, an optimization approach based on constraint programming is proposed for automatically packaging parts of a truck chassis by following packaging rules expressed as constraints. A multicriteria decision support system is developed where a database of truck layouts is computed, among which interactive navigation then can be performed. The work has been performed in cooperation with Volvo Group Trucks Technology (GTT), from which specific rules have been used. Several scenarios are described where the methods developed can be successfully applied and lead to less time-consuming manual work, fewer mistakes, and greater flexibility in configuring trucks. A numerical evaluation is also presented showing the efficiency and practical relevance of the methods, which are implemented in a software tool.

SUPPORT FOR POPULATION LEVEL TOBACCO CONTROL POLICIES IN HUNGARY

PubMed Central

Paulik, Edit; Maróti-Nagy, Ágnes; Nagymajtényi, László; Rogers, Todd; Easterling, Doug

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Background Smoking is the leading, preventable risk factor for premature death and disability in Hungary. The objective of this paper was to assess the social acceptability of and the predictors of holding favourable attitudes toward tobacco control policies among the Hungarian population. Methods A self-administered questionnaire-based study was carried out among individuals aged 16–70 years. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess whether support for the ten tobacco control policies varies as a function of age, sex, educational level, and smoking status. Results The majority of the respondents supported the studied tobacco control measures. Over 90 percent of the sample supported: fines for retailers selling tobacco products to minors (92.3%), stricter enforcement of restrictions on selling tobacco products to minors (90.5%), and a ban on smoking in health care institutions (91.4%). The lowest levels of support were for bans on sponsorship by the tobacco industry (52.8%) and price increases on tobacco products (54.9%). For each measure, support was significantly lower among smokers than non-smokers. Age and education were significantly related to support for some but not all measures. Conclusions Strong majorities of Hungarians support the enactment and enforcement of a wide range of tobacco control measures, a fact that was acknowledged by Parliament’s passage of the 2011 Anti-Smoking Law. Advocacy efforts to encourage the acceptance of tobacco control policies should focus not only on smokers, but also on younger and less educated non-smokers. PMID:22571024

Fabrication of fiber supported ionic liquids and methods of use

DOEpatents

Luebke, David R; Wickramanayake, Shan

2013-02-26

One or more embodiments relates to the production of a fabricated fiber having an asymmetric polymer network and having an immobilized liquid such as an ionic liquid within the pores of the polymer network. The process produces the fabricated fiber in a dry-wet spinning process using a homogenous dope solution, providing significant advantage over current fabrication methods for liquid-supporting polymers. The fabricated fibers may be effectively utilized for the separation of a chemical species from a mixture based on the selection of the polymer, the liquid, and the solvent utilized in the dope.

Engineering Human Neural Tissue by 3D Bioprinting.

PubMed

Gu, Qi; Tomaskovic-Crook, Eva; Wallace, Gordon G; Crook, Jeremy M

2018-01-01

Bioprinting provides an opportunity to produce three-dimensional (3D) tissues for biomedical research and translational drug discovery, toxicology, and tissue replacement. Here we describe a method for fabricating human neural tissue by 3D printing human neural stem cells with a bioink, and subsequent gelation of the bioink for cell encapsulation, support, and differentiation to functional neurons and supporting neuroglia. The bioink uniquely comprises the polysaccharides alginate, water-soluble carboxymethyl-chitosan, and agarose. Importantly, the method could be adapted to fabricate neural and nonneural tissues from other cell types, with the potential to be applied for both research and clinical product development.

Characterization of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in food products: analytical methods to define nanoparticles.

PubMed

Peters, Ruud J B; van Bemmel, Greet; Herrera-Rivera, Zahira; Helsper, Hans P F G; Marvin, Hans J P; Weigel, Stefan; Tromp, Peter C; Oomen, Agnes G; Rietveld, Anton G; Bouwmeester, Hans

2014-07-09

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a common food additive used to enhance the white color, brightness, and sometimes flavor of a variety of food products. In this study 7 food grade TiO2 materials (E171), 24 food products, and 3 personal care products were investigated for their TiO2 content and the number-based size distribution of TiO2 particles present in these products. Three principally different methods have been used to determine the number-based size distribution of TiO2 particles: electron microscopy, asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation combined with inductively coupled mass spectrometry, and single-particle inductively coupled mass spectrometry. The results show that all E171 materials have similar size distributions with primary particle sizes in the range of 60-300 nm. Depending on the analytical method used, 10-15% of the particles in these materials had sizes below 100 nm. In 24 of the 27 foods and personal care products detectable amounts of titanium were found ranging from 0.02 to 9.0 mg TiO2/g product. The number-based size distributions for TiO2 particles in the food and personal care products showed that 5-10% of the particles in these products had sizes below 100 nm, comparable to that found in the E171 materials. Comparable size distributions were found using the three principally different analytical methods. Although the applied methods are considered state of the art, they showed practical size limits for TiO2 particles in the range of 20-50 nm, which may introduce a significant bias in the size distribution because particles <20 nm are excluded. This shows the inability of current state of the art methods to support the European Union recommendation for the definition of nanomaterials.

Continuous preparation of carbon-nanotube-supported platinum catalysts in a flow reactor directly heated by electric current

PubMed Central

dos Santos, Antonio Rodolfo; Kunz, Ulrich; Turek, Thomas

2011-01-01

Summary In this contribution we present for the first time a continuous process for the production of highly active Pt catalysts supported by carbon nanotubes by use of an electrically heated tubular reactor. The synthesized catalysts show a high degree of dispersion and narrow distributions of cluster sizes. In comparison to catalysts synthesized by the conventional oil-bath method a significantly higher electrocatalytic activity was reached, which can be attributed to the higher metal loading and smaller and more uniformly distributed Pt particles on the carbon support. Our approach introduces a simple, time-saving and cost-efficient method for fuel cell catalyst preparation in a flow reactor which could be used at a large scale. PMID:22043252

Production of synthetic winds for the Global Reference Atmosphere Model (GRAM)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-12-15

The Aerospace Corporation was tasked by the Volpe National Transportation systems Center to provide technical support to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST), in developing a method based on Princip...

Aqueous Productivity: An enhanced productivity indicator for water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ritzema, Randall S.

2014-09-01

Increasing demand for scarce water supplies is fueling competition between agricultural production and other municipal and environmental demands, and has heightened the need for effective indicators to measure water performance and support water allocation and planning processes. Water productivity (WP), defined as the ‘ratio of the net benefits from crop, forestry, fishery, livestock, and mixed agricultural systems to the amount of water required to produce those benefits', is one such indicator that has gained prominence, particularly in research-for-development efforts in the developing world. However, though WP is a framework well-suited to systems where water use is directly attributable, particularly via depletion, to definitive benefits, the suitability of the approach becomes questionable when these conditions are not met, such as in multiple use systems with high re-use and non-depleting uses. These factors furthermore make WP highly scale-dependent, complicating comparative studies across scales and systems. This research forwards ‘aqueous productivity' (AP) as an alternative indicator that addresses some inherent limitations in the WP approach and enhances productivity estimates for water in integrated systems. Like WP, AP is expressed as a ratio of benefit to water volume. However, AP uses a systems approach and is based on the concept that elements within a hydrologic system are linked via water flow interactions, and that those elements either ‘extract' value from associated water flows or ‘infuse' value into them. The AP method therefore calculates the ‘aqueous productivity', a ratio indicating the ‘dissolved' production-related economic value of all downstream uses of an individual water flow, for each inter-element and cross-boundary flow in the system. The AP conceptual framework and analytical methodology are presented. The method is then applied to two example hydroeconomic systems and compared to equivalent WP analysis. Discussion compares and contrasts the two methods, with a particular focus on how the AP approach addresses limitations in the WP method through its treatment of multiple uses of water and water re-use, seamless integration of depleting and non-depleting water uses, explicit cross-scale linkages, and incorporation of water storage and other temporal aspects in the analysis. Appropriate contexts of application for AP in decision support and in contrast to other water valuation methods are consequently considered.

Integrating asthma hazard characterization methods for consumer products.

PubMed

Maier, A; Vincent, M J; Gadagbui, B; Patterson, J; Beckett, W; Dalton, P; Kimber, I; Selgrade, M J K

2014-10-01

Despite extensive study, definitive conclusions regarding the relationship between asthma and consumer products remain elusive. Uncertainties reflect the multi-faceted nature of asthma (i.e., contributions of immunologic and non-immunologic mechanisms). Many substances used in consumer products are associated with occupational asthma or asthma-like syndromes. However, risk assessment methods do not adequately predict the potential for consumer product exposures to trigger asthma and related syndromes under lower-level end-user conditions. A decision tree system is required to characterize asthma and respiratory-related hazards associated with consumer products. A system can be built to incorporate the best features of existing guidance, frameworks, and models using a weight-of-evidence (WoE) approach. With this goal in mind, we have evaluated chemical hazard characterization methods for asthma and asthma-like responses. Despite the wealth of information available, current hazard characterization methods do not definitively identify whether a particular ingredient will cause or exacerbate asthma, asthma-like responses, or sensitization of the respiratory tract at lower levels associated with consumer product use. Effective use of hierarchical lines of evidence relies on consideration of the relevance and potency of assays, organization of assays by mode of action, and better assay validation. It is anticipated that the analysis of existing methods will support the development of a refined WoE approach. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Attached cultivation technology of microalgae for efficient biomass feedstock production.

PubMed

Liu, Tianzhong; Wang, Junfeng; Hu, Qiang; Cheng, Pengfei; Ji, Bei; Liu, Jinli; Chen, Yu; Zhang, Wei; Chen, Xiaoling; Chen, Lin; Gao, Lili; Ji, Chunli; Wang, Hui

2013-01-01

The potential of microalgae biofuel has not been realized because of low productivity and high costs associated with the current cultivation systems. In this paper, an attached cultivation method was introduced, in which microalgae cells grew on the surface of vertical artificial supporting material to form algal film. Multiple of the algal films were assembled in an array fashion to dilute solar irradiation to facilitate high photosynthetic efficiency. Results showed that a broad range of microalgae species can grow with this attached method. A biomass productivity of 50-80 g m(-2) d(-1) was obtained outdoors for Scenedesmus obliquus, corresponding to the photosynthetic efficiency of 5.2-8.3% (total solar radiation). This attached method also offers lots of possible advantages over traditional open ponds, such as on water saving, harvesting, contamination controlling and scale-up. The attached cultivation represents a promising technology for economically viable production of microalgae biofuels. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cell immobilization for production of lactic acid biofilms do it naturally.

PubMed

Dagher, Suzanne F; Ragout, Alicia L; Siñeriz, Faustino; Bruno-Bárcena, José M

2010-01-01

Interest in natural cell immobilization or biofilms for lactic acid fermentation has developed considerably over the last few decades. Many studies report the benefits associated with biofilms as industrial methods for food production and for wastewater treatment, since the formation represents a protective means of microbial growth offering survival advantages to cells in toxic environments. The formation of biofilms is a natural process in which microbial cells adsorb to a support without chemicals or polymers that entrap the cells and is dependent on the reactor environment, microorganism, and characteristics of the support. These unique characteristics enable biofilms to cause chronic infections, disease, food spoilage, and devastating effects as in microbial corrosion. Their distinct resistance to toxicity, high biomass potential, and improved stability over cells in suspension make biofilms a good tool for improving the industrial economics of biological lactic acid production. Lactic acid bacteria and specific filamentous fungi are the main sources of biological lactic acid. Over the past two decades, studies have focused on improving the lactic acid volumetric productivity through reactor design development, new support materials, and improvements in microbial production strains. To illustrate the operational designs applied to the natural immobilization of lactic acid producing microorganisms, this chapter presents the results of a search for optimum parameters and how they are affected by the physical, chemical, and biological variables of the process. We will place particular emphasis upon the relationship between lactic acid productivity attained by various types of reactors, supports, media formulations, and lactic acid producing microorganisms. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Methods for Attributing Land-Use Emissions to Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, S. J.; Burney, J. A.; Pongratz, J.; Caldeira, K.

2014-12-01

Roughly one-third of anthropogenic GHG emissions are caused by agricultural and forestry activities and land-use change (collectively, 'land-use emissions'). Understanding the ultimate drivers of these emissions requires attributing emissions to specific land-use activities and products. Although quantities of land-use emissions are matters of fact, the methodological choices and assumptions required to attribute those emissions to activities and products depend on research goals and data availability. We will demonstrate several possible accounting methods, highlighting the sensitivity of accounting to temporal distributions of emissions and the consequences of replacing spatially-explicit data with aggregate proxies such as production or harvested area data. Different accounting options emphasize different causes of land-use emissions (e.g., proximate or indirect drivers of deforestation). To support public policies that effectively balance competing objectives, analysts should carefully consider and communicate implications of accounting choices.

Biotechnological Processes in Microbial Amylase Production

PubMed Central

Arshad, M. K. Md; Lakshmipriya, Thangavel; Hashim, Uda; Chinni, Suresh V.

2017-01-01

Amylase is an important and indispensable enzyme that plays a pivotal role in the field of biotechnology. It is produced mainly from microbial sources and is used in many industries. Industrial sectors with top-down and bottom-up approaches are currently focusing on improving microbial amylase production levels by implementing bioengineering technologies. The further support of energy consumption studies, such as those on thermodynamics, pinch technology, and environment-friendly technologies, has hastened the large-scale production of the enzyme. Herein, the importance of microbial (bacteria and fungi) amylase is discussed along with its production methods from the laboratory to industrial scales. PMID:28280725

Returns to Scale in the Production of Hospital Services

PubMed Central

Berry, Ralph E.

1967-01-01

The primary purpose of this article is to investigate whether or not economies of scale exist in the production of hospital services. In previous studies the results have implied the existence of economies of scale, but the question has not been satisfactorily resolved. The factor most responsible for clouding the issue is the overwhelming prevalence of product differences in the outputs of hospitals. In this study a method which avoids the problem of product differentiation is developed. The analysis strongly supports the conclusion that hospital services are produced subject to economies of scale. PMID:6054380

Biotechnological Processes in Microbial Amylase Production.

PubMed

Gopinath, Subash C B; Anbu, Periasamy; Arshad, M K Md; Lakshmipriya, Thangavel; Voon, Chun Hong; Hashim, Uda; Chinni, Suresh V

2017-01-01

Amylase is an important and indispensable enzyme that plays a pivotal role in the field of biotechnology. It is produced mainly from microbial sources and is used in many industries. Industrial sectors with top-down and bottom-up approaches are currently focusing on improving microbial amylase production levels by implementing bioengineering technologies. The further support of energy consumption studies, such as those on thermodynamics, pinch technology, and environment-friendly technologies, has hastened the large-scale production of the enzyme. Herein, the importance of microbial (bacteria and fungi) amylase is discussed along with its production methods from the laboratory to industrial scales.

Flow synthesis of phenylserine using threonine aldolase immobilized on Eupergit support

PubMed Central

Tibhe, Jagdish D; Fu, Hui; Noël, Timothy; Wang, Qi; Meuldijk, Jan

2013-01-01

Summary Threonine aldolase (TA) from Thermotoga maritima was immobilized on an Eupergit support by both a direct and an indirect method. The incubation time for the direct immobilization method was optimized for the highest amount of enzyme on the support. By introducing the immobilized TA in a packed-bed microreactor, a flow synthesis of phenylserine was developed, and the effects of temperature and residence time were studied in particular. Calculations of the Damköhler number revealed that no mass transfer limitations are given in the micro-interstices of the packed bed. The yield does not exceed 40% and can be rationalized by the natural equilibrium as well as product inhibition which was experimentally proven. The flow synthesis with the immobilized enzyme was compared with the corresponding transformation conducted with the free enzyme. The product yield was further improved by operating under slug flow conditions which is related to the very short residence time distribution. In all cases 20% diastereomeric excess (de) and 99% enantiomeric excess (ee) were observed. A continuous run of the reactant solution was carried out for 10 hours in order to check enzyme stability at higher temperature. Stable operation was achieved at 20 minute residence time. Finally, the productivity of the reactor was calculated, extrapolated to parallel run units, and compared with data collected previously. PMID:24204429

A software engineering approach to expert system design and verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bochsler, Daniel C.; Goodwin, Mary Ann

1988-01-01

Software engineering design and verification methods for developing expert systems are not yet well defined. Integration of expert system technology into software production environments will require effective software engineering methodologies to support the entire life cycle of expert systems. The software engineering methods used to design and verify an expert system, RENEX, is discussed. RENEX demonstrates autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations, including replanning trajectory events and subsystem fault detection, onboard a space vehicle during flight. The RENEX designers utilized a number of software engineering methodologies to deal with the complex problems inherent in this system. An overview is presented of the methods utilized. Details of the verification process receive special emphasis. The benefits and weaknesses of the methods for supporting the development life cycle of expert systems are evaluated, and recommendations are made based on the overall experiences with the methods.

Data Driven Professional Development Design for Out-of-School Time Educators Using Planetary Science and Engineering Educational Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, J.; Bloom, N.

2017-12-01

Data driven design practices should be the basis for any effective educational product, particularly those used to support STEM learning and literacy. Planetary Learning that Advances the Nexus of Engineering, Technology, and Science (PLANETS) is a five-year NASA-funded (NNX16AC53A) interdisciplinary and cross-institutional partnership to develop and disseminate STEM out-of-school time (OST) curricular and professional development units that integrate planetary science, technology, and engineering. The Center for Science Teaching and Learning at Northern Arizona University, the U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center, and the Museum of Science Boston are partners in developing, piloting, and researching the impact of three out of school time units. Two units are for middle grades youth and one is for upper elementary aged youth. The presentation will highlight the data driven development process of the educational products used to provide support for educators teaching these curriculum units. This includes how data from the project needs assessment, curriculum pilot testing, and professional support product field tests are used in the design of products for out of school time educators. Based on data analysis, the project is developing and testing four tiers of professional support for OST educators. Tier 1 meets the immediate needs of OST educators to teach curriculum and include how-to videos and other direct support materials. Tier 2 provides additional content and pedagogical knowledge and includes short content videos designed to specifically address the content of the curriculum. Tier 3 elaborates on best practices in education and gives guidance on methods, for example, to develop cultural relevancy for underrepresented students. Tier 4 helps make connections to other NASA or educational products that support STEM learning in out of school settings. Examples of the tiers of support will be provided.

Modelling of the production of gaseous by-products in anaerobic digestion.

PubMed

Strik, D P; Domnanovich, A M; Pfeiffer, B; Karlovitz, M; Zani, L; Braun, R; Holubar, P

2003-01-01

Goal of the EU-Project AMONCO (Advanced Prediction, Monitoring and Controlling of Anaerobic Digestion Processes Behaviour towards Biogas Usage in Fuel Cells) is demonstration of the practical use of biogas in fuel cells. The right precondition is a biogas quality which fits into the fuel cells tolerances. Therefore the mission of the workgroup Environmental biotechnology is to control anaerobic digestion in a way that production of potential harmful by-products for fuel cells is reduced. A good understanding of the production of these by products is essential for an applicable decision support tool. This poster presents the modelling of hydrogen sulfide by means of hierarchical neural networks and a classical mathematical method.

Analysis of Competitiveness and Support Instruments for Heat and Electricity Production from Wood Biomass in Latvia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klavs, G.; Kudrenickis, I.; Kundzina, A.

2012-01-01

Utilisation of renewable energy sources is one of the key factors in a search for efficient ways of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases and improving the energy supply security. So far, the district heating supply in Latvia has been based on natural gas, with the wood fuel playing a minor role; the same is true for decentralised combined heat-power (CHP) production. The paper describes a method for evaluation of the economic feasibility of heat and electricity production from wood biomass under the competition between different fuel types and taking into account the electricity market. For the simulation, a cost estimation model is applied. The results demonstrate that wood biomass can successfully be utilised for competitive heat production by boiler houses, while for electricity production by CHP utilities it cannot compete on the market (even despite the low prices on wood biomass fuel) unless particular financial support instruments are applied. The authors evaluate the necessary support level and the impact of two main support instruments - the investment subsidies and the feed-in tariff - on the economic viability of wood-fuelled CHP plants, and show that the feed-in tariff could be considered as an instrument strongly affecting the competitiveness of such type CHP. Regarding the feed-in tariff determination, a compromise should be found between the economy-dictated requirement to develop CHP projects concerning capacities above 5 MWel - on the one hand, and the relatively small heat loads in many Latvian towns - on the other.

Hardware Testing and System Evaluation: Procedures to Evaluate Commodity Hardware for Production Clusters

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

Goebel, J

2004-02-27

Without stable hardware any program will fail. The frustration and expense of supporting bad hardware can drain an organization, delay progress, and frustrate everyone involved. At Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), we have created a testing method that helps our group, SLAC Computer Services (SCS), weed out potentially bad hardware and purchase the best hardware at the best possible cost. Commodity hardware changes often, so new evaluations happen periodically each time we purchase systems and minor re-evaluations happen for revised systems for our clusters, about twice a year. This general framework helps SCS perform correct, efficient evaluations. This article outlinesmore » SCS's computer testing methods and our system acceptance criteria. We expanded the basic ideas to other evaluations such as storage, and we think the methods outlined in this article has helped us choose hardware that is much more stable and supportable than our previous purchases. We have found that commodity hardware ranges in quality, so systematic method and tools for hardware evaluation were necessary. This article is based on one instance of a hardware purchase, but the guidelines apply to the general problem of purchasing commodity computer systems for production computational work.« less

Recognition and defect detection of dot-matrix text via variation-model based learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohyama, Wataru; Suzuki, Koushi; Wakabayashi, Tetsushi

2017-03-01

An algorithm for recognition and defect detection of dot-matrix text printed on products is proposed. Extraction and recognition of dot-matrix text contains several difficulties, which are not involved in standard camera-based OCR, that the appearance of dot-matrix characters is corrupted and broken by illumination, complex texture in the background and other standard characters printed on product packages. We propose a dot-matrix text extraction and recognition method which does not require any user interaction. The method employs detected location of corner points and classification score. The result of evaluation experiment using 250 images shows that recall and precision of extraction are 78.60% and 76.03%, respectively. Recognition accuracy of correctly extracted characters is 94.43%. Detecting printing defect of dot-matrix text is also important in the production scene to avoid illegal productions. We also propose a detection method for printing defect of dot-matrix characters. The method constructs a feature vector of which elements are classification scores of each character class and employs support vector machine to classify four types of printing defect. The detection accuracy of the proposed method is 96.68 %.

Major advances in testing of dairy products: milk component and dairy product attribute testing.

PubMed

Barbano, D M; Lynch, J M

2006-04-01

Milk component analysis is relatively unusual in the field of quantitative analytical chemistry because an analytical test result determines the allocation of very large amounts of money between buyers and sellers of milk. Therefore, there is high incentive to develop and refine these methods to achieve a level of analytical performance rarely demanded of most methods or laboratory staff working in analytical chemistry. In the last 25 yr, well-defined statistical methods to characterize and validate analytical method performance combined with significant improvements in both the chemical and instrumental methods have allowed achievement of improved analytical performance for payment testing. A shift from marketing commodity dairy products to the development, manufacture, and marketing of value added dairy foods for specific market segments has created a need for instrumental and sensory approaches and quantitative data to support product development and marketing. Bringing together sensory data from quantitative descriptive analysis and analytical data from gas chromatography olfactometry for identification of odor-active compounds in complex natural dairy foods has enabled the sensory scientist and analytical chemist to work together to improve the consistency and quality of dairy food flavors.

Regenerative Life Support Systems Test Bed performance - Lettuce crop characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barta, Daniel J.; Edeen, Marybeth A.; Eckhardt, Bradley D.

1992-01-01

System performance in terms of human life support requirements was evaluated for two crops of lettuce (Lactuca sative cv. Waldmann's Green) grown in the Regenerative Life Support Systems Test Bed. Each crop, grown in separate pots under identical environmental and cultural conditions, was irrigated with half-strength Hoagland's nutrient solution, with the frequency of irrigation being increased as the crop aged over the 30-day crop tests. Averaging over both crop tests, the test bed met the requirements of 2.1 person-days of oxygen production, 2.4 person-days of CO2 removal, and 129 person-days of potential potable water production. Gains in the mass of water and O2 produced and CO2 removed could be achieved by optimizing environmental conditions to increase plant growth rate and by optimizing cultural management methods.

Large project experiences with object-oriented methods and reuse

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wessale, William; Reifer, Donald J.; Weller, David

1992-01-01

The SSVTF (Space Station Verification and Training Facility) project is completing the Preliminary Design Review of a large software development using object-oriented methods and systematic reuse. An incremental developmental lifecycle was tailored to provide early feedback and guidance on methods and products, with repeated attention to reuse. Object oriented methods were formally taught and supported by realistic examples. Reuse was readily accepted and planned by the developers. Schedule and budget issues were handled by agreements and work sharing arranged by the developers.

Catalysts for the production of hydrocarbons from carbon monoxide and water

DOEpatents

Sapienza, R.S.; Slegeir, W.A.; Goldberg, R.I.

1985-11-06

A method of converting low H/sub 2//CO ratio syngas to carbonaceous products comprising reacting the syngas with water or steam at 200 to 350/sup 0/C in the presence of a metal catalyst supported on zinc oxide. Hydrocarbons are produced with a catalyst selected from cobalt, nickel or ruthenium and alcohols are produced with a catalyst selected from palladium, platinum, ruthenium or copper on the zinc oxide support. The ratio of the reactants are such that for alcohols and saturated hydrocarbons: (2n + 1) greater than or equal to x greater than or equal to O and for olefinic hydrocarbons: 2n greater than or equal to x greater than or equal to O where n is the number of carbon atoms in the product and x is the molar amount of water in the reaction mixture.

The model and the planning method of volume and variety assessment of innovative products in an industrial enterprise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anisimov, V. G.; Anisimov, E. G.; Saurenko, T. N.; Sonkin, M. A.

2017-01-01

In the long term, the innovative development strategy efficiency is considered as the most crucial condition for assurance of economic system competitiveness in market conditions. It determines the problem relevance of such justification strategies with regard to specific systems features and conditions of their operation. The problem solution for industrial enterprises can be based on mathematical models of supporting the decision-making on the elements of the innovative manufacturing program. An optimization model and the planning method of innovative products volume and variety are suggested. The feature of the suggested model lies in the nonlinear nature of the objective function. It allows taking into consideration the law of diminishing marginal utility. The suggested method of optimization takes into account the system features and enables the effective implementation of manufacturing capabilities in modern conditions of production organization and sales in terms of market saturation.

Synergistic soil moisture observation - an interdisciplinary multi-sensor approach to yield improved estimates across scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schrön, M.; Fersch, B.; Jagdhuber, T.

2017-12-01

The representative determination of soil moisture across different spatial ranges and scales is still an important challenge in hydrology. While in situ measurements are trusted methods at the profile- or point-scale, cosmic-ray neutron sensors (CRNS) are renowned for providing volume averages for several hectares and tens of decimeters depth. On the other hand, airborne remote-sensing enables the coverage of regional scales, however limited to the top few centimeters of the soil.Common to all of these methods is a challenging data processing part, often requiring calibration with independent data. We investigated the performance and potential of three complementary observational methods for the determination of soil moisture below grassland in an alpine front-range river catchment (Rott, 55 km2) of southern Germany.We employ the TERENO preAlpine soil moisture monitoring network, along with additional soil samples taken throughout the catchment. Spatial soil moisture products have been generated using surveys of a car-mounted mobile CRNS (rover), and an aerial acquisition of the polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (F-SAR) of DLR.The study assesses (1) the viability of the different methods to estimate soil moisture for their respective scales and extents, and (2) how either method could support an improvement of the others. We found that in situ data can provide valuable information to calibrate the CRNS rover and to train the vegetation removal part of the polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) retrieval algorithm. Vegetation correction is mandatory to obtain the sub-canopy soil moisture patterns. While CRNS rover surveys can be used to evaluate the F-SAR product across scales, vegetation-related PolSAR products in turn can support the spatial correction of CRNS products for biomass water. Despite the different physical principles, the synthesis of the methods can provide reasonable soil moisture information by integrating from the plot to the landscape scale. The combination of in situ, CRNS, and remote-sensing data leads to substantial improvement, especially for the latter two. The study shows how interdisciplinary research can greatly advance the methodology and processing algorithms for individual geoscientific instruments and their hydrologically relevant products.

The association between economic recession and public support for increased tobacco taxation in 27 European countries.

PubMed

Filippidis, Filippos T; Agaku, Israel T; Vardavas, Constantine I; Majeed, Azeem

2014-11-01

Increased taxation on tobacco products is an effective method of reducing tobacco use. This study assessed population support among respondents aged ≥15 years, from 27 European Union (EU) countries for increased taxation and other tobacco control measures during the 2009-2012 period. Nationally representative data were obtained from the 2009 (n=26,788) and 2012 (n=26,751) cross-sectional Eurobarometer surveys. Estimates were compared using chi-square statistics. The effect of the relative change in gross domestic product (GDP) on the change in support for increased taxation during 2009-2012 was calculated using the Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression models. Between 2009 and 2012, population support for increased taxes on tobacco products declined (56.1% to 53.2%; p<0.001). However, support for other tobacco control measures increased significantly. After adjusting for baseline GDP per capita (2009), a 10% increase in GDP per capita was associated with 4.5% increase in support of tax increases. When Latvia and Lithuania were excluded from the analyses (because of their marked deviation from the general trend), there was a strong correlation between the change in GDP and support for increased taxes (ρ=0.64; p<0.001). Also, after adjusting for baseline GDP, support for higher taxes on tobacco increased by 7.0% for every 10% increase in GDP between 2009 and 2012. Population support for tax increases declined in the EU between 2009 and 2012, especially in countries with declines in GDP nonetheless, public support for other tobacco control measures remains high, thus indicating a viable environment for more comprehensive tobacco control. © 2014 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

Performance and reliability of the NASA Biomass Production Chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sager, J. C.; Chetirkin, P. V.

1994-01-01

The Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) at the Kennedy Space Center is part of the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Breadboard Project. Plants are grown in a closed environment in an effort to quantify their contributions to the requirements for life support. Performance of this system is described. Also, in building this system, data from component and subsystem failures are being recorded. These data are used to identify problem areas in the design and implementation. The techniques used to measure the reliability will be useful in the design and construction of future CELSS. Possible methods for determining the reliability of a green plant, the primary component of a CELSS, are discussed.

The application of virtual reality systems as a support of digital manufacturing and logistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golda, G.; Kampa, A.; Paprocka, I.

2016-08-01

Modern trends in development of computer aided techniques are heading toward the integration of design competitive products and so-called "digital manufacturing and logistics", supported by computer simulation software. All phases of product lifecycle: starting from design of a new product, through planning and control of manufacturing, assembly, internal logistics and repairs, quality control, distribution to customers and after-sale service, up to its recycling or utilization should be aided and managed by advanced packages of product lifecycle management software. Important problems for providing the efficient flow of materials in supply chain management of whole product lifecycle, using computer simulation will be described on that paper. Authors will pay attention to the processes of acquiring relevant information and correct data, necessary for virtual modeling and computer simulation of integrated manufacturing and logistics systems. The article describes possibilities of use an applications of virtual reality software for modeling and simulation the production and logistics processes in enterprise in different aspects of product lifecycle management. The authors demonstrate effective method of creating computer simulations for digital manufacturing and logistics and show modeled and programmed examples and solutions. They pay attention to development trends and show options of the applications that go beyond enterprise.

Ceramic membranes having macroscopic channels

DOEpatents

Anderson, Marc A.; Peterson, Reid A.

1996-01-01

Methods have been developed to make porous ceramic membranes having macroscopic channels therethrough. The novel membranes are formed by temporarily supporting the sol-gel membrane precursor on an organic support which is ultimately removed from the interior of the membrane, preferably by pyrolysis or by chemical destruction. The organic support may also include an inorganic metal portion that remains on destruction of the organic portion, providing structural support and/or chemical reactivity to the membrane. The channels formed when the organic support is destroyed provide the ability to withdraw small catalytic products or size-separated molecules from the metal oxide membrane. In addition, the channel-containing membranes retain all of the advantages of existing porous ceramic membranes.

Ceramic membranes having macroscopic channels

DOEpatents

Anderson, M.A.; Peterson, R.A.

1996-09-03

Methods have been developed to make porous ceramic membranes having macroscopic channels therethrough. The novel membranes are formed by temporarily supporting the sol-gel membrane precursor on an organic support which is ultimately removed from the interior of the membrane, preferably by pyrolysis or by chemical destruction. The organic support may also include an inorganic metal portion that remains on destruction of the organic portion, providing structural support and/or chemical reactivity to the membrane. The channels formed when the organic support is destroyed provide the ability to withdraw small catalytic products or size-separated molecules from the metal oxide membrane. In addition, the channel-containing membranes retain all of the advantages of existing porous ceramic membranes. 1 fig.

Catalysis on Single Supported Atoms

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

DeBusk, Melanie Moses; Narula, Chaitanya Kumar

2015-01-01

The highly successful application of supported metals as heterogeneous catalysts in automotive catalysts, fuel cells, and other multitudes of industrial processes have led to extensive efforts to understand catalyst behavior at the nano-scale. Recent discovery of simple wet methods to prepare single supported atoms, the smallest nano-catalyst, has allowed for experimental validation of catalytic activity of a variety of catalysts and potential for large scale production for such catalysts for industrial processes. In this chapter, we summarize the synthetic and structural aspects of single supported atoms. We also present proposed mechanisms for the activity of single supported catalysts where conventionalmore » mechanisms cannot operate due to lack of M-M bonds in the catalysts.« less

The advanced software development workstation project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fridge, Ernest M., III; Pitman, Charles L.

1991-01-01

The Advanced Software Development Workstation (ASDW) task is researching and developing the technologies required to support Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) with the emphasis on those advanced methods, tools, and processes that will be of benefit to support all NASA programs. Immediate goals are to provide research and prototype tools that will increase productivity, in the near term, in projects such as the Software Support Environment (SSE), the Space Station Control Center (SSCC), and the Flight Analysis and Design System (FADS) which will be used to support the Space Shuttle and Space Station Freedom. Goals also include providing technology for development, evolution, maintenance, and operations. The technologies under research and development in the ASDW project are targeted to provide productivity enhancements during the software life cycle phase of enterprise and information system modeling, requirements generation and analysis, system design and coding, and system use and maintenance. On-line user's guides will assist users in operating the developed information system with knowledge base expert assistance.

Quantifying and characterizing dissolved carbon and nitrogen leaching from litter: a comparison of methods

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Litter decomposition has a fundamental role in ecosystem functioning. It recycles energy, carbon and nutrients, supporting ecosystem productivity and soil organic matter formation. Litter decomposition occurs through leaching, fragmentation, and catabolism. Leaching is, arguably, the least studie...

Method of removing and detoxifying a phosphorus-based substance

DOEpatents

Vandegrift, George F.; Steindler, Martin J.

1989-01-01

A method of removing organic phosphorus-based poisonous substances from water contaminated therewith and of subsequently destroying the toxicity of the substance is disclosed. Initially, a water-immiscible organic is immobilized on a supported liquid membrane. Thereafter, the contaminated water is contacted with one side of the supported liquid membrane to selectively dissolve the phosphorus-based substance in the organic extractant. At the same time, the other side of the supported liquid membrane is contacted with a hydroxy-affording strong base to react the phosphorus-based substance dissolved by the organic extractant with a hydroxy ion. This forms a non-toxic reaction product in the base. The organic extractant can be a water-insoluble trialkyl amine, such as trilauryl amine. The phosphorus-based substance can be phosphoryl or a thiophosphoryl.

Sustainable Sizing.

PubMed

Robinette, Kathleen M; Veitch, Daisy

2016-08-01

To provide a review of sustainable sizing practices that reduce waste, increase sales, and simultaneously produce safer, better fitting, accommodating products. Sustainable sizing involves a set of methods good for both the environment (sustainable environment) and business (sustainable business). Sustainable sizing methods reduce (1) materials used, (2) the number of sizes or adjustments, and (3) the amount of product unsold or marked down for sale. This reduces waste and cost. The methods can also increase sales by fitting more people in the target market and produce happier, loyal customers with better fitting products. This is a mini-review of methods that result in more sustainable sizing practices. It also reviews and contrasts current statistical and modeling practices that lead to poor fit and sizing. Fit-mapping and the use of cases are two excellent methods suited for creating sustainable sizing, when real people (vs. virtual people) are used. These methods are described and reviewed. Evidence presented supports the view that virtual fitting with simulated people and products is not yet effective. Fit-mapping and cases with real people and actual products result in good design and products that are fit for person, fit for purpose, with good accommodation and comfortable, optimized sizing. While virtual models have been shown to be ineffective for predicting or representing fit, there is an opportunity to improve them by adding fit-mapping data to the models. This will require saving fit data, product data, anthropometry, and demographics in a standardized manner. For this success to extend to the wider design community, the development of a standardized method of data collection for fit-mapping with a globally shared fit-map database is needed. It will enable the world community to build knowledge of fit and accommodation and generate effective virtual fitting for the future. A standardized method of data collection that tests products' fit methodically and quantitatively will increase our predictive power to determine fit and accommodation, thereby facilitating improved, effective design. These methods apply to all products people wear, use, or occupy. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Silvicultural Considerations in Managing Southern Pine Stands in the Context of Southern Pine Beetle

Treesearch

James M. Guldin

2011-01-01

Roughly 30 percent of the 200 million acres of forest land in the South supports stands dominated by southern pines. These are among the most productive forests in the nation. Adapted to disturbance, southern pines are relatively easy to manage with even-aged methods such as clearcutting and planting, or the seed tree and shelterwood methods with natural regeneration....

Targets for the production of radioisotopes and method of assembly

DOEpatents

Quinby, Thomas C.

1976-01-01

A target for preparation of radioisotopes by nuclear bombardment, and a method for its assembly are provided. A metallic sample to be bombarded is enclosed within a metallic support structure and the resulting target subjected to heat and pressure to effect diffusion bonds therebetween. The bonded target is capable of withstanding prolonged exposure to nuclear bombardment without thermal damage to the sample.

Nitrogen cycling in Bioregenerative Life Support Systems: Challenges for waste refinery and food production processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clauwaert, Peter; Muys, Maarten; Alloul, Abbas; De Paepe, Jolien; Luther, Amanda; Sun, Xiaoyan; Ilgrande, Chiara; Christiaens, Marlies E. R.; Hu, Xiaona; Zhang, Dongdong; Lindeboom, Ralph E. F.; Sas, Benedikt; Rabaey, Korneel; Boon, Nico; Ronsse, Frederik; Geelen, Danny; Vlaeminck, Siegfried E.

2017-05-01

In order to sustain human life in an isolated environment, an efficient conversion of wasted nutrients to food might become mandatory. This is particularly the case for space missions where resupply from earth or in-situ resource utilization is not possible or desirable. A combination of different technologies is needed to allow full recycling of e.g. nitrogenous compounds in space. In this review, an overview is given of the different essential processes and technologies that enable closure of the nitrogen cycle in Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS). Firstly, a set of biological and physicochemical refinery stages ensures efficient conversion of waste products into the building blocks, followed by the production of food with a range of biological methods. For each technology, bottlenecks are identified. Furthermore, challenges and outlooks are presented at the integrated system level. Space adaptation and integration deserve key attention to enable the recovery of nitrogen for the production of nutritional food in space, but also in closed loop systems on earth.

Production roll out plan for HANDI 2000 business management system

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

Adams, D.E.

The Hanford Data Integration 2000 (HANDI 2000) Project will result in an integrated and comprehensive set of functional applications containing core information necessary to support the Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC). It is based on the Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) product solution with commercially proven business processes. The COTS product solution set, of Passport (PP) and PeopleSoft (PS) software, supports finance, supply, human resources, and payroll activities under the current PHMC direction. The PP software is an integrated application for Accounts Payable, Contract Management, Inventory Management, Purchasing and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). The PS software is an integrated application for Projects,more » General Ledger, Human Resources Training, Payroll, and Base Benefits. This set of software constitutes the Business Management System (BMS) and MSDS, a subset of the HANDI 2000 suite of systems. The primary objective of the Production Roll Out Plan is to communicate the methods and schedules for implementation and roll out to end users of BMS.« less

An IPSO-SVM algorithm for security state prediction of mine production logistics system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yanliang; Lei, Junhui; Ma, Qiuli; Chen, Xin; Bi, Runfang

2017-06-01

A theoretical basis for the regulation of corporate security warning and resources was provided in order to reveal the laws behind the security state in mine production logistics. Considering complex mine production logistics system and the variable is difficult to acquire, a superior security status predicting model of mine production logistics system based on the improved particle swarm optimization and support vector machine (IPSO-SVM) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, through the linear adjustments of inertia weight and learning weights, the convergence speed and search accuracy are enhanced with the aim to deal with situations associated with the changeable complexity and the data acquisition difficulty. The improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) is then introduced to resolve the problem of parameter settings in traditional support vector machines (SVM). At the same time, security status index system is built to determine the classification standards of safety status. The feasibility and effectiveness of this method is finally verified using the experimental results.

Genetic improvement of olive (Olea europaea L.) by conventional and in vitro biotechnology methods.

PubMed

Rugini, E; Cristofori, V; Silvestri, C

2016-01-01

In olive (Olea europaea L.) traditional methods of genetic improvement have up to now produced limited results. Intensification of olive growing requires appropriate new cultivars for fully mechanized groves, but among the large number of the traditional varieties very few are suitable. High-density and super high-density hedge row orchards require genotypes with reduced size, reduced apical dominance, a semi-erect growth habit, easy to propagate, resistant to abiotic and biotic stresses, with reliably high productivity and quality of both fruits and oil. Innovative strategies supported by molecular and biotechnological techniques are required to speed up novel hybridisation methods. Among traditional approaches the Gene Pool Method seems a reasonable option, but it requires availability of widely diverse germplasm from both cultivated and wild genotypes, supported by a detailed knowledge of their genetic relationships. The practice of "gene therapy" for the most important existing cultivars, combined with conventional methods, could accelerate achievement of the main goals, but efforts to overcome some technical and ideological obstacles are needed. The present review describes the benefits that olive and its products may obtain from genetic improvement using state of the art of conventional and unconventional methods, and includes progress made in the field of in vitro techniques. The uses of both traditional and modern technologies are discussed with recommendations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of carbon nanotubes over 3D cubical Co-KIT-6 and nickel decorated graphene by Hummer's method, its application as counter electrode in dye sensitive solar cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subramanian, Sunu; Pandurangan, Arumugam

2016-04-01

The challenges on carbon nanotubes and graphene are still the subject of many research works due to its unique properties. There are three main methods to synthesis carbon nanotubes in which chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method can use for large scale production. The principle of CVD is the decomposition of various hydrocarbons over transition metal supported catalyst. KIT-6 molecular sieve was used as a support to prepare cobalt catalyst for CVD method using metal impregnation method to produce cobalt loadings of 2, 4 and 6 wt%. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, FTIR &TEM. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) synthesized on Co-KIT-6 was also characterized by XRD, TGA, SEM & Raman spectra. Graphene was synthesized by Hummers method, which is the most common method for preparing graphene oxide. Graphene oxide was prepared by oxidation of graphite using some oxidizing agents like sulphuric acid, sodium nitrate and potassium permanganate. This graphene oxide is further treated with hydrazine solution to convert it into chemically converted graphene and also decorated with nickel metal and characterized. Hummer's method is important for large scale production of graphene. Both Graphene and carbon nanotubes are used in different fields due to its unique properties. Both Graphene and carbon nanotubes are fabricated in counter electrode of Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). By cyclic voltammetry study, it confirms that both materials are good and efficient to replace platinum in the DSSC.

Understanding the performance and mechanism of Mg-containing oxides as support catalysts in the thermal dry reforming of methane.

PubMed

Khairudin, Nor Fazila; Sukri, Mohd Farid Fahmi; Khavarian, Mehrnoush; Mohamed, Abdul Rahman

2018-01-01

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is one of the more promising methods for syngas (synthetic gas) production and co-utilization of methane and carbon dioxide, which are the main greenhouse gases. Magnesium is commonly applied in a Ni-based catalyst in DRM to improve catalyst performance and inhibit carbon deposition. The aim of this review is to gain better insight into recent developments on the use of Mg as a support or promoter for DRM catalysts. Its high basicity and high thermal stability make Mg suitable for introduction into the highly endothermic reaction of DRM. The introduction of Mg as a support or promoter for Ni-based catalysts allows for good metal dispersion on the catalyst surface, which consequently facilitates high catalytic activity and low catalyst deactivation. The mechanism of DRM and carbon formation and reduction are reviewed. This work further explores how different constraints, such as the synthesis method, metal loading, pretreatment, and operating conditions, influence the dry reforming reactions and product yields. In this review, different strategies for enhancing catalytic activity and the effect of metal dispersion on Mg-containing oxide catalysts are highlighted.

Understanding the performance and mechanism of Mg-containing oxides as support catalysts in the thermal dry reforming of methane

PubMed Central

Khairudin, Nor Fazila; Sukri, Mohd Farid Fahmi; Khavarian, Mehrnoush

2018-01-01

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is one of the more promising methods for syngas (synthetic gas) production and co-utilization of methane and carbon dioxide, which are the main greenhouse gases. Magnesium is commonly applied in a Ni-based catalyst in DRM to improve catalyst performance and inhibit carbon deposition. The aim of this review is to gain better insight into recent developments on the use of Mg as a support or promoter for DRM catalysts. Its high basicity and high thermal stability make Mg suitable for introduction into the highly endothermic reaction of DRM. The introduction of Mg as a support or promoter for Ni-based catalysts allows for good metal dispersion on the catalyst surface, which consequently facilitates high catalytic activity and low catalyst deactivation. The mechanism of DRM and carbon formation and reduction are reviewed. This work further explores how different constraints, such as the synthesis method, metal loading, pretreatment, and operating conditions, influence the dry reforming reactions and product yields. In this review, different strategies for enhancing catalytic activity and the effect of metal dispersion on Mg-containing oxide catalysts are highlighted. PMID:29719767

Vision based nutrient deficiency classification in maize plants using multi class support vector machines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leena, N.; Saju, K. K.

2018-04-01

Nutritional deficiencies in plants are a major concern for farmers as it affects productivity and thus profit. The work aims to classify nutritional deficiencies in maize plant in a non-destructive mannerusing image processing and machine learning techniques. The colored images of the leaves are analyzed and classified with multi-class support vector machine (SVM) method. Several images of maize leaves with known deficiencies like nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (NPK) are used to train the SVM classifier prior to the classification of test images. The results show that the method was able to classify and identify nutritional deficiencies.

Numerical time evolution of ETH spin chains by means of matrix product density operators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Christopher; Zaletel, Michael; Mong, Roger; Refael, Gil

We introduce a method for approximating density operators of 1D systems that, when combined with a standard framework for time evolution (TEBD), makes possible simulation of the dynamics of strongly thermalizing systems to arbitrary times. We demonstrate that the method works on both near-equilibrium initial states (Gibbs states with spatially varying temperatures) and far-from-equilibrium initial states, including quenches across phase transitions and pure states. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE \\x901144469 and by the Caltech IQIM, an NSF Physics Frontiers Center with support of the Gordon and Betty Moore.

Process for preparing group Ib-IIIa-VIa semiconducting films

DOEpatents

Birkmire, Robert W.; Schultz, Jerold M.; Marudachalam, Matheswaran; Hichri, Habib

1997-01-01

Methods are provided for the production of supported monophasic group I-III-VI semiconductor films. In the subject methods, a substrate is coated with group I and III elements and then contacted with a reactive group VI element containing atmosphere under conditions sufficient to produce a substrate coated with a composite of at least two different group I-III-IV alloys. The resultant composite coated substrate is then annealed in an inert atmosphere under conditions sufficient to convert the composite coating to a monophasic group I-III-VI semiconductor film. The resultant supported semiconductor films find use in photovoltaic applications, particularly as absorber layers in solar cells.

Process for preparing group Ib-IIIa-VIa semiconducting films

DOEpatents

Birkmire, R.W.; Schultz, J.M.; Marudachalam, M.; Hichri, H.

1997-10-07

Methods are provided for the production of supported monophasic group I-III-VI semiconductor films. In the subject methods, a substrate is coated with group I and III elements and then contacted with a reactive group VI element containing atmosphere under conditions sufficient to produce a substrate coated with a composite of at least two different group I-III-IV alloys. The resultant composite coated substrate is then annealed in an inert atmosphere under conditions sufficient to convert the composite coating to a monophasic group I-III-VI semiconductor film. The resultant supported semiconductor films find use in photovoltaic applications, particularly as absorber layers in solar cells. 4 figs.

A Feature Selection Method Based on Fisher's Discriminant Ratio for Text Sentiment Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Suge; Li, Deyu; Wei, Yingjie; Li, Hongxia

With the rapid growth of e-commerce, product reviews on the Web have become an important information source for customers' decision making when they intend to buy some product. As the reviews are often too many for customers to go through, how to automatically classify them into different sentiment orientation categories (i.e. positive/negative) has become a research problem. In this paper, based on Fisher's discriminant ratio, an effective feature selection method is proposed for product review text sentiment classification. In order to validate the validity of the proposed method, we compared it with other methods respectively based on information gain and mutual information while support vector machine is adopted as the classifier. In this paper, 6 subexperiments are conducted by combining different feature selection methods with 2 kinds of candidate feature sets. Under 1006 review documents of cars, the experimental results indicate that the Fisher's discriminant ratio based on word frequency estimation has the best performance with F value 83.3% while the candidate features are the words which appear in both positive and negative texts.

Integration of design and inspection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simmonds, William H.

1990-08-01

Developments in advanced computer integrated manufacturing technology, coupled with the emphasis on Total Quality Management, are exposing needs for new techniques to integrate all functions from design through to support of the delivered product. One critical functional area that must be integrated into design is that embracing the measurement, inspection and test activities necessary for validation of the delivered product. This area is being tackled by a collaborative project supported by the UK Government Department of Trade and Industry. The project is aimed at developing techniques for analysing validation needs and for planning validation methods. Within the project an experimental Computer Aided Validation Expert system (CAVE) is being constructed. This operates with a generalised model of the validation process and helps with all design stages: specification of product requirements; analysis of the assurance provided by a proposed design and method of manufacture; development of the inspection and test strategy; and analysis of feedback data. The kernel of the system is a knowledge base containing knowledge of the manufacturing process capabilities and of the available inspection and test facilities. The CAVE system is being integrated into a real life advanced computer integrated manufacturing facility for demonstration and evaluation.

Indirect Fabrication of Lattice Metals with Thin Sections Using Centrifugal Casting

PubMed Central

Mun, Jiwon; Ju, Jaehyung; Thurman, James

2016-01-01

One of the typical methods to manufacture 3D lattice metals is the direct-metal additive manufacturing (AM) process such as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Electron Beam Melting (EBM). In spite of its potential processing capability, the direct AM method has several disadvantages such as high cost, poor surface finish of final products, limitation in material selection, high thermal stress, and anisotropic properties of parts. We propose a cost-effective method to manufacture 3D lattice metals. The objective of this study is to provide a detailed protocol on fabrication of 3D lattice metals having a complex shape and a thin wall thickness; e.g., octet truss made of Al and Cu alloys having a unit cell length of 5 mm and a cell wall thickness of 0.5 mm. An overall experimental procedure is divided into eight sections: (a) 3D printing of sacrificial patterns (b) melt-out of support materials (c) removal of residue of support materials (d) pattern assembly (e) investment (f) burn-out of sacrificial patterns (g) centrifugal casting (h) post-processing for final products. The suggested indirect AM technique provides the potential to manufacture ultra-lightweight lattice metals; e.g., lattice structures with Al alloys. It appears that the process parameters should be properly controlled depending on materials and lattice geometry, observing the final products of octet truss metals by the indirect AM technique. PMID:27214495

Indirect Fabrication of Lattice Metals with Thin Sections Using Centrifugal Casting.

PubMed

Mun, Jiwon; Ju, Jaehyung; Thurman, James

2016-05-14

One of the typical methods to manufacture 3D lattice metals is the direct-metal additive manufacturing (AM) process such as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Electron Beam Melting (EBM). In spite of its potential processing capability, the direct AM method has several disadvantages such as high cost, poor surface finish of final products, limitation in material selection, high thermal stress, and anisotropic properties of parts. We propose a cost-effective method to manufacture 3D lattice metals. The objective of this study is to provide a detailed protocol on fabrication of 3D lattice metals having a complex shape and a thin wall thickness; e.g., octet truss made of Al and Cu alloys having a unit cell length of 5 mm and a cell wall thickness of 0.5 mm. An overall experimental procedure is divided into eight sections: (a) 3D printing of sacrificial patterns (b) melt-out of support materials (c) removal of residue of support materials (d) pattern assembly (e) investment (f) burn-out of sacrificial patterns (g) centrifugal casting (h) post-processing for final products. The suggested indirect AM technique provides the potential to manufacture ultra-lightweight lattice metals; e.g., lattice structures with Al alloys. It appears that the process parameters should be properly controlled depending on materials and lattice geometry, observing the final products of octet truss metals by the indirect AM technique.

A method for the determination of acrylamide in bakery products using ion trap LC-ESI-MS/MS.

PubMed

Claus, Achim; Weisz, Georg M; Kammerer, Dietmar R; Carle, Reinhold; Schieber, Andreas

2005-10-01

Acrylamide levels of bakery products, e. g., bread and bread rolls, are usually below 100 microg/kg , often even below 50 microg/kg. Therefore, usual analytical methods which have an LOQ greater, not dbl equals 25 microg/kg are not sensitive enough for detailed investigations on acrylamide formation within these commodities. An improved method for trace level determination of acrylamide in bakery products was developed using ion trap LC-ESI-MS/MS. Samples were divided into crumbs and crusts to achieve an initial concentration by removing the crumbs since these are devoid of acrylamide. After sample extraction and clean-up using multimode SPE cartridges, further analyte enrichment was accomplished by solid-phase-supported liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate prior to LC-MS/MS analysis. The method was evaluated using bread, bread rolls, alkali-baked bread rolls, and toast. LOQ was calculated from the confidence interval of the calibration curve and found to be 1.7 ng/mL, corresponding to 17 microg/kg of product. When crumbs and crusts were separated, an LOQ of 10.2 microg/kg of bakery product could be obtained. As demonstrated in preliminary comparative analyses, accuracy of the method met the requirements for determination of trace level acrylamide formation in bakery products. Mean recovery was 102.4% (CV 4.5%), intermediate reproducibility revealed a CV of 2.1%, and a repeatability of CV 6.0%.

Official Methods for the Determination of Minerals and Trace Elements in Infant Formula and Milk Products: A Review.

PubMed

Poitevin, Eric

2016-01-01

The minerals and trace elements that account for about 4% of total human body mass serve as materials and regulators in numerous biological activities in body structure building. Infant formula and milk products are important sources of endogenic and added minerals and trace elements and hence, must comply with regulatory as well as nutritional and safety requirements. In addition, reliable analytical data are necessary to support product content and innovation, health claims, or declaration and specific safety issues. Adequate analytical platforms and methods must be implemented to demonstrate both the compliance and safety assessment of all declared and regulated minerals and trace elements, especially trace-element contaminant surveillance. The first part of this paper presents general information on the mineral composition of infant formula and milk products and their regulatory status. In the second part, a survey describes the main techniques and related current official methods determining minerals and trace elements in infant formula and milk products applied for by various international organizations (AOAC INTERNATIONAL, the International Organization for Standardization, the International Dairy Federation, and the European Committe for Standardization). The third part summarizes method officialization activities by Stakeholder Panels on Infant Formula and Adult Nutritionals and Stakeholder Panel on Strategic Food Analytical Methods. The final part covers a general discussion focusing on analytical gaps and future trends in inorganic analysis that have been applied for in infant formula and milk-based products.

Hydrogen production by steam reforming of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over nickel catalysts supported on cationic surfactant-templated mesoporous aluminas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Jeong Gil; Youn, Min Hye; Park, Sunyoung; Jung, Ji Chul; Kim, Pil; Chung, Jin Suk; Song, In Kyu

Two types of mesoporous γ-aluminas (denoted as A-A and A-S) are prepared by a hydrothermal method under different basic conditions using cationic surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB) as a templating agent. A-A and A-S are synthesized in a medium of ammonia solution and sodium hydroxide solution, respectively. Ni/γ-Al 2O 3 catalysts (Ni/A-A and Ni/A-S) are then prepared by an impregnation method, and are applied to hydrogen production by steam reforming of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The effect of a mesoporous γ-Al 2O 3 support on the catalytic performance of Ni/γ-Al 2O 3 is investigated. The identity of basic solution strongly affects the physical properties of the A-A and A-S supports. The high surface-area of the mesoporous γ-aluminas and the strong metal-support interaction of supported catalysts greatly enhance the dispersion of nickel species on the catalyst surface. The well-developed mesopores of the Ni/A-A and Ni/A-S catalysts prohibit the polymerization of carbon species on the catalyst surface during the reaction. In the steam reforming of LNG, both Ni/A-A and Ni/A-S catalysts give better catalytic performance than the nickel catalyst supported on commercial γ-Al 2O 3 (Ni/A-C). In addition, the Ni/A-A catalyst is superior to the Ni/A-S catalyst. The relatively strong metal-support interaction of Ni/A-A catalyst effectively suppresses the sintering of metallic nickel and the carbon deposition in the steam reforming of LNG. The large pores of the Ni/A-A catalyst also play an important role in enhancing internal mass transfer during the reaction.

Impact of support calcination and competitive adsorbate in Fe/Mo-Al2O3 catalyst for synthesis of carbon nanotubes by V-flame

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Ya-Ping; Sun, Bao-Min; Zhai, Gang; Guo, Yong-Hong; Jia, Xiao-Wei; Kang, Zhi-Zhong

2018-05-01

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized via carbon monoxide decomposition with aid of various Fe/Mo-Al2O3 catalysts by V-type flame method. The influences of support calcination and competitive adsorbates on the morphology and properties of CNTs were studied. SEM, HRTEM, TPO and Raman spectroscopy were applied to investigate the morphology and microstructure of CNT products. XRD, H2-TPR were employed to characterize catalysts. The obtained results indicate that calcinated support can increase production and promote the formation of CNTs with small diameter. Utilizing citric acid as a competitive adsorbate is successful in improving the quality of CNTs. Besides, the addition of citric acid and calcinated support in catalyst enhances the catalytic growth activity. The obtained CNTs have a diameter around 4–6 nm within a narrow diameter distribution range. Raman spectrum analysis also illustrates that highly graphitized CNTs are produced on the catalyst with calcinated support and citric acid. These results suggest that support calcination and competitive adsorbate have pronounced effect on the average diameter, diameter distribution, and graphitization of CNTs, which provides a simple and effective way to tune the properties of CNTs.

Technology for the product and process data base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, R. D.

1984-01-01

The computerized product and process data base is increasingly recognized to be the cornerstone component of an overall system aimed at the integrated automation of the industrial processes of a given company or enterprise. The technology needed to support these more effective computer integrated design and manufacturing methods, especially the concept of 3-D computer-sensible product definitions rather than engineering drawings, is not fully available and rationalized. Progress is being made, however, in bridging this technology gap with concentration on the modeling of sophisticated information and data structures, high-performance interactive user interfaces and comprehensive tools for managing the resulting computerized product definition and process data base.

Target and method for the production of fission product molybdenum-99

DOEpatents

Vandegrift, George F.; Vissers, Donald R.; Marshall, Simon L.; Varma, Ravi

1989-01-01

A target for the reduction of fission product Mo-99 is prepared from uranium of low U-235 enrichment by coating a structural support member with a preparatory coating of a substantially oxide-free substrate metal. Uranium metal is electrodeposited from a molten halide electrolytic bath onto a substrate metal. The electrodeposition is performed at a predetermined direct current rate or by using pulsed plating techniques which permit relaxation of accumulated uranium ion concentrations within the melt. Layers of as much as to 600 mg/cm.sup.2 of uranium can be prepared to provide a sufficient density to produce acceptable concentrations of fission product Mo-99.

Visual Perception-Based Statistical Modeling of Complex Grain Image for Product Quality Monitoring and Supervision on Assembly Production Line

PubMed Central

Chen, Qing; Xu, Pengfei; Liu, Wenzhong

2016-01-01

Computer vision as a fast, low-cost, noncontact, and online monitoring technology has been an important tool to inspect product quality, particularly on a large-scale assembly production line. However, the current industrial vision system is far from satisfactory in the intelligent perception of complex grain images, comprising a large number of local homogeneous fragmentations or patches without distinct foreground and background. We attempt to solve this problem based on the statistical modeling of spatial structures of grain images. We present a physical explanation in advance to indicate that the spatial structures of the complex grain images are subject to a representative Weibull distribution according to the theory of sequential fragmentation, which is well known in the continued comminution of ore grinding. To delineate the spatial structure of the grain image, we present a method of multiscale and omnidirectional Gaussian derivative filtering. Then, a product quality classifier based on sparse multikernel–least squares support vector machine is proposed to solve the low-confidence classification problem of imbalanced data distribution. The proposed method is applied on the assembly line of a food-processing enterprise to classify (or identify) automatically the production quality of rice. The experiments on the real application case, compared with the commonly used methods, illustrate the validity of our method. PMID:26986726

Carbon deposition during oxygen production using high temperature electrolysis and mitigation methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernadowski, Timothy Adam, Jr.

Carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere can be converted to oxygen during high temperature electrolysis for use in life-support and fuel systems on manned missions to the red planet. During electrolysis of carbon dioxide to produce oxygen, carbon can deposit on the electrolysis cell resulting in lower efficiency and possibly cell damage. This would be detrimental, especially when the oxygen product is used as the key element of a space life support system. In this thesis, a theoretical model was developed to predict hazardous carbon deposition conditions under various operating conditions within the Martian atmosphere. The model can be used as a guide to determine the ideal operating conditions of the high-temperature oxygen production system. A parallel experimental investigation is underway to evaluate the accuracy of the theoretical model. The experimental design, cell fabrication, and some preliminary results as well as future work recommendations are also presented in this thesis.

40 CFR 51.166 - Prevention of significant deterioration of air quality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... building supports and foundations, laying of underground pipework, and construction of permanent storage... source or modification through application of production processes or available methods, systems, and... application of measurement methodology to a particular emissions unit would make the imposition of an...

Creative Reflections on Brainstorming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byron, Kevin

2012-01-01

Brainstorming is the default method of idea-generation in organisations, and is widely applied in higher education by students, academics and support staff. Its popularity is mainly attributable to an illusory belief that groups working together are more productive than individuals working apart. Shared responsibility, the need for collaboration…

Orchestrating Inquiry Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Littleton, Karen, Ed.; Scanlon, Eileen, Ed.; Sharples, Mike, Ed.

2011-01-01

There is currently a rapidly growing interest in inquiry learning and an emerging consensus among researchers that, particularly when supported by technology, it can be a significant vehicle for developing higher order thinking skills. Inquiry learning methods also offer learners meaningful and productive approaches to the development of their…

USDA-NRCS conservation practice standard: amending soil properties with gypsum products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The US Department of Agriculture National Resource Conservation Service is tasked with providing support to preserve the nation’s natural resources. They provide farmers with financial and technical assistance to voluntarily put conservation practices on the ground by promoting methods to preserve ...

Military Support for Youth Development: An Exploratory Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-01-01

This report assesses existing evidence about the potential of military service and training as methods to prepare disadvantaged youth for productive...whether veterans in general receive a positive or negative return to military service; for disadvantaged veterans, it suggests little if any effect. Results

STRATEGIES IN SOIL PROTECTION - MISSIONS AND VISIONS

EPA Science Inventory

The focus of this paper is the progress to reach our present understandings of the needs and methods for "Soil protection." Soil is critical to human life, needed for production of foods safe for lifetime consumption. Soils must be protected for support of human societies. Until...

STRATEGIES IN SOIL PROTECTION - MISSIONS AND VISIONS

EPA Science Inventory

The focus of this paper is the progress to reach our present understandings of the needs and methods for "Soil protection." Sloil is critical to human life, needed for production of foods safe for lifetime consumption. Soils must be protected for support of human societies. Unti...

Emerging Use of Early Health Technology Assessment in Medical Product Development: A Scoping Review of the Literature.

PubMed

IJzerman, Maarten J; Koffijberg, Hendrik; Fenwick, Elisabeth; Krahn, Murray

2017-07-01

Early health technology assessment is increasingly being used to support health economic evidence development during early stages of clinical research. Such early models can be used to inform research and development about the design and management of new medical technologies to mitigate the risks, perceived by industry and the public sector, associated with market access and reimbursement. Over the past 25 years it has been suggested that health economic evaluation in the early stages may benefit the development and diffusion of medical products. Early health technology assessment has been suggested in the context of iterative economic evaluation alongside phase I and II clinical research to inform clinical trial design, market access, and pricing. In addition, performing early health technology assessment was also proposed at an even earlier stage for managing technology portfolios. This scoping review suggests a generally accepted definition of early health technology assessment to be "all methods used to inform industry and other stakeholders about the potential value of new medical products in development, including methods to quantify and manage uncertainty". The present review also aimed to identify recent published empirical studies employing an early-stage assessment of a medical product. With most included studies carried out to support a market launch, the dominant methodology was early health economic modeling. Further methodological development is required, in particular, by combining systems engineering and health economics to manage uncertainty in medical product portfolios.

Conceptual study of on orbit production of cryogenic propellants by water electrolysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moran, Matthew E.

1991-01-01

The feasibility is assessed of producing cryogenic propellants on orbit by water electrolysis in support of NASA's proposed Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) missions. Using this method, water launched into low earth orbit (LEO) would be split into gaseous hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis in an orbiting propellant processor spacecraft. The resulting gases would then be liquified and stored in cryogenic tanks. Supplying liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel to space vehicles by this technique has some possible advantages over conventional methods. The potential benefits are derived from the characteristics of water as a payload, and include reduced ground handling and launch risk, denser packaging, and reduced tankage and piping requirements. A conceptual design of a water processor was generated based on related previous studies, and contemporary or near term technologies required. Extensive development efforts would be required to adapt the various subsystems needed for the propellant processor for use in space. Based on the cumulative results, propellant production by on orbit water electrolysis for support of SEI missions is not recommended.

Manufacturing/Cell Therapy Specialist | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

Within the Leidos Biomedical Research Inc.’s Clinical Research Directorate, the Clinical Monitoring Research Program (CMRP) provides high-quality comprehensive and strategic operational support to the high-profile domestic and international clinical research initiatives of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Clinical Center (CC), National Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Since its inception in 2001, CMRP’s ability to provide rapid responses, high-quality solutions, and to recruit and retain experts with a variety of backgrounds to meet the growing research portfolios of NCI, NIAID, CC, NHLBI, NIAMS, NCATS, NINDS, and NIMH has led to the considerable expansion of the program and its repertoire of support services. CMRP’s support services are strategically aligned with the program’s mission to provide comprehensive, dedicated support to assist National Institutes of Health researchers in providing the highest quality of clinical research in compliance with applicable regulations and guidelines, maintaining data integrity, and protecting human subjects. For the scientific advancement of clinical research, CMRP services include comprehensive clinical trials, regulatory, pharmacovigilance, protocol navigation and development, and programmatic and project management support for facilitating the conduct of 400+ Phase I, II, and III domestic and international trials on a yearly basis. These trials investigate the prevention, diagnosis, treatment of, and therapies for cancer, influenza, HIV, and other infectious diseases and viruses such as hepatitis C, tuberculosis, malaria, and Ebola virus; heart, lung, and blood diseases and conditions; parasitic infections; rheumatic and inflammatory diseases; and rare and neglected diseases. CMRP’s collaborative approach to clinical research and the expertise and dedication of staff to the continuation and success of the program’s mission has contributed to improving the overall standards of public health on a global scale. The Clinical Monitoring Research Program (CMRP) provides cell culture experience to work on innovative Vector Production and T-cell therapies for cancer treatment, and responsible for cell culture media preparation, vector production, and/or cell processing and cell expansion in the cGMP clinical manufacturing facility in support of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), Surgery Branch (SB). KEY ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES-THIS POSITION IS CONTINGENT UPON FUNDING APPROVAL Performs testing of raw materials, intermediates, and final products by following analytical methods Maintains, calibrates and operates equipment and instruments supporting cell bioassays, Flow Cytometry, ELISA and PCR assay Tracks and tests products according to protocols Maintains lab in an optimal state Monitors and trends data, completes routine record review of test data and related documents for in-process testing, drug substance and drug product release Generates CoAs for product release Assists in the preparation of dossiers and data packages for interactions between Surgery Branch and Regulatory agencies Develops, revises, and reviews SOPs, qualification/validation protocols and reports Participates in investigations regarding out of specifications (OOS) results; address and manage deviations related to analytical procedures Provides updates at daily and weekly meetings Monitors the GMP systems currently in place to ensure compliance with documented policies Reviews proposed changes to systems, procedures, methods, and submissions to regulatory agencies, as appropriate Gathers metric information for use in continuous improvement of areas of responsibility May develop testing and analysis methods and procedures in accordance with established guidelines

Effect of SiO 2-ZrO 2 supports prepared by a grafting method on hydrogen production by steam reforming of liquefied natural gas over Ni/SiO 2-ZrO 2 catalysts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Jeong Gil; Youn, Min Hye; Song, In Kyu

SiO 2-ZrO 2 supports with various zirconium contents are prepared by grafting a zirconium precursor onto the surface of commercial Carbosil silica. Ni(20 wt.%)/SiO 2-ZrO 2 catalysts are then prepared by an impregnation method, and are applied to hydrogen production by steam reforming of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The effect of SiO 2-ZrO 2 supports on the performance of the Ni(20 wt.%)/SiO 2-ZrO 2 catalysts is investigated. SiO 2-ZrO 2 prepared by a grafting method serves as an efficient support for the nickel catalyst in the steam reforming of LNG. Zirconia enhances the resistance of silica to steam significantly and increases the interaction between nickel and the support, and furthermore, prevents the growth of nickel oxide species during the calcination process through the formation of a ZrO 2-SiO 2 composite structure. The crystalline structures and catalytic activities of the Ni(20 wt.%)/SiO 2-ZrO 2 catalysts are strongly influenced by the amount of zirconium grafted. The conversion of LNG and the yield of hydrogen show volcano-shaped curves with respect to zirconium content. Among the catalysts tested, the Ni(20 wt.%)/SiO 2-ZrO 2 (Zr/Si = 0.54) sample shows the best catalytic performance in terms of both LNG conversion and hydrogen yield. The well-developed and pure tetragonal phase of ZrO 2-SiO 2 (Zr/Si = 0.54) appears to play an important role in the adsorption of steam and subsequent spillover of steam from the support to the active nickel. The small particle size of the metallic nickel in the Ni(20 wt.%)/SiO 2-ZrO 2 (Zr/Si = 0.54) catalyst is also responsible for its high performance.

Novel Method of Production Decline Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Shan; Lan, Yifei; He, Lei; Jiao, Yang; Wu, Yong

2018-02-01

ARPS decline curves is the most commonly used in oil and gas field due to its minimal data requirements and ease application. And prediction of production decline which is based on ARPS analysis rely on known decline type. However, when coefficient index are very approximate under different decline type, it is difficult to directly recognize decline trend of matched curves. Due to difficulties above, based on simulation results of multi-factor response experiments, a new dynamic decline prediction model is introduced with using multiple linear regression of influence factors. First of all, according to study of effect factors of production decline, interaction experimental schemes are designed. Based on simulated results, annual decline rate is predicted by decline model. Moreover, the new method is applied in A gas filed of Ordos Basin as example to illustrate reliability. The result commit that the new model can directly predict decline tendency without needing recognize decline style. From arithmetic aspect, it also take advantage of high veracity. Finally, the new method improves the evaluation method of gas well production decline in low permeability gas reservoir, which also provides technical support for further understanding of tight gas field development laws.

Assessing the Potential and Limitations of Leveraging Food Sovereignty to Improve Human Health.

PubMed

Jones, Andrew D; Fink Shapiro, Lilly; Wilson, Mark L

2015-01-01

Food sovereignty has been defined as "the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems." Human health is an implied component of this definition through the principle of healthy food. In fact, improved human health is commonly cited as a benefit of transforming food production away from the dominant practices of industrial agriculture. Yet, does the use of "ecologically sound and sustainable methods" of food production necessarily translate into better human health outcomes? Does greater choice in defining an agricultural or food system create gains in health and well-being? We elucidate the conceptual linkages between food sovereignty and human health, critically examine the empirical evidence supporting or refuting these linkages, and identify research gaps and key priorities for the food sovereignty-human health research agenda. Five domains of food sovereignty are discussed including: (1) use of agroecological management practices for food production, (2) the localization of food production and consumption, (3) promotion of social justice and equity, (4) valuation of traditional knowledge, and (5) the transformation of economic and political institutions and structures to support self-determination. We find that although there are many plausible linkages between food sovereignty and human health, the empirical evidence in support of the hypothesis that increasing food sovereignty yields improvements to human health is weak. We propose that a concerted effort to generate new empirical evidence on the health implications of these domains of food sovereignty is urgently needed, and suggest areas of research that may be crucial for addressing the gaps in the evidence base.

Specialized physiological studies in support of manned space flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luft, U. C.

1973-01-01

The areas of physiological research reported include: (1) evaluation of the single-breath method for determining cardiac output, (2) optimum protocol for the assessment of cardio-pulmonary competence, (3) body fluids and electrolytes under conditions of single and combined stress, (4) re-evaluation of the open-circuit method for measuring metabolic rate with regard to the alleged metabolic production of gaseous nitrogen, and (5) the use of the forced-oscillation method to determine total respiratory conductance in healthy subjects and pulmonary patients.

Computer Based Decision Support Tool for Helicopter Mission Planning in Disaster Relief and Military Operations (Outil informatique d’aide a la decision pour la planification des missions d’helicopteres dans des operations militaires et de secours en cas de catastrophe)

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

capacity planning; • Electrical generation capacity planning; • Machine scheduling; • Freight scheduling; • Dairy farm expansion planning...Support Systems and Multi Criteria Decision Analysis Products A.2.11.2.2.1 ELECTRE IS ELECTRE IS is a generalization of ELECTRE I. It is a...criteria, ELECTRE IS supports the user in the process of selecting one alternative or a subset of alternatives. The method consists of two parts

The beneficial effects of straight open large pores in the support on steam electrolysis performance of electrode-supported solid oxide electrolysis cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Jie; Chen, Long; Liu, Tong; Xia, Changrong; Chen, Chusheng; Zhan, Zhongliang

2018-01-01

This study is aimed at improving the electrochemical performance of electrode-supported solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) by optimizing the pore structure of the supports. Two planar NiO-8 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia supports are prepared, one by the phase-inversion tape casting, and the other by conventional tape casting method using graphite as the pore former. The former contains finger-like straight open large pores, while the latter contains randomly distributed and tortuous pores. The steam electrolysis of the cells with different microstructure cathode supports is measured. The cell supported on the cathode with straight pores shows a high current density of 1.42 A cm-2 and a H2 production rate of 9.89 mL (STP) cm-2 min-1 at 1.3 V and 50 vol % humidity and 750 °C, while the cell supported on the cathode with tortuous pores shows a current density of only 0.91 A cm-2 and a H2 production rate of 6.34 mL cm-2min-1. It is concluded that the introduction of large straight open pores into the cathode support allows fast gas phase transport and thus minimizes the concentration polarization. Furthermore, the straight pores could provide better access to the reaction site (the electrode functional layer), thereby reducing the activation polarization as well.

Conceptual design of a lunar oxygen pilot plant Lunar Base Systems Study (LBSS) task 4.2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

The primary objective was to develop conceptual designs of two pilot plants to produce oxygen from lunar materials. A lunar pilot plant will be used to generate engineering data necessary to support an optimum design of a larger scale production plant. Lunar oxygen would be of primary value as spacecraft propellant oxidizer. In addition, lunar oxygen would be useful for servicing nonregenerative fuel cell power systems, providing requirements for life support, and to make up oxygen losses from leakage and airlock cycling. Thirteen different lunar oxygen production methods are described. Hydrogen reduction of ilmenite and extraction of solar-wind hydrogen from bulk lunar soil were selected for conceptual design studies. Trades and sensitivity analyses were performed with these models.

Fabrication of silica ceramic membrane via sol-gel dip-coating method at different nitric acid amount

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kahlib, N. A. Z.; Daud, F. D. M.; Mel, M.; Hairin, A. L. N.; Azhar, A. Z. A.; Hassan, N. A.

2018-01-01

Fabrication of silica ceramics via the sol-gel method has offered more advantages over other methods in the fabrication of ceramic membrane, such as simple operation, high purity homogeneous, well defined-structure and complex shapes of end products. This work presents the fabrication of silica ceramic membrane via sol-gel dip-coating methods by varying nitric acid amount. The nitric acid plays an important role as catalyst in fabrication reaction which involved hydrolysis and condensation process. The tubular ceramic support, used as the substrate, was dipped into the sol of Tetrethylorthosilicate (TEOS), distilled water and ethanol with the addition of nitric acid. The fabricated silica membrane was then characterized by (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope) FESEM and (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) FTIR to determine structural and chemical properties at different amount of acids. From the XRD analysis, the fabricated silica ceramic membrane showed the existence of silicate hydrate in the final product. FESEM images indicated that the silica ceramic membrane has been deposited on the tubular ceramic support as a substrate and penetrate into the pore walls. The intensity peak of FTIR decreased with increasing of amount of acids. Hence, the 8 ml of acid has demonstrated the appropriate amount of catalyst in fabricating good physical and chemical characteristic of silica ceramic membrane.

Product Quality Improvement Using FMEA for Electric Parking Brake (EPB)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumitrescu, C. D.; Gruber, G. C.; Tişcă, I. A.

2016-08-01

One of the most frequently used methods to improve product quality is complex FMEA. (Failure Modes and Effects Analyses). In the literature various FMEA is known, depending on the mode and depending on the targets; we mention here some of these names: Failure Modes and Effects Analysis Process, or analysis Failure Mode and Effects Reported (FMECA). Whatever option is supported by the work team, the goal of the method is the same: optimize product design activities in research, design processes, implementation of manufacturing processes, optimization of mining product to beneficiaries. According to a market survey conducted on parts suppliers to vehicle manufacturers FMEA method is used in 75%. One purpose of the application is that after the research and product development is considered resolved, any errors which may be detected; another purpose of applying the method is initiating appropriate measures to avoid mistakes. Achieving these two goals leads to a high level distribution in applying, to avoid errors already in the design phase of the product, thereby avoiding the emergence and development of additional costs in later stages of product manufacturing. During application of FMEA method using standardized forms; with their help will establish the initial assemblies of product structure, in which all components will be viewed without error. The work is an application of the method FMEA quality components to optimize the structure of the electrical parking brake (Electric Parching Brake - E.P.B). This is a component attached to the roller system which ensures automotive replacement of conventional mechanical parking brake while ensuring its comfort, functionality, durability and saves space in the passenger compartment. The paper describes the levels at which they appealed in applying FMEA, working arrangements in the 4 distinct levels of analysis, and how to determine the number of risk (Risk Priority Number); the analysis of risk factors and established authors who have imposed measures to reduce / eliminate risk completely exploiting this complex product.

Predictors of Life Satisfaction in Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, S. M.; Chan, F.

2008-01-01

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine factors that predict life satisfaction in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). Two groups of variables were studied: life skills (interpersonal, instrumental and leisure) and higher-order predictors (social support, self-determination and productivity). Method: Fifty-six participants…

Computer Models Identify Methods to Reduce Bridge Cracks During Production Processes : Brief

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-06-01

While most motorists see only the bridge deck, strong bridge girders are the basis for a stable system to support the traffic-handling surface. Concrete bridge girders often have two major components: the web, which is an I-shaped cross section and v...

30 CFR 585.104 - Do I need a BOEM lease or other authorization to produce or support the production of electricity...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... to produce or support the production of electricity or other energy product from a renewable energy... support the production of electricity or other energy product from a renewable energy resource on the OCS... maintain any facility to produce, transport, or support generation of electricity or other energy product...

30 CFR 585.104 - Do I need a BOEM lease or other authorization to produce or support the production of electricity...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... to produce or support the production of electricity or other energy product from a renewable energy... support the production of electricity or other energy product from a renewable energy resource on the OCS... maintain any facility to produce, transport, or support generation of electricity or other energy product...

30 CFR 585.104 - Do I need a BOEM lease or other authorization to produce or support the production of electricity...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... to produce or support the production of electricity or other energy product from a renewable energy... support the production of electricity or other energy product from a renewable energy resource on the OCS... maintain any facility to produce, transport, or support generation of electricity or other energy product...

Determination of Microalgal Lipid Content and Fatty Acid for Biofuel Production

PubMed Central

Chen, Zhipeng; Wang, Lingfeng

2018-01-01

Biofuels produced from microalgal biomass have received growing worldwide recognition as promising alternatives to conventional petroleum-derived fuels. Among the processes involved, the downstream refinement process for the extraction of lipids from biomass greatly influences the sustainability and efficiency of the entire biofuel system. This review summarizes and compares the current techniques for the extraction and measurement of microalgal lipids, including the gravimetric methods using organic solvents, CO2-based solvents, ionic liquids and switchable solvents, Nile red lipid visualization method, sulfo-phospho-vanillin method, and the thin-layer chromatography method. Each method has its own competitive advantages and disadvantages. For example, the organic solvents-based gravimetric method is mostly used and frequently employed as a reference standard to validate other methods, but it requires large amounts of samples and is time-consuming and expensive to recover solvents also with low selectivity towards desired products. The pretreatment approaches which aimed to disrupt cells and support subsequent lipid extraction through bead beating, microwave, ultrasonication, chemical methods, and enzymatic disruption are also introduced. Moreover, the principles and procedures for the production and quantification of fatty acids are finally described in detail, involving the preparation of fatty acid methyl esters and their quantification and composition analysis by gas chromatography.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates in waste activated sludge enhances anaerobic methane production through improving biochemical methane potential instead of hydrolysis rate.

PubMed

Wang, Qilin; Sun, Jing; Zhang, Chang; Xie, Guo-Jun; Zhou, Xu; Qian, Jin; Yang, Guojing; Zeng, Guangming; Liu, Yiqi; Wang, Dongbo

2016-01-21

Anaerobic sludge digestion is the main technology for sludge reduction and stabilization prior to sludge disposal. Nevertheless, methane production from anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) is often restricted by the poor biochemical methane potential and slow hydrolysis rate of WAS. This work systematically investigated the effect of PHA levels of WAS on anaerobic methane production, using both experimental and mathematical modeling approaches. Biochemical methane potential tests showed that methane production increased with increased PHA levels in WAS. Model-based analysis suggested that the PHA-based method enhanced methane production by improving biochemical methane potential of WAS, with the highest enhancement being around 40% (from 192 to 274 L CH4/kg VS added; VS: volatile solid) when the PHA levels increased from 21 to 143 mg/g VS. In contrast, the hydrolysis rate (approximately 0.10 d(-1)) was not significantly affected by the PHA levels. Economic analysis suggested that the PHA-based method could save $1.2/PE/y (PE: population equivalent) in a typical wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The PHA-based method can be easily integrated into the current WWTP to enhance methane production, thereby providing a strong support to the on-going paradigm shift in wastewater management from pollutant removal to resource recovery.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates in waste activated sludge enhances anaerobic methane production through improving biochemical methane potential instead of hydrolysis rate

PubMed Central

Wang, Qilin; Sun, Jing; Zhang, Chang; Xie, Guo-Jun; Zhou, Xu; Qian, Jin; Yang, Guojing; Zeng, Guangming; Liu, Yiqi; Wang, Dongbo

2016-01-01

Anaerobic sludge digestion is the main technology for sludge reduction and stabilization prior to sludge disposal. Nevertheless, methane production from anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) is often restricted by the poor biochemical methane potential and slow hydrolysis rate of WAS. This work systematically investigated the effect of PHA levels of WAS on anaerobic methane production, using both experimental and mathematical modeling approaches. Biochemical methane potential tests showed that methane production increased with increased PHA levels in WAS. Model-based analysis suggested that the PHA-based method enhanced methane production by improving biochemical methane potential of WAS, with the highest enhancement being around 40% (from 192 to 274 L CH4/kg VS added; VS: volatile solid) when the PHA levels increased from 21 to 143 mg/g VS. In contrast, the hydrolysis rate (approximately 0.10 d−1) was not significantly affected by the PHA levels. Economic analysis suggested that the PHA-based method could save $1.2/PE/y (PE: population equivalent) in a typical wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The PHA-based method can be easily integrated into the current WWTP to enhance methane production, thereby providing a strong support to the on-going paradigm shift in wastewater management from pollutant removal to resource recovery. PMID:26791952

Polyhydroxyalkanoates in waste activated sludge enhances anaerobic methane production through improving biochemical methane potential instead of hydrolysis rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qilin; Sun, Jing; Zhang, Chang; Xie, Guo-Jun; Zhou, Xu; Qian, Jin; Yang, Guojing; Zeng, Guangming; Liu, Yiqi; Wang, Dongbo

2016-01-01

Anaerobic sludge digestion is the main technology for sludge reduction and stabilization prior to sludge disposal. Nevertheless, methane production from anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) is often restricted by the poor biochemical methane potential and slow hydrolysis rate of WAS. This work systematically investigated the effect of PHA levels of WAS on anaerobic methane production, using both experimental and mathematical modeling approaches. Biochemical methane potential tests showed that methane production increased with increased PHA levels in WAS. Model-based analysis suggested that the PHA-based method enhanced methane production by improving biochemical methane potential of WAS, with the highest enhancement being around 40% (from 192 to 274 L CH4/kg VS added; VS: volatile solid) when the PHA levels increased from 21 to 143 mg/g VS. In contrast, the hydrolysis rate (approximately 0.10 d-1) was not significantly affected by the PHA levels. Economic analysis suggested that the PHA-based method could save $1.2/PE/y (PE: population equivalent) in a typical wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The PHA-based method can be easily integrated into the current WWTP to enhance methane production, thereby providing a strong support to the on-going paradigm shift in wastewater management from pollutant removal to resource recovery.

Structured product labeling improves detection of drug-intolerance issues.

PubMed

Schadow, Gunther

2009-01-01

This study sought to assess the value of the Health Level 7/U.S. Food and Drug Administration Structured Product Labeling (SPL) drug knowledge representation standard and its associated terminology sources for drug-intolerance (allergy) decision support in computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems. The Regenstrief Institute CPOE drug-intolerance issue detection system and its knowledge base was compared with a method based on existing SPL label content enriched with knowledge sources used with SPL (NDF-RT/MeSH). Both methods were applied to a large set of drug-intolerance (allergy) records, drug orders, and medication dispensing records covering >50,000 patients over 30 years. The number of drug-intolerance issues detected by both methods was counted, as well as the number of patients with issues, number of distinct drugs, and number of distinct intolerances. The difference between drug-intolerance issues detected or missed by either method was qualitatively analyzed. Although <70% of terms were mapped to SPL, the new approach detected four times as many drug-intolerance issues on twice as many patients. The SPL-based approach is more sensitive and suggests that mapping local dictionaries to SPL, and enhancing the depth and breadth of coverage of SPL content are worth accelerating. The study also highlights specificity problems known to trouble drug-intolerance decision support and suggests how terminology and methods of recording drug intolerances could be improved.

Structured Product Labeling Improves Detection of Drug-intolerance Issues

PubMed Central

Schadow, Gunther

2009-01-01

Objectives This study sought to assess the value of the Health Level 7/U.S. Food and Drug Administration Structured Product Labeling (SPL) drug knowledge representation standard and its associated terminology sources for drug-intolerance (allergy) decision support in computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems. Design The Regenstrief Institute CPOE drug-intolerance issue detection system and its knowledge base was compared with a method based on existing SPL label content enriched with knowledge sources used with SPL (NDF-RT/MeSH). Both methods were applied to a large set of drug-intolerance (allergy) records, drug orders, and medication dispensing records covering >50,000 patients over 30 years. Measurements The number of drug-intolerance issues detected by both methods was counted, as well as the number of patients with issues, number of distinct drugs, and number of distinct intolerances. The difference between drug-intolerance issues detected or missed by either method was qualitatively analyzed. Results Although <70% of terms were mapped to SPL, the new approach detected four times as many drug-intolerance issues on twice as many patients. Conclusion The SPL-based approach is more sensitive and suggests that mapping local dictionaries to SPL, and enhancing the depth and breadth of coverage of SPL content are worth accelerating. The study also highlights specificity problems known to trouble drug-intolerance decision support and suggests how terminology and methods of recording drug intolerances could be improved. PMID:18952933

Transition, Training, and Assessment of Multispectral Composite Imagery in Support of the NWS Aviation Forecast Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuell, Kevin; Jedlovec, Gary; Leroy, Anita; Schultz, Lori

2015-01-01

The NASA/Short-term Prediction, Research, and Transition (SPoRT) Program works closely with NOAA/NWS weather forecasters to transition unique satellite data and capabilities into operations in order to assist with nowcasting and short-term forecasting issues. Several multispectral composite imagery (i.e. RGB) products were introduced to users in the early 2000s to support hydrometeorology and aviation challenges as well as incident support. These activities lead to SPoRT collaboration with the GOES-R Proving Ground efforts where instruments such as MODIS (Aqua, Terra) and S-NPP/VIIRS imagers began to be used as near-realtime proxies to future capabilities of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI). One of the composite imagery products introduced to users was the Night-time Microphysics RGB, originally developed by EUMETSAT. SPoRT worked to transition this imagery to NWS users, provide region-specific training, and assess the impact of the imagery to aviation forecast needs. This presentation discusses the method used to interact with users to address specific aviation forecast challenges, including training activities undertaken to prepare for a product assessment. Users who assessed the multispectral imagery ranged from southern U.S. inland and coastal NWS weather forecast offices (WFOs), to those in the Rocky Mountain Front Range region and West Coast, as well as highlatitude forecasters of Alaska. These user-based assessments were documented and shared with the satellite community to support product developers and the broad users of new generation satellite data.

A Decision Support System for Evaluating and Selecting Information Systems Projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Hepu; Wibowo, Santoso

2009-01-01

This chapter presents a decision support system (DSS) for effectively solving the information systems (IS) project selection problem. The proposed DSS recognizes the multidimensional nature of the IS project selection problem, the availability of multicriteria analysis (MA) methods, and the preferences of the decision-maker (DM) on the use of specific MA methods in a given situation. A knowledge base consisting of IF-THEN production rules is developed for assisting the DM with a systematic adoption of the most appropriate method with the efficient use of the powerful reasoning and explanation capabilities of intelligent DSS. The idea of letting the problem to be solved determines the method to be used is incorporated into the proposed DSS. As a result, effective decisions can be made for solving the IS project selection problem. An example is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed DSS for solving the problem of selecting IS projects in real world situations.

Roll-to-Roll production of carbon nanotubes based supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Jingyi; Childress, Anthony; Karakaya, Mehmet; Roberts, Mark; Arcilla-Velez, Margarita; Podila, Ramakrishna; Rao, Apparao

2014-03-01

Carbon nanomaterials provide an excellent platform for electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs). However, current industrial methods for producing carbon nanotubes are expensive and thereby increase the costs of energy storage to more than 10 Wh/kg. In this regard, we developed a facile roll-to-roll production technology for scalable manufacturing of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) with variable density on run-of-the-mill kitchen Al foils. Our method produces MWNTs with diameter (heights) between 50-100 nm (10-100 μm), and a specific capacitance as high as ~ 100 F/g in non-aqueous electrolytes. In this talk, the fundamental challenges involved in EDLC-suitable MWNT growth, roll-to-roll production, and device manufacturing will be discussed along with electrochemical characteristics of roll-to-roll MWNTs. Research supported by NSF CMMI Grant1246800.

Exploration of student's creativity by integrating STEM knowledge into creative products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayasari, Tantri; Kadarohman, Asep; Rusdiana, Dadi; Kaniawati, Ida

2016-02-01

Creativity is an important capability that should be held to competitive standards in the 21st century in entering the era of information and knowledge. It requires a creative generation that is able to innovate to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex future. This study examines the student's creativity level by integrating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) knowledge to make creative products in renewable energy (solar energy). Total respondents in this study were 29 students who take applied science course. This research used qualitative and quantitative method (mixed methods), and used "4P" dimension of creativity to assess student's creativity level. The result showed a creative product is influenced by STEM knowledge that can support student's creativity while collaborating an application of knowledge, skills, and ability to solve daily problems associated with STEM.

Developing tools for digital radar image data evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Domik, G.; Leberl, F.; Raggam, J.

1986-01-01

The refinement of radar image analysis methods has led to a need for a systems approach to radar image processing software. Developments stimulated through satellite radar are combined with standard image processing techniques to create a user environment to manipulate and analyze airborne and satellite radar images. One aim is to create radar products for the user from the original data to enhance the ease of understanding the contents. The results are called secondary image products and derive from the original digital images. Another aim is to support interactive SAR image analysis. Software methods permit use of a digital height model to create ortho images, synthetic images, stereo-ortho images, radar maps or color combinations of different component products. Efforts are ongoing to integrate individual tools into a combined hardware/software environment for interactive radar image analysis.

Polarographic study of cadmium 5-hydroxy 2-(hydroxymethyl) 4H-pyran-4-one complex

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Ray F.; Daniels, Robert C.

1989-01-01

A polarographic study was performed on the products formed in the interaction of cadmium (II) with a 5-hydroxy 2-(hydroxymethyl) 4H-Pyran-4-one, using varying conditions of pH, supporting electrolytes, and concentrations. Measurements using the differential pulse method show that cadmium (II) exhibits a molar combining ratio of complexing agents to cation ranging from 1 to 1 to 3 to 1 depending on the pH and the supporting electrolyte employed.

Periodical capacity setting methods for make-to-order multi-machine production systems

PubMed Central

Altendorfer, Klaus; Hübl, Alexander; Jodlbauer, Herbert

2014-01-01

The paper presents different periodical capacity setting methods for make-to-order, multi-machine production systems with stochastic customer required lead times and stochastic processing times to improve service level and tardiness. These methods are developed as decision support when capacity flexibility exists, such as, a certain range of possible working hours a week for example. The methods differ in the amount of information used whereby all are based on the cumulated capacity demand at each machine. In a simulation study the methods’ impact on service level and tardiness is compared to a constant provided capacity for a single and a multi-machine setting. It is shown that the tested capacity setting methods can lead to an increase in service level and a decrease in average tardiness in comparison to a constant provided capacity. The methods using information on processing time and customer required lead time distribution perform best. The results found in this paper can help practitioners to make efficient use of their flexible capacity. PMID:27226649

Productive Failure in STEM Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trueman, Rebecca J.

2014-01-01

Science education is criticized because it often fails to support problem-solving skills in students. Instead, the instructional methods primarily emphasize didactic models that fail to engage students and reveal how the material can be applied to solve real problems. To overcome these limitations, this study asked participants in a general…

Getting Results through Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Human Resource Development Council, Washington, DC.

This handbook, which was developed for federal managers, explains how low-cost and no-cost training methods developed in the private sector and the services and support available from federal human resource development (HRD) offices can be used to build a smarter and more productive work force. Presented in part 1 are the following: seven…

Simulated Moving Bed Chromatography: Separation and Recovery of Sugars and Ionic Liquid from Biomass Hydrolysates

PubMed Central

Caes, Benjamin R.; Van Oosbree, Thomas R.; Lu, Fachuang; Ralph, John; Maravelias, Christos T.

2015-01-01

Simulated moving bed chromatography, a continuous separation method, enables the nearly quantitative recovery of sugar products and ionic liquid solvent from chemical hydrolysates of biomass. The ensuing sugars support microbial growth, and the residual lignin from the process is intact. PMID:23939991

Detection of Maillard reaction products by a coupled HPLC-Fraction collector technique and FTIR characterization of Cu(II)-complexation with the isolated species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ioannou, Aristos; Daskalakis, Vangelis; Varotsis, Constantinos

2017-08-01

The isolation of reaction products of asparagine with reducing sugars at alkaline pH and high temperature has been probed by a combination of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with a Fraction Collector. The UV-vis and FTIR spectra of the isolated Maillard reaction products showed structure-sensitive changes as depicted by deamination events and formation of asparagine-saccharide conjugates. The initial reaction species of the Asn-Gluc reaction were also characterized by Density Functional Theory (DFT) methods. Evidence for Cu (II) metal ion complexation with the Maillard reaction products is supported by UV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy.

Target and method for the production of fission product molybdenum-99

DOEpatents

Vandegrift, G.F.; Vissers, D.R.; Marshall, S.L.; Varma, R.

1987-10-26

A target for the reduction of fission product Mo-99 is prepared from uranium of low U-235 enrichment by coating a structural support member with a preparatory coating of a substantially oxide-free substrate metal. Uranium metal is electrodeposited from a molten halide electrolytic bath onto a substrate metal. The electrodeposition is performed at a predetermined direct current rate or by using pulsed plating techniques which permit relaxation of accumulated uranium ion concentrations within the melt. Layers of as much as to 600 mg/cm/sup 2/ of uranium can be prepared to provide a sufficient density to produce acceptable concentrations of fission product Mo-99. 2 figs.

Method and apparatus for making articles from particle based materials

DOEpatents

Moorhead, Arthur J.; Menchhofer, Paul A.

1995-01-01

A method and apparatus for the production of articles made of a particle-based material; e.g., ceramics and sintered metals. In accordance with the invention, a thermally settable slurry containing a relatively high concentration of the particles is conveyed through an elongate flow area having a desired cross-sectional configuration. The slurry is heated as it is advanced through the flow area causing the slurry to set or harden in a shape which conforms to the cross-sectional configuration of the flow area. The material discharges from the flow area as a self-supporting solid of near net final dimensions. The article may then be sintered to consolidate the particles and provide a high density product.

Manufacturing implant supported auricular prostheses by rapid prototyping techniques.

PubMed

Karatas, Meltem Ozdemir; Cifter, Ebru Demet; Ozenen, Didem Ozdemir; Balik, Ali; Tuncer, Erman Bulent

2011-08-01

Maxillofacial prostheses are usually fabricated on the models obtained following the impression procedures. Disadvantages of conventional impression techniques used in production of facial prosthesis are deformation of soft tissues caused by impression material and disturbance of the patient due to. Additionally production of prosthesis by conventional methods takes longer time. Recently, rapid prototyping techniques have been developed for extraoral prosthesis in order to reduce these disadvantages of conventional methods. Rapid prototyping technique has the potential to simplify the procedure and decrease the laboratory work required. It eliminates the need for measurement impression procedures and preparation of wax model to be performed by prosthodontists themselves In the near future this technology will become a standard for fabricating maxillofacial prostheses.

Catalytic upgrading of butyric acid towards fine chemicals and biofuels

PubMed Central

Matsakas, Leonidas; Christakopoulos, Paul; Rova, Ulrika

2016-01-01

Fermentation-based production of butyric acid is robust and efficient. Modern catalytic technologies make it possible to convert butyric acid to important fine chemicals and biofuels. Here, current chemocatalytic and biocatalytic conversion methods are reviewed with a focus on upgrading butyric acid to 1-butanol or butyl-butyrate. Supported Ruthenium- and Platinum-based catalyst and lipase exhibit important activities which can pave the way for more sustainable process concepts for the production of green fuels and chemicals. PMID:26994015

Space Transportation Avionics Technology Symposium. Volume 1: Executive summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The focus of the symposium was to examine existing and planned avionics technology processes and products and to recommend necessary changes for strengthening priorities and program emphases. Innovative changes in avionics technology development and design processes, identified during the symposium, are needed to support the increasingly complex, multi-vehicle, integrated, autonomous space-based systems. Key technology advances make such a major initiative viable at this time: digital processing capabilities, integrated on-board test/checkout methods, easily reconfigurable laboratories, and software design and production techniques.

Space Transportation Avionics Technology Symposium. Volume 2: Conference Proceedings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The focus of the symposium was to examine existing and planned avionics technology processes and products and to recommend necessary changes for strengthening priorities and program emphases. Innovative changes in avionics technology development and design processes are needed to support the increasingly complex, multi-vehicle, integrated, autonomous space-based systems. Key technology advances make such a major initiative viable at this time: digital processing capabilities, integrated on-board test/checkout methods, easily reconfigurable laboratories, and software design and production techniques.

Integrating post-manufacturing issues into design and manufacturing decisions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eubanks, Charles F.

1996-01-01

An investigation is conducted on research into some of the fundamental issues underlying the design for manufacturing, service and recycling that affect engineering decisions early in the conceptual design phase of mechanical systems. The investigation focuses on a system-based approach to material selection, manufacturing methods and assembly processes related to overall product requirements, performance and life-cycle costs. Particular emphasis is placed on concurrent engineering decision support for post-manufacturing issues such as serviceability, recyclability, and product retirement.

Catalytic upgrading of butyric acid towards fine chemicals and biofuels.

PubMed

Sjöblom, Magnus; Matsakas, Leonidas; Christakopoulos, Paul; Rova, Ulrika

2016-04-01

Fermentation-based production of butyric acid is robust and efficient. Modern catalytic technologies make it possible to convert butyric acid to important fine chemicals and biofuels. Here, current chemocatalytic and biocatalytic conversion methods are reviewed with a focus on upgrading butyric acid to 1-butanol or butyl-butyrate. Supported Ruthenium- and Platinum-based catalyst and lipase exhibit important activities which can pave the way for more sustainable process concepts for the production of green fuels and chemicals. © FEMS 2016.

a Comparison of Empirical and Inteligent Methods for Dust Detection Using Modis Satellite Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahrisvand, M.; Akhoondzadeh, M.

2013-09-01

Nowadays, dust storm in one of the most important natural hazards which is considered as a national concern in scientific communities. This paper considers the capabilities of some classical and intelligent methods for dust detection from satellite imagery around the Middle East region. In the study of dust detection, MODIS images have been a good candidate due to their suitable spectral and temporal resolution. In this study, physical-based and intelligent methods including decision tree, ANN (Artificial Neural Network) and SVM (Support Vector Machine) have been applied to detect dust storms. Among the mentioned approaches, in this paper, SVM method has been implemented for the first time in domain of dust detection studies. Finally, AOD (Aerosol Optical Depth) images, which are one the referenced standard products of OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) sensor, have been used to assess the accuracy of all the implemented methods. Since the SVM method can distinguish dust storm over lands and oceans simultaneously, therefore the accuracy of SVM method is achieved better than the other applied approaches. As a conclusion, this paper shows that SVM can be a powerful tool for production of dust images with remarkable accuracy in comparison with AOT (Aerosol Optical Thickness) product of NASA.

Characteristics of alpha-glucosidase production from recombinant Aspergillus oryzae by membrane-surface liquid culture in comparison with various cultivation methods.

PubMed

Morita, Masakazu; Shimamura, Hiroko; Ishida, Natsuko; Imamura, Koreyoshi; Sakiyama, Takaharu; Nakanishi, Kazuhiro

2004-01-01

alpha-Glucosidase was produced using recombinant Aspergillus oryzae by membrane-surface liquid culture (MSLC), a method previously developed by the authors and the results compared with other methods, including shaking flask culture (SFC), agar-plate culture (APC), culture on urethane sponge supports (USC), and liquid surface culture (LSC) to determine possible reasons for the advantageous features of MSLC. When yeast extract was used as a nitrogen source, the amount of enzyme produced by MSLC was 5 or more times higher than those for SFC and LSC, but similar to that using APC. Enzyme production in USC was slightly lower than in MSLC and APC. Cell growth was similar irrespective of the cultivation method used. When NaNO3, a typical inorganic nitrogen source was used, enzyme production in all the cultures was lower than that using yeast extract. However, even using NaNO3, the amount of the enzyme produced by MSLC was 8 to 20 times higher than those by SFC, APC, USC, and LSC. Although cell growth using NaNO3 was similar to that for yeast extract in MSLC, it was markedly decreased in SFC, APC, and LSC. The reason for the difference in enzyme productivity for various cultivation methods using yeast extract and NaNO3 as a nitrogen source is discussed, on the basis of the experimental findings. The role of the oxygen transfer effect and gene expression levels in enzyme production were also examined.

Cost-Effective Method for Producing Self Supported Palladium Alloy Membranes for Use in Efficient Production of Coal Derived Hydrogen

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

K. Coulter

2008-03-31

Southwest Research Institute{reg_sign} (SwRI{reg_sign}) has utilized its expertise in large-area vacuum deposition methods to conduct research into the fabrication of dense, freestanding Pd-alloy membranes that are 3-5 microns thick and over 100 in{sup 2} in area. The membranes were deposited onto flexible and rigid supports that were subsequently removed and separated using novel techniques developed over the course of the project. Using these methods, the production of novel alloy compositions centered around the Pd-Cu system were developed with the objective of producing a thermally stable, nano-crystalline grain structure with the highest flux recorded as 242 SCFH/ft{sup 2} for a 2more » {micro}m thick Pd{sub 53}Cu{sub 47} at 400 C and 20 psig feed pressure which when extrapolated is over twice the 2010 Department of Energy pure H{sub 2} flux target. Several membranes were made with the same permeability, but with different thicknesses and these membranes were highly selective. Researchers at the Colorado School of Mines supported the effort with extensive testing of experimental membranes as well as design and modeling of novel alloy composite structures. IdaTech provided commercial bench testing and analysis of SwRI-manufactured membranes. The completed deliverables for the project include test data on the performance of experimental membranes fabricated by vacuum deposition and several Pd-alloy membranes that were supplied to IdaTech for testing.« less

Comparing conventional Descriptive Analysis and Napping®-UFP against physiochemical measurements: a case study using apples.

PubMed

Pickup, William; Bremer, Phil; Peng, Mei

2018-03-01

The extensive time and cost associated with conventional sensory profiling methods has spurred sensory researchers to develop rapid method alternatives, such as Napping® with Ultra-Flash Profiling (UFP). Napping®-UFP generates sensory maps by requiring untrained panellists to separate samples based on perceived sensory similarities. Evaluations of this method have been restrained to manufactured/formulated food models, and predominantly structured on comparisons against the conventional descriptive method. The present study aims to extend the validation of Napping®-UFP (N = 72) to natural biological products; and to evaluate this method against Descriptive Analysis (DA; N = 8) with physiochemical measurements as an additional evaluative criterion. The results revealed that sample configurations generated by DA and Napping®-UFP were not significantly correlated (RV = 0.425, P = 0.077); however, they were both correlated with the product map generated based on the instrumental measures (P < 0.05). The finding also noted that sample characterisations from DA and Napping®-UFP were driven by different sensory attributes, indicating potential structural differences between these two methods in configuring samples. Overall, these findings lent support for the extended use of Napping®-UFP for evaluations of natural biological products. Although DA was shown to be a better method for establishing sensory-instrumental relationships, Napping®-UFP exhibited strengths in generating informative sample configurations based on holistic perception of products. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Exploring adaptations to climate change with stakeholders: A participatory method to design grassland-based farming systems.

PubMed

Sautier, Marion; Piquet, Mathilde; Duru, Michel; Martin-Clouaire, Roger

2017-05-15

Research is expected to produce knowledge, methods and tools to enhance stakeholders' adaptive capacity by helping them to anticipate and cope with the effects of climate change at their own level. Farmers face substantial challenges from climate change, from changes in the average temperatures and the precipitation regime to an increased variability of weather conditions and the frequency of extreme events. Such changes can have dramatic consequences for many types of agricultural production systems such as grassland-based livestock systems for which climate change influences the seasonality and productivity of fodder production. We present a participatory design method called FARMORE (FARM-Oriented REdesign) that allows farmers to design and evaluate adaptations of livestock systems to future climatic conditions. It explicitly considers three climate features in the design and evaluation processes: climate change, climate variability and the limited predictability of weather. FARMORE consists of a sequence of three workshops for which a pre-existing game-like platform was adapted. Various year-round forage production and animal feeding requirements must be assembled by participants with a computerized support system. In workshop 1, farmers aim to produce a configuration that satisfies an average future weather scenario. They refine or revise the previous configuration by considering a sample of the between-year variability of weather in workshop 2. In workshop 3, they explicitly take the limited predictability of weather into account. We present the practical aspects of the method based on four case studies involving twelve farmers from Aveyron (France), and illustrate it through an in-depth description of one of these case studies with three dairy farmers. The case studies shows and discusses how workshop sequencing (1) supports a design process that progressively accommodates complexity of real management contexts by enlarging considerations of climate change to climate variability and low weather predictability, and (2) increases the credibility and salience of the design method. Further enhancements of the method are outlined, especially the selection of pertinent weather scenarios. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Arrowheaded enhanced multivariance products representation for matrices (AEMPRM): Specifically focusing on infinite matrices and converting arrowheadedness to tridiagonality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özdemir, Gizem; Demiralp, Metin

2015-12-01

In this work, Enhanced Multivariance Products Representation (EMPR) approach which is a Demiralp-and-his- group extension to the Sobol's High Dimensional Model Representation (HDMR) has been used as the basic tool. Their discrete form have also been developed and used in practice by Demiralp and his group in addition to some other authors for the decomposition of the arrays like vectors, matrices, or multiway arrays. This work specifically focuses on the decomposition of infinite matrices involving denumerable infinitely many rows and columns. To this end the target matrix is first decomposed to the sum of certain outer products and then each outer product is treated by Tridiagonal Matrix Enhanced Multivariance Products Representation (TMEMPR) which has been developed by Demiralp and his group. The result is a three-matrix- factor-product whose kernel (the middle factor) is an arrowheaded matrix while the pre and post factors are invertable matrices decomposed of the support vectors of TMEMPR. This new method is called as Arrowheaded Enhanced Multivariance Products Representation for Matrices. The general purpose is approximation of denumerably infinite matrices with the new method.

30 CFR 285.104 - Do I need an MMS lease or other authorization to produce or support the production of electricity...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... to produce or support the production of electricity or other energy product from a renewable energy... authorization to produce or support the production of electricity or other energy product from a renewable... construct, operate, or maintain any facility to produce, transport, or support generation of electricity or...

Animal use in the chemical and product manufacturing sectors - can the downtrend continue?

PubMed

Curren, Rodger

2009-12-01

During the 1990s and early 2000s, a number of manufacturing companies in the cosmetic, personal care and household product industries were able to substantially reduce their use of animals for testing (or to not use animals in the first place). These reductions were almost always the result of significant financial contributions to either direct, in-house alternatives research, or to support personnel whose duties were to understand and apply the current state-of-the-art for in vitro testing. They occurred almost exclusively in non-regulatory areas, and primarily involved acute topical toxicities. Over the last few years, the reduction in animal use has been much less dramatic, because some companies are still reluctant to change from the traditional animal studies, because systemic, repeat-dose toxicity is more difficult to model in vitro, and because many products still require animal testing for regulatory approval. Encouragingly, we are now observing an increased acceptance of non-animal methods by regulatory agencies. This is due to mounting scientific evidence from larger databases, agreement by companies to share data and testing strategies with regulatory agencies, and a focus on smaller domains of applicability. These changes, along with new emphasis and financial support for addressing systemic toxicities, promise to provide additional possibilities for industry to replace animals with in vitro methods, alone or in combination with in silico methods. However, the largest advance will not occur until more companies commit to using the non-animal test strategies that are currently available. 2009 FRAME.

Health information technology impact on productivity.

PubMed

Eastaugh, Steven R

2012-01-01

Managers work to achieve the greatest output for the least input effort, better balancing all factors of delivery to achieve the most with the smallest resource effort. Documentation of actual health information technology (HIT) cost savings has been elusive. Information technology and linear programming help to control hospital costs without harming service quality or staff morale. This study presents production function results from a study of hospital output during the period 2008-2011. The results suggest that productivity varies widely among the 58 hospitals as a function of staffing patterns, methods of organization, and the degree of reliance on information support systems. Financial incentives help to enhance productivity. Incentive pay for staff based on actual productivity gains is associated with improved productivity. HIT can enhance the marginal value product of nurses and staff, so that they concentrate their workday around patient care activities. The implementation of electronic health records (EHR) was associated with a 1.6 percent improvement in productivity.

Toward the Dark Matter of Natural Products.

PubMed

Wakimoto, Toshiyuki

2017-11-01

Considering the dynamic features of natural products, our access toward exploring the entire diversity of natural products has been quite limited. It is challenging to assess the diversity of natural products by using conventional analytical methods, even with tandem chromatographic techniques, such as LC-MS and GC-MS. This viewpoint is supported by the sequencing analyses of microbial genomes, which have unveiled the potential of secondary metabolite production far exceeding the number of isolated molecules. Recent advancements in metabolomics, in concert with genomics analyses, have further extended the natural product diversity, prompting growing awareness of the existence of reactive or short-lived natural molecules. This personal account introduces some examples of the discoveries of hitherto elusive natural products, due to physico-chemical or biological reasons, and highlights the significance of the dark matter of natural products. © 2017 The Chemical Society of Japan & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Flight Dynamics Mission Support and Quality Assurance Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oh, InHwan

1996-01-01

This paper summarizes the method of the Computer Sciences Corporation Flight Dynamics Operation (FDO) quality assurance approach to support the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center Flight Dynamics Support Branch. Historically, a strong need has existed for developing systematic quality assurance using methods that account for the unique nature and environment of satellite Flight Dynamics mission support. Over the past few years FDO has developed and implemented proactive quality assurance processes applied to each of the six phases of the Flight Dynamics mission support life cycle: systems and operations concept, system requirements and specifications, software development support, operations planing and training, launch support, and on-orbit mission operations. Rather than performing quality assurance as a final step after work is completed, quality assurance has been built in as work progresses in the form of process assurance. Process assurance activities occur throughout the Flight Dynamics mission support life cycle. The FDO Product Assurance Office developed process checklists for prephase process reviews, mission team orientations, in-progress reviews, and end-of-phase audits. This paper will outline the evolving history of FDO quality assurance approaches, discuss the tailoring of Computer Science Corporations's process assurance cycle procedures, describe some of the quality assurance approaches that have been or are being developed, and present some of the successful results.

Fast Updating National Geo-Spatial Databases with High Resolution Imagery: China's Methodology and Experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, J.; Wang, D.; Zhao, R. L.; Zhang, H.; Liao, A.; Jiu, J.

2014-04-01

Geospatial databases are irreplaceable national treasure of immense importance. Their up-to-dateness referring to its consistency with respect to the real world plays a critical role in its value and applications. The continuous updating of map databases at 1:50,000 scales is a massive and difficult task for larger countries of the size of more than several million's kilometer squares. This paper presents the research and technological development to support the national map updating at 1:50,000 scales in China, including the development of updating models and methods, production tools and systems for large-scale and rapid updating, as well as the design and implementation of the continuous updating workflow. The use of many data sources and the integration of these data to form a high accuracy, quality checked product were required. It had in turn required up to date techniques of image matching, semantic integration, generalization, data base management and conflict resolution. Design and develop specific software tools and packages to support the large-scale updating production with high resolution imagery and large-scale data generalization, such as map generalization, GIS-supported change interpretation from imagery, DEM interpolation, image matching-based orthophoto generation, data control at different levels. A national 1:50,000 databases updating strategy and its production workflow were designed, including a full coverage updating pattern characterized by all element topographic data modeling, change detection in all related areas, and whole process data quality controlling, a series of technical production specifications, and a network of updating production units in different geographic places in the country.

Understanding Philip Morris's pursuit of US government regulation of tobacco

PubMed Central

McDaniel, P; Malone, R

2005-01-01

Objective: To investigate Philip Morris's support of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of tobacco products and analyse its relationship to the company's image enhancement strategies. Data sources: Internal Philip Morris documents released as part of the Master Settlement Agreement. Methods: Searches of the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) beginning with such terms as "FDA" and "regulatory strategy" and expanding to include relevant new terms. Results: Philip Morris's support for government regulation of tobacco is part of a broader effort to address its negative public image, which has a damaging impact on the company's stock price, political influence, and employee morale. Through regulation, the company seeks to enhance its legitimacy, redefine itself as socially responsible, and alter the litigation environment. Whereas health advocates frame tobacco use as a public health policy issue, Philip Morris's regulatory efforts focus on framing tobacco use as an individual choice by informed adults to use a risky product. This framing allows Philip Morris to portray itself as a reasonable and responsible manufacturer and marketer of risky products. Conclusions: Philip Morris's ability to improve its image through support of FDA regulation may undermine tobacco control efforts aimed at delegitimising the tobacco industry. It may also create the impression that Philip Morris's products are being made safer and ultimately protect the company from litigation. While strong regulation of tobacco products and promotion remain critical public health goals, previous experiences with tobacco regulation show that caution may be warranted. PMID:15923470

What are the livestock industries doing, and what do they need from us?

PubMed

Meeker, D L

1999-02-01

Livestock industries are facing global competition and revolutionary changes. While facing this global competition, the similarities of many animal meat products require that they compete on a cost-of-production basis. Additional issues include the environmental impact of animal agriculture, the role of animal products in human nutrition, food safety and quality, biotechnology, animal welfare, and market access. Progressive producers are becoming more aware of the needs of their customers and are striving to improve product quality. Checkoff funds are used to finance promotion, research, and consumer information programs and are increasingly used to finance producer education. Industrialization trends in the livestock industries are changing the needs of constituencies, delivery mechanisms, and relationships with the people involved. Characteristics of closed operations include high production cost, outdated technology, smaller size, older operators, and lack of management focus. Successful operations tend to be growing in capacity, are system-oriented, maintain high throughput, keep accurate records, use outside consultants, and control production costs. Modern livestock production has lowered the cost of production by integrating new production and management technologies. In order for producers to be successful in the future, access to technology, capital, and timely information will be critical. Animal scientists have many common objectives with livestock industries. Their work in research, teaching, and extension is critical for continued progress. However, people in the industries sometimes have the perception that academic arrogance, discipline myopia, uncoordinated research, slow technology transfer, increasing research costs, and counter-productive tenure systems prevent animal scientists from being as relevant and responsive as they could be. Support from the industries is essential as animal scientists and academic departments seek political and funding support. This support can be attained by including integrated systems research, improving communication skills, achieving more efficient research budgets, rapidly publishing results, reducing the cost of information distribution, developing flexible research agendas, retraining scientists, acquiring modern methods, and emphasizing critical thinking, communication, and teamwork when teaching.

Control of final moisture content of food products baked in continuous tunnel ovens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McFarlane, Ian

2006-02-01

There are well-known difficulties in making measurements of the moisture content of baked goods (such as bread, buns, biscuits, crackers and cake) during baking or at the oven exit; in this paper several sensing methods are discussed, but none of them are able to provide direct measurement with sufficient precision. An alternative is to use indirect inferential methods. Some of these methods involve dynamic modelling, with incorporation of thermal properties and using techniques familiar in computational fluid dynamics (CFD); a method of this class that has been used for the modelling of heat and mass transfer in one direction during baking is summarized, which may be extended to model transport of moisture within the product and also within the surrounding atmosphere. The concept of injecting heat during the baking process proportional to the calculated heat load on the oven has been implemented in a control scheme based on heat balance zone by zone through a continuous baking oven, taking advantage of the high latent heat of evaporation of water. Tests on biscuit production ovens are reported, with results that support a claim that the scheme gives more reproducible water distribution in the final product than conventional closed loop control of zone ambient temperatures, thus enabling water content to be held more closely within tolerance.

METHOD OF OPERATING NUCLEAR REACTORS

DOEpatents

Untermyer, S.

1958-10-14

A method is presented for obtaining enhanced utilization of natural uranium in heavy water moderated nuclear reactors by charging the reactor with an equal number of fuel elements formed of natural uranium and of fuel elements formed of uranium depleted in U/sup 235/ to the extent that the combination will just support a chain reaction. The reactor is operated until the rate of burnup of plutonium equals its rate of production, the fuel elements are processed to recover plutonium, the depleted uranium is discarded, and the remaining uranium is formed into fuel elements. These fuel elements are charged into a reactor along with an equal number of fuel elements formed of uranium depleted in U/sup 235/ to the extent that the combination will just support a chain reaction, and reuse of the uranium is continued as aforesaid until it wlll no longer support a chain reaction when combined with an equal quantity of natural uranium.

Catalytic transformation of carbon dioxide and methane into syngas over ruthenium and platinum supported hydroxyapatites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rêgo De Vasconcelos, Bruna; Zhao, Lulu; Sharrock, Patrick; Nzihou, Ange; Pham Minh, Doan

2016-12-01

This work focused on the catalytic transformation of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) into syngas (mixture of CO and H2). Ruthenium- and platinum-based catalysts were prepared using hydroxyapatite (HAP) as catalyst support. Different methods for metal deposition were used including incipient wetness impregnation (IWI), excess liquid phase impregnation (LIM), and cationic exchange (CEX). Metal particle size varied in large range from less than 1 nm to dozens nm. All catalysts were active at 400-700 °C but only Pt catalyst prepared by IWI method (Pt/HAP IWI) was found stable. The catalytic performance of Pt/HAP IWI could be comparable with the literature data on noble metal-based catalysts, prepared on metal oxide supports. For the first time, water was experimentally quantified as a by-product of the reaction. This helped to correctly buckle the mass balance of the process.

Sustainable aggregate production planning in the chemical process industry - A benchmark problem and dataset.

PubMed

Brandenburg, Marcus; Hahn, Gerd J

2018-06-01

Process industries typically involve complex manufacturing operations and thus require adequate decision support for aggregate production planning (APP). The need for powerful and efficient approaches to solve complex APP problems persists. Problem-specific solution approaches are advantageous compared to standardized approaches that are designed to provide basic decision support for a broad range of planning problems but inadequate to optimize under consideration of specific settings. This in turn calls for methods to compare different approaches regarding their computational performance and solution quality. In this paper, we present a benchmarking problem for APP in the chemical process industry. The presented problem focuses on (i) sustainable operations planning involving multiple alternative production modes/routings with specific production-related carbon emission and the social dimension of varying operating rates and (ii) integrated campaign planning with production mix/volume on the operational level. The mutual trade-offs between economic, environmental and social factors can be considered as externalized factors (production-related carbon emission and overtime working hours) as well as internalized ones (resulting costs). We provide data for all problem parameters in addition to a detailed verbal problem statement. We refer to Hahn and Brandenburg [1] for a first numerical analysis based on and for future research perspectives arising from this benchmarking problem.

Apparatus and method to enhance X-ray production in laser produced plasmas

DOEpatents

Augustoni, Arnold L.; Gerardo, James B.; Raymond, Thomas D.

1992-01-01

Method and apparatus for generating x-rays for use in, for instance, x-ray photolithography. The method of generating x-rays includes the steps of providing a target and irradiating the target with a laser system which produces a train of sub-pulses to generate an x-ray producing plasma. The sub-pulses are of both high intensity and short duration. The apparatus for generating x-rays from a plasma includes a vacuum chamber, a target supported within the chamber and a laser system, including a short storage time laser.

Trash-to-Gas: Converting Space Trash into Useful Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caraccio, Anne J.; Hintze, Paul E.

2013-01-01

NASA's Logistical Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project is a collaborative effort in which NASA is determined to reduce total logistical mass through reduction, reuse and recycling of various wastes and components of long duration space missions and habitats. LRR is focusing on four distinct advanced areas of study: Advanced Clothing System, Logistics-to-Living, Heat Melt Compactor and Trash to Supply Gas (TtSG). The objective of TtSG is to develop technologies that convert material waste, human waste and food waste into high-value products. High-value products include life support oxygen and water, rocket fuels, raw material production feedstocks, and other energy sources. There are multiple pathways for converting waste to products involving single or multi-step processes. This paper discusses thermal oxidation methods of converting waste to methane. Different wastes, including food, food packaging, Maximum Absorbent Garments (MAGs), human waste simulants, and cotton washcloths have been evaluated in a thermal degradation reactor under conditions promoting pyrolysis, gasification or incineration. The goal was to evaluate the degradation processes at varying temperatures and ramp cycles and to maximize production of desirable products and minimize high molecular weight hydrocarbon (tar) production. Catalytic cracking was also evaluated to minimize tar production. The quantities of CO2, CO, CH4, and H2O were measured under the different thermal degradation conditions. The conversion efficiencies of these products were used to determine the best methods for producing desired products.

Trash to Gas: Converting Space Trash into Useful Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nur, Mononita

2013-01-01

NASA's Logistical Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project is a collaborative effort in which NASA is determined to reduce total logistical mass through reduction, reuse and recycling of various wastes and components of long duration space missions and habitats. LRR is focusing on four distinct advanced areas of study: Advanced Clothing System, Logistics-to-Living, Heat Melt Compactor and Trash to Supply Gas (TtSG). The objective of TtSG is to develop technologies that convert material waste, human waste and food waste into high-value products. High-value products include life support oxygen and water, rocket fuels, raw material production feedstocks, and other energy sources. There are multiple pathways for converting waste to products involving single or multi-step processes. This paper discusses thermal oxidation methods of converting waste to methane. Different wastes, including food, food packaging, Maximum Absorbent Garments (MAGs), human waste simulants, and cotton washcloths have been evaluated in a thermal degradation reactor under conditions promoting pyrolysis, gasification or incineration. The goal was to evaluate the degradation processes at varying temperatures and ramp cycles and to maximize production of desirable products and minimize high molecular weight hydrocarbon (tar) production. Catalytic cracking was also evaluated to minimize tar production. The quantities of C02, CO, CH4, and H20 were measured under the different thermal degradation conditions. The conversion efficiencies of these products were used to determine the best methods for producing desired products.

EMMA: An Extensible Mammalian Modular Assembly Toolkit for the Rapid Design and Production of Diverse Expression Vectors.

PubMed

Martella, Andrea; Matjusaitis, Mantas; Auxillos, Jamie; Pollard, Steven M; Cai, Yizhi

2017-07-21

Mammalian plasmid expression vectors are critical reagents underpinning many facets of research across biology, biomedical research, and the biotechnology industry. Traditional cloning methods often require laborious manual design and assembly of plasmids using tailored sequential cloning steps. This process can be protracted, complicated, expensive, and error-prone. New tools and strategies that facilitate the efficient design and production of bespoke vectors would help relieve a current bottleneck for researchers. To address this, we have developed an extensible mammalian modular assembly kit (EMMA). This enables rapid and efficient modular assembly of mammalian expression vectors in a one-tube, one-step golden-gate cloning reaction, using a standardized library of compatible genetic parts. The high modularity, flexibility, and extensibility of EMMA provide a simple method for the production of functionally diverse mammalian expression vectors. We demonstrate the value of this toolkit by constructing and validating a range of representative vectors, such as transient and stable expression vectors (transposon based vectors), targeting vectors, inducible systems, polycistronic expression cassettes, fusion proteins, and fluorescent reporters. The method also supports simple assembly combinatorial libraries and hierarchical assembly for production of larger multigenetic cargos. In summary, EMMA is compatible with automated production, and novel genetic parts can be easily incorporated, providing new opportunities for mammalian synthetic biology.

The impact of external donor support through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief on the cost of red cell concentrate in Namibia, 2004–2011

PubMed Central

Pitman, John P.; Bocking, Adele; Wilkinson, Robert; Postma, Maarten J.; Basavaraju, Sridhar V.; von Finckenstein, Bjorn; Mataranyika, Mary; Marfin, Anthony A.; Lowrance, David W.; Sibinga, Cees Th. Smit

2015-01-01

Background External assistance can rapidly strengthen health programmes in developing countries, but such funding can also create sustainability challenges. From 2004–2011, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) provided more than $ 8 million to the Blood Transfusion Service of Namibia (NAMBTS) for supplies, equipment, and staff salaries. This analysis describes the impact that support had on actual production costs and the unit prices charged for red cell concentrate (RCC) units issued to public sector hospitals. Material and methods A costing system developed by NAMBTS to set public sector RCC unit prices was used to describe production costs and unit prices during the period of PEPFAR scale-up (2004–2009) and the 2 years in which PEPFAR support began to decline (2010–2011). Hypothetical production costs were estimated to illustrate differences had PEPFAR support not been available. Results Between 2004–2006, NAMBTS sold 22,575 RCC units to public sector facilities. During this time, RCC unit prices exceeded per unit cost-recovery targets by between 40.3% (US$ 16.75 or N$ 109.86) and 168.3% (US$ 48.72 or N$ 333.28) per year. However, revenue surpluses dwindled between 2007 and 2011, the final year of the study period, when NAMBTS sold 20,382 RCC units to public facilities but lost US$23.31 (N$ 170.43) on each unit. Discussion PEPFAR support allowed NAMBTS to leverage domestic cost-recovery revenue to rapidly increase blood collections and the distribution of RCC. However, external support kept production costs lower than they would have been without PEPFAR. If PEPFAR funds had not been available, RCC prices would have needed to increase by 20% per year to have met annual cost-recovery targets and funded the same level of investments as were made with PEPFAR support. Tracking the subsidising influence of external support can help blood services make strategic investments and plan for unit price increases as external funds are withdrawn. PMID:25369616

Subnanometer and nanometer catalysts, method for preparing size-selected catalysts

DOEpatents

Vajda, Stefan , Pellin, Michael J.; Elam, Jeffrey W [Elmhurst, IL; Marshall, Christopher L [Naperville, IL; Winans, Randall A [Downers Grove, IL; Meiwes-Broer, Karl-Heinz [Roggentin, GR

2012-04-03

Highly uniform cluster based nanocatalysts supported on technologically relevant supports were synthesized for reactions of top industrial relevance. The Pt-cluster based catalysts outperformed the very best reported ODHP catalyst in both activity (by up to two orders of magnitude higher turn-over frequencies) and in selectivity. The results clearly demonstrate that highly dispersed ultra-small Pt clusters precisely localized on high-surface area supports can lead to affordable new catalysts for highly efficient and economic propene production, including considerably simplified separation of the final product. The combined GISAXS-mass spectrometry provides an excellent tool to monitor the evolution of size and shape of nanocatalyst at action under realistic conditions. Also provided are sub-nanometer gold and sub-nanometer to few nm size-selected silver catalysts which possess size dependent tunable catalytic properties in the epoxidation of alkenes. Invented size-selected cluster deposition provides a unique tool to tune material properties by atom-by-atom fashion, which can be stabilized by protective overcoats.

Subnanometer and nanometer catalysts, method for preparing size-selected catalysts

DOEpatents

Vajda, Stefan [Lisle, IL; Pellin, Michael J [Naperville, IL; Elam, Jeffrey W [Elmhurst, IL; Marshall, Christopher L [Naperville, IL; Winans, Randall A [Downers Grove, IL; Meiwes-Broer, Karl-Heinz [Roggentin, GR

2012-03-27

Highly uniform cluster based nanocatalysts supported on technologically relevant supports were synthesized for reactions of top industrial relevance. The Pt-cluster based catalysts outperformed the very best reported ODHP catalyst in both activity (by up to two orders of magnitude higher turn-over frequencies) and in selectivity. The results clearly demonstrate that highly dispersed ultra-small Pt clusters precisely localized on high-surface area supports can lead to affordable new catalysts for highly efficient and economic propene production, including considerably simplified separation of the final product. The combined GISAXS-mass spectrometry provides an excellent tool to monitor the evolution of size and shape of nanocatalyst at action under realistic conditions. Also provided are sub-nanometer gold and sub-nanometer to few nm size-selected silver catalysts which possess size dependent tunable catalytic properties in the epoxidation of alkenes. Invented size-selected cluster deposition provides a unique tool to tune material properties by atom-by-atom fashion, which can be stabilized by protective overcoats.

A mass spectrometry method for the determination of the species of origin of gelatine in foods and pharmaceutical products.

PubMed

Grundy, H H; Reece, P; Buckley, M; Solazzo, C M; Dowle, A A; Ashford, D; Charlton, A J; Wadsley, M K; Collins, M J

2016-01-01

Gelatine is a component of a wide range of foods. It is manufactured as a by-product of the meat industry from bone and hide, mainly from bovine and porcine sources. Accurate food labelling enables consumers to make informed decisions about the food they buy. Since labelling currently relies heavily on due diligence involving a paper trail, there could be benefits in developing a reliable test method for the consumer industries in terms of the species origin of gelatine. We present a method to determine the species origin of gelatines by peptide mass spectrometry methods. An evaluative comparison is also made with ELISA and PCR technologies. Commercial gelatines were found to contain undeclared species. Furthermore, undeclared bovine peptides were observed in commercial injection matrices. This analytical method could therefore support the food industry in terms of determining the species authenticity of gelatine in foods. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Drs. Mark E. Zapp; Todd French; Lewis Brown

The Mississippi Consortium for the Utilization of Biomass was formed via funding from the US Department of Energy's EPSCoR Program, which is administered by the Office of Basic Science. Funding was approved in July of 1999 and received by participating Mississippi institutions by 2000. The project was funded via two 3-year phases of operation (the second phase was awarded based on the high merits observed from the first 3-year phase), with funding ending in 2007. The mission of the Consortium was to promote the utilization of biomass, both cultured and waste derived, for the production of commodity and specialty chemicals.more » These scientific efforts, although generally basic in nature, are key to the development of future industries within the Southeastern United States. In this proposal, the majority of the efforts performed under the DOE EPSCoR funding were focused primarily toward the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic feedstocks and biogas from waste products. However, some of the individual projects within this program investigated the production of other products from biomass feeds (i.e. acetic acid and biogas) along with materials to facilitate the more efficient production of chemicals from biomass. Mississippi is a leading state in terms of raw biomass production. Its top industries are timber, poultry production, and row crop agriculture. However, for all of its vast amounts of biomass produced on an annual basis, only a small percentage of the biomass is actually industrially produced into products, with the bulk of the biomass being wasted. This situation is actually quite representative of many Southeastern US states. The research and development efforts performed attempted to further develop promising chemical production techniques that use Mississippi biomass feedstocks. The three processes that were the primary areas of interest for ethanol production were syngas fermentation, acid hydrolysis followed by hydrolyzate fermentation, and enzymatic conversion. All three of these processes are of particular interest to states in the Southeastern US since the agricultural products produced in this region are highly variable in terms of actual crop, production quantity, and the ability of land areas to support a particular type of crop. This greatly differs from the Midwestern US where most of this region's agricultural land supports one to two primary crops, such as corn and soybean. Therefore, developing processes which are relatively flexible in terms of biomass feedstock is key to the southeastern region of the US if this area is going to be a 'player' in the developing biomass to chemicals arena. With regard to the fermentation of syngas, research was directed toward developing improved biocatalysts through organism discovery and optimization, improving ethanol/acetic acid separations, evaluating potential bacterial contaminants, and assessing the use of innovative fermentors that are better suited for supporting syngas fermentation. Acid hydrolysis research was directed toward improved conversion yields and rates, acid recovery using membranes, optimization of fermenting organisms, and hydrolyzate characterization with changing feedstocks. Additionally, a series of development efforts addressed novel separation techniques for the separation of key chemicals from fermentation activities. Biogas related research focused on key factors hindering the widespread use of digester technologies in non-traditional industries. The digestion of acetic acids and other fermentation wastewaters was studied and methods used to optimize the process were undertaken. Additionally, novel laboratory methods were designed along with improved methods of digester operation. A search for better performing digester consortia was initiated coupled with improved methods to initiate their activity within digester environments. The third activity of the consortium generally studied the production of 'other' chemicals from waste biomass materials found in Mississippi. The two primary examples of this activity are production of chemical feedstocks from lignin and the production of high valued lipids from wastewater treatment sludges. Lignin conversion research, done in collaboration with DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), studied ligninases derived from bacteria found within the gut of wood degrading insects, such as termites and the Betsey beetle. This research attempted to use these enzymes to reduce lignin down to aromatic chemicals capable of chemical conversation for production of value-added chemicals. The biodiesel efforts attempted to development economically viable methods for the separation of lipids from wastewater bacteria (which make up the bulk of sewage sludge) which were then converted to biodisel.« less

Stimulating innovation for global monitoring of agriculture and its impact on the environment in support of GEOGLAM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bydekerke, Lieven; Gilliams, Sven; Gobin, Anne

2015-04-01

There is an urgent need to ensure food supply for a growing global population. To enable a sustainable growth of agricultural production, effective and timely information is required to support decision making and to improve management of agricultural resources. This requires innovative ways and monitoring methods that will not only improve short-term crop production forecasts, but also allow to assess changes in cultivation practices, agricultural areas, agriculture in general and, its impact on the environment. The G20 launched in June 2011 the "GEO Global Agricultural Monitoring initiative (GEOGLAM), requesting the GEO (Group on Earth Observations) Agricultural Community of Practice to implement GEOGLAM with the main objective to improve crop yield forecasts as an input to the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), in order to foster stabilisation of markets and increase transparency on agricultural production. In response to this need, the European Commission decided in 2013 to fund an international partnership to contribute to GEOGLAM and its research agenda. The resulting SIGMA project (Stimulating Innovation for Global Monitoring of Agriculture), a partnership of 23 globally distributed expert organisations, focusses on developing datasets and innovative techniques in support of agricultural monitoring and its impact on the environment in support of GEOGLAM. SIGMA has 3 generic objectives which are: (i) develop and test methods to characterise cropland and assess its changes at various scales; (ii) develop and test methods to assess changes in agricultural production levels; and; (iii) study environmental impacts of agriculture. Firstly, multi-scale remote sensing data sets, in combination with field and other ancillary data, will be used to generate an improved (global) agro-ecological zoning map and crop mask. Secondly, a combination of agro-meteorological models, satellite-based information and long-term time series will be explored to assess crop yield gaps and shifts in cultivation. The third research topic entails the development of best practices for assessing the impact of crop land and cropping system change on the environment. In support of the GEO JECAM (Joint Experiment for Crop Assessment and Monitoring) initiative, SIGMA has selected case studies in Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Africa, Latin America and China, coinciding with the JECAM sites in these area, to explore possible methodological synergies and particularities according to different cropping systems. In combination with research conducted at regional and global scale, it is one of the goals to improve the understanding of dynamics, interactions and validity of the developed methods at the various scales. In addition, specific activities will be dedicated to raising awareness and strengthening capacity for what concerns agro-environmental monitoring, data accessibility and interoperability in line with the GEOSS Data-core principles. The SIGMA project will also anticipate on the availability of the SENTINEL satellites for agricultural applications as open-data in the near future. References http://proba-v.vgt.vito.be/ http://www.geoglam-sigma.info/

Trade study: Liquid hydrogen transportation - Kennedy Space Center. [cost and operational effectivenss of shipping methods.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gray, D. J.

1978-01-01

Cryogenic transportation methods for providing liquid hydrogen requirements are examined in support of shuttle transportation system launch operations at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, during the time frames 1982-1991 in terms of cost and operational effectiveness. Transportation methods considered included sixteen different options employing mobile semi-trailer tankers, railcars, barges and combinations of each method. The study concludes that the most effective method of delivering liquid hydrogen from the vendor production facility in New Orleans to Kennedy Space Center includes maximum utilization of existing mobile tankers and railcars supplemented by maximum capacity mobile tankers procured incrementally in accordance with shuttle launch rates actually achieved.

RobOKoD: microbial strain design for (over)production of target compounds.

PubMed

Stanford, Natalie J; Millard, Pierre; Swainston, Neil

2015-01-01

Sustainable production of target compounds such as biofuels and high-value chemicals for pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and chemical industries is becoming an increasing priority given their current dependency upon diminishing petrochemical resources. Designing these strains is difficult, with current methods focusing primarily on knocking-out genes, dismissing other vital steps of strain design including the overexpression and dampening of genes. The design predictions from current methods also do not translate well-into successful strains in the laboratory. Here, we introduce RobOKoD (Robust, Overexpression, Knockout and Dampening), a method for predicting strain designs for overproduction of targets. The method uses flux variability analysis to profile each reaction within the system under differing production percentages of target-compound and biomass. Using these profiles, reactions are identified as potential knockout, overexpression, or dampening targets. The identified reactions are ranked according to their suitability, providing flexibility in strain design for users. The software was tested by designing a butanol-producing Escherichia coli strain, and was compared against the popular OptKnock and RobustKnock methods. RobOKoD shows favorable design predictions, when predictions from these methods are compared to a successful butanol-producing experimentally-validated strain. Overall RobOKoD provides users with rankings of predicted beneficial genetic interventions with which to support optimized strain design.

RobOKoD: microbial strain design for (over)production of target compounds

PubMed Central

Stanford, Natalie J.; Millard, Pierre; Swainston, Neil

2015-01-01

Sustainable production of target compounds such as biofuels and high-value chemicals for pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and chemical industries is becoming an increasing priority given their current dependency upon diminishing petrochemical resources. Designing these strains is difficult, with current methods focusing primarily on knocking-out genes, dismissing other vital steps of strain design including the overexpression and dampening of genes. The design predictions from current methods also do not translate well-into successful strains in the laboratory. Here, we introduce RobOKoD (Robust, Overexpression, Knockout and Dampening), a method for predicting strain designs for overproduction of targets. The method uses flux variability analysis to profile each reaction within the system under differing production percentages of target-compound and biomass. Using these profiles, reactions are identified as potential knockout, overexpression, or dampening targets. The identified reactions are ranked according to their suitability, providing flexibility in strain design for users. The software was tested by designing a butanol-producing Escherichia coli strain, and was compared against the popular OptKnock and RobustKnock methods. RobOKoD shows favorable design predictions, when predictions from these methods are compared to a successful butanol-producing experimentally-validated strain. Overall RobOKoD provides users with rankings of predicted beneficial genetic interventions with which to support optimized strain design. PMID:25853130

Tissue cell assisted fabrication of tubular catalytic platinum microengines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hong; Moo, James Guo Sheng; Pumera, Martin

2014-09-01

We report a facile platform for mass production of robust self-propelled tubular microengines. Tissue cells extracted from fruits of banana and apple, Musa acuminata and Malus domestica, are used as the support on which a thin platinum film is deposited by means of physical vapor deposition. Upon sonication of the cells/Pt-coated substrate in water, microscrolls of highly uniform sizes are spontaneously formed. Tubular microengines fabricated with the fruit cell assisted method exhibit a fast motion of ~100 bodylengths per s (~1 mm s-1). An extremely simple and affordable platform for mass production of the micromotors is crucial for the envisioned swarms of thousands and millions of autonomous micromotors performing biomedical and environmental remediation tasks.We report a facile platform for mass production of robust self-propelled tubular microengines. Tissue cells extracted from fruits of banana and apple, Musa acuminata and Malus domestica, are used as the support on which a thin platinum film is deposited by means of physical vapor deposition. Upon sonication of the cells/Pt-coated substrate in water, microscrolls of highly uniform sizes are spontaneously formed. Tubular microengines fabricated with the fruit cell assisted method exhibit a fast motion of ~100 bodylengths per s (~1 mm s-1). An extremely simple and affordable platform for mass production of the micromotors is crucial for the envisioned swarms of thousands and millions of autonomous micromotors performing biomedical and environmental remediation tasks. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Related video. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr03720k

A Study on Cost Allocation in Nuclear Power Coupled with Desalination

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

Lee, ManKi; Kim, SeungSu; Moon, KeeHwan

As for a single-purpose desalination plant, there is no particular difficulty in computing the unit cost of the water, which is obtained by dividing the annual total costs by the output of fresh water. When it comes to a dual-purpose plant, cost allocation is needed between the two products. No cost allocation is needed in some cases where two alternatives producing the same water and electricity output are to be compared. In these cases, the consideration of the total cost is then sufficient. This study assumes MED (Multi-Effect Distillation) technology is adopted when nuclear power is coupled with desalination. Themore » total production cost of the two commodities in dual-purpose plant can easily be obtained by using costing methods, if the necessary raw data are available. However, it is not easy to calculate a separate cost for each product, because high-pressure steam plant costs cannot be allocated to one or the other without adopting arbitrary methods. Investigation on power credit method is carried out focusing on the cost allocation of combined benefits due to dual production, electricity and water. The illustrative calculation is taken from Preliminary Economic Feasibility Study of Nuclear Desalination in Madura Island, Indonesia. The study is being performed by BATAN (National Nuclear Energy Agency), KAERI (Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute) and under support of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) started in the year 2002 in order to perform a preliminary economic feasibility in providing the Madurese with sufficient power and potable water for the public and to support industrialization and tourism in Madura Region. The SMART reactor coupled with MED is considered to be an option to produce electricity and potable water. This study indicates that the correct recognition of combined benefits attributable to dual production is important in carrying out economics of desalination coupled with nuclear power. (authors)« less

Flame Synthesis Of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes And Nanofibers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wal, Randy L. Vander; Berger, Gordon M.; Ticich, Thomas M.

2003-01-01

Carbon nanotubes are widely sought for a variety of applications including gas storage, intercalation media, catalyst support and composite reinforcing material [1]. Each of these applications will require large scale quantities of CNTs. A second consideration is that some of these applications may require redispersal of the collected CNTs and attachment to a support structure. If the CNTs could be synthesized directly upon the support to be used in the end application, a tremendous savings in post-synthesis processing could be realized. Therein we have pursued both aerosol and supported catalyst synthesis of CNTs. Given space limitations, only the aerosol portion of the work is outlined here though results from both thrusts will be presented during the talk. Aerosol methods of SWNT, MWNT or nanofiber synthesis hold promise of large-scale production to supply the tonnage quantities these applications will require. Aerosol methods may potentially permit control of the catalyst particle size, offer continuous processing, provide highest product purity and most importantly, are scaleable. Only via economy of scale will the cost of CNTs be sufficient to realize the large-scale structural and power applications on both earth and in space. Present aerosol methods for SWNT synthesis include laser ablation of composite metalgraphite targets or thermal decomposition/pyrolysis of a sublimed or vaporized organometallic [2]. Both approaches, conducted within a high temperature furnace, have produced single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs). The former method requires sophisticated hardware and is inherently limited by the energy deposition that can be realized using pulsed laser light. The latter method, using expensive organometallics is difficult to control for SWNT synthesis given a range of gasparticle mixing conditions along variable temperature gradients; multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs) are a far more likely end products. Both approaches require large energy expenditures and produce CNTs at prohibitive costs, around $500 per gram. Moreover these approaches do not possess demonstrated scalability. In contrast to these approaches, flame synthesis can be a very energy efficient, low-cost process [3]; a portion of the fuel serves as the heating source while the remainder serves as reactant. Moreover, flame systems are geometrically versatile as illustrated by innumerable boiler and furnace designs. Addressing scalability, flame systems are commercially used for producing megatonnage quantities of carbon black [4]. Although it presents a complex chemically reacting flow, a flame also offers many variables for control, e.g. temperature, chemical environment and residence times [5]. Despite these advantages, there are challenges to scaling flame synthesis as well.

e-Patients Perceptions of Using Personal Health Records for Self-management Support of Chronic Illness.

PubMed

Gee, Perry M; Paterniti, Debora A; Ward, Deborah; Soederberg Miller, Lisa M

2015-06-01

Chronic illness self-management is largely moving from healthcare professionals and into the hands of the patient. One tool that has been promoted to facilitate self-management support of chronic illness by policymakers, health advocates, providers, and consumers is the personal health record. Little is known about how consumers effectively use personal health records for self-management support and for productive patient-provider interactions. The purpose of this study was to learn from chronically ill engaged, experienced, and educated (e-patient) adults how and why they use personal health records for self-management support and productive patient-provider interactions. Eighteen purposively selected consumers were interviewed in two communities. Qualitative description methods were used, and we used a grounded theory approach to analyzing interview data, which was digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. We identified four major thematic categories that capture the perceptions of the chronically ill using personal health records: (1) patient engagement and health self-management, (2) access to and control over personal health data, (3) promotion of productive communication, and (4) opportunities for training and education. Knowledge gained from the e-patient personal health record users suggest that making improvements to the portal system and providing education to consumers and providers will increase the utility among the experienced users and encourage new users to embrace adoption and use.

Biodiesel production from low cost and renewable feedstock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gude, Veera G.; Grant, Georgene E.; Patil, Prafulla D.; Deng, Shuguang

2013-12-01

Sustainable biodiesel production should: a) utilize low cost renewable feedstock; b) utilize energy-efficient, nonconventional heating and mixing techniques; c) increase net energy benefit of the process; and d) utilize renewable feedstock/energy sources where possible. In this paper, we discuss the merits of biodiesel production following these criteria supported by the experimental results obtained from the process optimization studies. Waste cooking oil, non-edible (low-cost) oils (Jatropha curcas and Camelina Sativa) and algae were used as feedstock for biodiesel process optimization. A comparison between conventional and non-conventional methods such as microwaves and ultrasound was reported. Finally, net energy scenarios for different biodiesel feedstock options and algae are presented.

Politics: The Missing Link of Responsible Civic Education. CIRCLE Working Paper 18. Report Executive Summary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stroupe, Kenneth S., Jr.; Sabato, Larry J.

2004-01-01

Several nonprofit organizations provide instructional materials and guidance to support experiential civic education in schools. General evidence from national surveys suggests that the use of these products and methods improves students? political and civic knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors. This paper reports the result of a particular…

"Do It Yourself" Scholarship: From Punk Rock to Qualitative Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Relles, Stefani; Clemens, Randall

2018-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the "Do It Yourself" (DIY) framework as a mode of critical qualitative scholarship. The authors argue that the production and distribution methods used by punks, zine-makers, graffitists, and skateboarders--among others--may support the social justice intentions of critical qualitative inquiry.…

RDT&E Laboratory Capacity Utilization and Productivity Measurement Methods for Financial Decision-Making within DON.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-06-01

process or plant can complete using a 24-hour, seven-day operation with zero waste , i.e., the maximum output capability, allowing no adjustment for...models: • Resource Effectiveness Model: > Analyzes economic impact of capacity management decisions > Assumes that " zero waste " is the goal > Supports

How and Why of User Studies: RLG's RedLightGreen as a Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Proffitt, Merrilee

2006-01-01

This article documents a lifecycle approach to employing user-centered design, covering both qualitative and quantitative data gathering methods in support of using this approach for product design, usability testing, and market research. The author provides specific case studies of usability studies, focus groups, interviews, ethnographic…

Quarterly Update, January-March 1992

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-03-01

representations to support exploiting that commonality. The project used the Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) method, developed by the project in 1990, in...9 FODA feature-oriented domain analysis ................................... 14 FTP file transfer protocol...concentrations, and product market share for 23 countries. Along with other SEI staff, members of the Rate Monotonic Analysis for Real-Time Systems (RMARTS

Contemporary Approaches for Assessing Outcomes on Training, Education, and HRD Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brauchle, Paul E.; Schmidt, Klaus

2004-01-01

When educators, trainers, and human resource development (HRD) practitioners are asked to produce evidence that supports the productivity of the training enterprise, they are often frustrated by the lack of simple and effective methods for assessment. While administrators in an organization are likely to know exactly how much training costs, they…

Development and Evaluation of Pretraining as an Adjunct to a Pilot Training Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McFadden, Robert W.; And Others

The utility of the pretraining of task-relevant cognitive skills within the context of experimental research methodology was investigated in this study. A criterion referenced pretraining multi-media product was developed and applied to support the initial phase of an experimental research effort in which several instructional methods for training…

Further Evidence on the Weak and Strong Versions of the Screening Hypothesis in Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lambropoulos, Haris S.

1992-01-01

Uses Greek data for 1981 and 1985 to test screening hypothesis by replicating method proposed by Psacharopoulos. Credentialism, or sheepskin effect of education, directly challenges human capital theory, which views education as a productivity augmenting process. Results do not support the strong version of the screening hypothesis and suggest…

Catalyst, method of making, and reactions using the catalyst

DOEpatents

Tonkovich, Anna Lee Y [Pasco, WA; Wang, Yong [Richland, WA; Gao, Yufei [Kennewick, WA

2009-03-03

The present invention includes a catalyst having a layered structure with, (1) a porous support, (2) a buffer layer, (3) an interfacial layer, and optionally (4) a catalyst layer. The invention also provides a process in which a reactant is converted to a product by passing through a reaction chamber containing the catalyst.

Catalyst, method of making, and reactions using the catalyst

DOEpatents

Tonkovich, Anna Lee Y [Pasco, WA; Wang, Yong [Richland, WA; Gao, Yufei [Kennewick, WA

2002-08-27

The present invention includes a catalyst having a layered structure with, (1) a porous support, (2) a buffer layer, (3) an interfacial layer, and optionally (4) a catalyst layer. The invention also provides a process in which a reactant is converted to a product by passing through a reaction chamber containing the catalyst.

Catalyst, Method Of Making, And Reactions Using The Catalyst

DOEpatents

Tonkovich, Anna Lee Y.; Wang, Yong; Gao, Yufei

2004-07-13

The present invention includes a catalyst having a layered structure with, (1) a porous support, (2) a buffer layer, (3) an interfacial layer, and optionally (4) a catalyst layer. The invention also provides a process in which a reactant is converted to a product by passing through a reaction chamber containing the catalyst.

Developing a Methodology for Eliciting Subjective Probability Estimates During Expert Evaluations of Safety Interventions: Application for Bayesian Belief Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiegmann, Douglas A.a

2005-01-01

The NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) has defined several products that will potentially modify airline and/or ATC operations, enhance aircraft systems, and improve the identification of potential hazardous situations within the National Airspace System (NAS). Consequently, there is a need to develop methods for evaluating the potential safety benefit of each of these intervention products so that resources can be effectively invested to produce the judgments to develop Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN's) that model the potential impact that specific interventions may have. Specifically, the present report summarizes methodologies for improving the elicitation of probability estimates during expert evaluations of AvSP products for use in BBN's. The work involved joint efforts between Professor James Luxhoj from Rutgers University and researchers at the University of Illinois. The Rutgers' project to develop BBN's received funding by NASA entitled "Probabilistic Decision Support for Evaluating Technology Insertion and Assessing Aviation Safety System Risk." The proposed project was funded separately but supported the existing Rutgers' program.

C-11 cyanide production system

DOEpatents

Kim, Dohyun; Alexoff, David; Kim, Sung Won; Hooker, Jacob; Ferrieri, Richard A

2015-01-13

A method for providing .sup.11C-labeled cyanides from .sup.11C labeled oxides in a target gas stream retrieved from an irradiated high pressure gaseous target containing O.sub.2 is provided, wherein .sup.11C labeled oxides are reduced with H.sub.2 in the presence of a nickel catalyst under a pressure and a temperature sufficient to form a product stream comprising at least about 95% .sup.11CH.sup.4 , the .sup.11CH.sub.4 is then combined with an excess of NH.sub.3 in a carrier/reaction stream flowing at an accelerated velocity and the combined .sup.11CH4 carrier/reaction stream is then contacted with a platinum (Pt) catalyst particulate supported on a substantially-chemically-nonreactive heat-stable support at a temperature of at least about 900 .degree. C., whereby a product stream comprising at least about 60%H.sup.11CN is provided in less than 10 minutes from retrieval of the .sup.11C labeled oxide.

C-11 cyanide production system

DOEpatents

Kim, Dohyun; Alexoff, David; Kim, Sung Won; Hooker, Jacob M.; Ferrieri, Richard A.

2017-11-21

A method for providing .sup.11C-labeled cyanides from .sup.11C labeled oxides in a target gas stream retrieved from an irradiated high pressure gaseous target containing O.sub.2, wherein .sup.11C labeled oxides are reduced with H.sub.2 in the presence of a nickel catalyst under a pressure and a temperature sufficient to form a product stream comprising at least about 95% .sup.11CH.sub.4, the .sup.11CH.sub.4 is then combined with an excess of NH.sub.3 in a carrier/reaction stream flowing at an accelerated velocity and the combined .sup.11CH4 carrier/reaction stream is then contacted with a platinum (Pt) catalyst particulate supported on a substantially-chemically-nonreactive heat-stable support at a temperature of at least about 900.degree. C., whereby a product stream comprising at least about 60% H.sup.11CN is provided in less than 10 minutes from retrieval of the .sup.11C labeled oxide.

Estimating top-of-atmosphere thermal infrared radiance using MERRA-2 atmospheric data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleynhans, Tania; Montanaro, Matthew; Gerace, Aaron; Kanan, Christopher

2017-05-01

Thermal infrared satellite images have been widely used in environmental studies. However, satellites have limited temporal resolution, e.g., 16 day Landsat or 1 to 2 day Terra MODIS. This paper investigates the use of the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) reanalysis data product, produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) to predict global topof-atmosphere (TOA) thermal infrared radiance. The high temporal resolution of the MERRA-2 data product presents opportunities for novel research and applications. Various methods were applied to estimate TOA radiance from MERRA-2 variables namely (1) a parameterized physics based method, (2) Linear regression models and (3) non-linear Support Vector Regression. Model prediction accuracy was evaluated using temporally and spatially coincident Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) thermal infrared data as reference data. This research found that Support Vector Regression with a radial basis function kernel produced the lowest error rates. Sources of errors are discussed and defined. Further research is currently being conducted to train deep learning models to predict TOA thermal radiance

Performance of GUNGEN Idea Generation Support Groupware: Lessons from Over A Few Hundred Trial Sessions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuizono, Takaya; Munemori, Jun

GUNGEN-DXII, a new version of the GUNGEN groupware, allows the users to process hundreds of qualitative data segments (phrases and sentences) and compose a coherent piece of text containing a number of emergent ideas. The idea generation process is guided by the KJ method, a leading idea generation technique in Japan. This paper describes functions of GUNGEN supporting three major sub-activities of idea generation, namely, brainstorming, idea clustering, and text composition, and also summarizes the results obtained from a few hundred trial sessions with the old and new GUNGEN systems in terms of some qualitative and quantitative measures. The results show that the sessions with GUNGEN yield intermediate and final products at least as good as those from the original paper-and-pencil KJ method sessions, in addition to the advantages of the online system, such as distance collaboration and digital storage of the products. Moreover, results from the new GUNGEN-DXII raises hope for enabling the users to handle an extremely large number of qualitative data segments in the near future.

Predictors of Using a Microbicide-like Product Among Adolescent Girls

PubMed Central

Short, Mary B.; Succop, Paul A.; Ugueto, Ana M.; Rosenthal, Susan L.

2007-01-01

Purpose This study examined demographic, sexual history and weekly contextual variables, and perceptions about microbicides as predictors of microbicide-like product use. Methods Adolescent girls (N=208; 14-21 years) participated in a 6-month study in which they completed three face-to-face interviews and 24-weekly phone call interviews. Participants were given microbicide-like products (vaginal lubricants) and encouraged to use them with condoms when they had intercourse. Results Seventy-five percent of girls had a sexual opportunity to use the product. Using multi-variable logistic regression, the following variables independently predicted ever using the product: length of sexual experience, number of lifetime vaginal partners, and the Comparison to Condoms subscale on the Perceptions of Microbicides Scale. Using mixed model repeat measure linear regression, the following variables independently predicted frequency of use: week of the study, age, condom frequency prior to the study, and 3 subscales on the Perceptions of Microbicide Scale including the Comparison to Condoms subscale, the Negative Effects subscale, and the Pleasure subscale. Conclusion Most girls used the product, including those who were not protecting themselves with condoms. Girls’ initial perceptions regarding the product predicted initial use and frequency of use. Further research should evaluate the best methods for supporting the use of these products by young or sexually less experienced girls. PMID:17875461

Using artificial intelligence strategies for process-related automated inspection in the production environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anding, K.; Kuritcyn, P.; Garten, D.

2016-11-01

In this paper a new method for the automatic visual inspection of metallic surfaces is proposed by using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). The different combinations of network parameters were developed and tested. The obtained results of CNN were analysed and compared with the results of our previous investigations with color and texture features as input parameters for a Support Vector Machine. Advantages and disadvantages of the different classifying methods are explained.

Examination of Various Methods Used in Support of Concurrent Engineering

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-01

1989. F.Y.I. Drawing a2Ther Productivity. Industrial Engineering 21: 80. Ishi82 Ishikawa , Kaoru . 1982. Guide to Quality Control. White Plains, NY: Kraus...observe it in practice have an easier time identifying the different methods or tech- niques (such as the Ishikawa tools) used than understanding the...simple histogram to show what prob- lems should be attacked first. Cause and Effect Diagrams Sometimes called the fishbone or Ishikawa diagrams-a kind

A systematic approach to identify therapeutic effects of natural products based on human metabolite information.

PubMed

Noh, Kyungrin; Yoo, Sunyong; Lee, Doheon

2018-06-13

Natural products have been widely investigated in the drug development field. Their traditional use cases as medicinal agents and their resemblance of our endogenous compounds show the possibility of new drug development. Many researchers have focused on identifying therapeutic effects of natural products, yet the resemblance of natural products and human metabolites has been rarely touched. We propose a novel method which predicts therapeutic effects of natural products based on their similarity with human metabolites. In this study, we compare the structure, target and phenotype similarities between natural products and human metabolites to capture molecular and phenotypic properties of both compounds. With the generated similarity features, we train support vector machine model to identify similar natural product and human metabolite pairs. The known functions of human metabolites are then mapped to the paired natural products to predict their therapeutic effects. With our selected three feature sets, structure, target and phenotype similarities, our trained model successfully paired similar natural products and human metabolites. When applied to the natural product derived drugs, we could successfully identify their indications with high specificity and sensitivity. We further validated the found therapeutic effects of natural products with the literature evidence. These results suggest that our model can match natural products to similar human metabolites and provide possible therapeutic effects of natural products. By utilizing the similar human metabolite information, we expect to find new indications of natural products which could not be covered by previous in silico methods.

Toward exascale production of recombinant adeno-associated virus for gene transfer applications.

PubMed

Cecchini, S; Negrete, A; Kotin, R M

2008-06-01

To gain acceptance as a medical treatment, adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors require a scalable and economical production method. Recent developments indicate that recombinant AAV (rAAV) production in insect cells is compatible with current good manufacturing practice production on an industrial scale. This platform can fully support development of rAAV therapeutics from tissue culture to small animal models, to large animal models, to toxicology studies, to Phase I clinical trials and beyond. Efforts to characterize, optimize and develop insect cell-based rAAV production have culminated in successful bioreactor-scale production of rAAV, with total yields potentially capable of approaching the exa-(10(18)) scale. These advances in large-scale AAV production will allow us to address specific catastrophic, intractable human diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, for which large amounts of recombinant vector are essential for successful outcome.

Implementation Guidance for the Next Generation Leaching ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Poster provides an overview of the purpose and utility of this research, highlights of the research to support the Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF), application and translation (including data management and analysis software), intended end users, and lessons learned. The methods are in use by EPRI, industry, academia, and commercial labs and supported by NGOs, National Academy of Sciences, EPA and State regional offices, and academia. Internationally the methods are in use in Europe, Scandinavian countries, Australia, China, Brazil, Israel, New Zealand, and Canada. To provide to the SHC BOSC Review, an overview of research to develop more reliable leaching tests for partitioning of inorganics in our environment from the use or disposal of fly ash and other industrial by-products

Method of forming a thin unbacked metal foil

DOEpatents

Duchane, David V.; Barthell, Barry L.

1984-01-01

In a method of forming a thin (<2 .mu.m) unbacked metal foil having a desired curviplanar shape, a soluble polymeric film, preferably comprising polyvinyl alcohol, is formed on a supporting structure having a shape that defines the desired shape of the foil product. A layer of metal foil is deposited onto one side of the soluble film, preferably by vacuum vapor deposition. The metallized film is then immersed in a suitable solvent to dissolve the film and thereby leave the metal foil as an unbacked metal foil element mounted on the supporting structure. Aluminum foils less than 0.2 .mu.m (2,000 .ANG.) thick and having an areal density of less than 54 .mu.g/cm.sup.2 have been obtained.

Method for production of ceramic oxide and carbide bodies by polymer inclusion and decomposition

DOEpatents

Quinby, Thomas C.

1985-01-01

A method for the preparation of thin, free-standing metal oxide films which are useful as nuclear accelerator target materials. Cations of any metal except those of Group IA and precious metals, such as, U, Zr, Nd, Ce, Th, pr or Cr, are absorbed on a thin film of polymeric material, such as, carboxymethylcellulose, viscose rayon or cellophane. The cation impregnated polymeric material is dried. Then the impregnated film is heated in an inert atmosphere to form a carbonized membrane. The carbonized membrane is oxidized to yield a thin, self-supporting, metal oxide membrane. Or, the membrane can be heated in an inert atmosphere to yield a thin, self-supporting, metal carbide-containing membrane.

Method for production of ceramic oxide and carbide bodies by polymer inclusion and decomposition

DOEpatents

Quinby, T.C.

1984-08-30

A method for the preparation of thin, free-standing metal oxide films which are useful as nuclear accelerator target materials is described. Cations of any metal except those of Group IA and precious metals, such as, U, Zr, Nd, Ce, Th, Pr or Cr, are absorbed on a thin film of polymeric material, such as carboxymethylcellulose, viscose rayon or cellophane. The cation impregnated polymeric material is dried. Then the impregnated film is heated in an inert atmosphere to form a carbonized membrane. The carbonized membrane is oxidized to yield a thin, self-supporting, metal oxide membrane. Or, the membrane can be heated in an inert atmosphere to yield a thin, self-supporting, metal carbide-containing membrane.

New protocol for construction of eyeglasses-supported provisional nasal prosthesis using CAD/CAM techniques.

PubMed

Ciocca, Leonardo; Fantini, Massimiliano; De Crescenzio, Francesca; Persiani, Franco; Scotti, Roberto

2010-01-01

A new protocol for making an immediate provisional eyeglasses-supported nasal prosthesis is presented that uses laser scanning, computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing procedures, and rapid prototyping techniques, reducing time and costs while increasing the quality of the final product. With this protocol, the eyeglasses were digitized, and the relative position of the nasal prosthesis was planned and evaluated in a virtual environment without any try-in appointment. This innovative method saves time, reduces costs, and restores the patient's aesthetic appearance after a disfiguration caused by ablation of the nasal pyramid better than conventional restoration methods. Moreover, the digital model of the designed nasal epithesis can be used to develop a definitive prosthesis anchored to osseointegrated craniofacial implants.

A Novel Ontology Approach to Support Design for Reliability considering Environmental Effects

PubMed Central

Sun, Bo; Li, Yu; Ye, Tianyuan

2015-01-01

Environmental effects are not considered sufficiently in product design. Reliability problems caused by environmental effects are very prominent. This paper proposes a method to apply ontology approach in product design. During product reliability design and analysis, environmental effects knowledge reusing is achieved. First, the relationship of environmental effects and product reliability is analyzed. Then environmental effects ontology to describe environmental effects domain knowledge is designed. Related concepts of environmental effects are formally defined by using the ontology approach. This model can be applied to arrange environmental effects knowledge in different environments. Finally, rubber seals used in the subhumid acid rain environment are taken as an example to illustrate ontological model application on reliability design and analysis. PMID:25821857

A novel ontology approach to support design for reliability considering environmental effects.

PubMed

Sun, Bo; Li, Yu; Ye, Tianyuan; Ren, Yi

2015-01-01

Environmental effects are not considered sufficiently in product design. Reliability problems caused by environmental effects are very prominent. This paper proposes a method to apply ontology approach in product design. During product reliability design and analysis, environmental effects knowledge reusing is achieved. First, the relationship of environmental effects and product reliability is analyzed. Then environmental effects ontology to describe environmental effects domain knowledge is designed. Related concepts of environmental effects are formally defined by using the ontology approach. This model can be applied to arrange environmental effects knowledge in different environments. Finally, rubber seals used in the subhumid acid rain environment are taken as an example to illustrate ontological model application on reliability design and analysis.

30 CFR 285.104 - Do I need an MMS lease or other authorization to produce or support the production of electricity...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... to produce or support the production of electricity or other energy product from a renewable energy... the production of electricity or other energy product from a renewable energy resource on the OCS... maintain any facility to produce, transport, or support generation of electricity or other energy product...

Trophic feasibility of reintroducing anadromous salmonids in three reservoirs on the north fork Lewis River, Washington: Prey supply and consumption demand of resident fishes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sorel, Mark H.; Hansen, Adam G.; Connelly, Kristin A.; Beauchamp, David A.

2016-01-01

The reintroduction of anadromous salmonids in reservoirs is being proposed with increasing frequency, requiring baseline studies to evaluate feasibility and estimate the capacity of reservoir food webs to support reintroduced populations. Using three reservoirs on the north fork Lewis River as a case study, we demonstrate a method to determine juvenile salmonid smolt rearing capacities for lakes and reservoirs. To determine if the Lewis River reservoirs can support reintroduced populations of juvenile stream-type Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, we evaluated the monthly production of daphniaDaphnia spp. (the primary zooplankton consumed by resident salmonids in the system) and used bioenergetics to model the consumption demand of resident fishes in each reservoir. To estimate the surplus of Daphnia prey available for reintroduced salmonids, we assumed a maximum sustainable exploitation rate and accounted for the consumption demand of resident fishes. The number of smolts that could have been supported was estimated by dividing any surplus Daphnia production by the simulated consumption demand of an individual Chinook Salmon fry rearing in the reservoir to successful smolt size. In all three reservoirs, densities of Daphnia were highest in the epilimnion, but warm epilimnetic temperatures and the vertical distribution of planktivores suggested that access to abundant epilimnetic prey was limited. By comparing accessible prey supply and demand on a monthly basis, we were able to identify potential prey supply bottlenecks that could limit smolt production and growth. These results demonstrate that a bioenergetics approach can be a valuable method of examining constraints on lake and reservoir rearing capacity, such as thermal structure and temporal food supply. This method enables numerical estimation of rearing capacity, which is a useful metric for managers evaluating the feasibility of reintroducing Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. in lentic systems.

Sparse kernel methods for high-dimensional survival data.

PubMed

Evers, Ludger; Messow, Claudia-Martina

2008-07-15

Sparse kernel methods like support vector machines (SVM) have been applied with great success to classification and (standard) regression settings. Existing support vector classification and regression techniques however are not suitable for partly censored survival data, which are typically analysed using Cox's proportional hazards model. As the partial likelihood of the proportional hazards model only depends on the covariates through inner products, it can be 'kernelized'. The kernelized proportional hazards model however yields a solution that is dense, i.e. the solution depends on all observations. One of the key features of an SVM is that it yields a sparse solution, depending only on a small fraction of the training data. We propose two methods. One is based on a geometric idea, where-akin to support vector classification-the margin between the failed observation and the observations currently at risk is maximised. The other approach is based on obtaining a sparse model by adding observations one after another akin to the Import Vector Machine (IVM). Data examples studied suggest that both methods can outperform competing approaches. Software is available under the GNU Public License as an R package and can be obtained from the first author's website http://www.maths.bris.ac.uk/~maxle/software.html.

Method and apparatus for making articles from particle based materials

DOEpatents

Moorhead, A.J.; Menchhofer, P.A.

1995-12-19

A method and apparatus are disclosed for the production of articles made of a particle-based material; e.g., ceramics and sintered metals. In accordance with the invention, a thermally settable slurry containing a relatively high concentration of the particles is conveyed through an elongate flow area having a desired cross-sectional configuration. The slurry is heated as it is advanced through the flow area causing the slurry to set or harden in a shape which conforms to the cross-sectional configuration of the flow area. The material discharges from the flow area as a self-supporting solid of near net final dimensions. The article may then be sintered to consolidate the particles and provide a high density product. 10 figs.

Application of statistical methods to reveal and remove the causes of welding of coil laps upon annealing of cold-rolled steel strips

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garber, E. A.; Diligenskii, E. V.; Antonov, P. V.; Shalaevskii, D. L.; Dyatlov, I. A.

2017-09-01

The factors of the process of production of cold-rolled steel strips that promote and hinder the appearance of a coil lap welding defect upon annealing in bell-type furnaces are analyzed using statistical methods. The works dealing with this problem are analytically reviewed to reveal the problems to be studied and refined. The ranking of the technological factors according to the significance of their influence on the probability of appearance of this defect is determined and supported by industrial data, and a regression equation is derived to calculate this probability. The process of production is improved to minimize the rejection of strips caused by the welding of coil laps.

Production and reactions of silicon atoms in hot wire deposition of amorphous silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Wengang; Gallagher, Alan

2003-10-01

Decomposing silane and hydrogen molecules on a hot tungsten filament is an alternative method of depositing hydrogenated microcrystal and amorphous Si for thin-film semmiconductor devices. This "hot-wire" method can have significant advantages, such as high film deposition rates. The deposition chemistry involves Si and H atoms released from the filament, followed by their reactions with the vapor and surfaces. To establish these deposition pathways, we measure radicals at the substrate with a home built, threshold ionization mass spectrometer. The design and operation of this mass spectrometer for radical detection, and the behavior of Si atom production and reactions, will be presented. This work is supported by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401

Simultaneous Separation of Actinium and Radium Isotopes from a Proton Irradiated Thorium Matrix

DOE PAGES

Mastren, Tara; Radchenko, Valery; Owens, Allison; ...

2017-08-15

A new method has been developed for the isolation of 223,224,225Ra, in high yield and purity, from a proton irradiated 232Th matrix. We report an all-aqueous process using multiple solid-supported adsorption steps including a citrate chelation method developed to remove >99.9% of the barium contaminants by activity from the final radium product. Moreover, we developed a procedure involving the use of three columns in succession, and the separation of 223,224,225Ra from the thorium matrix was obtained with an overall recovery yield of 91 ± 3%, average radiochemical purity of 99.9%, and production yields that correspond to physical yields based onmore » previously measured excitation functions.« less

Manufacturing Implant Supported Auricular Prostheses by Rapid Prototyping Techniques

PubMed Central

Karatas, Meltem Ozdemir; Cifter, Ebru Demet; Ozenen, Didem Ozdemir; Balik, Ali; Tuncer, Erman Bulent

2011-01-01

Maxillofacial prostheses are usually fabricated on the models obtained following the impression procedures. Disadvantages of conventional impression techniques used in production of facial prosthesis are deformation of soft tissues caused by impression material and disturbance of the patient due to. Additionally production of prosthesis by conventional methods takes longer time. Recently, rapid prototyping techniques have been developed for extraoral prosthesis in order to reduce these disadvantages of conventional methods. Rapid prototyping technique has the potential to simplify the procedure and decrease the laboratory work required. It eliminates the need for measurement impression procedures and preparation of wax model to be performed by prosthodontists themselves In the near future this technology will become a standard for fabricating maxillofacial prostheses. PMID:21912504

Screening of tyrosinase inhibitors by capillary electrophoresis with immobilized enzyme microreactor and molecular docking.

PubMed

Cheng, Mengxia; Chen, Zilin

2017-02-01

A new method for screening tyrosinase inhibitors from traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) was successfully developed by capillary electrophoresis with reliable online immobilized enzyme microreactor (IMER). In addition, molecular docking study has been used for supporting inhibition interaction between enzyme and inhibitors. The IMER of tyrosinase was constructed at the outlet of the capillary by using glutaraldehyde as cross-linker. The parameters including enzyme reaction, separation of the substrate and product, and the performance of immobilized tyrosinase were investigated systematically. Because of using short-end injection procedure, the product and substrate were effectively separated within 2 min. The immobilized tyrosinase could remain 80% active for 30 days at 4°C. The Michaelis-Menten constant of tyrosinase was determined as 1.78 mM. Kojic acid, a known tyrosinase inhibitor, was used as a model compound for the validation of the inhibitors screening method. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration of kojic acid was 5.55 μM. The method was successfully applied for screening tyrosinase inhibitors from 15 compounds of TCM. Four compounds including quercetin, kaempferol, bavachinin, and bakuchiol were found having inhibitory potentials. The results obtained in this work were supported by molecular docking study. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Optimization of method for zinc analysis in several bee products on renewable mercury film silver based electrode.

PubMed

Opoka, Włodzimierz; Szlósarczyk, Marek; Maślanka, Anna; Piech, Robert; Baś, Bogusław; Włodarczyk, Edyta; Krzek, Jan

2013-01-01

Zinc is an interesting target for detection as it is one of the elements necessary for the proper functioning of the human body, its excess and deficiency can cause several symptoms. Several techniques including electrochemistry have been developed but require laboratory equipment, preparative steps and mercury or complex working electrodes. We here described the development of a robust, simple and commercially available electrochemical system. Differential pulse (DP) voltammetry was used for this purpose with the cyclic renewable mercury film silver based electrode (Hg(Ag)FE) and 0.05 M KNO3 solution as a supporting electrolyte. The effect of various factors such as: preconcentration potential and time, pulse amplitude and width, step potential and supporting electrolyte composition are optimized. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 1.62 ng/mL and 4.85 ng/mL, respectively. The repeatability of the method at a concentration level of the analyte as low as 3 ng/mL, expressed as RSD is 3.5% (n = 6). Recovery was determined using certified reference material: Virginia Tobacco Leaves (CTA-VTL-2). The recovery of zinc ranged from 96.6 to 106.5%. The proposed method was successfully applied for determination of zinc in bee products (honey, propolis and diet supplements) after digestion procedure.

Hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst and method of preparation

DOEpatents

Sapienza, R.S.; Sansone, M.J.; Slegeir, W.A.R.

1983-08-02

A catalyst for the synthesis of hydrocarbons from carbon monoxide and hydrogen composed of palladium or platinum and cobalt supported on a solid phase is disclosed. The catalyst is prepared by heating a heterogeneous component of the palladium or platinum deposited on the solid support in a solution of cobalt carbonyl or precursors thereof. The catalyst exhibits excellent activity, stability in air, and produces highly desirable product fractions even with dilute gaseous reactants. The catalyst is preferably used in dilute slurry form, which is desirable from a heat transfer standpoint. 9 figs.

Yield Model Development (YMD) implementation plan for fiscal years 1981 and 1982

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ambroziak, R. A. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

A plan is described for supporting USDA crop production forecasting and estimation by (1) testing, evaluating, and selecting crop yield models for application testing; (2) identifying areas of feasible research for improvement of models; and (3) conducting research to modify existing models and to develop new crop yield assessment methods. Tasks to be performed for each of these efforts are described as well as for project management and support. The responsibilities of USDA, USDC, USDI, and NASA are delineated as well as problem areas to be addressed.

Hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst and method of preparation

DOEpatents

Sapienza, Richard S.; Sansone, Michael J.; Slegeir, William A. R.

1983-08-02

A catalyst for the synthesis of hydrocarbons from carbon monoxide and hydrogen composed of palladium or platinum and cobalt supported on a solid phase is disclosed. The catalyst is prepared by heating a heterogeneous component of the palladium or platinum deposited on the solid support in a solution of cobalt carbonyl or precursors thereof. The catalyst exhibits excellent activity, stability in air, and produces highly desirable product fractions even with dilute gaseous reactants. The catalyst is preferably used in dilute slurry form, which is desirable from a heat transfer standpoint.

New knowledge network evaluation method for design rationale management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jing, Shikai; Zhan, Hongfei; Liu, Jihong; Wang, Kuan; Jiang, Hao; Zhou, Jingtao

2015-01-01

Current design rationale (DR) systems have not demonstrated the value of the approach in practice since little attention is put to the evaluation method of DR knowledge. To systematize knowledge management process for future computer-aided DR applications, a prerequisite is to provide the measure for the DR knowledge. In this paper, a new knowledge network evaluation method for DR management is presented. The method characterizes the DR knowledge value from four perspectives, namely, the design rationale structure scale, association knowledge and reasoning ability, degree of design justification support and degree of knowledge representation conciseness. The DR knowledge comprehensive value is also measured by the proposed method. To validate the proposed method, different style of DR knowledge network and the performance of the proposed measure are discussed. The evaluation method has been applied in two realistic design cases and compared with the structural measures. The research proposes the DR knowledge evaluation method which can provide object metric and selection basis for the DR knowledge reuse during the product design process. In addition, the method is proved to be more effective guidance and support for the application and management of DR knowledge.

In vivo measurement of aerodynamic weight support in freely flying birds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lentink, David; Haselsteiner, Andreas; Ingersoll, Rivers

2014-11-01

Birds dynamically change the shape of their wing during the stroke to support their body weight aerodynamically. The wing is partially folded during the upstroke, which suggests that the upstroke of birds might not actively contribute to aerodynamic force production. This hypothesis is supported by the significant mass difference between the large pectoralis muscle that powers the down-stroke and the much smaller supracoracoideus that drives the upstroke. Previous works used indirect or incomplete techniques to measure the total force generated by bird wings ranging from muscle force, airflow, wing surface pressure, to detailed kinematics measurements coupled with bird mass-distribution models to derive net force through second derivatives. We have validated a new method that measures aerodynamic force in vivo time-resolved directly in freely flying birds which can resolve this question. The validation of the method, using independent force measurements on a quadcopter with pulsating thrust, show the aerodynamic force and impulse are measured within 2% accuracy and time-resolved. We demonstrate results for quad-copters and birds of similar weight and size. The method is scalable and can be applied to both engineered and natural flyers across taxa. The first author invented the method, the second and third authors validated the method and present results for quadcopters and birds.

Testing and characterizations of infrared sensor over the temperature range of 2 Kelvin to 300 Kelvin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, R. G.

1983-01-01

Various cryogenic techniques were used to evaluate state of the art electro-optic devices. As research, development, and production demands require more sensitive testing techniques, faster test results, and higher production throughput, the emphasis on supporting cryogenic systems increases. The three traditional methods currently utilized in electro-optic device testing are discussed: (1) liquid contaiment dewars; (2) liquid transfer systems; and (3) closed cycle refrigeration systems. Advantages, disadvantages, and the current state of the art of each of these cryogenic techniques is discussed.

Producing carbon stripper foils containing boron

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

Stoner, J. O. Jr.

2012-12-19

Parameters being actively tested by the accelerator community for the purpose of extending carbon stripper foil lifetimes in fast ion beams include methods of deposition, parting agents, mounting techniques, support (fork) materials, and inclusion of alloying elements, particularly boron. Specialized production apparatus is required for either sequential deposition or co-deposition of boron in carbon foils. A dual-use vacuum evaporator for arc evaporation of carbon and electron-beam evaporation of boron and other materials has been built for such development. Production of both carbon and boron foils has begun and improvements are in progress.

High-resolution assessment of land use impacts on biodiversity in life cycle assessment using species habitat suitability models.

PubMed

de Baan, Laura; Curran, Michael; Rondinini, Carlo; Visconti, Piero; Hellweg, Stefanie; Koellner, Thomas

2015-02-17

Agricultural land use is a main driver of global biodiversity loss. The assessment of land use impacts in decision-support tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) requires spatially explicit models, but existing approaches are either not spatially differentiated or modeled at very coarse scales (e.g., biomes or ecoregions). In this paper, we develop a high-resolution (900 m) assessment method for land use impacts on biodiversity based on habitat suitability models (HSM) of mammal species. This method considers potential land use effects on individual species, and impacts are weighted by the species' conservation status and global rarity. We illustrate the method using a case study of crop production in East Africa, but the underlying HSMs developed by the Global Mammals Assessment are available globally. We calculate impacts of three major export crops and compare the results to two previously developed methods (focusing on local and regional impacts, respectively) to assess the relevance of the methodological innovations proposed in this paper. The results highlight hotspots of product-related biodiversity impacts that help characterize the links among agricultural production, consumption, and biodiversity loss.

Caed Interactions During A Product Life Cycle Oriented Towards the Decision-Making in the Design of Polymeric Elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suffo, M.

2017-08-01

In this work, we present the real case of an industrial product was placed prematurely on the market without having checked the different stages of its life cycle. This type of products must be validated by numerical methods and by mechanical tests to verify their rheological behavior. In particular, the product consists of two small pieces in contact, one made of HDPE and the other one corresponding to a stainless steel. The polymeric piece supports the metal pressure under a constant static load over time. As a result of normal operation, the polymer experienced a “crazing” breakdown, which caused the failure to occur. In the study, design methods and computer assisted analysis software (CAED) have been used. These methods were complemented by scanning electron microscopy that confirmed the initial failure hypothesis. Using the finite element method (FEM), a series of load scenarios were carried out, where the different load hypothesis the product must go through prior to its placing on the market were simulated. It is shown that the failure was initiated by stress concentration on one of the edges of the polymeric piece. The proposed solution of the problem based on the analysis focuses on a simple redesign of the piece, which should have been round, or to the reduction of the thickness of the metal piece. As a result of the alteration of its natural life cycle, the company assumed both monetary costs and the definitive loss of customer confidence.

Reduction of exposure to acrylamide: achievements, potential of optimization, and problems encountered from the perspectives of a Swiss enforcement laboratory.

PubMed

Grob, Koni

2005-01-01

The most important initiatives taken in Switzerland to reduce exposure of consumers to acrylamide are the separate sale of potatoes low in reducing sugars for roasting and frying, the optimization of the raw material and preparation of french fries, and campaigns to implement suitable preparation methods in the gastronomy and homes. Industry works on improving a range of other products. Although these measures can reduce high exposures by some 80%, they have little effect on the background exposure resulting from coffee, bread, and numerous other products for which no substantial improvement is in sight. At this stage, improvements should be achieved by supporting voluntary activity rather than legal limits. Committed and consistent risk communication is key, and the support of improvements presupposes innovative approaches.

[Identification of varieties of cashmere by Vis/NIR spectroscopy technology based on PCA-SVM].

PubMed

Wu, Gui-Fang; He, Yong

2009-06-01

One mixed algorithm was presented to discriminate cashmere varieties with principal component analysis (PCA) and support vector machine (SVM). Cashmere fiber has such characteristics as threadlike, softness, glossiness and high tensile strength. The quality characters and economic value of each breed of cashmere are very different. In order to safeguard the consumer's rights and guarantee the quality of cashmere product, quickly, efficiently and correctly identifying cashmere has significant meaning to the production and transaction of cashmere material. The present research adopts Vis/NIRS spectroscopy diffuse techniques to collect the spectral data of cashmere. The near infrared fingerprint of cashmere was acquired by principal component analysis (PCA), and support vector machine (SVM) methods were used to further identify the cashmere material. The result of PCA indicated that the score map made by the scores of PC1, PC2 and PC3 was used, and 10 principal components (PCs) were selected as the input of support vector machine (SVM) based on the reliabilities of PCs of 99.99%. One hundred cashmere samples were used for calibration and the remaining 75 cashmere samples were used for validation. A one-against-all multi-class SVM model was built, the capabilities of SVM with different kernel function were comparatively analyzed, and the result showed that SVM possessing with the Gaussian kernel function has the best identification capabilities with the accuracy of 100%. This research indicated that the data mining method of PCA-SVM has a good identification effect, and can work as a new method for rapid identification of cashmere material varieties.

A transdisciplinary approach for supporting the integration of ecosystem services into land and water management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fatt Siew, Tuck; Döll, Petra

2015-04-01

Transdisciplinary approaches are useful for supporting integrated land and water management. However, the implementation of the approach in practice to facilitate the co-production of useable socio-hydrological (and -ecological) knowledge among scientists and stakeholders is challenging. It requires appropriate methods to bring individuals with diverse interests and needs together and to integrate their knowledge for generating shared perspectives/understanding, identifying common goals, and developing actionable management strategies. The approach and the methods need, particularly, to be adapted to the local political and socio-cultural conditions. To demonstrate how knowledge co-production and integration can be done in practice, we present a transdisciplinary approach which has been implemented and adapted for supporting land and water management that takes ecosystem services into account in an arid region in northwestern China. Our approach comprises three steps: (1) stakeholder analysis and interdisciplinary knowledge integration, (2) elicitation of perspectives of scientists and stakeholders, scenario development, and identification of management strategies, and (3) evaluation of knowledge integration and social learning. Our adapted approach has enabled interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral communication among scientists and stakeholders. Furthermore, the application of a combination of participatory methods, including actor modeling, Bayesian Network modeling, and participatory scenario development, has contributed to the integration of system, target, and transformation knowledge of involved stakeholders. The realization of identified management strategies is unknown because other important and representative decision makers have not been involved in the transdisciplinary research process. The contribution of our transdisciplinary approach to social learning still needs to be assessed.

Space-Based Space Surveillance Logistics Case Study: A Qualitative Product Support Element Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

Facilities and Infrastructure. Product Support Management and Design Interface are also covered, but only in a general manner. Conclusions from the study...core analysis, with the overarching two elements ( Design Interface and Product Support Management) mentioned briefly. G. THESIS STATEMENT This...were implemented. The two overarching elements of Product Support Management and Design Interface will be discussed briefly in the findings section

Sodium Chloride Enhances Recombinant Adeno-Associated Virus Production in a Serum-Free Suspension Manufacturing Platform Using the Herpes Simplex Virus System

PubMed Central

Adamson-Small, Laura; Potter, Mark; Byrne, Barry J.; Clément, Nathalie

2017-01-01

The increase in effective treatments using recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors has underscored the importance of scalable, high-yield manufacturing methods. Previous work from this group reported the use of recombinant herpes simplex virus type 1 (rHSV) vectors to produce rAAV in adherent HEK293 cells, demonstrating the capacity of this system and quality of the product generated. Here we report production and optimization of rAAV using the rHSV system in suspension HEK293 cells (Expi293F) grown in serum and animal component-free medium. Through adjustment of salt concentration in the medium and optimization of infection conditions, titers greater than 1 × 1014 vector genomes per liter (VG/liter) were observed in purified rAAV stocks produced in Expi293F cells. Furthermore, this system allowed for high-titer production of multiple rAAV serotypes (2, 5, and 9) as well as multiple transgenes (green fluorescent protein and acid α-glucosidase). A proportional increase in vector production was observed as this method was scaled, with a final 3-liter shaker flask production yielding an excess of 1 × 1015 VG in crude cell harvests and an average of 3.5 × 1014 total VG of purified rAAV9 material, resulting in greater than 1 × 105 VG/cell. These results support the use of this rHSV-based rAAV production method for large-scale preclinical and clinical vector production. PMID:28117600

AERONET-OC: Strengths and Weaknesses of a Network for the Validation of Satellite Coastal Radiometric Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zibordi, Giuseppe; Holben, Brent; Slutsker, Ilya; Giles, David; D'Alimonte, Davide; Melin, Frederic; Berthon, Jean-Francois; Vandemark, Doug; Feng, Hui; Schuster, Gregory;

The Bi-Directional Prediction of Carbon Fiber Production Using a Combination of Improved Particle Swarm Optimization and Support Vector Machine.

PubMed

Xiao, Chuncai; Hao, Kuangrong; Ding, Yongsheng

2014-12-30

This paper creates a bi-directional prediction model to predict the performance of carbon fiber and the productive parameters based on a support vector machine (SVM) and improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) algorithm (SVM-IPSO). In the SVM, it is crucial to select the parameters that have an important impact on the performance of prediction. The IPSO is proposed to optimize them, and then the SVM-IPSO model is applied to the bi-directional prediction of carbon fiber production. The predictive accuracy of SVM is mainly dependent on its parameters, and IPSO is thus exploited to seek the optimal parameters for SVM in order to improve its prediction capability. Inspired by a cell communication mechanism, we propose IPSO by incorporating information of the global best solution into the search strategy to improve exploitation, and we employ IPSO to establish the bi-directional prediction model: in the direction of the forward prediction, we consider productive parameters as input and property indexes as output; in the direction of the backward prediction, we consider property indexes as input and productive parameters as output, and in this case, the model becomes a scheme design for novel style carbon fibers. The results from a set of the experimental data show that the proposed model can outperform the radial basis function neural network (RNN), the basic particle swarm optimization (PSO) method and the hybrid approach of genetic algorithm and improved particle swarm optimization (GA-IPSO) method in most of the experiments. In other words, simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the SVM-IPSO model in dealing with the problem of forecasting.

Practical Approaches to Forced Degradation Studies of Vaccines.

PubMed

Hasija, Manvi; Aboutorabian, Sepideh; Rahman, Nausheen; Ausar, Salvador F

2016-01-01

During the early stages of vaccine development, forced degradation studies are conducted to provide information about the degradation properties of vaccine formulations. In addition to supporting the development of analytical methods for the detection of degradation products, these stress studies are used to identify optimal long-term storage conditions and are part of the regulatory requirements for the submission of stability data. In this chapter, we provide detailed methods for forced degradation analysis under thermal, light, and mechanical stress conditions.

Perceived workplace health support is associated with employee productivity.

PubMed

Chen, Lu; Hannon, Peggy A; Laing, Sharon S; Kohn, Marlana J; Clark, Kathleen; Pritchard, Scott; Harris, Jeffrey R

2015-01-01

To examine the relationship between perceived workplace health support and employee productivity. A quantitative cross-sectional study. Washington State agencies. A total of 3528 employees from six state agencies were included in this analysis. Perceived workplace health support was assessed by two questions that queried respondents on how often they felt supported by the workplace for healthy living and physical activity. The Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire was used to measure health-related absenteeism and presenteeism in the past 7 days. Multivariate linear regression was used to estimate the mean differences in productivity by levels of perceived health support. Most participants were between 45 and 64 years of age and were predominantly non-Hispanic white. Presenteeism varied significantly by the level of perceived workplace health support, with those who felt least supported having higher presenteeism than those who felt most supported. The difference in presenteeism by perceived workplace support remained significant in models adjusting for sociodemographic and health characteristics (mean difference: 7.1% for support for healthy living, 95% confidence interval: 3.7%, 10.4%; 4.3% for support for physical activity, 95% confidence interval: 1.7%, 6.8%). Absenteeism was not associated with perceived workplace health support. Higher perceived workplace health support is independently associated with higher work productivity. Employers may see productivity benefit from wellness programs through improved perceptions of workplace health support.

A Dynamic Health Assessment Approach for Shearer Based on Artificial Immune Algorithm

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhongbin; Xu, Xihua; Si, Lei; Ji, Rui; Liu, Xinhua; Tan, Chao

2016-01-01

In order to accurately identify the dynamic health of shearer, reducing operating trouble and production accident of shearer and improving coal production efficiency further, a dynamic health assessment approach for shearer based on artificial immune algorithm was proposed. The key technologies such as system framework, selecting the indicators for shearer dynamic health assessment, and health assessment model were provided, and the flowchart of the proposed approach was designed. A simulation example, with an accuracy of 96%, based on the collected data from industrial production scene was provided. Furthermore, the comparison demonstrated that the proposed method exhibited higher classification accuracy than the classifiers based on back propagation-neural network (BP-NN) and support vector machine (SVM) methods. Finally, the proposed approach was applied in an engineering problem of shearer dynamic health assessment. The industrial application results showed that the paper research achievements could be used combining with shearer automation control system in fully mechanized coal face. The simulation and the application results indicated that the proposed method was feasible and outperforming others. PMID:27123002

Economic benefit of crop pollination by bees: a case of Kakamega small-holder farming in western Kenya.

PubMed

Kasina, J M; Mburu, J; Kraemer, M; Holm-Mueller, K

2009-04-01

In most developing countries, crop production is by small scale farmers, who mainly produce for their own consumption and the extra for market. Pollination in such systems is unmanaged and is usually incidental, supported by nearby ecosystems. One of the reasons of not managing pollination is the lack of understanding of its economic value. The "public-good" nature of pollination in these systems also discourages individual initiatives intended to conserve pollinators. We evaluate the economic returns from bee pollination in small-holder farming systems. To do this we apply the factor of production method, a form of revealed preferences methods available for valuing ecosystem services. Our analyses show that bee pollination enhances the yield of most crops grown in the farmland and improves immensely the quality of produce. Almost 40% of the annual value of crops under consideration represented the net returns derived from bee pollination. More than 99% of this benefit is attributed to pollination by feral bees. We provide in-depth valuation of pollination service and discuss applicability and limitations of the factor of production method in developing countries.

Pupal habitat productivity of Anopheles gambiae complex mosquitoes in a rural village in western Kenya.

PubMed

Mutuku, Francis M; Bayoh, M Nabie; Gimnig, John E; Vulule, John M; Kamau, Luna; Walker, Edward D; Kabiru, Ephantus; Hawley, William A

2006-01-01

The productivity of larval habitats of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae for pupae (the stage preceding adult metamorphosis) is poorly known, yet adult emergence from habitats is the primary determinant of vector density. To assess it, we used absolute sampling methods in four studies involving daily sampling for 25 days in 6 habitat types in a village in western Kenya. Anopheles gambiae s.s. comprised 82.5% of emergent adults and Anopheles arabiensis the remainder. Pupal production occurred from a subset of habitats, primarily soil burrow pits, and was discontinuous in time, even when larvae occupied all habitats continuously. Habitat stability was positively associated with pupal productivity. In a dry season, pupal productivity was distributed between burrow pits and pools in streambeds. Overall, these data support the notion that source reduction measures against recognizably productive habitats would be a useful component of an integrated management program for An. gambiae in villages.

Evaluating the environmental impact of various dietary patterns combined with different food production systems.

PubMed

Baroni, L; Cenci, L; Tettamanti, M; Berati, M

2007-02-01

Recent studies support the hypothesis that plant-based diets are environmentally better than meat-based diets. This study aims to further explore this topic and to compare different environmental impacts resulting from different dietary patterns (omnivorous, vegetarian, vegan) and methods of production (conventional farming and organic agriculture). Three weekly balanced diets, equivalent to one another for energetic and nutrient content, have been planned: an omnivorous one, a vegetarian one and a vegan one. For each one, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method has been applied in order to calculate the environmental impact, expressed in 'points'. The software we selected to carry out the Inventory Analysis and the Impact Assessment is SimaPro5. The Assessment phase has been conducted using Ecoindicator 99, a damage-oriented method, which analyses the impact according to three large damage categories, each of them subsuming various impact categories.

Economic benefit evaluation for renewable energy transmitted by HVDC based on production simulation (PS) and analytic hierarchy process(AHP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jinfang; Zheng, Kuan; Liu, Jun; Huang, Xinting

2018-02-01

In order to support North and West China’s RE (RE) development and enhance accommodation in reasonable high level, HVDC’s traditional operation curves need some change to follow the output characteristic of RE, which helps to shrink curtailment electricity and curtailment ratio of RE. In this paper, an economic benefit analysis method based on production simulation (PS) and Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been proposed. PS is the basic tool to analyze chosen power system operation situation, and AHP method could give a suitable comparison result among many candidate schemes. Based on four different transmission curve combinations, related economic benefit has been evaluated by PS and AHP. The results and related index have shown the efficiency of suggested method, and finally it has been validated that HVDC operation curve in following RE output mode could have benefit in decreasing RE curtailment level and improving economic operation.

Interactive QR code beautification with full background image embedding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Lijian; Wu, Song; Liu, Sijiang; Jiang, Bo

2017-06-01

QR (Quick Response) code is a kind of two dimensional barcode that was first developed in automotive industry. Nowadays, QR code has been widely used in commercial applications like product promotion, mobile payment, product information management, etc. Traditional QR codes in accordance with the international standard are reliable and fast to decode, but are lack of aesthetic appearance to demonstrate visual information to customers. In this work, we present a novel interactive method to generate aesthetic QR code. By given information to be encoded and an image to be decorated as full QR code background, our method accepts interactive user's strokes as hints to remove undesired parts of QR code modules based on the support of QR code error correction mechanism and background color thresholds. Compared to previous approaches, our method follows the intention of the QR code designer, thus can achieve more user pleasant result, while keeping high machine readability.

Development of second generation gold-supported palladium material with low-leaching and recyclable characteristics in aromatic amination.

PubMed

Al-Amin, Mohammad; Arai, Satoshi; Hoshiya, Naoyoki; Honma, Tetsuo; Tamenori, Yusuke; Sato, Takatoshi; Yokoyama, Mami; Ishii, Akira; Takeuchi, Masashi; Maruko, Tomohiro; Shuto, Satoshi; Arisawa, Mitsuhiro

2013-08-02

An improved process for the preparation of sulfur-modified gold-supported palladium material [SAPd, second generation] is presented. The developed preparation method is safer and generates less heat (aqueous Na2S2O8 and H2SO4) for sulfur fixation on a gold surface, and it is superior to the previous method of preparing SAPd (first generation), which requires the use of the more heat-generating and dangerous piranha solution (concentrated H2SO4 and 35% H2O2) in the sulfur fixation step. This safer and improved preparation method is particularly important for the mass production of SAPd (second generation) for which the catalytic activity was examined in ligand-free Buchwald-Hartwig cross-coupling reactions. The catalytic activities were the same between the first and second generation SAPds in aromatic aminations, but the lower palladium leaching properties and safer preparative method of second generation SAPd are a significant improvement over the first generation SAPd.

The ONIOM molecular dynamics method for biochemical applications: cytidine deaminase

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

Matsubara, Toshiaki; Dupuis, Michel; Aida, Misako

2007-03-22

Abstract We derived and implemented the ONIOM-molecular dynamics (MD) method for biochemical applications. The implementation allows the characterization of the functions of the real enzymes taking account of their thermal motion. In this method, the direct MD is performed by calculating the ONIOM energy and gradients of the system on the fly. We describe the first application of this ONOM-MD method to cytidine deaminase. The environmental effects on the substrate in the active site are examined. The ONIOM-MD simulations show that the product uridine is strongly perturbed by the thermal motion of the environment and dissociates easily from the activemore » site. TM and MA were supported in part by grants from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. MD was supported by the Division of Chemical Sciences, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, and by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research of the U.S. Department of Energy DOE. Battelle operates Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for DOE.« less

Patient-reported outcome labeling claims and measurement approach for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treatments in the United States and European Union

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and its treatment significantly affect health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Our objectives were to evaluate and compare patient-reported outcome (PRO) claims granted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) for 5 recently approved mCRPC treatments and to examine key characteristics, development, and measurement properties of the PRO measures supporting these claims against current regulatory standards. Methods Five products approved for treatment of mCRPC by the FDA and the EMA (2010–2013) were examined: enzalutamide, abiraterone, sipuleucel-T, cabazitaxel, and radium Ra 223 dichloride. United States (US) drug approval packages and European Public Assessment Reports were reviewed. PRO claims in the US labels and European Summaries of Product Characteristics and supporting measures were identified. For PRO measures supporting claims, a targeted literature review was conducted to identify information on key characteristics and measurement properties; this information was compared against FDA PRO guidance criteria. Results Nine PRO “claims” were granted across 4 of 5 products reviewed. The EMA granted more claims (7 claims—4 for pain, 3 for HRQOL) than the FDA (2 claims, both for pain). The Brief Pain Inventory–Short Form (BPI-SF) worst pain item supported most pain claims and was the only measure supporting US claims. EMA pain claims were supported by BPI-SF worst pain (n = 2) and average pain (n = 1) items and the McGill Pain Questionnaire Present Pain Intensity component (n = 1). EMA HRQOL claims were supported by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Prostate Module (n = 2) and the EuroQol 5 Dimensions with visual analogue scale (n = 1). Pain and prostate cancer–specific HRQOL measures supporting claims met US regulatory standards for construct validity, reliability, and responsiveness; these properties were strongest for the BPI-SF worst pain item. Only the BPI-SF worst pain item has documented content validity in mCRPC. Conclusions PRO label claims were commonly granted across the mCRPC products reviewed. Among the measures reviewed, only the BPI-SF worst pain item supported US label claims. The BPI-SF worst pain item is recommended for pain assessment for the evaluation of new mCRPC treatments. PMID:24989428

40 CFR 63.5798 - What if I want to use, or I manufacture, an application technology (new or existing) whose...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...: Reinforced Plastic Composites Production Calculating Organic Hap Emissions Factors for Open Molding and... description of the resin or gel coat application technology and supporting organic HAP emissions test data obtained using EPA test methods or their equivalent. The emission test data should be obtained using a...

40 CFR 63.5798 - What if I want to use, or I manufacture, an application technology (new or existing) whose...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...: Reinforced Plastic Composites Production Calculating Organic Hap Emissions Factors for Open Molding and... description of the resin or gel coat application technology and supporting organic HAP emissions test data obtained using EPA test methods or their equivalent. The emission test data should be obtained using a...

Three-dimensional tracking solar energy concentrator and method for making same

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, C. G.; Pohl, J. G. (Inventor)

1977-01-01

A three dimensional tracking solar energy concentrator, consisting of a stretched aluminized polymeric membrane supported by a hoop, was presented. The system is sturdy enough to withstand expected windage forces and precipitation. It can provide the high temperature output needed by central station power plants for power production in the multi-megawatt range.

Evidence-Based Systematic Review: Effects of Nonspeech Oral Motor Exercises on Speech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCauley, Rebecca J.; Strand, Edythe; Lof, Gregory L.; Schooling, Tracy; Frymark, Tobi

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the current evidence for the use of oral motor exercises (OMEs) on speech (i.e., speech physiology, speech production, and functional speech outcomes) as a means of supporting further research and clinicians' use of evidence-based practice. Method: The peer-reviewed literature from 1960…

An Analysis of Surface Warfare Officer Measures of Effectiveness as Related to Commissioning Source, Undergraduate Education, and Navy Training

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-03-01

and Riordan for their encouragement, support. and understanding which truly made this research possible. viii I. INTRODUCTION "It is important that the...Relative Productivity Of Of ricers From Different Accession Sources. Master’s Thesis, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. Maze, Rick . 1990. Methods

Discrimination of crop and weeds on visible and visible/near-infrared spectrums using support vector machines, artificial neural network and decision tree

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Weeds are regarded as farmers' natural enemy. In order to avoid excessive pesticide residues, the destruction of ecological environment, and to guarantee the quality and safety of agricultural products, it is urgent to develop highly-efficient weed management methods. Amongst, weed discrimination is...

77 FR 19391 - Notice of Proposed Intelligent Mail Indicia Performance Criteria With Request for Comments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-30

... products designed to meet new customer needs for access to postage. In addition, changes within the United... opportunities for PES providers to propose new concepts, methods, and processes to enable customers to print pre... support the USPS PES Test and Evaluation Program (the ``Program''). The intent is for the volumes to fully...

Mind and Material: The Interplay between Computer-Related and Second Language Factors in Online Communication Dialogues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Pin-hsiang Natalie; Kawamura, Michelle

2014-01-01

With a growing demand for learning English and a trend of utilizing computers in education, methods that can achieve the effectiveness of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to support language learning in higher education have been examined. However, second language factors manipulate both the process and production of CMC and, therefore,…

Solvent-free direct reductive amination by catalytic use of an organotin reagent incorporated on an ionic liquid.

PubMed

Pham, Phuoc Dien; Bertus, Philippe; Legoupy, Stéphanie

2009-11-07

An organotin reagent supported on an ionic liquid was used as a highly effective catalyst (down to 0.1 mol%) for the direct reductive amination of aldehydes and ketones using PhSiH3; this solvent-free method facilitates purification of the products, thus minimizing the contamination by tin.

Preparation and application of reversed phase chromatorotor for the isolation of natural products by centrifugal preparative chromatography

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A method of preparation of Chromatorotor or plates with a reversed phase (RP) solid silica gel sorbent layer has been developed for preparative centrifugal chromatography. The RP-rotor plates consist of binder free RP solid SiO2 sorbent layers of different thicknesses paked between two supported cir...

Carbon nanotube synthesis with different support materials and catalysts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gümüş, Fatih; Yuca, Neslihan; Karatepe, Nilgün

2013-09-01

Having remarkable characteristics, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted a lot of interest. Their mechanical, electrical, thermal and chemical properties make CNTs suitable for several applications such as electronic devices, hydrogen storage, textile, drug delivery etc. CNTs have been synthesized by various methods, such as arc discharge, laser ablation and catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD). In comparison with the other techniques, CCVD is widely used as it offers a promising route for mass production. High capability of decomposing hydrocarbon formation is desired for the selected catalysts. Therefore, transition metals which are in the nanometer scale are the most effective catalysts. The common transition metals that are being used are Fe, Co, Ni and their binary alloys. The impregnation of the catalysts over the support material has a crucial importance for the CNT production. In this study, the influence of the support materials on the catalytic activity of metals was investigated. CNTs have been synthesized over alumina (Al2O3), silica (SiO2) and magnesium oxide (MgO) supported Fe, Co, Fe-Co catalysts. Catalyst - support material combinations have been investigated and optimum values for each were compared. Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were produced at 800°C. The duration of synthesis was 30 minutes for all support materials. The synthesized materials were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy.

Generating functional analysis of minority games with inner product strategy definitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coolen, A. C. C.; Shayeghi, N.

2008-08-01

We use generating functional methods to solve the so-called inner product versions of the minority game (MG), with fake and/or real market histories, by generalizing the theory developed recently for look-up table MGs with real histories. The phase diagrams of the look-up table and inner product MG versions are generally found to be identical, with the exception of inner product MGs where histories are sampled linearly, which are found to be structurally critical. However, we encounter interesting differences both in the theory (where the role of the history frequency distribution in look-up table MGs is taken over by the eigenvalue spectrum of a history covariance matrix in inner product MGs) and in the static and dynamic phenomenology of the models. Our theoretical predictions are supported by numerical simulations.

Ocean Surface Topography Data Products and Tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Case, Kelley E.; Bingham, Andrew W.; Berwin, Robert W.; Rigor, Eric M.; Raskin, Robert G.

2004-01-01

The Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archiving Center (PO.DAAC), NASA's primary data center for archiving and distributing oceanographic data, is supporting the Jason and TOPEX/Poseidon satellite tandem missions by providing a variety of data products, tools, and distribution methods to the wider scientific and general community. PO.DAAC has developed several new data products for sea level residual measurements, providing a longterm climate data record from 1992 to the present These products provide compatible measurements of sea level residuals for the entire time series including the tandem TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason mission. Several data distribution tool. are available from NASA PO.DAAC. The Near-Real-Time Image Distribution Server (NEREIDS) provides quicklook browse images and binary data files The PO.DAAC Ocean ESIP Tool (POET) provides interactive, on-tine data subsetting and visualization for several altimetry data products.

Using Pyrolysis and its Bioproducts to Help Close the Loop in Sustainable Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCoy, LaShelle E.

2012-01-01

The next step in human exploration of space is beyond low Earth orbit and possibly to sites such as the Moon and Mars. Resupply of critical life support components for missions such as these are difficult or impossible. Life support processes for closing the loop of water, oxygen and carbon have to be identified .. Currently, there are many technologies proposed for terrestrial missions for waste, water, air processing and the creation of consumables. There are a variety of different approaches, but few address all of these issues simultaneously. One candidate is pyrolysis; a method where waste streams can be heated in the absence of oxygen to undergo a thermochemical conversion producing a series of bioproducts. Bioproducts like biochar made from non-edible biomass and human solid waste can possibly provide valuable benefits such as waste reduction, regolith fertilization for increased food production, and become a consumable for water processing and air revitalization systems. Syngas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide and cbon dioxide, can be converted to methane and dimethyl ether to create propellants. Bio-oils can be utilized as a heating fuel or fed to bioreactors that utilize oil-eating microbes. Issues such as carbon sequestration and subsequent carbon balance of the closed system and identifying ideal process methods to achieve the highest quality products, whilst being energy friendly, will also be addressed.

Ferret airway epithelial cell cultures support efficient replication of influenza B virus but not mumps virus.

PubMed

Elderfield, Ruth A; Parker, Lauren; Stilwell, Peter; Roberts, Kim L; Schepelmann, Silke; Barclay, Wendy S

2015-08-01

Ferrets have become the model animal of choice for influenza pathology and transmission experiments as they are permissive and susceptible to human influenza A viruses. However, inoculation of ferrets with mumps virus (MuV) did not lead to successful infections. We evaluated the use of highly differentiated ferret tracheal epithelium cell cultures, FTE, for predicting the potential of ferrets to support respiratory viral infections. FTE cultures supported productive replication of human influenza A and B viruses but not of MuV, whereas analogous cells generated from human airways supported replication of all three viruses. We propose that in vitro strategies using these cultures might serve as a method of triaging viruses and potentially reducing the use of ferrets in viral studies.

Is There Evidence to Support Brand to Generic Interchange of the Mycophenolic Acid Products?

PubMed

Phillips, Karen; Reddy, Prabashni; Gabardi, Steven

2017-02-01

The uptake of generic immunosuppressants lags comparatively to other drug classes, despite that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses identical bioequivalence standards for all drugs. Transplant societies acknowledge the cost savings associated with generic immunosuppressants and support their use following heart, lung, kidney, or bone marrow transplantation. Seven studies of the pharmacokinetics or clinical efficacy of generic mycophenolate mofetil compared to the innovator product are published; all studies and products were ex-United States. Three studies did not demonstrate any pharmacokinetic differences between generic and innovator products in healthy subjects, achieving FDA bioequivalence requirements. Two studies in renal allograft recipients demonstrated no difference in area under the curves between generic and innovator products, and in one, the maximum concentration (Cmax) fell outside the FDA regulatory range. Two studies revealed no difference in acute organ rejection or graft function in renal allograft recipients. Patient surveys indicate that cost is a barrier to immunosuppressant adherence. Generics present a viable method to reduce costs to payers, patients, and health care systems. Adherence to immunosuppressants is crucial to prevent graft failure. An affordable regimen potentially confers greater adherence. Concerns regarding the presumed inferiority of generic immunosuppressants should be assuaged by regulatory requirements for bioequivalency testing, transplant society position statements, and pharmacokinetic and clinical studies.

Development of system decision support tools for behavioral trends monitoring of machinery maintenance in a competitive environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adeyeri, Michael Kanisuru; Mpofu, Khumbulani

2017-06-01

The article is centred on software system development for manufacturing company that produces polyethylene bags using mostly conventional machines in a competitive world where each business enterprise desires to stand tall. This is meant to assist in gaining market shares, taking maintenance and production decisions by the dynamism and flexibilities embedded in the package as customers' demand varies under the duress of meeting the set goals. The production and machine condition monitoring software (PMCMS) is programmed in C# and designed in such a way to support hardware integration, real-time machine conditions monitoring, which is based on condition maintenance approach, maintenance decision suggestions and suitable production strategies as the demand for products keeps changing in a highly competitive environment. PMCMS works with an embedded device which feeds it with data from the various machines being monitored at the workstation, and the data are read at the base station through transmission via a wireless transceiver and stored in a database. A case study was used in the implementation of the developed system, and the results show that it can monitor the machine's health condition effectively by displaying machines' health status, gives repair suggestions to probable faults, decides strategy for both production methods and maintenance, and, thus, can enhance maintenance performance obviously.

[Staff accreditation in parenteral nutrition production in hospital pharmacy].

PubMed

Vrignaud, S; Le Pêcheur, V; Jouan, G; Valy, S; Clerc, M-A

2016-09-01

This work aims to provide staff accreditation methodology to harmonize and secure practices for parenteral nutrition bags preparation. The methodology used in the present study is inspired from project management and quality approach. Existing training supports were used to produce accreditation procedure and evaluation supports. We first defined abilities levels, from level 1, corresponding to accredited learning agent to level 3, corresponding to expert accredited agent. Elements assessed for accreditation are: clothing assessment either by practices audit or by microbiologic test, test bags preparation and handling assessment, bag production to assess aseptic filling for both manual or automatized method, practices audit, number of days of production, and non-conformity following. At Angers Hospital, in 2014, production staff is composed of 12 agents. Staff accreditation reveals that 2 agents achieve level 3, 8 agents achieve level 2 and 2 agents are level 1. We noted that non-conformity decreased as accreditation took place from 81 in 2009 to 0 in 2014. To date, there is no incident due to parenteral bag produced by Angers hospital for neonatal resuscitation children. Such a consistent study is essential to insure a secured nutrition parenteral production. This also provides a satisfying quality care for patients. Copyright © 2016 Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Defense AT and L. Volume 44, Number 3

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

CommunityBrowser.aspx?id=527436 Product Support Key References https://acc.dau.mil/productsupport CLL 011 Performance-Based Life Cycle Product Support (PBL...http://icatalog.dau.mil/onlinecatalog/courses.aspx?crs_id=269 CLL 031 PBL Contracting Strategies http://icatalog.dau.mil/onlinecatalog/courses.aspx...CommunityBrowser.aspx?id=527436 Product Support Key References https://acc.dau.mil/productsupport CLL 011 Performance-Based Life Cycle Product Support (PBL) http

Community organizing and community health: piloting an innovative approach to community engagement applied to an early intervention project in south London

PubMed Central

Bolton, Matthew; Moore, Imogen; Ferreira, Ana; Day, Crispin; Bolton, Derek

2016-01-01

Background The importance of community engagement in health is widely recognized, and key themes in UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendations for enhancing community engagement are co-production and community control. This study reports an innovative approach to community engagement using the community-organizing methodology, applied in an intervention of social support to increase social capital, reduce stress and improve well-being in mothers who were pregnant and/or with infants aged 0–2 years. Methods Professional community organizers in Citizens-UK worked with local member civic institutions in south London to facilitate social support to a group of 15 new mothers. Acceptability of the programme, adherence to principles of co-production and community control, and changes in the outcomes of interest were assessed quantitatively in a quasi-experimental design. Results The programme was found to be feasible and acceptable to participating mothers, and perceived by them to involve co-production and community control. There were no detected changes in subjective well-being, but there were important reductions in distress on a standard self-report measure (GHQ-12). There were increases in social capital of a circumscribed kind associated with the project. Conclusions Community organizing provides a promising model and method of facilitating community engagement in health. PMID:25724610

High-throughput screening of high Monascus pigment-producing strain based on digital image processing.

PubMed

Xia, Meng-lei; Wang, Lan; Yang, Zhi-xia; Chen, Hong-zhang

2016-04-01

This work proposed a new method which applied image processing and support vector machine (SVM) for screening of mold strains. Taking Monascus as example, morphological characteristics of Monascus colony were quantified by image processing. And the association between the characteristics and pigment production capability was determined by SVM. On this basis, a highly automated screening strategy was achieved. The accuracy of the proposed strategy is 80.6 %, which is compatible with the existing methods (81.1 % for microplate and 85.4 % for flask). Meanwhile, the screening of 500 colonies only takes 20-30 min, which is the highest rate among all published results. By applying this automated method, 13 strains with high-predicted production were obtained and the best one produced as 2.8-fold (226 U/mL) of pigment and 1.9-fold (51 mg/L) of lovastatin compared with the parent strain. The current study provides us with an effective and promising method for strain improvement.

Gene Ontology annotations at SGD: new data sources and annotation methods

PubMed Central

Hong, Eurie L.; Balakrishnan, Rama; Dong, Qing; Christie, Karen R.; Park, Julie; Binkley, Gail; Costanzo, Maria C.; Dwight, Selina S.; Engel, Stacia R.; Fisk, Dianna G.; Hirschman, Jodi E.; Hitz, Benjamin C.; Krieger, Cynthia J.; Livstone, Michael S.; Miyasato, Stuart R.; Nash, Robert S.; Oughtred, Rose; Skrzypek, Marek S.; Weng, Shuai; Wong, Edith D.; Zhu, Kathy K.; Dolinski, Kara; Botstein, David; Cherry, J. Michael

2008-01-01

The Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD; http://www.yeastgenome.org/) collects and organizes biological information about the chromosomal features and gene products of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although published data from traditional experimental methods are the primary sources of evidence supporting Gene Ontology (GO) annotations for a gene product, high-throughput experiments and computational predictions can also provide valuable insights in the absence of an extensive body of literature. Therefore, GO annotations available at SGD now include high-throughput data as well as computational predictions provided by the GO Annotation Project (GOA UniProt; http://www.ebi.ac.uk/GOA/). Because the annotation method used to assign GO annotations varies by data source, GO resources at SGD have been modified to distinguish data sources and annotation methods. In addition to providing information for genes that have not been experimentally characterized, GO annotations from independent sources can be compared to those made by SGD to help keep the literature-based GO annotations current. PMID:17982175

Software for pest-management science: computer models and databases from the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service.

PubMed

Wauchope, R Don; Ahuja, Lajpat R; Arnold, Jeffrey G; Bingner, Ron; Lowrance, Richard; van Genuchten, Martinus T; Adams, Larry D

2003-01-01

We present an overview of USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) computer models and databases related to pest-management science, emphasizing current developments in environmental risk assessment and management simulation models. The ARS has a unique national interdisciplinary team of researchers in surface and sub-surface hydrology, soil and plant science, systems analysis and pesticide science, who have networked to develop empirical and mechanistic computer models describing the behavior of pests, pest responses to controls and the environmental impact of pest-control methods. Historically, much of this work has been in support of production agriculture and in support of the conservation programs of our 'action agency' sister, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service). Because we are a public agency, our software/database products are generally offered without cost, unless they are developed in cooperation with a private-sector cooperator. Because ARS is a basic and applied research organization, with development of new science as our highest priority, these products tend to be offered on an 'as-is' basis with limited user support except for cooperating R&D relationship with other scientists. However, rapid changes in the technology for information analysis and communication continually challenge our way of doing business.

[Application of rapid PCR to authenticate medicinal snakes].

PubMed

Chen, Kang; Jiang, Chao; Yuan, Yuan; Huang, Lu-Qi; Li, Man

2014-10-01

To obtained an accurate, rapid and efficient method for authenticate medicinal snakes listed in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (Zaocysd humnades, Bungarus multicinctus, Agkistrodon acutus), a rapid PCR method for authenticate snakes and its adulterants was established based on the classic molecular authentication methods. DNA was extracted by alkaline lysis and the specific primers were amplified by two-steps PCR amplification method. The denatured and annealing temperature and cycle numbers were optimized. When 100 x SYBR Green I was added in the PCR product, strong green fluorescence was visualized under 365 nm UV whereas adulterants without. The whole process can complete in 30-45 minutes. The established method provides the technical support for authentication of the snakes on field.

Fields of dreams: Agriculture, economy and nature in Midwest United States biofuel production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillon, Sean Thomas

This work explores the social and ecological dimensions of recent biofuel production increases in the United States (US), focusing on the case of Iowa. Biofuels are proposed to mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, improve US energy security, and support rural economies. Little research has examined how increased US Midwestern biofuels production will change social and ecological outcomes at farm and regional levels or interact with broader governance processes at the nexus of agriculture, energy and environment. These broad questions guide my research: (1) How does biofuel production reconfigure agricultural practice and landscapes in Iowa? (2) What are the costs, benefits and risks of increased biofuels production as seen by farmers and rural residents, and how do these factors influence farmer decisions about agriculture and conservation practice? (3) How and with what effects are biofuels initiatives constituted as a form of environmental governance through scientific knowledge and practice and political economic dynamics? To address these questions, this research integrates both qualitative and quantitative methods, drawing on a political ecological approach complemented by agroecological analysis and theoretical insights from geographical analyses of nature-society relations. Quantitative analysis focuses on changing land use patterns in agriculture and conservation practice in Iowa. Qualitative methods include extensive interviews, participant observation, and policy and document analyses. Fieldwork focused on Northeastern Iowa to understand regional changes in agricultural and conservation practice, the renegotiated position of farmers in agriculture and biofuel production, and biofuel industry development. I find that biofuel production presents significant social and ecological challenges for rural places of production. Longstanding, unequal political economic relations in industrialized agriculture limit rural economic benefits. I describe how biofuel governance focuses on scientific practices that legitimize biofuel production for their capacity to marginally reduce greenhouse gas emissions, despite biofuels' agroecological consequences outside this regulatory purview. These consequences include pressure on conservation and agrienvironmental practice, which could be better supported through existing, highly effective, place-based, democratic institutions dedicated to stewarding the resources upon which agricultural livelihoods depend.

CELSS research and development program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bubenheim, David

1990-01-01

Research in Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) conducted by NASA indicate that plant based systems are feasible candidates for human support in space. Ames has responsibility for research and development, systems integration and control, and space flight experiment portions of the CELSS program. Important areas for development of new methods and technologies are biomass production, waste processing, water purification, air revitalization, and food processing. For the plant system, the approach was to identify the flexibility and response time for the food, water, and oxygen production, and carbon dioxide consumption processes. Tremendous increases in productivity, compared with terrestrial agriculture, were realized. Waste processing research emphasizes recycle (transformation) of human wastes, trash, and inedible biomass to forms usable as inputs to the plant production system. Efforts to improve efficiency of the plant system, select new CELSS crops for a balanced diet, and initiate closed system research with the Crop Growth Research Chambers continue. The System Control and Integration program goal is to insure orchestrated system operation of the biological, physical, and chemical operation of the biological, physical, and chemical component processors of the CELSS. Space flight studies are planned to verify adequate operation of the system in reduced gravity or microgravity environments.

Integrating medical, assistive, and universally designed products and technologies: assistive technology device classification (ATDC).

PubMed

Bauer, Stephen; Elsaesser, Linda-Jeanne

2012-09-01

ISO26000:2010 International Guidance Standard on Organizational Social Responsibility requires that effective organizational performance recognize social responsibility, including the rights of persons with disabilities (PWD), engage stakeholders and contribute to sustainable development. Millennium Development Goals 2010 notes that the most vulnerable people require special attention, while the World Report on Disability 2011 identifies improved data collection and removal of barriers to rehabilitation as the means to empower PWD. The Assistive Technology Device Classification (ATDC), Assistive Technology Service Method (ATSM) and Matching Person and Technology models provide an evidence-based, standardized, internationally comparable framework to improve data collection and rehabilitation interventions. The ATDC and ATSM encompass and support universal design (UD) principles, and use the language and concepts of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Use ATDC and ICF concepts to differentiate medical, assistive and UD products and technology; relate technology "types" to markets and costs; and support provision of UD products and technologies as sustainable and socially responsible behavior. Supply-side and demand-side incentives are suggested to foster private sector development and commercialization of UD products and technologies. Health and health-related professionals should be knowledgeable of UD principles and interventions.

Transition From NASA Space Communication Systems to Commerical Communication Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghazvinian, Farzad; Lindsey, William C.

1994-01-01

Transitioning from twenty-five years of space communication system architecting, engineering and development to creating and marketing of commercial communication system hardware and software products is no simple task for small, high-tech system engineering companies whose major source of revenue has been the U.S. Government. Yet, many small businesses are faced with this onerous and perplexing task. The purpose of this talk/paper is to present one small business (LinCom) approach to taking advantage of the systems engineering expertise and knowledge captured in physical neural networks and simulation software by supporting numerous National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) projects, e.g., Space Shuttle, TDRSS, Space Station, DCSC, Milstar, etc. The innovative ingredients needed for a systems house to transition to a wireless communication system products house that supports personal communication services and networks (PCS and PCN) development in a global economy will be discussed. Efficient methods for using past government sponsored space system research and development to transition to VLSI communication chip set products will be presented along with notions of how synergy between government and industry can be maintained to benefit both parties.

Apparatus and method to enhance X-ray production in laser produced plasmas

DOEpatents

Augustoni, A.L.; Gerardo, J.B.; Raymond, T.D.

1992-12-29

Method and apparatus for generating x-rays for use in, for instance, x-ray photolithography is disclosed. The method of generating x-rays includes the steps of providing a target and irradiating the target with a laser system which produces a train of sub-pulses to generate an x-ray producing plasma. The sub-pulses are of both high intensity and short duration. The apparatus for generating x-rays from a plasma includes a vacuum chamber, a target supported within the chamber and a laser system, including a short storage time laser. 8 figs.

Skincare Bootcamp: The Evolving Role of Skincare

PubMed Central

Rodan, Katie; Fields, Kathy; Majewski, George

2016-01-01

Background: Although cosmetic procedures have a significant impact on certain aspects of aging, such as deep, wrinkling, sagging, and volume loss, they fail to address the overall quality of the skin. Methods: Daily skincare routines potentially can have a significant long-term impact on the overall quality of a person’s complexion. Results: By expanding our product knowledge, we can help our patients individualize their at-home skincare routine using effective products and ingredients designed to address their specific skin concern and support the professional care we deliver. Conclusions: Here, we discuss the types of products and ingredients suitable for the most common dermatologic concerns, from wrinkling to skin sensitivity, acne to sun damage. PMID:28018771

Production of Ethylene through Ethanol Dehydration on SBA-15 Catalysts Synthesized by Sol-gel and One-step Hydrothermal Methods.

PubMed

Autthanit, Chaowat; Jongsomjit, Bunjerd

2018-02-01

The present work deals with the catalytic performance of SBA-15 supported catalysts in the gas phase catalytic dehydration of ethanol in the temperature range of 200 to 400°C. The SBA-15 support was incorporated on a zirconium (Zr) and bimetal of zirconium and lanthanum (Zr-La) prepared by sol-gel (SG) and hydrothermal (HT) methods. The catalysts were characterized by means of N 2 physisorption, SEM/EDX, and NH 3 -TPD. The experimental results demonstrated that the Zr-La/SBA-15-HT exhibited the highest catalytic activity. Ethanol conversion and ethylene selectivity were found to increase with increased reaction temperature. The best catalytic results were achieved for Zr-La/SBA-15-HT indicating values of ethanol conversion and ethylene yield of ca. 84% and 80%, respectively at 400°C. The most important parameter influencing their catalytic properties appears to be the interaction between metal and support depending on different methods. The metal dispersion inside the siliceous matrix of SBA-15 has a direct influence on their surface acidity. Meanwhile, the performance of these SBA-15 supported catalysts in ethanol dehydration is also related with the alteration of surface acidity caused by the introduction of Zr and Zr-La.

An Analysis of Publication Productivity During Residency for 1506 Neurosurgical Residents and 117 Residency Departments in North America.

PubMed

Khan, Nickalus R; Saad, Hassan; Oravec, Chesney S; Norrdahl, Sebastian P; Fraser, Brittany; Wallace, David; Lillard, Jock C; Motiwala, Mustafa; Nguyen, Vincent N; Lee, Siang Liao; Jones, Anna V; Ajmera, Sonia; Kalakoti, Piyush; Dave, Pooja; Moore, Kenneth A; Akinduro, Olutomi; Nyenwe, Emmanuel; Vaughn, Brandy; Michael, L Madison; Klimo, Paul

2018-05-30

Bibliometrics is defined as the study of statistical and mathematical methods used to quantitatively analyze scientific literature. The application of bibliometrics in neurosurgery continues to evolve. To calculate a number of publication productivity measures for almost all neurosurgical residents and departments within North America. These measures were correlated with survey results on the educational environment within residency programs. During May to June 2017, data were collected from departmental websites and Scopus to compose a bibliometric database of neurosurgical residents and residency programs. Data related to authorship value and study content were collected on all articles published by residents. A survey of residency program research and educational environment was administered to program directors and coordinators; results were compared with resident academic productivity. The median number of publications in residency was 3; median h-index and Resident index were 1 and 0.17 during residency, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in academic productivity among male neurosurgical residents compared with females. The majority of articles published were tier 1 clinical articles. Residency program research support was significantly associated with increased resident productivity (P < .001). Scholarly activity requirements were not associated with increased resident academic productivity. This study represents the most comprehensive bibliometric assessment of neurosurgical resident academic productivity during training to date. New benchmarks for individual and department academic productivity are provided. A supportive research environment for neurosurgical residents is associated with increased academic productivity, but a scholarly activity requirement was, surprisingly, not shown to have a positive effect.

Synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of azoic dyes based on pyrazolone derivatives catalyzed by an acidic ionic liquid supported on silica-coated magnetite nanoparticle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isaad, Jalal; El Achari, Ahmida

2018-02-01

Novel family of azoic dyes pyrazolone based were prepared by an efficient and rapid methodology through diazotization reaction of different pyrazolone amine derivatives, in the presence of acidic ionic liquid supported on silica-coated magnetite nanoparticles as acidic catalyst at room temperature and under solvent-free conditions. The attractive advantages of the present process include short reaction times, milder and cleaner conditions, higher purity and yields, easy isolation of products, easier work-up procedure and lower generation of waste or pollution. This catalyst was easily separated by an external magnet and the recovered catalyst was reused several times without any significant loss of activity. Therefore, this method provides improved protocol over the existing methods.

Flexible conduit for effecting lateral channelling in coal or oil shale beds

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

Sabol, K.

1979-09-25

There is provided in accordance with the invention apparatus and a method for boring holes through carbonaceous deposits. The method involves the step of introducing combustion-supporting gases such as air under pressure through the apparatus installed in a well hole opposite the area to be bored. The apparatus comprises inner and outer flexible tubes with flexible, jointed armour and a directional nozzle which permits it to be bent and change attitude as necessary. The adjacent carbonaceous interface after being ignited is maintained in this condition by the combustion-supporting gas which is supplied under pressure. As the combustion proceeds, the pressuremore » expels the combustion products and the gas injector is advanced along the channel it has previously formed.« less

Pretreatment of aqueous ammonia on oil palm empty fruit fiber (OPEFB) in production of sugar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zulkiple, Nursyafiqah; Maskat, Mohamad Yusof; Hassan, Osman

2015-09-01

Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) is an agricultural residue that has the potential to become a good source for renewable feedstock for production of sugar. This work evaluated the effectiveness of aqueous ammonia as pretreatment at low (soaking, SAA) and elevated temperature (pressurized chamber) to deconstruct the lignocellulosic feedstock, prior to enzymatic hydrolysis. The ammonia pretreatments were compared against the standard NaOH method. The best tested pressurized chamber method conditions were at 100°C with 3 hour retention time, 12.5% ammonium hydroxide and 1:30 solid loading. The digestibility of the feedstock is determined with enzymatic hydrolysis using Cellic Ctech2 and Cellic Htech2. The sugars produced by pressurized chamber method within 24 hour of enzyme hydrolysis are similar to that produced by NaOH method which is 439.90 mg/ml and 351.61 mg/ml, respectively. Compared with optimum SAA method (24 hour, 6.25% of ammonium hydroxide at room temperature), pressurized chamber method was capable of producing enhanced delignification and higher production of sugar upon hydrolysis. These findings were supported by the disappearance peak at 1732, 1512 and 1243 on Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR spectrum) of treated OPEFB by pressurized chamber method. XRD determination showed reduced crystallinity of OPEFB (37.23%) after treatment by pressurized chamber, suggesting higher accessibility toward enzyme hydrolysis. The data obtained suggest that the pressurized chamber pre-treatment method are suitable for OPEFB deconstruction to produce high yield of sugar.

Supporting Energy Transitions and Miscanthus Program Development at the University of Iowa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lain, Kayley Christina

Miscanthus is a highly productive, low-input biofuel crop that supports agricultural diversification with improved performance for climate commitment, energy security, and water quality over first generation biofuels. Despite its high performance, no local or regional markets for the feedstock have formed in North America, and current climate-based productivity assessment methods lack the information farmers and decision-makers need to establish commercial scale bioenergy markets, programs, and thermal co-firing plans. This study develops a Miscanthus Suitability Rating and a transferable field-scale siting method, applied at 10 m resolution across the State of Iowa to assess miscanthus production potential and identify individual farms that are highly suitable for large-scale miscanthus cultivation while maintaining a majority of existing row cropping acreage. Results show that highly suitable fields within 50 miles (84 km) of each of Iowa's coal-fired electrical generating units (EGUs) can displace up to 43% of current coal consumption. Every EGU in Iowa has land resource to produce local miscanthus to co-fire with other solid fuels at industry-leading levels without significantly impacting local row crop production. Seven of the state's smaller facilities could even operate exclusively on local miscanthus with advancements in densification technology. The energy evaluation tool developed in this work estimates the energy return on investment (EROI) of Iowa miscanthus for existing thermal generation facilities between 37 and 59, depending on transportation requirements and chemical field applications. This transition would diversify local agribusiness and energy feedstocks, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide a sustainable, dispatchable, in-state fuel source to complement wind and solar energy.

Pipeline for Contraceptive Development

PubMed Central

Blithe, Diana L.

2016-01-01

The high rates of unplanned pregnancy reflect unmet need for effective contraceptive methods for women, especially for individuals with health risks such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other conditions that may contraindicate use of an estrogen-containing product. Improvements in safety, user convenience, acceptability and availability of products remain important goals of the contraceptive development program. Another important goal is to minimize the impact of the products on the environment. Development of new methods for male contraception has the potential to address many of these issues with regard to safety for women who have contraindications to effective contraceptive methods but want to protect against pregnancy. It also will address a huge unmet need for men who want to control their fertility. Products under development for men would not introduce eco-toxic hormones in the waste water. Investment in contraceptive research to identify new products for women has been limited in the pharmaceutical industry relative to investment in drug development for other indications. Pharmaceutical R&D for male contraception was active in the 1990’s but was abandoned over a decade ago. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has supported a contraceptive development program since 1969. Through a variety of programs including research grants and contracts, NICHD has developed a pipeline of new targets/products for male and female contraception. A number of lead candidates are under evaluation in the NICHD Contraceptive Clinical Trials Network (CCTN) (1–3). PMID:27523300

Characteristics of Employees of Small Manufacturing Businesses by Occupation: Informing Evidence-Based Intervention Planning.

PubMed

Hunt, Mary K; Hennrikus, Deborah; Brosseau, Lisa M; Hannan, Peter J; Katz, Marc; Pinsker, Erika A; Lando, Harry A; Egelhoff, Claudia

2015-11-01

We examined characteristics of employees in six occupational categories in small manufacturing businesses (20-150 employees). We analyzed survey data from 47 businesses (n = 2577 employees; 86% response rate) and examined relationships between job type and sociodemographic, health, and organizational support characteristics. Analyses were adjusted for age and sex, and company as a random effect. Smoking rates were highest for production workers (33%), production managers (27%), and support staff (28%) and lowest for managers (11%) (P <0.001). Job stress was higher for production workers and support staff than managers (P < 0.0001). Managers perceived social capital (P<0.001), safety climate (P < 0.0001) and support for smoking cessation (P < 0.001) higher than production managers, production workers, and support staff. Differences in characteristics by occupation call for integrated interventions that target working class employees, leverage the influence of production managers, and enhance organizational support.

Building agribusiness model of LEISA to achieve sustainable agriculture in Surian Subdistrict of Sumedang Regency West Java Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Djuwendah, E.; Priyatna, T.; Kusno, K.; Deliana, Y.; Wulandari, E.

2018-03-01

Building agribusiness model of LEISA is needed as a prototype of sustainable regional and economic development (SRRED) in the watersheds (DAS) of West Java Province. Agribusiness model of LEISA is a sustainable agribusiness system applying low external input. The system was developed in the framework of optimizing local-based productive resources including soil, water, vegetation, microclimate, renewable energy, appropriate technology, social capital, environment and human resources by combining various subsystems including integrated production subsystems of crops, livestock and fish to provide a maximum synergy effect, post-harvest subsystem and processing of results, marketing subsystems and supporting subsystems. In this study, the ecological boundary of Cipunegara sub-watershed ecosystem, administrative boundaries are Surian Subdistricts in Sumedang. The purpose of this study are to identify the potency of natural resources and local agricultural technologies that could support the LEISA model in Surian and to identify the potency of internal and external inputs in the LEISA model. The research used qualitative descriptive method and technical action research. Data were obtained through interviews, documentation, and observation. The results showed that natural resources in the form of agricultural land, water resources, livestock resources, and human labor are sufficient to support agribusiness model of LEISA. LEISA agribusiness model that has been applied in the research location is the integration of beef cattle, agroforestry, and agrosilvopasture. By building LEISA model, agribusiness can optimize the utilization of locally based productive resources, reduce dependence on external resources, and support sustainable food security.

An investigation into support cooperativity for the deoxygenation of guaiacol over nanoparticle Ni and Rh 2P

DOE PAGES

Griffin, Michael B.; Baddour, Frederick G.; Habas, Susan E.; ...

2017-06-06

Here, the production of hydrocarbon fuels from biomass pyrolysis requires the development of effective deoxygenation catalysts, and insight into how the properties of the support influence performance is critical for catalyst design. In this report, nanoparticles of Ni and Rh 2P were synthesized using solution-phase techniques and dispersed on high surface area supports. The supports included a relatively inert material (C), an acidic reducible metal-oxide (TiO 2), an acidic irreducible metal-oxide (Al 2O 3), and a basic irreducible metal-oxide (MgO). The eight active phase/support combinations were investigated for the deoxygenation of guaiacol, a pyrolysis vapor model compound, under ex situmore » catalytic fast pyrolysis conditions (350 °C, 0.44 MPa H 2). Compared to the baseline performance of the C-supported catalysts, Ni/TiO 2 and Rh 2P/TiO 2 exhibited higher guaiacol conversion and lower O : C ratios for C 5+ products, highlighting the enhanced activity and greater selectivity to deoxygenated products derived from the use of an acidic reducible metal-oxide support. The Al 2O 3-supported catalysts also exhibited higher conversion than the C-supported catalysts and promoted alkylation reactions, which improve carbon efficiency and increase the carbon number of the C 5+ products. However, Ni/Al 2O 3 and Rh 2P/Al 2O 3 were less selective towards deoxygenated products than the C-supported catalysts. The MgO-supported catalyst exhibited lower conversion and decreased yield of deoxygenated products compared to the C-supported catalysts. The results reported here suggest that basic metal-oxide supports may inhibit deoxygenation of phenolics under CFP conditions. Contrastingly, support acidity and reducibility were demonstrated to promote conversion and selectivity to deoxygenated products, respectively.« less

Precision production: enabling deterministic throughput for precision aspheres with MRF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maloney, Chris; Entezarian, Navid; Dumas, Paul

2017-10-01

Aspherical lenses offer advantages over spherical optics by improving image quality or reducing the number of elements necessary in an optical system. Aspheres are no longer being used exclusively by high-end optical systems but are now replacing spherical optics in many applications. The need for a method of production-manufacturing of precision aspheres has emerged and is part of the reason that the optics industry is shifting away from artisan-based techniques towards more deterministic methods. Not only does Magnetorheological Finishing (MRF) empower deterministic figure correction for the most demanding aspheres but it also enables deterministic and efficient throughput for series production of aspheres. The Q-flex MRF platform is designed to support batch production in a simple and user friendly manner. Thorlabs routinely utilizes the advancements of this platform and has provided results from using MRF to finish a batch of aspheres as a case study. We have developed an analysis notebook to evaluate necessary specifications for implementing quality control metrics. MRF brings confidence to optical manufacturing by ensuring high throughput for batch processing of aspheres.

Production of enzymes by a newly isolated Bacillus sp. TMF-1 in solid state fermentation on agricultural by-products: The evaluation of substrate pretreatment methods.

PubMed

Salim, Abdalla Ali; Grbavčić, Sanja; Šekuljica, Nataša; Stefanović, Andrea; Jakovetić Tanasković, Sonja; Luković, Nevena; Knežević-Jugović, Zorica

2017-03-01

Study on potential of different agro-industrial waste residues for supporting the growth of newly isolated Bacillus sp. TMF-1 strain under solid-state fermentation (SSF) was conducted aiming to produce several industrially valuable enzymes. Since the feasibility of the initial study was confirmed, further objectives included evaluation of several pretreatments of the studied agricultural by-products (soybean meal, sunflower meal, maize bran, maize pericarp, olive oil cake and wheat bran) on the microbial productivity as means of enhancing the yields of produced proteases, α-amylases, cellulases and pectinases. Among acid/alkaline treatment, ultrasound and microwave assisted methods, chemical treatments superiorly affected most of the studied substrates. Highest yields of produced proteases (50.5IUg -1 ) and α-amylases (50.75IUg -1 ) were achieved on alkaline treated corn pericarp. Alkaline treatment also promoted the secretion of cellulases on maize bran (1.19IUg -1 ). Highest yield of pectinases was obtained on untreated soybean meal (64.90IUg -1 ). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

FDA's Activities Supporting Regulatory Application of "Next Gen" Sequencing Technologies.

PubMed

Wilson, Carolyn A; Simonyan, Vahan

2014-01-01

Applications of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies require availability and access to an information technology (IT) infrastructure and bioinformatics tools for large amounts of data storage and analyses. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) anticipates that the use of NGS data to support regulatory submissions will continue to increase as the scientific and clinical communities become more familiar with the technologies and identify more ways to apply these advanced methods to support development and evaluation of new biomedical products. FDA laboratories are conducting research on different NGS platforms and developing the IT infrastructure and bioinformatics tools needed to enable regulatory evaluation of the technologies and the data sponsors will submit. A High-performance Integrated Virtual Environment, or HIVE, has been launched, and development and refinement continues as a collaborative effort between the FDA and George Washington University to provide the tools to support these needs. The use of a highly parallelized environment facilitated by use of distributed cloud storage and computation has resulted in a platform that is both rapid and responsive to changing scientific needs. The FDA plans to further develop in-house capacity in this area, while also supporting engagement by the external community, by sponsoring an open, public workshop to discuss NGS technologies and data formats standardization, and to promote the adoption of interoperability protocols in September 2014. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies are enabling breakthroughs in how the biomedical community is developing and evaluating medical products. One example is the potential application of this method to the detection and identification of microbial contaminants in biologic products. In order for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be able to evaluate the utility of this technology, we need to have the information technology infrastructure and bioinformatics tools to be able to store and analyze large amounts of data. To address this need, we have developed the High-performance Integrated Virtual Environment, or HIVE. HIVE uses a combination of distributed cloud storage and distributed cloud computations to provide a platform that is both rapid and responsive to support the growing and increasingly diverse scientific and regulatory needs of FDA scientists in their evaluation of NGS in research and ultimately for evaluation of NGS data in regulatory submissions. © PDA, Inc. 2014.

Cost evaluation of cellulase enzyme for industrial-scale cellulosic ethanol production based on rigorous Aspen Plus modeling.

PubMed

Liu, Gang; Zhang, Jian; Bao, Jie

2016-01-01

Cost reduction on cellulase enzyme usage has been the central effort in the commercialization of fuel ethanol production from lignocellulose biomass. Therefore, establishing an accurate evaluation method on cellulase enzyme cost is crucially important to support the health development of the future biorefinery industry. Currently, the cellulase cost evaluation methods were complicated and various controversial or even conflict results were presented. To give a reliable evaluation on this important topic, a rigorous analysis based on the Aspen Plus flowsheet simulation in the commercial scale ethanol plant was proposed in this study. The minimum ethanol selling price (MESP) was used as the indicator to show the impacts of varying enzyme supply modes, enzyme prices, process parameters, as well as enzyme loading on the enzyme cost. The results reveal that the enzyme cost drives the cellulosic ethanol price below the minimum profit point when the enzyme is purchased from the current industrial enzyme market. An innovative production of cellulase enzyme such as on-site enzyme production should be explored and tested in the industrial scale to yield an economically sound enzyme supply for the future cellulosic ethanol production.

Biological activity analysis of native and recombinant streptokinase using clot lysis and chromogenic substrate assay.

PubMed

Mahboubi, Arash; Sadjady, Seyyed Kazem; Mirzaei Saleh Abadi, Mohammad; Azadi, Saeed; Solaimanian, Roya

2012-01-01

DETERMINATION OF STREPTOKINASE ACTIVITY IS USUALLY ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH TWO ASSAY METHODS: a) Clot lysis, b) Chromogenic substrate assay. In this study the biological activity of two streptokinase products, namely Streptase®, which is a native product and Heberkinasa®, which is a recombinant product, was determined against the third international reference standard using the two forementioned assay methods. The results indicated that whilst the activity of Streptase® was found to be 101 ± 4% and 97 ± 5% of the label claim with Clot lysis and Chromogenic substrate assay respectively, for Heberkinasa® the potency values obtained were 42 ± 5% and 92.5 ± 2% of the label claim respectively. To shed some light on the reason for this finding, the n-terminal sequence of the streptokinase molecules present in the two products was determined. The results showed slight differences in the amino acid sequence of the recombinant product in comparison to the native one at the amino terminus. This finding supports those of other workers who found that n-terminal sequence of the streptokinase molecule can have significant effect on the activity of this protein.

Opinion mining on book review using CNN-L2-SVM algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rozi, M. F.; Mukhlash, I.; Soetrisno; Kimura, M.

2018-03-01

Review of a product can represent quality of a product itself. An extraction to that review can be used to know sentiment of that opinion. Process to extract useful information of user review is called Opinion Mining. Review extraction model that is enhancing nowadays is Deep Learning model. This Model has been used by many researchers to obtain excellent performance on Natural Language Processing. In this research, one of deep learning model, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is used for feature extraction and L2 Support Vector Machine (SVM) as classifier. These methods are implemented to know the sentiment of book review data. The result of this method shows state-of-the art performance in 83.23% for training phase and 64.6% for testing phase.

Apparatus and method for reprocessing and separating spent nuclear fuels. [Patent application

DOEpatents

Krikorian, O.H.; Grens, J.Z.; Parrish, W.H. Sr.; Coops, M.S.

1982-01-19

A method and apparatus for separating and reprocessing spent nuclear fuels includes a separation vessel housing a molten metal solvent in a reaction region, a reflux region positioned above and adjacent to the reaction region, and a porous filter member defining the bottom of the separation vessel in a supporting relationship with the metal solvent. Spent fuels are added to the metal solvent. A nonoxidizing nitrogen-containing gas is introduced into the separation vessel, forming solid actinide nitrides in the metal solvent from actinide fuels, while leaving other fission products in solution. A pressure of about 1.1 to 1.2 atm is applied in the reflux region, forcing the molten metal solvent and soluble fission products out of the vessel, while leaving the solid actinide nitrides in the separation vessel.

The Relationship Between Social Support and Adherence of Dietary and Fluids Restrictions among Hemodialysis Patients in Iran

PubMed Central

Ahrari, Shahnaz; Moshki, Mahdi; Bahrami, Mahnaz

2014-01-01

Introduction: Patient's noncompliance dietary and fluids intake can lead to a build-up of toxic fluids and metabolic end-products in the blood stream which may result in an increased morbidity and premature death. The aim of the study is investigate relationship between the social support and adherence to dietary and fluid restrictions in hemodialysis patients. Methods: In this correlational study upon 237 hemodialysis patients, the data was collected with the dialysis diet and fluids non-adherences hemodialysis questionnaire (DDFQ), and the multidimensional scale of perceived Social Support (MSP). Interdialytic weight gain, predialytic serum potassium levels, and predialytic serum phosphate levels was considered as biochemical indicators of dietary and fluid adherence. Data were analyzed by SPSS Ver.11.5. Results: About 41.1% of patients reported non-adherence to diet and 45.2% of them reported non-adherence to fluid. Frequency of non-adherence to fluid was more common in patients. The highest level of perceived support was the family support 11.19 (1.34). There was a significant relationship between social support and adherence to dietary and fluid restrictions. Noncompliances to dietary and fluid restrictions were related to laboratory results. Conclusion: This way those patients who more supported had more adherences of diet and fluid restrictions and had lower level of phosphorus and potassium in laboratory results. Nurses have the main role to identify different methods providing social support for patients, also to encourage the families to support their hemodialysis patients. PMID:25276744

Step-by-step seeding procedure for preparing HKUST-1 membrane on porous α-alumina support.

PubMed

Nan, Jiangpu; Dong, Xueliang; Wang, Wenjin; Jin, Wanqin; Xu, Nanping

2011-04-19

Metal-organic framework (MOF) membranes have attracted considerable attention because of their striking advantages in small-molecule separation. The preparation of an integrated MOF membrane is still a major challenge. Depositing a uniform seed layer on a support for secondary growth is a main route to obtaining an integrated MOF membrane. A novel seeding method to prepare HKUST-1 (known as Cu(3)(btc)(2)) membranes on porous α-alumina supports is reported. The in situ production of the seed layer was realized in step-by-step fashion via the coordination of H(3)btc and Cu(2+) on an α-alumina support. The formation process of the seed layer was observed by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. An integrated HKUST-1 membrane could be synthesized by the secondary hydrothermal growth on the seeded support. The gas permeation performance of the membrane was evaluated. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Integrating Theory and Practice: Applying the Quality Improvement Paradigm to Product Line Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stark, Michael; Hennessy, Joseph F. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

My assertion is that not only are product lines a relevant research topic, but that the tools used by empirical software engineering researchers can address observed practical problems. Our experience at NASA has been there are often externally proposed solutions available, but that we have had difficulties applying them in our particular context. We have also focused on return on investment issues when evaluating product lines, and while these are important, one can not attain objective data on success or failure until several applications from a product family have been deployed. The use of the Quality Improvement Paradigm (QIP) can address these issues: (1) Planning an adoption path from an organization's current state to a product line approach; (2) Constructing a development process to fit the organization's adoption path; (3) Evaluation of product line development processes as the project is being developed. The QIP consists of the following six steps: (1) Characterize the project and its environment; (2) Set quantifiable goals for successful project performance; (3) Choose the appropriate process models, supporting methods, and tools for the project; (4) Execute the process, analyze interim results, and provide real-time feedback for corrective action; (5) Analyze the results of completed projects and recommend improvements; and (6) Package the lessons learned as updated and refined process models. A figure shows the QIP in detail. The iterative nature of the QIP supports an incremental development approach to product lines, and the project learning and feedback provide the necessary early evaluations.

Natural products and the athlete: facts and folklore.

PubMed

Barron, R L; Vanscoy, G J

1993-05-01

To contrast scientific facts with suggested manufacturers' claims regarding food supplements (natural products) marketed for enhanced athletic prowess. A MEDLINE search was performed to obtain documentation supporting the claims of natural-product manufacturers. In addition, several references pertaining to pharmacognosy, natural products, herbs, pharmacy practice, and sports medicine were reviewed. Claims were obtained from promotional advertisements in bodybuilding magazines, product labels, and fact sheets for sales representatives in nutrition and health-food stores. We reviewed all of the clinical trials, published between 1966 and 1992, relative to the manufacturers' claims regarding these products. Pertinent human and/or animal studies supporting each natural product were compared with the manufacturers' claims. We found that there was no published scientific evidence to support the promotional claims for a large proportion of the products (8/19, 42 percent). Only 4 of 19 products (21 percent) were associated with any documented human clinical trials supporting their promotional claims. Six of 19 agents (32 percent) had some scientific documentation to support their promotional claims; however, these products were judged to be marketed in a misleading manner.

Molecular characterization of patulin producing and non-producing Penicillium species in apples from Morocco.

PubMed

Rharmitt, Sanae; Hafidi, Majida; Hajjaj, Hassan; Scordino, Fabio; Giosa, Domenico; Giuffrè, Letterio; Barreca, Davide; Criseo, Giuseppe; Romeo, Orazio

2016-01-18

The isolation of patulin-producing Penicillia in apples collected in different markets in four localities in Morocco is reported. Fungi were identified by β-tubulin sequencing and further characterized using a specific PCR-based method targeting the isoepoxydon dehydrogenase (IDH) gene to discriminate between patulin-producing and non-producing strains. Production of patulin was also evaluated using standard cultural and biochemical methods. Results showed that 79.5% of contaminant fungi belonged to the genus Penicillium and that Penicillium expansum was the most isolated species (83.9%) followed by Penicillium chrysogenum (~9.7%) and Penicillium crustosum (~6.4%). Molecular analysis revealed that 64.5% of the Penicillium species produced the expected IDH-amplicon denoting patulin production in these strains. However, patulin production was not chemically confirmed in all P. expansum strains. The isolation of IDH(-)/patulin(+) strains poses the hypothesis that gentisylaldehyde is not a direct patulin precursor, supporting previous observations that highlighted the importance of the gentisyl alcohol in the production of this mycotoxin. Total agreement between IDH-gene detection and cultural/chemical methods employed was observed in 58% of P. expansum strains and for 100% of the other species isolated. Overall the data reported here showed a substantial genetic variability within P. expansum population from Morocco. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Verification and Validation of NASA-Supported Enhancements to Decision Support Tools of PECAD

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Kenton W.; McKellip, Rodney; Moore, Roxzana F.; Fendley, Debbie

2005-01-01

This section of the evaluation report summarizes the verification and validation (V&V) of recently implemented, NASA-supported enhancements to the decision support tools of the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division (PECAD). The implemented enhancements include operationally tailored Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products and products of the Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor (GRLM). The MODIS products are currently made available through two separate decision support tools: the MODIS Image Gallery and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Database. Both the Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor and MODIS Image Gallery provide near-real-time products through PECAD's CropExplorer. This discussion addresses two areas: 1. Assessments of the standard NASA products on which these enhancements are based. 2. Characterizations of the performance of the new operational products.

75 FR 41365 - Dairy Product Price Support Program and Dairy Indemnity Payment Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-16

...;Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each #0;week. #0; #0; #0; #0;#0... 0560-AH88 Dairy Product Price Support Program and Dairy Indemnity Payment Program AGENCY: Commodity... regulations for the Dairy Product Price Support Program (DPPSP), which has replaced the Price Support Program...

Application of Combination High-Throughput Phenotypic Screening and Target Identification Methods for the Discovery of Natural Product-Based Combination Drugs.

PubMed

Isgut, Monica; Rao, Mukkavilli; Yang, Chunhua; Subrahmanyam, Vangala; Rida, Padmashree C G; Aneja, Ritu

2018-03-01

Modern drug discovery efforts have had mediocre success rates with increasing developmental costs, and this has encouraged pharmaceutical scientists to seek innovative approaches. Recently with the rise of the fields of systems biology and metabolomics, network pharmacology (NP) has begun to emerge as a new paradigm in drug discovery, with a focus on multiple targets and drug combinations for treating disease. Studies on the benefits of drug combinations lay the groundwork for a renewed focus on natural products in drug discovery. Natural products consist of a multitude of constituents that can act on a variety of targets in the body to induce pharmacodynamic responses that may together culminate in an additive or synergistic therapeutic effect. Although natural products cannot be patented, they can be used as starting points in the discovery of potent combination therapeutics. The optimal mix of bioactive ingredients in natural products can be determined via phenotypic screening. The targets and molecular mechanisms of action of these active ingredients can then be determined using chemical proteomics, and by implementing a reverse pharmacokinetics approach. This review article provides evidence supporting the potential benefits of natural product-based combination drugs, and summarizes drug discovery methods that can be applied to this class of drugs. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Tuning the Selectivity of Catalytic Carbon Dioxide Hydrogenation over Iridium/Cerium Oxide Catalysts with a Strong Metal-Support Interaction.

PubMed

Li, Siwei; Xu, Yao; Chen, Yifu; Li, Weizhen; Lin, Lili; Li, Mengzhu; Deng, Yuchen; Wang, Xiaoping; Ge, Binghui; Yang, Ce; Yao, Siyu; Xie, Jinglin; Li, Yongwang; Liu, Xi; Ma, Ding

2017-08-28

A one-step ligand-free method based on an adsorption-precipitation process was developed to fabricate iridium/cerium oxide (Ir/CeO 2 ) nanocatalysts. Ir species demonstrated a strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) with the CeO 2 substrate. The chemical state of Ir could be finely tuned by altering the loading of the metal. In the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) hydrogenation reaction it was shown that the chemical state of Ir species-induced by a SMSI-has a major impact on the reaction selectivity. Direct evidence is provided indicating that a single-site catalyst is not a prerequisite for inhibition of methanation and sole production of carbon monoxide (CO) in CO 2 hydrogenation. Instead, modulation of the chemical state of metal species by a strong metal-support interaction is more important for regulation of the observed selectivity (metallic Ir particles select for methane while partially oxidized Ir species select for CO production). The study provides insight into heterogeneous catalysts at nano, sub-nano, and atomic scales. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Graft polymerization of wood sawdust and peat with ethylene carbonate. A novel method for the preparation of supports with enhanced mechanical properties to be used in biofiltration of organic vapors.

PubMed

Hernández-Meléndez, O; Peydecastaing, J; Bárzana, E; Vaca-Garcia, C; Hernández-Luna, M; Borredon, M E

2009-01-01

The graft polymerization reaction between ethylene carbonate (EC) and scots pine sawdust (SPS) or peat moss (PM) offers a solvent-free approach to the simple and inexpensive aliphatic derivatization of these lignocellulosic fibers. This reaction was studied with liquid or vapor EC phases in three different reactor configurations: batch stirred (BSR), semi-continuous stirred (SSR) and continuous tubular in the gas phase (CVTR). The use of a vapor phase allowed a satisfactory grafting yield and minimal production of non-grafted polyol by-products. The crosslinking agent 4,4'-methylenebis(phenylisocyanate) (MDI) achieved superior characteristics to form shaped tablets resistant to water disaggregation, a high water retention capacity and high compression strength, characteristics that conventional organic supports like PM or PM-polyurethane foam mixtures used in biofiltration of waste gases do not completely possess.

Ozonation and alkaline-peroxide pretreatment of wheat straw for Cryptococcus curvatus fermentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenwalt, C. J.; Hunter, J. B.; Lin, S.; McKenzie, S.; Denvir, A.

2000-01-01

Crop residues in an Advanced Life Support System (ALS) contain many valuable components that could be recovered and used. Wheat is 60% inedible, with approximately 90% of the total sugars in the residue cellulose and hemicellulose. To release these sugars requires pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis. Cryptococcus curvatus, an oleaginous yeast, uses the sugars in cellulose and hemicellulose for growth and production of storage triglycerides. In this investigation, alkaline-peroxide and ozonation pretreatment methods were compared for their efficiency to release glucose and xylose to be used in the cultivation of C. curvatus. Leaching the biomass with water at 65 degrees C for 4 h prior to pretreatment facilitated saccharification. Alkaline-peroxide and ozone pretreatment were almost 100% and 80% saccharification efficient, respectively. The sugars derived from the hydrolysis of alkaline-peroxide-treated wheat straw supported the growth of C. curvatus and the production of edible single-cell oil.

The Positive Effect of Resilience on Stress and Business Outcomes in Difficult Work Environments

PubMed Central

Shatté, Andrew; Perlman, Adam; Smith, Brad; Lynch, Wendy D.

2017-01-01

Objective: To examine whether resilience has a protective effect in difficult work environments. Methods: A survey of 2063 individuals measured individual resilience, stress, burnout, sleep problems, likelihood of depression, job satisfaction, intent to quit, absences, and productivity. It also measured work characteristics: job demands, job influence, and social support. Multivariate and logistic regression models examined the main effects and interactions of resilience and job characteristics. Results: High strain work environments (high demand, low influence, and low support) have an unfavorable effect on all outcomes. Resilience has a protective effect on all outcomes. For stress, burnout, and sleep, higher resilience has a more protective effect under low-strain conditions. For depression, absence and productivity, resilience has a more protective effect when job strain is high. Conclusions: Workers with high resilience have better outcomes in difficult work environments. PMID:28002352

Preformulation considerations for controlled release dosage forms. Part II. Selected candidate support.

PubMed

Chrzanowski, Frank

2008-01-01

Practical examples of preformulation support of the form selected for formulation development are provided using several drug substances (DSs). The examples include determination of the solubilities vs. pH particularly for the range pH 1 to 8 because of its relationship to gastrointestinal (GI) conditions and dissolution method development. The advantages of equilibrium solubility and trial solubility methods are described. The equilibrium method is related to detecting polymorphism and the trial solubility method, to simplifying difficult solubility problems. An example of two polymorphs existing in mixtures of DS is presented in which one of the forms is very unstable. Accelerating stability studies are used in conjunction with HPLC and quantitative X-ray powder diffraction (QXRD) to demonstrate the differences in chemical and polymorphic stabilities. The results from two model excipient compatibility methods are compared to determine which has better predictive accuracy for room temperature stability. A DSC (calorimetric) method and an isothermal stress with quantitative analysis (ISQA) method that simulates wet granulation conditions were compared using a 2 year room temperature sample set as reference. An example of a pH stability profile for understanding stability and extrapolating stability to other environments is provided. The pH-stability of omeprazole and lansoprazole, which are extremely unstable in acidic and even mildly acidic conditions, are related to the formulation of delayed release dosage forms and the resolution of the problem associated with free carboxyl groups from the enteric coating polymers reacting with the DSs. Dissolution method requirements for CR dosage forms are discussed. The applicability of a modified disintegration time (DT) apparatus for supporting CR dosage form development of a pH sensitive DS at a specific pH such as duodenal pH 5.6 is related. This method is applicable for DSs such as peptides, proteins, enzymes and natural products where physical observation can be used in place of a difficult to perform analytical method, saving resources and providing rapid preformulation support.

Evaluating forest product potential as part of planning ecological restoration treatments on forested landscapes

Treesearch

R. James Barbour; Ryan Singleton; Douglas A. Maguire

2007-01-01

As landscape-scale assessments and modeling become a more common method for evaluating alternatives in integrated resource management, new techniques are needed to display and evaluate outcomes for large numbers of stands over long periods. In this proof of concept, we evaluate the potential to provide financial support for silvicultural treatments by selling timber...

Structural characterization of product ions by electrospray ionization and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry to support regulatory analysis of veterinary drug residues in foods Part 2: Benzimidazoles nitromidaz.....

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

RATIONALE: Analysis for identification and quantification of regulated veterinary drug residues in foods are usually achieved by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The instrument method requires the selection of characteristic ions, but structure elucidation is seldom perform...

Effect of Parkinson's Disease on the Production of Structured and Unstructured Speaking Tasks: Respiratory Physiologic and Linguistic Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huber, Jessica E.; Darling, Meghan

2011-01-01

Purpose: To examine the effects of cognitive-linguistic deficits and respiratory physiologic changes on respiratory support for speech in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) using two speech tasks: reading and extemporaneous speech. Method: Five women with PD, 9 men with PD, and 14 age- and sex-matched control participants read a passage and…

Supporting the Professional Development of Teacher Educators in a Productive Way

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boei, Fer; Dengerink, Jurriën; Geursen, Janneke; Kools, Quinta; Koster, Bob; Lunenberg, Mieke; Willemse, Martijn

2015-01-01

This study reports on what 13 teacher educators going through a procedure to become registered as a teacher educator in 2011-2012 learned, what goals they formulated for their further professional development and what activities they planned to achieve these goals. The methods used in this study are mainly the same as were used at the time the…

30 CFR 250.224 - What information on support vessels, offshore vehicles, and aircraft you will use must accompany...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the transportation method and quantities of drilling fluids and chemical products (see § 250.213(b... description of the composition, quantities, and destination(s) of solid and liquid wastes (see § 250.217(a)) you will transport from your drilling unit. (e) Vicinity map. A map showing the location of your...

Support for Anterior Temporal Involvement in Semantic Error Production in Aphasia: New Evidence from VLSM

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Grant M.; Schwartz, Myrna F.; Kimberg, Daniel Y.; Faseyitan, Olufunsho; Brecher, Adelyn; Dell, Gary S.; Coslett, H. Branch

2011-01-01

Semantic errors in aphasia (e.g., naming a horse as "dog") frequently arise from faulty mapping of concepts onto lexical items. A recent study by our group used voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) methods with 64 patients with chronic aphasia to identify voxels that carry an association with semantic errors. The strongest associations were…

The Value of Learning Talk: Applying a Novel Dialogue Scoring Method to Inform Interaction Design in an Open-Ended, Embodied Museum Exhibit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Jessica; Lyons, Leilah

2017-01-01

Museum researchers have long acknowledged the importance of dialogue in informal learning, particularly for open-ended exploratory exhibits. Novel interaction techniques like full-body interaction are appealing for these exploratory exhibits, but designers have not had a metric for determining how their designs are supporting productive learning…

Writing Groups in Teacher Education: A Method to Increase Scholarly Productivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, C. Steven; Edwards, Susan; Wilson, Judi H.

2012-01-01

Writing groups have been used in a variety of academic disciplines to support and encourage faculty in their scholarly endeavors. This article gives an overview of the impact a writing group within a Teacher Education department at a teaching institution had on scholarly output over a two year period. The structure of the writing group is shared…

Method to Reduce Long-lived Fission Products by Nuclear Transmutations with Fast Spectrum Reactors.

PubMed

Chiba, Satoshi; Wakabayashi, Toshio; Tachi, Yoshiaki; Takaki, Naoyuki; Terashima, Atsunori; Okumura, Shin; Yoshida, Tadashi

2017-10-24

Transmutation of long-lived fission products (LLFPs: 79 Se, 93 Zr, 99 Tc, 107 Pd, 129 I, and 135 Cs) into short-lived or non-radioactive nuclides by fast neutron spectrum reactors without isotope separation has been proposed as a solution to the problem of radioactive wastes disposal. Despite investigation of many methods, such transmutation remains technologically difficult. To establish an effective and efficient transmutation system, we propose a novel neutron moderator material, yttrium deuteride (YD 2 ), to soften the neutron spectrum leaking from the reactor core. Neutron energy spectra and effective half-lives of LLFPs, transmutation rates, and support ratios were evaluated with the continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MVP-II/MVP-BURN and the JENDL-4.0 cross section library. With the YD 2 moderator in the radial blanket and shield regions, effective half-lives drastically decreased from 106 to 102 years and the support ratios reached 1.0 for all six LLFPs. This successful development and implementation of a transmutation system for LLFPs without isotope separation contributes to a the ability of fast spectrum reactors to reduce radioactive waste by consuming their own LLFPs.

Characterization of double oxide system Cu-Cr-O supported on γ-Al2O3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherkezova-Zheleva, Z.; Kolev, H.; Krstić, J.; Dimitrov, D.; Ivanov, K.; Loncarević, D.; Jovanović, D.; Mitov, I.

2009-09-01

Series of alumina supported chromium-copper catalysts were prepared by co-impregnation method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Dispersion and porosity was also obtained. The experimental and catalytic test results have drawn a conclusion that an interaction between copper and chromium ions takes place. This interaction is responsible for the enhanced catalytic activity of studied catalysts in reaction of total oxidation of industrial formaldehyde production exhaust gas, which contains CO, dimethyl ether and methanol as main components.

A programmable rules engine to provide clinical decision support using HTML forms.

PubMed

Heusinkveld, J; Geissbuhler, A; Sheshelidze, D; Miller, R

1999-01-01

The authors have developed a simple method for specifying rules to be applied to information on HTML forms. This approach allows clinical experts, who lack the programming expertise needed to write CGI scripts, to construct and maintain domain-specific knowledge and ordering capabilities within WizOrder, the order-entry and decision support system used at Vanderbilt Hospital. The clinical knowledge base maintainers use HTML editors to create forms and spreadsheet programs for rule entry. A test environment has been developed which uses Netscape to display forms; the production environment displays forms using an embedded browser.

Development of the University of Washington Biofuels and Biobased Chemicals Process Laboratory

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

Gustafson, Richard

2014-02-04

The funding from this research grant enabled us to design and build a bioconversion steam explosion reactor and ancillary equipment such as a high pressure boiler and a fermenter to support the bioconversion process research. This equipment has been in constant use since its installation in 2012. Following are research projects that it has supported: • Investigation of novel chip production method in biofuels production • Investigation of biomass refining following steam explosion • Several studies on use of different biomass feedstocks • Investigation of biomass moisture content on pretreatment efficacy. • Development of novel instruments for biorefinery process controlmore » Having this equipment was also instrumental in the University of Washington receiving a $40 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture for biofuels development as well as several other smaller grants. The research that is being done with the equipment from this grant will facilitate the establishment of a biofuels industry in the Pacific Northwest and enable the University of Washington to launch a substantial biofuels and bio-based product research program.« less

Flow chemistry and polymer-supported pseudoenantiomeric acylating agents enable parallel kinetic resolution of chiral saturated N-heterocycles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kreituss, Imants; Bode, Jeffrey W.

2017-05-01

Kinetic resolution is a common method to obtain enantioenriched material from a racemic mixture. This process will deliver enantiopure unreacted material when the selectivity factor of the process, s, is greater than 1; however, the scalemic reaction product is often discarded. Parallel kinetic resolution, on the other hand, provides access to two enantioenriched products from a single racemic starting material, but suffers from a variety of practical challenges regarding experimental design that limit its applications. Here, we describe the development of a flow-based system that enables practical parallel kinetic resolution of saturated N-heterocycles. This process provides access to both enantiomers of the starting material in good yield and high enantiopurity; similar results with classical kinetic resolution would require selectivity factors in the range of s = 100. To achieve this, two immobilized quasienantiomeric acylating agents were designed for the asymmetric acylation of racemic saturated N-heterocycles. Using the flow-based system we could efficiently separate, recover and reuse the polymer-supported reagents. The amide products could be readily separated and hydrolysed to the corresponding amines without detectable epimerization.

Effects of social support at work on depression and organizational productivity.

PubMed

Park, Kyoung-Ok; Wilson, Mark G; Lee, Myung Sun

2004-01-01

To examine how social support at work affects depression and organizational productivity in a work-stress framework. A self-administered survey for 240 workers in a public hospital in the southeastern United States. Social support at work was directly related to high job control, low depression, and high job performance. Social support did not buffer the negative effects of work factors on depression and organizational productivity. Social support at work had a direct and beneficial effect on workers' psychological well-being and organizational productivity without any interaction effect on the work-stress framework.

In search of standards to support circularity in product policies: A systematic approach.

PubMed

Tecchio, Paolo; McAlister, Catriona; Mathieux, Fabrice; Ardente, Fulvio

2017-12-01

The aspiration of a circular economy is to shift material flows toward a zero waste and pollution production system. The process of shifting to a circular economy has been initiated by the European Commission in their action plan for the circular economy. The EU Ecodesign Directive is a key policy in this transition. However, to date the focus of access to market requirements on products has primarily been upon energy efficiency. The absence of adequate metrics and standards has been a key barrier to the inclusion of resource efficiency requirements. This paper proposes a framework to boost sustainable engineering and resource use by systematically identifying standardization needs and features. Standards can then support the setting of appropriate material efficiency requirements in EU product policy. Three high-level policy goals concerning material efficiency of products were identified: embodied impact reduction, lifetime extension and residual waste reduction. Through a lifecycle perspective, a matrix of interactions among material efficiency topics (recycled content, re-used content, relevant material content, durability, upgradability, reparability, re-manufacturability, reusability, recyclability, recoverability, relevant material separability) and policy goals was created. The framework was tested on case studies for electronic displays and washing machines. For potential material efficiency requirements, specific standardization needs were identified, such as adequate metrics for performance measurements, reliable and repeatable tests, and calculation procedures. The proposed novel framework aims to provide a method by which to identify key material efficiency considerations within the policy context, and to map out the generic and product-specific standardisation needs to support ecodesign. Via such an approach, many different stakeholders (industry, academics, policy makers, non-governmental organizations etc.) can be involved in material efficiency standards and regulations. Requirements and standards concerning material efficiency would compel product manufacturers, but also help designers and interested parties in addressing the sustainable resource use issue.

Single step purification of concanavalin A (Con A) and bio-sugar production from jack bean using glucosylated magnetic nano matrix.

PubMed

Kim, Ho Myeong; Cho, Eun Jin; Bae, Hyeun-Jong

2016-08-01

Jack bean (JB, Canavalia ensiformis) is the source of bio-based products, such as proteins and bio-sugars that contribute to modern molecular biology and biomedical research. In this study, the use of jack bean was evaluated as a source for concanavalin A (Con A) and bio-sugar production. A novel method for purifying Con A from JBs was successfully developed using a glucosylated magnetic nano matrix (GMNM) as a physical support, which facilitated easy separation and purification of Con A. In addition, the enzymatic conversion rate of 2% (w/v) Con A extracted residue to bio-sugar was 98.4%. Therefore, this new approach for the production of Con A and bio-sugar is potentially useful for obtaining bio-based products from jack bean. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Sustainable Landscape Designs for Improved Biomass Production in the U.S. Corn Belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonner, Ian J.

Demand for renewable and sustainable energy options has resulted in a significant commitment by the US Government to research pathways for fuel production from biomass. The research presented in this thesis describes one potential pathway to increase the amount of biomass available for biofuel production by integrating dedicated energy crops into agricultural fields. In the first chapter an innovative landscape design method based on subfield placement of an energy crop into row crop fields in central Iowa is used to reduce financial loss for farmers, increase and diversify biomass production, and improve soil resources. The second chapter explores how subfield management decisions may be made using high fidelity data and modeling to balance concerns of primary crop production and economics. This work provides critical forward looking support to agricultural land managers and stakeholders in the biomass and bioenergy industry for pathways to improving land stewardship and energy security.

On the Electronic Structure of Cu Chlorophyllin and Its Breakdown Products: A Carbon K-Edge X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy Study.

PubMed

Witte, Katharina; Mantouvalou, Ioanna; Sánchez-de-Armas, Rocío; Lokstein, Heiko; Lebendig-Kuhla, Janina; Jonas, Adrian; Roth, Friedrich; Kanngießer, Birgit; Stiel, Holger

2018-02-15

Using near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, the carbon backbone of sodium copper chlorophyllin (SCC), a widely used chlorophyll derivative, and its breakdown products are analyzed to elucidate their electronic structure and physicochemical properties. Using various sample preparation methods and complementary spectroscopic methods (including UV/Vis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), a comprehensive insight into the SCC breakdown process is presented. The experimental results are supported by density functional theory calculations, allowing a detailed assignment of characteristic NEXAFS features to specific C bonds. SCC can be seen as a model system for the large group of porphyrins; thus, this work provides a novel and detailed description of the electronic structure of the carbon backbone of those molecules and their breakdown products. The achieved results also promise prospective optical pump/X-ray probe investigations of dynamic processes in chlorophyll-containing photosynthetic complexes to be analyzed more precisely.

Management of Occupational Exposure to Engineered Nanoparticles Through a Chance-Constrained Nonlinear Programming Approach

PubMed Central

Chen, Zhi; Yuan, Yuan; Zhang, Shu-Shen; Chen, Yu; Yang, Feng-Lin

2013-01-01

Critical environmental and human health concerns are associated with the rapidly growing fields of nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs). The main risk arises from occupational exposure via chronic inhalation of nanoparticles. This research presents a chance-constrained nonlinear programming (CCNLP) optimization approach, which is developed to maximize the nanaomaterial production and minimize the risks of workplace exposure to MNMs. The CCNLP method integrates nonlinear programming (NLP) and chance-constrained programming (CCP), and handles uncertainties associated with both the nanomaterial production and workplace exposure control. The CCNLP method was examined through a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) manufacturing process. The study results provide optimal production strategies and alternatives. It reveal that a high control measure guarantees that environmental health and safety (EHS) standards regulations are met, while a lower control level leads to increased risk of violating EHS regulations. The CCNLP optimization approach is a decision support tool for the optimization of the increasing MNMS manufacturing with workplace safety constraints under uncertainties. PMID:23531490

Physicochemical properties of whole fruit plum powders obtained using different drying technologies.

PubMed

Michalska, Anna; Wojdyło, Aneta; Lech, Krzysztof; Łysiak, Grzegorz P; Figiel, Adam

2016-09-15

Physicochemical quality parameters of plum powders obtained by applying conventional drying methods and their combination devised to process plums were evaluated. The effect of freeze-drying (FD), vacuum drying (VD), convective drying (CD), microwave-vacuum drying (MVD) and combination of convective pre-drying and microwave finish-drying (CPD-MVFD) affected physical (bulk density, porosity, colour, solubility) and chemical (polyphenolic compounds determined by UPLC and antioxidant capacity by TEAC ABTS and FRAP methods) properties of plum powders. The MVD at 1.2 W g(-1) and a novel combination for plum powders production - CPD-MVFD at 70 °C/1.2 W g(-1) allowed the best preservation of phenolic compounds and increased the efficiency of production. Results obtained support the use of MVD and its combination for better quality of dried plum products. The study proved that the determination of the browning index and HMF level (formed via Maillard reaction) might be good tool for monitoring the thermal processing of plum powders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Management of occupational exposure to engineered nanoparticles through a chance-constrained nonlinear programming approach.

PubMed

Chen, Zhi; Yuan, Yuan; Zhang, Shu-Shen; Chen, Yu; Yang, Feng-Lin

2013-03-26

Critical environmental and human health concerns are associated with the rapidly growing fields of nanotechnology and manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs). The main risk arises from occupational exposure via chronic inhalation of nanoparticles. This research presents a chance-constrained nonlinear programming (CCNLP) optimization approach, which is developed to maximize the nanaomaterial production and minimize the risks of workplace exposure to MNMs. The CCNLP method integrates nonlinear programming (NLP) and chance-constrained programming (CCP), and handles uncertainties associated with both the nanomaterial production and workplace exposure control. The CCNLP method was examined through a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) manufacturing process. The study results provide optimal production strategies and alternatives. It reveal that a high control measure guarantees that environmental health and safety (EHS) standards regulations are met, while a lower control level leads to increased risk of violating EHS regulations. The CCNLP optimization approach is a decision support tool for the optimization of the increasing MNMS manufacturing with workplace safety constraints under uncertainties.

A Satellite Data-Driven, Client-Server Decision Support Application for Agricultural Water Resources Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Lee F.; Maneta, Marco P.; Kimball, John S.

2016-01-01

Water cycle extremes such as droughts and floods present a challenge for water managers and for policy makers responsible for the administration of water supplies in agricultural regions. In addition to the inherent uncertainties associated with forecasting extreme weather events, water planners need to anticipate water demands and water user behavior in a typical circumstances. This requires the use decision support systems capable of simulating agricultural water demand with the latest available data. Unfortunately, managers from local and regional agencies often use different datasets of variable quality, which complicates coordinated action. In previous work we have demonstrated novel methodologies to use satellite-based observational technologies, in conjunction with hydro-economic models and state of the art data assimilation methods, to enable robust regional assessment and prediction of drought impacts on agricultural production, water resources, and land allocation. These methods create an opportunity for new, cost-effective analysis tools to support policy and decision-making over large spatial extents. The methods can be driven with information from existing satellite-derived operational products, such as the Satellite Irrigation Management Support system (SIMS) operational over California, the Cropland Data Layer (CDL), and using a modified light-use efficiency algorithm to retrieve crop yield from the synergistic use of MODIS and Landsat imagery. Here we present an integration of this modeling framework in a client-server architecture based on the Hydra platform. Assimilation and processing of resource intensive remote sensing data, as well as hydrologic and other ancillary information occur on the server side. This information is processed and summarized as attributes in water demand nodes that are part of a vector description of the water distribution network. With this architecture, our decision support system becomes a light weight 'app' that connects to the server to retrieve the latest information regarding water demands, land use, yields and hydrologic information required to run different management scenarios. Furthermore, this architecture ensures all agencies and teams involved in water management use the same, up-to-date information in their simulations.

A satellite data-driven, client-server decision support application for agricultural water resources management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maneta, M. P.; Johnson, L.; Kimball, J. S.

2016-12-01

Water cycle extremes such as droughts and floods present a challenge for water managers and for policy makers responsible for the administration of water supplies in agricultural regions. In addition to the inherent uncertainties associated with forecasting extreme weather events, water planners need to anticipate water demands and water user behavior in atypical circumstances. This requires the use decision support systems capable of simulating agricultural water demand with the latest available data. Unfortunately, managers from local and regional agencies often use different datasets of variable quality, which complicates coordinated action. In previous work we have demonstrated novel methodologies to use satellite-based observational technologies, in conjunction with hydro-economic models and state of the art data assimilation methods, to enable robust regional assessment and prediction of drought impacts on agricultural production, water resources, and land allocation. These methods create an opportunity for new, cost-effective analysis tools to support policy and decision-making over large spatial extents. The methods can be driven with information from existing satellite-derived operational products, such as the Satellite Irrigation Management Support system (SIMS) operational over California, the Cropland Data Layer (CDL), and using a modified light-use efficiency algorithm to retrieve crop yield from the synergistic use of MODIS and Landsat imagery. Here we present an integration of this modeling framework in a client-server architecture based on the Hydra platform. Assimilation and processing of resource intensive remote sensing data, as well as hydrologic and other ancillary information occur on the server side. This information is processed and summarized as attributes in water demand nodes that are part of a vector description of the water distribution network. With this architecture, our decision support system becomes a light weight `app` that connects to the server to retrieve the latest information regarding water demands, land use, yields and hydrologic information required to run different management scenarios. Furthermore, this architecture ensures all agencies and teams involved in water management use the same, up-to-date information in their simulations.

Method of making metal oxide ceramic powders by using a combustible amino acid compound

DOEpatents

Pederson, L.R.; Chick, L.A.; Exarhos, G.J.

1992-05-19

This invention is directed to the formation of homogeneous, aqueous precursor mixtures of at least one substantially soluble metal salt and a substantially soluble, combustible co-reactant compound, typically an amino acid. This produces, upon evaporation, a substantially homogeneous intermediate material having a total solids level which would support combustion. The homogeneous intermediate material essentially comprises highly dispersed or solvated metal constituents and the co-reactant compound. The intermediate material is quite flammable. A metal oxide powder results on ignition of the intermediate product which combusts same to produce the product powder.

Method of making metal oxide ceramic powders by using a combustible amino acid compound

DOEpatents

Pederson, Larry R.; Chick, Lawrence A.; Exarhos, Gregory J.

1992-01-01

This invention is directed to the formation of homogeneous, aqueous precursor mixtures of at least one substantially soluble metal salt and a substantially soluble, combustible co-reactant compound, typically an amino acid. This produces, upon evaporation, a substantially homogeneous intermediate material having a total solids level which would support combustion. The homogeneous intermediate material essentially comprises highly dispersed or solvated metal constituents and the co-reactant compound. The intermediate material is quite flammable. A metal oxide powder results on ignition of the intermediate product which combusts same to produce the product powder.

On the regularized fermionic projector of the vacuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finster, Felix

2008-03-01

We construct families of fermionic projectors with spherically symmetric regularization, which satisfy the condition of a distributional MP-product. The method is to analyze regularization tails with a power law or logarithmic scaling in composite expressions in the fermionic projector. The resulting regularizations break the Lorentz symmetry and give rise to a multilayer structure of the fermionic projector near the light cone. Furthermore, we construct regularizations which go beyond the distributional MP-product in that they yield additional distributional contributions supported at the origin. The remaining freedom for the regularization parameters and the consequences for the normalization of the fermionic states are discussed.

Hydrogen production from bio-fuels using precious metal catalysts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasel, Joachim; Wohlrab, Sebastian; Rotov, Mikhail; Löhken, Katrin; Peters, Ralf; Stolten, Detlef

2017-11-01

Fuel cell systems with integrated autothermal reforming unit require active and robust catalysts for H2 production. Thus, an experimental screening of catalysts for autothermal reforming of commercial biodiesel fuel was performed. Catalysts consisted of a monolithic cordierite substrate, an oxide support (γ-Al2O3) and Pt, Ru, Ni, PtRh and PtRu as active phase. Experiments were run by widely varying the O2/C and H2O/C molar ratios at different gas hourly space velocities. Fresh and aged catalysts were characterized by temperature programmed methods and thermogravimetry to find correlations with catalytic activity and stability.

[Medical data warehousing as a generator of system component for decision support in health care].

PubMed

Catibusić, Sulejman; Hadzagić-Catibusić, Feriha; Zubcević, Smail

2004-01-01

Growth in role of data warehousing as strategic information for decision makers is significant. Many health institutions have data warehouse implementations in process of development or even in production. This article was made with intention to improve general understanding of data warehousing requirements form the point of view of end-users, and information system as well. For that reason, in this document advantages and arguments for implementation, techniques and methods of data warehousing, data warehouse foundation and exploration of information as final product of data warehousing process have been described.

Field Guide for Designing Human Interaction with Intelligent Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Thronesbery, Carroll G.

1998-01-01

The characteristics of this Field Guide approach address the problems of designing innovative software to support user tasks. The requirements for novel software are difficult to specify a priori, because there is not sufficient understanding of how the users' tasks should be supported, and there are not obvious pre-existing design solutions. When the design team is in unfamiliar territory, care must be taken to avoid rushing into detailed design, requirements specification, or implementation of the wrong product. The challenge is to get the right design and requirements in an efficient, cost-effective manner. This document's purpose is to describe the methods we are using to design human interactions with intelligent systems which support Space Shuttle flight controllers in the Mission Control Center at NASA/Johnson Space Center. Although these software systems usually have some intelligent features, the design challenges arise primarily from the innovation needed in the software design. While these methods are tailored to our specific context, they should be extensible, and helpful to designers of human interaction with other types of automated systems. We review the unique features of this context so that you can determine how to apply these methods to your project Throughout this Field Guide, goals of the design methods are discussed. This should help designers understand how a specific method might need to be adapted to the project at hand.

A requirements specification for a software design support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noonan, Robert E.

1988-01-01

Most existing software design systems (SDSS) support the use of only a single design methodology. A good SDSS should support a wide variety of design methods and languages including structured design, object-oriented design, and finite state machines. It might seem that a multiparadigm SDSS would be expensive in both time and money to construct. However, it is proposed that instead an extensible SDSS that directly implements only minimal database and graphical facilities be constructed. In particular, it should not directly implement tools to faciliate language definition and analysis. It is believed that such a system could be rapidly developed and put into limited production use, with the experience gained used to refine and evolve the systems over time.

Building analytic capacity, facilitating partnerships, and promoting data use in state health agencies: a distance-based workforce development initiative applied to maternal and child health epidemiology.

PubMed

Rankin, Kristin M; Kroelinger, Charlan D; Rosenberg, Deborah; Barfield, Wanda D

2012-12-01

The purpose of this article is to summarize the methodology, partnerships, and products developed as a result of a distance-based workforce development initiative to improve analytic capacity among maternal and child health (MCH) epidemiologists in state health agencies. This effort was initiated by the Centers for Disease Control's MCH Epidemiology Program and faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago to encourage and support the use of surveillance data by MCH epidemiologists and program staff in state agencies. Beginning in 2005, distance-based training in advanced analytic skills was provided to MCH epidemiologists. To support participants, this model of workforce development included: lectures about the practical application of innovative epidemiologic methods, development of multidisciplinary teams within and across agencies, and systematic, tailored technical assistance The goal of this initiative evolved to emphasize the direct application of advanced methods to the development of state data products using complex sample surveys, resulting in the articles published in this supplement to MCHJ. Innovative methods were applied by participating MCH epidemiologists, including regional analyses across geographies and datasets, multilevel analyses of state policies, and new indicator development. Support was provided for developing cross-state and regional partnerships and for developing and publishing the results of analytic projects. This collaboration was successful in building analytic capacity, facilitating partnerships and promoting surveillance data use to address state MCH priorities, and may have broader application beyond MCH epidemiology. In an era of decreasing resources, such partnership efforts between state and federal agencies and academia are essential for promoting effective data use.

Adjusting an Available Online Peer Support Platform in a Program to Supplement the Treatment of Perinatal Depression and Anxiety

PubMed Central

Schueller, Stephen M

2016-01-01

Background Perinatal depression and anxiety are common and debilitating conditions. Novel, cost effective services could improve the uptake and the impact of mental health resources among women who suffer from these conditions. E-mental health products are one example of such services. Many publically available e-mental health products exist, but these products lack validation and are not designed to be integrated into existing health care settings. Objective The objective of the study was to present a program to use 7 Cups of Tea (7Cups), an available technological platform that provides online peer (ie, listener) based emotional support, to supplement treatment for women experiencing perinatal depression or anxiety and to summarize patient’s feedback on the resultant program. Methods This study consisted of two stages. First, five clinicians specializing in the treatment of perinatal mood disorders received an overview of 7Cups. They provided feedback on the 7Cups platform and ways it could complement the existing treatment efforts to inform further adjustments. In the second stage, nine women with perinatal depression or anxiety used the platform for a single session and provided feedback. Results In response to clinicians’ feedback, guidelines for referring patients to use 7Cups as a supplement for treatment were created, and a training program for listeners was developed. Patients found the platform usable and useful and their attitudes toward the trained listeners were positive. Overall, patients noted a need for support outside the scheduled therapy time and believed that freely available online emotional support could help meet this need. Most patients were interested in receiving support from first time mothers and those who suffered in the past from perinatal mood disorders. Conclusions The study results highlight the use of 7Cups as a tool to introduce accessible and available support into existing treatment for women who suffer from perinatal mood disorders. Further research should focus on the benefits accrued from such a service. However, this article highlights how a publicly available eHealth product can be leveraged to create new services in a health care setting. PMID:27001373

Minding the gaps: new insights into R&D management and operational transitions of NOAA satellite products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colton, Marie C.; Powell, Alfred M.; Jordan, Gretchen; Mote, Jonathon; Hage, Jerald; Frank, Donald

2004-10-01

The NESDIS Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR), formerly ORA, Office of Research and Applications, consists of three research and applications divisions that encompass satellite meteorology, oceanography, climatology, and cooperative research with academic institutions. With such a wide background of talent, and a charter to develop operational algorithms and applications, STAR scientists develop satellite-derived land, ice, ocean, and atmospheric environmental data products in support of all of NOAA"s mission goals. In addition, in close association with the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation, STAR scientists actively work with the numerical modeling communities of NOAA, NASA, and DOD to support the development of new methods for assimilation of satellite data. In this new era of observations from many new satellite instruments, STAR aims to effectively integrate these data into multi-platform data products for utilization by the forecast and applications communities. Much of our work is conducted in close partnerships with other agencies, academic institutes, and industry. In order to support the nearly 400 current satellite-derived products for various users on a routine basis from our sister operations office, and to evolve to future systems requires an ongoing strategic planning approach that maps research and development activities from NOAA goals to user requirements. Since R&D accomplishments are not necessarily amenable to precise schedules, appropriate motivators and measures of scientific progress must be developed to assure that the product development cycle remains aligned with the other engineering segments of a satellite program. This article presents the status and results of this comprehensive effort to chart a course from the present set of operational satellites to the future.

On decentralized design: Rationale, dynamics, and effects on decision-making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chanron, Vincent

The focus of this dissertation is the design of complex systems, including engineering systems such as cars, airplanes, and satellites. Companies who design these systems are under constant pressure to design better products that meet customer expectations, and competition forces them to develop them faster. One of the responses of the industry to these conflicting challenges has been the decentralization of the design responsibilities. The current lack of understanding of the dynamics of decentralized design processes is the main motivation for this research, and places value on the descriptive base. It identifies the main reasons and the true benefits for companies to decentralize the design of their products. It also demonstrates the limitations of this approach by listing the relevant issues and problems created by the decentralization of decisions. Based on these observations, a game-theoretic approach to decentralized design is proposed to model the decisions made during the design process. The dynamics are modeled using mathematical formulations inspired from control theory. Building upon this formalism, the issue of convergence in decentralized design is analyzed: the equilibrium points of the design space are identified and convergent and divergent patterns are recognized. This rigorous investigation of the design process provides motivation and support for proposing new approaches to decentralized design problems. Two methods are developed, which aim at improving the design process in two ways: decreasing the product development time, and increasing the optimality of the final design. The frame of these methods are inspired by eigenstructure decomposition and set-based design, respectively. The value of the research detailed within this dissertation is in the proposed methods which are built upon the sound mathematical formalism developed. The contribution of this work is two fold: rigorous investigation of the design process, and practical support to decision-making in decentralized environments.

Fast determination of royal jelly freshness by a chromogenic reaction.

PubMed

Zheng, Huo-Qing; Wei, Wen-Ting; Wu, Li-Ming; Hu, Fu-Liang; Dietemann, Vincent

2012-06-01

Royal jelly is one of the most important products of honeybees. Given its role in development of bee brood into fertile individuals of the royal caste it is also used in health products for human consumption. Royal jelly spoils and loses its health-promoting properties depending on storage duration and conditions. To ensure product quality before selling, it is therefore necessary to assess royal jelly freshness. Many indexes of freshness have been suggested, but they all lack reliability or require complex and time-consuming analyses. Here we describe a method to detect royal jelly freshness based on a chromogenic reaction between royal jelly and HCl. We demonstrate that analyses based on color parameters allow for the discrimination of royal jelly samples based on the duration of their storage. Color parameters of royal jelly stored at -18 and 4 °C for 28 d remained comparable to that of fresh samples, which supports the reliability of the method. The method of freshness determination described is practical, cheap, and fast and can thus be used in real-time when trading royal jelly. The method developed can be used to assess royal jelly freshness. It is practical, cheap, and fast and can thus be used in real-time when trading royal jelly. © 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®

Regulatory Acceptance of Alternative Methods in the Development and Approval of Pharmaceuticals.

PubMed

Beken, Sonja; Kasper, Peter; van der Laan, Jan-Willem

Animal studies may be carried out to support first administration of a new medicinal product to either humans or the target animal species, or before performing clinical trials in even larger populations, or before marketing authorisation, or to control quality during production. Ethical and animal welfare considerations require that animal use is limited as much as possible. Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes unambiguously fosters the application of the principle of the 3Rs when considering the choice of methods to be used.As such, today, the 3Rs are embedded in the relevant regulatory guidance both at the European (European Medicines Agency (EMA)) and (Veterinary) International Conference on Harmonization ((V)ICH) levels. With respect to non-clinical testing requirements for human medicinal products, reduction and replacement of animal testing has been achieved by the regulatory acceptance of new in vitro methods, either as pivotal, supportive or exploratory mechanistic studies. Whilst replacement of animal studies remains the ultimate goal, approaches aimed at reducing or refining animal studies have also been routinely implemented in regulatory guidelines, where applicable. The chapter provides an overview of the implementation of 3Rs in the drafting of non-clinical testing guidelines for human medicinal products at the level of the ICH. In addition, the revision of the ICH S2 guideline on genotoxicity testing and data interpretation for pharmaceuticals intended for human use is discussed as a case study.In October 2010, the EMA established a Joint ad hoc Expert Group (JEG 3Rs) with the mandate to improve and foster the application of 3Rs principles to the regulatory testing of medicinal products throughout their lifecycle. As such, a Guideline on regulatory acceptance of 3R testing approaches was drafted that defines regulatory acceptance and provides guidance on the scientific and technical criteria for regulatory acceptance of 3R testing approaches, including a process for collection of real-life data (safe harbour). Pathways for regulatory acceptance of 3R testing approaches are depicted and a new procedure for submission and evaluation of a proposal for regulatory acceptance of 3R testing approaches is described.

Inorganic dual-layer microporous supported membranes

DOEpatents

Brinker, C. Jeffrey; Tsai, Chung-Yi; Lu, Yungfeng

2003-03-25

The present invention provides for a dual-layer inorganic microporous membrane capable of molecular sieving, and methods for production of the membranes. The inorganic microporous supported membrane includes a porous substrate which supports a first inorganic porous membrane having an average pore size of less than about 25 .ANG. and a second inorganic porous membrane coating the first inorganic membrane having an average pore size of less than about 6 .ANG.. The dual-layered membrane is produced by contacting the porous substrate with a surfactant-template polymeric sol, resulting in a surfactant sol coated membrane support. The surfactant sol coated membrane support is dried, producing a surfactant-templated polymer-coated substrate which is calcined to produce an intermediate layer surfactant-templated membrane. The intermediate layer surfactant-templated membrane is then contacted with a second polymeric sol producing a polymeric sol coated substrate which is dried producing an inorganic polymeric coated substrate. The inorganic polymeric coated substrate is then calcined producing an inorganic dual-layered microporous supported membrane in accordance with the present invention.

Consensus Recommendations for Systematic Evaluation of Drug-Drug Interaction Evidence for Clinical Decision Support

PubMed Central

Scheife, Richard T.; Hines, Lisa E.; Boyce, Richard D.; Chung, Sophie P.; Momper, Jeremiah; Sommer, Christine D.; Abernethy, Darrell R.; Horn, John; Sklar, Stephen J.; Wong, Samantha K.; Jones, Gretchen; Brown, Mary; Grizzle, Amy J.; Comes, Susan; Wilkins, Tricia Lee; Borst, Clarissa; Wittie, Michael A.; Rich, Alissa; Malone, Daniel C.

2015-01-01

Background Healthcare organizations, compendia, and drug knowledgebase vendors use varying methods to evaluate and synthesize evidence on drug-drug interactions (DDIs). This situation has a negative effect on electronic prescribing and medication information systems that warn clinicians of potentially harmful medication combinations. Objective To provide recommendations for systematic evaluation of evidence from the scientific literature, drug product labeling, and regulatory documents with respect to DDIs for clinical decision support. Methods A conference series was conducted to develop a structured process to improve the quality of DDI alerting systems. Three expert workgroups were assembled to address the goals of the conference. The Evidence Workgroup consisted of 15 individuals with expertise in pharmacology, drug information, biomedical informatics, and clinical decision support. Workgroup members met via webinar from January 2013 to February 2014. Two in-person meetings were conducted in May and September 2013 to reach consensus on recommendations. Results We developed expert-consensus answers to three key questions: 1) What is the best approach to evaluate DDI evidence?; 2) What evidence is required for a DDI to be applicable to an entire class of drugs?; and 3) How should a structured evaluation process be vetted and validated? Conclusion Evidence-based decision support for DDIs requires consistent application of transparent and systematic methods to evaluate the evidence. Drug information systems that implement these recommendations should be able to provide higher quality information about DDIs in drug compendia and clinical decision support tools. PMID:25556085

Composition and method of preparation of solid state dye laser rods

DOEpatents

Hermes, Robert E.

1992-01-01

The present invention includes solid polymeric-host laser rods prepared using bulk polymerization of acrylic acid ester comonomers which, when admixed with dye(s) capable of supporting laser oscillation and polymerized with a free radical initiator under mild thermal conditions, produce a solid product having the preferred properties for efficient lasing. Unsaturated polymerizable laser dyes can also be employed as one of the comonomers. Additionally, a method is disclosed which alleviates induced optical stress without having to anneal the polymers at elevated temperatures (>85.degree. C.).

Chemotaxonomic identification of single bacteria by micro-Raman spectroscopy: application to clean-room-relevant biological contaminations.

PubMed

Rösch, Petra; Harz, Michaela; Schmitt, Michael; Peschke, Klaus-Dieter; Ronneberger, Olaf; Burkhardt, Hans; Motzkus, Hans-Walter; Lankers, Markus; Hofer, Stefan; Thiele, Hans; Popp, Jürgen

2005-03-01

Microorganisms, such as bacteria, which might be present as contamination inside an industrial food or pharmaceutical clean room process need to be identified on short time scales in order to minimize possible health hazards as well as production downtimes causing financial deficits. Here we describe the first results of single-particle micro-Raman measurements in combination with a classification method, the so-called support vector machine technique, allowing for a fast, reliable, and nondestructive online identification method for single bacteria.

Chemotaxonomic Identification of Single Bacteria by Micro-Raman Spectroscopy: Application to Clean-Room-Relevant Biological Contaminations

PubMed Central

Rösch, Petra; Harz, Michaela; Schmitt, Michael; Peschke, Klaus-Dieter; Ronneberger, Olaf; Burkhardt, Hans; Motzkus, Hans-Walter; Lankers, Markus; Hofer, Stefan; Thiele, Hans; Popp, Jürgen

2005-01-01

Microorganisms, such as bacteria, which might be present as contamination inside an industrial food or pharmaceutical clean room process need to be identified on short time scales in order to minimize possible health hazards as well as production downtimes causing financial deficits. Here we describe the first results of single-particle micro-Raman measurements in combination with a classification method, the so-called support vector machine technique, allowing for a fast, reliable, and nondestructive online identification method for single bacteria. PMID:15746368

Method for making a hot wire anemometer and product thereof

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milkulla, V. (Inventor)

1977-01-01

A hot wire anemometer probe is described that includes a ceramic body supporting two conductive rods parallel to each other. The body has a narrow edge surface from which the rods protrude. A probe wire is welded to the rods and extends along the edge surface. A ceramic adhesive is used to secure the probe wire to the surface so that the probe wire is rigid. A method for fabricating the probe is also described in which the body is molded and precisely shaped by machining techniques before the probe wires are installed.

Performance Evaluation of Machine Learning Methods for Leaf Area Index Retrieval from Time-Series MODIS Reflectance Data

PubMed Central

Wang, Tongtong; Xiao, Zhiqiang; Liu, Zhigang

2017-01-01

Leaf area index (LAI) is an important biophysical parameter and the retrieval of LAI from remote sensing data is the only feasible method for generating LAI products at regional and global scales. However, most LAI retrieval methods use satellite observations at a specific time to retrieve LAI. Because of the impacts of clouds and aerosols, the LAI products generated by these methods are spatially incomplete and temporally discontinuous, and thus they cannot meet the needs of practical applications. To generate high-quality LAI products, four machine learning algorithms, including back-propagation neutral network (BPNN), radial basis function networks (RBFNs), general regression neutral networks (GRNNs), and multi-output support vector regression (MSVR) are proposed to retrieve LAI from time-series Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance data in this study and performance of these machine learning algorithms is evaluated. The results demonstrated that GRNNs, RBFNs, and MSVR exhibited low sensitivity to training sample size, whereas BPNN had high sensitivity. The four algorithms performed slightly better with red, near infrared (NIR), and short wave infrared (SWIR) bands than red and NIR bands, and the results were significantly better than those obtained using single band reflectance data (red or NIR). Regardless of band composition, GRNNs performed better than the other three methods. Among the four algorithms, BPNN required the least training time, whereas MSVR needed the most for any sample size. PMID:28045443

Culture, Interface Design, and Design Methods for Mobile Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Kun-Pyo

Aesthetic differences and similarities among cultures are obviously one of the very important issues in cultural design. However, ever since products became knowledge-supporting tools, the visible elements of products have become more universal so that the invisible parts of products such as interface and interaction are getting more important. Therefore, the cultural design should be extended to the invisible elements of culture like people's conceptual models beyond material and phenomenal culture. This chapter aims to explain how we address the invisible cultural elements in interface design and design methods by exploring the users' cognitive styles and communication patterns in different cultures. Regarding cultural interface design, we examined users' conceptual models while interacting with mobile phone and website interfaces, and observed cultural difference in performing tasks and viewing patterns, which appeared to agree with cultural cognitive styles known as Holistic thoughts vs. Analytic thoughts. Regarding design methods for culture, we explored how to localize design methods such as focus group interview and generative session for specific cultural groups, and the results of comparative experiments revealed cultural difference on participants' behaviors and performance in each design method and led us to suggest how to conduct them in East Asian culture. Mobile Observation Analyzer and Wi-Pro, user research tools we invented to capture user behaviors and needs especially in their mobile context, were also introduced.

Performance Evaluation of Machine Learning Methods for Leaf Area Index Retrieval from Time-Series MODIS Reflectance Data.

PubMed

Wang, Tongtong; Xiao, Zhiqiang; Liu, Zhigang

2017-01-01

Leaf area index (LAI) is an important biophysical parameter and the retrieval of LAI from remote sensing data is the only feasible method for generating LAI products at regional and global scales. However, most LAI retrieval methods use satellite observations at a specific time to retrieve LAI. Because of the impacts of clouds and aerosols, the LAI products generated by these methods are spatially incomplete and temporally discontinuous, and thus they cannot meet the needs of practical applications. To generate high-quality LAI products, four machine learning algorithms, including back-propagation neutral network (BPNN), radial basis function networks (RBFNs), general regression neutral networks (GRNNs), and multi-output support vector regression (MSVR) are proposed to retrieve LAI from time-series Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance data in this study and performance of these machine learning algorithms is evaluated. The results demonstrated that GRNNs, RBFNs, and MSVR exhibited low sensitivity to training sample size, whereas BPNN had high sensitivity. The four algorithms performed slightly better with red, near infrared (NIR), and short wave infrared (SWIR) bands than red and NIR bands, and the results were significantly better than those obtained using single band reflectance data (red or NIR). Regardless of band composition, GRNNs performed better than the other three methods. Among the four algorithms, BPNN required the least training time, whereas MSVR needed the most for any sample size.

Identifying X-consumers using causal recipes: "whales" and "jumbo shrimps" casino gamblers.

PubMed

Woodside, Arch G; Zhang, Mann

2012-03-01

X-consumers are the extremely frequent (top 2-3%) users who typically consume 25% of a product category. This article shows how to use fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to provide "causal recipes" sufficient for profiling X-consumers accurately. The study extends Dik Twedt's "heavy-half" product users for building theory and strategies to nurture or control X-behavior. The study here applies QCA to offer configurations that are sufficient in identifying "whales" and "jumbo shrimps" among X-casino gamblers. The findings support the principle that not all X-consumers are alike. The theory and method are applicable for identifying the degree of consistency and coverage of alternative X-consumers among users of all product-service category and brands.

Microscale technology and biocatalytic processes: opportunities and challenges for synthesis.

PubMed

Wohlgemuth, Roland; Plazl, Igor; Žnidaršič-Plazl, Polona; Gernaey, Krist V; Woodley, John M

2015-05-01

Despite the expanding presence of microscale technology in chemical synthesis and energy production as well as in biomedical devices and analytical and diagnostic tools, its potential in biocatalytic processes for pharmaceutical and fine chemicals, as well as related industries, has not yet been fully exploited. The aim of this review is to shed light on the strategic advantages of this promising technology for the development and realization of biocatalytic processes and subsequent product recovery steps, demonstrated with examples from the literature. Constraints, opportunities, and the future outlook for the implementation of these key green engineering methods and the role of supporting tools such as mathematical models to establish sustainable production processes are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Management of Hyposalivation and Xerostomia: Criteria for Treatment Strategies.

PubMed

Epstein, Joel B; Beier Jensen, Siri

2015-09-01

Saliva management in patients with hyposalivation is potentially complex. Future development of oral care products and treatment strategies requires attention to the biology of saliva and the best means of providing a continuum of relief for people with xerostomia--the sensation of dry mouth--and hyposalivation--documented reduction in saliva flow. Improvement in patient care requires that clinicians be aware of approaches to management, desirable qualities of methods and products, and that they seek the development of products that support the functions of saliva and promote comfort and health. In this brief review of the epidemiology of hyposalivation, the biology and functions of saliva are presented in order to guide clinical decision-making to address the needs of patients with dry mouth.

Case for real-time systems development - Quo vadis?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erb, Dona M.

1991-01-01

The paper focuses on the distinctive issues of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) products for the development of real-time systems. CASE technologies and associated standardization efforts are evolving from sets of conflicting interests. The majority of case products are intended for use in the development of management information systems. CASE products to support the development of large, complex real-time systems must provide additional capabilities. Generic concerns include the quality of the implementation of the required method for the phase of the system's development and whether the vendor is stable and committed to evolving the products in parallel with nonproprietary standards. The CASE market is undergoing considerable consolidation. The paper describes the major forces, cooperating entities, and remaining uncertainties that need to be weighed in near-term CASE procurements to limit risk of loss of investment in project time, trianing, and money.

Recycling crop residues for use in recirculating hydroponic crop production

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mackowiak, C. L.; Garland, J. L.; Sager, J. C.

1996-01-01

As part of bioregenerative life support feasibility testing by NASA, crop residues are being used to resupply elemental nutrients to recirculating hydroponic crop production systems. Methods for recovering nutrients from crop residues have evolved from water soaking (leaching) to rapid aerobic bioreactor processing. Leaching residues recovered the majority of elements but it also recovered significant amounts of soluble organics. The high organic content of leachates was detrimental to plant growth. Aerobic bioreactor processing reduced the organic content ten-fold, which reduced or eliminated phytotoxic effects. Wheat and potato production studies were successful using effluents from reactors having with 8- to 1-day retention times. Aerobic bioreactor effluents supplied at least half of the crops elemental mass needs in these studies. Descriptions of leachate and effluent mineral content, biomass productivity, microbial activity, and nutrient budgets for potato and wheat are presented.

DD fusion neutron production at UW-Madison using IEC devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fancher, Aaron; Michalak, Matt; Kulcinski, Gerald; Santarius, John; Bonomo, Richard

2017-10-01

An inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) device using spherical, gridded electrodes at high voltage accelerates deuterium ions, allowing for neutrons to be produced within the device from DD fusion reactions. The effects of the device cathode voltage (30-170 kV), current (30-100 mA), and pressure (0.15-1.25 mTorr) on the neutron production rate have been measured. New high voltage capabilities have resulted in the achievement of a steady state neutron production rate of 3.3x108 n/s at 175 kV, 100 mA, and 1.0 mTorr of deuterium. Applications of IEC devices include the production of DD neutrons to detect chemical explosives and special nuclear materials using active interrogation methods. Research supported by US Dept. of Homeland Security Grant 2015-DN-077-AR1095 and the Grainger Foundation.

Fast production of methane by anaerobic digestion. Annual progress report, May 24, 1976--May 23, 1977

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

Finney, C.D.; Evans II, R.S.; Finney, K.A.

1977-06-01

Since the productional cost of methane generated by anaerobic digestion of cellulose is on the economic borderline and the cost could be reduced by increasing the rate of the digestion process, a research program was undertaken to delineate the most promising areas of development. The concept that the step involving transfer of products from solution is rate-limiting and inhibiting in anaerobic digestion was supported by all evidence available. The most significant design implication of this concept is that faster gas production can be achieved in a two-stage digestion system in which unreactive solids are eliminated after the hydrolysis step somore » that the effluent to the gas-producing stage possesses a low viscosity. The advantages and disadvantages of three hydrolysis methods (enzymatic, anaerobic, and acid) are reviewed.« less

Development of Hybrid Product Breakdown Structure for NASA Ground Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monaghan, Mark W.; Henry, Robert J.

2013-01-01

The Product Breakdown Structure is traditionally a method of identification of the products of a project in a tree structure. It is a tool used to assess, plan, document, and display the equipment requirements for a project. It is part of a product based planning technique, and attempts to break down all components of a project in as much detail as possible, so that nothing is overlooked. The PBS for ground systems at the Kennedy Space Center is being developed to encompass the traditional requirements including the alignment of facility, systems, and components to the organizational hierarchy. The Ground Operations Product Breakdown Structure is a hybrid in nature in that some aspects of a work breakdown structure will be incorporated and merged with the Architecture Concept of Operations, Master Subsystem List, customer interface, and assigned management responsibility. The Ground Operations Product Breakdown Structure needs to be able to identify the flexibility of support differing customers (internal and external) usage of ground support equipment within the Kennedy Space Center launch and processing complex. The development of the Product Breakdown Structure is an iterative activity Initially documenting the organization hierarchy structure and relationships. The Product Breakdown Structure identifies the linkage between the customer program requirements, allocation of system resources, development of design goals, and identification logistics products. As the Product Breakdown Structure progresses the incorporation of the results of requirement planning for the customer occurs identifying facility needs and systems. The mature Product Breakdown Structure is baselined with a hierarchical drawing, the Product Breakdown Structure database, and an associated document identifying the verification of the data through the life cycle of the program/product line. This paper will document, demonstrate, and identify key aspects of the life cycle of a Hybrid Product Breakdown Structure. The purpose is to show how a project management and system engineering approach can be utilized for providing flexible customer service in an evolving manned space flight launch processing environment.

CoMD Implementation Suite in Emerging Programming Models

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

Haque, Riyaz; Reeve, Sam; Juallmes, Luc

CoMD-Em is a software implementation suite of the CoMD [4] proxy app using different emerging programming models. It is intended to analyze the features and capabilities of novel programming models that could help ensure code and performance portability and scalability across heterogeneous platforms while improving programmer productivity. Another goal is to provide the authors and venders with some meaningful feedback regarding the capabilities and limitations of their models. The actual application is a classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulation using either the Lennard-Jones method (LJ) or the embedded atom method (EAM) for primary particle interaction. The code can be extended tomore » support alternate interaction models. The code is expected ro run on a wide class of heterogeneous hardware configurations like shard/distributed/hybrid memory, GPU's and any other platform supported by the underlying programming model.« less

Dreaming and Neuroesthetics

PubMed Central

Barcaro, Umberto; Paoli, Marco

2015-01-01

This paper, which is limited to the art of painting, aims to support the idea that a substantial insertion of concepts and methods drawn on dream psychology and dream neuroscience can contribute to the advancements of Neuroesthetics. The historical and scientific reasons are discussed that have determined the so far poor role played by the dream phenomenon in the developments of Neuroesthetics. In the light of recent advancements in psychophysiological research, a method of analyzing artistic products is proposed that is based on the recognition of precise features proper of the dreaming experience. Four examples are given for application of this method, regarding works by Giorgione, Leonardo da Vinci, Vermeer, and Millais, respectively. PMID:26157373

Intein-modified enzymes, their production and industrial applications

DOEpatents

Apgar, James; Lessard, Philip; Raab, Michael R.; Shen, Binzhang; Lazar, Gabor; de la Vega, Humberto

2016-10-11

A method of predicting an intein insertion site in a protein that will lead to a switching phenotype is provided. The method includes identifying a plurality of C/T/S sites within the protein; selecting from the plurality of C/T/S/ sites those that are ranked 0.75 or higher by a support vector machine, within ten angstroms of the active site of the protein, and at or near a loop-.beta.-sheet junction or a loop-.alpha.-helix junction. A method of controlling protein activity and hosts including proteins with controlled activity are also provided. Also, intein modified proteins and plants containing intein modified proteins are provided.

Research on Modularized Design and Allocation of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Equipment in China.

PubMed

Zhao, Xin; Wang, Yun-Dou; Zhang, Xiao-Feng; Gao, Shu-Tian; Guo, Li-Jun; Sun, Li-Na

2017-06-01

For the prevention and control of newly emergent or sudden infectious diseases, we built an on-site, modularized prevention and control system and tested the equipment by using the clustering analysis method. On the basis of this system, we propose a modular equipment allocation method and 4 applications of this method for different types of infectious disease prevention and control. This will help to improve the efficiency and productivity of anti-epidemic emergency forces and will provide strong technical support for implementing more universal and serialized equipment in China. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:375-382).

Riparian landscape management in the midstream of Ciliwung River as supporting Water Sensitive Cities program with priority of productive landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noviandi, T. U. Z.; Kaswanto, R. L.; Arifin, H. S.

2017-10-01

Nowadays, Ciliwung River is facing problem of the settlement occupation in its riparian zones. This phenomenon caused ecological damage in riparian, so it can aggravate the disaster of annual flooding in Jakarta. As an effort to control this catastrophe, riparian landscape management of Ciliwung River is needed. Based on its topography, Ciliwung River is divided into three segments, there are the upstream, the midstream, and the downstream. Data shows that riparian in the midstream is the largest area, it covers more than 60% of the total riparian area. This segment is very important to be managed in order to reduce runoff towards the downstream. The method used was comparing many standards to get the ideal riparian width in the midstream, which is 50 m for urban areas and 100 m for outside the urban areas. Next method was analyzing spatially to get riparian landscape characteristic of Ciliwung River. The result showed that 37.11% of riparian zones in the midstream had occupied by settlement. Analysis of riparian function and utilization had held by using Analytical Hierarchy Process. Priority of riparian function in the midstream of Ciliwung River is production. This can be realized with the plan of community garden or inland fisheries. Riparian landscape management in the midstream aims to support the food consumption diversification, and maximize the function of water catchment and water retention in order to support the program of Water Sensitive Cities.

Research evaluation support services in biomedical libraries

PubMed Central

Gutzman, Karen Elizabeth; Bales, Michael E.; Belter, Christopher W.; Chambers, Thane; Chan, Liza; Holmes, Kristi L.; Lu, Ya-Ling; Palmer, Lisa A.; Reznik-Zellen, Rebecca C.; Sarli, Cathy C.; Suiter, Amy M.; Wheeler, Terrie R.

2018-01-01

Objective The paper provides a review of current practices related to evaluation support services reported by seven biomedical and research libraries. Methods A group of seven libraries from the United States and Canada described their experiences with establishing evaluation support services at their libraries. A questionnaire was distributed among the libraries to elicit information as to program development, service and staffing models, campus partnerships, training, products such as tools and reports, and resources used for evaluation support services. The libraries also reported interesting projects, lessons learned, and future plans. Results The seven libraries profiled in this paper report a variety of service models in providing evaluation support services to meet the needs of campus stakeholders. The service models range from research center cores, partnerships with research groups, and library programs with staff dedicated to evaluation support services. A variety of products and services were described such as an automated tool to develop rank-based metrics, consultation on appropriate metrics to use for evaluation, customized publication and citation reports, resource guides, classes and training, and others. Implementing these services has allowed the libraries to expand their roles on campus and to contribute more directly to the research missions of their institutions. Conclusions Libraries can leverage a variety of evaluation support services as an opportunity to successfully meet an array of challenges confronting the biomedical research community, including robust efforts to report and demonstrate tangible and meaningful outcomes of biomedical research and clinical care. These services represent a transformative direction that can be emulated by other biomedical and research libraries. PMID:29339930

Covalent Heterogenization of a Discrete Mn(II) Bis-Phen Complex by a Metal-Template/Metal-Exchange Method: An Epoxidation Catalyst with Enhanced Reactivity

PubMed Central

Terry, Tracy J.; Stack, T. Daniel P.

2009-01-01

Considerable attention has been devoted to the immobilization of discrete epoxidation catalysts onto solid supports due to the possible benefits of site isolation such as increased catalyst stability, catalyst recycling, and product separation. A synthetic metal-template/metal-exchange method to imprint a covalently attached bis-1,10-phenanthroline coordination environment onto high-surface area, mesoporous SBA-15 silica is reported herein along with the epoxidation reactivity once reloaded with manganese. Comparisons of this imprinted material with material synthesized by random grafting of the ligand show that the template method creates more reproducible, solution-like bis-1,10-phenanthroline coordination at a variety of ligand loadings. Olefin epoxidation with peracetic acid shows the imprinted manganese catalysts have improved product selectivity for epoxides, greater substrate scope, more efficient use of oxidant, and higher reactivity than their homogeneous or grafted analogues independent of ligand loading. The randomly grafted manganese catalysts, however, show reactivity that varies with ligand loading while the homogeneous analogue degrades trisubstituted olefins and produces trans-epoxide products from cis-olefins. Efficient recycling behavior of the templated catalysts is also possible. PMID:18351763

Data access and decision tools for coastal water resources ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

US EPA has supported the development of numerous models and tools to support implementation of environmental regulations. However, transfer of knowledge and methods from detailed technical models to support practical problem solving by local communities and watershed or coastal management organizations remains a challenge. We have developed the Estuary Data Mapper (EDM) to facilitate data discovery, visualization and access to support environmental problem solving for coastal watersheds and estuaries. EDM is a stand-alone application based on open-source software which requires only internet access for operation. Initially, development of EDM focused on delivery of raw data streams from distributed web services, ranging from atmospheric deposition to hydrologic, tidal, and water quality time series, estuarine habitat characteristics, and remote sensing products. We have transitioned to include access to value-added products which provide end-users with results of future scenario analysis, facilitate extension of models across geographic regions, and/or promote model interoperability. Here we present three examples: 1) the delivery of input data for the development of seagrass models across estuaries, 2) scenarios illustrating the implications of riparian buffer management (loss or restoration) for stream thermal regimes and fish communities, and 3) access to hydrology model outputs to foster connections across models at different scales, ultimately feeding

Organic livestock production in Uganda: potentials, challenges and prospects.

PubMed

Nalubwama, Sylvia Muwanga; Mugisha, Anthony; Vaarst, Mette

2011-04-01

Development in organic farming has been stimulated by farmers and consumers becoming interested in healthy food products and sustainable environment. Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system which is based on the principles of health, ecology, care, and fairness. Organic development in Uganda has focused more on the crop sector than livestock sector and has primarily involved the private sector, like organic products export companies and non-governmental organizations. Agriculture in Uganda and many African countries is predominantly traditional, less mechanized, and is usually associated with minimum use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and drugs. This low external input agriculture also referred to as "organic by default" can create basis for organic farming where agroecological methods are introduced and present an alternative in terms of intensification to the current low-input/low-output systems. Traditional farming should not be confused with organic farming because in some cases, the existing traditional practices have consequences like overstocking and less attention to soil improvement as well as to animal health and welfare, which is contrary to organic principles of ecology, fairness, health, and care. Challenges of implementing sustainable organic practices in the Ugandan livestock sector threaten its future development, such as vectors and vector-borne diseases, organic feed insufficiency, limited education, research, and support to organic livestock production. The prospects of organic livestock development in Uganda can be enhanced with more scientific research in organic livestock production under local conditions and strengthening institutional support.

Quantitative Estimation of Risks for Production Unit Based on OSHMS and Process Resilience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nyambayar, D.; Koshijima, I.; Eguchi, H.

2017-06-01

Three principal elements in the production field of chemical/petrochemical industry are (i) Production Units, (ii) Production Plant Personnel and (iii) Production Support System (computer system introduced for improving productivity). Each principal element has production process resilience, i.e. a capability to restrain disruptive signals occurred in and out of the production field. In each principal element, risk assessment is indispensable for the production field. In a production facility, the occupational safety and health management system (Hereafter, referred to as OSHMS) has been introduced to reduce a risk of accidents and troubles that may occur during production. In OSHMS, a risk assessment is specified to reduce a potential risk in the production facility such as a factory, and PDCA activities are required for a continual improvement of safety production environments. However, there is no clear statement to adopt the OSHMS standard into the production field. This study introduces a metric to estimate the resilience of the production field by using the resilience generated by the production plant personnel and the result of the risk assessment in the production field. A method for evaluating how OSHMS functions are systematically installed in the production field is also discussed based on the resilience of the three principal elements.

Experimental Demonstration of the Molten Oxide Electrolysis Method for Oxygen and Iron Production from Simulated Lunar Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curreri, P. A.; Ethridge, E.; Hudson, S.; Sen, S.

2006-01-01

This paper presents the results of a Marshall Space Flight Center funded effort to conduct an experimental demonstration of the processing of simulated lunar resources by the molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) process to produce oxygen and metal from lunar resources to support human exploration of space. Oxygen extracted from lunar materials can be used for life support and propellant, and silicon and metallic elements produced can be used for in situ fabrication of thin-film solar cells for power production. The Moon is rich in mineral resources, but it is almost devoid of chemical reducing agents, therefore, molten oxide electrolysis, MOE, is chosen for extraction, since the electron is the most practical reducing agent. MOE was also chosen for following reasons. First, electrolytic processing offers uncommon versatility in its insensitivity to feedstock composition. Secondly, oxide melts boast the twin key attributes of highest solubilizing capacity for regolith and lowest volatility of any candidate electrolytes. The former is critical in ensuring high productivity since cell current is limited by reactant solubility, while the latter simplifies cell design by obviating the need for a gas-tight reactor to contain evaporation losses as would be the case with a gas or liquid phase fluoride reagent operating at such high temperatures. In the experiments reported here, melts containing iron oxide were electrolyzed in a low temperature supporting oxide electrolyte (developed by D. Sadoway, MIT).

Artificial intelligence approaches to software engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johannes, James D.; Macdonald, James R.

1988-01-01

Artificial intelligence approaches to software engineering are examined. The software development life cycle is a sequence of not so well-defined phases. Improved techniques for developing systems have been formulated over the past 15 years, but pressure continues to attempt to reduce current costs. Software development technology seems to be standing still. The primary objective of the knowledge-based approach to software development presented in this paper is to avoid problem areas that lead to schedule slippages, cost overruns, or software products that fall short of their desired goals. Identifying and resolving software problems early, often in the phase in which they first occur, has been shown to contribute significantly to reducing risks in software development. Software development is not a mechanical process but a basic human activity. It requires clear thinking, work, and rework to be successful. The artificial intelligence approaches to software engineering presented support the software development life cycle through the use of software development techniques and methodologies in terms of changing current practices and methods. These should be replaced by better techniques that that improve the process of of software development and the quality of the resulting products. The software development process can be structured into well-defined steps, of which the interfaces are standardized, supported and checked by automated procedures that provide error detection, production of the documentation and ultimately support the actual design of complex programs.

Advancement of CMOS Doping Technology in an External Development Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Amitabh; Chambers, James J.; Shaw, Judy B.

2011-01-01

The consumer appetite for a rich multimedia experience drives technology development for mobile hand-held devices and the infrastructure to support them. Enhancements in functionality, speed, and user experience are derived from advancements in CMOS technology. The technical challenges in developing each successive CMOS technology node to support these enhancements have become increasingly difficult. These trends have motivated the CMOS business towards a collaborative approach based on strategic partnerships. This paper describes our model and experience of CMOS development, based on multi-dimensional industrial and academic partnerships. We provide to our process equipment, materials, and simulation partners, as well as to our silicon foundry partners, the detailed requirements for future integrated circuit products. This is done very early in the development cycle to ensure that these requirements can be met. In order to determine these fundamental requirements, we rely on a strategy that requires strong interaction between process and device simulation, physical and chemical analytical methods, and research at academic institutions. This learning is shared with each project partner to address integration and manufacturing issues encountered during CMOS technology development from its inception through product ramp. We utilize TI's core strengths in physical analysis, unit processes and integration, yield ramp, reliability, and product engineering to support this technological development. Finally, this paper presents examples of the advancement of CMOS doping technology for the 28 nm node and beyond through this development model.

5S program to reduce change-over time on forming department (case study on CV Piranti Works temanggung)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosiana Dewi, Septika; Setiawan, Budi; P, Susatyo Nugroho W.

2013-06-01

Productivity is one aspect that determines the success of a company in the competitive world of business. There are seven main types of activities that do not have value-added in manufacturing processes such as overproduction, waiting time, transportation, excess inventory, unnecessary motion and defects. The whole activity is a waste (waste) that can cause harm to the Company. Therefore, in production activities is important to pay attention so that the objectives of production productivity can be achieved. Problems experienced by CV Piranti Works is a production target is not achieved resulting in a lost sale raises the cost of which can cause harm to the Company. From the analysis conducted major known cause of the problem is the length of time required for changeover. This is supported by the high non-value added activity in the changeover activities. Lean Manufacturing is an approach to make system more efficient by reducing waste. This study refers to the book compiled by Takashi Osada (2004) and several other references. In this research used method 5S (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke) for the of forming departement. The purpose of this research is to design a work environment using the 5S method (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke) and make arrangement of equipment and working tool cabinet design with TRIZ methods. From these results, is expected to eliminate or reduce of non-value added activity and improved the changeover time so as to meet production targets completion of the company.

Methods to estimate the transfer of contaminants into recycling products - A case study from Austria.

PubMed

Knapp, Julika; Allesch, Astrid; Müller, Wolfgang; Bockreis, Anke

2017-11-01

Recycling of waste materials is desirable to reduce the consumption of limited primary resources, but also includes the risk of recycling unwanted, hazardous substances. In Austria, the legal framework demands secondary products must not present a higher risk than comparable products derived from primary resources. However, the act provides no definition on how to assess this risk potential. This paper describes the development of different quantitative and qualitative methods to estimate the transfer of contaminants in recycling processes. The quantitative methods comprise the comparison of concentrations of harmful substances in recycling products to corresponding primary products and to existing limit values. The developed evaluation matrix, which considers further aspects, allows for the assessment of the qualitative risk potential. The results show that, depending on the assessed waste fraction, particular contaminants can be critical. Their concentrations were higher than in comparable primary materials and did not comply with existing limit values. On the other hand, the results show that a long-term, well-established quality control system can assure compliance with the limit values. The results of the qualitative assessment obtained with the evaluation matrix support the results of the quantitative assessment. Therefore, the evaluation matrix can be suitable to quickly screen waste streams used for recycling to estimate their potential environmental and health risks. To prevent the transfer of contaminants into product cycles, improved data of relevant substances in secondary resources are necessary. In addition, regulations for material recycling are required to assure adequate quality control measures, including limit values. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring Persona-Scenarios - Using Storytelling to Create Design Ideas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madsen, Sabine; Nielsen, Lene

This paper explores the persona-scenario method by investigating how the method can support project participants in generating shared understandings and design ideas. As persona-scenarios are stories we draw on narrative theory to define what a persona-scenario is and which narrative elements it should consist of. Based on an empirical study a key finding is that despite our inherent human ability to construct, tell, and interpret stories it is not easy to write and present a good, coherent, and design-oriented story without methodical support. The paper therefore contributes with guidelines that delineate a) what a design-oriented persona-scenario should consist of (product) and b) how to write it (procedure) in order to generate and validate as many, new, and shared understandings and design ideas as possible (purpose). The purpose of the guidelines is to facilitate the construction of persona-scenarios as good, coherent stories, which make sense to the storytellers and to the audience - and which therefore generate many, new, and shared understandings and design ideas.

Small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering demonstrates that cell-free expression produces properly formed disc-shaped nanolipoprotein particles

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

Cleveland, Thomas E.; He, Wei; Evans, Angela C.

Nanolipoprotein particles (NLPs), composed of membrane scaffold proteins and lipids, have been used to support membrane proteins in a native-like bilayer environment for biochemical and structural studies. Traditionally, these NLPs have been prepared by the controlled removal of detergent from a detergent-solubilized protein-lipid mixture. Recently, an alternative method has been developed using direct cell-free expression of the membrane scaffold protein in the presence of preformed lipid vesicles, which spontaneously produces NLPs without the need for detergent at any stage. Using SANS/SAXS, we show here that NLPs produced by this cell-free expression method are structurally indistinguishable from those produced using detergentmore » removal methodologies. This further supports the utility of single step cell-free methods for the production of lipid binding proteins. Lastly, in addition, detailed structural information describing these NLPs can be obtained by fitting a capped core-shell cylinder type model to all SANS/SAXS data simultaneously.« less

Small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering demonstrates that cell-free expression produces properly formed disc-shaped nanolipoprotein particles

DOE PAGES

Cleveland, Thomas E.; He, Wei; Evans, Angela C.; ...

2018-02-13

Nanolipoprotein particles (NLPs), composed of membrane scaffold proteins and lipids, have been used to support membrane proteins in a native-like bilayer environment for biochemical and structural studies. Traditionally, these NLPs have been prepared by the controlled removal of detergent from a detergent-solubilized protein-lipid mixture. Recently, an alternative method has been developed using direct cell-free expression of the membrane scaffold protein in the presence of preformed lipid vesicles, which spontaneously produces NLPs without the need for detergent at any stage. Using SANS/SAXS, we show here that NLPs produced by this cell-free expression method are structurally indistinguishable from those produced using detergentmore » removal methodologies. This further supports the utility of single step cell-free methods for the production of lipid binding proteins. Lastly, in addition, detailed structural information describing these NLPs can be obtained by fitting a capped core-shell cylinder type model to all SANS/SAXS data simultaneously.« less

Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology

National Institute of Standards and Technology Data Gateway

NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (Program website, free access)   Currently there is no database matching your keyword search, but the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology website may be of interest. The Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology enables science and industry by providing essential measurement methods, instrumentation, and standards to support all phases of nanotechnology development, from discovery to production.

Applied Nanotoxicology.

PubMed

Hobson, David W; Roberts, Stephen M; Shvedova, Anna A; Warheit, David B; Hinkley, Georgia K; Guy, Robin C

2016-01-01

Nanomaterials, including nanoparticles and nanoobjects, are being incorporated into everyday products at an increasing rate. These products include consumer products of interest to toxicologists such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, food packaging, household products, and so on. The manufacturing of products containing or utilizing nanomaterials in their composition may also present potential toxicologic concerns in the workplace. The molecular complexity and composition of these nanomaterials are ever increasing, and the means and methods being applied to characterize and perform useful toxicologic assessments are rapidly advancing. This article includes presentations by experienced toxicologists in the nanotoxicology community who are focused on the applied aspect of the discipline toward supporting state of the art toxicologic assessments for food products and packaging, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, inhaled nanoparticle and gastrointestinal exposures, and addressing occupational safety and health issues and concerns. This symposium overview article summarizes 5 talks that were presented at the 35th Annual meeting of the American College of Toxicology on the subject of "Applied Nanotechnology." © The Author(s) 2016.

Applied Nanotoxicology

PubMed Central

Hobson, David W.; Roberts, Stephen M.; Shvedova, Anna A.; Warheit, David B.; Hinkley, Georgia K.; Guy, Robin C.

2016-01-01

Nanomaterials, including nanoparticles and nanoobjects, are being incorporated into everyday products at an increasing rate. These products include consumer products of interest to toxicologists such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, food packaging, household products, and so on. The manufacturing of products containing or utilizing nanomaterials in their composition may also present potential toxicologic concerns in the workplace. The molecular complexity and composition of these nanomaterials are ever increasing, and the means and methods being applied to characterize and perform useful toxicologic assessments are rapidly advancing. This article includes presentations by experienced toxicologists in the nanotoxicology community who are focused on the applied aspect of the discipline toward supporting state of the art toxicologic assessments for food products and packaging, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, inhaled nanoparticle and gastrointestinal exposures, and addressing occupational safety and health issues and concerns. This symposium overview article summarizes 5 talks that were presented at the 35th Annual meeting of the American College of Toxicology on the subject of “Applied Nanotechnology.” PMID:26957538

E-commerce application study and complementary services in the sector of laboratory diagnostics based on consumers' opinion.

PubMed

Kontis, Alexios-Patapios; Siassiakos, Konstantinos; Kaimakamis, Georgios; Lazakidou, Athina

2010-01-01

The field of the Laboratory Diagnostics (in vitro), a sector of the field of health services, constitutes an industrial market that includes activities of research, development, production and products distribution that are designated for laboratory use. These products are defined as techno-medical products including various categories of products such as simple medicines, advanced technological systems, etc. Despite the high performance, the enlargement and the increasing trends of the field, it is not recorded the expected progress in the methods and the ways of promotion, trading and supporting of these products in the market. The present paper aims at the investigation of the consumers' opinion and the specification of those services that are possible to be implemented in electronic services and commerce for a strongly competitive advantage for the enterprises of the sector. The analysis of the findings from the Consumer Purchase Decision Centres (CPDC) shows how important it is to implement web-based applications in the proposed services.

BioMig--A Method to Evaluate the Potential Release of Compounds from and the Formation of Biofilms on Polymeric Materials in Contact with Drinking Water.

PubMed

Wen, Gang; Kötzsch, Stefan; Vital, Marius; Egli, Thomas; Ma, Jun

2015-10-06

In contact with water, polymeric materials (plastics) release compounds that can support suspended microbial growth and/or biofilm formation. The different methods presently used in the European Union to test plastics take 7-16 weeks to obtain a result. In industry, this delays material and product development as well as quality testing. Therefore, we developed a method package (BioMig) that allows testing of plastic materials with high reproducibility in 2 weeks for their potential biofilm (or biomass) formation and release of carbonaceous migration products when in contact with water. BioMig consists of (i) an extended migration potential test (seven times for 24 h at 60 °C), based on the European norm EN 12873-1 and the German UBA (Umweltbundesamt) guideline, and (ii) a biomass formation potential (BFP) test (14 days at 30 °C), which is a modified version of the Dutch biofilm production potential test. In the migration potential test, the amount of carbon released into water by the specimen is quantified by monitoring total and assimilable organic carbon over time; furthermore, the modular design of the test also allows one to assess additional parameters such as pathogen growth potential on the migration water or toxic effects on microbial growth. Flow cytometry (FCM)-based total cell counting (TCC) is used to quantify microbial growth in suspension and on surfaces after removal with mild sonication without affecting cell integrity. The BFP test allows one to determine both the planktonic (pBFP) and the sessile (sBFP) cell fractions. The sBFP consists of surface-attached cells after removal (>90% efficiency). Results for four standard test materials (PE-Xa, PE-Xc, EPDM 2%, and EPDM 20%), plus positive (PVC-P) and negative (glass) controls are presented. FCM-based TCC demonstrates that the release of growth-supporting carbon and proliferation of surface-attached cells stops increasing and stabilizes after 14 days of incubation; this allows for faster assessment of growth-supporting properties of plastics with BioMig compared to established tests.

27 CFR 17.147 - Supporting data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Supporting data. 17.147... PRODUCTS Claims for Drawback § 17.147 Supporting data. (a) Each claim for drawback shall be accompanied by supporting data presented according to the format shown on TTB Form 5154.2, Supporting Data for Nonbeverage...

27 CFR 17.147 - Supporting data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Supporting data. 17.147... PRODUCTS Claims for Drawback § 17.147 Supporting data. (a) Each claim for drawback shall be accompanied by supporting data presented according to the format shown on TTB Form 5154.2, Supporting Data for Nonbeverage...

27 CFR 17.147 - Supporting data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Supporting data. 17.147... PRODUCTS Claims for Drawback § 17.147 Supporting data. (a) Each claim for drawback shall be accompanied by supporting data presented according to the format shown on TTB Form 5154.2, Supporting Data for Nonbeverage...

27 CFR 17.147 - Supporting data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Supporting data. 17.147... PRODUCTS Claims for Drawback § 17.147 Supporting data. (a) Each claim for drawback shall be accompanied by supporting data presented according to the format shown on TTB Form 5154.2, Supporting Data for Nonbeverage...

27 CFR 17.147 - Supporting data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Supporting data. 17.147... PRODUCTS Claims for Drawback § 17.147 Supporting data. (a) Each claim for drawback shall be accompanied by supporting data presented according to the format shown on TTB Form 5154.2, Supporting Data for Nonbeverage...