Automated tagging of pharmaceutically active thiols under flow conditions using monobromobimane.

PubMed

Tzanavaras, Paraskevas D; Karakosta, Theano D

2011-03-25

The thiol-specific derivatization reagent monobromobimane (MBB) is applied--for the first time--under flow conditions. Sequential injection analysis allows the handling of precise volumes of the reagent in the micro-liter range. The effect of the main chemical and instrumental variables was investigated using captopril (CAP), N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and penicillamine (PEN) as representative pharmaceutically active thiols. Previously reported hydrolysis of MBB due to interaction with nucleophilic components of the buffers was avoided kinetically under flow conditions. The proposed analytical scheme is suitable for the fluorimetric determination of thiols at a sampling rate of 36 h(-1). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Monitoring tumor metastases and osteolytic lesions with bioluminescence and micro CT imaging.

PubMed

Lim, Ed; Modi, Kshitij; Christensen, Anna; Meganck, Jeff; Oldfield, Stephen; Zhang, Ning

2011-04-14

Following intracardiac delivery of MDA-MB-231-luc-D3H2LN cells to Nu/Nu mice, systemic metastases developed in the injected animals. Bioluminescence imaging using IVIS Spectrum was employed to monitor the distribution and development of the tumor cells following the delivery procedure including DLIT reconstruction to measure the tumor signal and its location. Development of metastatic lesions to the bone tissues triggers osteolytic activity and lesions to tibia and femur were evaluated longitudinally using micro CT. Imaging was performed using a Quantum FX micro CT system with fast imaging and low X-ray dose. The low radiation dose allows multiple imaging sessions to be performed with a cumulative X-ray dosage far below LD50. A mouse imaging shuttle device was used to sequentially image the mice with both IVIS Spectrum and Quantum FX achieving accurate animal positioning in both the bioluminescence and CT images. The optical and CT data sets were co-registered in 3-dimentions using the Living Image 4.1 software. This multi-mode approach allows close monitoring of tumor growth and development simultaneously with osteolytic activity.

In-situ sequential laser transfer and laser reduction of graphene oxide films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papazoglou, S.; Petridis, C.; Kymakis, E.; Kennou, S.; Raptis, Y. S.; Chatzandroulis, S.; Zergioti, I.

2018-04-01

Achieving high quality transfer of graphene on selected substrates is a priority in device fabrication, especially where drop-on-demand applications are involved. In this work, we report an in-situ, fast, simple, and one step process that resulted in the reduction, transfer, and fabrication of reduced graphene oxide-based humidity sensors, using picosecond laser pulses. By tuning the laser illumination parameters, we managed to implement the sequential printing and reduction of graphene oxide flakes. The overall process lasted only a few seconds compared to a few hours that our group has previously published. DC current measurements, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, and Raman Spectroscopy were employed in order to assess the efficiency of our approach. To demonstrate the applicability and the potential of the technique, laser printed reduced graphene oxide humidity sensors with a limit of detection of 1700 ppm are presented. The results demonstrated in this work provide a selective, rapid, and low-cost approach for sequential transfer and photochemical reduction of graphene oxide micro-patterns onto various substrates for flexible electronics and sensor applications.

Polymeric microchip for the simultaneous determination of anions and cations by hydrodynamic injection using a dual-channel sequential injection microchip electrophoresis system.

PubMed

Gaudry, Adam J; Nai, Yi Heng; Guijt, Rosanne M; Breadmore, Michael C

2014-04-01

A dual-channel sequential injection microchip capillary electrophoresis system with pressure-driven injection is demonstrated for simultaneous separations of anions and cations from a single sample. The poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microchips feature integral in-plane contactless conductivity detection electrodes. A novel, hydrodynamic "split-injection" method utilizes background electrolyte (BGE) sheathing to gate the sample flows, while control over the injection volume is achieved by balancing hydrodynamic resistances using external hydrodynamic resistors. Injection is realized by a unique flow-through interface, allowing for automated, continuous sampling for sequential injection analysis by microchip electrophoresis. The developed system was very robust, with individual microchips used for up to 2000 analyses with lifetimes limited by irreversible blockages of the microchannels. The unique dual-channel geometry was demonstrated by the simultaneous separation of three cations and three anions in individual microchannels in under 40 s with limits of detection (LODs) ranging from 1.5 to 24 μM. From a series of 100 sequential injections the %RSDs were determined for every fifth run, resulting in %RSDs for migration times that ranged from 0.3 to 0.7 (n = 20) and 2.3 to 4.5 for peak area (n = 20). This system offers low LODs and a high degree of reproducibility and robustness while the hydrodynamic injection eliminates electrokinetic bias during injection, making it attractive for a wide range of rapid, sensitive, and quantitative online analytical applications.

A Robust Real Time Direction-of-Arrival Estimation Method for Sequential Movement Events of Vehicles.

PubMed

Liu, Huawei; Li, Baoqing; Yuan, Xiaobing; Zhou, Qianwei; Huang, Jingchang

2018-03-27

Parameters estimation of sequential movement events of vehicles is facing the challenges of noise interferences and the demands of portable implementation. In this paper, we propose a robust direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation method for the sequential movement events of vehicles based on a small Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) microphone array system. Inspired by the incoherent signal-subspace method (ISM), the method that is proposed in this work employs multiple sub-bands, which are selected from the wideband signals with high magnitude-squared coherence to track moving vehicles in the presence of wind noise. The field test results demonstrate that the proposed method has a better performance in emulating the DOA of a moving vehicle even in the case of severe wind interference than the narrowband multiple signal classification (MUSIC) method, the sub-band DOA estimation method, and the classical two-sided correlation transformation (TCT) method.

Micro Fluidic Channel Machining on Fused Silica Glass Using Powder Blasting

PubMed Central

Jang, Ho-Su; Cho, Myeong-Woo; Park, Dong-Sam

2008-01-01

In this study, micro fluid channels are machined on fused silica glass via powder blasting, a mechanical etching process, and the machining characteristics of the channels are experimentally evaluated. In the process, material removal is performed by the collision of micro abrasives injected by highly compressed air on to the target surface. This approach can be characterized as an integration of brittle mode machining based on micro crack propagation. Fused silica glass, a high purity synthetic amorphous silicon dioxide, is selected as a workpiece material. It has a very low thermal expansion coefficient and excellent optical qualities and exceptional transmittance over a wide spectral range, especially in the ultraviolet range. The powder blasting process parameters affecting the machined results are injection pressure, abrasive particle size and density, stand-off distance, number of nozzle scanning, and shape/size of the required patterns. In this study, the influence of the number of nozzle scanning, abrasive particle size, and pattern size on the formation of micro channels is investigated. Machined shapes and surface roughness are measured using a 3-dimensional vision profiler and the results are discussed. PMID:27879730

Multiphase and multiscale approaches for modelling the injection of textured moulds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakhoul, Rebecca; Laure, Patrice; Silva, Luisa; Vincent, Michel

2016-10-01

Micro-injection moulding is frequently used for the mass production of devices in micro-medical technologies, micro-optics and micro-mechanics. This work focuses mainly on offering numerical tools to model the injection of micro-textured moulds. Such tools can predict the different filling scenarios of the micro-details and consequently offer optimal operating conditions (mould and melt temperatures, melt flow, stresses, etc.) to analyse the final part quality. To do so, a full Eulerian approach is used to model the injection of textured moulds at both the macroscopic and microscopic scales as usual industrial software cannot handle the filling of micro details. Since heat transfers with the mould are very relevant due to high cooling rates, the coupling between micro- and macro- simulations is primordial to insure a complete and accurate representation of textured mould injection.

Design and fabrication of optical homogenizer with micro structure by injection molding process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, C.-C. A.; Chang, S.-W.; Weng, C.-J.

2008-08-01

This paper is to design and fabricate an optical homogenizer with hybrid design of collimator, toroidal lens array, and projection lens for beam shaping of Gaussian beam into uniform cylindrical beam. TracePro software was used to design the geometry of homogenizer and simulation of injection molding was preceded by Moldflow MPI to evaluate the mold design for injection molding process. The optical homogenizer is a cylindrical part with thickness 8.03 mm and diameter 5 mm. The micro structure of toroidal array has groove height designed from 12 μm to 99 μm. An electrical injection molding machine and PMMA (n= 1.4747) were selected to perform the experiment. Experimental results show that the optics homogenizer has achieved the transfer ratio of grooves (TRG) as 88.98% and also the optical uniformity as 68% with optical efficiency as 91.88%. Future study focuses on development of an optical homogenizer for LED light source.

Neural networks for vertical microcode compaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Pong P.

1992-09-01

Neural networks provide an alternative way to solve complex optimization problems. Instead of performing a program of instructions sequentially as in a traditional computer, neural network model explores many competing hypotheses simultaneously using its massively parallel net. The paper shows how to use the neural network approach to perform vertical micro-code compaction for a micro-programmed control unit. The compaction procedure includes two basic steps. The first step determines the compatibility classes and the second step selects a minimal subset to cover the control signals. Since the selection process is an NP- complete problem, to find an optimal solution is impractical. In this study, we employ a customized neural network to obtain the minimal subset. We first formalize this problem, and then define an `energy function' and map it to a two-layer fully connected neural network. The modified network has two types of neurons and can always obtain a valid solution.

Pre-evaluation of metal ions as a catalyst on chemiluminometric sequential injection analysis with luminol-H2O2 system.

PubMed

Takayanagi, Toshio; Inaba, Yuya; Kanzaki, Hiroyuki; Jyoichi, Yasutaka; Motomizu, Shoji

2009-09-15

Catalytic effect of metal ions on luminol chemiluminescence (CL) was investigated by sequential injection analysis (SIA). The SIA system was set up with two solenoid micropumps, an eight-port selection valve, and a photosensor module with a fountain-type chemiluminescence cell. The SIA system was controlled and the CL signals were collected by a LabVIEW program. Aqueous solutions of luminol, H(2)O(2), and a sample solution containing metal ion were sequentially aspirated to the holding coil, and the zones were immediately propelled to the detection cell. After optimizing the parameters using 1 x 10(-5)M Fe(3+) solution, catalytic effect of some metal species was compared. Among 16 metal species examined, relatively strong CL responses were obtained with Fe(3+), Fe(2+), VO(2+), VO(3)(-), MnO(4)(-), Co(2+), and Cu(2+). The limits of detection by the present SIA system were comparable to FIA systems. Permanganate ion showed the highest CL sensitivity among the metal species examined; the calibration graph for MnO(4)(-) was linear at the concentration level of 10(-8)M and the limit of detection for MnO(4)(-) was 4.0 x 10(-10)M (S/N=3).

Microfluidic Device for Sequential Injection and Flushing of Solutions and its Application to Immunosensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nashida, Norihiro; Suzuki, Hiroaki

A microfluidic system with injecting and flushing functions was developed. In the system, hydrophilic flow channels have a dry-film photoresist layer which facilitates the introduction of solutions from four injection ports. The injection and flushing of solutions are controlled by valves operated by electrowetting. The valves consist of gold working electrodes in the flow channels or a through-hole in the glass substrate. Solutions can be sequentially introduced through the injection ports into a reaction chamber and flushed through a valve in the through-hole. Necessary immunoassay steps can be conducted on the chip, and a target antibody can be detected electrochemically.

Topographically Organized Projection to Posterior Insular Cortex from the Posterior Portion of the Ventral Medial Nucleus (VMpo) in the Long-tailed Macaque Monkey

PubMed Central

Craig, A.D. (Bud)

2014-01-01

Prior anterograde tracing work identified somatotopically organized lamina I trigemino- and spino-thalamic terminations in a cytoarchitectonically distinct portion of posterolateral thalamus of the macaque monkey, named the posterior part of the ventral medial nucleus (VMpo; Craig, 2004b). Microelectrode recordings from clusters of selectively thermoreceptive or nociceptive neurons were used to guide precise micro-injections of various tracers in VMpo. A prior report (Craig and Zhang, 2006) described retrograde tracing results, which confirmed the selective lamina I input to VMpo and the antero-posterior (head to foot) topography. The present report describes the results of micro-injections of anterograde tracers placed at different levels in VMpo, based on the antero-posterior topographic organization of selectively nociceptive units and clusters over nearly the entire extent of VMpo. Each injection produced dense, patchy terminal labeling in a single coherent field within a distinct granular cortical area centered in the fundus of the superior limiting sulcus. The terminations were distributed with a consistent antero-posterior topography over the posterior half of the superior limiting sulcus. These observations demonstrate a specific VMpo projection area in dorsal posterior insular cortex that provides the basis for a somatotopic representation of selectively nociceptive lamina I spinothalamic activity. These results also identify the VMpo terminal area as the posterior half of interoceptive cortex; the anterior half receives input from the vagal-responsive and gustatory neurons in the basal part of the ventral medial nucleus (VMb). PMID:23853108

Dissociation of metabolic and hemodynamic levodopa responses in the 6-hydroxydopamine rat model.

PubMed

Lerner, Renata P; Bimpisidis, Zisis; Agorastos, Stergiani; Scherrer, Sandra; Dewey, Stephen L; Cenci, M Angela; Eidelberg, David

2016-12-01

Dissociation of vasomotor and metabolic responses to levodopa has been observed in human subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD) studied with PET and in autoradiograms from 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) rat. In both species, acute levodopa administration was associated with increases in basal ganglia cerebral blood flow (CBF) with concurrent reductions in cerebral metabolic rate (CMR) for glucose in the same brain regions. In this study, we used a novel dual-tracer microPET technique to measure CBF and CMR levodopa responses in the same animal. Rats with unilateral 6-OHDA or sham lesion underwent sequential 15 O-water (H 2 15 O) and 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) microPET to map CBF and CMR following the injection of levodopa or saline. A subset of animals was separately scanned under ketamine/xylazine and isoflurane to compare the effects of these anesthetics. Regardless of anesthetic agent, 6-OHDA animals exhibited significant dissociation of vasomotor (ΔCBF) and metabolic (ΔCMR) responses to levodopa, with stereotyped increases in CBF and reductions in CMR in the basal ganglia ipsilateral to the dopamine lesion. No significant changes were seen in sham-lesioned animals. These data faithfully recapitulate analogous dissociation effects observed previously in human PD subjects scanned sequentially during levodopa infusion. This approach may have utility in the assessment of new drugs targeting the exaggerated regional vasomotor responses seen in human PD and in experimental models of levodopa-induced dyskinesia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Investigation of micro-injection molding based on longitudinal ultrasonic vibration core.

PubMed

Qiu, Zhongjun; Yang, Xue; Zheng, Hui; Gao, Shan; Fang, Fengzhou

2015-10-01

An ultrasound-assisted micro-injection molding method is proposed to improve the rheological behavior of the polymer melt radically, and a micro-injection molding system based on a longitudinal ultrasonic vibration core is developed and employed in the micro-injection molding process of Fresnel lenses. The verification experiments show that the filling mold area of the polymer melt is increased by 6.08% to 19.12%, and the symmetric deviation of the Fresnel lens is improved 15.62% on average. This method improved the filling performance and replication quality of the polymer melt in the injection molding process effectively.

Sequential-Injection Analysis: Principles, Instrument Construction, and Demonstration by a Simple Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Economou, A.; Tzanavaras, P. D.; Themelis, D. G.

2005-01-01

The sequential-injection analysis (SIA) is an approach to sample handling that enables the automation of manual wet-chemistry procedures in a rapid, precise and efficient manner. The experiments using SIA fits well in the course of Instrumental Chemical Analysis and especially in the section of Automatic Methods of analysis provided by chemistry…

Exploring Liquid Sequential Injection Chromatography to Teach Fundamentals of Separation Methods: A Very Fast Analytical Chemistry Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penteado, Jose C.; Masini, Jorge Cesar

2011-01-01

Influence of the solvent strength determined by the addition of a mobile-phase organic modifier and pH on chromatographic separation of sorbic acid and vanillin has been investigated by the relatively new technique, liquid sequential injection chromatography (SIC). This technique uses reversed-phase monolithic stationary phase to execute fast…

Fractionation of whey proteins with high-capacity superparamagnetic ion-exchangers.

PubMed

Heebøll-Nielsen, Anders; Justesen, Sune F L; Thomas, Owen R T

2004-09-30

In this study we describe the design, preparation and testing of superparamagnetic anion-exchangers, and their use together with cation-exchangers in the fractionation of bovine whey proteins as a model study for high-gradient magnetic fishing. Adsorbents prepared by attachment of trimethyl amine to particles activated in sequential reactions with allyl bromide and N-bromosuccinimide yielded a maximum bovine serum albumin binding capacity of 156 mg g(-1) combined with a dissociation constant of 0.60 microM, whereas ion-exchangers created by linking polyethylene imine through superficial aldehydes bound up to 337 mg g(-1) with a dissociation constant of 0.042 microM. The latter anion-exchanger was selected for studies of whey protein fractionation. In these, crude bovine whey was treated with a superparamagnetic cation-exchanger to adsorb basic protein species, and the supernatant arising from this treatment was then contacted with the anion-exchanger. For both adsorbent classes of ion-exchanger, desorption selectivity was subsequently studied by sequentially increasing the concentration of NaCl in the elution buffer. In the initial cation-exchange step quantitative removal of lactoferrin (LF) and lactoperoxidase (LPO) was achieved with some simultaneous binding of immunoglobulins (Ig). The immunoglobulins were separated from the other two proteins by desorbing with a low concentration of NaCl (< or = 0.4 M), whereas lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase were co-eluted in significantly purer form, e.g. lactoperoxidase was purified 28-fold over the starting material, when the NaCl concentration was increased to 0.4-1 M. The anion-exchanger adsorbed beta-lactoglobulin (beta-LG) selectively allowing separation from the remaining protein.

Dynamic fractionation of trace metals in soil and sediment samples using rotating coiled column extraction and sequential injection microcolumn extraction: a comparative study.

PubMed

Rosende, Maria; Savonina, Elena Yu; Fedotov, Petr S; Miró, Manuel; Cerdà, Víctor; Wennrich, Rainer

2009-09-15

Dynamic fractionation has been recognized as an appealing alternative to conventional equilibrium-based sequential extraction procedures (SEPs) for partitioning of trace elements (TE) in environmental solid samples. This paper reports the first attempt for harmonization of flow-through dynamic fractionation using two novel methods, the so-called sequential injection microcolumn (SIMC) extraction and rotating coiled column (RCC) extraction. In SIMC extraction, a column packed with the solid sample is clustered in a sequential injection system, while in RCC, the particulate matter is retained under the action of centrifugal forces. In both methods, the leachants are continuously pumped through the solid substrates by the use of either peristaltic or syringe pumps. A five-step SEP was selected for partitioning of Cu, Pb and Zn in water soluble/exchangeable, acid-soluble, easily reducible, easily oxidizable and moderately reducible fractions from 0.2 to 0.5 g samples at an extractant flow rate of 1.0 mL min(-1) prior to leachate analysis by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. Similarities and discrepancies between both dynamic approaches were ascertained by fractionation of TE in certified reference materials, namely, SRM 2711 Montana Soil and GBW 07311 sediment, and two real soil samples as well. Notwithstanding the different extraction conditions set by both methods, similar trends of metal distribution were in generally found. The most critical parameters for reliable assessment of mobilizable pools of TE in worse-case scenarios are the size-distribution of sample particles, the density of particles, the content of organic matter and the concentration of major elements. For reference materials and a soil rich in organic matter, the extraction in RCC results in slightly higher recoveries of environmentally relevant fractions of TE, whereas SIMC leaching is more effective for calcareous soils.

Micro Machining of Injection Mold Inserts for Fluidic Channel of Polymeric Biochips

PubMed Central

Jung, Woo-Chul; Heo, Young-Moo; Yoon, Gil-Sang; Shin, Kwang-Ho; Chang, Sung-Ho; Kim, Gun-Hee; Cho, Myeong-Woo

2007-01-01

Recently, the polymeric micro-fluidic biochip, often called LOC (lab-on-a-chip), has been focused as a cheap, rapid and simplified method to replace the existing biochemical laboratory works. It becomes possible to form miniaturized lab functionalities on a chip with the development of MEMS technologies. The micro-fluidic chips contain many micro-channels for the flow of sample and reagents, mixing, and detection tasks. Typical substrate materials for the chip are glass and polymers. Typical techniques for microfluidic chip fabrication are utilizing various micro pattern forming methods, such as wet-etching, micro-contact printing, and hot-embossing, micro injection molding, LIGA, and micro powder blasting processes, etc. In this study, to establish the basis of the micro pattern fabrication and mass production of polymeric micro-fluidic chips using injection molding process, micro machining method was applied to form micro-channels on the LOC molds. In the research, a series of machining experiments using micro end-mills were performed to determine optimum machining conditions to improve surface roughness and shape accuracy of designed simplified micro-channels. Obtained conditions were used to machine required mold inserts for micro-channels using micro end-mills. Test injection processes using machined molds and COC polymer were performed, and then the results were investigated.

Development of enantioselective chemiluminescence flow- and sequential-injection immunoassays for alpha-amino acids.

PubMed

Silvaieh, Hossein; Schmid, Martin G; Hofstetter, Oliver; Schurig, Volker; Gübitz, Gerald

2002-01-01

The development of an enantioselective flow-through chemiluminescence immunosensor for amino acids is described. The approach is based on a competitive assay using enantioselective antibodies. Two different instrumental approaches, a flow-injection (FIA) and a sequential-injection system (SIA), are used. Compared to the flow-injection technique, the sequential injection-mode showed better repeatability. Both systems use an immunoreactor consisting of a flow cell packed with immobilized haptens. The haptens (4-amino-L- or D-phenylalanine) are immobilized onto a hydroxysuccinimide-activated polymer (Affi-prep 10) via a tyramine spacer. Stereoselective antibodies, raised against 4-amino-L- or D-phenylalanine, are labeled with an acridinium ester. Stereoselective inhibition of binding of the acridinum-labeled antibodies to the immobilized hapten by amino acids takes place. Chiral recognition was observed not only for the hapten molecule but also for a series of different amino acids. One assay cycle including regeneration takes 6:30 min in the FIA mode and 4:40 min in the SIA mode. Using D-phenylalanine as a sample, the detection limit was found to be 6.13 pmol/ml (1.01 ng/ml) for the flow-injection immunoassay (FIIA) and 1.76 pmol/ml (0.29 ng/ml ) for the sequential-injection immunoassay (SIIA) which can be lowered to 0.22 pmol/ml (0.036 ng/ml) or 0.064 pmol/ml (0.01 ng/ml) by using a stopped flow system. The intra-assay repeatability was found to be about 5% RSD and the inter-assay repeatability below 6% (within 3 days).

Chemiluminescence analyzer of NOx as a high-throughput screening tool in selective catalytic reduction of NO

PubMed Central

Oh, Kwang Seok; Woo, Seong Ihl

2011-01-01

A chemiluminescence-based analyzer of NOx gas species has been applied for high-throughput screening of a library of catalytic materials. The applicability of the commercial NOx analyzer as a rapid screening tool was evaluated using selective catalytic reduction of NO gas. A library of 60 binary alloys composed of Pt and Co, Zr, La, Ce, Fe or W on Al2O3 substrate was tested for the efficiency of NOx removal using a home-built 64-channel parallel and sequential tubular reactor. The NOx concentrations measured by the NOx analyzer agreed well with the results obtained using micro gas chromatography for a reference catalyst consisting of 1 wt% Pt on γ-Al2O3. Most alloys showed high efficiency at 275 °C, which is typical of Pt-based catalysts for selective catalytic reduction of NO. The screening with NOx analyzer allowed to select Pt-Ce(X) (X=1–3) and Pt–Fe(2) as the optimal catalysts for NOx removal: 73% NOx conversion was achieved with the Pt–Fe(2) alloy, which was much better than the results for the reference catalyst and the other library alloys. This study demonstrates a sequential high-throughput method of practical evaluation of catalysts for the selective reduction of NO. PMID:27877438

Combinational treatment with retinoic acid derivatives in non-small cell lung carcinoma in vitro.

PubMed

Choi, Eun Jung; Whang, Young Mi; Kim, Seok Jin; Kim, Hyun Jin; Kim, Yeul Hong

2007-09-01

The growth inhibitory effects of four retinoic acid (RA) derivatives, 9-cis RA, 13-cis RA, N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide (4-HPR), and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) were compared. In addition, the effects of various combinations of these four agents were examined on non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cell-lines, and on the expressions of retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs) on these cells. At the clinically achievable concentration of 1 microM, only 4-HPR inhibited the growths of H1299 and H460 cells-lines. However, retinoic acid receptor beta(RAR beta) expression was up-regulated on H460 and H1299 cells treated with 1 microM of ATRA, 13-cis RA, or 9-cis RA. All NSCLC cell lines showed growth inhibition when exposed sequentially to 1 microM ATRA and 0.1 microM 4-HPR. In particular, sequential treatment with 1 microM ATRA or 13-cis RA and 4-HPR markedly inhibited H1703 cell growth; these cells exhibited no basal RAR beta expression and were refractory to 4-HPR. However, in NSCLC cell lines that expressed RAR beta, the expressional levels of RAR beta were up-regulated by ATRA alone and by sequential treatment with ATRA and 4-HPR. 4-HPR was found to be the most active of the four agents in terms of NSCLC growth-inhibition. Moreover, sequential treatments with ATRA or 13-cis RA followed by 4-HPR were found to have synergistic growth-inhibitory effects and to regulate RAR expression.

Cu2+-imprinted cross-linked chitosan resin as micro-column packing materials for online chemiluminescence determination of trace copper.

PubMed

Nie, Feng; Hao, Liang; Gao, Mei; Wu, Yingchun; Li, Xinsheng; Yu, Sha

2011-01-01

The Cu(2+)-imprinted cross-linked chitosan resin was synthesized and the binding characteristic of the resin to Cu(2+) was evaluated. The prepared resin was packed into a micro-glass column and used as micro-separating column. The micro-separating column was connected into the chemiluminescence flow system and placed in front of the window of the photomultiplier tube. Based on the luminol-hydrogen peroxide chemiluminescence system, a flow injection online chemiluminescence method for determination of trace copper was developed and trace Cu(2+) in complex samples was successfully determined. The proposed method improved the shortcomings of chemiluminescence method's poor selectivity. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Selective damage to cochlear efferents by the choline neurotoxin ethylcholine mustard aziridinium ion (AF64A) in the chinchilla.

PubMed

Smith, D W; Mount, R J; Callahan, J W

1989-10-01

The cholinotoxin ethylcholine mustard aziridinium ion (AF64A) was diluted in artificial perilymph to concentrations ranging from 10-100 microM, injected unilaterally into the bulla of chinchillas, and allowed to passively diffuse across the round window membrane. Following 21-day survival, the animals were sacrificed and ears removed and embedded in epoxy for histological evaluation under both light and transmission electron microscopy. At 10 microM concentration, selective degeneration of efferent fibers was observed in the efferent terminals on outer hair cells (OHC), tunnel radial fibers, tunnel spiral bundle, and the inner spiral bundle. Serial sections of the middle turn of an animal at 10 microM concentrations showed normal efferent terminals on approximately 50% of OHCs. At the higher concentrations non-specific damage was seen in OHCs, afferents, and some supporting cells. These data suggest that low doses AF64A produces selective damage to cochlear efferent terminals and fibers in the chinchilla.

A microbial identification framework for risk assessment.

PubMed

Bernatchez, Stéphane; Anoop, Valar; Saikali, Zeina; Breton, Marie

2018-06-01

Micro-organisms are increasingly used in a variety of products for commercial uses, including cleaning products. Such microbial-based cleaning products (MBCP) are represented as a more environmentally-friendly alternative to chemically based cleaning products. The identity of the micro-organisms formulated into these products is often considered confidential business information and is not revealed or it is only partly revealed (i.e., identification to the genus, not to the species). That paucity of information complicates the evaluation of the risk associated with their use. The accurate taxonomic identification of those micro-organisms is important so that a suitable risk assessment of the products can be conducted. To alleviate difficulties associated with adequate identification of micro-organisms in MBCP and other products containing micro-organisms, a microbial identification framework for risk assessment (MIFRA) has been elaborated. It serves to provide guidance on a polyphasic tiered approach, combining the data obtained from the use of various methods (i.e., polyphasic approach) combined with the sequential selection of the methods (i.e., tiered) to achieve a satisfactory identity of the micro-organism to an acceptable taxonomic level. The MIFRA is suitable in various risk assessment contexts for micro-organisms used in any commercial product. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

In-situ monitoring of H2O2 degradation by live cells using voltammetric detection in a lab-on-valve system.

PubMed

Lähdesmäki, Ilkka; Park, Young K; Carroll, Andrea D; Decuir, Michael; Ruzicka, Jaromir

2007-08-01

This paper describes a method for monitoring the degradation of hydrogen peroxide by cells immobilized on a beaded support. The detection is based on the voltammetric reduction of hydrogen peroxide on a mercury film working electrode, whilst combining the concept of sequential injection (SI) with the lab-on-valve (LOV) manifold allows the measurements to be carried out in real time and automatically, in well-defined conditions. The method is shown to be capable of simultaneously monitoring hydrogen peroxide in the 10-1000 microM range and oxygen in the 160-616 microM range. A correction algorithm has been used to ensure reliable H2O2 results in the presence of varying oxygen levels. The method has been successfully applied to monitoring the degradation of H2O2 by wild-type cells and by catalase-overexpressing mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Since the technique allows the monitoring of the initial response rate, it provides data not accessible by current methods that are end-point-based measurements.

Determination of nitrite and nitrate in water samples by an automated hydrodynamic sequential injection method.

PubMed

Somnam, Sarawut; Jakmunee, Jaroon; Grudpan, Kate; Lenghor, Narong; Motomizu, Shoji

2008-12-01

An automated hydrodynamic sequential injection (HSI) system with spectrophotometric detection was developed. Thanks to the hydrodynamic injection principle, simple devices can be used for introducing reproducible microliter volumes of both sample and reagent into the flow channel to form stacked zones in a similar fashion to those in a sequential injection system. The zones were then pushed to the detector and a peak profile was recorded. The determination of nitrite and nitrate in water samples by employing the Griess reaction was chosen as a model. Calibration graphs with linearity in the range of 0.7 - 40 muM were obtained for both nitrite and nitrate. Detection limits were found to be 0.3 muM NO(2)(-) and 0.4 muM NO(3)(-), respectively, with a sample throughput of 20 h(-1) for consecutive determination of both the species. The developed system was successfully applied to the analysis of water samples, employing simple and cost-effective instrumentation and offering higher degrees of automation and low chemical consumption.

Targeting of sebaceous glands to treat acne by micro-insulated needles with radio frequency in a rabbit ear model.

PubMed

Kwon, Tae-Rin; Choi, Eun Ja; Oh, Chang Taek; Bak, Dong-Ho; Im, Song-I; Ko, Eun Jung; Hong, Hyuck Ki; Choi, Yeon Shik; Seok, Joon; Choi, Sun Young; Ahn, Gun Young; Kim, Beom Joon

2017-04-01

Many studies have investigated the application of micro-insulated needles with radio frequency (RF) to treat acne in humans; however, the use of a micro-insulated needle RF applicator has not yet been studied in an animal model. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a micro-insulated needle RF applicator in a rabbit ear acne (REA) model. In this study, we investigated the effect of selectively destroying the sebaceous glands using a micro-insulated needle RF applicator on the formation of comedones induced by application of 50% oleic acid and intradermal injection of P. acnes in the orifices of the external auditory canals of rabbits. The effects of the micro-insulated needle RF applicator treatment were evaluated using regular digital photography in addition to 3D Primos imaging evaluation, Skin Visio Meter microscopic photography, and histologic analyses. Use of the micro-insulated needle RF applicator resulted in successful selective destruction of the sebaceous glands and attenuated TNF-alpha release in an REA model. The mechanisms by which micro-insulated needles with RF using 1 MHz exerts its effects may involve inhibition of comedone formation, triggering of the wound healing process, and destruction of the sebaceous glands and papules. The use of micro-insulated needles with RF applicators provides a safe and effective method for improving the appearance of symptoms in an REA model. The current in vivo study confirms that the micro-insulated needle RF applicator is selectively destroying the sebaceous glands. Lasers Surg. Med. 49:395-401, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Use of High-Resolution Continuum Source Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (HR-CS FAAS) for Sequential Multi-Element Determination of Metals in Seawater and Wastewater Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peña-Vázquez, E.; Barciela-Alonso, M. C.; Pita-Calvo, C.; Domínguez-González, R.; Bermejo-Barrera, P.

2015-09-01

The objective of this work is to develop a method for the determination of metals in saline matrices using high-resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS FAAS). Module SFS 6 for sample injection was used in the manual mode, and flame operating conditions were selected. The main absorption lines were used for all the elements, and the number of selected analytical pixels were 5 (CP±2) for Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn, and 3 pixels for Mn (CP±1). Samples were acidified (0.5% (v/v) nitric acid), and the standard addition method was used for the sequential determination of the analytes in diluted samples (1:2). The method showed good precision (RSD(%) < 4%, except for Pb (6.5%)) and good recoveries. Accuracy was checked after the analysis of an SPS-WW2 wastewater reference material diluted with synthetic seawater (dilution 1:2), showing a good agreement between certified and experimental results.

Sequential capillary electrophoresis analysis using optically gated sample injection and UV/vis detection.

PubMed

Liu, Xiaoxia; Tian, Miaomiao; Camara, Mohamed Amara; Guo, Liping; Yang, Li

2015-10-01

We present sequential CE analysis of amino acids and L-asparaginase-catalyzed enzyme reaction, by combing the on-line derivatization, optically gated (OG) injection and commercial-available UV-Vis detection. Various experimental conditions for sequential OG-UV/vis CE analysis were investigated and optimized by analyzing a standard mixture of amino acids. High reproducibility of the sequential CE analysis was demonstrated with RSD values (n = 20) of 2.23, 2.57, and 0.70% for peak heights, peak areas, and migration times, respectively, and the LOD of 5.0 μM (for asparagine) and 2.0 μM (for aspartic acid) were obtained. With the application of the OG-UV/vis CE analysis, sequential online CE enzyme assay of L-asparaginase-catalyzed enzyme reaction was carried out by automatically and continuously monitoring the substrate consumption and the product formation every 12 s from the beginning to the end of the reaction. The Michaelis constants for the reaction were obtained and were found to be in good agreement with the results of traditional off-line enzyme assays. The study demonstrated the feasibility and reliability of integrating the OG injection with UV/vis detection for sequential online CE analysis, which could be of potential value for online monitoring various chemical reaction and bioprocesses. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Endovascular ischemic stroke models of adult rhesus monkeys: a comparison of two endovascular methods.

PubMed

Wu, Di; Chen, Jian; Wang, Bincheng; Zhang, Mo; Shi, Jingfei; Ma, Yanhui; Zhu, Zixin; Yan, Feng; He, Xiaoduo; Li, Shengli; Dornbos Iii, David; Ding, Yuchuan; Ji, Xunming

2016-08-18

To further investigate and improve upon current stroke models in nonhuman primates, infarct size, neurologic function and survival were evaluated in two endovascular ischemic models in sixteen rhesus monkeys. The first method utilized a micro-catheter or an inflatable balloon to occlude the M1 segment in six monkeys. In the second model, an autologous clot was injected via a micro-catheter into the M1 segment in ten monkeys. MRI scanning was performed on all monkeys both at baseline and 3 hours after the onset of ischemia. Spetzler neurologic functions were assessed post-operatively, and selective perfusion deficits were confirmed by DSA and MRI in all monkeys. Animals undergoing micro-catheter or balloon occlusion demonstrated more profound hemiparesis, larger infarct sizes, lower Spetzler neurologic scores and increased mortality compared to the thrombus occlusion group. In animals injected with the clot, there was no evidence of dissolution, and the thrombus was either near the injection site (M1) or flushed into the superior division of the MCA (M2). All animals survived the M2 occlusion. M1 occlusion with thrombus generated 50% mortality. This study highlighted clinically important differences in these two models, providing a platform for further study of a translational thromboembolic model of acute ischemic stroke.

Effects of low charge injection densities on corrosion responses of pulsed 316LVM stainless steel electrodes.

PubMed

Riedy, L W; Walter, J S

1996-06-01

The safe charge injection density for pulsing of 316LVM electrodes has been reported to be 40 microC/cm2. However, only 20 microC/cm2 is available for nonfaradic charge transfer and double layer charge injection. Therefore, we evaluated long term pulsing at 20 microC/cm2 with capacitor coupling.

Filling of high aspect ratio micro features of a microfluidic flow cytometer chip using micro injection moulding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Haoyang; Fang, Fengzhou; Gilchrist, Michael D.; Zhang, Nan

2018-07-01

Micro injection moulding has been demonstrated as one of the most efficient mass production technologies for manufacturing polymeric microfluidic devices, which have been widely used in life sciences, environmental and analytical fields and agro-food industries. However, the filling of micro features for typical microfluidic devices is complicated and not yet fully understood, which consequently restricts the chip development. In the present work, a microfluidic flow cytometer chip with essential high aspect ratio micro features was used as a typical model to study their filling process. Short-shot experiments and single factor experiments were performed to examine the filling progress of such features during the injection and packing stages of the micro injection moulding process. The influence of process parameters such as shot size, packing pressure, packing time and mould temperature were systematically monitored, characterised and correlated with 3D measurements and real response of the machine such as screw velocity and screw position. A combined melt flow and creep deformation model was proposed to explain the complex influence of process on replication. An approach of over-shot micro injection moulding was proposed and was shown to be effective at improving the replication quality of high aspect ratio micro features.

Tracking Time Evolution of Collective Attention Clusters in Twitter: Time Evolving Nonnegative Matrix Factorisation.

PubMed

Saito, Shota; Hirata, Yoshito; Sasahara, Kazutoshi; Suzuki, Hideyuki

2015-01-01

Micro-blogging services, such as Twitter, offer opportunities to analyse user behaviour. Discovering and distinguishing behavioural patterns in micro-blogging services is valuable. However, it is difficult and challenging to distinguish users, and to track the temporal development of collective attention within distinct user groups in Twitter. In this paper, we formulate this problem as tracking matrices decomposed by Nonnegative Matrix Factorisation for time-sequential matrix data, and propose a novel extension of Nonnegative Matrix Factorisation, which we refer to as Time Evolving Nonnegative Matrix Factorisation (TENMF). In our method, we describe users and words posted in some time interval by a matrix, and use several matrices as time-sequential data. Subsequently, we apply Time Evolving Nonnegative Matrix Factorisation to these time-sequential matrices. TENMF can decompose time-sequential matrices, and can track the connection among decomposed matrices, whereas previous NMF decomposes a matrix into two lower dimension matrices arbitrarily, which might lose the time-sequential connection. Our proposed method has an adequately good performance on artificial data. Moreover, we present several results and insights from experiments using real data from Twitter.

Micro Dot Patterning on the Light Guide Panel Using Powder Blasting

PubMed Central

Jang, Ho Su; Cho, Myeong Woo; Park, Dong Sam

2008-01-01

This study is to develop a micromachining technology for a light guide panel(LGP) mold, whereby micro dot patterns are formed on a LGP surface by a single injection process instead of existing screen printing processes. The micro powder blasting technique is applied to form micro dot patterns on the LGP mold surface. The optimal conditions for masking, laminating, exposure, and developing processes to form the micro dot patterns are first experimentally investigated. A LGP mold with masked micro patterns is then machined using the micro powder blasting method and the machinability of the micro dot patterns is verified. A prototype LGP is test- injected using the developed LGP mold and a shape analysis of the patterns and performance testing of the injected LGP are carried out. As an additional approach, matte finishing, a special surface treatment method, is applied to the mold surface to improve the light diffusion characteristics, uniformity and brightness of the LGP. The results of this study show that the applied powder blasting method can be successfully used to manufacture LGPs with micro patterns by just single injection using the developed mold and thereby replace existing screen printing methods. PMID:27879740

An on-line potentiometric sequential injection titration process analyser for the determination of acetic acid.

PubMed

van Staden, J F; Mashamba, Mulalo G; Stefan, Raluca I

2002-09-01

An on-line potentiometric sequential injection titration process analyser for the determination of acetic acid is proposed. A solution of 0.1 mol L(-1) sodium chloride is used as carrier. Titration is achieved by aspirating acetic acid samples between two strong base-zone volumes into a holding coil and by channelling the stack of well-defined zones with flow reversal through a reaction coil to a potentiometric sensor where the peak widths were measured. A linear relationship between peak width and logarithm of the acid concentration was obtained in the range 1-9 g/100 mL. Vinegar samples were analysed without any sample pre-treatment. The method has a relative standard deviation of 0.4% with a sample frequency of 28 samples per hour. The results revealed good agreement between the proposed sequential injection and an automated batch titration method.

Dewetting Based Fabrication of Fibrous Micro-Scaffolds as Potential Injectable Cell Carriers

PubMed Central

Song, Hokyung; Yin, Liya; Chilian, William M.; Newby, Bi-min Zhang

2014-01-01

Although regenerative medicine utilizing tissue scaffolds has made enormous strides in recent years, many constraints still hamper their effectiveness. A limitation of many scaffolds is that they form surface patches, which are not particularly effective for some types of “wounds” that are deep within tissues, e.g., stroke, myocardial infarction. In this study, we reported the generation of fibrous micro-scaffolds feasible for delivering cells by injection into the tissue parenchyma. The micro-scaffolds (widths < 100 μm) were made by dewetting of poly (lactic-coglycolic acid) thin films containing parallel strips, and cells were seeded to form cell/polymer micro-constructs during or post the micro-scaffold fabrication process. Five types of cells including rat induced vascular progenitor cells were assessed for the formation of the micro-constructs. Critical factors in forming fibrous micro-scaffolds via dewetting of polymer thin films were found to be properties of polymers and supporting substrates, temperature, and proteins in the culture medium. Also, the ability of cells to attach to the micro-scaffolds was essential for forming cell/polymer micro-constructs. Both in vitro and in vivo assessments of injecting these micro-scaffolding constructs showed, as compared to free cells, enhanced cell retention at the injected site, which could lead to improved tissue engineering and regeneration. PMID:25579969

Improved design and characterization of PLGA/PLA-coated Chitosan based micro-implants for controlled release of hydrophilic drugs.

PubMed

Manna, Soumyarwit; Donnell, Anna M; Kaval, Necati; Al-Rjoub, Marwan F; Augsburger, James J; Banerjee, Rupak K

2018-05-29

Repetitive intravitreal injections of Methotrexate (MTX), a hydrophilic chemotherapeutic drug, are currently used to treat selected vitreoretinal (VR) diseases, such as intraocular lymphoma. To avoid complications associated with the rapid release of MTX from the injections, a Polylactic acid (PLA) and Chitosan (CS)-based MTX micro-implant prototype was fabricated in an earlier study, which showed a sustained therapeutic release rate of 0.2-2.0 µg/day of MTX for a period ∼1 month in vitro and in vivo. In the current study, different combinations of Poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA)/PLA coatings were used for lipophilic surface modification of the CS-MTX micro-implant, such as PLGA 5050, PLGA 6535 and PLGA 7525 (PLA: PGA - 50:50, 65:35, 75:25, respectively; M.W: 54,400 - 103,000) and different PLA, such as PLA 100 and PLA 250 (MW: 102,000 and 257,000, respectively). This improved the duration of total MTX release from the coated CS-MTX micro-implants to ∼3-5 months. With an increase in PLA content in PLGA and molecular weight of PLA, a) the initial burst of MTX and the mean release rate of MTX can be reduced; and b) the swelling and biodegradation of the micro-implants can be delayed. The controlled drug release mechanism is caused by a combination of diffusion process and hydrolysis of the polymer coating, which can be modulated by a) PLA content in PLGA and b) molecular weight of PLA, as inferred from Korsmeyer Peppas model, Zero order, First order and Higuchi model fits. This improved micro-implant formulation has the potential to serve as a platform for controlled release of hydrophilic drugs to treat selected VR diseases. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Opposing roles for GABAA and GABAC receptors in short-term memory formation in young chicks.

PubMed

Gibbs, M E; Johnston, G A R

2005-01-01

The inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA has both inhibitory and enhancing effects on short-term memory for a bead discrimination task in the young chick. Low doses of GABA (1-3 pmol/hemisphere) injected into the multimodal association area of the chick forebrain, inhibit strongly reinforced memory, whereas higher doses (30-100 pmol/hemisphere) enhance weakly reinforced memory. The effect of both high and low doses of GABA is clearly on short-term memory in terms of both the time of injection and in the time that the memory loss occurs. We argue on the basis of relative sensitivities to GABA and to selective GABA receptor antagonists that low doses of GABA act at GABAC receptors (EC50 approximately 1 microM) and the higher doses of GABA act via GABAA receptors (EC50 approximately 10 microM). The selective GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline inhibited strongly reinforced memory in a dose and time dependent manner, whereas the selective GABAC receptor antagonists TPMPA and P4MPA enhanced weakly reinforced in a dose and time dependent manner. Confirmation that different levels of GABA affect different receptor subtypes was demonstrated by the shift in the GABA dose-response curves to the selective antagonists. It is clear that GABA is involved in the control of short-term memory formation and its action, enhancing or inhibiting, depends on the level of GABA released at the time of learning.

Microfluidic biosensing systems. Part I. Development and optimisation of enzymatic chemiluminescent micro-biosensors based on silicon microchips.

PubMed

Davidsson, Richard; Genin, Frédéric; Bengtsson, Martin; Laurell, Thomas; Emnéus, Jenny

2004-10-01

Chemiluminescent (CL) enzyme-based flow-through microchip biosensors (micro-biosensors) for detection of glucose and ethanol were developed for the purpose of monitoring real-time production and release of glucose and ethanol from microchip immobilised yeast cells. Part I of this study focuses on the development and optimisation of the micro-biosensors in a microfluidic sequential injection analysis (microSIA) system. Glucose oxidase (GOX) or alcohol oxidase (AOX) was co-immobilised with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) on porous silicon flow through microchips. The hydrogen peroxide produced from oxidation of the corresponding analyte (glucose or ethanol) took part in the chemiluminescent (CL) oxidation of luminol catalysed by HRP enhanced by addition of p-iodophenol (PIP). All steps in the microSIA system, including control of syringe pump, multiposition valve (MPV) and data readout, were computer controlled. The influence of flow rate and luminol- and PIP concentration were investigated using a 2(3)-factor experiment using the GOX-HRP sensor. It was found that all estimated single factors and the highest order of interaction were significant. The optimum was found at 250 microM luminol and 150 microM PIP at a flow rate of 18 microl min(-1), the latter as a compromise between signal intensity and analysis time. Using the optimised system settings one sample was processed within 5 min. Two different immobilisation chemistries were investigated for both micro-biosensors based on 3-aminopropyltriethoxsilane (APTS)- or polyethylenimine (PEI) functionalisation followed by glutaraldehyde (GA) activation. GOX-HRP micro-biosensors responded linear in a log-log format within the range 10-1000 microM glucose. Both had an operational stability of at least 8 days, but the PEI-GOX-HRP sensor was more sensitive. The AOX-HRP micro-biosensors responded linear (log-log) in the range between 1 and 10 mM ethanol, but the PEI-AOX-HRP sensor was in general more sensitive. Both sensors had an operational stability of at least 8 h, but with a half-life of 2-3 days.

Iodine speciation in coastal and inland bathing waters and seaweeds extracts using a sequential injection standard addition flow-batch method.

PubMed

Santos, Inês C; Mesquita, Raquel B R; Bordalo, Adriano A; Rangel, António O S S

2015-02-01

The present work describes the development of a sequential injection standard addition method for iodine speciation in bathing waters and seaweeds extracts without prior sample treatment. Iodine speciation was obtained by assessing the iodide and iodate content, the two inorganic forms of iodine in waters. For the determination of iodide, an iodide ion selective electrode (ISE) was used. The indirect determination of iodate was based on the spectrophotometric determination of nitrite (Griess reaction). For the iodate measurement, a mixing chamber was employed (flow batch approach) to explore the inherent efficient mixing, essential for the indirect determination of iodate. The application of the standard addition method enabled detection limits of 0.14 µM for iodide and 0.02 µM for iodate, together with the direct introduction of the target water samples, coastal and inland bathing waters. The results obtained were in agreement with those obtained by ICP-MS and a colorimetric reference procedure. Recovery tests also confirmed the accuracy of the developed method which was effectively applied to bathing waters and seaweed extracts. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical immunoassay on a microfluidic device with sequential injection and flushing functions.

PubMed

Nashida, Norihiro; Satoh, Wataru; Fukuda, Junji; Suzuki, Hiroaki

2007-06-15

An integrated microfluidic device with injecting, flushing, and sensing functions was realized using valves that operate based on direct electrowetting. The device consisted of two substrates: a glass substrate with driving and sensing electrodes and a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) substrate. Microfluidic transport was achieved using the spontaneous movement of solutions in hydrophilic flow channels formed with a dry-film photoresist layer. The injection and flushing of solutions were controlled by gold working electrodes, which functioned as valves. The valves were formed either in the channels or in a through-hole in the glass substrate. To demonstrate the system's applicability to an immunoassay, the detection of immobilized antigens was performed as a partial simulation of a sandwich immunoassay. Human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) or an anti-human AFP antibody was immobilized on a platinum working electrode in the chamber using a plasma-polymerized film (PPF). By applying a potential to the injection valves, necessary solutions were injected one by one through the channels into a reaction chamber at the center of the chip and incubated for reasonable periods of time. The solutions were then flushed through the flushing valve and absorbed in a filter paper placed under the device. After incubation with the corresponding antibodies labeled with glucose oxidase (GOD), electrochemical detection was conducted. In both cases, the obtained current depended on the amount of immobilized antigen. The calibration curves were sigmoidal, and the detection limit was 0.1 ng. The developed microfluidic system could potentially be a fundamental component for a micro immunoassay of the next generation.

Structural and spectrophotometric characterization of 2-[4-(dimethylamino)styryl]-1-ethylquinolinium iodide as a reagent for sequential injection determination of tungsten

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazel, Yaroslav; Lešková, Martina; Rečlo, Michal; Šandrejová, Jana; Simon, András; Fizer, Maksym; Sidey, Vasyl

2018-05-01

Structure, spectrophotometric and protolytic properties of the styryl dye 2-[4-(dimethylamino)styryl]-1-ethylquinolinium iodide (R) as well as its complex with tungsten were studied. The selective protonation of dimethylamino group was confirmed by density functional theory investigation through the computation of Fukui function, NPA partial atomic charges, and NICS(0) aromaticity indexes. The TD-DFT study explains the experimental change of color by excluding the dimethylamino group from HOMO orbital upon protonation. The acid dissociation constant, the optimum wavelength and the molar absorptivity of R were found to be: 3.02, 501 nm and 4.0 × 104 L mol-1 cm-1, respectively. The protolytic properties of the reagent were found to change significantly in the presence of tungsten(VI). Analysis of bond critical points between the anions and Quinaldine Red cation gives the selectivity raw HWO4- > MoO4-> H2VO4- > ReO4- > ClO4-, that perfectly match with the experimental data. Based on this observation, a non-extractive sequential-injection spectrophotometric method for the determination of tungsten was developed. The absorbance of the colored extracts obeys Beer's law up to 55.2 mg L-1 of W at 520 nm wavelength. The limit of detection calculated from a blank test (n = 10) based on 3 s was 0.96 mg L-1. The developed method was applied for the determination of tungsten in model samples.

Dewetting based fabrication of fibrous micro-scaffolds as potential injectable cell carriers.

PubMed

Song, Hokyung; Yin, Liya; Chilian, William M; Zhang Newby, Bi-Min

2015-03-01

Although regenerative medicine utilizing tissue scaffolds has made enormous strides in recent years, many constraints still hamper their effectiveness. A limitation of many scaffolds is that they form surface patches, which are not particularly effective for some types of "wounds" that are deep within tissues, e.g., stroke and myocardial infarction. In this study, we reported the generation of fibrous micro-scaffolds feasible for delivering cells by injection into the tissue parenchyma. The micro-scaffolds (widths<100μm) were made by dewetting of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) thin films containing parallel strips, and cells were seeded to form cell/polymer micro-constructs during or post the micro-scaffold fabrication process. Five types of cells including rat induced vascular progenitor cells were assessed for the formation of the micro-constructs. Critical factors in forming fibrous micro-scaffolds via dewetting of polymer thin films were found to be properties of polymers and supporting substrates, temperature, and proteins in the culture medium. Also, the ability of cells to attach to the micro-scaffolds was essential in forming cell/polymer micro-constructs. Both in vitro and in vivo assessments of injecting these micro-scaffolding constructs showed, as compared to free cells, enhanced cell retention at the injected site, which could lead to improved tissue engineering and regeneration. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mechanical properties of micro-injected HDPE composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bongiorno, A.; Pagano, C.; Agnelli, S.; Baldi, F.; Fassi, I.

2016-03-01

Micro-injection moulding is one of the key manufacturing technologies for the mass production of high value polymeric miniaturized-components. However, this process is not just a straightforward down scaling of the conventional injection moulding technique. Indeed, during the micro-injection the polymer melt is forced to flow at high strain rates through very small channels in non-isothermal conditions, and this can lead to complex microstructures and to parts with unexpected performances. In this work, the relationships among the processing conditions, the mechanical properties and the microstructural characteristics of miniaturized specimens obtained by injection moulding were investigated. Two model systems were considered with the same filler content of 15% wt. (HDPE-talc and HDPE-glass beads), representative of two different types of micro-composites: containing lamellar and spherical micro-particles, respectively. The attention was focused on the influence of the filler type and the process conditions on the mechanical behaviour, examined by uniaxial tensile tests and dynamic-mechanical analyses, and on the morphological characteristics of the specimens, examined by microscopy analyses. The results highlight that mechanical response of the miniaturized specimens is significantly affected by both the filler and the process conditions that can have an influence on the polymer microstructure. Lamellar composites showed the best performance due to the orientation of the talc particles during the micro-injection process, while, different morphologies of the skin/core transition region in dependence on the process temperatures were observable.

Simultaneous versus Sequential Intratympanic Steroid Treatment for Severe-to-Profound Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

PubMed

Yoo, Myung Hoon; Lim, Won Sub; Park, Joo Hyun; Kwon, Joong Keun; Lee, Tae-Hoon; An, Yong-Hwi; Kim, Young-Jin; Kim, Jong Yang; Lim, Hyun Woo; Park, Hong Ju

2016-01-01

Severe-to-profound sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) has a poor prognosis. We aimed to compare the efficacy of simultaneous and sequential oral and intratympanic steroids for this condition. Fifty patients with severe-to-profound SSNHL (>70 dB HL) were included from 7 centers. The simultaneous group (27 patients) received oral and intratympanic steroid injections for 2 weeks. The sequential group (23 patients) was treated with oral steroids for 2 weeks and intratympanic steroids for the subsequent 2 weeks. Pure-tone averages (PTA) and word discrimination scores (WDS) were compared before treatment and 2 weeks and 1 and 2 months after treatment. Treatment outcomes according to the modified American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) criteria were also analyzed. The improvement in PTA and WDS at the 2-week follow-up was 23 ± 21 dB HL and 20 ± 39% in the simultaneous group and 31 ± 29 dB HL and 37 ± 42% in the sequential group; this was not statistically significant. Complete or partial recovery at the 2-week follow-up was observed in 26% of the simultaneous group and 30% of the sequential group; this was also not significant. The improvement in PTA and WDS at the 2-month follow-up was 40 ± 20 dB HL and 37 ± 35% in the simultaneous group and 41 ± 25 dB HL and 48 ± 41% in the sequential group; this was not statistically significant. Complete or partial recovery at the 2-month follow-up was observed in 33% of the simultaneous group and 35% of the sequential group; this was also not significant. Seven patients in the sequential group did not need intratympanic steroid injections for sufficient improvement after oral steroids alone. Simultaneous oral/intratympanic steroid treatment yielded a recovery similar to that produced by sequential treatment. Because the addition of intratympanic steroids can be decided upon based on the improvement after an oral steroid, the sequential regimen can be recommended to avoid unnecessary intratympanic injections. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Macro- and microscale investigation of selenium speciation in Blackfoot river, Idaho sediments.

PubMed

Oram, Libbie L; Strawn, Daniel G; Marcus, Matthew A; Fakra, Sirine C; Möller, Gregory

2008-09-15

The transport and bioavailability of selenium in the environment is controlled by its chemical speciation. However, knowledge of the biogeochemistry and speciation of Se in streambed sediment is limited. We investigated the speciation of Se in sediment cores from the Blackfoot River (BFR), Idaho using sequential extractions and synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence (micro-SXRF). We collected micro-SXRF oxidation state maps of Se in sediments, which had not been done on natural sediment samples. Selective extractions showed that most Se in the sediments is present as either (1) nonextractable Se or (2) base extractable Se. Results from micro-SXRF showed three defined species of Se were present in all four samples: Se(-II,O), Se(IV), and Se(VI). Se(-II,O) was the predominant species in samples from one location, and Se(IV) was the predominant species in samples from a second location. Results from both techniques were consistent, and suggested that the predominant species were Se(-II) species associated with recalcitrant organic matter, and Se(IV) species tightly bound to organic materials. This information can be used to predict the biogeochemical cycling and bioavailability of Se in streambed sediment environments.

Effects of size reduction on deformation, microstructure, and surface roughness of micro components for micro metal injection molding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Lin; Wang, Xin-da; Li, Xiang; Qi, Xiao-tong; Qu, Xuan-hui

2017-09-01

The fabrication of 17-4PH micro spool mandrils by micro metal injection molding was described here. The effects of size reduction on deformation, microstructure and surface roughness were studied by comparing a ϕ500 μm micro post and a ϕ1.7 mm cylinder after debinding and sintering. Experimental results show that slumping of the micro posts occurred due to a dramatic increase in outlet vapor pressure initiated at the thermal degradation onset temperature and the moment of gravity. Asymmetrical stress distribution within the micro component formed during the cooling stage may cause warping. Prior solvent debinding and adjustment in a thermal debinding scheme were useful for preventing the deformation of the micro components. Smaller grain size and higher micro hardness due to impeded grain growth were observed for the micro posts compared with the ϕ1.7 mm cylinder. Surface roughness increased with distance from the gate of the micro spool mandril due to melt front advancement during mold filling and the ensuing pressure distribution. At each position, surface roughness was dictated by injection molding and increased slightly after sintering.

A Method To Determine the Kinetics of Solute Mixing in Liquid/Liquid Formulation Dual-Chamber Syringes.

PubMed

Werk, Tobias; Mahler, Hanns-Christian; Ludwig, Imke Sonja; Luemkemann, Joerg; Huwyler, Joerg; Hafner, Mathias

Dual-chamber syringes were originally designed to separate a solid substance and its diluent. However, they can also be used to separate liquid formulations of two individual drug products, which cannot be co-formulated due to technical or regulatory issues. A liquid/liquid dual-chamber syringe can be designed to achieve homogenization and mixing of both solutions prior to administration, or it can be used to sequentially inject both solutions. While sequential injection can be easily achieved by a dual-chamber syringe with a bypass located at the needle end of the syringe barrel, mixing of the two fluids may provide more challenges. Within this study, the mixing behavior of surrogate solutions in different dual-chamber syringes is assessed. Furthermore, the influence of parameters such as injection angle, injection speed, agitation, and sample viscosity were studied. It was noted that mixing was poor for the commercial dual-chamber syringes (with a bypass designed as a longitudinal ridge) when the two liquids significantly differ in their physical properties (viscosity, density). However, an optimized dual-chamber syringe design with multiple bypass channels resulted in improved mixing of liquids. Dual-chamber syringes were originally designed to separate a solid substance and its diluent. However, they can also be used to separate liquid formulations of two individual drug products. A liquid/liquid dual-chamber syringe can be designed to achieve homogenization and mixing of both solutions prior to administration, or it can be used to sequentially inject both solutions. While sequential injection can be easily achieved by a dual-chamber syringe with a bypass located at the needle end of the syringe barrel, mixing of the two fluids may provide more challenges. Within this study, the mixing behavior of surrogate solutions in different dual-chamber syringes is assessed. Furthermore, the influence of parameters such as injection angle, injection speed, agitation, and sample viscosity were studied. It was noted that mixing was poor for the commercially available dual-chamber syringes when the two liquids significantly differ in viscosity and density. However, an optimized dual-chamber syringe design resulted in improved mixing of liquids. © PDA, Inc. 2017.

Enhanced capabilities of separation in Sequential Injection Chromatography--fused-core particle column and its comparison with narrow-bore monolithic column.

PubMed

Chocholouš, Petr; Kosařová, Lucie; Satínský, Dalibor; Sklenářová, Hana; Solich, Petr

2011-08-15

In the Sequential Injection Chromatography (SIC) only monolithic columns for chromatographic separations have been used so far. This article presents the first use of fused-core particle packed column in an attempt to extend of the chromatographic capabilities of the SIC system. A new fused-core particle column (2.7 μm) Ascentis(®) Express C18 (Supelco™ Analytical) 30 mm × 4.6 mm brings high separation efficiency within flow rates and pressures comparable to monolithic column Chromolith(®) Performance RP-18e 100-3 (Merck(®)) 100 mm × 3 mm. Both columns matches the conditions of the commercially produced SIC system - SIChrom™ (8-port high-pressure selection valve and medium-pressure Sapphire™ syringe pump with 4 mL reservoir - maximal work pressure 1000 PSI) (FIAlab(®), USA). The system was tested by the separation of four estrogens with similar structure and an internal standard - ethylparaben. The mobile phase composed of acetonitrile/water (40/60 (v/v)) was pumped isocratic at flow rate 0.48 mL min(-1). Spectrophotometric detection was performed at wavelength of 225 nm and injected volume of sample solutions was 10 μL. The chromatographic characteristics of both columns were compared. Obtained results and conclusions have shown that both fused-core particle column and longer narrow shaped monolithic column bring benefits into the SIC method. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a bar adsorptive micro-extraction-large-volume injection-gas chromatography-mass spectrometric method for pharmaceuticals and personal care products in environmental water matrices.

PubMed

Neng, N R; Nogueira, J M F

2012-01-01

The combination of bar adsorptive micro-extraction using activated carbon (AC) and polystyrene-divinylbenzene copolymer (PS-DVB) sorbent phases, followed by liquid desorption and large-volume injection gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, under selected ion monitoring mode acquisition, was developed for the first time to monitor pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in environmental water matrices. Assays performed on 25 mL water samples spiked (100 ng L(-1)) with caffeine, gemfibrozil, triclosan, propranolol, carbamazepine and diazepam, selected as model compounds, yielded recoveries ranging from 74% to 99% under optimised experimental conditions (equilibrium time, 16 h (1,000 rpm); matrix characteristics: pH 5, 5% NaCl for AC phase; LD: methanol/acetonitrile (1:1), 45 min). The analytical performance showed good precision (RSD < 18%), convenient detection limits (5-20 ng L(-1)) and excellent linear dynamic range (20-800 ng L(-1)) with remarkable determination coefficients (r(2) > 0.99), where the PS-DVB sorbent phase showed a much better efficiency. By using the standard addition methodology, the application of the present analytical approach on tap, ground, sea, estuary and wastewater samples allowed very good performance at the trace level. The proposed method proved to be a suitable sorption-based micro-extraction alternative for the analysis of priority pollutants with medium-polar to polar characteristics, showing to be easy to implement, reliable, sensitive and requiring a low sample volume to monitor PPCPs in water matrices.

Microfluidic production of bioactive fibrin micro-beads embedded in crosslinked collagen used as an injectable bulking agent for urinary incontinence treatment.

PubMed

Vardar, E; Larsson, H M; Allazetta, S; Engelhardt, E M; Pinnagoda, K; Vythilingam, G; Hubbell, J A; Lutolf, M P; Frey, P

2018-02-01

Endoscopic injection of bulking agents has been widely used to treat urinary incontinence, often due to urethral sphincter complex insufficiency. The aim of the study was to develop a novel injectable bioactive collagen-fibrin bulking agent restoring long-term continence by functional muscle tissue regeneration. Fibrin micro-beads were engineered using a droplet microfluidic system. They had an average diameter of 140 μm and recombinant fibrin-binding insulin-like growth factor-1 (α 2 PI 1-8 -MMP-IGF-1) was covalently conjugated to the beads. A plasmin fibrin degradation assay showed that 72.5% of the initial amount of α 2 PI 1-8 -MMP-IGF-1 loaded into the micro-beads was retained within the fibrin micro-beads. In vitro, the growth factor modified fibrin micro-beads enhanced cell attachment and the migration of human urinary tract smooth muscle cells, however, no change of the cellular metabolic activity was seen. These bioactive micro-beads were mixed with genipin-crosslinked homogenized collagen, acting as a carrier. The collagen concentration, the degree of crosslinking, and the mechanical behavior of this bioactive collagen-fibrin injectable were comparable to reference samples. This novel injectable showed no burst release of the growth factor, had a positive effect on cell behavior and may therefore induce smooth muscle regeneration in vivo, necessary for the functional treatment of stress and other urinary incontinences. Urinary incontinence is involuntary urine leakage, resulting from a deficient function of the sphincter muscle complex. Yet there is no functional cure for this devastating condition using current treatment options. Applied physical and surgical therapies have limited success. In this study, a novel bioactive injectable bulking agent, triggering new muscle regeneration at the injection site, has been evaluated. This injectable consists of cross-linked collagen and fibrin micro-beads, functionalized with bound insulin-like growth factor-1 (α 2 PI 1-8 -MMP-IGF-1). These bioactive fibrin micro-beads induced human smooth muscle cell migration in vitro. Thus, this injectable bulking agent is apt to be a good candidate for regeneration of urethral sphincter muscle, ensuring a long-lasting treatment for urinary incontinence. Copyright © 2017 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a sequential injection-square wave voltammetry method for determination of paraquat in water samples employing the hanging mercury drop electrode.

PubMed

dos Santos, Luciana B O; Infante, Carlos M C; Masini, Jorge C

2010-03-01

This work describes the development and optimization of a sequential injection method to automate the determination of paraquat by square-wave voltammetry employing a hanging mercury drop electrode. Automation by sequential injection enhanced the sampling throughput, improving the sensitivity and precision of the measurements as a consequence of the highly reproducible and efficient conditions of mass transport of the analyte toward the electrode surface. For instance, 212 analyses can be made per hour if the sample/standard solution is prepared off-line and the sequential injection system is used just to inject the solution towards the flow cell. In-line sample conditioning reduces the sampling frequency to 44 h(-1). Experiments were performed in 0.10 M NaCl, which was the carrier solution, using a frequency of 200 Hz, a pulse height of 25 mV, a potential step of 2 mV, and a flow rate of 100 µL s(-1). For a concentration range between 0.010 and 0.25 mg L(-1), the current (i(p), µA) read at the potential corresponding to the peak maximum fitted the following linear equation with the paraquat concentration (mg L(-1)): i(p) = (-20.5 ± 0.3)C (paraquat) - (0.02 ± 0.03). The limits of detection and quantification were 2.0 and 7.0 µg L(-1), respectively. The accuracy of the method was evaluated by recovery studies using spiked water samples that were also analyzed by molecular absorption spectrophotometry after reduction of paraquat with sodium dithionite in an alkaline medium. No evidence of statistically significant differences between the two methods was observed at the 95% confidence level.

Experimental Studies of Diestrol-Micro Emulsion Fuel in a Direct Injection Compression Ignition Engine under Varying Injection Pressures and Timings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kannan, Gopal Radhakrishnan

2018-02-01

The research work on biodiesel becomes more attractive in the context of limited availability of petroleum fuels and rapid increase of harmful emissions from diesel engine using conventional fossil fuels. The present investigation has dealt with the influence of biodiesel-diesel-ethanol (diestrol) water micro emulsion fuel (B60D20E20M) on the performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a diesel engine under different injection pressure and timing. The results revealed that the maximum brake thermal efficiency of 32.4% was observed at an injection pressure of 260 bar and injection timing of 25.5°bTDC. In comparison with diesel, micro emulsion fuel showed reduction in carbon monoxide (CO) and total hydrocarbon (THC) by 40 and 24%, respectively. Further, micro emulsion fuel decreased nitric oxide (NO) emission and smoke emission by 7 and 20.7%, while the carbon dioxide (CO2) emission is similar to that of diesel.

Identification of inorganic improvised explosive devices using sequential injection capillary electrophoresis and contactless conductivity detection.

PubMed

Blanco, Gustavo A; Nai, Yi H; Hilder, Emily F; Shellie, Robert A; Dicinoski, Greg W; Haddad, Paul R; Breadmore, Michael C

2011-12-01

A simple sequential injection capillary electrophoresis (SI-CE) instrument with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C(4)D) has been developed for the rapid separation of anions relevant to the identification of inorganic improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Four of the most common explosive tracer ions, nitrate, perchlorate, chlorate, and azide, and the most common background ions, chloride, sulfate, thiocyanate, fluoride, phosphate, and carbonate, were chosen for investigation. Using a separation electrolyte comprising 50 mM tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane, 50 mM cyclohexyl-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, pH 8.9 and 0.05% poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) in a hexadimethrine bromide (HDMB)-coated capillary it was possible to partially separate all 10 ions within 90 s. The combination of two cationic polymer additives (PEI and HDMB) was necessary to achieve adequate selectivity with a sufficiently stable electroosmotic flow (EOF), which was not possible with only one polymer. Careful optimization of variables affecting the speed of separation and injection timing allowed a further reduction of separation time to 55 s while maintaining adequate efficiency and resolution. Software control makes high sample throughput possible (60 samples/h), with very high repeatability of migration times [0.63-2.07% relative standard deviation (RSD) for 240 injections]. The separation speed does not compromise sensitivity, with limits of detection ranging from 23 to 50 μg·L(-1) for all the explosive residues considered, which is 10× lower than those achieved by indirect absorbance detection and 2× lower than those achieved by C(4)D using portable benchtop instrumentation. The combination of automation, high sample throughput, high confidence of peak identification, and low limits of detection makes this methodology ideal for the rapid identification of inorganic IED residues.

Plasma pharmacokinetics and CYP3A12-dependent metabolism of c-kit inhibitor imatinib in dogs.

PubMed

Ishizuka, M; Nagai, S; Sakamoto, K Q; Fujita, S

2007-05-01

Imatinib is a highly selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and is used for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) in humans. The aim of this study is to determine the in vitro and in vivo pharmacokinetics of imatinib in dogs and which cytochrome P450 (CYPs) contribute to its metabolism. Imatinib was administered orally or intravenously to dogs and the time of the peak concentration (T(max)) of imatinib was 4-9 h. The mean half-life was 622 +/- 368 min, and the AUC was 1256 +/- 809 microM * min after oral administration. The range of C0 of intravenously injected dogs was 12-24 microM. The half-life and AUC after intravenous injection were 206 +/- 112 min and 1026 +/- 371 microM * min, respectively. Recombinant system of dog CYP3A12 and CYP2C21 showed that CYP3A12 contributed to the metabolism of imatinib. The inhibition of CYP3A-dependent activity using a rat anti-CYP3A antibody or ketoconazole revealed that CYP3A12 plays a major role in the metabolism of imatinib in dog liver microsomes.

Efficient flow injection and sequential injection methods for spectrophotometric determination of oxybenzone in sunscreens based on reaction with Ni(II).

PubMed

Chisvert, A; Salvador, A; Pascual-Martí, M C; March, J G

2001-04-01

Spectrophotometric determination of a widely used UV-filter, such as oxybenzone, is proposed. The method is based on the complexation reaction between oxybenzone and Ni(II) in ammoniacal medium. The stoichiometry of the reaction, established by the Job method, was 1:1. Reaction conditions were studied and the experimental parameters were optimized, for both flow injection (FI) and sequential injection (SI) determinations, with comparative purposes. Sunscreen formulations containing oxybenzone were analyzed by the proposed methods and results compared with those obtained by HPLC. Data show that both FI and SI procedures provide accurate and precise results. The ruggedness, sensitivity and LOD are adequate to the analysis requirements. The sample frequency obtained by FI is three-fold higher than that of SI analysis. SI is less reagent-consuming than FI.

Micro-evolutionary implications of allozymic and morphometric variations in sealworms Pseudoterranova sp. (Ascaridoidea: Anisakidae) among sympatric hosts from the southeastern Pacific Ocean.

PubMed

George-Nascimento, M; Llanos, A

1995-10-01

We found significant morphometric and electrophoretic differences between sealworm larvae collected from four sympatric fish host species off the central coast of Chile. The South American sea lion, Otaria byronia, is a suitable host and most likely the only definitive host species in the study area. Morphological patterns of caudal papillae in adult males collected from sea lions and electrophoretic evidence from larvae and adults substantiate our conclusion that they belong to just one, new species yet to be described. The genetic and morphometric differences found between sealworm larvae from sympatric fish hosts may be due to selective pressures arising from the internal environment of the intermediate hosts, although they may serve only for passing sequential filters along the life cycle. The discussion deals with the roles that definitive and intermediate hosts may play in the micro-evolutionary processes of sealworms.

Variable volume combustor with aerodynamic fuel flanges for nozzle mounting

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

McConnaughhay, Johnie Franklin; Keener, Christopher Paul; Johnson, Thomas Edward

2016-09-20

The present application provides a combustor for use with a gas turbine engine. The combustor may include a number of micro-mixer fuel nozzles and a fuel injection system for providing a flow of fuel to the micro-mixer fuel nozzles. The fuel injection system may include a number of support struts supporting the fuel nozzles and for providing the flow of fuel therethrough. The fuel injection system also may include a number of aerodynamic fuel flanges connecting the micro-mixer fuel nozzles and the support struts.

Marker retention in the cochlea following injections through the round window membrane

PubMed Central

Salt, Alec N.; Sirjani, Davud B.; Hartsock, Jared J.; Gill, Ruth M.; Plontke, Stefan K.

2007-01-01

Local delivery of drugs to the inner ear is increasingly being used in both clinical and experimental studies. Although direct injection of drugs into perilymph appears to be the most promising way of administering drugs quantitatively, no studies have yet demonstrated the pharmacokinetics in perilymph following direct injections. In this study, we have investigated the retention of substance in perilymph following a single injection into the basal turn of scala tympani (ST). The substance injected was a marker, trimethylphenylammonium (TMPA) that can be detected in low concentrations with ion-selective microelectrodes. Perilymph pharmacokinetics of TMPA was assessed using sequential apical sampling to obtain perilymph for analysis. The amount of TMPA retained in perilymph was compared for different injection and sampling protocols. TMPA concentrations measured in fluid samples were close to those predicted by simulations when the injection pipette was sealed into the bony wall of ST but were systematically lower when the injection pipette was inserted through the round window membrane (RWM). In the latter condition it was estimated that over 60% of the injected TMPA was lost due to leakage of perilymph around the injection pipette at a rate estimated to be 0.09 μL/min. The effects of leakage during and after injections through the RWM were dramatically reduced when the round window niche was filled with 1% sodium hyaluronate gel before penetrating the RWM with the injection pipette. The findings demonstrate that in order to perform quantitative drug injections into perilymph, even small rates of fluid leakage at the injection site must be controlled. PMID:17662546

Influence of injection temperatures and fiberglass compositions on mechanical properties of polypropylene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keey, Tony Tiew Chun; Azuddin, M.

2017-06-01

Injection molding process appears to be one of the most suitable mass and cost efficiency manufacturing processes for polymeric parts nowadays due to its high efficiency of large scale production. When down-scaling the products and components, the limits of conventional injection molding process are reached. These constraints had initiated the development of conventional injection molding process into a new era of micro injection molding technology. In this study, fiberglass reinforced polypropylenes (PP) with various glass fiber percentage materials were used. The study start with fabrication of micro tensile specimens at three different injection temperature, 260°C, 270°C and 280°C for different percentage by weight of fiberglass reinforced PP. Then evaluate the effects of various injection temperatures on the tensile properties of micro tensile specimens. Different percentage by weight of fiberglass reinforced PP were tested as well and it was found that 20% fiberglass reinforced PP possessed the greatest percentage increase of tensile strength with increasing temperatures.

The pathophysiological roles of COX-1 and COX-2 in the intestinal smooth muscle contractility under the anaphylactic condition.

PubMed

Kadowaki, Hiroko; Yamamoto, Takeshi; Kageyama-Yahara, Natsuko; Kurokawa, Nobuo; Kadowaki, Makoto

2008-04-01

Various inflammatory mediators released from antigen-activated mast cells are considered to play a key role in the pathogenesis of food allergy. The aim of the present study was to determine the mechanisms underlying the antigen-induced anaphylactic responses in the rat colons. Wistar rats were sensitized by intraperitoneal injection of ovalbumin (OVA). The contractilities of isolated proximal colons of the sensitized rats were studied in the organ bath. OVA challenges of sensitized tissues induced prolonged contractile responses. The antigen-induced contractions were greatly reduced by mast cell stabilizer doxantrazole (10 microM). However, the contractions were resistant to histamine H1 receptor antagonist and prostaglandin D2 receptor antagonist. In contrast, non-selective cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor indomethacin (1 microM) significantly reduced the contractions by 61.0%. Furthermore, selective COX-1 inhibitor FR122047 (10 microM) as well as selective COX-2 inhibitor NS-398 (10 microM) significantly inhibited the contractions by 50.1% and 50.3%, respectively. Nevertheless, the transcript levels of COX-2 as well as COX-1 were not upregulated by OVA in the proximal colons of the sensitized rats. The present results indicate that de novo arachidonic acid metabolites synthesis by constitutive COX-1 as well as constitutive COX-2 within mast cells contribute to the altered smooth muscle contractilities in the colons under the anaphylactic condition.

Pushing quantitation limits in micro UHPLC-MS/MS analysis of steroid hormones by sample dilution using high volume injection.

PubMed

Márta, Zoltán; Bobály, Balázs; Fekete, Jenő; Magda, Balázs; Imre, Tímea; Mészáros, Katalin Viola; Szabó, Pál Tamás

2016-09-10

Ultratrace analysis of sample components requires excellent analytical performance in terms of limits of quantitation (LoQ). Micro UHPLC coupling with sensitive tandem mass spectrometry provides state of the art solutions for such analytical problems. Decreased column volume in micro LC limits the injectable sample volume. However, if analyte concentration is extremely low, it might be necessary to inject high sample volumes. This is particularly critical for strong sample solvents and weakly retained analytes, which are often the case when preparing biological samples (protein precipitation, sample extraction, etc.). In that case, high injection volumes may cause band broadening, peak distortion or even elution in dead volume. In this study, we evaluated possibilities of high volume injection onto microbore RP-LC columns, when sample solvent is diluted. The presented micro RP-LC-MS/MS method was optimized for the analysis of steroid hormones from human plasma after protein precipitation with organic solvents. A proper sample dilution procedure helps to increase the injection volume without compromising peak shapes. Finally, due to increased injection volume, the limit of quantitation can be decreased by a factor of 2-5, depending on the analytes and the experimental conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Expanding Lipidome Coverage Using LC-MS/MS Data-Dependent Acquisition with Automated Exclusion List Generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koelmel, Jeremy P.; Kroeger, Nicholas M.; Gill, Emily L.; Ulmer, Candice Z.; Bowden, John A.; Patterson, Rainey E.; Yost, Richard A.; Garrett, Timothy J.

2017-05-01

Untargeted omics analyses aim to comprehensively characterize biomolecules within a biological system. Changes in the presence or quantity of these biomolecules can indicate important biological perturbations, such as those caused by disease. With current technological advancements, the entire genome can now be sequenced; however, in the burgeoning fields of lipidomics, only a subset of lipids can be identified. The recent emergence of high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HR-MS/MS), in combination with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography, has resulted in an increased coverage of the lipidome. Nevertheless, identifications from MS/MS are generally limited by the number of precursors that can be selected for fragmentation during chromatographic elution. Therefore, we developed the software IE-Omics to automate iterative exclusion (IE), where selected precursors using data-dependent topN analyses are excluded in sequential injections. In each sequential injection, unique precursors are fragmented until HR-MS/MS spectra of all ions above a user-defined intensity threshold are acquired. IE-Omics was applied to lipidomic analyses in Red Cross plasma and substantia nigra tissue. Coverage of the lipidome was drastically improved using IE. When applying IE-Omics to Red Cross plasma and substantia nigra lipid extracts in positive ion mode, 69% and 40% more molecular identifications were obtained, respectively. In addition, applying IE-Omics to a lipidomics workflow increased the coverage of trace species, including odd-chained and short-chained diacylglycerides and oxidized lipid species. By increasing the coverage of the lipidome, applying IE to a lipidomics workflow increases the probability of finding biomarkers and provides additional information for determining etiology of disease.

Research on the Injection Performance of a Novel Lubricating Device Based on Piezoelectric Micro-Jet Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Kai; Liu, Jun-kao; Chen, Wei-shan; Ye, Le; Zhang, Lu

2016-08-01

In order to solve the problem of lubrication failure in bearing systems, a novel lubricating device which can achieve drop-on-demand lubrication is proposed based on piezoelectric micro-jet technology. The injection performance of the novel piezoelectric micro-jet lubricating device are analyzed in this paper. The influences of the fluid-structure interaction to the working frequency are studied by comparing the results of tests with simulations. A method used to forecast the working frequency of the micro-jet is proved to be available. A velocity inlet boundary model at the nozzle is derived under the assumption that the lubricating oil cannot be pressed. Combined with this model, the influences of density, dynamic viscosity and surface tension of the lubricating oil on the injection performance are discussed according to the simulation results. An experiment on the injection performance of the micro-jet for ejecting lubricating oil with different dilution ratios is performed. The recommended excitations are given for ejecting lubricating oil with different properties by analyzing the results.

Evaluation of an ODS column modified with zwitterionic/nonionic mixed surfactants and its application to direct injection determination of inorganic anions.

PubMed

Hasegawa, Takuya; Umemura, Tomonari; Koide, Akira; Chiba, Koichi; Ueki, Yuji; Tsunoda, Kin-ichi; Haraguchi, Hiroki

2005-08-01

An octadecylsilica (ODS) column modified with zwitterionic/nonionic mixed surfactants was evaluated for the direct injection determination of inorganic anions in biological fluids by ion chromatography. A zwitterionic surfactant (sulfobetaine-type) and a nonionic surfactant (polyoxyethylene-type) were used for a stationary-phase modification. When aqueous electrolyte solutions with concentrations of sub-mM to several mM were used as a mobile phase, the zwitterionic surfactant coated on the ODS surface exhibited unique separation selectivity for ionic species, while the nonionic surfactant coated on the ODS might have formed a hydrophilic network over the ODS surface and restricted matrix proteins from adsorbing on the stationary phase. Consequently, the mixed surfactant-modified column system allowed an efficient ion chromatographic separation of inorganic anions as well as a size-exclusive removal of column-fouling proteins. This separation system was applied to the direct injection determination of UV-absorbing anions in human saliva. The detection limits for nitrite, nitrate, iodide and thiocyanate were 3.1, 2.7, 4.5 and 25 microM, respectively, with UV detection at 210 nm (injection volume; 20 microl), and their relative standard deviations for 5 replicate measurements of saliva samples spiked with 100 microM each of those anions were 1.4, 0.9, 2.2 and 5.5%, respectively.

Dual inhibitory action of enadoline (CI977) on release of amino acids in the rat hippocampus.

PubMed

Millan, M H; Chapman, A G; Meldrum, B S

1995-06-06

The effect of the kappa-opioid receptor agonist enadoline (CI977, (5R)-(5 alpha,7 alpha,8 beta)-N-methyl-N-[7-(1-pyrrilidinyl)-1-oxaspiro [4,5]dec-8-yl-4-benzofuranacetamide monohydrochloride), on the release of amino acids was studied in the hippocampus of freely moving rats. K+, 100 mM, or veratrine, 100 microM, were applied for 10 min via the dialysis probe, either alone (control groups) or together with CI977 (after a 10 min pretreatment with CI977 in the perfusion medium). To test the specificity of the response to CI977, nor-binaltorphimine, a selective kappa-opioid receptor antagonist, was delivered together with CI977 in two groups of animals. To test the effect of systemic injection, CI977 was given subcutaneously 30 min prior to either stimulus. K(+)-induced release of glutamate and aspartate was significantly reduced by CI977, 2.5 mM; release of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) was reduced by 250 microM CI977 in the probe. The effect of CI977 on release of glutamate and aspartate, but not of GABA, was reversed by nor-binaltorphimine (45 microM). Systemic treatment with CI977, 1 or 10 mg/kg, did not reduce K(+)-induced release of glutamate. Veratrine-induced release of aspartate and glutamate was significantly inhibited by 25 microM and release of GABA by 250 microM CI977 in the probe, and this effect was not modified by nor-binaltorphimine (58 microM). Systemic injection of CI977 1 mg/kg significantly reduced veratrine-induced release of glutamate. These results indicate that CI977 regulates release of amino acids by two independent mechanisms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Recent Electrochemical and Optical Sensors in Flow-Based Analysis

PubMed Central

Chailapakul, Orawon; Ngamukot, Passapol; Yoosamran, Alongkorn; Siangproh, Weena; Wangfuengkanagul, Nattakarn

2006-01-01

Some recent analytical sensors based on electrochemical and optical detection coupled with different flow techniques have been chosen in this overview. A brief description of fundamental concepts and applications of each flow technique, such as flow injection analysis (FIA), sequential injection analysis (SIA), all injection analysis (AIA), batch injection analysis (BIA), multicommutated FIA (MCFIA), multisyringe FIA (MSFIA), and multipumped FIA (MPFIA) were reviewed.

Optimization of Micro Metal Injection Molding By Using Grey Relational Grade

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

Ibrahim, M. H. I.; Precision Process Research Group, Dept. of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia; Muhamad, N.

2011-01-17

Micro metal injection molding ({mu}MIM) which is a variant of MIM process is a promising method towards near net-shape of metallic micro components of complex geometry. In this paper, {mu}MIM is applied to produce 316L stainless steel micro components. Due to highly stringent characteristic of {mu}MIM properties, the study has been emphasized on optimization of process parameter where Taguchi method associated with Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) will be implemented as it represents novel approach towards investigation of multiple performance characteristics. Basic idea of GRA is to find a grey relational grade (GRG) which can be used for the optimization conversionmore » from multi objectives case which are density and strength to a single objective case. After considering the form 'the larger the better', results show that the injection time(D) is the most significant followed by injection pressure(A), holding time(E), mold temperature(C) and injection temperature(B). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is also employed to strengthen the significant of each parameter involved in this study.« less

Micro-battery Development for Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Honghao; Cartmell, Samuel; Wang, Qiang; Lozano, Terence; Deng, Z. Daniel; Li, Huidong; Chen, Xilin; Yuan, Yong; Gross, Mark E.; Carlson, Thomas J.; Xiao, Jie

2014-01-01

The Endangered Species Act requires actions that improve the passage and survival rates for migrating salmonoids and other fish species that sustain injury and mortality when passing through hydroelectric dams. To develop a low-cost revolutionary acoustic transmitter that may be injected instead of surgically implanted into the fish, one major challenge that needs to be addressed is the micro-battery power source. This work focuses on the design and fabrication of micro-batteries for injectable fish tags. High pulse current and required service life have both been achieved as well as doubling the gravimetric energy density of the battery. The newly designed micro-batteries have intrinsically low impedance, leading to significantly improved electrochemical performances at low temperatures as compared with commercial SR416 batteries. Successful field trial by using the micro-battery powered transmitters injected into fish has been demonstrated, providing an exemplary model of transferring fundamental research into practical devices with controlled qualities.

Catecholamine Enhancement and Visual Cortex Plasticity in Developing Kittens.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-03-01

ohm impedance tungsten-in-glass micro- electrode ( Levick , 1970). The output voltage changes were transmitted to an audio monitor through selectable...osmotic minipump. B . Illustration of injection method to fill iminpump and the assembled system. Figure 2 - Ocular dominance histograms of each...suppression with 6-hydroxydopamine. J. Neurophysiol. 45(2)t 254-266. Levick , W.R. (1972) Another tungsten microelectrode. Ked. and Fiol. Eng. 101 510-515

Micro-fragmented adipose tissue injection for the treatment of complex anal fistula: a pilot study accessing safety and feasibility.

PubMed

Naldini, G; Sturiale, A; Fabiani, B; Giani, I; Menconi, C

2018-02-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of autologous, micro-fragmented and minimally manipulated adipose tissue injection associated closure of the internal opening in promoting healing of complex anal fistula. A pilot study was conducted on patients referred to our center with anal fistula, from April 2015-December 2016. Inclusion criteria were age over 16 years old and a diagnosis of complex anal fistula according to the American Gastroenterological Association classification The patients were divided into 2 groups; the "first time group" (Group I) in which micro-fragmented adipose tissue injection with closure of the internal opening was the first sphincter-saving procedure, and the "recurrent group" (Group II) consisting of patients who had failed prior sphincter-saving procedures. The procedure was carried out 4-6 weeks after seton placement. Follow-up visits were scheduled at 7 days, and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery. Fistula healing was defined as the closure of the internal and external openings without any discharge. Out of 47 patients with complex transsphincteric anal fistula, 19 met the inclusion criteria and were selected to undergo the procedure. Twelve of these patients (Group I) had micro-fragmented adipose tissue injection as first-line treatment, and 7 (Group II) had failed previous sphincter-saving procedures. The mean operative time was 55 ± 6 min (range 50-70 min). The mean postoperative pain score measured with the visual analog pain scale was 2 ± 1.4 (range 0-4). No intraoperative difficulties related to the use of the kit were recorded. There were no cases of postoperative fever or abdominal sepsis related to the procedure and no post-treatment perianal bleeding or impaired anal continence. Only 3 cases of minor abdominal wall hematoma that did not require any treatment and 1 case of perianal abscess were observed. Patients were evaluated for a mean follow-up time of 9 ± 3.1 months (range 3-12 months). The overall healing rate was 73.7, 83.3% for Group I and 57.1% for Group II. The injection of autologous, micro-fragmented and minimally manipulated adipose tissue associated with closure of the internal opening is a safe, feasible and reproducible procedure and may enhance complex anal fistula healing.

Replication fidelity improvement of PMMA microlens array based on weight evaluation and optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Bing-yan; Shen, Long-jiang; Peng, Hua-jiang; Yin, Xiang-lin

2007-12-01

High replication fidelity is a prerequisite of high quality plastic microlens array in injection molding. But, there's not an economical and practical method to evaluate and improve the replication fidelity until now. Based on part weight evaluation and optimization, this paper presents a new method of replication fidelity improvement. Firstly, a simplified analysis model of PMMA micro columns arrays (5×16) with 200μm diameter was set up. And then, Flow (3D) module of Moldflow MPI6.0 based on Navier-Stokes equations was used to calculate the weight of the micro columns arrays in injection molding. The effects of processing parameters (melt temperature, mold temperature, injection time, packing pressure and packing time) on the part weight were investigated in the simulations. The simulation results showed that the mold temperature and the injection time have important effects on the filling of micro columns; the optimal mold temperature and injection time for better replication fidelity could be determined by the curves of mold temperature vs part weight and injection time vs part weight. At last, the effects of processing parameters on part weight of micro columns array were studied experimentally. The experimental results showed that the increase of melt temperature and mold temperature can make the packing pressure transfer to micro cavity more effectively through runner system, and increase the part weight. From the observation results of the image measuring apparatus, it was discovered that the higher the part weight, the better the filling of the microstructures. In conclusion, part weight can be used to evaluate the replication fidelity of micro-feature structured parts primarily; which is an economical and practical method to improve the replication fidelity of microlens arrays based on weight evaluation and optimization.

Variable volume combustor with center hub fuel staging

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

Ostebee, Heath Michael; McConnaughhay, Johnie Franklin; Stewart, Jason Thurman

The present application and the resultant patent provide a combustor for use with a gas turbine engine. The combustor may include a number of micro-mixer fuel nozzles and a fuel injection system for providing a flow of fuel to the micro-mixer fuel nozzles. The fuel injection system may include a center hub for providing the flow of fuel therethrough. The center hub may include a first supply circuit for a first micro-mixer fuel nozzle and a second supply circuit for a second micro-mixer fuel nozzle.

SR high-speed K-edge subtraction angiography in the small animal (abstract)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeda, T.; Akisada, M.; Nakajima, T.; Anno, I.; Ueda, K.; Umetani, K.; Yamaguchi, C.

1989-07-01

To assess the ability of the high-speed K-edge energy subtraction system which was made at beamline 8C of Photon Factory, Tsukuba, we performed an animal experiment. Rabbits were used for the intravenous K-edge subtraction angiography. In this paper, the actual images of the artery obtained by this system, are demonstrated. The high-speed K-edge subtraction system consisted of movable silicon (111) monocrystals, II-ITV, and digital memory system. Image processing was performed by 68000-IP computer. The monochromatic x-ray beam size was 50×60 mm. Photon energy above and below iodine K edge was changed within 16 ms and 32 frames of images were obtained sequentially. The rabbits were anaesthetized by phenobarbital and a 5F catheter was inserted into inferior vena cava via the femoral vein. 1.5 ml/kg of contrast material (Conlaxin H) was injected at the rate of 0.5 ml/kg/s. TV images were obtained 3 s after the starting point of injection. By using this system, the clear K-edge subtracted images were obtained sequentially as a conventional DSA system. The quality of the images were better than that obtained by DSA. The dynamical blood flow was analyzed, and the best arterial image could be selected from the sequential images. The structures of aortic arch, common carotid arteries, right subclavian artery, and internal thoracic artery were obtained at the chest. Both common carotid arteries and vertebral arteries were recorded at the neck. The diameter of about 0.3-0.4 mm artery could be clearly revealed. The high-speed K-edge subtraction system demonstrates the very sharp arterial images clearly and dynamically.

Concomitant or sequential administration of live attenuated japanese encephalitis chimeric virus vaccine and yellow fever 17D vaccine

PubMed Central

Nasveld, Peter E; Marjason, Joanne; Bennett, Sonya; Aaskov, John; Elliott, Suzanne; McCarthy, Karen; Kanesa-thasan, Niranjan; Feroldi, Emmanuel

2010-01-01

A randomized, double-blind, study was conducted to evaluate the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of a live attenuated Japanese encephalitis chimeric virus vaccine (JE-CV) co-administered with live attenuated yellow fever (YF) vaccine (YF-17D strain; Stamaril®, Sanofi Pasteur) or administered sequentially. Participants (n = 108) were randomized to receive: YF followed by JE-CV 30 days later, JE followed by YF 30 days later, or the co-administration of JE and YF followed or preceded by placebo 30 days later or earlier. Placebo was used in a double-dummy fashion to ensure masking. Neutralizing antibody titers against JE-CV, YF-17D and selected wild-type JE virus strains was determined using a 50% serum-dilution plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT50). Seroconversion was defined as the appearance of a neutralizing antibody titer above the assay cut-off post-immunization when not present pre-injection at day 0, or a least a four-fold rise in neutralizing antibody titer measured before the pre-injection day 0 and later post vaccination samples. There were no serious adverse events. Most adverse events (AEs) after JE vaccination were mild to moderate in intensity, and similar to those reported following YF vaccination. Seroconversion to JE-CV was 100% and 91% in the JE/YF and YF/JE sequential vaccination groups, respectively, compared with 96% in the co-administration group. All participants seroconverted to YF vaccine and retained neutralizing titers above the assay cut-off at month six. Neutralizing antibodies against JE vaccine were detected in 82–100% of participants at month six. These results suggest that both vaccines may be successfully co-administered simultaneously or 30 days apart. PMID:20864814

"Plate cherry picking": a novel semi-sequential screening paradigm for cheaper, faster, information-rich compound selection.

PubMed

Crisman, Thomas J; Jenkins, Jeremy L; Parker, Christian N; Hill, W Adam G; Bender, Andreas; Deng, Zhan; Nettles, James H; Davies, John W; Glick, Meir

2007-04-01

This work describes a novel semi-sequential technique for in silico enhancement of high-throughput screening (HTS) experiments now employed at Novartis. It is used in situations in which the size of the screen is limited by the readout (e.g., high-content screens) or the amount of reagents or tools (proteins or cells) available. By performing computational chemical diversity selection on a per plate basis (instead of a per compound basis), 25% of the 1,000,000-compound screening was optimized for general initial HTS. Statistical models are then generated from target-specific primary results (percentage inhibition data) to drive the cherry picking and testing from the entire collection. Using retrospective analysis of 11 HTS campaigns, the authors show that this method would have captured on average two thirds of the active compounds (IC(50) < 10 microM) and three fourths of the active Murcko scaffolds while decreasing screening expenditure by nearly 75%. This result is true for a wide variety of targets, including G-protein-coupled receptors, chemokine receptors, kinases, metalloproteinases, pathway screens, and protein-protein interactions. Unlike time-consuming "classic" sequential approaches that require multiple iterations of cherry picking, testing, and building statistical models, here individual compounds are cherry picked just once, based directly on primary screening data. Strikingly, the authors demonstrate that models built from primary data are as robust as models built from IC(50) data. This is true for all HTS campaigns analyzed, which represent a wide variety of target classes and assay types.

Effect of cross sectional geometry on PDMS micro peristaltic pump performance: comparison of SU-8 replica molding vs. micro injection molding.

PubMed

Graf, Neil J; Bowser, Michael T

2013-10-07

Two different fabrication methods were employed to fabricate micropumps with different cross-sectional channel geometries. The first was to fabricate rectangular cross-sectional microchannel geometries using the well known fabrication method of replica molding (REM). The second, and far less utilized fabrication technique, was to create microchannel molds using an in-house fabricated handheld micro injection molding apparatus. The injection mold apparatus was designed for use with elastomeric room temperature vulcanization (RTV) polymers, as opposed to most other injection molding machines, which are designed for use with thermoplastic polymers. The injection mold's bottom plate was used as a microchannel molding template. The molding template was created by threading a small-diameter wire (150 μm or less) through the injection mold's bottom plate, with subsequent adhesion and smoothing of a thin piece of aluminum foil over the wire-raised injection mold template. When molded against, the template produced a rounded/Gaussian-shaped PDMS microchannel. The design of the injection mold will be presented, along with a direct comparison for micropump performance metrics such as flow rate, valving characteristics, and maximum backpressures attainable for each of the respective micropump channel geometries.

A 1000+ channel bionic communication system.

PubMed

Schulman, Joseph H; Mobley, J Phil; Wolfe, James; Stover, Howard; Krag, Adrian

2006-01-01

The wireless electronic nervous system interface known as the functional electrical stimulation-battery powered bion system is being developed at the Alfred Mann Foundation. It contains a real-time propagated wave micro-powered multichannel communication system. This system is designed to send bi-directional messages between an external master controller unit (MCU), and each one of a group of injectable stimulator-sensor battery powered bion implants (BPB). The system is capable of communicating in each direction about 90 times per second using a structure of 850 time slots within a repeating 11 millisecond time window. The system's total Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) communication capability is about 77,000 two-way communications per second on a single 5 MHz wide radio channel. Each time slot can be used by one BPB, or shared alternately by two or more BPBs. Each bidirectional communication consists of a 15 data bit message sent from the MCU sequentially to each BPB and 10 data bit message sent sequentially from each BPB to the MCU. Redundancy bits are included to provide error detection and correction. This communication system is designed to draw only a few microamps from the 3.6 volt, 3.0 mAHr lithium ion (LiIon) battery contained in each BPB, and the majority of the communications circuitry is contained within a 1.4x5 mm integrated circuit.

Sequential Injection Analysis for Optimization of Molecular Biology Reactions

PubMed Central

Allen, Peter B.; Ellington, Andrew D.

2011-01-01

In order to automate the optimization of complex biochemical and molecular biology reactions, we developed a Sequential Injection Analysis (SIA) device and combined this with a Design of Experiment (DOE) algorithm. This combination of hardware and software automatically explores the parameter space of the reaction and provides continuous feedback for optimizing reaction conditions. As an example, we optimized the endonuclease digest of a fluorogenic substrate, and showed that the optimized reaction conditions also applied to the digest of the substrate outside of the device, and to the digest of a plasmid. The sequential technique quickly arrived at optimized reaction conditions with less reagent use than a batch process (such as a fluid handling robot exploring multiple reaction conditions in parallel) would have. The device and method should now be amenable to much more complex molecular biology reactions whose variable spaces are correspondingly larger. PMID:21338059

SU-F-T-664: The Efficacy of Gold Nanoparticles as Contrast Agents in Mice

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

Yuan, Y; Zhang, Y; Sajo, E

Purpose: Micro-Computed Tomography (micro-CT) has been widely used as a non-invasive, high-resolution imaging modality in preclinical research. However, tumors cannot be well distinguished, since their density are similar to those of surrounding tissues, and the tumors’ natural contrast is very low. The benefits of using Gold Nanoparticles (AuNPs) as a promising high atomic weight contrast agent have been published in recent years. The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of AuNPs as contrast agents using different energy x-rays. Methods: The left flank of an immune-compromised athymic nude mouse was implanted with subcutaneous xenograft model of human lungmore » cancer line, A549 cells (from ATCC). After 14 days, this mouse was imaged with dual energy cone-beam micro-CT. The selected energies were 45 kVp and 65 kVp. 10µg AuNPs (200 µg/ml concentration) approximately 12 nm in size were injected subcutaneously into the tumor. The mouse was imaged 0, 3 and 24 hours post-injection. During scanning, this mouse was anesthetized. All projection raw data have been optimized and then images were reconstructed with the FDK Algorithm. Results: Based on images, at 0 hour, AuNPs provided obvious contrast no matter which energy selected, 45 kVp or 65 kVp; and using 45 kVp X-ray, AuNps showed greater contrast. After 3 hours or evenand longer, AuNPs distributed throughout the whole body of mouse, and they were not shown clearly shown in the images. Conclusion: In this study, we investigated the efficacy of AuNPs as image contrast agents at different energies with dual-energy micro-CT, using 200µg/mL of AuNPs. Sufficiently high concentrations of AuNPs are needed to be able to track intratumoral distribution. Images showed good contrast immediately following the administration of the agent but results were poor after 3 hours.« less

Comparison of periodontal ligament injection and inferior alveolar nerve block in mandibular primary molars pulpotomy: a randomized control trial.

PubMed

Haghgoo, Roza; Taleghani, Ferial

2015-05-01

Inferior alveolar nerve block is a common technique for anesthesia of the primary mandibular molars. A number of disadvantages have been shown to be associated with this technique. Periodontal ligament (PDL) injection could be considered as an alternative to inferior alveolar nerve block. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of PDL injection in the anesthesia of primary molar pulpotomy with mandibular block. This study was performed using a sequential double-blind randomized trial design. 80 children aged 3-7 years old who required pulpotomy in symmetrical mandibular primary molars were selected. The teeth of these children were anesthetized with periodontal injection on one side of the mandible and block on the other. Pulpotomy was performed on each patient during the same appointment. Signs of discomfort, including hand and body tension and eye movement, the verbal complaint and crying (SEM scale), were evaluated by a dental assistant who was blinded to the treatment allocation of the patients. Finally, the data were analyzed using the exact Fisher test and Pearson Chi-squared exact test. Success rate was 88/75 and 91/25 in the PDL injection and nerve block groups, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two techniques (P = 0.250). Results showed that PDL injection can be used as an alternative to nerve block in pulpotomy of the mandibular primary molars.

A review of micro-powder injection moulding as a microfabrication technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Attia, Usama M.; Alcock, Jeffrey R.

2011-04-01

Micro-powder injection moulding (µPIM) is a fast-developing micro-manufacturing technique for the production of metal and ceramic components. Shape complexity, dimensional accuracy, replication fidelity, material variety combined with high-volume capabilities are some of the key advantages of the technology. This review assesses the capabilities and limitations of µPIM as a micro-manufacturing technique by reviewing the latest developments in the area and by considering potential improvements. The basic elements of the process chain, variant processes and simulation attempts are discussed and evaluated. Challenges and research gaps are highlighted, and potential areas for improvement are presented.

Aluminum-based one- and two-dimensional micro fin array structures: high-throughput fabrication and heat transfer testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Primeaux, Philip A.; Zhang, Bin; Zhang, Xiaoman; Miller, Jacob; Meng, W. J.; KC, Pratik; Moore, Arden L.

2017-02-01

Microscale fin array structures were replicated onto surfaces of aluminum 1100 and aluminum 6061 alloy (Al1100/Al6061) sheet metals through room-temperature instrumented roll molding. Aluminum-based micro fin arrays were replicated at room temperature, and the fabrication process is one with high throughput and low cost. One-dimensional (1D) micro fin arrays were made through one-pass rolling, while two-dimensional (2D) micro fin arrays were made by sequential 90° cross rolling with the same roller sleeve. For roll molding of 1D micro fins, fin heights greater than 600 µm were achieved and were shown to be proportional to the normal load force per feature width. At a given normal load force, the fin height was further shown to scale inversely with the hardness of the sheet metal. For sequential 90° cross rolling, morphologies of roll molded 2D micro fin arrays were examined, which provided clues to understand how plastic deformation occurred under cross rolling conditions. A series of pool boiling experiments on low profile Al micro fin array structures were performed within Novec 7100, a widely used commercial dielectric coolant. Results for both horizontal and vertical surface orientations show that roll molded Al micro fin arrays can increase heat flux at fixed surface temperature as compared to un-patterned Al sheet. The present results further suggest that many factors beyond just increased surface area can influence heat transfer performance, including surface finish and the important multiphase transport mechanisms in and around the fin geometry. These factors must also be considered when designing and optimizing micro fin array structures for heat transfer applications.

Sequential injection spectrophotometric determination of oxybenzone in lipsticks.

PubMed

Salvador, A; Chisvert, A; Camarasa, A; Pascual-Martí, M C; March, J G

2001-08-01

A sequential injection (SI) procedure for the spectrophotometric determination of oxybenzone in lipsticks is reported. The colorimetric reaction between nickel and oxybenzone was used. SI parameters such as sample solution volume, reagent solution volume, propulsion flow rate and reaction coil length were studied. The limit of detection was 3 microg ml(-1). The sensitivity was 0.0108+/-0.0002 ml microg(-1). The relative standard deviations of the results were between 6 and 12%. The real concentrations of samples and the values obtained by HPLC were comparable. Microwave sample pre-treatment allowed the extraction of oxybenzone with ethanol, thus avoiding the use of toxic organic solvents. Ethanol was also used as carrier in the SI system. Seventy-two injections per hour can be performed, which means a sample frequency of 24 h(-1) if three replicates are measured for each sample.

Simultaneous and Sequential MS/MS Scan Combinations and Permutations in a Linear Quadrupole Ion Trap.

PubMed

Snyder, Dalton T; Szalwinski, Lucas J; Cooks, R Graham

2017-10-17

Methods of performing precursor ion scans as well as neutral loss scans in a single linear quadrupole ion trap have recently been described. In this paper we report methodology for performing permutations of MS/MS scan modes, that is, ordered combinations of precursor, product, and neutral loss scans following a single ion injection event. Only particular permutations are allowed; the sequences demonstrated here are (1) multiple precursor ion scans, (2) precursor ion scans followed by a single neutral loss scan, (3) precursor ion scans followed by product ion scans, and (4) segmented neutral loss scans. (5) The common product ion scan can be performed earlier in these sequences, under certain conditions. Simultaneous scans can also be performed. These include multiple precursor ion scans, precursor ion scans with an accompanying neutral loss scan, and multiple neutral loss scans. We argue that the new capability to perform complex simultaneous and sequential MS n operations on single ion populations represents a significant step in increasing the selectivity of mass spectrometry.

Comparison of first pass bolus AIFs extracted from sequential 18F-FDG PET and DSC-MRI of mice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, Eleanor; Sawiak, Stephen J.; Ward, Alexander O.; Buonincontri, Guido; Hawkes, Robert C.; Adrian Carpenter, T.

2014-01-01

Accurate kinetic modelling of in vivo physiological function using positron emission tomography (PET) requires determination of the tracer time-activity curve in plasma, known as the arterial input function (AIF). The AIF is usually determined by invasive blood sampling methods, which are prohibitive in murine studies due to low total blood volumes. Extracting AIFs from PET images is also challenging due to large partial volume effects (PVE). We hypothesise that in combined PET with magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MR), a co-injected bolus of MR contrast agent and PET ligand can be tracked using fast MR acquisitions. This protocol would allow extraction of a MR AIF from MR contrast agent concentration-time curves, at higher spatial and temporal resolution than an image-derived PET AIF. A conversion factor could then be applied to the MR AIF for use in PET kinetic analysis. This work has compared AIFs obtained from sequential DSC-MRI and PET with separate injections of gadolinium contrast agent and 18F-FDG respectively to ascertain the technique‧s validity. An automated voxel selection algorithm was employed to improve MR AIF reproducibility. We found that MR and PET AIFs displayed similar character in the first pass, confirmed by gamma variate fits (p<0.02). MR AIFs displayed reduced PVE compared to PET AIFs, indicating their potential use in PET/MR studies.

Comparison of first pass bolus AIFs extracted from sequential 18F-FDG PET and DSC-MRI of mice.

PubMed

Evans, Eleanor; Sawiak, Stephen J; Ward, Alexander O; Buonincontri, Guido; Hawkes, Robert C; Carpenter, T Adrian

2014-01-11

Accurate kinetic modelling of in vivo physiological function using positron emission tomography (PET) requires determination of the tracer time-activity curve in plasma, known as the arterial input function (AIF). The AIF is usually determined by invasive blood sampling methods, which are prohibitive in murine studies due to low total blood volumes. Extracting AIFs from PET images is also challenging due to large partial volume effects (PVE). We hypothesise that in combined PET with magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MR), a co-injected bolus of MR contrast agent and PET ligand can be tracked using fast MR acquisitions. This protocol would allow extraction of a MR AIF from MR contrast agent concentration-time curves, at higher spatial and temporal resolution than an image-derived PET AIF. A conversion factor could then be applied to the MR AIF for use in PET kinetic analysis. This work has compared AIFs obtained from sequential DSC-MRI and PET with separate injections of gadolinium contrast agent and 18 F-FDG respectively to ascertain the technique's validity. An automated voxel selection algorithm was employed to improve MR AIF reproducibility. We found that MR and PET AIFs displayed similar character in the first pass, confirmed by gamma variate fits (p<0.02). MR AIFs displayed reduced PVE compared to PET AIFs, indicating their potential use in PET/MR studies.

High-rate production of micro- and nanostructured surfaces: Injection molding and novel process for metal tooling manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Jesus Vega, Marisely

Devices containing micro and nanostructured surfaces are developing and constantly finding new applications, especially for medical diagnostics, point-of-care applications, and microneedles. They are also employed in the functionalization of surfaces for superhydrophobicity, drag reduction, or reversible adhesion by mimicking bio-inspired surfaces. This research provides a thorough investigation on the effects of different polymeric materials and processing conditions on the replication of micro and nanostructured surfaces via injection molding. In addition, this dissertation also presents a novel approach for the production of durable microstructured metal tooling to be used for the production of surfaces with microchannels via injection molding. Materials such as thermoplastic vulcanizates are substituting regular thermoplastic materials and vulcanized elastomers in many applications due to their outstanding properties and ease of processability. These material properties broaden the scope of applications for microstructured surfaces. However, there is a need for understanding how these materials behave in microinjection molding since thermoplastic elastomers' behavior during injection molding have been shown to differ from that of the widely understood behavior of thermoplastics. Replication of microstructured surfaces using thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV) was studied in the first part of this thesis. TPVs with different hardness's were molded using microinjection molding with various processing conditions and the replication and surface details of 20 microm pillars (aspect ratio of 1:1) were characterized. In the second part of this research liquid silicone rubber (LSR) was studied as a material for the production of micro and nanostructured surfaces. LSR is a silicone based material such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which is widely used for research and development of micro and nanostructured devices, and thus provides all the benefits of PDMS but can be rapidly processed via liquid injection molding. LSR with its excellent mechanical properties, transparency, non-toxicity and rapid molding capabilities can bring the production of micro and nanostructured surfaces from laboratory research facilities to high-rate manufacturing. However, previous research on microstructured surfaces made off LSR does not focus on the processing aspect of this material. Therefore, there is a lack of understanding of how different processing conditions affect the replication of microstructures. Additionally, there are no reports molding nanostructures of LSR. Features between 115 microm and 0.250 microm were molded in this work and the effect of different processing conditions and features sizes were studied. For the last part of this work, a novel metal additive manufacturing technique was used for the production of microstructured surfaces to be used as tooling for injection molding. The printing method consists of metal pastes printed through a tip onto a steel substrate. Prior work has shown spreading and swelling of features when metal pastes extrude out of the printing tip. PDMS was studied as a binder material to minimize spreading and swelling of the features by curing right after printing. In addition, prior work has shown durability of this metal printed tool up to 5000 injection molding cycles. This work compares this durability to durability of commercially available selective laser sintering metal tools. Furthermore, surface roughness was studied as this is one of the most important things to consider when molding microchannels for certain applications.

Simultaneous detection of creatine and creatinine using a sequential injection analysis/biosensor system.

PubMed

Stefan-van Staden, Raluca-Ioana; Bokretsion, Rahel Girmai; van Staden, Jacobus F; Aboul-Enein, Hassan Y

2006-01-01

Carbon paste based biosensors for the determination of creatine and creatinine have been integrated into a sequential injection system. Applying the multi-enzyme sequence of creatininase (CA), and/or creatinase (CI) and sarcosine oxidase (SO), hydrogen peroxide has been detected amperometrically. The linear concentration ranges are of pmol/L to nmol/L magnitude, with very low limits of detection. The proposed SIA system can be utilized reliably for the on-line simultaneous detection of creatine and creatinine in pharmaceutical products, as well as in serum samples, with a rate of 34 samples per hour and RSD values better than 0.16% (n=10).

Effect of Cross Sectional Geometry on PDMS Micro Peristaltic Pump Performance: Comparison of SU-8 Replica Molding vs. Micro Injection Molding

PubMed Central

Graf, Neil J.

2013-01-01

Two different fabrication methods were employed to fabricate micropumps with different cross-sectional channel geometries. The first was to fabricate rectangular cross-sectional microchannel geometries using the well known fabrication method of replica molding (REM).1 The second, and far less utilized fabrication technique, was to create microchannel molds using an in-house fabricated handheld micro injection molding apparatus. The injection mold apparatus was designed for use with elastomeric room temperature vulcanization (RTV) polymers, as opposed to most other injection molding machines, which are designed for use with thermoplastic polymers. The injection mold’s bottom plate was used as a microchannel molding template. The molding template was created by threading a small-diameter wire (150 μm or less) through the injection mold’s bottom plate, with subsequent adhesion and smoothing of a thin piece of aluminum foil over the wire-raised injection mold template. When molded against, the template produced a rounded/Gaussian-shaped PDMS microchannel. The design of the injection mold will be presented, along with a direct comparison for micropump performance metrics such as flow rate, valving characteristics, and maximum backpressures attainable for each of the respective micropump channel geometries. PMID:23917263

Variable volume combustor with aerodynamic support struts

DOEpatents

Ostebee, Heath Michael; Johnson, Thomas Edward; Stewart, Jason Thurman; Keener, Christopher Paul

2017-03-07

The present application provides a combustor for use with a gas turbine engine. The combustor may include a number of micro-mixer fuel nozzles and a fuel injection system for providing a flow of fuel to the micro-mixer fuel nozzles. The fuel injection system may include a number of support struts supporting the fuel nozzles and providing the flow of fuel therethrough. The support struts may include an aerodynamic contoured shape so as to distribute evenly a flow of air to the micro-mixer fuel nozzles.

ATR-FTIR membrane-based sensor for the simultaneous determination of surfactant and oil total indices in industrial degreasing baths.

PubMed

Lucena, Rafael; Cárdenas, Soledad; Gallego, Mercedes; Valcárcel, Miguel

2006-03-01

Monitoring the exhaustion of alkaline degreasing baths is one of the main aspects in metal mechanizing industrial process control. The global level of surfactant, and mainly grease, can be used as ageing indicators. In this paper, an attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) membrane-based sensor is presented for the determination of these parameters. The system is based on a micro-liquid-liquid extraction of the analytes through a polymeric membrane from the aqueous to the organic solvent layer which is in close contact with the internal reflection element and continuously monitored. Samples are automatically processed using a simple, robust sequential injection analysis (SIA) configuration, on-line coupled to the instrument. The global signal obtained for both families of compounds are processed via a multivariate calibration technique (partial least squares, PLS). Excellent correlation was obtained for the values given by the proposed method compared to those of the gravimetric reference one with very low error values for both calibration and validation.

Microbial detection in microfluidic devices through dual staining of quantum dots-labeled immunoassay and RNA hybridization.

PubMed

Zhang, Qing; Zhu, Liang; Feng, Hanhua; Ang, Simon; Chau, Fook Siong; Liu, Wen-Tso

2006-01-18

This paper reported the development of a microfludic device for the rapid detection of viable and nonviable microbial cells through dual labeling by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and quantum dots (QDs)-labeled immunofluorescent assay (IFA). The coin sized device consists of a microchannel and filtering pillars (gap=1-2 microm) and was demonstrated to effectively trap and concentrate microbial cells (i.e. Giardia lamblia). After sample injection, FISH probe solution and QDs-labeled antibody solution were sequentially pumped into the device to accelerate the fluorescent labeling reactions at optimized flow rates (i.e. 1 and 20 microL/min, respectively). After 2 min washing for each assay, the whole process could be finished within 30 min, with minimum consumption of labeling reagents and superior fluorescent signal intensity. The choice of QDs 525 for IFA resulted in bright and stable fluorescent signal, with minimum interference with the Cy3 signal from FISH detection.

Biosynthesis and physicochemical characterization of a bacterial polysaccharide/polyamide blend, applied for microfluidics study in porous media.

PubMed

Bajestani, Maryam Ijadi; Mousavi, Seyyed Mohammad; Jafari, Arezou; Shojaosadati, Seyed Abbas

2017-03-01

Screening among some new isolated bacteria from oily samples, which were capable of producing extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs), one was selected and identified as Bacillus sonorensis. An efficient micro-total analysis approach was carried out to assay the produced EPSs by this bacterium. Sucrose and yeast concentrations as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, sodium salt concentration and initial pH were selected to be the variables in experimental design. Production of EPS in optimal condition was increased by 5.3 times. Further EPS purification was carried out to identify the biopolymers. The bacteria produced high molecular weight biopolymers with a number average molecular weight (M̅n) of 9.1×10 6 g/mol determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Biopolymer characterization demonstrated the biosynthesis of both polysaccharides and polyamides by the bacteria. For the biopolymer blend, thermal properties and morphological characteristics were studied using simultaneous differential scanning calorimetric and thermal gravimetric analyses (DSC/TGA) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) analyses. Finally, the biopolymer blend was injected into an oil saturated glass micro model to study the enhancement of oil recovery by biopolymer flooding in contrast with water flooding. It was found that oil recovery increased by 36%, from 23% using water flooding to 59% for biopolymer injection. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

X-ray tomography of powder injection moulded micro parts using synchrotron radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heldele, R.; Rath, S.; Merz, L.; Butzbach, R.; Hagelstein, M.; Haußelt, J.

2006-05-01

Powder injection moulding is one of the most promising replication methods for the mass production of metal and ceramic micro parts. The material for injection moulding, a so-called feedstock, consists of thermoplastic binder components and inorganic filler with approximately equal volume fractions. Injection moulding of the feedstock leads to a green part that can be processed to a dense metal or ceramic micro part by debinding and sintering. During the injection moulding process extremely high shear rates are applied. This promotes the separation of powder and binder leading to a particle density variation in the green part causing anisotropic shrinkage during post-processing. The knowledge of introducing density gradients and defects would consequently allow the optimization of the feedstock, the moulding parameters and the validation of a simulation tool based on the Dissipative Particle Dynamics which is currently under development, as well. To determine the particle density and defect distribution in micro parts synchrotron radiation tomography in absorption mode was used. Due to its parallel and monochromatic character a quantitative reconstruction, free of beam hardening artifacts, is possible. For the measurement, bending bars consisting of dispersed fused silica particles in a polymeric matrix were used. The presented results using this set-up show that crucial defects and density variations can be detected.

Selective sequential precipitation of dissolved metals in mine drainage from coal mine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yim, Giljae; Bok, Songmin; Ji, Sangwoo; Oh, Chamteut; Cheong, Youngwook; Han, Youngsoo; Ahn, Joosung

2017-04-01

In abandoned mines in Korea, a large amount of mine drainage continues to flow out and spread pollution. In purification of the mine drainage a massive amount of sludge is generated as waste. Since this metal sludge contains high Fe, Al and Mn oxides, developing the treatment method to recover homogeneous individual metal with high purity may beneficial to recycle waste metals as useful resources and reduce the amount of sludge production. In this regard, we established a dissolved metals selective precipitation process to treat Waryong Industry's mine drainage. The process that selectively precipitates metals dissolved in mine drainage is a continuous Fe-buffer-Al process, and each process consists of the neutralization tank, the coagulation tank, and the settling tank. Based on this process, this study verified the operational applicability of the Fe and Al selective precipitation. Our previous study revealed that high-purity Fe and Al precipitates could be recovered at a flow rate of 1.5 ton/day, while the lower purity was achieved when the rate was increased to about 3 ton/day due to the difficulty in reagent dosage control. In the current study was conducted to increase the capacity of the system to recover Fe and Al as high-purity precipitates at a flow rate of 10 ton/day with the ensured continuous operations by introducing an automatic reagent injection system. The previous study had a difficulty in controlling the pH and operating system continuously due to the manually controlled reagent injection system. To upgrade this and ensure the optimal pH in a stable way, a continuous reagent injection system was installed. The result of operation of the 10 ton/day system confirmed that the scaled-up process could maintain the stable recovery rates and purities of precipitates on site.

Micro-CT in situ study of carbonate rock microstructural evolution for geologic CO2 storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Y.; Yang, Y.; Rogowska, M.; Gundlach, C.

2017-09-01

To achieve the 2°C target made in the 2016 Paris Agreement, it is essential to reduce the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has been given increasing importance over the last decade. One of the suggested methods for CCS is to inject CO2 into geologic settings such as the carbonate reservoirs in the North Sea. The final aim of our project is to find out how to control the evolution of petrophysical parameters during CO2 injection using an optimal combination of flow rate, injection pressure and chemical composition of the influent. The first step to achieve this is to find a suitable condition to create a stable 3D space in carbonate rock by injecting liquid to prepare space for the later CO2 injection. Micro-CT imaging is a non-destructive 3D method that can be used to study the property changes of carbonate rocks during and after CO2 injection. The advance in lab source based micro-CT has made it capable of in situ experiments. We used a commercial bench top micro-CT (Zeiss Versa XRM410) to study the microstructure changes of chalk during liquid injection. Flexible temporal CT resolution is essential in this study because that the time scales of coupled physical and chemical processes can be very different. The results validated the feasibility of using a bench top CT system with a pressure cell to monitor the mesoscale multiphase interactions in chalk.

Sequential elution process

DOEpatents

Kingsley, I.S.

1987-01-06

A process and apparatus are disclosed for the separation of complex mixtures of carbonaceous material by sequential elution with successively stronger solvents. In the process, a column containing glass beads is maintained in a fluidized state by a rapidly flowing stream of a weak solvent, and the sample is injected into this flowing stream such that a portion of the sample is dissolved therein and the remainder of the sample is precipitated therein and collected as a uniform deposit on the glass beads. Successively stronger solvents are then passed through the column to sequentially elute less soluble materials. 1 fig.

Tranexamic acid attenuates oleic-acid-induced pulmonary extravasation.

PubMed

Moriuchi, H; Arai, I; Yuizono, T

1995-12-01

Activation of fibrinolysis is implicated in the development of vascular injury in certain lung injuries. It has yet to be reported that activation of plasmin is involved in extravasation caused by oleic acid (OA). We examined whether or not plasmin is involved in pulmonary extravasation by OA. Prospective trial. University laboratory. A total of 78 guinea pigs (498.9 +/- 10.6 g). Evans blue (EB) was administered to anesthetized guinea pigs. Subsequently four protocols were followed: (1) After 1 min, 60 micro l/kg of OA was injected. Perfusion was performed 30, 60 or 90 min after OA injection to wash out intravascular EB. (2) After 1 min, 15, 30 or 60 micro l/kg of OA was injected. (3) Tranexamic acid (TA) (2 g/kg) or saline was administered 30 min before OA (15 micro l/kg) injection. (4) Diphenhydramine hydrochloride (2.9 mg/kg) or saline was administered 7 min before OA (15 micro l/kg) injection. Except in protocol 1, the chest cavity was opened 90 min after OA injection. Perfusion was then performed. Airway was separated into four parts from trachea to distal bronchus. EB was extracted from the tissues and measured. OA caused an extravasation throughout airways in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Extravasation was more conspicuous in peripheral tissues. TA significantly attenuated extravasation, while diphenhydramine hydrochloride did not. It is suggested that plasmin, but not histamine, is involved in extravasation by OA. Inhibition of plasmin can be an effective strategy for treatment of this kind of lung injury.

Injection-depth-locking axial motion guided handheld micro-injector using CP-SSOCT.

PubMed

Cheon, Gyeong Woo; Huang, Yong; Kwag, Hye Rin; Kim, Ki-Young; Taylor, Russell H; Gehlbach, Peter L; Kang, Jin U

2014-01-01

This paper presents a handheld micro-injector system using common-path swept source optical coherence tomography (CP-SSOCT) as a distal sensor with highly accurate injection-depth-locking. To achieve real-time, highly precise, and intuitive freehand control, the system used graphics processing unit (GPU) to process the oversampled OCT signal with high throughput and a smart customized motion monitoring control algorithm. A performance evaluation was conducted with 60-insertions and fluorescein dye injection tests to show how accurately the system can guide the needle and lock to the target depth. The evaluation tests show our system can guide the injection needle into the desired depth with 4.12 um average deviation error while injecting 50 nl of fluorescein dye.

Monitoring lipase/esterase activity by stopped flow in a sequential injection analysis system using p-nitrophenyl butyrate.

PubMed

Pliego, Jorge; Mateos, Juan Carlos; Rodriguez, Jorge; Valero, Francisco; Baeza, Mireia; Femat, Ricardo; Camacho, Rosa; Sandoval, Georgina; Herrera-López, Enrique J

2015-01-27

Lipases and esterases are biocatalysts used at the laboratory and industrial level. To obtain the maximum yield in a bioprocess, it is important to measure key variables, such as enzymatic activity. The conventional method for monitoring hydrolytic activity is to take out a sample from the bioreactor to be analyzed off-line at the laboratory. The disadvantage of this approach is the long time required to recover the information from the process, hindering the possibility to develop control systems. New strategies to monitor lipase/esterase activity are necessary. In this context and in the first approach, we proposed a lab-made sequential injection analysis system to analyze off-line samples from shake flasks. Lipase/esterase activity was determined using p-nitrophenyl butyrate as the substrate. The sequential injection analysis allowed us to measure the hydrolytic activity from a sample without dilution in a linear range from 0.05-1.60 U/mL, with the capability to reach sample dilutions up to 1000 times, a sampling frequency of five samples/h, with a kinetic reaction of 5 min and a relative standard deviation of 8.75%. The results are promising to monitor lipase/esterase activity in real time, in which optimization and control strategies can be designed.

Monitoring Lipase/Esterase Activity by Stopped Flow in a Sequential Injection Analysis System Using p-Nitrophenyl Butyrate

PubMed Central

Pliego, Jorge; Mateos, Juan Carlos; Rodriguez, Jorge; Valero, Francisco; Baeza, Mireia; Femat, Ricardo; Camacho, Rosa; Sandoval, Georgina; Herrera-López, Enrique J.

2015-01-01

Lipases and esterases are biocatalysts used at the laboratory and industrial level. To obtain the maximum yield in a bioprocess, it is important to measure key variables, such as enzymatic activity. The conventional method for monitoring hydrolytic activity is to take out a sample from the bioreactor to be analyzed off-line at the laboratory. The disadvantage of this approach is the long time required to recover the information from the process, hindering the possibility to develop control systems. New strategies to monitor lipase/esterase activity are necessary. In this context and in the first approach, we proposed a lab-made sequential injection analysis system to analyze off-line samples from shake flasks. Lipase/esterase activity was determined using p-nitrophenyl butyrate as the substrate. The sequential injection analysis allowed us to measure the hydrolytic activity from a sample without dilution in a linear range from 0.05–1.60 U/mL, with the capability to reach sample dilutions up to 1000 times, a sampling frequency of five samples/h, with a kinetic reaction of 5 min and a relative standard deviation of 8.75%. The results are promising to monitor lipase/esterase activity in real time, in which optimization and control strategies can be designed. PMID:25633600

Determination of dasatinib in the tablet dosage form by ultra high performance liquid chromatography, capillary zone electrophoresis, and sequential injection analysis.

PubMed

Gonzalez, Aroa Garcia; Taraba, Lukáš; Hraníček, Jakub; Kozlík, Petr; Coufal, Pavel

2017-01-01

Dasatinib is a novel oral prescription drug proposed for treating adult patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. Three analytical methods, namely ultra high performance liquid chromatography, capillary zone electrophoresis, and sequential injection analysis, were developed, validated, and compared for determination of the drug in the tablet dosage form. The total analysis time of optimized ultra high performance liquid chromatography and capillary zone electrophoresis methods was 2.0 and 2.2 min, respectively. Direct ultraviolet detection with detection wavelength of 322 nm was employed in both cases. The optimized sequential injection analysis method was based on spectrophotometric detection of dasatinib after a simple colorimetric reaction with folin ciocalteau reagent forming a blue-colored complex with an absorbance maximum at 745 nm. The total analysis time was 2.5 min. The ultra high performance liquid chromatography method provided the lowest detection and quantitation limits and the most precise and accurate results. All three newly developed methods were demonstrated to be specific, linear, sensitive, precise, and accurate, providing results satisfactorily meeting the requirements of the pharmaceutical industry, and can be employed for the routine determination of the active pharmaceutical ingredient in the tablet dosage form. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Comparison of Periodontal Ligament Injection and Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block in Mandibular Primary Molars Pulpotomy: A Randomized Control Trial

PubMed Central

Haghgoo, Roza; Taleghani, Ferial

2015-01-01

Background: Inferior alveolar nerve block is a common technique for anesthesia of the primary mandibular molars. A number of disadvantages have been shown to be associated with this technique. Periodontal ligament (PDL) injection could be considered as an alternative to inferior alveolar nerve block. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of PDL injection in the anesthesia of primary molar pulpotomy with mandibular block. Methods: This study was performed using a sequential double-blind randomized trial design. 80 children aged 3-7 years old who required pulpotomy in symmetrical mandibular primary molars were selected. The teeth of these children were anesthetized with periodontal injection on one side of the mandible and block on the other. Pulpotomy was performed on each patient during the same appointment. Signs of discomfort, including hand and body tension and eye movement, the verbal complaint and crying (SEM scale), were evaluated by a dental assistant who was blinded to the treatment allocation of the patients. Finally, the data were analyzed using the exact Fisher test and Pearson Chi-squared exact test. Results: Success rate was 88/75 and 91/25 in the PDL injection and nerve block groups, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two techniques (P = 0.250). Conclusion: Results showed that PDL injection can be used as an alternative to nerve block in pulpotomy of the mandibular primary molars. PMID:26028895

Light propagation in the micro-size capillary injected by high temperature liquid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yan-jun; Li, Edward; Xiao, Hai

2016-11-01

The high temperature liquid is injected into the micro-size capillary and its light propagation behavior is investigated. We focus on two different liquid pumping methods. The first method can pump the high temperature liquid tin into the micro-size capillary by using a high pressure difference system. After pumping, a single mode fiber (SMF) connected with the optical carrier based microwave interferometry (OCMI) system is used to measure different liquid tin levels in the micro-size capillary. The second method can pump the room temperature engine oil into the capillary by using a syringe pump. This method can avoid the air bubbles when the liquids are pumped into the capillary.

A bio-ballistic micro-jet for drug injection into animal skin using a Nd:YAG laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoh, J. J.; Jang, H.; Park, M.; Han, T.; Hah, J.

2016-01-01

Imaging of the abdominal skin of a guinea pig after injecting a fluorescent probe and biotin via the laser-induced ballistic technique revealed the epidermal and dermal layers which were stained well below 60 \\upmu m underneath the outer layer of the skin. An extensive network of cells was evident in the deeper layer of the stained dermis as the distributed fluorescein isothiocyanate dose was administered by repeated injection using a laser-based micro-jet. We performed optically controlled release of the drug by breaching the guinea pig's skin tissue targeting the region 10-400 \\upmu m beneath the outermost layer. Tissue damage was minimized by reducing the injection volume to approximately 100 nl per pulse. This was done using a micro-jet diameter equal to half of that of a conventional 200 \\upmu m syringe needle. Thus, the optimally controlled delivery of liquid drugs using an irradiated laser pulse was shown to be possible.

Applying discursive approaches to health psychology.

PubMed

Seymour-Smith, Sarah

2015-04-01

The aim of this paper is to outline the contribution of two strands of discursive research, glossed as 'macro' and 'micro,' to the field of health psychology. A further goal is to highlight some contemporary debates in methodology associated with the use of interview data versus more naturalistic data in qualitative health research. Discursive approaches provide a way of analyzing talk as a social practice that considers how descriptions are put together and what actions they achieve. A selection of recent examples of discursive research from one applied area of health psychology, studies of diet and obesity, are drawn upon in order to illustrate the specifics of both strands. 'Macro' discourse work in psychology incorporates a Foucauldian focus on the way that discourses regulate subjectivities, whereas the concept of interpretative repertoires affords more agency to the individual: both are useful for identifying the cultural context of talk. Both 'macro' and 'micro' strands focus on accountability to varying degrees. 'Micro' Discursive Psychology, however, pays closer attention to the sequential organization of constructions and focuses on naturalistic settings that allow for the inclusion of an analysis of the health professional. Diets are typically depicted as an individual responsibility in mainstream health psychology, but discursive research highlights how discourses are collectively produced and bound up with social practices. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Effect of botulinum-A toxin to cremaster muscle: an experimental study.

PubMed

Cakmak, Murat; Cağlayan, Fatma; Erdemoğlu, Ali Kemal; Ulusoy, Sevgi

2003-10-01

A controversy exists on the definition, etiology and treatment of the retractile testes. In the present experimental study, we aimed to show the effect of botulinum-A toxin (Botox) on cremasteric muscle of a rat, and whether it may be an alternative to surgical treatment of retractile testis. Ten Wistar rats were used in the study. By stimulating cremasteric reflex, five compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) of the right and left cremasteric muscles of each rat were recorded using surface electrodes. Intramuscular injection of botulinum-A toxin was done to the right side. Saline was injected to the left cremasteric muscles, and the left side also served as control. CMAP of the cremasteric muscles were recorded 45 days after the injection. Statistical analysis was done using Wilcoxon Signed rank test. Mean CMAP of the right side was 3.25+/-1.39 microV before the injection and 0.44+/-0.25 microV after botulinum-A toxin injection. The difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Mean CMAP on the left side was 3.48+/-0.32 microV and 3.14+/-1.12 microV at baseline and the end of the study, respectively. The difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The botulinum-A toxin paralyzes the cremasteric muscles of the rats. As cremasteric hypertonicity is accepted as one of the reasons for retractile testes, botulinum-A toxin injection to cremasteric muscles may be helpful in diagnosis and may be an alternative to surgical treatment of this pathology in repeated dosages. Long-term evaluation of this paralysis is necessary.

Comparison of simultaneous and sequential administration of fentanyl-propofol for surgical abortion: a randomized single-blinded controlled trial.

PubMed

Gao, Wei; Sha, Baoyong; Zhao, Yuan; Fan, Zhe; Liu, Lin; Shen, Xin

2017-08-01

Propofol lipid emulsion (PLE) is a nanosized sedative, and it is used with a combination of salted antalgic prodrug, fentanyl citrate (FC). To illustrate the synergistic effect of mixing, we compared the sedation/analgesia resulting from simultaneous and sequential administration in surgically induced abortion (No. ChiCTR-IPC-15006153). Simultaneous group showed lower bispectral index, blood pressure, and heart rate, when cannula was inserted into the uterus. It also showed less frequency of hypertension, sinus tachycardia, movement, pain at the injection site, and additional FC. Therefore, premixing of PLE and FC enhanced the sedation and analgesia; stabilized the hemodynamics; lessened the incidence of movement and injection pain; and reduced the requirement of drugs.

Modular separation-based fiber-optic sensors for remote in situ monitoring.

PubMed

Dickens, J; Sepaniak, M

2000-02-01

A modular separation-based fiber-optic sensor (SBFOS) with an integrated electronically controlled injection device is described for potential use in remote environmental monitoring. An SBFOS is a chemical monitor that integrates the separation selectivity and versatility afforded by capillary electrophoresis with the remote and high sensitivity capabilities of fiber-optic-based laser-induced fluorescence sensing. The detection module of the SBFOS accommodates all essential sensing components for dual-optical fiber, on-capillary fluorescence detection. An injection module, similar to injection platforms on micro-analysis chips, is also integrated to the SBFOS. The injection module allows for electronically controlled injection of the sample onto the separation capillary. The design and operational characteristics of the modular SBFOS are discussed in this paper. A micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography mode of separation is employed to evaluate the potential of the sensor for in situ monitoring of neutral toxins (aflatoxins). The analytical figures of merit for the modular SBFOS include analysis times of between 5 and 10 min, separation efficiencies of approximately 10(4) theoretical plates, detection limits for aflatoxins in the mid-to-low nanomolar range, and controllable operation that results in sensor performance that is largely immune to sample matrix effects.

High-dose calcium stimulation test in a case of insulinoma masquerading as hysteria.

PubMed

Nakamura, Yoshio; Doi, Ryuichiro; Kohno, Yasuhiro; Shimono, Dai; Kuwamura, Naomitsu; Inoue, Koichi; Koshiyama, Hiroyuki; Imamura, Masayuki

2002-11-01

It is reported that some cases with insulinoma present with neuropsychiatric symptoms and are often misdiagnosed as psychosis. Here we report a case of insulinoma masquerading as hysteria, whose final diagnosis could be made using high-dose calcium stimulation test. A 28-yr-old woman was referred presenting with substupor, mutism, mannerism, restlessness, and incoherence. Laboratory examinations revealed hypoglycemia (33 mg/dL) and detectable insulin levels (9.7 microU/mL), suggesting the diagnosis of insulinoma. However, neither imaging studies nor selective arterial calcium injection (SACI) test with a conventional dose of calcium (0.025 mEq/kg) indicated the tumor. High-dose calcium injection (0.05 mEq/kg) evoked insulin secretion when injected into superior mesenteric artery. A solitary tumor in the head of the pancreas was resected, and her plasma glucose returned to normal. Postoperatively, iv injection of secretin resulted in a normal response of insulin, which was not found preoperatively. This case suggests the usefulness of the SACI test with high-dose of calcium in the case of insulinoma when the standard dose fails to detect such a tumor.

Brightness field distributions of microlens arrays using micro molding.

PubMed

Cheng, Hsin-Chung; Huang, Chiung-Fang; Lin, Yi; Shen, Yung-Kang

2010-12-20

This study describes the brightness field distributions of microlens arrays fabricated by micro injection molding (μIM) and micro injection-compression molding (μICM). The process for fabricating microlens arrays used room-temperature imprint lithography, photoresist reflow, electroforming, μIM, μICM, and optical properties measurement. Analytical results indicate that the brightness field distribution of the molded microlens arrays generated by μICM is better than those made using μIM. Our results further demonstrate that mold temperature is the most important processing parameter for brightness field distribution of molded microlens arrays made by μIM or μICM.

A Step Closer to Membrane Protein Multiplexed Nanoarrays Using Biotin-Doped Polypyrrole

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Whether for fundamental biological research or for diagnostic and drug discovery applications, protein micro- and nanoarrays are attractive technologies because of their low sample consumption, high-throughput, and multiplexing capabilities. However, the arraying platforms developed so far are still not able to handle membrane proteins, and specific methods to selectively immobilize these hydrophobic and fragile molecules are needed to understand their function and structural complexity. Here we integrate two technologies, electropolymerization and amphipols, to demonstrate the electrically addressable functionalization of micro- and nanosurfaces with membrane proteins. Gold surfaces are selectively modified by electrogeneration of a polymeric film in the presence of biotin, where avidin conjugates can then be selectively immobilized. The method is successfully applied to the preparation of protein-multiplexed arrays by sequential electropolymerization and biomolecular functionalization steps. The surface density of the proteins bound to the electrodes can be easily tuned by adjusting the amount of biotin deposited during electropolymerization. Amphipols are specially designed amphipathic polymers that provide a straightforward method to stabilize and add functionalities to membrane proteins. Exploiting the strong affinity of biotin for streptavidin, we anchor distinct membrane proteins onto different electrodes via a biotin-tagged amphipol. Antibody-recognition events demonstrate that the proteins are stably immobilized and that the electrodeposition of polypyrrole films bearing biotin units is compatible with the protein-binding activity. Since polypyrrole films show good conductivity properties, the platform described here is particularly well suited to prepare electronically transduced bionanosensors. PMID:24476392

Sequential Injection/Electrochemical Immunoassay for Quantifying the Pesticide Metabolite 3, 5, 6-Trichloro-2-Pyridinol

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

Liu, Guodong; Riechers, Shawn L.; Timchalk, Chuck

2005-12-04

An automated and sensitive sequential injection electrochemical immunoassay was developed to monitor a potential insecticide biomarker, 3, 5, 6-trichloro-2-pyridinol. The current method involved a sequential injection analysis (SIA) system equipped with a thin-layer electrochemical flow cell and permanent magnet, which was used to fix 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP) antibody coated magnetic beads (TCP-Ab-MBs) in the reaction zone. After competitive immunoreactions among TCP-Ab-MBs, TCP analyte, and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled TCP, a 3, 3?, 5, 5?-tetramethylbenzidine dihydrochloride and hydrogen peroxide (TMB-H2O2) substrate solution was injected to produce an electroactive enzymatic product. The activity of HRP tracers was monitored by a square wave voltammetricmore » scanning electroactive enzymatic product in the thin-layer flow cell. The voltammetric characteristics of the substrate and the enzymatic product were investigated under batch conditions, and the parameters of the immunoassay were optimized in the SIA system. Under the optimal conditions, the system was used to measure as low as 6 ng L-1 (ppt) TCP, which is around 50-fold lower than the value indicated by the manufacturer of the TCP RaPID Assay? kit (0.25 ug/L, colorimetric detection). The performance of the developed immunoassay system was successfully evaluated on tap water and river water samples spiked with TCP. This technique could be readily used for detecting other environmental contaminants by developing specific antibodies against contaminants and is expected to open new opportunities for environmental and biological monitoring.« less

Atrocities and Confrontational Tension

PubMed Central

Klusemann, Stefan

2009-01-01

This paper presents an analysis of video-recordings and other micro-level data of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia-and-Herzegovina. It focuses on the sequential unfolding of micro-interactions and emotional dynamics before, and over the course of the atrocity. The paper argues that massacres have a pattern of situational emergence: local emotional dynamics are crucial to explain where and when atrocities do or do not come off and what form they take on the micro-level. It is shown that (1) micro-interactions constitute situational turning-points, towards or away from atrocities and that (2) local emotional dynamics shape the internal structure of atrocities, i.e. their internal dynamics of killings. The analysis is based on recent advances in the micro-sociology of violence by Collins, Katz, and Grossman, as well as Ekman's research tools for identifying emotional cues in micro-data. PMID:19936029

Potential antidepressant properties of IDN 5491 (hyperforin-trimethoxybenzoate), a semisynthetic ester of hyperforin.

PubMed

Cervo, Luigi; Mennini, Tiziana; Rozio, Marco; Ekalle-Soppo, Charlotte Blanche; Canetta, Alessandro; Burbassi, Silvia; Guiso, Giovanna; Pirona, Lorenza; Riva, Antonella; Morazzoni, Paolo; Caccia, Silvio; Gobbi, Marco

2005-03-01

Hyperforin is one of the possible active principles mediating the antidepressant activity of Hypericum perforatum L. extracts. The ester derivative IDN 5491 (hyperforin-trimethoxybenzoate) showed antidepressant-like properties in the forced swimming test (FST) in rats, with no effect on open-field activity, when given as three intraperitoneal injections in 24 h at 3.125 and 6.25 mg/kg. The plasma concentrations of IDN 5491 were 30-50 microM, and those of hyperforin much lower but still close to those after effective doses of hyperforin-dicyclohexylammonium and Hypericum extract. This suggests that hyperforin plays a role in the antidepressant-like effect of the ester and of Hypericum extract. In vitro binding and uptake data showed that IDN 5491 is inactive on a wide panel of CNS targets at a concentration (14 microM) much higher than that measured in the brain of treated rats (0.3 microM). Like the extract, the antidepressant-like effect of IDN 5491 was blocked by (-)-sulpiride, a selective D2 receptor antagonist and by BD-1047, a selective sigma1 antagonist. Ex-vivo binding studies showed that brain sigma1 receptors are occupied after in vivo treatment with IDN 5491, possibly by an unknown metabolite or by endogenous ligand induced by hyperforin.

Combining selection valve and mixing chamber for nanoflow gradient generation: Toward developing a liquid chromatography cartridge coupled with mass spectrometer for protein and peptide analysis.

PubMed

Chen, Apeng; Lu, Joann J; Gu, Congying; Zhang, Min; Lynch, Kyle B; Liu, Shaorong

2015-08-05

Toward developing a micro HPLC cartridge, we have recently built a high-pressure electroosmotic pump (EOP). However, we do not recommend people to use this pump to deliver an organic solvent directly, because it often makes the pump rate unstable. We have experimented several approaches to address this issue, but none of them are satisfactory. Here, we develop an innovative approach to address this issue. We first create an abruption (a dead-volume) within a fluid conduit. We then utilize an EOP to withdraw, via a selection valve, a train of eluent solutions having decreasing eluting power into the fluid conduit. When these solutions are further aspirated through the dead-volume, these solutions are partially mixed, smoothening concentration transitions between two adjacent eluent solutions. As these solutions are pushed back, through the dead-volume again, a smooth gradient profile is formed. In this work, we characterize this scheme for gradient formation, and we incorporate this approach with a high-pressure EOP, a nanoliter injection valve, and a capillary column, yielding a micro HPLC system. We then couple this micro HPLC with an electrospray ionization - mass spectrometer for peptide and protein separations and identifications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nanotune: A Novel Approach to Control the Deposition and Fate of Particles in Porous Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sethi, R.; Bianco, C.; Tosco, T.; Tiraferri, A.; Patiño Higuita, J. E.

2017-12-01

Nanoremediation is an innovative environmental nanotechnology aimed at reclaiming contaminated aquifers. It consists in the subsurface injection of a reactive colloidal suspension for the in-situ treatment of pollutants. The greatest challenges faced by engineers to advance nanoremediation are the effective delivery and the appropriate dosing of the nanoparticles into the subsoil. These are necessary for the correct emplacement of the in situ reactive zone and to minimize the overall cost of the reclamation and the potential secondary risks associated to the uncontrolled migration of the injected particles. In this study, a model assisted strategy, NanoTune, is developed to control the distribution of colloids in porous media. The proposed approach consists in the sequential injection of a stable suspension of reactive nanoparticles and of a destabilizing agent with the aim of creating a reactive zone within a targeted portion of the contaminated aquifer. The controlled and irreversible deposition of the particles is achieved by inducing the mixing of the two fluids in the desired portion of the aquifer. This approach is here exemplified by the delivery of humic acid-stabilized iron oxide nanoparticles (FeOx), a typical reagent for in situ immobilization of heavy metals. Divalent cations, which are known to cause rapid aggregation of the suspension because of their strong interaction with the humic acid coating, are used as destabilizing agents. The injection strategy is here applied in 1D columns to create a reactive zone for heavy metal removal in the central region of the sandy bed. The software MNMs was used to assess the correct sequence and duration of the injection of the different solutions in the 1D medium. Moreover, the numerical code MNM3D (MNM3D - Micro and Nanoparticle transport Model in 3D geometries) was developed by the authors of this work to support the case-specific design of the injection strategy during field scale applications. The NanoTune approach represents an advancement in the control of the fate of nanomaterials in the environment, and could enhance nanoremediation making it an effective alternative to more conventional techniques.

Procedural and Physical Interventions for Vaccine Injections: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials and Quasi-Randomized Controlled Trials.

PubMed

Taddio, Anna; Shah, Vibhuti; McMurtry, C Meghan; MacDonald, Noni E; Ipp, Moshe; Riddell, Rebecca Pillai; Noel, Melanie; Chambers, Christine T

2015-10-01

This systematic review evaluated the effectiveness of physical and procedural interventions for reducing pain and related outcomes during vaccination. Databases were searched using a broad search strategy to identify relevant randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials. Data were extracted according to procedure phase (preprocedure, acute, recovery, and combinations of these) and pooled using established methods. A total of 31 studies were included. Acute infant distress was diminished during intramuscular injection without aspiration (n=313): standardized mean difference (SMD) -0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.18, -0.46). Injecting the most painful vaccine last during vaccinations reduced acute infant distress (n=196): SMD -0.69 (95% CI: -0.98, -0.4). Simultaneous injections reduced acute infant distress compared with sequential injections (n=172): SMD -0.56 (95% CI: -0.87, -0.25). There was no benefit of simultaneous injections in children. Less infant distress during the acute and recovery phases combined occurred with vastus lateralis (vs. deltoid) injections (n=185): SMD -0.70 (95% CI: -1.00, -0.41). Skin-to-skin contact in neonates (n=736) reduced acute distress: SMD -0.65 (95% CI: -1.05, -0.25). Holding infants reduced acute distress after removal of the data from 1 methodologically diverse study (n=107): SMD -1.25 (95% CI: -2.05, -0.46). Holding after vaccination (n=417) reduced infant distress during the acute and recovery phases combined: SMD -0.65 (95% CI: -1.08, -0.22). Self-reported fear was reduced for children positioned upright (n=107): SMD -0.39 (95% CI: -0.77, -0.01). Non-nutritive sucking (n=186) reduced acute distress in infants: SMD -1.88 (95% CI: -2.57, -1.18). Manual tactile stimulation did not reduce pain across the lifespan. An external vibrating device and cold reduced pain in children (n=145): SMD -1.23 (95% CI: -1.58, -0.87). There was no benefit of warming the vaccine in adults. Muscle tension was beneficial in selected indices of fainting in adolescents and adults. Interventions with evidence of benefit in select populations include: no aspiration, injecting most painful vaccine last, simultaneous injections, vastus lateralis injection, positioning interventions, non-nutritive sucking, external vibrating device with cold, and muscle tension.

A wide variety of injection molding technologies is now applicable to small series and mass production

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

Bloß, P., E-mail: bloss@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: juettner@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: jacob@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: loeser@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: michaelis@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: krajewsky@kuz-leipzig.de; Jüttner, G., E-mail: bloss@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: juettner@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: jacob@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: loeser@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: michaelis@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: krajewsky@kuz-leipzig.de; Jacob, S., E-mail: bloss@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: juettner@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: jacob@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: loeser@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: michaelis@kuz-leipzig.de, E-mail: krajewsky@kuz-leipzig.de

2014-05-15

Micro plastic parts open new fields for application, e. g., to electronics, sensor technologies, optics, and medical engineering. Before micro parts can go to mass production, there is a strong need of having the possibility for testing different designs and materials including material combinations. Hence, flexible individual technical and technological solutions for processing are necessary. To manufacture high quality micro parts, a micro injection moulding machine named formicaPlast based on a two-step plunger injection technology was developed. Resulting from its design, the residence time and the accuracy problems for managing small shot volumes with reproducible high accuracy are uncompromisingly solved.more » Due to their simple geometry possessing smooth transitions and non adherent inner surfaces, the plunger units allow to process 'all' thermoplastics from polyolefines to high performance polymers, optical clear polymers, thermally sensitive bioresorbables, highly filled systems (the so-called powder injection molding PIM), and liquid silicon rubber (LSR, here with a special kit). The applied platform strategy in the 1K and 2K version allows integrating automation for assembling, handling and packaging. A perpendicular arrangement allows encapsulation of inserts, also partially, and integration of this machine into process chains. Considering a wide variety of different parts consisting of different materials, the high potential of the technology is demonstrated. Based on challenging industrial parts from electronic applications (2K micro MID and bump mat, where both are highly structured parts), the technological solutions are presented in more detail.« less

Ablation of intervertebral discs in dogs using a MicroJet-assisted dye-enhanced injection device coupled with the diode laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartels, Kenneth E.; Henry, George A.; Dickey, D. Thomas; Stair, Ernest L.; Powell, Ronald; Schafer, Steven A.; Nordquist, Robert E.; Frederickson, Christopher J.; Hayes, Donald J.; Wallace, David B.

1998-07-01

Use of holmium laser energy for vaporization/coagulation of the nucleus pulposus in canine intervertebral discs has been previously reported and is currently being applied clinically in veterinary medicine. The procedure was originally developed in the canine model and intended for potential human use. Since the pulsed (15 Hz) holmium laser energy exerts photomechanical and photothermal effects, the potential for extrusion of additional disc material to the detriment of the patient is possible using the procedure developed for the dog. To reduce this potential complication, use of diode laser (805 nm - CW mode) energy, coupled with indocyanine green (ICG) as a selective laser energy absorber, was formulated as a possible alternative. Delivery of the ICG and diode laser energy was through a MicroJet device that could dispense dye interactively between individual laser 'shots.' Results have shown that it is possible to selectively ablate nucleus pulposus in the canine model using the device described. Acute observations (gross and histopathologic) illustrate that accurate placement of the spinal needle before introduction of the MicroJet device is critically dependent on the expertise of the interventional radiologist. In addition, the success of the overall technique depends on consistent delivery of both ICG and diode laser energy. Minimizing tissue carbonization on the tip of the MicroJet device is also of crucial importance for effective application of the technique in clinical veterinary medicine.

High Power Picosecond Laser Surface Micro-texturing of H13 Tool Steel and Pattern Replication onto ABS Plastics via Injection Moulding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otanocha, Omonigho B.; Li, Lin; Zhong, Shan; Liu, Zhu

2016-03-01

H13 tool steels are often used as dies and moulds for injection moulding of plastic components. Certain injection moulded components require micro-patterns on their surfaces in order to modify the physical properties of the components or for better mould release to reduce mould contamination. With these applications it is necessary to study micro-patterning to moulds and to ensure effective pattern transfer and replication onto the plastic component during moulding. In this paper, we report an investigation into high average powered (100 W) picosecond laser interactions with H13 tool steel during surface micro-patterning (texturing) and the subsequent pattern replication on ABS plastic material through injection moulding. Design of experiments and statistical modelling were used to understand the influences of laser pulse repetition rate, laser fluence, scanning velocity, and number of scans on the depth of cut, kerf width and heat affected zones (HAZ) size. The characteristics of the surface patterns are analysed. The process parameter interactions and significance of process parameters on the processing quality and efficiency are characterised. An optimum operating window is recommended. The transferred geometry is compared with the patterns generated on the dies. A discussion is made to explain the characteristics of laser texturing and pattern replication on plastics.

Characterization of the Tissue and Stromal Cell Components of Micro-Superficial Enhanced Fluid Fat Injection (Micro-SEFFI) for Facial Aging Treatment.

PubMed

Rossi, Martina; Roda, Barbara; Zia, Silvia; Vigliotta, Ilaria; Zannini, Chiara; Alviano, Francesco; Bonsi, Laura; Zattoni, Andrea; Reschiglian, Pierluigi; Gennai, Alessandro

2018-06-14

New microfat preparations provide material suitable for use as a regenerative filler for different facial areas. To support the development of new robust techniques for regenerative purposes, the cellular content of the sample should be considered. To evaluate the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cell components of micro-superficial enhanced fluid fat injection (SEFFI) samples via a technique to harvest re-injectable tissue with minimum manipulation. The results were compared to those obtained from SEFFI samples. Microscopy analysis was performed to visualize the tissue structure. Micro-SEFFI samples were also fractionated using Celector ®, an innovative non-invasive separation technique, to provide an initial evaluation of sample fluidity and composition. SVFs obtained from SEFFI and micro-SEFFI were studied. Adipose stromal cells (ASCs) were isolated and characterized by proliferation and differentiation capacity assays. Microscopic and quality analyses of micro-SEFFI samples by Celector® confirmed the high fluidity and sample cellular composition in terms of red blood cell contamination, the presence of cell aggregates and extracellular matrix fragments. ASCs were isolated from adipose tissue harvested using SEFFI and micro-SEFFI systems. These cells were demonstrated to have a good proliferation rate and differentiation potential towards mesenchymal lineages. Despite the small sizes and low cellularity observed in micro-SEFFI-derived tissue, we were able to isolate stem cells. This result partially explains the regenerative potential of autologous micro-SEFFI tissue grafts. In addition, using this novel Celector® technology, tissues used for aging treatment were characterized analytically, and the adipose tissue composition was evaluated with no need for extra sample processing.

A framework for optimizing micro-CT in dual-modality micro-CT/XFCT small-animal imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vedantham, Srinivasan; Shrestha, Suman; Karellas, Andrew; Cho, Sang Hyun

2017-09-01

Dual-modality Computed Tomography (CT)/X-ray Fluorescence Computed Tomography (XFCT) can be a valuable tool for imaging and quantifying the organ and tissue distribution of small concentrations of high atomic number materials in small-animal system. In this work, the framework for optimizing the micro-CT imaging system component of the dual-modality system is described, either when the micro-CT images are concurrently acquired with XFCT and using the x-ray spectral conditions for XFCT, or when the micro-CT images are acquired sequentially and independently of XFCT. This framework utilizes the cascaded systems analysis for task-specific determination of the detectability index using numerical observer models at a given radiation dose, where the radiation dose is determined using Monte Carlo simulations.

Simultaneous injection-effective mixing analysis of palladium.

PubMed

Teshima, Norio; Noguchi, Daisuke; Joichi, Yasutaka; Lenghor, Narong; Ohno, Noriko; Sakai, Tadao; Motomizu, Shoji

2010-01-01

A novel concept of simultaneous injection-effective mixing analysis (SIEMA) is proposed, and a SIEMA method applied to the spectrophotometric determination of palladium using a water-soluble chromogenic reagent has been demonstrated. The flow configuration of SIEMA is a hybrid format of flow injection analysis (FIA), sequential injection analysis (SIA) and multicommutation in flow-based analysis. Sample and reagent solutions are aspirated into each holding coil through each solenoid valve by a syringe pump, and then the zones are simultaneously dispensed (injected) into a mixing coil by reversed flow toward a detector through a confluence point. This results in effective mixing and rapid detection with low reagent consumption.

Double-helix micro-channels on microfluidic chips for enhanced continuous on-chip derivatization followed by electrophoretic separation.

PubMed

Peng, Xianglu; Zhao, Lei; Guo, Jinxiu; Yang, Shenghong; Ding, Hui; Wang, Xiayan; Pu, Qiaosheng

2015-10-15

Micro-channels that contain a special inner structure are critical for efficient mixing and chemical reactions. In this paper, we described the facile fabrication of an integrated microchip with double-helix type micro-channels to improve mixing efficiency and to facilitate multi-step derivatization reactions prior to electrophoretic separation. With a prepared microchip, reagents, samples and reaction products could be driven through micro-channels by siphon, and no other pumping device was necessary. To test its performance, reductive amination of aldehydes with 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonate acid disodium (ANTS) was attempted via microchip electrophoresis with laser induced fluorescence (LIF). The effect of the geometry of the reaction micro-channel on the reaction's efficiency was evaluated. Under the selected conditions, successful derivatization of five aldehydes was realized for highly reproducible analysis. The relative standard deviations of the peak areas for 30 consecutive injections were in the range of 0.28-1.61%. The method was applied for the determination of aldehydes in real samples with standard addition recoveries of 87.8-102.8%. Good tolerance of organic solvents was achieved, and the proposed method can potentially be employed for rapid screening of excessively added aldehyde food flavoring. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Differential effects of progesterone and genital stimulation on sequential inhibition of estrous behavior and progesterone receptor expression in the rat brain.

PubMed

Gómez-Camarillo, Madaí A; Beyer, Carlos; Lucio, Rosa Angélica; García-Juárez, Marcos; González-Arenas, Aliesha; Camacho-Arroyo, Ignacio; Komisaruk, Barry R; González-Flores, Oscar

2011-05-30

The effect of genital stimulation, either by vaginocervical stimulation (VCS) using a calibrated vaginal probe combined with manual flank stimulation (FS), or by mounts performed by the male, on the hypothalamus and preoptic area concentration of the progesterone receptors A (PR-A) and B (PR-B) was assessed in ovariectomized (ovx) estrogen-primed rats. VCS/FS or stimulation provided by male mounts, even without intromission, significantly decreased PR-B concentration in the hypoythalamus. Down regulation of PR produced by genital stimulation was quantitatively similar to that elicited by progesterone (P) administration. Bilateral or unilateral transection of the pelvic or the pudendal nerves prevented down regulation elicited by VCS/FS. Repeated VCS/FS elicited lordosis behavior in most ovx estrogen primed rats, but the lordosis intensity was lower than that observed in response to P. P administered to ovx estrogen primed rats, induced sequential inhibition, i.e., failure to display estrous behavior in response to a second P injection (24h after the initial P injection). VCS/FS failed to elicit sequential inhibition, since rats responded with normal estrous behavior to the second injection of P. This suggests that down regulation by VCS, by contrast with P, failed to inhibit the subpopulation of PR involved in the facilitation of estrous behavior by P. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pore Scale Investigation of Wettability Alteration Through Chemically-Tuned Waterflooding in Oil-Wet Carbonate Rocks Using X-Ray Micro-Ct Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tawfik, M. S.; Karpyn, Z.

2017-12-01

Carbonate reservoirs host more than half of the remaining oil reserves worldwide. Due to their complex pore structure and intermediate to oil-wet nature, it is challenging to produce the remaining oil from these formations. For two decades, chemically tuned waterflooding (CTWF) has gained the attention of many researchers. Experimental, numerical, and field studies suggest that changes in ion composition of injected brine can increase oil recovery in carbonate reservoirs via wettability alteration. However, previous studies explaining the improvement in oil recovery by wettability alteration deduce wettability based on indirect measurements, including sessile drop contact angle measurements on polished rocks, relative permeability, chromatographic separation of SCN- and potential determining ions (PDIs), etc. CTWF literature offers no direct measurement of wettability alteration at the pore scale. This study proposes a direct pore-scale measurement of changes in interfacial curvatures before and after CTWF. Micro-coreflood experiments are performed to investigate the effect of injection brine salinity, ion composition and temperature on rock wettability at the pore scale. X-ray micro-CT scanning is used to obtain 3D image sets to calculate in-situ contact angle distributions. The study also aims to find a correlation between the magnitude of improvement in oil recovery at the macro-scale and the corresponding contact angle distribution at the pore-scale at different experimental conditions. Hence, macro-scale coreflood experiments are performed using the same conditions as the micro-corefloods. Macro-scale coreflood experiments have shown that brines with higher concentration of Ca2+, Mg2+ and SO42- ions have higher recoveries compared to standard seawater. This translates to wettability alteration into a more intermediate-wet state. This study enhances the understanding of the pore-scale physico-chemical mechanisms controlling wettability alteration via CTWF, which helps tune existing CTWF models, and therefore results in more well-informed candidate reservoir selection and the development of a workflow to determine the optimum injection brine properties for a given crude oil-brine-rock system.

Mixing augmentation of transverse hydrogen jet by injection of micro air jets in supersonic crossflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anazadehsayed, A.; Barzegar Gerdroodbary, M.; Amini, Y.; Moradi, R.

2017-08-01

In this study, the influences of the micro air jet on the mixing of the sonic transverse hydrogen through micro-jets subjected to a supersonic crossflow are investigated. A three-dimensional numerical study has been performed to reveal the affects of micro air jet on mixing of the hydrogen jet in a Mach 4.0 crossflow with a global equivalence ratio of 0.5. Parametric studies were conducted on the various air jet conditions by using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with Menter's Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model. Complex jet interactions were found in the downstream region with a variety of flow features depending upon the angle of micro air jet. These flow features were found to have subtle effects on the mixing of hydrogen jets. Results indicate a different flow structure as air jet is presented in the downstream of the fuel jet. According to the results, without air, mixing occurs at a low rate. When the air jet is presented in the downstream of fuel jet, significant increase (up to 300%) occurs in the mixing performance of the hydrogen jet at downstream. In multi fuel jets, the mixing performance of the fuel jet is increased more than 200% when the micro air jet is injected. Consequently, an enhanced mixing zone occurs downstream of the injection slots which leads to flame-holding.

Micro Dot Patterning on the Light Guide Panel Using Powder Blasting.

PubMed

Jang, Ho Su; Cho, Myeong Woo; Park, Dong Sam

2008-02-08

This study is to develop a micromachining technology for a light guidepanel(LGP) mold, whereby micro dot patterns are formed on a LGP surface by a singleinjection process instead of existing screen printing processes. The micro powder blastingtechnique is applied to form micro dot patterns on the LGP mold surface. The optimalconditions for masking, laminating, exposure, and developing processes to form the microdot patterns are first experimentally investigated. A LGP mold with masked micro patternsis then machined using the micro powder blasting method and the machinability of themicro dot patterns is verified. A prototype LGP is test- injected using the developed LGPmold and a shape analysis of the patterns and performance testing of the injected LGP arecarried out. As an additional approach, matte finishing, a special surface treatment method,is applied to the mold surface to improve the light diffusion characteristics, uniformity andbrightness of the LGP. The results of this study show that the applied powder blastingmethod can be successfully used to manufacture LGPs with micro patterns by just singleinjection using the developed mold and thereby replace existing screen printing methods.

Biodegradable chitosan and polylactic acid-based intraocular micro-implant for sustained release of methotrexate into vitreous: analysis of pharmacokinetics and toxicity in rabbit eyes.

PubMed

Manna, Soumyarwit; Banerjee, Rupak K; Augsburger, James J; Al-Rjoub, Marwan F; Donnell, Anna; Correa, Zelia M

2015-08-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and toxicity of a chitosan (CS) and polylactic acid (PLA) based methotrexate (MTX) intravitreal micro-implant in an animal model using rabbit eyes. CS- and PLA-based micro-implants containing 400 μg of MTX were fabricated using lyophilization and dip-coating techniques. The micro-implants were surgically implanted in the vitreous of eight New Zealand rabbits employing minimally invasive technique. The PLA-coated CS-MTX micro-implant was inserted in the right eye and the placebo micro-implant in the left eye of each rabbit. Two rabbits were euthanized at each pre-determined time point post-implantation (days 5, 12, 19, and 33) for pharmacokinetics and histopathology evaluation. A therapeutic concentration of MTX (0.1-1.0 μM) in the vitreous was detected in the rabbit eyes studied for 33 days. The MTX release from the coated micro-implants followed a first order kinetics (R (2) ~ 0.88), implying that MTX release depends on the concentration of MTX in the micro-implant. Histopathological analysis of the enucleated eyes failed to show any signs of infection or tissue toxicity in any of the specimens. The PLA-coated CS-MTX micro-implants were able to deliver therapeutic release of MTX for a period of more than 1 month without detectable toxicity in a rabbit model. The micro-implants can be further investigated as a prospective alternative to current treatment protocols of repeated intravitreal MTX injections in intraocular disorders such as primary intraocular lymphoma, and selected cases of non-microbial intraocular inflammation.

Regimes of Micro-bubble Formation Using Gas Injection into Ladle Shroud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Sheng; Cao, Xiangkun; Zou, Zongshu

2018-03-01

Gas injection into a ladle shroud is a practical approach to produce micro-bubbles in tundishes, to promote inclusion removal from liquid steel. A semi-empirical model was established to characterize the bubble formation considering the effect of shearing action combined with the non-fully bubble break-up by turbulence. The model shows a good accuracy in predicting the size of bubbles formed in complex flow within the ladle shroud.

Regimes of Micro-bubble Formation Using Gas Injection into Ladle Shroud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Sheng; Cao, Xiangkun; Zou, Zongshu

2018-06-01

Gas injection into a ladle shroud is a practical approach to produce micro-bubbles in tundishes, to promote inclusion removal from liquid steel. A semi-empirical model was established to characterize the bubble formation considering the effect of shearing action combined with the non-fully bubble break-up by turbulence. The model shows a good accuracy in predicting the size of bubbles formed in complex flow within the ladle shroud.

On-chip Micro- and Nanofluidic Electrokinetic Injection and Separation for PEGylation Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shelton, Elijah; Baum, Mary; Morse, Dan; Pennathur, Sumita; Pennathur Nanofluidics Laboratory Collaboration; Morse Laboratory Collaboration

2012-11-01

We present an experimental study of micro- and nanofluidic electrokinetic injection and separation in borosilcate channels as a method for characterizing size and zeta potential of biomolecules-specifically polyethlylene glycol (PEG), keyhole limpet hemocyanine (KLH), and pegylated KLH. While pegylation (the conjugation of proteins with PEG) is an established technique for enhancing a protein's therapeutic properties, reliable characterization of these conjugations by traditional analysis techniques (i.e. gel-electrophoresis, zetasizer) remains a challenge. Using a three-step electrokinetic sequence (load, gate, and inject), FITC labeled species and a fluorescein tracer dye are injected into a channel where they separate according to differences in electrophoretic mobility. We find the average absolute mobility of pegylated subunit KLH in 1 micron channels to be 56% that of unpegylated subunit KLH. In a 250 nm channel, we measure a 33% shift in the average absolute mobility of PEG dendrimers as compared to measurements in a 1 micron channel. These results begin to demonstrate how a micro- and nanofluidic-based approach might address the demand for effective and accessible nanoparticle characterization platforms. Supported by the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies.

Pilot-Scale Demonstration of In-Situ Chemical Oxidation ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

A pilot-scale in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) demonstration, involving subsurface injections of sodium permanganate (NaMnO4), was performed at the US Marine Corp Recruit Depot (MCRD), site 45 (Parris Island (PI), SC). The ground water was originally contaminated with perchloroethylene (PCE) (also known as tetrachloroethylene), a chlorinated solvent used in dry cleaner operations. High resolution site characterization involved multiple iterations of soil core sampling and analysis. Nested micro-wells and conventional wells were also used to sample and analyze ground water for PCE and decomposition products (i.e., trichloroethyelene (TCE), dichloroethylene (c-DCE, t-DCE), and vinyl chloride (VC)), collectively referred to as chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOC). This characterization methodology was used to develop and refine the conceptual site model and the ISCO design, not only by identifying CVOC contamination but also by eliminating uncontaminated portions of the aquifer from further ISCO consideration. Direct-push injection was selected as the main method of NaMnO4 delivery due to its flexibility and low initial capital cost. Site impediments to ISCO activities in the source area involved subsurface utilities, including a high pressure water main, a high voltage power line, a communication line, and sanitary and stormwater sewer lines. Utility markings were used in conjunction with careful planning and judicious selection of injection locations. A

Copper-64-labeled anti-bcl-2 PNA-peptide conjugates selectively localize to bcl-2-positive tumors in mouse models of B-cell lymphoma.

PubMed

Jia, Fang; Balaji, Baghavathy S; Gallazzi, Fabio; Lewis, Michael R

2015-11-01

The bcl-2 gene is overexpressed in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). We have reported micro-SPECT/CT imaging of Mec-1 human lymphoma xenografts in SCID mice, using [(111)In]DOTA-anti-bcl-2-PNA-Tyr(3)-octreotate. In order to reduce normal organ accumulation and improve imaging contrast, modified monomers with neutral hydrophilic (serine, TS) or negatively charged (aspartic acid, TD) residues were synthesized as substitutes for glycine at T(14) in the PNA sequence. The parent and modified PNA-peptide conjugates were labeled with (64)Cu and evaluated in biodistribution studies and high resolution PET/CT imaging of SCID mice bearing bcl-2-positive Mec-1 xenografts as well as bcl-2-negative Ramos xenografts. Mice were administered the (64)Cu-labeled conjugates for biodistribution and imaging studies. Biodistributions were obtained from 1 to 48 h post-injection. Mice were imaged from 1 to 48 h post-injection. The parent glycine conjugate and two modified conjugates all showed selective tumor uptake in Mec-1 xenografts. The liver uptake of the serine conjugate was significantly reduced compared to the two other PNA conjugates. Its kidney uptake was highest of the three at 47.1% ID/g at 1h and dropped to 20.6% ID/g at 24h. [Copper-64]DOTA-anti-bcl-2-TS-PNA-Tyr(3)-octreotate showed tumor uptake of 1.38% ID/g at 1h and 1.06% ID/g at 24h. The tumor-to-blood ratio was increased by factor of 2 from 1h to 24h. This compound detected Mec-1 tumors by micro-PET/CT as early as 1h post-injection and at time points out to 48 h. However, the negative control Ramos tumor could not be detected. These (64)Cu-labeled, amino acid-modified PNA conjugates showed selective tumor targeting in vivo, and tumor xenografts were detected by micro-PET/CT as early as 1h post-injection, suggesting that bcl-2 expression at the mRNA level can detected by PET in mouse models of NHL. Advances in knowledge and implications for patient care Down-regulating bcl-2, an anti-apoptotic proto-oncogene, is a mechanism to reverse chemotherapy resistance in humans with NHL. Thus, bcl-2 overexpression might be considered a new independent prognostic parameter in NHL, aiding in the identification of patients at risk for treatment failure. We have developed [(64)Cu]DOTA-anti-bcl-2-PNA-Tyr(3)-octreotate conjugates for targeted antisense PET imaging. Our preclinical studies identified an effective combination of antisense and radionuclide imaging, with the goal of future clinical trials in patients. This imaging modality may improve clinical care by identifying patients who might respond better to conventional chemotherapy. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Miniature PCR based portable bioaerosol monitor development.

PubMed

Agranovski, I E; Usachev, E V; Agranovski, E; Usacheva, O V

2017-01-01

A portable bioaerosol monitor is greatly demanded technology in many areas including air quality control, occupational exposure assessment and health risk evaluation, environmental studies and, especially, in defence and bio-terrorism applications. Our recent groundwork allowed us to formulate the concept of a portable bioaerosol monitor, which needs to be light, user friendly, reliable and capable of detecting airborne pathogens within 1-1·5 h on the spot. Conceptually, the event of a bioaerosol concentration burst is determined by triggers to commence the representative air sampling with sequential real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmation of the targeted micro-organism present in the air. To minimize reagent consumption and idle running of the technology, an event of a bioaerosol burst is confirmed by three parameters: aerosol particle size, concentration and composition. Only particle sizes above 200 nm attract interest in the bioaerosol. Only an elevated aerosol concentration above the threshold (background aerosol concentration) is a signal to commence the analytical procedure. The combination of our previously developed personal bioaerosol sampler, aerosol particle counter based trigger and portable real-time PCR device formed the basis of the bioaerosol monitoring technology. The portable real-time PCR device was advanced to provide internally controlled detection, significantly reducing false-positive alarms. The technique is capable of detecting selected airborne micro-organisms on the spot within 30-80 min, depending on the genome organization of the particular strain. Due to recent outbreaks of infectious airborne diseases and the continuing threat of intentionally released bioaerosol attacks, investigations into the possibility of the early and reliable detection of pathogenic micro-organisms in the air is becoming increasingly important. The proposed technology consisting of a bioaerosol sampler, technology trigger and PCR device is capable of detecting selected airborne micro-organisms on the spot within a short time period. Journal of Applied Microbiology © 2016 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

A SEA FLOOR GRAVITY SURVEY OF THE SLEIPNER FIELD TO MONITOR CO2 MIGATION

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

Mark Zumberge

2003-06-13

At the Sleipner gas field, excess CO{sub 2} is sequestered and injected underground into a porous saline aquifer 1000 m below the seafloor. A high precision micro-gravity survey was carried out on the seafloor to monitor the injected CO{sub 2}. A repeatability of 5 {micro}Gal in the station averages was observed. This is considerably better than pre-survey expectations. These data will serve as the baseline for time-lapse gravity monitoring of the Sleipner CO{sub 2} injection site. Simple modeling of the first year data give inconclusive results, thus a more detailed approach is needed. Work towards this is underway.

Composite time-lapse computed tomography and micro finite element simulations: A new imaging approach for characterizing cement flows and mechanical benefits of vertebroplasty.

PubMed

Stadelmann, Vincent A; Zderic, Ivan; Baur, Annick; Unholz, Cynthia; Eberli, Ursula; Gueorguiev, Boyko

2016-02-01

Vertebroplasty has been shown to reinforce weak vertebral bodies and reduce fracture risks, yet cement leakage is a major problem that can cause severe complications. Since cement flow is nearly impossible to control during surgery, small volumes of cement are injected, but then mechanical benefits might be limited. A better understanding of cement flows within bone structure is required to further optimize vertebroplasty and bone augmentation in general. We developed a novel imaging method, composite time-lapse CT, to characterize cement flow during injection. In brief, composite-resolution time-lapse CT exploits the qualities of microCT and clinical CT. The method consists in overlaying low-resolution time-lapse CT scans acquired during injection onto pre-operative high-resolution microCT scans, generating composite-resolution time-lapse CT series of cement flow within bone. In this in vitro study, composite-resolution time-lapse CT was applied to eight intact and five artificially fractured cadaveric vertebrae during vertebroplasty. The time-lapse scans were acquired at one-milliliter cement injection steps until a total of 10 ml cement was injected. The composite-resolution series were then converted into micro finite element models to compute strains distribution under virtual axial loading. Relocation of strain energy density within bone structure was observed throughout the progression of the procedure. Interestingly, the normalized effect of cement injection on the overall stiffness of the vertebrae was similar between intact and fractured specimens, although at different orders of magnitude. In conclusion, composite time-lapse CT can picture cement flows during bone augmentation. The composite images can also be easily converted into finite element models to compute virtual strain distributions under loading at every step of an injection, providing deeper understanding on the biomechanics of vertebroplasty. Copyright © 2015 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sequential injection gas guns for accelerating projectiles

DOEpatents

Lacy, Jeffrey M [Idaho Falls, ID; Chu, Henry S [Idaho Falls, ID; Novascone, Stephen R [Idaho Falls, ID

2011-11-15

Gas guns and methods for accelerating projectiles through such gas guns are described. More particularly, gas guns having a first injection port located proximate a breech end of a barrel and a second injection port located longitudinally between the first injection port and a muzzle end of the barrel are described. Additionally, modular gas guns that include a plurality of modules are described, wherein each module may include a barrel segment having one or more longitudinally spaced injection ports. Also, methods of accelerating a projectile through a gas gun, such as injecting a first pressurized gas into a barrel through a first injection port to accelerate the projectile and propel the projectile down the barrel past a second injection port and injecting a second pressurized gas into the barrel through the second injection port after passage of the projectile and to further accelerate the projectile are described.

Insulin response to a spontaneously ingested standard meal during the development of obesity in GTG-injected mice.

PubMed

Blair, S C; Caterson, I D; Cooney, G J

1996-04-01

(1) To determine glucose and insulin levels in response to ingestion of a standard meal during the development of gold-thioglucose (GTG)-induced obesity. (2) To examine whether the pancreatic beta-cells of GTG-injected mice possess sufficient insulin secretory capacity to compensate for the increasing tissue insulin resistance that occurs with the development of this obesity. The insulin secretory response to a standard meal of chow was examined in chronically catheterised conscious mice 2, 5 and 10 weeks after induction of obesity by a single injection of GTG. At 2 weeks after administration of GTG both the basal insulinaemia and the incremental area under the curve (iAUC) of insulin release after a chow meal were increased compared with age-matched lean control mice (2 week control: 1004 +/- 316 min/microU/ml; 2 week GTG: 1968 +/- 300 min/microU/ml; P < 0.05). By 5 weeks, the GTG-injected mice were approximately 42% heavier than their lean controls and showed a marked glucose intolerance. This was accompanied by hyperinsulinaemia in both the basal state and also in response to ingestion of the chow meal as indicated by the increase in the iAUC of insulin (5 week control: 1113 +/- 331 min/microU/ml; 5 week GTG: 2682 +/- 295 min/microU/ml; P < 0.05). At 10 weeks after GTG administration body weight was further increased, as was the degree of glucose intolerance. Plasma insulin levels, in both the basal state and in response to the ingestion of chow, were also further elevated by 10 weeks following GTG injection (10 week control: 1234 +/- 311 min/microU/ml; 10 week GTG: 6640 +/- 1198 min/microU/ml; P < 0.05). It is apparent that the secretion of insulin in response to a standard chow meal increases progressively with the development of obesity. This finding, in conjunction with an earlier study showing that the insulin secretory response to intravenously administered glucose becomes impaired in the latter stages of the development of obesity in GTG-injected mice [Blair SC, Caterson ID, Cooney GJ. Diabetes 1993; 42: 1153-1158], suggests that the ability of beta-cells of GTG-obese animals to produce and secrete insulin is not impaired but that the beta-cells may become insensitive to glucose within the circulation.

[Cell lineage tracing of regenerating cells after partial pancreatectomy using pseudo-type retrovirus].

PubMed

Zhang, Lixin; Ju, Xiaofang; Wang, Fa; Guo, Zhiwei; Piao, Shanhua; Teng, Chunbo

2008-04-01

Pancreas is an important mixed gland having both endocrine and exocrine functions, and has been proven regeneration after injury. To explore the cell lineage tracing methods in pancreas in vivo and the regenerate cells source, we used pseudo-type retrovirus to transfect adult mouse pancreas which had been partially pancreatectomized by rubbing the kerf using a cotton stick saturated with retrovirus suspension then injecting 100 microL retrovirus suspension into pancreas, injecting 100 microL retrovirus by caudal vein, or interperitoneally injecting retrovirus respectively. The results showed that the method of rubbing the kerf then injection of retrovirus suspension into pancreas could more effectively mark the pancreatic cells than the caudal vein injection and the intraperitoneal injection did in vivo. Furthermore, this study also found that some acinus cells could accept injury stimulus signals to regenerate through resuming mitosis after pancreatic injury. This study establishes a cell lineage tracing method in pancreas in vivo using retrovirus and offers a clue for gene therapy of pancreatic diseases using retrovirus vectors.

Energetic electron injections and dipolarization events in Mercury's magnetotail: Substorm dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dewey, R. M.; Slavin, J. A.; Raines, J. M.; Imber, S.; Baker, D. N.; Lawrence, D. J.

2017-12-01

Despite its small size, Mercury's terrestrial-like magnetosphere experiences brief, yet intense, substorm intervals characterized by features similar to at Earth: loading/unloading of the tail lobes with open magnetic flux, dipolarization of the magnetic field at the inner edge of the plasma sheet, and, the focus of this presentation, energetic electron injection. We use the Gamma-Ray Spectrometer's high-time resolution (10 ms) energetic electron measurements to determine the relationship between substorm activity and energetic electron injections coincident with dipolarization fronts in the magnetotail. These dipolarizations were detected on the basis of their rapid ( 2 s) increase in the northward component of the tail magnetic field (ΔBz 30 nT), which typically persists for 10 s. We estimate the typical flow channel to be 0.15 RM, planetary convection speed of 750 km/s, cross-tail potential drop of 7 kV, and flux transport of 0.08 MWb for each dipolarization event, suggesting multiple simultaneous and sequential dipolarizations are required to unload the >1 MWb of magnetic flux typically returned to the dayside magnetosphere during a substorm interval. Indeed, while we observe most dipolarization-injections to be isolated or in small chains of events (i.e., 1-3 events), intervals of sawtooth-like injections with >20 sequential events are also present. The typical separation between dipolarization-injection events is 10 s. Magnetotail dipolarization, in addition to being a powerful source of electron acceleration, also plays a significant role in the substorm process at Mercury.

Gross, Histologic, and Computed Tomographic Anatomy of the Lacrimal System of Snakes

PubMed Central

Souza, Nicole M.; Maggs, David J.; Park, Shin Ae; Puchalski, Sarah; Reilly, Christopher M.; Paul-Murphy, Joanne; Murphy, Christopher J.

2014-01-01

Objective To describe the lacrimal system of snakes using contrast micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) with 3-dimensional reconstruction, fluorescein passage (“Jones”) testing, histology, and gross dissection. Animals studied One Royal Python and 19 snake cadavers representing 10 species. Procedures Direct observation following injection of fluorescein into the subspectacular space, micro-CT following injection of 3 contrast agents into the subspectacular space, gross dissection following injection of latex into the subspectacular space, and histopathology. Results Injection of fluorescein confirmed patency but not course of the lacrimal duct. Barium enabled clear visualization of the lacrimal duct whereas two iodinated contrast agents proved inadequate. Collectively, micro-CT, anatomic dissections, and histology suggest tears are produced by a single, large, serous, retrobulbar gland, released into the subspectacular space via several ductules, and drained through a single punctum originating in the ventronasal subspectacular space and the lacrimal duct taking one of 3 routes of variable tortuosity before opening into the oral cavity in close association with the opening of the duct of the vomeronasal organ. Conclusions The ophidian lacrimal duct has a generally tortuous course and the details of its anatomy is species variable. The tortuous course of the duct likely predisposes snakes to duct occlusion and must be considered when planning medical and surgical interventions in snakes with pseudobuphthalmos and subspectacular abscessation. PMID:24862081

An interactive web-based application for Comprehensive Analysis of RNAi-screen Data.

PubMed

Dutta, Bhaskar; Azhir, Alaleh; Merino, Louis-Henri; Guo, Yongjian; Revanur, Swetha; Madhamshettiwar, Piyush B; Germain, Ronald N; Smith, Jennifer A; Simpson, Kaylene J; Martin, Scott E; Buehler, Eugen; Beuhler, Eugen; Fraser, Iain D C

2016-02-23

RNAi screens are widely used in functional genomics. Although the screen data can be susceptible to a number of experimental biases, many of these can be corrected by computational analysis. For this purpose, here we have developed a web-based platform for integrated analysis and visualization of RNAi screen data named CARD (for Comprehensive Analysis of RNAi Data; available at https://card.niaid.nih.gov). CARD allows the user to seamlessly carry out sequential steps in a rigorous data analysis workflow, including normalization, off-target analysis, integration of gene expression data, optimal thresholds for hit selection and network/pathway analysis. To evaluate the utility of CARD, we describe analysis of three genome-scale siRNA screens and demonstrate: (i) a significant increase both in selection of subsequently validated hits and in rejection of false positives, (ii) an increased overlap of hits from independent screens of the same biology and (iii) insight to microRNA (miRNA) activity based on siRNA seed enrichment.

An interactive web-based application for Comprehensive Analysis of RNAi-screen Data

PubMed Central

Dutta, Bhaskar; Azhir, Alaleh; Merino, Louis-Henri; Guo, Yongjian; Revanur, Swetha; Madhamshettiwar, Piyush B.; Germain, Ronald N.; Smith, Jennifer A.; Simpson, Kaylene J.; Martin, Scott E.; Beuhler, Eugen; Fraser, Iain D. C.

2016-01-01

RNAi screens are widely used in functional genomics. Although the screen data can be susceptible to a number of experimental biases, many of these can be corrected by computational analysis. For this purpose, here we have developed a web-based platform for integrated analysis and visualization of RNAi screen data named CARD (for Comprehensive Analysis of RNAi Data; available at https://card.niaid.nih.gov). CARD allows the user to seamlessly carry out sequential steps in a rigorous data analysis workflow, including normalization, off-target analysis, integration of gene expression data, optimal thresholds for hit selection and network/pathway analysis. To evaluate the utility of CARD, we describe analysis of three genome-scale siRNA screens and demonstrate: (i) a significant increase both in selection of subsequently validated hits and in rejection of false positives, (ii) an increased overlap of hits from independent screens of the same biology and (iii) insight to microRNA (miRNA) activity based on siRNA seed enrichment. PMID:26902267

The graphics and data acquisition software package

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crosier, W. G.

1981-01-01

A software package was developed for use with micro and minicomputers, particularly the LSI-11/DPD-11 series. The package has a number of Fortran-callable subroutines which perform a variety of frequently needed tasks for biomedical applications. All routines are well documented, flexible, easy to use and modify, and require minimal programmer knowledge of peripheral hardware. The package is also economical of memory and CPU time. A single subroutine call can perform any one of the following functions: (1) plot an array of integer values from sampled A/D data, (2) plot an array of Y values versus an array of X values; (3) draw horizontal and/or vertical grid lines of selectable type; (4) annotate grid lines with user units; (5) get coordinates of user controlled crosshairs from the terminal for interactive graphics; (6) sample any analog channel with program selectable gain; (7) wait a specified time interval, and (8) perform random access I/O of one or more blocks of a sequential disk file. Several miscellaneous functions are also provided.

Flow injection analysis of ethyl xanthate by gas diffusion and UV detection as CS2 for process monitoring of sulfide ore flotation.

PubMed

Cordeiro, Thiago G; Hidalgo, Pilar; Gutz, Ivano G R; Pedrotti, Jairo J

2010-07-15

A sensitive and robust analytical method for spectrophotometric determination of ethyl xanthate, CH(3)CH(2)OCS(2)(-) at trace concentrations in pulp solutions from froth flotation process is proposed. The analytical method is based on the decomposition of ethyl xanthate, EtX(-), with 2.0 mol L(-1) HCl generating ethanol and carbon disulfide, CS(2). A gas diffusion cell assures that only the volatile compounds diffuse through a PTFE membrane towards an acceptor stream of deionized water, thus avoiding the interferences of non-volatile compounds and suspended particles. The CS(2) is selectively detected by UV absorbance at 206 nm (epsilon=65,000 L mol(-1) cm(-1)). The measured absorbance is directly proportional to EtX(-) concentration present in the sample solutions. The Beer's law is obeyed in a 1x10(-6) to 2x10(-4) mol L(-1) concentration range of ethyl xanthate in the pulp with an excellent correlation coefficient (r=0.999) and a detection limit of 3.1x10(-7) mol L(-1), corresponding to 38 microg L(-1). At flow rates of 200 microL min(-1) of the donor stream and 100 microL min(-1) of the acceptor channel a sampling rate of 15 injections per hour could be achieved with RSD<2.3% (n=10, 300 microL injections of 1x10(-5) mol L(-1) EtX(-)). Two practical applications demonstrate the versatility of the FIA method: (i) evaluation the free EtX(-) concentration during a laboratory study of the EtX(-) adsorption capacity on pulverized sulfide ore (pyrite) and (ii) monitoring of EtX(-) at different stages (from starting load to washing effluents) of a flotation pilot plant processing a Cu-Zn sulfide ore. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis, biological evaluation, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies of three novel F-18 labeled and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) targeted 5-bromo pyrimidines as radiotracers for tumor.

PubMed

Fang, Yu; Wang, Dawei; Xu, Xingyu; Liu, Jianping; Wu, Aiqin; Li, Xiang; Xue, Qianqian; Wang, Huan; Wang, Hang; Zhang, Huabei

2017-02-15

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is considered as an attractive target for oncology. A series of F-18 labeled 5-bromo-N 2 -(4-(2-fluoro-pegylated (FPEG))-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N 4 -(4-methoxyphenyl)pyrimidine-2,4-diamine derivatives were prepared and evaluated as the FAK targeted radiotracers for the early diagnoses of tumor. For the study of the FAK targeted drug molecules, this was the first attempt to develop the tumor diagnostic imaging agents on the radiopharmaceutical level. They inhibited the activity of FAK with IC 50 in the range of 91.4-425.7 nM, and among which the result of the [ 19 F]2 was relatively good and had a modest IC 50 of 91.4 nM. The [ 19 F]2 was also profiled in vitro against some other kinds of cancer-related kinases (including two kinds of non-receptor tyrosine kinase: PYK2 and JAK2, and three kinds of receptor tyrosine kinase: IGF-1R, EGFR and PDGFRβ). It displayed 25.2 folds selectivity against PYK2, 35.1 folds selectivity against EGFR, and more than 100 folds selectivity against IGF-1R, JAK2 and PDGFRβ. For the biodistribution in S180 bearing mice, the corresponding [ 18 F]2 were also relatively good, with modest tumor uptake of 5.47 ± 0.19 and 5.80 ± 0.06 %ID/g at 15 and 30 min post-injection, respectively. Furthermore, its tumor/muscle, tumor/bone and tumor/blood ratio at 15 min post-injection were 3.16, 2.53 and 4.52, respectively. And its tumor/muscle, tumor/bone and tumor/blood ratio at 30 min post-injection were 3.14, 2.76 and 4.43, respectively. In addition, coronal micro-PET/CT images of a mouse bearing S180 tumor clearly confirmed that [ 18 F]2 could be accumulated in tumor, especially at 30 min post-injection. Besides, for the [ 18 F]2, both the biodistribution data and the micro-PET/CT imaging study showed significantly reduced uptake of the radiotracer in the tumor tissue at 30 min post-injection in mice that received PF-562,271 (one of the reported best selective FAK inhibitor which was developed by Pfitzer Inc. and inhibited the activity of FAK with IC 50 value of 1.5 nM) at 1 h before the injection of radiotracer. In combination with the above kinase profiling assay, it could be indicated that the uptake of [ 18 F]2 in tumor of the mouse model was due to FAK expression, and that [ 18 F]2 might be a kind of selectively FAK targeted tumor imaging agents. What's more, the results of the MD (molecular dynamics) simulations were in agreement with the changing trends of the interaction between the different F-19 standards and the FAK (expressed as the in vitro inhibitory abilities of enzymatic activities of FAK in this article), which was also in agreement with and had great effect on the changing trends of the uptake of the corresponding F-18 labeled tracers in tumor and some of theirs target/non-target ratios. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Solvent system selectivities in countercurrent chromatography using Salicornia gaudichaudiana metabolites as practical example with off-line electrospray mass-spectrometry injection profiling.

PubMed

Costa, Fernanda das Neves; Jerz, Gerold; Figueiredo, Fabiana de Souza; Winterhalter, Peter; Leitão, Gilda Guimarães

2015-03-13

For the development of an efficient two-stage isolation process for high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) with focus on principal metabolites from the ethyl acetate extract of the halophyte plant Salicornia gaudichaudiana, separation selectivities of two different biphasic solvent systems with similar polarities were evaluated using the elution and extrusion approach. Efficiency in isolation of target compounds is determined by the solvent system selectivity and their chronological use in multiple separation steps. The system n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (0.5:6:0.5:6, v/v/v/v) resulted in a comprehensive separation of polyphenolic glycosides. The system n-hexane-n-butanol-water (1:1:2, v/v/v) was less universal but was highly efficient in the fractionation of positional isomers such as di-substituted cinnamic acid quinic acid derivatives. Multiple metabolite detection performed on recovered HSCCC tube fractions was done with rapid mass-spectrometry profiling by sequential off-line injections to electrospray mass-spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Selective ion traces of metabolites delivered reconstituted preparative HSCCC runs. Molecular weight distribution of target compounds in single HSCCC tube fractions and MS/MS fragment data were available. Chromatographic areas with strong co-elution effects and fractions of pure recoverable compounds were visualized. In total 11 metabolites have been identified and monitored. Result of this approach was a fast isolation protocol for S. gaudichaudiana metabolites using two solvent systems in a strategic sequence. The process could easily be scaled-up to larger lab-scale or industrial recovery. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Oenological Potential of Hanseniaspora uvarum in Simultaneous and Sequential Co-fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Industrial Wine Production

PubMed Central

Tristezza, Mariana; Tufariello, Maria; Capozzi, Vittorio; Spano, Giuseppe; Mita, Giovanni; Grieco, Francesco

2016-01-01

In oenology, the utilization of mixed starter cultures composed by Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts is an approach of growing importance for winemakers in order to enhance sensory quality and complexity of the final product without compromising the general quality and safety of the oenological products. In fact, several non-Saccharomyces yeasts are already commercialized as oenological starter cultures to be used in combination with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, while several others are the subject of various studies to evaluate their application. Our aim, in this study was to assess, for the first time, the oenological potential of H. uvarum in mixed cultures (co-inoculation) and sequential inoculation with S. cerevisiae for industrial wine production. Three previously characterized H. uvarum strains were separately used as multi-starter together with an autochthonous S. cerevisiae starter culture in lab-scale micro-vinification trials. On the basis of microbial development, fermentation kinetics and secondary compounds formation, the strain H. uvarum ITEM8795 was further selected and it was co- and sequentially inoculated, jointly with the S. cerevisiae starter, in a pilot scale wine production. The fermentation course and the quality of final product indicated that the co-inoculation was the better performing modality of inoculum. The above results were finally validated by performing an industrial scale vinification The mixed starter was able to successfully dominate the different stages of the fermentation process and the H. uvarum strain ITEM8795 contributed to increasing the wine organoleptic quality and to simultaneously reduce the volatile acidity. At the best of our knowledge, the present report is the first study regarding the utilization of a selected H. uvarum strain in multi-starter inoculation with S. cerevisiae for the industrial production of a wine. In addition, we demonstrated, at an industrial scale, the importance of non-Saccharomyces in the design of tailored starter cultures for typical wines. PMID:27242698

The Oenological Potential of Hanseniaspora uvarum in Simultaneous and Sequential Co-fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Industrial Wine Production.

PubMed

Tristezza, Mariana; Tufariello, Maria; Capozzi, Vittorio; Spano, Giuseppe; Mita, Giovanni; Grieco, Francesco

2016-01-01

In oenology, the utilization of mixed starter cultures composed by Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts is an approach of growing importance for winemakers in order to enhance sensory quality and complexity of the final product without compromising the general quality and safety of the oenological products. In fact, several non-Saccharomyces yeasts are already commercialized as oenological starter cultures to be used in combination with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, while several others are the subject of various studies to evaluate their application. Our aim, in this study was to assess, for the first time, the oenological potential of H. uvarum in mixed cultures (co-inoculation) and sequential inoculation with S. cerevisiae for industrial wine production. Three previously characterized H. uvarum strains were separately used as multi-starter together with an autochthonous S. cerevisiae starter culture in lab-scale micro-vinification trials. On the basis of microbial development, fermentation kinetics and secondary compounds formation, the strain H. uvarum ITEM8795 was further selected and it was co- and sequentially inoculated, jointly with the S. cerevisiae starter, in a pilot scale wine production. The fermentation course and the quality of final product indicated that the co-inoculation was the better performing modality of inoculum. The above results were finally validated by performing an industrial scale vinification The mixed starter was able to successfully dominate the different stages of the fermentation process and the H. uvarum strain ITEM8795 contributed to increasing the wine organoleptic quality and to simultaneously reduce the volatile acidity. At the best of our knowledge, the present report is the first study regarding the utilization of a selected H. uvarum strain in multi-starter inoculation with S. cerevisiae for the industrial production of a wine. In addition, we demonstrated, at an industrial scale, the importance of non-Saccharomyces in the design of tailored starter cultures for typical wines.

Design of LabVIEW®-based software for the control of sequential injection analysis instrumentation for the determination of morphine

PubMed Central

Lenehan, Claire E.; Lewis, Simon W.

2002-01-01

LabVIEW®-based software for the automation of a sequential injection analysis instrument for the determination of morphine is presented. Detection was based on its chemiluminescence reaction with acidic potassium permanganate in the presence of sodium polyphosphate. The calibration function approximated linearity (range 5 × 10-10 to 5 × 10-6 M) with a line of best fit of y=1.05x+8.9164 (R2 =0.9959), where y is the log10 signal (mV) and x is the log10 morphine concentration (M). Precision, as measured by relative standard deviation, was 0.7% for five replicate analyses of morphine standard (5 × 10-8 M). The limit of detection (3σ) was determined as 5 × 10-11 M morphine. PMID:18924729

Design of LabVIEW-based software for the control of sequential injection analysis instrumentation for the determination of morphine.

PubMed

Lenehan, Claire E; Barnett, Neil W; Lewis, Simon W

2002-01-01

LabVIEW-based software for the automation of a sequential injection analysis instrument for the determination of morphine is presented. Detection was based on its chemiluminescence reaction with acidic potassium permanganate in the presence of sodium polyphosphate. The calibration function approximated linearity (range 5 x 10(-10) to 5 x 10(-6) M) with a line of best fit of y=1.05(x)+8.9164 (R(2) =0.9959), where y is the log10 signal (mV) and x is the log10 morphine concentration (M). Precision, as measured by relative standard deviation, was 0.7% for five replicate analyses of morphine standard (5 x 10(-8) M). The limit of detection (3sigma) was determined as 5 x 10(-11) M morphine.

Experimental analysis for fabrication of high-aspect-ratio piezoelectric ceramic structure by micro-powder injection molding process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Jun Sae; Gal, Chang Woo; Park, Jae Man; Kim, Jong Hyun; Park, Seong Jin

2018-04-01

Aspect ratio effects in the micro-powder injection molding process were experimentally analyzed for fabrication of high-aspect-ratio piezoelectric ceramic structure. The mechanisms of critical defects have been studied according to individual manufacturing steps. In the molding process, incomplete filling phenomenon determines the critical aspect ratios of a micro pattern. According to mold temperature, an incomplete filling phenomenon has been analyzed with respect to different pattern sizes and aspect ratio. In demolding and drying process, the capillary behavior of sacrificial polymeric mold insert determines the critical aspect ratio of a micro pattern. With respect to pattern dimensions, slumping behavior has been analyzed. Based on our current systems, micro PZT feature has stability when it has lower aspect ratio than 5. Under optimized processing conditions, 20 μm and 40 μm ceramic rod array feature which has 5 of aspect ratio were successfully fabricated by the developed process. Further modification points to fabricate the smaller and higher feature were specifically addressed.

Fabrication of high aspect ratio nanopillars and micro/nano combined structures with hydrophobic surface characteristics by injection molding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Mingyong; Xiong, Xiang; Jiang, Bingyan; Weng, Can

2018-01-01

Polymer products with micro/nano-structures have excellent mechanical and optical properties, chemical resistance, and other advantages. Injection molding is one of the most potential techniques to fabricate polymer products with micro/nano-structures artificially in large numbers. In this study, a surface approach to fabricate high aspect ratio nanopillars and micro/nano combined structures was presented. Mold insert with micropillar arrays and nanopillars on its surface was prepared by combing anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template and etched plate. Anti-sticking modification was done on the template to realize a better demolding quality. The influences of mold temperature and polymer material on the final replication quality were investigated. The results showed that the final replication quality of high aspect ratio nanopillars was greatly improved as compared with the unprocessed template. Polymer with low elongation at break was not suitable to fabricate structures with high aspect ratio via injection molding. For polypropylene surface, the experimental results of static contact angles were almost consistent with Cassie-Baxter equation. When the mold temperature reached 178 °C, hair-like polycarbonate nanopillars were observed, resulting in an excellent hydrophobic characteristic.

Effect of the masseter muscle injection of botulinum toxin A on the mandibular bone growth of developmental rats.

PubMed

Seok, Hyun; Kim, Seong-Gon; Kim, Min-Keun; Jang, Insan; Ahn, Janghoon

2018-12-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of masticatory muscle injection of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) on the growth of the mandibular bone in vivo. Eleven Sprague-Dawley rats were used, and BTX-A ( n  = 6) or saline ( n  = 5) was injected at 13 days of age. All injections were given to the right masseter muscle, and the BTX-A dose was 0.5 units. All of the rats were euthanized at 60 days of age. The skulls of the rats were separated and fixed with 10% formalin for micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) analysis. The anthropometric analysis found that the ramus heights and bigonial widths of the BTX-A-injected group were significantly smaller than those of the saline-injected group ( P  < 0.05), and the mandibular plane angle of the BTX-A-injected group was significantly greater than in the saline-injected group ( P  < 0.001). In the BTX-A-injected group, the ramus heights II and III and the mandibular plane angles I and II showed significant differences between the injected and non-injected sides ( P  < 0.05). The BTX-A-injected side of the mandible in the masseter group showed significantly lower mandibular bone growth compared with the non-injected side. BTX-A injection into the masseter muscle influences mandibular bone growth.

Delay test generation for synchronous sequential circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devadas, Srinivas

1989-05-01

We address the problem of generating tests for delay faults in non-scan synchronous sequential circuits. Delay test generation for sequential circuits is a considerably more difficult problem than delay testing of combinational circuits and has received much less attention. In this paper, we present a method for generating test sequences to detect delay faults in sequential circuits using the stuck-at fault sequential test generator STALLION. The method is complete in that it will generate a delay test sequence for a targeted fault given sufficient CPU time, if such a sequence exists. We term faults for which no delay test sequence exists, under out test methodology, sequentially delay redundant. We describe means of eliminating sequential delay redundancies in logic circuits. We present a partial-scan methodology for enhancing the testability of difficult-to-test of untestable sequential circuits, wherein a small number of flip-flops are selected and made controllable/observable. The selection process guarantees the elimination of all sequential delay redundancies. We show that an intimate relationship exists between state assignment and delay testability of a sequential machine. We describe a state assignment algorithm for the synthesis of sequential machines with maximal delay fault testability. Preliminary experimental results using the test generation, partial-scan and synthesis algorithm are presented.

Centrifugal sedimentation for selectively packing channels with silica microbeads in three-dimensional micro/nanofluidic devices.

PubMed

Gong, Maojun; Bohn, Paul W; Sweedler, Jonathan V

2009-03-01

Incorporation of nanofluidic elements into microfluidic channels is one approach for adding filtration and partition functionality to planar microfluidic devices, as well as providing enhanced biomolecular separations. Here we introduce a strategy to pack microfluidic channels with silica nanoparticles and microbeads, thereby indirectly producing functional nanostructures; the method allows selected channels to be packed, here demonstrated so that a separation channel is packed while keeping an injection channel unpacked. A nanocapillary array membrane is integrated between two patterned microfluidic channels that cross each other in vertically separated layers. The membrane serves both as a frit for bead packing and as a fluid communication conduit between microfluidic channels. Centrifugal force-assisted sedimentation is then used to selectively pack the microfluidic channels using an aqueous silica bead suspension loaded into the appropriate inlet reservoirs. This packing approach may be used to simultaneously pack multiple channels with silica microbeads having different sizes and surface properties. The chip design and packing method introduced here are suitable for packing silica particles in sizes ranging from nanometers to micrometers and allow rapid (approximately 10 min) packing with high quality. The liquid/analyte transport characteristics of these packed micro/nanofluidic devices have potential utility in a wide range of applications, including electroosmotic pumping, liquid chromatographic separations, and electrochromatography.

Micro-assembly of three-dimensional rotary MEMS mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Lidai; Mills, James K.; Cleghorn, William L.

2009-02-01

We present a novel approach to construct three-dimensional rotary micro-mirrors, which are fundamental components to build 1×N or N×M optical switching systems. A rotary micro-mirror consists of two microparts: a rotary micro-motor and a micro-mirror. Both of the two microparts are fabricated with PolyMUMPs, a surface micromachining process. A sequential robotic microassembly process is developed to join the two microparts together to construct a threedimensional device. In order to achieve high positioning accuracy and a strong mechanical connection, the micro-mirror is joined to the micro-motor using an adhesive mechanical fastener. The mechanical fastener has self-alignment ability and provides a temporary joint between the two microparts. The adhesive bonding can create a strong permanent connection, which does not require extra supporting plates for the micro-mirror. A hybrid manipulation strategy, which includes pick-and-place and pushing-based manipulations, is utilized to manipulation the micro-mirror. The pick-andplace manipulation has the ability to globally position the micro-mirror in six degrees of freedom. The pushing-based manipulation can achieve high positioning accuracy. This microassembly approach has great flexibility and high accuracy; furthermore, it does not require extra supporting plates, which greatly simplifies the assembly process.

Determination of essential elements in beverages, herbal infusions and dietary supplements using a new straightforward sequential approach based on flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

PubMed

Gómez-Nieto, Beatriz; Gismera, Mª Jesús; Sevilla, Mª Teresa; Procopio, Jesús R

2017-03-15

A simple method based on FAAS was developed for the sequential multi-element determination of Cu, Zn, Mn, Mg and Si in beverages and food supplements with successful results. The main absorption lines for Cu, Zn and Si and secondary lines for Mn and Mg were selected to carry out the measurements. The sample introduction was performed using a flow injection system. Using the choice of the absorption line wings, the upper limit of the linear range increased up to 110mgL -1 for Mg, 200mgL -1 for Si and 13mgL -1 for Zn. The determination of the five elements was carried out, in triplicate, without the need of additional sample dilutions and/or re-measurements, using less than 3.5mL of sample to perform the complete analysis. The LODs were 0.008mgL -1 for Cu, 0.017mgL -1 for Zn, 0.011mgL -1 for Mn, 0.16mgL -1 for Si and 0.11mgL -1 for Mg. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nuclear envelope breakdown and mitosis in sand dollar embryos is inhibited by microinjection of calcium buffers in a calcium-reversible fashion, and by antagonists of intracellular Ca2+ channels.

PubMed

Silver, R B

1989-01-01

Transient elevations in intracellular free Ca2+ are believed to signal the initiation of mitosis. This model predicts that mitosis might be arrested prior to nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB) or anaphase onset if intracellular Ca2+ concentration is buffered or dampened. Microinjection of a discrete dose of Ca2+ into the cell might then release the cell to resume mitotic cycling. Experimentally, one blastomere of two cell sand dollar (Echinaracnius parma) embryos was microinjected with Ca2+ buffers, Ca2+ solutions, or Ca2+ channel antagonists; the uninjected blastomere was the control. Cells were loaded with 10 pl doses of the Ca2+ buffer antipyrylazo III (ApIII) at specific times in the cell cycle to attempt a competitive inhibition of Ca2+-dependent steps in NEB and initiation of mitosis. Injection of 50 microM ApIII 6 min prior to NEB blocked NEB and further cell cycling. Injections of solutions between 0 and 30 microM ApIII were without observable effect. Control injections had no observable effect on the injected cell. Cells injected with 50 microM ApIII 2 min prior to the onset of anaphase in control cells were blocked in metaphase. Cells were sensitive to Ca2+ buffer injections 6 min prior to NEB (with a 40- to 45-sec duration), and 2 min prior to anaphase onset (with a 10- to 20-sec duration). Vital staining of these cells with H33342 demonstrated that they contained only one nucleus that had the same fluorescence intensity as seen prior to microinjection, and thus did not undergo DNA synthesis following the imposition of the Ca2+ buffer block to mitosis. Cells arrested in this fashion did not spontaneously resume mitotic cycling. This Ca2+ buffer-induced mitotic arrest was, however, experimentally reversible. Cells arrested with 50 microM ApIII 6 min prior to NEB could be returned to mitotic activity by injecting 300 microM CaCl2 5 min after the ApIII injection. The double injected cells resumed cycling, NEB, and mitosis after a delay of one cell cycle period, and remained one cell cycle out of phase with the sister (control) cell. Microinjection of antagonists of endomembrane Ca2+ channels inhibited NEB and anaphase onset in a concentration- and time-dependent fashion. The effective doses of compounds tested were 7 micrograms/ml ryanodine and 500 micrograms/ml TMB-8. These results indicate that a transient elevation of intracellular Ca2+ from endomembrane stores is required to initiate mitotic events, namely NEB and anaphase onset.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Micro-CT Based Experimental Liver Imaging Using a Nanoparticulate Contrast Agent: A Longitudinal Study in Mice

PubMed Central

Boll, Hanne; Nittka, Stefanie; Doyon, Fabian; Neumaier, Michael; Marx, Alexander; Kramer, Martin; Groden, Christoph; Brockmann, Marc A.

2011-01-01

Background Micro-CT imaging of liver disease in mice relies on high soft tissue contrast to detect small lesions like liver metastases. Purpose of this study was to characterize the localization and time course of contrast enhancement of a nanoparticular alkaline earth metal-based contrast agent (VISCOVER ExiTron nano) developed for small animal liver CT imaging. Methodology ExiTron nano 6000 and ExiTron nano 12000, formulated for liver/spleen imaging and angiography, respectively, were intravenously injected in C57BL/6J-mice. The distribution and time course of contrast enhancement were analysed by repeated micro-CT up to 6 months. Finally, mice developing liver metastases after intrasplenic injection of colon carcinoma cells underwent longitudinal micro-CT imaging after a single injection of ExiTron nano. Principal Findings After a single injection of ExiTron nano the contrast of liver and spleen peaked after 4–8 hours, lasted up to several months and was tolerated well by all mice. In addition, strong contrast enhancement of abdominal and mediastinal lymph nodes and the adrenal glands was observed. Within the first two hours after injection, particularly ExiTron nano 12000 provided pronounced contrast for imaging of vascular structures. ExiTron nano facilitated detection of liver metastases and provided sufficient contrast for longitudinal observation of tumor development over weeks. Conclusions The nanoparticulate contrast agents ExiTron nano 6000 and 12000 provide strong contrast of the liver, spleen, lymph nodes and adrenal glands up to weeks, hereby allowing longitudinal monitoring of pathological processes of these organs in small animals, with ExiTron nano 12000 being particularly optimized for angiography due to its very high initial vessel contrast. PMID:21984939

Chronic suppression of μ-opioid receptor signaling in the nucleus accumbens attenuates development of diet-induced obesity in rats.

PubMed

Lenard, N R; Zheng, H; Berthoud, H-R

2010-06-01

To test the hypothesis that micro-opioid receptor signaling in the nucleus accumbens contributes to hedonic (over)eating and obesity. To investigate the effects of chronic micro-opioid antagonism in the nucleus accumbens core or shell on intake of a palatable diet, and the development of diet-induced obesity in rats. Chronic blockade of micro-opioid receptor signaling in the nucleus accumbens core or shell was achieved by means of repeated injections (every 4-5 days) of the irreversible receptor antagonist beta-funaltrexamine (BFNA) over 3-5 weeks. The diet consisted of either a choice of high-fat chow, chocolate-flavored Ensure and regular chow (each nutritionally complete) or regular chow only. Intake of each food item, body weight and body fat mass were monitored throughout the study. The BFNA injections aimed at either the core or shell of the nucleus accumbens resulted in significantly attenuated intake of palatable diet, body weight gain and fat accretion, compared with vehicle control injections. The injection of BFNA in the core did not significantly change these parameters in chow-fed control rats. The injection of BFNA in the core and shell differentially affected intake of the two palatable food items: in the core, BFNA significantly reduced the intake of high-fat, but not of Ensure, whereas in the shell, it significantly reduced the intake of Ensure, but not of high-fat, compared with vehicle treatment. Endogenous micro-opioid receptor signaling in the nucleus accumbens core and shell is necessary for palatable diet-induced hyperphagia and obesity to fully develop in rats. Sweet and non-sweet fatty foods may be differentially processed in subcomponents of the ventral striatum.

Fabrication of robust tooling for mass production of polymeric microfluidic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, G.; Tor, S. B.; Loh, N. H.; Hardt, D. E.

2010-08-01

Polymer microfluidic devices are gaining popularity for bio-applications. In both commonly used methods for the fabrication of polymer microfluidic devices, i.e. injection molding and hot-embossing, the quality of a mold insert is of high importance. Micro powder injection molding (μPIM) provides a suitable option for metal mold insert fabrication. In this paper, two mold inserts with micro-features of different patterns and sizes were produced using 316L stainless steel powder and an in-house binder system. The mold inserts were successfully used to produce cyclic olefin copolymer (COC, trade name TOPAS) micromixer plates with micro-channels of widths 100 µm and 50 µm. Compared with CNC-machined hot work steel mold inserts, the quality of the micro-channels is better as far as geometrical quality and dimensional tolerance are concerned. However, surface finish and flatness of the μPIM mold inserts are inferior to those of CNC-machined mold inserts.

Vacuum injection of hydrogen micro-sphere beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trostell, Bertil

1995-02-01

The design, construction and operation of a facility producing hydrogen micro-sphere beams in vacuum are summarized. A scheme is utilized, where a liquid hydrogen jet is broken up into droplets, which are injected into vacuum through a capillary at continuum gas flow conditions. In a typical beam, 40 μm diameter micro-spheres, generated at a frequency of 70 kHz, travel at free flight speeds of 60 m/s. The angular divergence of the beam amounts to ±0.04°. The intention is to use the micro-sphere beams as high luminosity internal targets in the WASA experimental station at the CELSIUS cooler storage ring in Uppsala. A time averaged target density profile, having a FWHM and peak density of 3.5 mm and 5 × 10 16 atoms/cm 2, respectively, is obtained 2.5 m downstream of the capillary exit.

A Critical Review of the Impacts of Leaking CO 2 Gas and Brine on Groundwater Quality

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

Qafoku, Nikolla; Zheng, Liange; Bacon, Diana H.

2015-09-30

Geological carbon sequestration (GCS) is a global carbon emission reduction strategy involving the capture of CO 2 emitted from fossil fuel burning power plants, as well as the subsequent injection of the captured CO 2 gas into deep saline aquifers or depleted oil and gas reservoirs. A critical question that arises from the proposed GCS is the potential impacts of CO 2 injection on the quality of drinking-water systems overlying CO 2 sequestration storage sites. Although storage reservoirs are evaluated and selected based on their ability to safely and securely store emplaced fluids, leakage of CO 2 from storage reservoirsmore » is a primary risk factor and potential barrier to the widespread acceptance of geologic CO 2 sequestration (OR Harvey et al. 2013; Y-S Jun et al. 2013; DOE 2007). Therefore, a systematic understanding of how CO 2 leakage would affect the geochemistry of potable aquifers, and subsequently control or affect elemental and contaminant release via sequential and/or simultaneous abiotic and biotic processes and reactions is vital.« less

Tenascin-C Prevents Articular Cartilage Degeneration in Murine Osteoarthritis Models.

PubMed

Matsui, Yuriyo; Hasegawa, Masahiro; Iino, Takahiro; Imanaka-Yoshida, Kyoko; Yoshida, Toshimichi; Sudo, Akihiro

2018-01-01

Objective The objective of this study was to determine whether intra-articular injections of tenascin-C (TNC) could prevent cartilage damage in murine models of osteoarthritis (OA). Design Fluorescently labeled TNC was injected into knee joints and its distribution was examined at 1 day, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks postinjection. To investigate the effects of TNC on cartilage degeneration after surgery to knee joints, articular spaces were filled with 100 μg/mL (group I), 10 μg/mL (group II) of TNC solution, or control (group III). TNC solution of 10 μg/mL was additionally injected twice after 3 weeks (group IV) or weekly after 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks (group V). Joint tissues were histologically assessed using the Mankin score and the modified Chambers system at 2 to 8 weeks after surgery. Results Exogenous TNC was maintained in the cartilage and synovium for 1 week after administration. Histological scores in groups I and II were better than scores in group III at 4 and 6 weeks, but progressive cartilage damage was seen in all groups 8 weeks postoperatively. Sequential TNC injections (groups IV and V) showed significantly better Mankin score than single injection (group II) at 8 weeks. Conclusion TNC administered exogenously remained in the cartilage of knee joints for 1 week, and could decelerate articular cartilage degeneration in murine models of OA. We also showed that sequential administration of TNC was more effective than a single injection. TNC could be an important molecule for prevention of articular cartilage damage.

Study of Transport Characteristics of Motile Microorganisms Using Micro-Scale Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parashar, R.; Scheibe, T. D.; Plymale, A.; Hu, D.; Kelly, R.; Frederick, J. M.; Yang, X.; Sund, N. L.

2016-12-01

Accurate numerical models of microbial transport are needed to support design and evaluation of bioremediation implementations. A sequence of micro-scale experiments using advanced microfluidics and imaging techniques was conducted to quantify the movement patterns of individual microbes and their interactions with solid surfaces in unobstructed medium and simple pore geometries. The set of bacteria studied encompasses strictly anaerobic, facultatively anaerobic, fermentative, and facultatively autotrophic species, with capacities to reduce a range of metals and radionuclides, as well as nitrate, using a variety of electron donors, including acetate, lactate, carbohydrates, and molecular hydrogen. Motion of motile microorganisms recorded over time provides results that can be analyzed to determine the character and several statistical attributes of microbial motion. Individual tracks on the order of several seconds to a few minutes in duration are characterized to provide information on 1) the length (distance in microns) of microbial runs, 2) velocity distributions along individual trajectories, and 3) the angle between the directions of sequential runs. Analysis of the microbial trajectories elucidates parameters related to dynamics of their motion. Comparison of these parameters with those of a classical Brownian motion yields crucial information on selection of appropriate model to account for microbial motility in relevant applications.

Ultrasound - Aided ejection in micro injection molding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masato, D.; Sorgato, M.; Lucchetta, G.

2018-05-01

In this work, an ultrasound-aided ejection system was designed and tested for different polymers (PS, COC and POM) and mold topographies. The proposed solution aims at reducing the ejection friction by decreasing the adhesion component of the frictional force, which is controlled by the contact area developed during the filling stage of the injection molding process. The experimental results indicate a positive effect of ultrasound vibration on the friction force values, with a maximum reduction of 16. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the ultrasound effect is strictly related to both polymer selection and mold roughness. The combined effect on the ejection force of mold surface roughness, melt viscosity during filling and polymer elastic modulus at ejection was modeled to the experimental data, in order to demonstrate that the effect of ultrasound vibration on the ejection friction reduction is due to the heating of the contact interface and the consequent reduction of the polymer elastic modulus.

Highly selective solid-phase extraction and large volume injection for the robust gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of TCA and TBA in wines.

PubMed

Insa, S; Anticó, E; Ferreira, V

2005-09-30

A reliable solid-phase extraction (SPE) method for the simultaneous determination of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) and 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) in wines has been developed. In the proposed procedure 50 mL of wine are extracted in a 1 mL cartridge filled with 50 mg of LiChrolut EN resins. Most wine volatiles are washed up with 12.5 mL of a water:methanol solution (70%, v/v) containing 1% of NaHCO3. Analytes are further eluted with 0.6 mL of dichloromethane. A 40 microL aliquot of this extract is directly injected into a PTV injector operated in the solvent split mode, and analysed by gas chromatography (GC)-ion trap mass spectrometry using the selected ion storage mode. The solid-phase extraction, including sample volume and rinsing and elution solvents, and the large volume GC injection have been carefully evaluated and optimized. The resulting method is precise (RSD (%) < 6% at 100 ng L(-1)), sensitive (LOD were 0.2 and 0.4 ng/L for TCA and TBA, respectively), robust (the absolute recoveries of both analytes are higher than 80% and consistent wine to wine) and friendly to the GC-MS system (the extract is clean, simple and free from non-volatiles).

Analysis of Anthrax Immune Globulin Intravenous with Antimicrobial Treatment in Injection Drug Users, Scotland, 2009-2010.

PubMed

Cui, Xizhong; Nolen, Leisha D; Sun, Junfeng; Booth, Malcolm; Donaldson, Lindsay; Quinn, Conrad P; Boyer, Anne E; Hendricks, Katherine; Shadomy, Sean; Bothma, Pieter; Judd, Owen; McConnell, Paul; Bower, William A; Eichacker, Peter Q

2017-01-01

We studied anthrax immune globulin intravenous (AIG-IV) use from a 2009-2010 outbreak of Bacillus anthracis soft tissue infection in injection drug users in Scotland, UK, and we compared findings from 15 AIG-IV recipients with findings from 28 nonrecipients. Death rates did not differ significantly between recipients and nonrecipients (33% vs. 21%). However, whereas only 8 (27%) of 30 patients at low risk for death (admission sequential organ failure assessment score of 0-5) received AIG-IV, 7 (54%) of the 13 patients at high risk for death (sequential organ failure assessment score of 6-11) received treatment. AIG-IV recipients had surgery more often and, among survivors, had longer hospital stays than did nonrecipients. AIG-IV recipients were sicker than nonrecipients. This difference and the small number of higher risk patients confound assessment of AIG-IV effectiveness in this outbreak.

Aqueous nitrite ion determination by selective reduction and gas phase nitric oxide chemiluminescence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunham, A. J.; Barkley, R. M.; Sievers, R. E.; Clarkson, T. W. (Principal Investigator)

1995-01-01

An improved method of flow injection analysis for aqueous nitrite ion exploits the sensitivity and selectivity of the nitric oxide (NO) chemilluminescence detector. Trace analysis of nitrite ion in a small sample (5-160 microL) is accomplished by conversion of nitrite ion to NO by aqueous iodide in acid. The resulting NO is transported to the gas phase through a semipermeable membrane and subsequently detected by monitoring the photoemission of the reaction between NO and ozone (O3). Chemiluminescence detection is selective for measurement of NO, and, since the detection occurs in the gas-phase, neither sample coloration nor turbidity interfere. The detection limit for a 100-microL sample is 0.04 ppb of nitrite ion. The precision at the 10 ppb level is 2% relative standard deviation, and 60-180 samples can be analyzed per hour. Samples of human saliva and food extracts were analyzed; the results from a standard colorimetric measurement are compared with those from the new chemiluminescence method in order to further validate the latter method. A high degree of selectivity is obtained due to the three discriminating steps in the process: (1) the nitrite ion to NO conversion conditions are virtually specific for nitrite ion, (2) only volatile products of the conversion will be swept to the gas phase (avoiding turbidity or color in spectrophotometric methods), and (3) the NO chemiluminescence detector selectively detects the emission from the NO + O3 reaction. The method is free of interferences, offers detection limits of low parts per billion of nitrite ion, and allows the analysis of up to 180 microL-sized samples per hour, with little sample preparation and no chromatographic separation. Much smaller samples can be analyzed by this method than in previously reported batch analysis methods, which typically require 5 mL or more of sample and often need chromatographic separations as well.

INDUCED SEISMICITY. Seismicity triggered by fluid injection-induced aseismic slip.

PubMed

Guglielmi, Yves; Cappa, Frédéric; Avouac, Jean-Philippe; Henry, Pierre; Elsworth, Derek

2015-06-12

Anthropogenic fluid injections are known to induce earthquakes. The mechanisms involved are poorly understood, and our ability to assess the seismic hazard associated with geothermal energy or unconventional hydrocarbon production remains limited. We directly measure fault slip and seismicity induced by fluid injection into a natural fault. We observe highly dilatant and slow [~4 micrometers per second (μm/s)] aseismic slip associated with a 20-fold increase of permeability, which transitions to faster slip (~10 μm/s) associated with reduced dilatancy and micro-earthquakes. Most aseismic slip occurs within the fluid-pressurized zone and obeys a rate-strengthening friction law μ = 0.67 + 0.045ln(v/v₀) with v₀ = 0.1 μm/s. Fluid injection primarily triggers aseismic slip in this experiment, with micro-earthquakes being an indirect effect mediated by aseismic creep. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Micro-flow injection system for the urinary protein assay.

PubMed

Nishihama, Syouhei; Imabayashi, Hisano; Matoba, Tomoko; Toya, Chika; Watanabe, Kosuke; Yoshizuka, Kazuharu

2008-02-15

A urinary protein assay has been investigated, employing a micro-flow injection analysis (muFIA) combined with an adsorptive separation of protein from analyte. The adsorptive separation part of protein in the artificial urine with ceramic hydroxyapatite is integrated on the muFIA chip, since the interference of other components coexisting in urine occurs in the conventional FIA system. The typical FI peak can be obtained following the adsorption-elution process of the protein prior to the detection, and the protein concentration in artificial urine can be quantitatively determined.

Experiences from First Top-Off Injection at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource

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

Bauer, J.M.; Liu, J.C.; Prinz, A.

2009-12-11

As the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) is moving toward Top-Off injection mode, SLAC's Radiation Protection Department is working with SSRL on minimizing the radiological hazards of this mode. One such hazard is radiation that is created inside the accelerator concrete enclosure by injected beam. Since during Top-Off injection the stoppers that would otherwise isolate the storage ring from the experimental area stay open, the stoppers no longer prevent such radiation from reaching the experimental area. The level of this stray radiation was measured in April 2008 during the first Top-Off injection tests.more » They revealed radiation dose rates of up to 18 microSv/h (1.8 millirem/h) outside the experimental hutches, significantly higher than our goal of 1 microSv/h (0.1 millirem/h). Non-optimal injection increased the measured dose rates by a factor two. Further tests in 2008 indicated that subsequent improvements by SSRL to the injection system have reduced the dose rates to acceptable levels. This presentation describes the studies performed before the Top-Off tests, the tests themselves and their major results (both under initial conditions and after improvements were implemented), and presents the controls being implemented for full and routine Top-Off injection.« less

Automated 3D bioassembly of micro-tissues for biofabrication of hybrid tissue engineered constructs.

PubMed

Mekhileri, N V; Lim, K S; Brown, G C J; Mutreja, I; Schon, B S; Hooper, G J; Woodfield, T B F

2018-01-12

Bottom-up biofabrication approaches combining micro-tissue fabrication techniques with extrusion-based 3D printing of thermoplastic polymer scaffolds are emerging strategies in tissue engineering. These biofabrication strategies support native self-assembly mechanisms observed in developmental stages of tissue or organoid growth as well as promoting cell-cell interactions and cell differentiation capacity. Few technologies have been developed to automate the precise assembly of micro-tissues or tissue modules into structural scaffolds. We describe an automated 3D bioassembly platform capable of fabricating simple hybrid constructs via a two-step bottom-up bioassembly strategy, as well as complex hybrid hierarchical constructs via a multistep bottom-up bioassembly strategy. The bioassembly system consisted of a fluidic-based singularisation and injection module incorporated into a commercial 3D bioprinter. The singularisation module delivers individual micro-tissues to an injection module, for insertion into precise locations within a 3D plotted scaffold. To demonstrate applicability for cartilage tissue engineering, human chondrocytes were isolated and micro-tissues of 1 mm diameter were generated utilising a high throughput 96-well plate format. Micro-tissues were singularised with an efficiency of 96.0 ± 5.1%. There was no significant difference in size, shape or viability of micro-tissues before and after automated singularisation and injection. A layer-by-layer approach or aforementioned bottom-up bioassembly strategy was employed to fabricate a bilayered construct by alternatively 3D plotting a thermoplastic (PEGT/PBT) polymer scaffold and inserting pre-differentiated chondrogenic micro-tissues or cell-laden gelatin-based (GelMA) hydrogel micro-spheres, both formed via high-throughput fabrication techniques. No significant difference in viability between the construct assembled utilising the automated bioassembly system and manually assembled construct was observed. Bioassembly of pre-differentiated micro-tissues as well as chondrocyte-laden hydrogel micro-spheres demonstrated the flexibility of the platform while supporting tissue fusion, long-term cell viability, and deposition of cartilage-specific extracellular matrix proteins. This technology provides an automated and scalable pathway for bioassembly of both simple and complex 3D tissue constructs of clinically relevant shape and size, with demonstrated capability to facilitate direct spatial organisation and hierarchical 3D assembly of micro-tissue modules, ranging from biomaterial free cell pellets to cell-laden hydrogel formulations.

Durable and mass producible polymer surface structures with different combinations of micro-micro hierarchy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Yu; Suvanto, Mika; Pakkanen, Tapani A.

2016-01-01

Extensive studies have been performed with the aim of fabricating hierarchical surface structures inspired by nature. However, synthetic hierarchical structures have to sacrifice mechanical resistance to functionality by introducing finer scaled structures. Therefore, surfaces are less durable. Surface micro-micro hierarchy has been proven to be effective in replacing micro-nano hierarchy in the sense of superhydrophobicity. However, less attention has been paid to the combined micro-micro hierarchies with surface pillars and pits incorporated together. The fabrication of this type of hierarchy may be less straightforward, with the possibility of being a complicated multi-step process. In this study, we present a simple yet mass producible fabrication method for hierarchical structures with different combinations of surface pillars and pits. The fabrication was based on only one aluminum (Al) mold with sequential mountings. The fabricated structures exhibit high mechanical durability and structural stabilities with a normal load up to 100 kg. In addition, the theoretical estimation of the wetting state shows a promising way of stabilizing a water droplet on the surface pit structures with a more stable Cassie-Baxter state.

On-line hyphenation of solid-phase extraction to chromatographic separation of sulfonamides with fused-core columns in sequential injection chromatography.

PubMed

Batista, Alex D; Chocholouš, Petr; Satínský, Dalibor; Solich, Petr; Rocha, Fábio R P

2015-02-01

On-line sample pretreatment (clean-up and analyte preconcentration) is for the first time coupled to sequential injection chromatography. The approach combines anion-exchange solid-phase extraction and the highly effective pentafluorophenylpropyl (F5) fused-core particle column for separation of eight sulfonamide antibiotics with similar structures (sulfathiazole, sulfanilamide, sulfacetamide, sulfadiazine, sulfamerazine, sulfadimidine, sulfamethoxazole and sulfadimethoxine). The stationary phase was selected after a critical comparison of the performance achieved by three fused-core reversed phase columns (Ascentis(®) Express RP-Amide, Phenyl-Hexyl, and F5) and two monolithic columns (Chromolith(®) High Resolution RP-18 and CN). Acetonitrile and acetate buffer pH 5.0 at 0.60 mL min(-1) were used as mobile phase to perform the separations before spectrophotometric detection. The first mobile phase was successfully used as eluent from SPE column ensuring transfer of a narrow zone to the chromatographic column. Enrichment factors up to 39.2 were achieved with a 500 µL sample volume. The developed procedure showed analysis time <10.5 min, resolutions >1.83 with peak symmetry ≤1.52, LODs between 4.9 and 27 µg L(-1), linear response ranges from 30.0 to 1000.0 µg L(-1) (r(2)>0.996) and RSDs of peak heights <2.9% (n=6) at a 100 µg L(-1) level and enabled the screening control of freshwater samples contaminated at the 100 µg L(-1) level. The proposed approach expanded the analytical potentiality of SIC and avoided the time-consuming batch sample pretreatment step, thus minimizing risks of sample contamination and analyte losses. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Concomitant or sequential administration of live attenuated Japanese encephalitis chimeric virus vaccine and yellow fever 17D vaccine: randomized double-blind phase II evaluation of safety and immunogenicity.

PubMed

Nasveld, Peter E; Marjason, Joanne; Bennett, Sonya; Aaskov, John; Elliott, Suzanne; McCarthy, Karen; Kanesa-Thasan, Niranjan; Feroldi, Emmanuel; Reid, Mark

2010-11-01

A randomized, double-blind, study was conducted to evaluate the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of a live attenuated Japanese encephalitis chimeric virus vaccine (JE-CV) co-administered with live attenuated yellow fever vaccine (YF-17D strain; Stamaril®, Sanofi Pasteur) or administered successively. Participants (n = 108) were randomized to receive: YF followed by JE-CV 30 days later, JE followed by YF 30 days later, or the co-administration of JE and YF followed or preceded by placebo 30 days later or earlier. Placebo was used in a double-dummy fashion to ensure masking. Neutralizing antibody titers against JE-CV, YF-17D and selected wild-type JE strains was determined using a 50% serum-dilution plaque reduction neutralization test. Seroconversion was defined as the appearance of a neutralizing antibody titer above the assay cut-off post-immunization when not present pre-injection at day 0, or a least a four-fold rise in neutralizing antibody titer measured before the pre-injection day 0 and later post vaccination samples. There were no serious adverse events. Most adverse events (AEs) after JE vaccination were mild to moderate in intensity, and similar to those reported following YF vaccination. Seroconversion to JE-CV was 100% and 91% in the JE/YF and YF/JE sequential vaccination groups, respectively, compared with 96% in the co-administration group. All participants seroconverted to YF vaccine and retained neutralizing titers above the assay cut-off at month six. Neutralizing antibodies against JE vaccine were detected in 82-100% of participants at month six. These results suggest that both vaccines may be successfully co-administered simultaneously or 30 days apart.

Fully automated analytical procedure for propofol determination by sequential injection technique with spectrophotometric and fluorimetric detections.

PubMed

Šrámková, Ivana; Amorim, Célia G; Sklenářová, Hana; Montenegro, Maria C B M; Horstkotte, Burkhard; Araújo, Alberto N; Solich, Petr

2014-01-01

In this work, an application of an enzymatic reaction for the determination of the highly hydrophobic drug propofol in emulsion dosage form is presented. Emulsions represent a complex and therefore challenging matrix for analysis. Ethanol was used for breakage of a lipid emulsion, which enabled optical detection. A fully automated method based on Sequential Injection Analysis was developed, allowing propofol determination without the requirement of tedious sample pre-treatment. The method was based on spectrophotometric detection after the enzymatic oxidation catalysed by horseradish peroxidase and subsequent coupling with 4-aminoantipyrine leading to a coloured product with an absorbance maximum at 485 nm. This procedure was compared with a simple fluorimetric method, which was based on the direct selective fluorescence emission of propofol in ethanol at 347 nm. Both methods provide comparable validation parameters with linear working ranges of 0.005-0.100 mg mL(-1) and 0.004-0.243 mg mL(-1) for the spectrophotometric and fluorimetric methods, respectively. The detection and quantitation limits achieved with the spectrophotometric method were 0.0016 and 0.0053 mg mL(-1), respectively. The fluorimetric method provided the detection limit of 0.0013 mg mL(-1) and limit of quantitation of 0.0043 mg mL(-1). The RSD did not exceed 5% and 2% (n=10), correspondingly. A sample throughput of approx. 14 h(-1) for the spectrophotometric and 68 h(-1) for the fluorimetric detection was achieved. Both methods proved to be suitable for the determination of propofol in pharmaceutical formulation with average recovery values of 98.1 and 98.5%. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Method of selective reduction of halodisilanes with alkyltin hydrides

DOEpatents

D'Errico, John J.; Sharp, Kenneth G.

1989-01-01

The invention relates to the selective and sequential reduction of halodisilanes by reacting these compounds at room temperature or below with trialkyltin hydrides or dialkyltin dihydrides without the use of free radical intermediates. The alkyltin hydrides selectively and sequentially reduce the Si-Cl, Si-Br or Si-I bonds while leaving intact the Si-Si and Si-F bonds present.

Drug delivery into the cochlear apex: Improved control to sequentially affect finely spaced regions along the entire length of the cochlear spiral.

PubMed

Lichtenhan, J T; Hartsock, J; Dornhoffer, J R; Donovan, K M; Salt, A N

2016-11-01

Administering pharmaceuticals to the scala tympani of the inner ear is a common approach to study cochlear physiology and mechanics. We present here a novel method for in vivo drug delivery in a controlled manner to sealed ears. Injections of ototoxic solutions were applied from a pipette sealed into a fenestra in the cochlear apex, progressively driving solutions along the length of scala tympani toward the cochlear aqueduct at the base. Drugs can be delivered rapidly or slowly. In this report we focus on slow delivery in which the injection rate is automatically adjusted to account for varying cross sectional area of the scala tympani, therefore driving a solution front at uniform rate. Objective measurements originating from finely spaced, low- to high-characteristic cochlear frequency places were sequentially affected. Comparison with existing methods(s): Controlled administration of pharmaceuticals into the cochlear apex overcomes a number of serious limitations of previously established methods such as cochlear perfusions with an injection pipette in the cochlear base: The drug concentration achieved is more precisely controlled, drug concentrations remain in scala tympani and are not rapidly washed out by cerebrospinal fluid flow, and the entire length of the cochlear spiral can be treated quickly or slowly with time. Controlled administration of solutions into the cochlear apex can be a powerful approach to sequentially effect objective measurements originating from finely spaced cochlear regions and allows, for the first time, the spatial origin of CAPs to be objectively defined. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Drug delivery into the cochlear apex: Improved control to sequentially affect finely spaced regions along the entire length of the cochlear spiral

PubMed Central

Lichtenhan, JT; Hartsock, J; Dornhoffer, JR; Donovan, KM; Salt, AN

2016-01-01

Background Administering pharmaceuticals to the scala tympani of the inner ear is a common approach to study cochlear physiology and mechanics. We present here a novel method for in vivo drug delivery in a controlled manner to sealed ears. New method Injections of ototoxic solutions were applied from a pipette sealed into a fenestra in the cochlear apex, progressively driving solutions along the length of scala tympani toward the cochlear aqueduct at the base. Drugs can be delivered rapidly or slowly. In this report we focus on slow delivery in which the injection rate is automatically adjusted to account for varying cross sectional area of the scala tympani, therefore driving a solution front at uniform rate. Results Objective measurements originating from finely spaced, low- to high-characteristic cochlear frequency places were sequentially affected. Comparison with existing methods(s): Controlled administration of pharmaceuticals into the cochlear apex overcomes a number of serious limitations of previously established methods such as cochlear perfusions with an injection pipette in the cochlear base: The drug concentration achieved is more precisely controlled, drug concentrations remain in scala tympani and are not rapidly washed out by cerebrospinal fluid flow, and the entire length of the cochlear spiral can be treated quickly or slowly with time. Conclusions Controlled administration of solutions into the cochlear apex can be a powerful approach to sequentially effect objective measurements originating from finely spaced cochlear regions and allows, for the first time, the spatial origin of CAPs to be objectively defined. PMID:27506463

Acoustic trapping in bubble-bounded micro-cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Mahoney, P.; McDougall, C.; Glynne-Jones, P.; MacDonald, M. P.

2016-12-01

We present a method for controllably producing longitudinal acoustic trapping sites inside microfluidic channels. Air bubbles are injected into a micro-capillary to create bubble-bounded `micro-cavities'. A cavity mode is formed that shows controlled longitudinal acoustic trapping between the two air/water interfaces along with the levitation to the centre of the channel that one would expect from a lower order lateral mode. 7 μm and 10 μm microspheres are trapped at the discrete acoustic trapping sites in these micro-cavities.We show this for several lengths of micro-cavity.

Application of in vivo micro-computed tomography in the temporal characterisation of subchondral bone architecture in a rat model of low-dose monosodium iodoacetate-induced osteoarthritis

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Introduction Osteoarthritis (OA) is a complex, multifactorial joint disease affecting both the cartilage and the subchondral bone. Animal models of OA aid in the understanding of the pathogenesis of OA and testing suitable drugs for OA treatment. In this study we characterized the temporal changes in the tibial subchondral bone architecture in a rat model of low-dose monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced OA using in vivo micro-computed tomography (CT). Methods Male Wistar rats received a single intra-articular injection of low-dose MIA (0.2 mg) in the right knee joint and sterile saline in the left knee joint. The animals were scanned in vivo by micro-CT at two, six, and ten weeks post-injection, analogous to early, intermediate, and advanced stages of OA, to assess architectural changes in the tibial subchondral bone. The articular cartilage changes in the tibiae were assessed macroscopically and histologically at ten weeks post-injection. Results Interestingly, tibiae of the MIA-injected knees showed significant bone loss at two weeks, followed by increased trabecular thickness and separation at six and ten weeks. The trabecular number was decreased at all time points compared to control tibiae. The tibial subchondral plate thickness of the MIA-injected knee was increased at two and six weeks and the plate porosity was increased at all time points compared to control. At ten weeks, histology revealed loss of proteoglycans, chondrocyte necrosis, chondrocyte clusters, cartilage fibrillation, and delamination in the MIA-injected tibiae, whereas the control tibiae showed no changes. Micro-CT images and histology showed the presence of subchondral bone sclerosis, cysts, and osteophytes. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that the low-dose MIA rat model closely mimics the pathological features of progressive human OA. The low-dose MIA rat model is therefore suitable to study the effect of therapeutic drugs on cartilage and bone in a non-trauma model of OA. In vivo micro-CT is a non-destructive imaging technique that can track structural changes in the tibial subchondral bone in this animal model, and could also be used to track changes in bone in preclinical drug intervention studies for OA treatments. PMID:22185204

Flow-injection determination of trace hydrogen peroxide or glucose utilizing an amperometric biosensor based on glucose oxidase bound to a reticulated vitreous carbon electrode.

PubMed

Khayyami, M; Johansson, G; Kriz, D; Xie, B; Larsson, P O; Danielsson, B

1996-06-01

An electron transfer mediator, 8-dimethylamino-2,3-benzophenoxazine (Meldola Blue), dissolved in the carrier solution in a flow-injection system, was found to reduce the oxidation potential for hydrogen peroxide from 600-1200 mV without mediator to-100 mV vs. Ag/AgCl with the mediator present. The very low background current of reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) at this potential makes it possible to detect very low levels of hydrogen peroxide or glucose. Glucose oxidase was covalently coupled with carbodiimide to RVC, and the RVC was formed into a column inserted in a flow-injection system. The calibration curve was linear from 30 nM to 10 microM glucose with 5 microM mediator. At higher mediator concentrations, the linear range was extended to 1000 microM, but with a much higher background current. The sample throughput was about 60 h(-1). The current response decreased to 50% of the original response after 20 days. The coulometric yield was high because the sample was pumped through the pores of the RVC. It was 16% and 55% at a flow rate of 1 ml min(-1) at mediator concentrations of 5 and 50 microM respectively.

Advantages of core-shell particle columns in Sequential Injection Chromatography for determination of phenolic acids.

PubMed

Chocholouš, Petr; Vacková, Jana; Srámková, Ivana; Satínský, Dalibor; Solich, Petr

2013-01-15

Currently, for Sequential Injection Chromatography (SIC), only reversed phase C18 columns have been used for chromatographic separations. This article presents the first use of three different stationary phases: three core-shell particle-packed reversed phase columns in flow systems. The aim of this work was to extend the chromatographic capabilities of the SIC system. Despite the particle-packed columns reaching system pressures of ≤ 610 PSI, their conditions matched those of a commercially produced and optimised SIC system (SIChrom™ (FIAlab(®), USA)) with a 8-port high-pressure selection valve and medium-pressure Sapphire™ syringe pump with a 4 mL reservoir and maximum system pressure of ≤ 1000 PSI. The selectivity of each of the tested columns, Ascentis(®) Express RP-Amide, Ascentis(®) Express Phenyl-Hexyl and Ascentis(®) Express C18 (30 mm × 4.6mm, core-shell particle size 2.7 μm), was compared by their ability to separate seven phenolic acids that are secondary metabolite substances widely distributed in plants. The separations of all of the components were performed by isocratic elution using binary mobile phases composed of acetonitrile and 0.065% phosphoric acid at pH 2.4 (a specific ratio was used for each column) at a flow-rate of 0.60 mL/min. The volume of the mobile phase was 3.8 mL for each separation. The injection volume of the sample was 10 μL for each separation. The UV detection wavelengths were set to 250, 280 and 325 nm. The RP-Amide column provided the highest chromatographic resolution and allowed for complete baseline separation of protocatechuic, syringic, vanillic, ferulic, sinapinic, p-coumaric and o-coumaric acids. The Phenyl-Hexyl and C18 columns were unable to completely separate the tested mixture, syringic and vanillic acid and ferulic and sinapinic acids could not be separated from one another. The analytical parameters were a LOD of 0.3 mg L(-1), a LOQ of 1.0 mg L(-1), a calibration range of 1.0-50.0 (100.0) mg L(-1) (r>0.997) and a system precision of 10 mg L(-1) with a RSD ≤ 1.65%. The high performance of the chromatography process with the RP-Amide column under optimised conditions was highlighted and well documented (HETP values ≤ 10 μm, peak symmetry ≤ 1.33, resolution ≥ 1.87 and time for one analysis <8.0 min). The results of these experiments confirmed the benefits of extending chromatographic selectivity using core-shell particle column technology in a SIC manifold. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of Sequential Extractions and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy to Determine the Speciation of Chromium in Northern New Jersey Marsh Soils Developed in Chromite ore Processing Residue (COPR)

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

Elzinga, E.; Cirmo, A

2010-01-01

The Cr speciation in marsh soils developed in weathering chromite ore processing residue (COPR) was characterized using sequential extractions and synchrotron microbeam and bulk X-ray absorption spectroscopic (XAS) analyses. The sequential extractions suggested substantial Cr associated with reducible and oxidizable soil components, and significant non-extractable residual Cr. Notable differences in Cr speciation estimates from three extraction schemes underscore the operationally defined nature of Cr speciation provided by these methods. Micro X-ray fluorescence maps and {mu}-XAS data indicated the presence of {micro}m-sized chromite particles scattered throughout the weathered COPR matrix. These particles derive from the original COPR material, and have relativelymore » high resistance towards weathering, and therefore persist even after prolonged leaching. Bulk XAS data further indicated Cr(III) incorporated in Fe(OH){sub 3}, and Cr(III) associated with organic matter. The low Cr contents of the weathered material (200-850 ppm) compared to unweathered COPR (20,000-60,000 ppm) point to substantial Cr leaching during COPR weathering, with partial repartitioning of released Cr into secondary Fe(OH){sub 3} phases and organics. The effects of anoxia on Cr speciation, and the potential of active COPR weathering releasing Cr(VI) deeper in the profile require further study.« less

Safety evaluation of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/poly(lactic-acid) microspheres through intravitreal injection in rabbits.

PubMed

Rong, Xianfang; Yuan, Weien; Lu, Yi; Mo, Xiaofen

2014-01-01

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and/or poly(lactic-acid) (PLA) microspheres are important drug delivery systems. This study investigated eye biocompatibility and safety of PLGA/PLA microspheres through intravitreal injection in rabbits. Normal New Zealand rabbits were randomly selected and received intravitreal administration of different doses (low, medium, or high) of PLGA/PLA microspheres and erythropoietin-loaded PLGA/PLA microspheres. The animals were clinically examined and sacrificed at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks postadministration, and retinal tissues were prepared for analysis. Retinal reactions to the microspheres were evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end staining and glial fibrillary acidic protein immunohistochemistry. Retinal structure changes were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining and transmission electron microscopy. Finally, retinal function influences were explored by the electroretinography test. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end staining revealed no apoptotic cells in the injected retinas; immunohistochemistry did not detect any increased glial fibrillary acidic protein expression. Hematoxylin and eosin staining and transmission electron microscopy revealed no micro- or ultrastructure changes in the retinas at different time points postintravitreal injection. The electroretinography test showed no significant influence of scotopic or photopic amplitudes. The results demonstrated that PLGA/PLA microspheres did not cause retinal histological changes or functional damage and were biocompatible and safe enough for intravitreal injection in rabbits for controlled drug delivery.

The influence of the selection of macronutrients coupled with dietary energy density on the performance of broiler chickens.

PubMed

Liu, Sonia Y; Chrystal, Peter V; Cowieson, Aaron J; Truong, Ha H; Moss, Amy F; Selle, Peter H

2017-01-01

A total of 360 male Ross 308 broiler chickens were used in a feeding study to assess the influence of macronutrients and energy density on feed intakes from 10 to 31 days post-hatch. The study comprised ten dietary treatments from five dietary combinations and two feeding approaches: sequential and choice feeding. The study included eight experimental diets and each dietary combination was made from three experimental diets. Choice fed birds selected between three diets in separate feed trays at the same time; whereas the three diets were offered to sequentially fed birds on an alternate basis during the experimental period. There were no differences between starch and protein intakes between choice and sequentially fed birds (P > 0.05) when broiler chickens selected between diets with different starch, protein and lipid concentrations. When broiler chickens selected between diets with different starch and protein but similar lipid concentrations, both sequentially and choice fed birds selected similar ratios of starch and protein intake (P > 0.05). However, when broiler chickens selected from diets with different protein and lipid but similar starch concentrations, choice fed birds had higher lipid intake (129 versus 118 g/bird, P = 0.027) and selected diets with lower protein concentrations (258 versus 281 g/kg, P = 0.042) than birds offered sequential diet options. Choice fed birds had greater intakes of the high energy diet (1471 g/bird, P < 0.0001) than low energy (197 g/bird) or medium energy diets (663 g/bird) whilst broiler chickens were offered diets with different energy densities but high crude protein (300 g/kg) or digestible lysine (17.5 g/kg) concentrations. Choice fed birds had lower FCR (1.217 versus 1.327 g/g, P < 0.0001) and higher carcass yield (88.1 versus 87.3%, P = 0.012) than sequentially fed birds. This suggests that the dietary balance between protein and energy is essential for optimal feed conversion efficiency. The intake path of macronutrients from 10-31 days in choice and sequential feeding groups were plotted and compared with the null path if broiler chickens selected equal amounts of the three diets in the combination. Regardless of feeding regimen, the intake paths of starch and protein are very close to the null path; however, lipid and protein intake paths in choice fed birds are father from the null path than sequentially fed birds.

The influence of the selection of macronutrients coupled with dietary energy density on the performance of broiler chickens

PubMed Central

Chrystal, Peter V.; Cowieson, Aaron J.; Truong, Ha H.; Moss, Amy F.; Selle, Peter H.

2017-01-01

A total of 360 male Ross 308 broiler chickens were used in a feeding study to assess the influence of macronutrients and energy density on feed intakes from 10 to 31 days post-hatch. The study comprised ten dietary treatments from five dietary combinations and two feeding approaches: sequential and choice feeding. The study included eight experimental diets and each dietary combination was made from three experimental diets. Choice fed birds selected between three diets in separate feed trays at the same time; whereas the three diets were offered to sequentially fed birds on an alternate basis during the experimental period. There were no differences between starch and protein intakes between choice and sequentially fed birds (P > 0.05) when broiler chickens selected between diets with different starch, protein and lipid concentrations. When broiler chickens selected between diets with different starch and protein but similar lipid concentrations, both sequentially and choice fed birds selected similar ratios of starch and protein intake (P > 0.05). However, when broiler chickens selected from diets with different protein and lipid but similar starch concentrations, choice fed birds had higher lipid intake (129 versus 118 g/bird, P = 0.027) and selected diets with lower protein concentrations (258 versus 281 g/kg, P = 0.042) than birds offered sequential diet options. Choice fed birds had greater intakes of the high energy diet (1471 g/bird, P < 0.0001) than low energy (197 g/bird) or medium energy diets (663 g/bird) whilst broiler chickens were offered diets with different energy densities but high crude protein (300 g/kg) or digestible lysine (17.5 g/kg) concentrations. Choice fed birds had lower FCR (1.217 versus 1.327 g/g, P < 0.0001) and higher carcass yield (88.1 versus 87.3%, P = 0.012) than sequentially fed birds. This suggests that the dietary balance between protein and energy is essential for optimal feed conversion efficiency. The intake path of macronutrients from 10–31 days in choice and sequential feeding groups were plotted and compared with the null path if broiler chickens selected equal amounts of the three diets in the combination. Regardless of feeding regimen, the intake paths of starch and protein are very close to the null path; however, lipid and protein intake paths in choice fed birds are father from the null path than sequentially fed birds. PMID:29053729

Provoking Reflective Thinking in Post Observation Conversations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Younhee; Silver, Rita Elaine

2016-01-01

We present a micro-analysis of post observation conversations between classroom teachers and mentors. Using the approach of conversation analysis, we show how the sequential organization of an episode (i.e., who initiates the interaction, question format used by mentors) could potentially serve to provoke or hinder teacher reflection. Our analysis…

Applying a foil queue micro-electrode in micro-EDM to fabricate a 3D micro-structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Bin; Guo, Kang; Wu, Xiao-yu; Lei, Jian-guo; Liang, Xiong; Guo, Deng-ji; Ma, Jiang; Cheng, Rong

2018-05-01

Applying a 3D micro-electrode in a micro electrical discharge machining (micro-EDM) can fabricate a 3D micro-structure with an up and down reciprocating method. However, this processing method has some shortcomings, such as a low success rate and a complex process for fabrication of 3D micro-electrodes. By focusing on these shortcomings, this paper proposed a novel 3D micro-EDM process based on the foil queue micro-electrode. Firstly, a 3D micro-electrode was discretized into several foil micro-electrodes and these foil micro-electrodes constituted a foil queue micro-electrode. Then, based on the planned process path, foil micro-electrodes were applied in micro-EDM sequentially and the micro-EDM results of each foil micro-electrode were able to superimpose the 3D micro-structure. However, the step effect will occur on the 3D micro-structure surface, which has an adverse effect on the 3D micro-structure. To tackle this problem, this paper proposes to reduce this adverse effect by rounded corner wear at the end of the foil micro-electrode and studies the impact of machining parameters on rounded corner wear and the step effect on the micro-structure surface. Finally, using a wire cutting voltage of 80 V, a current of 0.5 A and a pulse width modulation ratio of 1:4, the foil queue micro-electrode was fabricated by wire electrical discharge machining. Also, using a pulse width of 100 ns, a pulse interval of 200 ns, a voltage of 100 V and workpiece material of 304# stainless steel, the foil queue micro-electrode was applied in micro-EDM for processing of a 3D micro-structure with hemispherical features, which verified the feasibility of this process.

Effects of Injected CO2 on Geomechanical Properties Due to Mineralogical Changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, B. N.; Hou, Z.; Bacon, D. H.; Murray, C. J.; White, J. A.

2013-12-01

Long-term injection and storage of CO2 in deep underground reservoirs may significantly modify the geomechanical behavior of rocks since CO2 can react with the constituent phases of reservoir rocks and modify their composition. This can lead to modifications of their geomechanical properties (i.e., elastic moduli, Biot's coefficients, and permeability). Modifications of rock geomechanical properties have important consequences as these directly control stress and strain distributions, affect conditions for fracture initiation and development and/or fault healing. This paper attempts to elucidate the geochemical effects of CO2 on geomechanical properties of typical reservoir rocks by means of numerical analyses using the STOMP-ABAQUS sequentially coupled simulator that includes the capability to handle geomechanics and the reactive transport of CO2 together with a module (EMTA) to compute the homogenized rock poroelastic properties as a function of composition changes. EMTA, a software module developed at PNNL, implements the standard and advanced Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka approaches to compute the thermoelastic properties of composite materials. In this work, EMTA will be implemented in the coupled STOMP-ABAQUS simulator as a user subroutine of ABAQUS and used to compute local elastic stiffness based on rock composition. Under the STOMP-ABAQUS approach, STOMP models are built to simulate aqueous and CO2 multiphase fluid flows, and relevant chemical reactions of pore fluids with minerals in the reservoirs. The ABAQUS models then read STOMP output data for cell center coordinates, gas pressures, aqueous pressures, temperatures, saturations, constituent volume fractions, as well as permeability and porosity that are affected by chemical reactions. These data are imported into ABAQUS meshes using a mapping procedure developed for the exchange of data between STOMP and ABAQUS. Constitutive models implemented in ABAQUS via user subroutines then compute stiffness, stresses, strains, pore pressure, permeability, porosity, and capillary pressure, and return updated permeability, porosity, and capillary pressure to STOMP at selected times. In preliminary work, the enhanced STOMP-ABAQUS sequentially coupled approach is validated and illustrated in an example analysis of a cylindrical rock specimen subjected to axial loading, confining pressure, and CO2 fluid injection. The geomechanical analysis accounting for CO2 reactions with rock constituents is compared to that without chemical reactions to elucidate the geochemical effects of injected CO2 on the response of the reservoir rock to stress.

Sparse generalized linear model with L0 approximation for feature selection and prediction with big omics data.

PubMed

Liu, Zhenqiu; Sun, Fengzhu; McGovern, Dermot P

2017-01-01

Feature selection and prediction are the most important tasks for big data mining. The common strategies for feature selection in big data mining are L 1 , SCAD and MC+. However, none of the existing algorithms optimizes L 0 , which penalizes the number of nonzero features directly. In this paper, we develop a novel sparse generalized linear model (GLM) with L 0 approximation for feature selection and prediction with big omics data. The proposed approach approximate the L 0 optimization directly. Even though the original L 0 problem is non-convex, the problem is approximated by sequential convex optimizations with the proposed algorithm. The proposed method is easy to implement with only several lines of code. Novel adaptive ridge algorithms ( L 0 ADRIDGE) for L 0 penalized GLM with ultra high dimensional big data are developed. The proposed approach outperforms the other cutting edge regularization methods including SCAD and MC+ in simulations. When it is applied to integrated analysis of mRNA, microRNA, and methylation data from TCGA ovarian cancer, multilevel gene signatures associated with suboptimal debulking are identified simultaneously. The biological significance and potential clinical importance of those genes are further explored. The developed Software L 0 ADRIDGE in MATLAB is available at https://github.com/liuzqx/L0adridge.

Micro-columns packed with Chlorella vulgaris immobilised on silica gel for mercury speciation.

PubMed

Tajes-Martínez, P; Beceiro-González, E; Muniategui-Lorenzo, S; Prada-Rodríguez, D

2006-02-28

A method has been developed for mercury speciation in water by using columns packed with Chlorella vulgaris immobilised on silica gel. The method involves the retention of CH(3)Hg(+) and Hg(2+) in micro-columns prepared by packing immobilised algae in polypropylene tubes, followed by selective and sequential elution with 0.03 and 1.5M HCl for CH(3)Hg(+) and Hg(2+), respectively. The adsorption capacity of the micro-algae for Hg(2+) and CH(3)Hg(+) has been evaluated using free and immobilised C. vulgaris. The efficiency uptake for both species at pH 3 was higher than 97%. Studies were carried out on the effect of retention and elution conditions for both species. Furthermore, the stability of mercury species retained on algae-silica gel micro-columns and lifetime of the columns were also investigated. Hg(2+) showed a higher stability than CH(3)Hg(+) at 0 degrees C (21 and 3 days, respectively) and a better lifetime than for the organic species. The developed method was applied to the analysis of spiked tap, sea and wastewater samples. Recovery studies on tap and filtered seawater provided results between 96+/-3 and 106+/-2 for Hg(2+) and from 98+/-5 to 107+/-5 for CH(3)Hg(+), for samples spiked with single species. For samples spiked with both CH(3)Hg(+) and Hg(2+), the average recoveries varied from 96+/-5 to 99+/-3 and from 103+/-6 to 115+/-5 for Hg(2+) and CH(3)Hg(+), respectively. However, the percentages of retention and elution on wastewater and unfiltered seawater were only adequate for the inorganic species.

Micro solid phase spectrophotometry in a sequential injection lab-on-valve platform for cadmium, zinc, and copper determination in freshwaters.

PubMed

Santos, Inês C; Mesquita, Raquel B R; Rangel, António O S S

2015-09-03

This work describes the development of a solid phase spectrophotometry method in a μSI-LOV system for cadmium, zinc, and copper determination in freshwaters. NTA (Nitrilotriacetic acid) beads with 60-160 μm diameter were packed in the flow cell of the LOV for a μSPE column of 1 cm length. The spectrophotometric determination is based on the colourimetric reaction between dithizone and the target metals, previously retained on NTA resin. The absorbance of the coloured product formed is measured, at 550 nm, on the surface of the NTA resin beads in a solid phase spectrophotometry approach. The developed method presented preconcentration factors in the range of 11-21 for the metal ions. A LOD of 0.23 μg L(-1) for cadmium, 2.39 μg L(-1) for zinc, and 0.11 μg L(-1) for copper and a sampling rate of 12, 13, and 15 h(-1) for cadmium, zinc, and copper were obtained, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to freshwater samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rapid large area fabrication of multiscale through-hole membranes.

PubMed

Tahk, Dongha; Paik, Sang-Min; Lim, Jungeun; Bang, Seokyoung; Oh, Soojung; Ryu, Hyunryul; Jeon, Noo Li

2017-05-16

There are many proposed mechanisms by which single cells can be trapped; among them is the through-hole membrane for the characterization of individual microorganisms. Due to the small scale of the fabricated pores, the construction of through-hole membranes on a large scale and with relatively large areas faces many difficulties. This paper describes novel fabrication methods for a large-area, freestanding micro/nano through-hole membrane constructed from versatile membrane materials using through-hole membranes on a microfluidic chip (THMMC). This process can rapidly (<20 min) fabricate membranes with high fidelity multiscale hole size without residual layers. The through-hole site was easily customizable from the micro to the nanoscale, with a low or high aspect ratio giving rise to reliable membranes. Also, the rigidity and biocompatibility of the through-hole membrane are easily tunable by simple injection of versatile membrane materials to obtain a large area (up to 3600 mm 2 ). Membranes produced in this manner were then applied as a proof of concept for the isolation, cultivation, and quantification of individual micro-algal cells for selection with respect to the growth rate, while controlling the quorum sensing mediated metabolic and proliferative changes.

Probing the water distribution in porous model sands with two immiscible fluids: A nuclear magnetic resonance micro-imaging study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Bum Han; Lee, Sung Keun

2017-10-01

The effect of the structural heterogeneity of porous networks on the water distribution in porous media, initially saturated with immiscible fluid followed by increasing durations of water injection, remains one of the important problems in hydrology. The relationship among convergence rates (i.e., the rate of fluid saturation with varying injection time) and the macroscopic properties and structural parameters of porous media have been anticipated. Here, we used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) micro-imaging to obtain images (down to ∼50 μm resolution) of the distribution of water injected for varying durations into porous networks that were initially saturated with silicone oil. We then established the relationships among the convergence rates, structural parameters, and transport properties of porous networks. The volume fraction of the water phase increases as the water injection duration increases. The 3D images of the water distributions for silica gel samples are similar to those of the glass bead samples. The changes in water saturation (and the accompanying removal of silicone oil) and the variations in the volume fraction, specific surface area, and cube-counting fractal dimension of the water phase fit well with the single-exponential recovery function { f (t) = a [ 1 -exp (- λt) ] } . The asymptotic values (a, i.e., saturated value) of the properties of the volume fraction, specific surface area, and cube-counting fractal dimension of the glass bead samples were greater than those for the silica gel samples primarily because of the intrinsic differences in the porous networks and local distribution of the pore size and connectivity. The convergence rates of all of the properties are inversely proportional to the entropy length and permeability. Despite limitations of the current study, such as insufficient resolution and uncertainty for the estimated parameters due to sparsely selected short injection times, the observed trends highlight the first analyses of the cube-counting fractal dimension (and other structural properties) and convergence rates in porous networks consisting of two fluid components. These results indicate that the convergence rates correlate with the geometric factor that characterizes the porous networks and transport property of the porous networks.

The Electromechanical Behavior of a Micro-Ring Driven by Traveling Electrostatic Force

PubMed Central

Ye, Xiuqian; Chen, Yibao; Chen, Da-Chih; Huang, Kuo-Yi; Hu, Yuh-Chung

2012-01-01

There is no literature mentioning the electromechanical behavior of micro structures driven by traveling electrostatic forces. This article is thus the first to present the dynamics and stabilities of a micro-ring subjected to a traveling electrostatic force. The traveling electrostatic force may be induced by sequentially actuated electrodes which are arranged around the flexible micro-ring. The analysis is based on a linearized distributed model considering the electromechanical coupling effects between electrostatic force and structure. The micro-ring will resonate when the traveling speeds of the electrostatic force approach some critical speeds. The critical speeds are equal to the ratio of the natural frequencies to the wave number of the correlative natural mode of the ring. Apart from resonance, the ring may be unstable at some unstable traveling speeds. The unstable regions appear not only near the critical speeds, but also near some fractions of some critical speeds differences. Furthermore the unstable regions expand with increasing driving voltage. This article may lead to a new research branch on electrostatic-driven micro devices. PMID:22438705

Sequential analysis applied to clinical trials in dentistry: a systematic review.

PubMed

Bogowicz, P; Flores-Mir, C; Major, P W; Heo, G

2008-01-01

Clinical trials employ sequential analysis for the ethical and economic benefits it brings. In dentistry, as in other fields, resources are scarce and efforts are made to ensure that patients are treated ethically. The objective of this systematic review was to characterise the use of sequential analysis for clinical trials in dentistry. We searched various databases from 1900 through to January 2008. Articles were selected for review if they were clinical trials in the field of dentistry that had applied some form of sequential analysis. Selection was carried out independently by two of the authors. We included 18 trials from various specialties, which involved many different interventions. We conclude that sequential analysis seems to be underused in this field but that there are sufficient methodological resources in place for future applications.Evidence-Based Dentistry (2008) 9, 55-62. doi:10.1038/sj.ebd.6400587.

Effects of process parameters on the molding quality of the micro-needle array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Z. J.; Ma, Z.; Gao, S.

2016-07-01

Micro-needle array, which is used in medical applications, is a kind of typical injection molded products with microstructures. Due to its tiny micro-features size and high aspect ratios, it is more likely to produce short shots defects, leading to poor molding quality. The injection molding process of the micro-needle array was studied in this paper to find the effects of the process parameters on the molding quality of the micro-needle array and to provide theoretical guidance for practical production of high-quality products. With the shrinkage ratio and warpage of micro needles as the evaluation indices of the molding quality, the orthogonal experiment was conducted and the analysis of variance was carried out. According to the results, the contribution rates were calculated to determine the influence of various process parameters on molding quality. The single parameter method was used to analyse the main process parameter. It was found that the contribution rate of the holding pressure on shrinkage ratio and warpage reached 83.55% and 94.71% respectively, far higher than that of the other parameters. The study revealed that the holding pressure is the main factor which affects the molding quality of micro-needle array so that it should be focused on in order to obtain plastic parts with high quality in the practical production.

Micro-Ring Structures Stabilize Microdroplets to Enable Long Term Spheroid Culture in 384 Hanging Drop Array Plates

PubMed Central

Hsiao, Amy Y.; Tung, Yi-Chung; Kuo, Chuan-Hsien; Mosadegh, Bobak; Bedenis, Rachel; Pienta, Kenneth J.; Takayama, Shuichi

2012-01-01

Using stereolithography, 20 different structural variations comprised of millimeter diameter holes surrounded by trenches, plateaus, or micro-ring structures were prepared and tested for their ability to stably hold arrays of microliter sized droplets within the structures over an extended period of time. The micro-ring structures were the most effective in stabilizing droplets against mechanical and chemical perturbations. After confirming the importance of micro-ring structures using rapid prototyping, we developed an injection molding tool for mass production of polystyrene 3D cell culture plates with an array of 384 such micro-ring surrounded through-hole structures. These newly designed and injection molded polystyrene 384 hanging drop array plates with micro-rings were stable and robust against mechanical perturbations as well as surface fouling-facilitated droplet spreading making them capable of long term cell spheroid culture of up to 22 days within the droplet array. This is a significant improvement over previously reported 384 hanging drop array plates which are susceptible to small mechanical shocks and could not reliably maintain hanging drops for longer than a few days. With enhanced droplet stability, the hanging drop array plates with micro-ring structures provide better platforms and open up new opportunities for high-throughput preparation of microscale 3D cell constructs for drug screening and cell analysis. PMID:22057945

Micro-ring structures stabilize microdroplets to enable long term spheroid culture in 384 hanging drop array plates.

PubMed

Hsiao, Amy Y; Tung, Yi-Chung; Kuo, Chuan-Hsien; Mosadegh, Bobak; Bedenis, Rachel; Pienta, Kenneth J; Takayama, Shuichi

2012-04-01

Using stereolithography, 20 different structural variations comprised of millimeter diameter holes surrounded by trenches, plateaus, or micro-ring structures were prepared and tested for their ability to stably hold arrays of microliter sized droplets within the structures over an extended period of time. The micro-ring structures were the most effective in stabilizing droplets against mechanical and chemical perturbations. After confirming the importance of micro-ring structures using rapid prototyping, we developed an injection molding tool for mass production of polystyrene 3D cell culture plates with an array of 384 such micro-ring surrounded through-hole structures. These newly designed and injection molded polystyrene 384 hanging drop array plates with micro-rings were stable and robust against mechanical perturbations as well as surface fouling-facilitated droplet spreading making them capable of long term cell spheroid culture of up to 22 days within the droplet array. This is a significant improvement over previously reported 384 hanging drop array plates which are susceptible to small mechanical shocks and could not reliably maintain hanging drops for longer than a few days. With enhanced droplet stability, the hanging drop array plates with micro-ring structures provide better platforms and open up new opportunities for high-throughput preparation of microscale 3D cell constructs for drug screening and cell analysis.

Multi-Phenotypic subtyping of circulating tumor cells using sequential fluorescent quenching and restaining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, Daniel L.; Alpaugh, R. Katherine; Tsai, Susan; Tang, Cha-Mei; Stefansson, Steingrimur

2016-09-01

In tissue biopsies formalin fixed paraffin embedded cancer blocks are micro-sectioned producing multiple semi-identical specimens which are analyzed and subtyped proteomically, and genomically, with numerous biomarkers. In blood based biopsies (BBBs), blood is purified for circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and clinical utility is typically limited to cell enumeration, as only 2-3 positive fluorescent markers and 1 negative marker can be used. As such, increasing the number of subtyping biomarkers on each individual CTC could dramatically enhance the clinical utility of BBBs, allowing in depth interrogation of clinically relevant CTCs. We describe a simple and inexpensive method for quenching the specific fluors of fluorescently stained CTCs followed by sequential restaining with additional biomarkers. As proof of principle a CTC panel, immunosuppression panel and stem cell panel were used to sequentially subtype individual fluorescently stained patient CTCs, suggesting a simple and universal technique to analyze multiple clinically applicable immunomarkers from BBBs.

Microcellular injection molding process for producing lightweight thermoplastic polyurethane with customizable properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellingham, Thomas; Kharbas, Hrishikesh; Manitiu, Mihai; Scholz, Guenter; Turng, Lih-Sheng

2018-03-01

A three-stage molding process involving microcellular injection molding with core retraction and an "out-of-mold" expansion was developed to manufacture thermoplastic polyurethane into lightweight foams of varying local densities, microstructures, and mechanical properties in the same microcellular injection molded part. Two stages of cavity expansion through sequential core retractions and a third expansion in a separate mold at an elevated temperature were carried out. The densities varied from 0.25 to 0.42 g/cm3 (77% to 62% weight reduction). The mechanical properties varied as well. Cyclic compressive strengths and hysteresis loss ratios, together with the microstructures, were characterized and reported.

Efficient spin-current injection in single-molecule magnet junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Haiqing; Xu, Fuming; Jiao, Hujun; Wang, Qiang; Liang, J.-Q.

2018-01-01

We study theoretically spin transport through a single-molecule magnet (SMM) in the sequential and cotunneling regimes, where the SMM is weakly coupled to one ferromagnetic and one normal-metallic leads. By a master-equation approach, it is found that the spin polarization injected from the ferromagnetic lead is amplified and highly polarized spin-current can be generated, due to the exchange coupling between the transport electron and the anisotropic spin of the SMM. Moreover, the spin-current polarization can be tuned by the gate or bias voltage, and thus an efficient spin injection device based on the SMM is proposed in molecular spintronics.

Biodistribution, pharmacokinetics and PET imaging of [(18)F]FMISO, [(18)F]FDG and [(18)F]FAc in a sarcoma- and inflammation-bearing mouse model.

PubMed

Liu, Ren-Shyan; Chou, Ta-Kai; Chang, Chih-Hsien; Wu, Chun-Yi; Chang, Chi-Wei; Chang, Tsui-Jung; Wang, Shih-Jen; Lin, Wuu-Jyh; Wang, Hsin-Ell

2009-04-01

2-Deoxy-2-[(18)F]fluoro-d-glucose ([(18)F]FDG), [(18)F]fluoroacetate ([(18)F]FAc) and [(18)F]fluoromisonidazole ([(18)F]FMISO) were all considered to be positron emission tomography (PET) probes for tumor diagnosis, though based on different rationale of tissue uptake. This study compared the biodistribution, pharmacokinetics and imaging of these three tracers in a sarcoma- and inflammation-bearing mouse model. C3H mice were inoculated with 2x10(5) KHT sarcoma cells in the right thigh on Day 0. Turpentine oil (0.1 ml) was injected in the left thigh on Day 11 to induce inflammatory lesion. Biodistribution, pharmacokinetics and microPET imaging of [(18)F]FMISO, [(18)F]FDG and [(18)F]FAc were performed on Day 14 after tumor inoculation. The inflammatory lesions were clearly visualized by [(18)F]FDG/microPET and autoradiography at 3 days after turpentine oil injection. The tumor-to-muscle and inflammatory lesion-to-muscle ratios derived from microPET imaging were 6.79 and 1.48 for [(18)F]FMISO, 8.12 and 4.69 for [(18)F]FDG and 3.72 and 3.19 for [(18)F]FAc at 4 h post injection, respectively. Among these, the tumor-to-inflammation ratio was the highest (4.57) for [(18)F]FMISO compared with that of [(18)F]FDG (1.73) and [(18)F]FAc (1.17), whereas [(18)F]FAc has the highest bioavailability (area under concentration of radiotracer vs. time curve, 116.2 hxpercentage of injected dose per gram of tissue). MicroPET images and biodistribution studies showed that the accumulation of [(18)F]FMISO in the tumor is significantly higher than that in inflammatory lesion at 4 h post injection. [(18)F]FDG and [(18)F]FAc delineated both tumor and inflammatory lesions. Our results demonstrated the potential of [(18)F]FMISO/PET in distinguishing tumor from inflammatory lesion.

Detection of microRNAs in color space.

PubMed

Marco, Antonio; Griffiths-Jones, Sam

2012-02-01

Deep sequencing provides inexpensive opportunities to characterize the transcriptional diversity of known genomes. The AB SOLiD technology generates millions of short sequencing reads in color-space; that is, the raw data is a sequence of colors, where each color represents 2 nt and each nucleotide is represented by two consecutive colors. This strategy is purported to have several advantages, including increased ability to distinguish sequencing errors from polymorphisms. Several programs have been developed to map short reads to genomes in color space. However, a number of previously unexplored technical issues arise when using SOLiD technology to characterize microRNAs. Here we explore these technical difficulties. First, since the sequenced reads are longer than the biological sequences, every read is expected to contain linker fragments. The color-calling error rate increases toward the 3(') end of the read such that recognizing the linker sequence for removal becomes problematic. Second, mapping in color space may lead to the loss of the first nucleotide of each read. We propose a sequential trimming and mapping approach to map small RNAs. Using our strategy, we reanalyze three published insect small RNA deep sequencing datasets and characterize 22 new microRNAs. A bash shell script to perform the sequential trimming and mapping procedure, called SeqTrimMap, is available at: http://www.mirbase.org/tools/seqtrimmap/ antonio.marco@manchester.ac.uk Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Development of flow systems by direct-milling on poly(methyl methacrylate) substrates using UV-photopolymerization as sealing process.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Eunice R G O; Lapa, Rui A S

2009-03-01

An alternative process for the design and construction of fluidic devices is presented. Several sealing processes were studied, as well as the hydrodynamic characteristics of the proposed fluidic devices. Manifolds were imprinted on polymeric substrates by direct-write milling, according to Computer Assisted Design (CAD) data. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was used as substrate due to its physical and chemical properties. Different bonding approaches for the imprinted channels were evaluated and UV-photopolymerization of acrylic acid (AA) was selected. The hydrodynamic characteristics of the proposed flow devices were assessed and compared to those obtained in similar flow systems using PTFE reactors and micro-pumps as propulsion units (multi-pumping approach). The applicability of the imprinted reactors was evaluated in the sequential determination of calcium and magnesium in water samples. Results obtained were in good agreement with those obtained by the reference procedure.

The Interactional Management of Claims of Insufficient Knowledge in English Language Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sert, Olcay; Walsh, Steve

2013-01-01

This paper primarily investigates the interactional unfolding and management of "claims of insufficient knowledge" (Beach and Metzger 1997) in two English language classrooms from a multi-modal, conversation-analytic perspective. The analyses draw on a close, micro-analytic account of sequential organisation of talk as well as on various…

Specific neurokinin receptors mediate plasma extravasation in the rat knee joint.

PubMed Central

Lam, F. Y.; Ferrell, W. R.

1991-01-01

1 Plasma extravasation in the rat knee joint was induced by intra-articular injection of neurokinins and specific neurokinin receptor agonists. 2 Pronounced plasma extravasation was produced by substance P (SP, 4-185 microM) and to a lesser extent by neurokinin-B (NKB, 83-413 microM), whereas neurokinin-A (NKA, 88-440 microM) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP, 26-130 microM) had no significant effect. 3 The specific neurokinin1 receptor agonist [Sar9, Met(O2)11]-substance P (NK1 agonist) in doses of 0.4-70 microM appeared to be more potent than SP in eliciting plasma extravasation. The neurokinin2 receptor agonist [Nle10]-neurokinin A4-10 (NK2 agonist) was not effective at 70 microM but produced a small and significant effect at 330 microM, whereas the neurokinin3 receptor agonist [MePhe7]-neurokinin B (NK3 agonist) was without effect at 40 microM or 400 microM. 4 Injections of SP or NKA into the synovial cavity of the rat knee were equally effective in producing marked plasma extravasation in remote sites such as the forelimb and hindlimb paws. 5 Co-administration experiments showed that the effects of SP were synergistic with NKA or the NK1 receptor agonist, but not with CGRP or the NK2 receptor agonist. 6 The rank order of potency was NK1 agonist greater than or equal to SP greater than NKB greater than NK2 agonist suggesting that NK1 receptors mediate plasma extravasation in the rat knee joint. PMID:1715229

Autonomous micro and nano sensors for upstream oil and gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapman, David; Trybula, Walt

2015-06-01

This paper describes the development of autonomous electronic micro and nanoscale sensor systems for very harsh downhole oilfield conditions and provides an overview of the operational requirements necessary to survive and make direct measurements of subsurface conditions. One of several significant developmental challenges is selecting appropriate technologies that are simultaneously miniaturize-able, integrate-able, harsh environment capable, and economically viable. The Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC) is employing a platform approach to developing and testing multi-chip, millimeter and micron-scale systems in a package at elevated temperature and pressure in API brine and oil analogs, with the future goal of miniaturized systems that enable the collection of previously unattainable data. The ultimate goal is to develop subsurface nanosensor systems that can be injected into oil and gas well bores, to gather and record data, providing an unparalleled level of direct reservoir characterization. This paper provides a status update on the research efforts and developmental successes at the AEC.

Effectiveness of leukocyte immunotherapy in primary recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA).

PubMed

Gharesi-Fard, Behrouz; Zolghadri, Jaleh; Foroughinia, Leila; Tavazoo, Fahimeh; Samsami Dehaghani, Alamtaj

2007-09-01

Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is defined as three or more sequential abortions before the twentieth week of gestation. There are evidences to support an allo-immunologic mechanism for RSA. One of the methods for treatment of RSA is leukocyte therapy; however there is still controversy about effectiveness of this method. To evaluate the effectiveness of leukocyte therapy for treatment of RSA. Ninety two non-pregnant women with at least three sequential abortions (60 primary & 32 secondary aborters) recognized as RSA were referred to our Laboratory for immunotherapy. All the cases were immunized by isolated lymphocytes from their husbands. Fifty to 100 million washed and resuspended mononuclear cells were injected by I.V., S.C., and I.D. route. The result of each injection was checked by WBC cross matching between couples after four weeks of injections. Immunization was repeated in fifth week to a maximum of 3 times if needed. Eighty one age-matched non-pregnant RSA women (52 primary and 29 secondary aborters) with at least three sequential abortions were also included in this study as controls. The control group was not immunized. 67 out of 92 (72.8%) immunized cases and 44 out of 81 controls (54.3%) showed a successful outcome of pregnancy (p<0.02). Comparison of primary and secondary aborters indicated a significantly better outcome only in primary (75% vs. 42.3%. p<0.001) but not in secondary aborters (68.8% vs. 75.9%, p = 0.7). The present investigation showed the effectiveness of leukocyte therapy in primary but not in secondary RSA patients. Despite the current controversy and limitation of leukocyte therapy in RSA, the results of our investigation provide evidence supporting the use of allo-immunization in improving the outcome of pregnancy in primary RSA patients.

Sub-1min separation in sequential injection chromatography for determination of synthetic water-soluble dyes in pharmaceutical formulation.

PubMed

Davletbaeva, Polina; Chocholouš, Petr; Bulatov, Andrey; Šatínský, Dalibor; Solich, Petr

2017-09-05

Sequential Injection Chromatography (SIC) evolved from fast and automated non-separation Sequential Injection Analysis (SIA) into chromatographic separation method for multi-element analysis. However, the speed of the measurement (sample throughput) is due to chromatography significantly reduced. In this paper, a sub-1min separation using medium polar cyano monolithic column (5mm×4.6mm) resulted in fast and green separation with sample throughput comparable with non-separation flow methods The separation of three synthetic water-soluble dyes (sunset yellow FCF, carmoisine and green S) was in a gradient elution mode (0.02% ammonium acetate, pH 6.7 - water) with flow rate of 3.0mLmin -1 corresponding with sample throughput of 30h -1 . Spectrophotometric detection wavelengths were set to 480, 516 and 630nm and 10Hz data collection rate. The performance of the separation was described and discussed (peak capacities 3.48-7.67, peak symmetries 1.72-1.84 and resolutions 1.42-1.88). The method was represented by validation parameters: LODs of 0.15-0.35mgL -1 , LOQs of 0.50-1.25mgL -1 , calibration ranges 0.50-150.00mgL -1 (r>0.998) and repeatability at 10.0mgL -1 of RSD≤0.98% (n=6). The method was used for determination of the dyes in "forest berries" colored pharmaceutical cough-cold formulation. The sample matrix - pharmaceuticals and excipients were not interfering with vis determination because of no retention in the separation column and colorless nature. The results proved the concept of fast and green chromatography approach using very short medium polar monolithic column in SIC. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous determination of rutin and ascorbic acid in a sequential injection lab-at-valve system.

PubMed

Al-Shwaiyat, Mohammed Khair E A; Miekh, Yuliia V; Denisenko, Tatyana A; Vishnikin, Andriy B; Andruch, Vasil; Bazel, Yaroslav R

2018-02-05

A green, simple, accurate and highly sensitive sequential injection lab-at-valve procedure has been developed for the simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid (Asc) and rutin using 18-molybdo-2-phosphate Wells-Dawson heteropoly anion (18-MPA). The method is based on the dependence of the reaction rate between 18-MPA and reducing agents on the solution pH. Only Asc is capable of interacting with 18-MPA at pH 4.7, while at pH 7.4 the reaction with both Asc and rutin proceeds simultaneously. In order to improve the precision and sensitivity of the analysis, to minimize reagent consumption and to remove the Schlieren effect, the manifold for the sequential injection analysis was supplemented with external reaction chamber, and the reaction mixture was segmented. By the reduction of 18-MPA with reducing agents one- and two-electron heteropoly blues are formed. The fraction of one-electron heteropoly blue increases at low concentrations of the reducer. Measurement of the absorbance at a wavelength corresponding to the isobestic point allows strictly linear calibration graphs to be obtained. The calibration curves were linear in the concentration ranges of 0.3-24mgL -1 and 0.2-14mgL -1 with detection limits of 0.13mgL -1 and 0.09mgL -1 for rutin and Asc, respectively. The determination of rutin was possible in the presence of up to a 20-fold molar excess of Asc. The method was applied to the determination of Asc and rutin in ascorutin tablets with acceptable accuracy and precision (1-2%). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Miniaturizing and automation of free acidity measurements for uranium (VI)-HNO3 solutions: Development of a new sequential injection analysis for a sustainable radio-analytical chemistry.

PubMed

Néri-Quiroz, José; Canto, Fabrice; Guillerme, Laurent; Couston, Laurent; Magnaldo, Alastair; Dugas, Vincent

2016-10-01

A miniaturized and automated approach for the determination of free acidity in solutions containing uranium (VI) is presented. The measurement technique is based on the concept of sequential injection analysis with on-line spectroscopic detection. The proposed methodology relies on the complexation and alkalimetric titration of nitric acid using a pH 5.6 sodium oxalate solution. The titration process is followed by UV/VIS detection at 650nm thanks to addition of Congo red as universal pH indicator. Mixing sequence as well as method validity was investigated by numerical simulation. This new analytical design allows fast (2.3min), reliable and accurate free acidity determination of low volume samples (10µL) containing uranium/[H(+)] moles ratio of 1:3 with relative standard deviation of <7.0% (n=11). The linearity range of the free nitric acid measurement is excellent up to 2.77molL(-1) with a correlation coefficient (R(2)) of 0.995. The method is specific, presence of actinide ions up to 0.54molL(-1) does not interfere on the determination of free nitric acid. In addition to automation, the developed sequential injection analysis method greatly improves the standard off-line oxalate complexation and alkalimetric titration method by reducing thousand fold the required sample volume, forty times the nuclear waste per analysis as well as the analysis time by eight fold. These analytical parameters are important especially in nuclear-related applications to improve laboratory safety, personnel exposure to radioactive samples and to drastically reduce environmental impacts or analytical radioactive waste. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Injection order effects on efficacy of calcium chloride and sodium tripolyphosphate in controlling the pink color defect in uncured, intact turkey breast.

PubMed

Claus, James R; Sawyer, Christopher A; Vogel, Kurt D

2010-04-01

An experiment was conducted to test sequential injection of sodium tripolyphosphate (STP; 0.5% meat weight basis, mwb) followed by injection with or without addition of calcium chloride (CaCl(2), 500 ppm mwb), and to test the effect of post-injection delay prior to cooking. A second experiment evaluated the impact of injection order and delay time between independent addition of CaCl(2) (500 ppm mwb) and STP (0.5% mwb). Turkey was formulated without an added pink generating ligand (NONE), with nicotinamide (NIC; 0.1% mwb), or with sodium nitrite (NIT; 10 ppm mwb). A white colloid was observed in the extracellular space of treatments containing both STP and CaCl(2.) Addition of CaCl(2) decreased nitrosylhemochrome but did not reduce levels of nicotinamide hemochrome or CIE a(*) values. Injection order or delay between injections did not contribute to controlling the pink defect in cooked, intact turkey breast. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A Bayesian Theory of Sequential Causal Learning and Abstract Transfer.

PubMed

Lu, Hongjing; Rojas, Randall R; Beckers, Tom; Yuille, Alan L

2016-03-01

Two key research issues in the field of causal learning are how people acquire causal knowledge when observing data that are presented sequentially, and the level of abstraction at which learning takes place. Does sequential causal learning solely involve the acquisition of specific cause-effect links, or do learners also acquire knowledge about abstract causal constraints? Recent empirical studies have revealed that experience with one set of causal cues can dramatically alter subsequent learning and performance with entirely different cues, suggesting that learning involves abstract transfer, and such transfer effects involve sequential presentation of distinct sets of causal cues. It has been demonstrated that pre-training (or even post-training) can modulate classic causal learning phenomena such as forward and backward blocking. To account for these effects, we propose a Bayesian theory of sequential causal learning. The theory assumes that humans are able to consider and use several alternative causal generative models, each instantiating a different causal integration rule. Model selection is used to decide which integration rule to use in a given learning environment in order to infer causal knowledge from sequential data. Detailed computer simulations demonstrate that humans rely on the abstract characteristics of outcome variables (e.g., binary vs. continuous) to select a causal integration rule, which in turn alters causal learning in a variety of blocking and overshadowing paradigms. When the nature of the outcome variable is ambiguous, humans select the model that yields the best fit with the recent environment, and then apply it to subsequent learning tasks. Based on sequential patterns of cue-outcome co-occurrence, the theory can account for a range of phenomena in sequential causal learning, including various blocking effects, primacy effects in some experimental conditions, and apparently abstract transfer of causal knowledge. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Immunogenicity of simultaneous versus sequential administration of a 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine and a quadrivalent influenza vaccine in older individuals: A randomized, open-label, non-inferiority trial.

PubMed

Nakashima, Kei; Aoshima, Masahiro; Ohfuji, Satoko; Yamawaki, Satoshi; Nemoto, Masahiro; Hasegawa, Shinya; Noma, Satoshi; Misawa, Masafumi; Hosokawa, Naoto; Yaegashi, Makito; Otsuka, Yoshihito

2018-03-21

It is unclear whether simultaneous administration of a 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) and a quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV) produces immunogenicity in older individuals. This study tested the hypothesis that the pneumococcal antibody response elicited by simultaneous administration of PPSV23 and QIV in older individuals is not inferior to that elicited by sequential administration of PPSV23 and QIV. We performed a single-center, randomized, open-label, non-inferiority trial comprising 162 adults aged ≥65 years randomly assigned to either the simultaneous (simultaneous injections of PPSV23 and QIV) or sequential (control; PPSV23 injected 2 weeks after QIV vaccination) groups. Pneumococcal immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers of serotypes 23F, 3, 4, 6B, 14, and 19A were assessed. The primary endpoint was the serotype 23F response rate (a ≥2-fold increase in IgG concentrations 4-6 weeks after PPSV23 vaccination). With the non-inferiority margin set at 20% fewer patients, the response rate of serotype 23F in the simultaneous group (77.8%) was not inferior to that of the sequential group (77.6%; difference, 0.1%; 90% confidence interval, -10.8% to 11.1%). None of the pneumococcal IgG serotype titers were significantly different between the groups 4-6 weeks after vaccination. Simultaneous administration did not show a significant decrease in seroprotection odds ratios for H1N1, H3N2, or B/Phuket influenza strains other than B/Texas. Additionally, simultaneous administration did not increase adverse reactions. Hence, simultaneous administration of PPSV23 and QIV shows an acceptable immunogenicity that is comparable to sequential administration without an increase in adverse reactions. (This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov [NCT02592486]).

Visual detection and sequential injection determination of aluminium using a cinnamoyl derivative.

PubMed

Elečková, Lenka; Alexovič, Michal; Kuchár, Juraj; Balogh, Ioseph S; Andruch, Vasil

2015-02-01

A cinnamoyl derivative, 3-[4-(dimethylamino)cinnamoyl]-4-hydroxy-6-methyl-3,4-2H-pyran-2-one, was used as a ligand for the determination of aluminium. Upon the addition of an acetonitrile solution of the ligand to an aqueous solution containing Al(III) and a buffer solution at pH 8, a marked change in colour from yellow to orange is observed. The colour intensity is proportional to the concentration of Al(III); thus, the 'naked-eye' detection of aluminium is possible. The reaction is also applied for sequential injection determination of aluminium. Beer׳s law is obeyed in the range from 0.055 to 0.66 mg L(-1) of Al(III). The limit of detection, calculated as three times the standard deviation of the blank test (n=10), was found to be 4 μg L(-1) for Al(III). The method was applied for the determination of aluminium in spiked water samples and pharmaceutical preparations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sequential Injection Chromatography with an Ultra-short Monolithic Column for the Low-Pressure Separation of α-Tocopherol and γ-Oryzanol in Vegetable Oils and Nutrition Supplements.

PubMed

Thaithet, Sujitra; Kradtap Hartwell, Supaporn; Lapanantnoppakhun, Somchai

2017-01-01

A low-pressure separation procedure of α-tocopherol and γ-oryzanol was developed based on a sequential injection chromatography (SIC) system coupled with an ultra-short (5 mm) C-18 monolithic column, as a lower cost and more compact alternative to the HPLC system. A green sample preparation, dilution with a small amount of hexane followed by liquid-liquid extraction with 80% ethanol, was proposed. Very good separation resolution (R s = 3.26), a satisfactory separation time (10 min) and a total run time including column equilibration (16 min) were achieved. The linear working range was found to be 0.4 - 40 μg with R 2 being more than 0.99. The detection limits of both analytes were 0.28 μg with the repeatability within 5% RSD (n = 7). Quantitative analyses of the two analytes in vegetable oil and nutrition supplement samples, using the proposed SIC method, agree well with the results from HPLC.

Capsaicin did not evoke pain from human hand vein segments but did so after injections into the paravascular tissue.

PubMed

Arndt, J O; Kindgen-Milles, D; Klement, W

1993-04-01

1. To see if pain from veins is mediated by C fibre endings, the C fibre stimulant capsaicin was applied intravenously, and, for comparison, paravenously and intracutaneously. 2. Capsaicin, dissolved in the fat emulsion Intralipid, was applied intravenously by continuous perfusion of vascularly isolated hand vein segments as well as by injections into occluded finger veins. Using the latter approach chemicals reach the paravascular space. 3. Pain intensities were recorded continuously with an electronically controlled visual analogue scale for deriving capsaicin concentration-pain intensity relations and the time course of pain (latencies, pain durations). 4. Capsaicin always evoked pain upon injection into skin and paravenous tissue (0.3-6.5 microM) and into occluded finger veins (3.3-33 microM), whereas it had no effect whatsoever when perfused through hand vein segments even at a concentration of 650 microM. 5. Pain intensity increased with concentration and usually reached the tolerance maximum at the fivefold threshold concentration, so that the concentration-pain intensity relations were congruent for the various routes of drug application. 6. The latencies and pain durations were independent of the capsaicin concentration, but were substantially longer with injections into occluded finger veins (latency 10-30 s, pain duration 60-120 s) than with intradermal or paravenous injections (2-9 s, 10-28 s). 7. These observations show for the first time a functional similarity between the nociceptive C fibre system of the skin and the paravascular tissues, and by inference, they dismiss the possibility that C fibre endings mediate pain in cutaneous veins.

Laser patterning of highly conductive flexible circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Seok Young; Muhammed Ajmal, C.; Kim, Taehun; Chang, Won Seok; Baik, Seunghyun

2017-04-01

There has been considerable attention paid to highly conductive flexible adhesive (CFA) materials as electrodes and interconnectors for future flexible electronic devices. However, the patterning technology still needs to be developed to construct micro-scale electrodes and circuits. Here we developed the selective laser sintering technology where the pattering and curing were accomplished simultaneously without making additional masks. The CFA was composed of micro-scale Ag flakes, multiwalled carbon nanotubes decorated with Ag nanoparticles, and a nitrile-butadiene-rubber matrix. The Teflon-coated polyethylene terephthalate film was used as a flexible substrate. The width of lines (50-500 μm) and circuit patterns were controlled by the programmable scanning of a focused laser beam (power = 50 mW, scanning speed = 1 mm s-1). The laser irradiation removed solvent and induced effective coalescence among fillers providing a conductivity as high as 25 012 S cm-1. The conductivity stability was excellent under the ambient air and humid environments. The normalized resistance change of the pattern was smaller than 1.2 at the bending radius of 5 mm. The cyclability and adhesion of the laser-sintered line pattern on the substrate was excellent. A flexible circuit was fabricated sequentially for operating light emitting diodes during the bending motion, demonstrating excellent feasibility for practical applications in flexible electronics.

Laser patterning of highly conductive flexible circuits.

PubMed

Ji, Seok Young; Ajmal, C Muhammed; Kim, Taehun; Chang, Won Seok; Baik, Seunghyun

2017-04-21

There has been considerable attention paid to highly conductive flexible adhesive (CFA) materials as electrodes and interconnectors for future flexible electronic devices. However, the patterning technology still needs to be developed to construct micro-scale electrodes and circuits. Here we developed the selective laser sintering technology where the pattering and curing were accomplished simultaneously without making additional masks. The CFA was composed of micro-scale Ag flakes, multiwalled carbon nanotubes decorated with Ag nanoparticles, and a nitrile-butadiene-rubber matrix. The Teflon-coated polyethylene terephthalate film was used as a flexible substrate. The width of lines (50-500 μm) and circuit patterns were controlled by the programmable scanning of a focused laser beam (power = 50 mW, scanning speed = 1 mm s -1 ). The laser irradiation removed solvent and induced effective coalescence among fillers providing a conductivity as high as 25 012 S cm -1 . The conductivity stability was excellent under the ambient air and humid environments. The normalized resistance change of the pattern was smaller than 1.2 at the bending radius of 5 mm. The cyclability and adhesion of the laser-sintered line pattern on the substrate was excellent. A flexible circuit was fabricated sequentially for operating light emitting diodes during the bending motion, demonstrating excellent feasibility for practical applications in flexible electronics.

A Translational Pathway Toward a Clinical Trial Using the Second-Generation AAV Micro-Dystrophin Vector

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

injection. We also showed that systemic delivery of a canine micro-dystrophin AAV vector is safe in young adult affected dogs. These results...In addition, we have performed a comprehensive review on the current status of DMD gene therapy in the canine model. We also contributed another...micro-dystrophin, adeno-associated virus, AAV, muscle, gene therapy, systemic gene delivery, canine model 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17

Use of Protein G Microcolumns in Chromatographic Immunoassays: A Comparison of Competitive Binding Formats

PubMed Central

Pfaunmiller, Erika L.; Anguizola, Jeanethe A.; Milanuk, Mitchell L.; Carter, NaTasha; Hage, David S.

2016-01-01

Affinity microcolumns containing protein G were used as general platforms for creating chromatographic-based competitive binding immunoassays. Human serum albumin (HSA) was used as a model target for this work and HSA tagged with a near infrared fluorescent dye was utilized as the label. The protein G microcolumns were evaluated for use in several assay formats, including both solution-based and column-based competitive binding immunoassays and simultaneous or sequential injection formats. All of these methods were characterized by using the same amounts of labeled HSA and anti-HSA antibodies per sample, as chosen for the analysis of a protein target in the low-to-mid ng/mL range. The results were used to compare these formats in terms of their response, precision, limits of detection, and analysis time. All these methods gave detection limits in the range of 8–19 ng/mL and precisions ranging from ± 5% to ± 10% when using an injection flow rate of 0.10 mL/min. The column-based sequential injection immunoassay provided the best limit of detection and the greatest change in response at low target concentrations, while the solution-based simultaneous injection method had the broadest linear and dynamic ranges. These results provided valuable guidelines that can be employed to develop and extend the use of protein G microcolumns and these competitive binding formats to other protein biomarkers or biological agents of clinical or pharmaceutical interest. PMID:26777776

Time-lapse evaluation of human embryo development in single versus sequential culture media--a sibling oocyte study.

PubMed

Ciray, Haydar Nadir; Aksoy, Turan; Goktas, Cihan; Ozturk, Bilgen; Bahceci, Mustafa

2012-09-01

To compare the dynamics of early development between embryos cultured in single and sequential media. Randomized, comparative study. Private IVF centre. A total of 446 metaphase II oocytes from 51 couples who underwent oocyte retrieval procedure for intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Forty-nine resulted in embryo transfer. Oocytes were split between single and sequential media produced by the same manufacturer and cultured in a time-lapse incubator. Morphokinetic parameters until the embryos reached the 5-cell stage (t5), utilization, clinical pregnancy and implantation rates. Embryos cultured in single media were advanced from the first mitosis cycle and reached 2- to 5-cell stages earlier. There was not any difference between the durations for cell cycle two (cc2 = t3-t2) and s2 (t4-t3). The utilization, clinical pregnancy and implantation rates did not differ between groups. The proportion of cryopreserved day 6 embryos to two pronuclei oocytes was significantly higher in sequential than in single media. Morphokinetics of embryo development vary between single and sequential culture media at least until the 5-cell stage. The overall clinical and embryological parameters remain similar regardless of the culture system.

Measurements of droplet velocity and size downstream of the moving valves of a four-valve engine with manifold injection, operated under isothermal steady suction conditions

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

Posylkin, M.; Taylor, A.M.K.P.; Whitelaw, J.H.

The four-valve head of a VTEC engine was mounted on an open cylinder and the valves and fuel injection system operated as in the engine with a rotational speed of 1,200 rpm. Local measurements of droplet characteristics were obtained with a phase-Doppler velocimeter and iso-octane injected over 5 ms intervals, corresponding to 36 crank angle degrees, with manifold depression of 20 mbar. The results show that most of the fuel droplets were located close to the liner and on the side of the cylinder adjacent to the exhaust valves. In the plane of the measurement, 10 mm below TDC, themore » liquid flux diminished as the initiation of injection was advanced before opening of the inlet valves. With injection with the inlet valves closed, there were two waves of droplets, one from each of the two valves and separated by 60 deg CA and both with the Sauter mean diameter of about 120 {micro}m. With injection with the inlet valves open, most of the droplets emerged from the main inlet valve and with Sauter mean diameters of about 50 {micro}m, smaller than those of the unconfined spray.« less

Manipulation of Micro Scale Particles in an Optical Trap Using Interferometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seibel, Robin

2002-01-01

This research shows that micro particles can be manipulated via interferometric patterns superimposed on an optical tweezers beam. Interferometry allows the manipulation of intensity distributions, and thus, force distributions on a trapped particle. To demonstrate the feasibility of such manipulation, 458 nm light, from an argon-ion laser, was injected into a Mach Zender interferometer. One mirror in the interferometer was oscillated with a piezoelectric phase modulator. The light from the interferometer was then injected into a microscope to trap a 9.75 micron polystyrene sphere. By varying the phase modulation, the sphere was made to oscillate in a controlled fashion.

Microengineering of Metals and Ceramics: Part I: Design, Tooling and Injection Molding; Volume 3: Advanced Micro & Nanosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baltes, Henry; Brand, Oliver; Fedder, Gary K.; Hierold, Christofer; Korvink, Jan G.; Tabata, Osamu; Löhe, Detlef; Haußelt, Jürgen

2005-09-01

Microstructures, electronics, nanotechnology - these vast fields of research are growing together as the size gap narrows and many different materials are combined. Current research, engineering sucesses and newly commercialized products hint at the immense innovative potentials and future applications that open up once mankind controls shape and function from the atomic level right up to the visible world without any gaps. In this volume, authors from three major competence centres for microengineering illustrate step by step the process from designing and simulating microcomponents of metallic and ceramic materials to replicating micro-scale components by injection molding.

Binding of 2-[18F]fluoro-CP-118,954 to mouse acetylcholinesterase: microPET and ex vivo Cerenkov luminescence imaging studies.

PubMed

Kim, Dong Hyun; Choe, Yearn Seong; Choi, Joon Young; Lee, Kyung-Han; Kim, Byung-Tae

2011-05-01

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) has been an important cholinergic factor for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), because of reduced AChE activity in the postmortem brains of AD patients. We previously developed 5,7-dihydro-3-(2-(1-(2-[(18)F]fluorobenzyl)-4-piperidinyl)ethyl)-6H-pyrrolo(3,2,f)-1,2-benzisoxazol-6-one (2-[(18)F]fluoro-CP-118,954) for in vivo studies of AChE in mice. In the present study, we automated the synthesis of 2-[(18)F]fluoro-CP-118,954 for the routine use and evaluated the radioligand by microPET and ex vivo Cerenkov luminescence imaging of mouse AChE. 4-[(18)F]Fluoro-donepezil, another AChE inhibitor, was used for comparison. Automated syntheses of 2-[(18)F]fluoro-CP-118,954 and 4-[(18)F]fluoro-donepezil resulted in high radiochemical yields (25-33% and 30-40%) and high specific activity (27.1-35.4 and 29.7-37.3 GBq/μmol). Brain microPET images of two ICR mice injected with 2-[(18)F]fluoro-CP-118,954 demonstrated high uptake in the striatum (ROI analysis: 5.1 %ID/g for the first 30 min and 4.1 %ID/g for another 30 min), and a blocking study with injection of CP-118,954 into one of the mice at 30 min after radioligand injection led to complete blocking of radioligand uptake in the striatum (ROI analysis: 1.9 %ID/g), whereas (18)F-labeled donepezil did not show specific uptake in the striatum. In another set of experiments, the brain tissues (striatum, parietal cortex, frontal cortex and cerebellum) were excised after brain microPET/CT imaging of mouse injected with 2-[(18)F]fluoro-CP-118,954, and a high striatal uptake was also detected in ex vivo optical and microPET images (ROI analysis: 1.4 %ID/g) and in γ-counting data (2.1 %ID/g at 50 min post-injection) of the brain tissues. Taken together, these results demonstrated that 2-[(18)F]fluoro-CP-118,954 specifically binds to AChE in mouse brains. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Remifentanil maintains lower initial delayed nonmatching-to-sample accuracy compared to food pellets in male rhesus monkeys.

PubMed

Hutsell, Blake A; Banks, Matthew L

2017-12-01

Emerging human laboratory and preclinical drug self-administration data suggest that a history of contingent abused drug exposure impairs performance in operant discrimination procedures, such as delayed nonmatching-to-sample (DNMTS), that are hypothesized to assess components of executive function. However, these preclinical discrimination studies have exclusively used food as the reinforcer and the effects of drugs as reinforcers in these operant procedures are unknown. The present study determined effects of contingent intravenous remifentanil injections on DNMTS performance hypothesized to assess 1 aspect of executive function, working memory. Daily behavioral sessions consisted of 2 components with sequential intravenous remifentanil (0, 0.01-1.0 μg/kg/injection) or food (0, 1-10 pellets) availability in nonopioid dependent male rhesus monkeys (n = 3). Remifentanil functioned as a reinforcer in the DNMTS procedure. Similar delay-dependent DNMTS accuracy was observed under both remifentanil- and food-maintained components, such that higher accuracies were maintained at shorter (0.1-1.0 s) delays and lower accuracies approaching chance performance were maintained at longer (10-32 s) delays. Remifentanil maintained significantly lower initial DNMTS accuracy compared to food. Reinforcer magnitude was not an important determinant of DNMTS accuracy for either remifentanil or food. These results extend the range of experimental procedures under which drugs function as reinforcers. Furthermore, the selective remifentanil-induced decrease in initial DNMTS accuracy is consistent with a selective impairment of attentional, but not memorial, processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Sequential injection system for simultaneous determination of sucrose and phosphate in cola drinks using paired emitter-detector diode sensor.

PubMed

Saetear, Phoonthawee; Khamtau, Kittiwut; Ratanawimarnwong, Nuanlaor; Sereenonchai, Kamonthip; Nacapricha, Duangjai

2013-10-15

This work presents the simultaneous determination of sucrose and phosphate by using sequential injection (SI) system with a low cost paired emitter-detector diode (PEDD) light sensor. The PEDD uses two 890 nm LEDs. Measurement of sucrose in Brix unit was carried out based on the detection of light refraction occurring at the liquid interface (the schlieren effect) between the sucrose solution and water. Phosphate was measured from the formation of calcium phosphate with turbidimetric detection. With careful design of the loading sequence and volume (sample--precipitating reagent--sample), simultaneous detection of sucrose and phosphate was accomplished with the single PEDD detector. At the optimized condition, linear calibrations from 1 to 7 Brix sucrose and from 50 to 200mg PO4(3-)L(-1) were obtained. Good precision at lower than 2% RSD (n=10) for both analytes with satisfactory throughput of 21 injections h(-1) was achieved. The method was successfully applied for the determination of sucrose and phosphate in cola drinks. The proposed method is readily applicable for automation and is found to be an alternative method to conventional procedures for on-line quality control process in cola drink industry. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bimodal metal micro-nanopowders for powder injection molding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pervikov, Aleksandr; Rodkevich, Nikolay; Glazkova, Elena; Lerner, Marat

2017-12-01

The paper studies a bimodal metal powder composition designed to prepare feedstock for powder injection molding, as well as microstructure and porosity of sintered pats. Two kinds of metal powder compositions are used, in particular, a mixture of micro- and nanopowders and a bimodal powder prepared with dispersion of steel wire. The feedstock is prepared by mixing a bimodal metal powder composition with acetylacetone and paraffin wax. The microstructure of the debound parts is observed by scanning electron microscopy. The sintered parts are characterized by density measurements and metallographic analysis. The technique of the metal powder composition proves to affect the characteristics of sintered parts. Nanoparticles are shown in the interstitial spaces among the microparticles upon mixing micro- and nanopowders, but the regular distribution of nanoparticles on the surface of microparticles is observed in the bimodal powder providing the reduction of the porosity of sintered parts and increasing the density to the proper density of steel.

Automated trabecular bone histomorphometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Polig, E.; Jee, W. S. S.

1985-01-01

The toxicity of alpha-emitting bone-seeking radionuclides and the relationship between bone tumor incidence and the local dosimetry of radionuclides in bone are investigated. The microdistributions of alpha-emitting radionuclides in the trabecular bone from the proximal humerus, distal humerus, proximal ulna, proximal femur, and distal femur of six young adult beagles injected with Am-241 (three with 2.8 micro-Ci/kg and three with 0.9 micro-Ci/kg) are estimated using a computer-controlled microscope photometer system; the components of the University of Utah Optical Track Scanner are described. The morphometric parameters for the beagles are calculated and analyzed. It is observed that the beagles injected with 0.9 micro-Ci of Am-241/kg showed an increase in the percentage of bone and trabecular bone thickness, and a reduction in the width of the bone marrow space and surface/volume ratio. The data reveal that radiation damage causes abnormal bone structure.

Enactment of Teacher Identity in Resolving Student Disagreements in Small Group Peer Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharma, Bal Krishna

2013-01-01

This study presents a sequential analysis of the enactment of teacher identity in closing disagreements among students in small group peer interactions in an advanced academic writing class. In doing so, it discusses: (a) the micro-details of how oppositional stances and opinions are constructed, challenged and/or defended; (b) the sequential…

3D filling simulation of micro- and nanostructures in comparison to iso- and variothermal injection moulding trials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rytka, C.; Lungershausen, J.; Kristiansen, P. M.; Neyer, A.

2016-06-01

Flow simulations can cut down both costs and time for the development of injection moulded polymer parts with functional surfaces used in life science and optical applications. We simulated the polymer melt flow into 3D micro- and nanostructures with Moldflow and Comsol and compared the results to real iso- and variothermal injection moulding trials below, at and above the transition temperature of the polymer. By adjusting the heat transfer coefficient and the transition temperature in the simulation it was possible to achieve good correlation with experimental findings at different processing conditions (mould temperature, injection velocity) for two polymers, namely polymethylmethacrylate and amorphous polyamide. The macroscopic model can be scaled down in volume and number of elements to save computational time for microstructure simulation and to enable first and foremost the nanostructure simulation, as long as local boundary conditions such as flow front speed are transferred correctly. The heat transfer boundary condition used in Moldflow was further evaluated in Comsol. Results showed that the heat transfer coefficient needs to be increased compared to macroscopic moulding in order to represent interfacial polymer/mould effects correctly. The transition temperature is most important in the packing phase for variothermal injection moulding.

Calcium bioavailability and kinetics of calcium ascorbate and calcium acetate in rats.

PubMed

Cai, Jianwei; Zhang, Qinmin; Wastney, Meryl E; Weaver, Connie M

2004-01-01

The objective was to investigate the bioavailability and mechanism of calcium absorption of calcium ascorbate (ASC) and calcium acetate (AC). A series of studies was performed in adult Sprague-Dawley male rats. In the first study, each group of rats (n = 10/group) was assigned to one of the five test meals labeled with (45)Ca: (i) 25 mg calcium as heated ASC or (ii) unheated ASC, (iii) 25 mg calcium as unheated AC, (iv) 3.6 mg Ca as unheated ASC, or (v) unheated AC. Femur uptake indicated better calcium bioavailability from ASC than AC at both calcium loads. A 5-min heat treatment partly reduced bioavailability of ASC. Kinetic studies were performed to further investigate the mechanism of superior calcium bioavailability from ASC. Two groups of rats (n = 10/group) received oral doses of 25 mg Ca as ASC or AC. Each dose contained 20 micro Ci (45)Ca. Two additional groups of rats (n = 10/group) received an intravenous injection (iv) of 10 micro Ci (45)Ca after receiving an unlabeled oral dose of 25 mg calcium as ASC or AC. Sequential blood samples were collected over 48 hrs. Urine and fecal samples were collected every 12 hrs for 48 hrs and were analyzed for total calcium and (45)Ca content. Total calcium and (45)Ca from serum, urine, and feces were fitted by a compartment kinetics model with saturable and nonsaturable absorption pathways by WinSAAM (Windows-based Simulation Analysis and Modeling). The difference in calcium bioavailability between the two salts was due to differences in saturable rather than passive intestinal absorption and not to endogenous secretion or calcium deposition rate. The higher bioavailability of calcium ascorbate was due to a longer transit time in the small intestine compared with ASC.

Adrenal vein sampling in primary aldosteronism: concordance of simultaneous vs sequential sampling.

PubMed

Almarzooqi, Mohamed-Karji; Chagnon, Miguel; Soulez, Gilles; Giroux, Marie-France; Gilbert, Patrick; Oliva, Vincent L; Perreault, Pierre; Bouchard, Louis; Bourdeau, Isabelle; Lacroix, André; Therasse, Eric

2017-02-01

Many investigators believe that basal adrenal venous sampling (AVS) should be done simultaneously, whereas others opt for sequential AVS for simplicity and reduced cost. This study aimed to evaluate the concordance of sequential and simultaneous AVS methods. Between 1989 and 2015, bilateral simultaneous sets of basal AVS were obtained twice within 5 min, in 188 consecutive patients (59 women and 129 men; mean age: 53.4 years). Selectivity was defined by adrenal-to-peripheral cortisol ratio ≥2, and lateralization was defined as an adrenal aldosterone-to-cortisol ratio ≥2, the contralateral side. Sequential AVS was simulated using right sampling at -5 min (t = -5) and left sampling at 0 min (t = 0). There was no significant difference in mean selectivity ratio (P = 0.12 and P = 0.42 for the right and left sides respectively) and in mean lateralization ratio (P = 0.93) between t = -5 and t = 0. Kappa for selectivity between 2 simultaneous AVS was 0.71 (95% CI: 0.60-0.82), whereas it was 0.84 (95% CI: 0.76-0.92) and 0.85 (95% CI: 0.77-0.93) between sequential and simultaneous AVS at respectively -5 min and at 0 min. Kappa for lateralization between 2 simultaneous AVS was 0.84 (95% CI: 0.75-0.93), whereas it was 0.86 (95% CI: 0.78-0.94) and 0.80 (95% CI: 0.71-0.90) between sequential AVS and simultaneous AVS at respectively -5 min at 0 min. Concordance between simultaneous and sequential AVS was not different than that between 2 repeated simultaneous AVS in the same patient. Therefore, a better diagnostic performance is not a good argument to select the AVS method. © 2017 European Society of Endocrinology.

Pixelized Measurement of (99m)Tc-HDP Micro Particles Formed in Gamma Correction Phantom Pinhole Scan: a Reference Study.

PubMed

Jung, Joo-Young; Cheon, Gi Jeong; Lee, Yun-Sang; Ha, Seunggyun; Chae, Mi-Hye; Chung, Yong-An; Yoon, Do Kyun; Bahk, Yong-Whee

2016-09-01

Currently, traumatic bone diseases are diagnosed by assessing the micro (99m)Tc-hydroxymethylene diphosphonate (HDP) uptake in injured trabeculae with ongoing osteoneogenesis demonstrated by gamma correction pinhole scan (GCPS). However, the mathematic size quantification of micro-uptake is not yet available. We designed and performed this phantom-based study to set up an in-vitro model of the mathematical calculation of micro-uptake by the pixelized measurement. The micro (99m)Tc-HDP deposits used in this study were spontaneously formed both in a large standard flood and small house-made dish phantoms. The processing was as follows: first, phantoms were flooded with distilled water and (99m)Tc-HDP was therein injected to induce micro (99m)Tc-HDP deposition; second, the deposits were scanned using parallel-hole and pinhole collimator to generally survey (99m)Tc-HDP deposition pattern; and third, the scans underwent gamma correction (GC) to discern individual deposits for size measurement. In original naïve scans, tracer distribution was simply nebulous in appearance and, hence, could not be measured. Impressively, however, GCPS could discern individual micro deposits so that they were calculated by pixelized measurement. Phantoms naturally formed micro (99m)Tc-HDP deposits that are analogous to (99m)Tc-HDP uptake on in-vivo bone scan. The smallest one we measured was 0.414 mm. Flooded phantoms and therein injected (99m)Tc-HDP form nebulous micro (99m)Tc-HDP deposits that are rendered discernible by GCPB and precisely calculable using pixelized measurement. This method can be used for precise quantitative and qualitative diagnosis of bone and joint diseases at the trabecular level.

Optimization of large-volume injection for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in children's fast-food menus by low-resolution mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Esteve-Turrillas, Francesc A; Caupos, Emilie; Llorca, Isabel; Pastor, Agustín; de la Guardia, Miguel

2008-03-26

This study includes the determination of five indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (52, 101, 153, 138, and 180), six non-ortho PCBs (35, 80, 81, 77, 126, and 169), and two mono-ortho PCBs (28 and 118) in fast food for children. A freeze-dried sample of 10 g is extracted by using pressurized n-hexane in two 5 min cycles at 120 degrees C and 100 mbar. Fatty extracts were cleaned up by means of acetonitrile/n-hexane partitioning and gel-permeation chromatography. The fractionation of non-ortho, mono-ortho, and indicator PCBs was made on graphitized carbon solid-phase extraction cartridges by using n-hexane, n-hexane/toluene (99:1, v/v), and toluene as elution solvents. Gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and large-volume injections with a programmed-temperature vaporizer (PTV-LV) were used to increase sensitivity and selectivity of the PCB determination. The PTV-LV injection settings, that is, vaporizing temperature, vaporizing time, and purge flow, were optimized by using a central composite design. A 15-40 times increased sensitivity was reached as compared with that obtained with the conventional 1 microL splitless injection. The limits of detection achieved were between 0.3 and 1.2 pg/g, and repeatability data, as relative standard deviation varied, ranged from 2 to 9% for the 0.05 ng/mL PCB level.

32-Phosphorus selectively delivered by listeria to pancreatic cancer demonstrates a strong therapeutic effect

PubMed Central

Chandra, Dinesh; Selvanesan, Benson Chellakkan; Yuan, Ziqiang; Libutti, Steven K; Koba, Wade; Beck, Amanda; Zhu, Kun; Casadevall, Arturo; Dadachova, Ekaterina; Gravekamp, Claudia

2017-01-01

Our laboratory has developed a novel delivery platform using an attenuated non-toxic and non-pathogenic bacterium Listeria monocytogenes that infects tumor cells and selectively survives and multiplies in metastases and primary tumors with help of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and immune suppression in the tumor microenvironment (TME). 32P was efficiently incorporated into the Listeria bacteria by starvation of the bacteria in saline, and then cultured in phosphorus-free medium complemented with 32P as a nutrient. Listeria-32P kills tumor cells through both 32P-induced ionizing radiation and Listeria-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS). The levels of 32P and Listeria were studied in various normal and tumor tissues, at sequential time points after injection of mice with pancreatic cancer (syngeneic model Panc-02). We found that 32P and Listeria predominantly accumulated in tumors and metastases, with their highest accumulation 4 hrs (32P) and 3 days (Listeria) after injection. Listeria also penetrated the transgenic KPC (conditionally express endogenous Kras-G12D and p53-R172H mutant alleles) pancreatic tumors and metastases. This is remarkable since KPC tumors, like human tumors, exhibit a stromal barrier, which prevents most drugs from penetrating the pancreatic tumors. Therapeutic treatment with Listeria -32P resulted in a strong reduction of the growth of pancreatic cancer at early and late stages in Panc-02 and KPC mice. These results highlight the power of Listeria as new delivery platform of anticancer agents to the TME. Not only were therapeutic levels of radioactive Listeria reached in tumors and metastases but the selective delivery also led to minimal side effects. PMID:28186976

Synthèse bibliographique : micro-texturation et microinjection de thermoplastiques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vera, Julie; Brulez, Anne-Catherine; Contraires, Elise; Larochette, Mathieu; Valette, Stéphane; Benayoun, Stéphane

2017-12-01

La fonctionnalisation de surface des matériaux et notamment des polymères fait l'objet de recherches intenses dans de nombreux secteurs tels que l'industrie du biomédical ou du transport afin de conférer aux pièces des propriétés spécifiques comme l'antibuée, la réduction du frottement ou le dégivrage… Dans le cas d'une production en grande série de pièces polymères fonctionnalisées, il est préférable, pour des questions de coûts, de générer des textures, au moyen d'une technique de reproduction d'empreinte comme l'injection plastique. Toutefois les fonctions requises nécessitent parfois la reproduction de dimensions microniques voire submicroniques poussant à ses limites la maîtrise du procédé conventionnel, avec les caractéristiques de l'injection de micro-pièces, mais aussi des spécificités propres à la micro-texturation. L'objet de cette revue bibliographique est de couvrir le large spectre des problèmes techniques et scientifiques associés à la micro-texturation des pièces plastiques. Les techniques d'usinage de ces micro-motifs sur les outillages et le rôle des revêtements est particulièrement décrit ainsi que le besoin de mettre en œuvre des approches spécifiques de caractérisation topographique des textures. L'influence des paramètres du procédé d'injection est aussi discutée, soulignant la nécessité d'appréhender la micro-texturation des pièces plastiques avec une nouvelle grille de lecture de la microinjection.

Concurrent bioremediation of perchlorate and 1,1,1-trichloroethane in an emulsified oil barrier.

PubMed

Borden, Robert C

2007-10-30

A detailed field pilot test was conducted to evaluate the use of edible oil emulsions for enhanced in situ biodegradation of perchlorate and chlorinated solvents in groundwater. Edible oil substrate (EOS) was injected into a line of ten direct push injection wells over a 2-day period to form a 15-m-long biologically active permeable reactive barrier (bio-barrier). Field monitoring results over a 2.5-year period indicate the oil injection generated strongly reducing conditions in the oil-treated zone with depletion of dissolved oxygen, nitrate, and sulfate, and increases in dissolved iron, manganese and methane. Perchlorate was degraded from 3100 to 20,000 microg/L to below detection (<4 microg/L) in the injection and nearby monitor wells within 5 days following the injection. Two years after the single emulsion injection, perchlorate was less than 6 microg/L in every downgradient well compared to an average upgradient concentration of 13,100 microg/L. Immediately after emulsion injection, there were large shifts in concentrations of chlorinated solvents and degradation products due to injection of clean water, sorption to the oil and adaptation of the in situ microbial community. Approximately 4 months after emulsion injection, concentrations of 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), perchloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE) and their degradation products appeared to reach a quasi steady-state condition. During the period from 4 to 18 months, TCA was reduced from 30-70 microM to 0.2-4 microM during passage through the bio-barrier. However, 1-9 microM 1,1-dichloroethane (DCA) and 8-14 microM of chloroethane (CA) remained indicating significant amounts of incompletely degraded TCA were discharging from the oil-treated zone. During this same period, PCE and TCE were reduced with concurrent production of 1,2-cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE). However, very little VC or ethene was produced indicating reductive dechlorination slowed or stopped at cis-DCE. The incomplete removal of TCA, PCE and TCE is likely associated with the short (5-20 days) hydraulic retention time of contaminants in the oil-treated zone. The permeability of the injection wells declined by 39-91% (average=68%) presumably due to biomass growth and/or gas production. However, non-reactive tracer tests and detailed monitoring of the perchlorate plume demonstrated that the permeability loss did not result in excessive flow bypassing around the bio-barrier. Contaminant transport and degradation within the bio-barrier was simulated using an advection-dispersion-reaction model where biodegradation rate was assumed to be linearly proportional to the residual oil concentration (Soil) and the contaminant concentration. Using this approach, the calibrated model was able to closely match the observed contaminant distribution. The calibrated model was then used to design a full-scale barrier to treat both ClO4 and chlorinated solvents.

Fever produced by endotoxin injected into the hypothalamus of the monkey and its antagonism by salicylate

PubMed Central

Myers, R. D.; Rudy, T. A.; Yaksh, T. L.

1974-01-01

1. A suspension of the killed cell bodies of either E. coli, S. dysenteriae or S. typhosa was micro-injected through cannulae implanted chronically at specific sites within the diencephalon and mid-brain of the unanaesthetized monkey. A biphasic, monophasic or an undifferentiated fever could be induced by each type of micro-organism, but the type of response depended solely upon the locus of injection. 2. Although little difference in the potency of the three pyrogens was found, the rise in body temperature was in each instance dependent upon the concentration of the endotoxin. A more intense fever was accompanied by shivering, vasoconstriction of the ear vessels, piloerection and huddling behaviour. Tolerance to the pyrexic effect of repeated injections of endotoxin did not develop. 3. The febrile response having the shortest latency, greatest maximum rise in temperature and largest 10-hr fever index was evoked by micro-injections into the anterior hypothalamic, preoptic area. The incidence of biphasic fevers was also greater after endotoxin was injected into this same region. Endotoxin given similarly in the posterior hypothalamus or in the mesencephalon had either no effect or produced a smaller elevation in temperature after a longer latency. The distance of an injection site from the coronal plane formed by the optic chiasm and anterior commissure correlated significantly with the latency and magnitude of the temperature change as well as the fever index. 4. When given intravenously, endotoxin in a quantity at least 100 times greater was required to evoke a fever similar to that produced when the pyrogen was micro-injected into the anterior hypothalamic, preoptic region. However, a biphasic fever was evoked with a latency of from 3 to 15 min when a larger amount of endotoxin was injected intravenously. Tolerance developed rapidly to the febrile effect of endotoxin administered by this route although toxic reactions were not observed. 5. After the fever evoked by the hypothalamic injection of endotoxin had reached a plateau, 300-1200 mg sodium salicylate administered intragastrically produced a dose-dependent fall in temperature, but had no effect on the body temperature of an afebrile monkey. 6. It is concluded that in the rhesus monkey, a bacterial pyrogen can evoke a fever which is mediated entirely by an action on the central nervous system, the principal site being the anterior hypothalamic, preoptic area. The first phase of a biphasic fever caused by bacteria acting either by the central or peripheral route seems to be due either to a direct action of the pyrogen on the cells of the anterior hypothalamus, or to the secondary release within this region of an intermediary thermogenic substance such as 5-hydroxytryptamine or prostaglandin. The finding that sodium salicylate counteracts a centrally evoked fever is not compatible with the hypothesis that an antipyretic exerts its action by preventing a pyrogen that is circulating in the blood stream from entering the central nervous system. PMID:4615138

Comparative evaluation of 4 and 6-carbon spacer conformationally flexible tetrahydroisoquinolinyl benzamide analogues for imaging the sigma-2 receptor status of solid tumors.

PubMed

Lee, Iljung; Lieberman, Brian P; Li, Shihong; Hou, Catherine; Makvandi, Mehran; Mach, Robert H

2016-11-01

Nine novel analogues were synthesized including a 6-carbon spacer analogue of ISO-1 (7). They have moderate binding affinity for sigma-2 (σ 2 ) receptors and high selectivity for σ 2 receptors relative to sigma-1 (σ 1 ) receptors. ([ 18 F]7) was synthesized and evaluated as a candidate ligand for positron emission (PET) imaging of the σ 2 receptor in tumors. Radioligand [ 18 F]7 was radiolabeled with 18 F via displacement of the corresponding mesylate precursor with [ 18 F]fluoride. Cellular uptake study of [ 18 F]7 was performed in EMT-6 tumor cell, and in vivo biodistribution study of [ 18 F]7 and microPET imaging study of [ 18 F]3 and [ 18 F]7 carried out in female Balb/c mice bearing EMT-6 tumors. [ 18 F]7 had a respectable tumor uptake (1.55%ID/g at 60min post-injection) and high tumor/muscle ratios at 60 and 120min post-injection. MicroPET imaging of [ 18 F]7 in tumor-bearing mice as above showed significant tumor localization and a high tumor/muscle ratio as well. These results are similar to or better than [ 18 F]ISO-1 ([ 18 F]3), which indicates that [ 18 F]7 has potential for imaging the σ 2 receptor status of solid tumors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Laser frequency multiplication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1991-11-01

A high quality mode locked pulse train was obtained at 9.55 microns, the CO2 wavelength chosen for frequency doubling into the atmospheric window at 4.8 microns. The pulse train consists of a 3 micro sec burst of 1.5 nsec pulses separated by 40 nsec, in a TEM (sub 00) mode and with a total energy of 100 mJ. The pulse intensity without focussing is about 3 MW/sq.cm., already quite close to the target intensity of 10 MW/sq.cm. for frequency doubling in a AgGaSe2 crystal. The mode-locked train is obtained by intracavity modulation at 12.5 MHz using a germanium crystal driven with a power of about 30 Watts. Line selection is achieved firstly by the use of a 0.92 mm thick CaF2 plate at the Brewster angle within the cavity, which completely suppresses 10.6 micron band radiation. Secondly, a particular rotational line, the P20 at 9.55 micron, is selected by the injection of a continuous beam is mode-matched to the pulsed laser cavity using a long focal length lens, and for best line-locking it is necessary to fine tune the length of the pulsed laser resonator. Injection causes substantial depression of the gain switched spike.

Meso-Scale Wetting of Paper Towels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abedsoltan, Hossein

In this study, a new experimental approach is proposed to investigate the absorption properties of some selected retail paper towels. The samples were selected from two important manufacturing processes, conventional wet pressing (CWP) considered value products, and through air drying (TAD) considered as high or premium products. The tested liquids were water, decane, dodecane, and tetradecane with the total volumes in micro-liter range. The method involves the point source injection of liquid with different volumetric flowrates, in the nano-liter per second range. The local site for injection was chosen arbitrarily on the sample surface. The absorption process was monitored and recorded as the liquid advances, with two distinct imaging system methods, infrared imaging and optical imaging. The microscopic images were analyzed to calculate the wetted regions during the absorption test, and the absorption diagrams were generated. These absorption diagrams were dissected to illustrate the absorption phenomenon, and the absorption properties of the samples. The local (regional) absorption rates were computed for Mardi Gras and Bounty Basic as the representative samples for CWP and TAD, respectively in order to be compared with the absorption capacity property of these two samples. Then, the absorption capacity property was chosen as an index factor to compare the absorption properties of all the tested paper towels.

Financial methods for waterflooding injectate design

DOEpatents

Heneman, Helmuth J.; Brady, Patrick V.

2017-08-08

A method of selecting an injectate for recovering liquid hydrocarbons from a reservoir includes designing a plurality of injectates, calculating a net present value of each injectate, and selecting a candidate injectate based on the net present value. For example, the candidate injectate may be selected to maximize the net present value of a waterflooding operation.

Structure--activity studies for alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropanoic acid receptors: acidic hydroxyphenylalanines.

PubMed

Hill, R A; Wallace, L J; Miller, D D; Weinstein, D M; Shams, G; Tai, H; Layer, R T; Willins, D; Uretsky, N J; Danthi, S N

1997-09-26

Antagonists of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropanoic acid (AMPA) receptors may have therapeutic potential as psychotropic agents. A series of mononitro- and dinitro-2- and 3-hydroxyphenylalanines was prepared, and their activity compared with willardiine, 5-nitrowillardiine, AMPA, and 2,4,5-trihydroxyphenylalanine (6-hydroxydopa) as inhibitors of specific [3H]AMPA and [3H]kainate binding in rat brain homogenates. The most active compounds were highly acidic (pKa 3-4), namely, 2-hydroxy-3,5-dinitro-DL-phenylalanine (13; [3H]AMPA IC50 approximately equal to 25 microM) and 3-hydroxy-2,4-dinitro-DL-phenylalanine (19; [3H]AMPA IC50 approximately equal to 5 microM). Two other dinitro-3-hydroxyphenylalanines, and 3,5-dinitro-DL-tyrosine, were considerably less active. Various mononitrohydroxyphenylalanines, which are less acidic, were also less active or inactive, and 2- and 3-hydroxyphenylalanine (o- and m-tyrosine) were inactive. Compounds 13 and 19, DL-willardiine (pKa 9.3, [3H]AMPA IC50 = 2 microM), and 5-nitro-DL-willardiine (pKa 6.4, [3H]AMPA IC50 = 0.2 microM) displayed AMPA > kainate selectivity in binding studies. Compound 19 was an AMPA-like agonist, but 13 was an antagonist in an AMPA-evoked norepinephrine release assay in rat hippocampal nerve endings. Also, compound 13 injected into the rat ventral pallidum antagonized the locomotor activity elicited by systemic amphetamine.

The duration of hyaluronidase and optimal timing of hyaluronic acid (HA) filler reinjection after hyaluronidase injection.

PubMed

Kim, H J; Kwon, S B; Whang, K U; Lee, J S; Park, Y L; Lee, S Y

2018-02-01

Hyaluronidase injection is a commonly performed treatment for overcorrection or misplacement of hyaluronic acid (HA) filler. Many patients often wants the HA filler reinjection after the use of hyaluronidase, though the optimal timing of reinjection of HA filler still remains unknown. To provide the optimal time interval between hyaluronidase injections and HA filler reinjections. 6 Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with single monophasic HA filler. 1 week after injection, the injected sites were treated with hyaluronidase. Then, HA fillers were reinjected sequentially with differing time intervals from 30 minutes to 14 days. 1 hour after the reinjection of the last HA filler, all injection sites were excised for histologic evaluation. 3 hours after reinjection of HA filler, the appearance of filler material became evident again, retaining its shape and volume. 6 hours after reinjection, the filler materials restored almost its original volume and there were no significant differences from the positive control. Our data suggest that the hyaluronidase loses its effect in dermis and subcutaneous tissue within 3-6 hours after the injection and successful engraftment of reinjected HA filler can be accomplished 6 hours after the injection.

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

PubMed

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

2017-01-01

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

Chronic nicotine administration differentially affects neurotransmitter release from rat striatal slices.

PubMed

Yu, Z J; Wecker, L

1994-07-01

The objective of these experiments was to determine whether the chronic administration of nicotine, at a dose regimen that increases the density of nicotine binding sites, alters the nicotine-induced release of [3H]-dopamine ([3H]DA), [3H]norepinephrine ([3H]NE), [3H]-serotonin ([3H]5-HT), or [3H]acetylcholine ([3H]ACh) from rat striatal slices. For these experiments, rats received subcutaneous injections of either saline or nicotine bitartrate [1.76 mg (3.6 mumol)/kg, dissolved in saline] twice daily for 10 days, and neurotransmitter release was measured following preloading of the tissues with [3H]DA, [3H]NE, [3H]5-HT, or [3H]choline. Chronic nicotine administration did not affect the accumulation of tritium by striatal slices, the basal release of radioactivity, or the 25 mM KCl-evoked release of neurotransmitter. Superfusion of striatal slices with 1, 10, and 100 microM nicotine increased [3H]DA release in a concentration-dependent manner, and release from slices from nicotine-injected animals was significantly (p < 0.05) greater than release from saline-injected controls; release from the former increased to 132, 191, and 172% of release from the controls following superfusion with 1, 10, and 100 microM nicotine, respectively. Similarly, [3H]5-HT release increased in a concentration-related manner following superfusion with nicotine, and release from slices from nicotine-injected rats was significantly (p < 0.05) greater than that from controls. [3H]5-HT release from slices from nicotine-injected rats evoked by superfusion with 1 and 10 microM nicotine increased to 453 and 217%, respectively, of release from slices from saline-injected animals. The nicotine-induced release of [3H]NE from striatal slices was also concentration dependent but was unaffected by chronic nicotine administration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Nutrient Recovery from the Dry Grind Process Using Sequential Micro and Ultrafiltration of Thin Stillage

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The effectiveness of microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) for nutrient recovery from a thin stillage stream was determined. When a stainless steel MF membrane (0.1 um pore size) was used, the content of solids increased from 7.0% to 22.8% with a mean permeate flux rate of 45 L/m**2/h (LMH)...

Sequential nitric oxide measurements during the emergency department treatment of acute vasoocclusive sickle cell crisis.

PubMed

Lopez, B L; Davis-Moon, L; Ballas, S K; Ma, X L

2000-05-01

This prospective study was designed to examine the relationship between serial serum nitric oxide (NO) levels and pain during the emergency department (ED) treatment of acute vasoocclusive sickle cell crisis (SCC). 102 patient visits, age > or =18 years of age, presenting to the ED with uncomplicated, typical SCC pain had serum NO levels obtained at 2-hr intervals during treatment of pain and were measured using an NO-specific chemiluminesence technique. Pain was measured prior to each NO measurement using a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS), and subjects were divided into a persistent pain group and an improved pain group. Patients with persistent pain had significantly low initial NO levels (11.51 microM +/- 2.8, P < 0.05) while those with pain improvement had higher initial NO levels (18.1 microM +/- 3.08, P < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between changes in NO and changes in pain scores. These results suggest that the initial NO level may serve as a marker for the severity of tissue ischemia. Sequential NO levels do not appear useful in predicting the course of SCC.

A rapid method for the sequential separation of polonium, plutonium, americium and uranium in drinking water.

PubMed

Lemons, B; Khaing, H; Ward, A; Thakur, P

2018-06-01

A new sequential separation method for the determination of polonium and actinides (Pu, Am and U) in drinking water samples has been developed that can be used for emergency response or routine water analyses. For the first time, the application of TEVA chromatography column in the sequential separation of polonium and plutonium has been studied. This method utilizes a rapid Fe +3 co-precipitation step to remove matrix interferences, followed by plutonium oxidation state adjustment to Pu 4+ and an incubation period of ~ 1 h at 50-60 °C to allow Po 2+ to oxidize to Po 4+ . The polonium and plutonium were then separated on a TEVA column, while separation of americium from uranium was performed on a TRU column. After separation, polonium was micro-precipitated with copper sulfide (CuS), while actinides were micro co-precipitated using neodymium fluoride (NdF 3 ) for counting by the alpha spectrometry. The method is simple, robust and can be performed quickly with excellent removal of interferences, high chemical recovery and very good alpha peak resolution. The efficiency and reliability of the procedures were tested by using spiked samples. The effect of several transition metals (Cu 2+ , Pb 2+ , Fe 3+ , Fe 2+ , and Ni 2+ ) on the performance of this method were also assessed to evaluate the potential matrix effects. Studies indicate that presence of up to 25 mg of these cations in the samples had no adverse effect on the recovery or the resolution of polonium alpha peaks. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selective modification of NMR relaxation time in human colorectal carcinoma by using gadolinium-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid conjugated with monoclonal antibody 19-9.

PubMed Central

Curtet, C; Tellier, C; Bohy, J; Conti, M L; Saccavini, J C; Thedrez, P; Douillard, J Y; Chatal, J F; Koprowski, H

1986-01-01

Monoclonal antibody 19-9 (mAb 19-9) against human colon adenocarcinoma was conjugated with gadolinium X diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd X DTPA) and used as a contrast agent in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in an effort to improve tumor target selectivity in nude mice. The data indicate that Gd X DTPA-mAb 19-9 in solution decreased the T1 relaxation of water protons at 90 MHz in direct proportion to the gadolinium concentration, and this effect was greater than in Gd X DTPA solutions. T1 relaxation time at 90 MHz, measured in tumors removed from nude mice 24 hr after injection of Gd X DTPA-mAb 19-9 (Gd, 20 mumol/kg; 16 DTPA molecules per mAb molecule), was significantly decreased (by 15%) as compared with the control group. Similar results were obtained in tumors from mice injected with Gd X DTPA-mAb 19-9 solutions in which Gd was used at 2, 6, or 10 mumol/kg (16 DTPA molecules per mAb molecule). These doses are lower than those commonly used for Gd X DTPA (10-100 mumol/kg) as contrast agent. Tumor localization by the Gd X DTPA-mAb 19-9 complex containing radioactive Gd (0.3 microCi/microgram of 153Gd) to confirm scintigraphy revealed significant concentrations of the complex (5% of the injected dose per gram of tissue) in the tumor. Scan images recorded in planar scintigraphy at day 5 showed good visualization of tumors. Images PMID:3459174

Airflow, transport and regional deposition of aerosol particles during chronic bronchitis of human central airways.

PubMed

Farkhadnia, Fouad; Gorji, Tahereh B; Gorji-Bandpy, Mofid

2016-03-01

In the present study, the effects of airway blockage in chronic bronchitis disease on the flow patterns and transport/deposition of micro-particles in a human symmetric triple bifurcation lung airway model, i.e., Weibel's generations G3-G6 was investigated. A computational fluid and particle dynamics model was implemented, validated and applied in order to evaluate the airflow and particle transport/deposition in central airways. Three breathing patterns, i.e., resting, light activity and moderate exercise, were considered. Using Lagrangian approach for particle tracking and random particle injection, an unsteady particle tracking method was performed to simulate the transport and deposition of micron-sized aerosol particles in human central airways. Assuming laminar, quasi-steady, three-dimensional air flow and spherical non-interacting particles in sequentially bifurcating rigid airways, airflow patterns and particle transport/deposition in healthy and chronic bronchitis (CB) affected airways were evaluated and compared. Comparison of deposition efficiency (DE) of aerosols in healthy and occluded airways showed that at the same flow rates DE values are typically larger in occluded airways. While in healthy airways, particles deposit mainly around the carinal ridges and flow dividers--due to direct inertial impaction, in CB affected airways they deposit mainly on the tubular surfaces of blocked airways because of gravitational sedimentation.

Effects of phalloidin microinjection and localization of fluorescein-labeled phalloidin in living sand dollar eggs.

PubMed

Hamaguchi, Y; Mabuchi, I

1982-01-01

Effects of microinjection of phalloidin on fertilization and cleavage of sand dollar (Clypeaster japonicus and Scaphechinus mirabilis) eggs were studied. The drug, previously injected into unfertilized eggs, showed no effect on the elevation of the fertilization membrane upon insemination up to an intracellular concentration of 50 microM. However, the movement of the egg pronucleus to the sperm pronucleus was inhibited and the fusion of pronuclei did not occur. The subsequent development no longer took place. When phalloidin was injected into fertilized eggs, the thickness of the cortical layer increased and the microvilli became conspicuous. Both nuclear division and cleavage were inhibited at the intracellular concentration of more than 20 microM, though the latter seemed to be more sensitive to phalloidin than the former. Fluorescein-labeled phalloidin (FL-phalloidin) was injected into eggs in order to investigate F-actin localization by fluorescence microscopy. In both unfertilized and fertilized eggs, FL-phalloidin was localized in the cortical layer within 1 min after injection. It was also localized in the cortical layer as radially oriented rod-like structures when injected into fertilized eggs before the disappearance of the nuclear membrane. No distinct fluorescence was detected in the mitotic apparatus or in the cleavage furrow. FL-phalloidin redistributed gradually into egg cytoplasm. In unfertilized eggs, fluorescent rods were found especially in the egg pronucleus 30 min after injection.

Novel splice techniques and micro-hole collapse effect in photonic crystal fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Limin

Photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) represent one of the most active research areas today in the field of fiber optics. Because of the freedom they offer in their design and novel wave-guiding properties, PCFs have resulted in a number of applications that are difficult to achieve with conventional fibers. In practical applications, low-loss connection PCFs with conventional fibers is a key issue for integrating PCF devices into existing fiber optic systems. However, connecting PCFs to conventional fibers without incurring too much loss is a very challenging problem. Two novel techniques were proposed to solve this problem in the thesis. One is fusion splicing technique; the other is micro-tip technique. First, fusion splicing technique for PCFs is investigated. For fusion splicing SMFs and PCFs having similar mode field diameters, a low-loss joint with good mechanical strength can be formed by choosing a suitably weak fusion current, short fusion time, offset and overlap to minimize the collapse of air holes and well melt two fibers together. For small-core PCFs, an optimum mode field match and an adiabatic mode field variation can be achieved by repeated arc discharges. Low-loss fusion splicing of five different PCFs with SMFs are achieved, including large mode PCF, hollow-core PCF, nonlinear PCFs with low and high air-filling fraction and polarization maintaining PCF. The other novel technique is using micro-tips. The method is based on growing photopolymer micro-tips directly on the end face of SMFs. The shape and the size of the tips can be controlled, by adjusting the laser power, the exposure time and the oxygen diffusion concentration for polymerization, to match its mode field to the small-core PCFs. Micro-hole collapse effect can be used to fabricate selective injection PCFs. The suitable arc discharge energy can cause the cladding holes to collapse while leaving the central hollow core to remain open. Thus a simple method for selective filling the central hole of PCFs is developed. Hybrid PCF guides light by a novel guiding mechanism, which is a combination of index-guiding and bandgap-guiding. The properties of the hybrid PCF are systematically investigated.

40 CFR 60.2115 - What if I do not use a wet scrubber, fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, an electrostatic... filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, an electrostatic precipitator, or a... than a wet scrubber, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, fabric filter, an...

Tools and methods for automated assembly of miniaturized gear systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nienhaus, Matthias; Ehrfeld, Wolfgang; Berg, Udo; Schmitz, Felix; Soultan, H.

2000-10-01

The assembly of gear systems with the size of a pin head is almost beyond the bound of human tactile skills. The magic formula for series fabrication of this hybrid micro systems is the automation of the assembly process. As a contribution, this paper presents and discusses three different assembly methods comprising specifically developed tools for different types of planetary gears with outer diameters of 1.9 mm. Because of the huge importance for the complete micro assembly process, particular attention will be dedicated to the feeding and magazining of the micro gear components. Starting with metallic gear wheels as bulk good, an extremely miniaturized gear system of the Wolfram type has been automatically assembled by employing the strategy of tolerance compensation movement. As a key component, a modular tong gripper with specifically adapted gripping jaws produced by LIGA technology has been used. Further detailed investigations were spend on handling and assembly of micro injection moulded gear wheels made of POM for a three state planetary gear system. One strategy, following the idea of in situ observation, focuses on the intensive use of electronic pattern recognition. Alternatively, an unusual method based on a novel plastic wafer magazine will be discussed in detail. Hereby the exact position and orientation of injection moulded micro components will be presented from the manufacturing process up to the final micro assembly procedure. By simplifying the moulding of the micro gears as well as their handling, storing and assembly, this method has the potential to revolutionize the series fabrication of products with dimensions in the microscopic range in general.

Miniaturization of environmental chemical assays in flowing systems: the lab-on-a-valve approach vis-à-vis lab-on-a-chip microfluidic devices.

PubMed

Miró, Manuel; Hansen, Elo Harald

2007-09-26

The analytical capabilities of the microminiaturized lab-on-a-valve (LOV) module integrated into a microsequential injection (muSI) fluidic system in terms of analytical chemical performance, microfluidic handling and on-line sample processing are compared to those of the micro total analysis systems (muTAS), also termed lab-on-a-chip (LOC). This paper illustrates, via selected representative examples, the potentials of the LOV scheme vis-à-vis LOC microdevices for environmental assays. By means of user-friendly programmable flow and the exploitation of the interplay between the thermodynamics and the kinetics of the chemical reactions at will, LOV allows accommodation of reactions which, at least at the present stage, are not feasible by application of microfluidic LOC systems. Thus, in LOV one may take full advantage of kinetic discriminations schemes, where even subtle differences in reactions are utilized for analytical purposes. Furthermore, it is also feasible to handle multi-step sequential reactions of divergent kinetics; to conduct multi-parametric determinations without manifold reconfiguration by utilization of the inherent open-architecture of the micromachined unit for implementation of peripheral modules and automated handling of a variety of reagents; and most importantly, it offers itself as a versatile front end to a plethora of detection schemes. Not the least, LOV is regarded as an emerging downscaled tool to overcome the dilemma of LOC microsystems to admit real-life samples. This is nurtured via its intrinsic flexibility for accommodation of sample pre-treatment schemes aimed at the on-line manipulation of complex samples. Thus, LOV is playing a prominent role in the environmental field, whenever the monitoring of trace level concentration of pollutants is pursued, because both matrix isolation and preconcentration of target analytes is most often imperative, or in fact necessary, prior to sample presentation to the detector.

Iterative non-sequential protein structural alignment.

PubMed

Salem, Saeed; Zaki, Mohammed J; Bystroff, Christopher

2009-06-01

Structural similarity between proteins gives us insights into their evolutionary relationships when there is low sequence similarity. In this paper, we present a novel approach called SNAP for non-sequential pair-wise structural alignment. Starting from an initial alignment, our approach iterates over a two-step process consisting of a superposition step and an alignment step, until convergence. We propose a novel greedy algorithm to construct both sequential and non-sequential alignments. The quality of SNAP alignments were assessed by comparing against the manually curated reference alignments in the challenging SISY and RIPC datasets. Moreover, when applied to a dataset of 4410 protein pairs selected from the CATH database, SNAP produced longer alignments with lower rmsd than several state-of-the-art alignment methods. Classification of folds using SNAP alignments was both highly sensitive and highly selective. The SNAP software along with the datasets are available online at http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~zaki/software/SNAP.

A SEQUENTIAL, MULTIPLE-TREATMENT, TARGETED APPROACH TO REDUCE WOUND HEALING AND FAILURE OF GLAUCOMA FILTRATION SURGERY IN A RABBIT MODEL (AN AMERICAN OPHTHALMOLOGICAL SOCIETY THESIS)

PubMed Central

Sherwood, Mark Brian

2006-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concept of targeting mediators of the scarring process at multiple points across the course of bleb failure, in order to prolong bleb survival. Methods There were three linked parts to the experiment. In the first part, a cannula glaucoma filtration surgery (GFS) was performed on 32 New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits, and bleb survival was assessed for six different regimens plus controls by grading bleb height and width. For the second part of the study, the same GFS surgery was performed on an additional 10 NZW rabbits. Two additional filtering blebs were treated with balanced saline solution (BSS), two received mitomycin-C (MMC) (0.4 mg/mL), and for the remaining six, a sequential regimen was given consisting of 200 mmol/L mannose-6-phosphate (M-6-P) solution at the time of surgery, followed by subconjunctival injections of antibody to connective tissue growth factor at days 2 and 4, and Ilomastat, a broad-spectrum matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor, at days 7, 12, and 20 postoperatively. Bleb survival was again assessed. In the final part of the experiment, blebs treated with either BSS, MMC, or the above sequential multitreatment regimen were examined histologically at 14 days postoperatively in three additional NZW rabbits. Results All six individual therapies selected resulted in some improvement of bleb survival compared to BSS control. Blebs treated with the new sequential, multitreatment protocol survived an average of 29 days (regression slope, P < .0001 compared to control), those receiving BSS an average of 17 days, and those treated with MMC (0.4 mg/mL) an average of 36 days. The sequential, multitreatment regimen was significantly superior to any of the six monotherapies for time to zero analysis (flattening) of the bleb (P < .002). Histologic examination of the bleb tissues showed a markedly less epithelial thinning, subepithelial collagen thinning, and goblet cell loss in the multitreatment group, when compared with the MMC blebs. Conclusions In a rabbit model of GFS, a sequential, targeted, multitreatment approach prolonged bleb survival compared to BSS controls and decreased bleb tissue morphological changes when compared to those treated with MMC. It is not known whether these findings can be reproduced in humans, and further work is needed to determine an optimum regimen and timing of therapeutic delivery. PMID:17471357

Development of a piezo-actuated micro-teleoperation system for cell manipulation.

PubMed

Zareinejad, M; Rezaei, S M; Abdullah, A; Shiry Ghidary, S

2009-03-01

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) requires long training and has low success rates, primarily due to poor control over the injection force. Making force feedback available to the operator will improve the success rate of the injection task. A macro-micro-teleoperation system bridges the gap between the task performed at the micro-level and the macroscopic movements of the operator. The teleoperation slave manipulator should accurately position a needle to precisely penetrate a cell membrane. Piezoelectric actuators are widely used in micromanipulation applications; however, hysteresis non-linearity limits the accuracy of these actuators. This paper presents a novel approach for utilizing a piezoelectric nano-stage as slave manipulator of a teleoperation system. The Prandtl-Ishlinskii (PI) model is used to model actuator hysteresis in a feedforward scheme to cancel out this non-linearity. To deal with the influence of parametric uncertainties, unmodelled dynamics and PI identification error, a perturbation term is added to the slave model and applies a sliding mode-based impedance control with perturbation estimation. The stability of entire system is guaranteed by Llewellyn's absolute stability criterion. The performance of the proposed controller was investigated through experiments for cell membrane penetration. The experimental results verified the accurate position tracking in free motion and simultaneous position and force tracking in contact with a low stiffness environment.

9 CFR 113.43 - Detection of chlamydial agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... in a filed Outline of Production. (a) The yolk sac of 6-day-old chicken embryos shall be injected. Three groups of 10 embryos shall be used sequentially. (1) The inoculum for each embryo in the first... embryos shall be harvested, pooled, homogenized as a 20 percent suspension in phosphate buffered saline...

9 CFR 113.43 - Detection of chlamydial agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... in a filed Outline of Production. (a) The yolk sac of 6-day-old chicken embryos shall be injected. Three groups of 10 embryos shall be used sequentially. (1) The inoculum for each embryo in the first... embryos shall be harvested, pooled, homogenized as a 20 percent suspension in phosphate buffered saline...

9 CFR 113.43 - Detection of chlamydial agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... in a filed Outline of Production. (a) The yolk sac of 6-day-old chicken embryos shall be injected. Three groups of 10 embryos shall be used sequentially. (1) The inoculum for each embryo in the first... embryos shall be harvested, pooled, homogenized as a 20 percent suspension in phosphate buffered saline...

9 CFR 113.43 - Detection of chlamydial agents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... in a filed Outline of Production. (a) The yolk sac of 6-day-old chicken embryos shall be injected. Three groups of 10 embryos shall be used sequentially. (1) The inoculum for each embryo in the first... embryos shall be harvested, pooled, homogenized as a 20 percent suspension in phosphate buffered saline...

A sampling and classification item selection approach with content balancing.

PubMed

Chen, Pei-Hua

2015-03-01

Existing automated test assembly methods typically employ constrained combinatorial optimization. Constructing forms sequentially based on an optimization approach usually results in unparallel forms and requires heuristic modifications. Methods based on a random search approach have the major advantage of producing parallel forms sequentially without further adjustment. This study incorporated a flexible content-balancing element into the statistical perspective item selection method of the cell-only method (Chen et al. in Educational and Psychological Measurement, 72(6), 933-953, 2012). The new method was compared with a sequential interitem distance weighted deviation model (IID WDM) (Swanson & Stocking in Applied Psychological Measurement, 17(2), 151-166, 1993), a simultaneous IID WDM, and a big-shadow-test mixed integer programming (BST MIP) method to construct multiple parallel forms based on matching a reference form item-by-item. The results showed that the cell-only method with content balancing and the sequential and simultaneous versions of IID WDM yielded results comparable to those obtained using the BST MIP method. The cell-only method with content balancing is computationally less intensive than the sequential and simultaneous versions of IID WDM.

CLAss-Specific Subspace Kernel Representations and Adaptive Margin Slack Minimization for Large Scale Classification.

PubMed

Yu, Yinan; Diamantaras, Konstantinos I; McKelvey, Tomas; Kung, Sun-Yuan

2018-02-01

In kernel-based classification models, given limited computational power and storage capacity, operations over the full kernel matrix becomes prohibitive. In this paper, we propose a new supervised learning framework using kernel models for sequential data processing. The framework is based on two components that both aim at enhancing the classification capability with a subset selection scheme. The first part is a subspace projection technique in the reproducing kernel Hilbert space using a CLAss-specific Subspace Kernel representation for kernel approximation. In the second part, we propose a novel structural risk minimization algorithm called the adaptive margin slack minimization to iteratively improve the classification accuracy by an adaptive data selection. We motivate each part separately, and then integrate them into learning frameworks for large scale data. We propose two such frameworks: the memory efficient sequential processing for sequential data processing and the parallelized sequential processing for distributed computing with sequential data acquisition. We test our methods on several benchmark data sets and compared with the state-of-the-art techniques to verify the validity of the proposed techniques.

A Simple Automated Method for the Determination of Nitrate and Nitrite in Infant Formula and Milk Powder Using Sequential Injection Analysis

PubMed Central

Pistón, Mariela; Mollo, Alicia; Knochen, Moisés

2011-01-01

A fast and efficient automated method using a sequential injection analysis (SIA) system, based on the Griess, reaction was developed for the determination of nitrate and nitrite in infant formulas and milk powder. The system enables to mix a measured amount of sample (previously constituted in the liquid form and deproteinized) with the chromogenic reagent to produce a colored substance whose absorbance was recorded. For nitrate determination, an on-line prereduction step was added by passing the sample through a Cd minicolumn. The system was controlled from a PC by means of a user-friendly program. Figures of merit include linearity (r2 > 0.999 for both analytes), limits of detection (0.32 mg kg−1 NO3-N, and 0.05 mg kg−1 NO2-N), and precision (sr%) 0.8–3.0. Results were statistically in good agreement with those obtained with the reference ISO-IDF method. The sampling frequency was 30 hour−1 (nitrate) and 80 hour−1 (nitrite) when performed separately. PMID:21960750

LabVIEW-based sequential-injection analysis system for the determination of trace metals by square-wave anodic and adsorptive stripping voltammetry on mercury-film electrodes.

PubMed

Economou, Anastasios; Voulgaropoulos, Anastasios

2003-01-01

The development of a dedicated automated sequential-injection analysis apparatus for anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) and adsorptive stripping voltammetry (AdSV) is reported. The instrument comprised a peristaltic pump, a multiposition selector valve and a home-made potentiostat and used a mercury-film electrode as the working electrodes in a thin-layer electrochemical detector. Programming of the experimental sequence was performed in LabVIEW 5.1. The sequence of operations included formation of the mercury film, electrolytic or adsorptive accumulation of the analyte on the electrode surface, recording of the voltammetric current-potential response, and cleaning of the electrode. The stripping step was carried out by applying a square-wave (SW) potential-time excitation signal to the working electrode. The instrument allowed unattended operation since multiple-step sequences could be readily implemented through the purpose-built software. The utility of the analyser was tested for the determination of copper(II), cadmium(II), lead(II) and zinc(II) by SWASV and of nickel(II), cobalt(II) and uranium(VI) by SWAdSV.

LabVIEW-based sequential-injection analysis system for the determination of trace metals by square-wave anodic and adsorptive stripping voltammetry on mercury-film electrodes

PubMed Central

Economou, Anastasios; Voulgaropoulos, Anastasios

2003-01-01

The development of a dedicated automated sequential-injection analysis apparatus for anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) and adsorptive stripping voltammetry (AdSV) is reported. The instrument comprised a peristaltic pump, a multiposition selector valve and a home-made potentiostat and used a mercury-film electrode as the working electrodes in a thin-layer electrochemical detector. Programming of the experimental sequence was performed in LabVIEW 5.1. The sequence of operations included formation of the mercury film, electrolytic or adsorptive accumulation of the analyte on the electrode surface, recording of the voltammetric current-potential response, and cleaning of the electrode. The stripping step was carried out by applying a square-wave (SW) potential-time excitation signal to the working electrode. The instrument allowed unattended operation since multiple-step sequences could be readily implemented through the purpose-built software. The utility of the analyser was tested for the determination of copper(II), cadmium(II), lead(II) and zinc(II) by SWASV and of nickel(II), cobalt(II) and uranium(VI) by SWAdSV. PMID:18924623

Sequential injection system with multi-parameter analysis capability for water quality measurement.

PubMed

Kaewwonglom, Natcha; Jakmunee, Jaroon

2015-11-01

A simple sequential injection (SI) system with capability to determine multi-parameter has been developed for the determination of iron, manganese, phosphate and ammonium. A simple and compact colorimeter was fabricated in the laboratory to be employed as a detector. The system was optimized for suitable conditions for determining each parameter by changing software program and without reconfiguration of the hardware. Under the optimum conditions, the methods showed linear ranges of 0.2-10 mg L(-1) for iron and manganese determinations, and 0.3-5.0 mg L(-1) for phosphate and ammonium determinations, with correlation coefficients of 0.9998, 0.9973, 0.9987 and 0.9983, respectively. The system provided detection limits of 0.01, 0.14, 0.004 and 0.02 mg L(-1) for iron, manganese, phosphate and ammonium, respectively. The proposed system has good precision, low chemical consumption and high throughput. It was applied for monitoring water quality of Ping river in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Recoveries of the analysis were obtained in the range of 82-119%. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Deferiprone, a non-toxic reagent for determination of iron in samples via sequential injection analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pragourpun, Kraivinee; Sakee, Uthai; Fernandez, Carlos; Kruanetr, Senee

2015-05-01

We present for the first time the use of deferiprone as a non-toxic complexing agent for the determination of iron by sequential injection analysis in pharmaceuticals and food samples. The method was based on the reaction of Fe(III) and deferiprone in phosphate buffer at pH 7.5 to give a Fe(III)-deferiprone complex, which showed a maximum absorption at 460 nm. Under the optimum conditions, the linearity range for iron determination was found over the range of 0.05-3.0 μg mL-1 with a correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.9993. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.032 μg mL-1 and 0.055 μg mL-1, respectively. The relative standard deviation (%RSD) of the method was less than 5.0% (n = 11), and the percentage recovery was found in the range of 96.0-104.0%. The proposed method was satisfactorily applied for the determination of Fe(III) in pharmaceuticals, water and food samples with a sampling rate of 60 h-1.

Sequential PLD in oxygen/argon gas mixture of Al-doped ZnO thin films with improved electrical and optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coman, Tudor; Timpu, Daniel; Nica, Valentin; Vitelaru, Catalin; Rambu, Alicia Petronela; Stoian, George; Olaru, Mihaela; Ursu, Cristian

2017-10-01

Highly conductive transparent Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films were obtained at room temperature through sequential PLD (SPLD) from Zn and Al metallic targets in an oxygen/argon gas mixture. We have investigated the structural, electrical and optical properties as a function of the oxygen/argon pressure ratio in the chamber. The measured Hall carrier concentration was found to increase with argon injection from 1.3 × 1020 to 6.7 × 1020 cm-3, while the laser shots ratio for Al/Zn targets ablation was kept constant. This increase was attributed to an enhancement of the substitution doping into the ZnO lattice. The argon injection also leads to an increase of the Hall mobility up to 20 cm2 V-1 s-1, attributed to a reduction of interstitial-type defects. Thus, the approach of using an oxygen/argon gas mixture during SPLD from metallic targets allows obtaining at room temperature AZO samples with high optical transmittance (about 90%) and low electrical resistivity (down to 5.1 × 10-4 Ω cm).

Whole-body biodistribution and brain PET imaging with [18F]AV-45, a novel amyloid imaging agent--a pilot study.

PubMed

Lin, Kun-Ju; Hsu, Wen-Chuin; Hsiao, Ing-Tsung; Wey, Shiaw-Pyng; Jin, Lee-Way; Skovronsky, Daniel; Wai, Yau-Yau; Chang, Hsiu-Ping; Lo, Chuan-Wei; Yao, Cheng Hsiang; Yen, Tzu-Chen; Kung, Mei-Ping

2010-05-01

The compound (E)-4-(2-(6-(2-(2-(2-(18)F-fluoroethoxy)ethoxy)ethoxy) pyridin-3-yl)vinyl)-N-methylbenzenamine ([(18)F]AV-45) is a novel radiopharmaceutical capable of selectively binding to beta-amyloid (A beta) plaques. This pilot study reports the safety, biodistribution, and radiation dosimetry of [(18)F]AV-45 in human subjects. In vitro autoradiography and fluorescent staining of postmortem brain tissue from patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cognitively healthy subjects were performed to assess the specificity of the tracer. Biodistribution was assessed in three healthy elderly subjects (mean age: 60.0+/-5.2 years) who underwent 3-h whole-body positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomographic (CT) scans after a bolus injection of 381.9+/-13.9 MBq of [(18)F]AV-45. Another six subjects (three AD patients and three healthy controls, mean age: 67.7+/-13.6 years) underwent brain PET studies. Source organs were delineated on PET/CT. All subjects underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for obtaining structural information. In vitro autoradiography revealed exquisitely high specific binding of [(18)F]AV-45 to postmortem AD brain sections, but not to the control sections. There were no serious adverse events throughout the study period. The peak uptake of the tracer in the brain was 5.12+/-0.41% of the injected dose. The highest absorbed organ dose was to the gallbladder wall (184.7+/-78.6 microGy/MBq, 4.8 h voiding interval). The effective dose equivalent and effective dose values for [(18)F]AV-45 were 33.8+/-3.4 microSv/MBq and 19.3+/-1.3 microSv/MBq, respectively. [(18)F]AV-45 binds specifically to A beta in vitro, and is a safe PET tracer for studying A beta distribution in human brain. The dosimetry is suitable for clinical and research application. (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MicroPET/CT Colonoscopy in long-lived Min mouse using NM404

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christensen, Matthew B.; Halberg, Richard B.; Schutten, Melissa M.; Weichert, Jamey P.

2009-02-01

Colon cancer is a leading cause of death in the US, even though many cases are preventable if tumors are detected early. One technique to promote screening is Computed Tomography Colonography (CTC). NM404 is a second generation phospholipid ether analogue which has demonstrated selective uptake and prolonged retention in 43/43 types of malignant tumors but not inflammatory sites or premalignant lesions. The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate (SWR x B6 )F1.Min mice as a preclinical model to test MicroPET/CT dual modality virtual colonoscopy. Each animal was given an IV injection of 124I-NM404 (100 uCi) 24, 48 and 96 hours prior to scanning on a dedicated microPET/CT system. Forty million counts were histogrammed in 3D and reconstructed using an OSEM 2D algorithm. Immediately after PET acquisition, a 93 m volumetric CT was acquired at 80 kVp, 800 uA and 350 ms exposures. Following CT, the mouse was sacrificed. The entire intestinal tract was excised, washed, insufflated, and scanned ex vivo A total of eight tissue samples from the small intestine were harvested: 5 were benign adenomas, 2 were malignant adenocarcinomas, and 1 was a Peyer's patch (lymph tissue) . The sites of these samples were positioned on CT and PET images based on morphological cues and the distance from the anus. Only 1/8 samples showed tracer uptake. several hot spots in the microPET image were not chosen for histology. (SWR x B6)F1.Min mice develop benign and malignant tumors, making this animal model a strong candidate for future dual modality microPET/CT virtual colonography studies.

Micro-bead injection spectroscopy for label-free automated determination of immunoglobulin G in human serum.

PubMed

Ramos, Inês I; Magalhães, Luís M; Barreiros, Luisa; Reis, Salette; Lima, José L F C; Segundo, Marcela A

2018-01-01

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) represents the major fraction of antibodies in healthy adult human serum, and deviations from physiological levels are a generic marker of disease corresponding to different pathologies. Therefore, screening methods for IgG evaluation are a valuable aid to diagnostics. The present work proposes a rapid, automatic, and miniaturized method based on UV-vis micro-bead injection spectroscopy (μ-BIS) for the real-time determination of human serum IgG with label-free detection. Relying on attachment of IgG in rec-protein G immobilized in Sepharose 4B, a bioaffinity column is automatically assembled, where IgG is selectively retained and determined by on-column optical density measurement. A "dilution-and-shoot" approach (50 to 200 times) was implemented without further sample treatment because interferences were flushed out of the column upon sample loading, with minimization of carryover and cross-contamination by automatically discarding the sorbent (0.2 mg) after each determination. No interference from human serum albumin at 60 mg mL -1 in undiluted sample was found. The method allowed IgG determination in the range 100-300 μg mL -1 (corresponding to 5.0-60 mg mL -1 in undiluted samples), with a detection limit of 33 μg mL -1 (1.7 mg mL -1 for samples, dilution factor of 50). RSD values were < 9.4 and < 11.7%, for intra and inter-assay precision, respectively, while recovery values for human serum spiked with IgG at high pathological levels were 97.8-101.4%. Comparison to commercial ELISA kit showed no significant difference for tested samples (n = 8). Moreover, time-to-result decreased from several hours to < 5 min and analysis cost decreased 10 times, showing the potential of the proposed approach as a point-of-care method. Graphical abstract Micro-Bead Injection Spectroscopy method for real time, automated and label-free determination of total serum human Immunoglobulin G (IgG). The method was designed for Lab-on-Valve (LOV) platforms using a miniaturised protein G bioaffinity separative approach. IgG are separated from serum matrix components upon quantification with low non-specific binding in less than 5 min.

On-line sequential injection-capillary electrophoresis for near-real-time monitoring of extracellular lactate in cell culture flasks.

PubMed

Alhusban, Ala A; Gaudry, Adam J; Breadmore, Michael C; Gueven, Nuri; Guijt, Rosanne M

2014-01-03

Cell culture has replaced many in vivo studies because of ethical and regulatory measures as well as the possibility of increased throughput. Analytical assays to determine (bio)chemical changes are often based on end-point measurements rather than on a series of sequential determinations. The purpose of this work is to develop an analytical system for monitoring cell culture based on sequential injection-capillary electrophoresis (SI-CE) with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C(4)D). The system was applied for monitoring lactate production, an important metabolic indicator, during mammalian cell culture. Using a background electrolyte consisting of 25mM tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane, 35mM cyclohexyl-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid with 0.02% poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) at pH 8.65 and a multilayer polymer coated capillary, lactate could be resolved from other compounds present in media with relative standard deviations 0.07% for intraday electrophoretic mobility and an analysis time of less than 10min. Using the human embryonic kidney cell line HEK293, lactate concentrations in the cell culture medium were measured every 20min over 3 days, requiring only 8.73μL of sample per run. Combining simplicity, portability, automation, high sample throughput, low limits of detection, low sample consumption and the ability to up- and outscale, this new methodology represents a promising technique for near real-time monitoring of chemical changes in diverse cell culture applications. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploiting an automated microfluidic hydrodynamic sequential injection system for determination of phosphate.

PubMed

Khongpet, Wanpen; Pencharee, Somkid; Puangpila, Chanida; Kradtap Hartwell, Supaporn; Lapanantnoppakhun, Somchai; Jakmunee, Jaroon

2018-01-15

A microfluidic hydrodynamic sequential injection (μHSI) spectrophotometric system was designed and fabricated. The system was built by laser engraving a manifold pattern on an acrylic block and sealing with another flat acrylic plate to form a microfluidic channel platform. The platform was incorporated with small solenoid valves to obtain a portable setup for programmable control of the liquid flow into the channel according to the HSI principle. The system was demonstrated for the determination of phosphate using a molybdenum blue method. An ascorbic acid, standard or sample, and acidic molybdate solutions were sequentially aspirated to fill the channel forming a stack zone before flowing to the detector. Under the optimum condition, a linear calibration graph in the range of 0.1-6mg P L -1 was obtained. The detection limit was 0.1mgL -1 . The system is compact (5.0mm thick, 80mm wide × 140mm long), durable, portable, cost-effective, and consumes little amount of chemicals (83μL each of molybdate and ascorbic acid, 133μL of the sample solution and 1.7mL of water carrier/run). It was applied for the determination of phosphate content in extracted soil samples. The percent recoveries of the analysis were obtained in the range of 91.2-107.3. The results obtained agreed well with those of the batch spectrophotometric method. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sequential injection titration method using second-order signals: determination of acidity in plant oils and biodiesel samples.

PubMed

del Río, Vanessa; Larrechi, M Soledad; Callao, M Pilar

2010-06-15

A new concept of flow titration is proposed and demonstrated for the determination of total acidity in plant oils and biodiesel. We use sequential injection analysis (SIA) with a diode array spectrophotometric detector linked to chemometric tools such as multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS). This system is based on the evolution of the basic specie of an acid-base indicator, alizarine, when it comes into contact with a sample that contains free fatty acids. The gradual pH change in the reactor coil due to diffusion and reaction phenomenona allows the sequential appearance of both species of the indicator in the detector coil, recording a data matrix for each sample. The SIA-MCR-ALS method helps to reduce the amounts of sample, the reagents and the time consumed. Each determination consumes 0.413ml of sample, 0.250ml of indicator and 3ml of carrier (ethanol) and generates 3.333ml of waste. The frequency of the analysis is high (12 samples h(-1) including all steps, i.e., cleaning, preparing and analysing). The utilized reagents are of common use in the laboratory and it is not necessary to use the reagents of perfect known concentration. The method was applied to determine acidity in plant oil and biodiesel samples. Results obtained by the proposed method compare well with those obtained by the official European Community method that is time consuming and uses large amounts of organic solvents.

Ceramic micro-injection molded nozzles for serial femtosecond crystallography sample delivery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beyerlein, K. R.; Adriano, L.; Heymann, M.; Kirian, R.; Knoška, J.; Wilde, F.; Chapman, H. N.; Bajt, S.

2015-12-01

Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) using X-ray Free-Electron Lasers (XFELs) allows for room temperature protein structure determination without evidence of conventional radiation damage. In this method, a liquid suspension of protein microcrystals can be delivered to the X-ray beam in vacuum as a micro-jet, which replenishes the crystals at a rate that exceeds the current XFEL pulse repetition rate. Gas dynamic virtual nozzles produce the required micrometer-sized streams by the focusing action of a coaxial sheath gas and have been shown to be effective for SFX experiments. Here, we describe the design and characterization of such nozzles assembled from ceramic micro-injection molded outer gas-focusing capillaries. Trends of the emitted jet diameter and jet length as a function of supplied liquid and gas flow rates are measured by a fast imaging system. The observed trends are explained by derived relationships considering choked gas flow and liquid flow conservation. Finally, the performance of these nozzles in a SFX experiment is presented, including an analysis of the observed background.

Eco-friendly synthesis of gelatin-capped bimetallic Au-Ag nanoparticles for chemiluminescence detection of anticancer raloxifene hydrochloride.

PubMed

Alarfaj, Nawal A; El-Tohamy, Maha F

2016-09-01

This study described the utility of green analytical chemistry in the synthesis of gelatin-capped silver, gold and bimetallic gold-silver nanoparticles (NPs). The preparation of nanoparticles was based on the reaction of silver nitrate or chlorauric acid with a 1.0 wt% aqueous gelatin solution at 50°C. The gelatin-capped silver, gold and bimetallic NPs were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, UV-vis, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and were used to enhance a sensitive sequential injection chemiluminescence luminol-potassium ferricyanide system for determination of the anticancer drug raloxifene hydrochloride. The developed method is eco-friendly and sensitive for chemiluminescence detection of the selected drug in its bulk powder, pharmaceutical injections and biosamples. After optimizing the conditions, a linear relationship in the range of 1.0 × 10(-9) to 1.0 × 10(-1)  mol/L was obtained with a limit of detection of 5.0 × 10(-10)  mol/L and a limit of quantification of 1.0 × 10(-9)  mol/L. Statistical treatment and method validation were performed based on ICH guidelines. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Injectable 3-D Fabrication of Medical Electronics at the Target Biological Tissues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Chao; Zhang, Jie; Li, Xiaokang; Yang, Xueyao; Li, Jingjing; Liu, Jing

2013-12-01

Conventional transplantable biomedical devices generally request sophisticated surgery which however often causes big trauma and serious pain to the patients. Here, we show an alternative way of directly making three-dimensional (3-D) medical electronics inside the biological body through sequential injections of biocompatible packaging material and liquid metal ink. As the most typical electronics, a variety of medical electrodes with different embedded structures were demonstrated to be easily formed at the target tissues. Conceptual in vitro experiments provide strong evidences for the excellent performances of the injectable electrodes. Further in vivo animal experiments disclosed that the formed electrode could serve as both highly efficient ECG (Electrocardiograph) electrode and stimulator electrode. These findings clarified the unique features and practicability of the liquid metal based injectable 3-D fabrication of medical electronics. The present strategy opens the way for directly manufacturing electrophysiological sensors or therapeutic devices in situ via a truly minimally invasive approach.

Selective wetting-induced micro-electrode patterning for flexible micro-supercapacitors.

PubMed

Kim, Sung-Kon; Koo, Hyung-Jun; Lee, Aeri; Braun, Paul V

2014-08-13

Selective wetting-induced micro-electrode patterning is used to fabricate flexible micro-supercapacitors (mSCs). The resulting mSCs exhibit high performance, mechanical stability, stable cycle life, and hold great promise for facile integration into flexible devices requiring on-chip energy storage. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Attenuation-difference radar tomography: results of a multiple-plane experiment at the U.S. Geological Survey Fractured-Rock Research Site, Mirror Lake, New Hampshire

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lane, J.W.; Day-Lewis, F. D.; Harris, J.M.; Haeni, F.P.; Gorelick, S.M.

2000-01-01

Attenuation-difference, borehole-radar tomography was used to monitor a series of sodium chloride tracer injection tests conducted within the FSE, wellfield at the U.S. Geological Survey Fractured-Rock Hydrology Research Site in Grafton County, New Hampshire, USA. Borehole-radar tomography surveys were conducted using the sequential-scanning and injection method in three boreholes that form a triangular prism of adjoining tomographic image planes. Results indicate that time-lapse tomography methods provide high-resolution images of tracer distribution in permeable zones.

Induced Seismicity of the Paradox Valley Brine Injection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachmann, C. E.; Foxall, W.; Daley, T. M.

2013-12-01

The Paradox Valley Unit (PVU) is operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and is built to control the water quality of the Dolores River - a feeder of the Colorado River. Brine is extracted along the river from several shallow wells. Before it is injected into a 4.8km deep well for long-term storage, it is filtered at a surface-treatment facility. The target zone of the injection is a subhorizontal formation of a Mississippian-age limestone. The first injection test started in 1991, continuous injections started in 1996 and are still ongoing. The injection of the fluid in the underground induces micro-seismicity that is monitored by the USBR with the 15-station Paradox Valley Seismic Network. This network located more then 5700 events in the 20 years since the injection started. The locations of the seismic events give crucial insights to the pathways of the injected fluid. In this study we analyze the seismicity up to the end of 2011, which does not include the magnitude 3.9 event that caused a temporary shut down of the PVU in January 2013. The largest event included in our study period is an event with M4.3 of May 2000. The majority (75%) of events are micro-seismic events with magnitudes of 1 or smaller; only 74 events have magnitudes larger or equal to 2.5 of which only 4 are larger or equal to 3.5. Most of the seismicity is constrained to the vicinity of the injection well with roughly 80% of the events occurring within a 4km radius. However, there is one active zone more then 10 km away from the injection well that showed first activity in late 2010. More than 500 micro-seismic events occurred within several weeks in this new zone. The goal behind this study is to understand the processes behind a long-term injection of fluid into the underground where no circulation takes place. While other such projects exist, such as different wastewater injections, none of them has been monitored as well as the Paradox Valley seismicity and or has been going on for such a long time. We aim to get more insight of long-term processes so it can be applied to the study of Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), where large volumes of carbon are injected into the underground for long-term storage. A first step is to understand the frequency magnitude distributions (FMD) of the ongoing seismicity at Paradox Valley better. We divide the events into sub-clusters and examine them individually. We find that the b-Values of the Gutenberg-Richter relationship change substantially within the different clusters from values of 0.7 to 1.2. Comparing the b-Values from this study with earlier studies of induced seismicity in from an Enhanced Geothermal System in Basel, Switzerland, we find that while the values are smaller, the overall pattern is surprisingly similar. We find the largest b-Values closest to the injection well and early on during the injections. Unlike in Basel, we can't compare co-injection and post-injection seismicity, as the injection is still ongoing. However, there are biannual 20-day shutdowns of the injection since 1999, which were implemented to reduce the risk of large magnitude events. We investigate the different behavior of the seismicity during this shut-in compared to the seismicity during the active injection.

Apatinib inhibits VEGFR-2 and angiogenesis in an in vivo murine model of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

PubMed

Peng, Qiu-Xia; Han, Yun-Wei; Zhang, Yan-Ling; Hu, Jie; Fan, Juan; Fu, Shao-Zhi; Xu, Shan; Wan, Qiang

2017-08-08

Angiogenesis is initiated by the activation of the vascular epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) by the vascular epidermal growth factor (VEGF) ligand. Overexpression of VEGFR-2 increases the growth of nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC). Apatinib (YN968D1) is a highly-selective inhibitor of VEGFR-2, but its effects on NPC have not been hitherto investigated. In the present study, CNE-2 NPC cells were xenografted into 132 nude mice, which were treated with one of 6 drug regimens of apatinib administered alone or in combination with cisplatin (DDP). The impact of treatment regimens on the growth, microvascularization, apoptosis, and metabolic response of tumors, as well as mouse survival was determined by histopathology, immunohistochemistry (VEGFR-2 and CD31), terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL), micro 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging and survival curves. Administration of apatinib alone inhibited tumor growth, reduced microvascular density, and facilitated the apoptosis of tumors. Tumors treated simultaneously with apatinib and cisplatin exhibited significantly-increased inhibition of tumor growth, prolonged survival time, decreased expression of VEGFR-2, reduced microvascular density, and frequency of apoptosis over standalone and sequential administration therapy. Tumors treated simultaneously with apatinib and cisplatin had the lowest uptake of FDG. Taken together, the simultaneous administration of apatinib and cisplatin improves the therapeutic efficacy over standalone treatments, which also led to improved efficacy over sequential administration regimens. VEGFR-2 is an important predictive marker for efficacy of apatinib treatment of NPC.

[Microinjection Monitoring System Design Applied to MRI Scanning].

PubMed

Xu, Yongfeng

2017-09-30

A microinjection monitoring system applied to the MRI scanning was introduced. The micro camera probe was used to stretch into the main magnet for real-time video injection monitoring of injection tube terminal. The programming based on LabVIEW was created to analysis and process the real-time video information. The feedback signal was used for intelligent controlling of the modified injection pump. The real-time monitoring system can make the best use of injection under the condition that the injection device was away from the sample which inside the magnetic room and unvisible. 9.4 T MRI scanning experiment showed that the system in ultra-high field can work stability and doesn't affect the MRI scans.

Micro-CT measurements of tumoral vessels supplied by portal circulation in hepatic colorectal metastasis mouse model.

PubMed

Jun, Hong Young; Lee, Young Hwan; Juhng, Seon Kwan; Lee, Myeung Su; Oh, Jaemin; Yoon, Kwon-Ha

2014-06-01

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the micro CT findings of tumoral vessels supplied by portal circulation during establishment of hepatic metastasis of colorectal cancer in a mouse model. Hepatic metastases were induced in 15 BALB/c mice through the injection of murine colonic adenocarcinoma tumor cells into the mesenteric vein. Micro-CT imaging of the tumoral vessels was obtained to clarify the microvascular architecture. We evaluated the sinusoidal structure, diameter of the tumoral vessels (DTV) and blood vessel density (BVD) according to tumor sizes ranging from 201 to 3,000 µm in diameter. A total of 116 tumors were observed on day 15 after cell injection. The mean diameter of a normal hepatic sinusoid was 11.7 ± 2.0 µm on micro CT. The DTV supplied by the portal vein of tumors measuring 1,001-1,500 µm in diameter was greater than that of tumors 200-1,000 µm in diameter. The mean BVD from the portal vein gradually decrease according to size of tumor from 201 to 3,000 µm in diameter (r(2)  = -0.584, P < 0.01). The characteristics of tumoral vessels supplied by portal circulation during establishment of hepatic colorectal metastases were well visualized with micro-CT imaging. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The site of action of corticosteroid antipyresis in the rabbit.

PubMed Central

Willies, G H; Woolf, C J

1980-01-01

1. The antipyretic effects of corticosteroids on the fevers produced by bacterial and endogenous pyrogens in the rabbit were investigated. 2. Intravenous infusions of hydrocortisone and methyl prednisolone, when administered simultaneously with bacterial or endogenous pyrogens, failed to produce an antipyresis. 3. Pretreatment of rabbits with methyl prednisolone for 3 days diminished the febrile effect of both bacterial and endogenous pyrogens. 4. The fever produced by intrahypothalamic micro-injections of endogenous pyrogen was significantly attenuated by the simultaneous micro-injection of methyl prednisolone. 5. These results indicate that the antipyretic effect of steroids in the rabbit is the result not of a peripheral inhibition of endogenous pyrogen production, but rather of an action on the central nervous system. PMID:7381781

Controllable Si (100) micro/nanostructures by chemical-etching-assisted femtosecond laser single-pulse irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaowei; Xie, Qian; Jiang, Lan; Han, Weina; Wang, Qingsong; Wang, Andong; Hu, Jie; Lu, Yongfeng

2017-05-01

In this study, silicon micro/nanostructures of controlled size and shape are fabricated by chemical-etching-assisted femtosecond laser single-pulse irradiation, which is a flexible, high-throughput method. The pulse fluence is altered to create various laser printing patterns for the etching mask, resulting in the sequential evolution of three distinct surface micro/nanostructures, namely, ring-like microstructures, flat-top pillar microstructures, and spike nanostructures. The characterized diameter of micro/nanostructures reveals that they can be flexibly tuned from the micrometer (˜2 μm) to nanometer (˜313 nm) scales by varying the laser pulse fluence in a wide range. Micro-Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy are utilized to demonstrate that the phase state changes from single-crystalline silicon (c-Si) to amorphous silicon (a-Si) after single-pulse femtosecond laser irradiation. This amorphous layer with a lower etching rate then acts as a mask in the wet etching process. Meanwhile, the on-the-fly punching technique enables the efficient fabrication of large-area patterned surfaces on the centimeter scale. This study presents a highly efficient method of controllably manufacturing silicon micro/nanostructures with different single-pulse patterns, which has promising applications in the photonic, solar cell, and sensors fields.

Image-guided tissue engineering of anatomically shaped implants via MRI and micro-CT using injection molding.

PubMed

Ballyns, Jeffery J; Gleghorn, Jason P; Niebrzydowski, Vicki; Rawlinson, Jeremy J; Potter, Hollis G; Maher, Suzanne A; Wright, Timothy M; Bonassar, Lawrence J

2008-07-01

This study demonstrates for the first time the development of engineered tissues based on anatomic geometries derived from widely used medical imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Computer-aided design and tissue injection molding techniques have demonstrated the ability to generate living implants of complex geometry. Due to its complex geometry, the meniscus of the knee was used as an example of this technique's capabilities. MRI and microcomputed tomography (microCT) were used to design custom-printed molds that enabled the generation of anatomically shaped constructs that retained shape throughout 8 weeks of culture. Engineered constructs showed progressive tissue formation indicated by increases in extracellular matrix content and mechanical properties. The paradigm of interfacing tissue injection molding technology can be applied to other medical imaging techniques that render 3D models of anatomy, demonstrating the potential to apply the current technique to engineering of many tissues and organs.

Phantom auditory sensation in rats: an animal model for tinnitus.

PubMed

Jastreboff, P J; Brennan, J F; Coleman, J K; Sasaki, C T

1988-12-01

In order to measure tinnitus induced by sodium salicylate injections, 84 pigmented rats, distributed among 14 groups in five experiments, were used in a conditioned suppression paradigm. In Experiment 1, all groups were trained with a conditioned stimulus (CS) consisting of the offset of a continuous background noise. One group began salicylate injections before Pavlovian training, a second group started injections after training, and a control group received daily saline injections. Resistance to extinction was profound when injections started before training, but minimal when initiated after training, which suggests that salicylate-induced effects acquired differential conditioned value. In Experiment 2 we mimicked the salicylate treatments by substituting a 7 kHz tone in place of respective injections, resulting in effects equivalent to salicylate-induced behavior. In a third experiment we included a 3 kHz CS, and again replicated the salicylate findings. In Experiment 4 we decreased the motivational level, and the sequential relation between salicylate-induced effects and suppression training was retained. Finally, no salicylate effects emerged when the visual modality was used. These findings support the demonstration of phantom auditory sensations in animals.

Effects of neostriatal 6-OHDA lesion on performance in a rat sequential reaction time task.

PubMed

Domenger, D; Schwarting, R K W

2008-10-31

Work in humans and monkeys has provided evidence that the basal ganglia, and the neurotransmitter dopamine therein, play an important role for sequential learning and performance. Compared to primates, experimental work in rodents is rather sparse, largely due to the fact that tasks comparable to the human ones, especially serial reaction time tasks (SRTT), had been lacking until recently. We have developed a rat model of the SRTT, which allows to study neural correlates of sequential performance and motor sequence execution. Here, we report the effects of dopaminergic neostriatal lesions, performed using bilateral 6-hydroxydopamine injections, on performance of well-trained rats tested in our SRTT. Sequential behavior was measured in two ways: for one, the effects of small violations of otherwise well trained sequences were examined as a measure of attention and automation. Secondly, sequential versus random performance was compared as a measure of sequential learning. Neurochemically, the lesions led to sub-total dopamine depletions in the neostriatum, which ranged around 60% in the lateral, and around 40% in the medial neostriatum. These lesions led to a general instrumental impairment in terms of reduced speed (response latencies) and response rate, and these deficits were correlated with the degree of striatal dopamine loss. Furthermore, the violation test indicated that the lesion group conducted less automated responses. The comparison of random versus sequential responding showed that the lesion group did not retain its superior sequential performance in terms of speed, whereas they did in terms of accuracy. Also, rats with lesions did not improve further in overall performance as compared to pre-lesion values, whereas controls did. These results support previous results that neostriatal dopamine is involved in instrumental behaviour in general. Also, these lesions are not sufficient to completely abolish sequential performance, at least when acquired before lesion as tested here.

A Novel Injectable Calcium Phosphate Cement-Bioactive Glass Composite for Bone Regeneration

PubMed Central

Zhao, Kang; Tang, Yufei; Cheng, Zhe; Chen, Jun; Zang, Yuan; Wu, Jianwei; Kong, Liang; Liu, Shuai; Lei, Wei; Wu, Zixiang

2013-01-01

Background Calcium phosphate cement (CPC) can be molded or injected to form a scaffold in situ, which intimately conforms to complex bone defects. Bioactive glass (BG) is known for its unique ability to bond to living bone and promote bone growth. However, it was not until recently that literature was available regarding CPC-BG applied as an injectable graft. In this paper, we reported a novel injectable CPC-BG composite with improved properties caused by the incorporation of BG into CPC. Materials and Methods The novel injectable bioactive cement was evaluated to determine its composition, microstructure, setting time, injectability, compressive strength and behavior in a simulated body fluid (SBF). The in vitro cellular responses of osteoblasts and in vivo tissue responses after the implantation of CPC-BG in femoral condyle defects of rabbits were also investigated. Results CPC-BG possessed a retarded setting time and markedly better injectability and mechanical properties than CPC. Moreover, a new Ca-deficient apatite layer was deposited on the composite surface after immersing immersion in SBF for 7 days. CPC-BG samples showed significantly improved degradability and bioactivity compared to CPC in simulated body fluid (SBF). In addition, the degrees of cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation on CPC-BG were higher than those on CPC. Macroscopic evaluation, histological evaluation, and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) analysis showed that CPC-BG enhanced the efficiency of new bone formation in comparison with CPC. Conclusions A novel CPC-BG composite has been synthesized with improved properties exhibiting promising prospects for bone regeneration. PMID:23638115

Micro-scale experimental study of Microbial-Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) by using microfluidic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Y.; Soga, K.; DeJong, J. T.; Kabla, A.

2017-12-01

Microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP), one of the bio-mineralization processes, is an innovative subsurface improvement technique for enhancing the strength and stiffness of soils, and controlling their hydraulic conductivity. These macro-scale engineering properties of MICP treated soils controlled by micro-scale factors of the precipitated carbonate, such as its content, amount and distribution in the soil matrix. The precipitation process itself is affected by bacteria amount, reaction kinetics, porous medium geometry and flow distribution in the soils. Accordingly, to better understand the MICP process at the pore scale a new experimental technique that can observe the entire process of MICP at the pore-scale was developed. In this study, a 2-D transparent microfluidic chip made of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) representing the soil matrix was designed and fabricated. A staged-injection MICP treatment procedure was simulated inside the microfluidic chip while continuously monitored using microscopic techniques. The staged-injection MICP treatment procedure started with the injection of bacteria suspension, followed with the bacteria setting for attachment, and then ended with the multiple injections of cementation liquid. The main MICP processes visualized during this procedure included the bacteria transport and attachment during the bacteria injection, the bacteria attachment and growth during the bacteria settling, the bacteria detachment during the cementation liquid injection, the cementation development during the cementation liquid injection, and the cementation development after the completion of cementation liquid injection. It is suggested that the visualization of the main MICP processes using the microfluidic technique can improve understating of the fundamental mechanisms of MICP and consequently help improve the treatment technique for in situ implementation of MICP.

Overloaded elution band profiles of ionizable compounds in reversed-phase liquid chromatography: Influence of the competition between the neutral and the ionic species

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

Gritti, Fabrice; Guiochon, Georges A

2008-01-01

The parameters that affect the shape of the band profiles of acido-basic compounds under moderately overloaded conditions (sample size less than 500 nmol for a conventional column) in RPLC are discussed. Only analytes that have a single pK{sub a} are considered. In the buffer mobile phase used for their elution, their dissociation may, under certain conditions, cause a significant pH perturbation during the passage of the band. Two consecutive injections (3.3 and 10 {micro}L) of each one of three sample solutions (0.5, 5, and 50 mM) of ten compounds were injected on five C{sub 18}-bonded packing materials, including the 5more » {micro}m Xterra-C{sub 18} (121 {angstrom}), 5 {micro}m Gemini-C{sub 18} (110 {angstrom}), 5 {micro}m Luna-C{sub 18}(2) (93 {angstrom}), 3.5 {micro}m Extend-C{sub 18} (80 {angstrom}), and 2.7 {micro}m Halo-C{sub 18} (90 {angstrom}). The mobile phase was an aqueous solution of methanol buffered at a constant {sub W}{sup W}pH of 6, with a phosphate buffer. The total concentration of the phosphate groups was constant at 50 mM. The methanol concentration was adjusted to keep all the retention factors between 1 and 10. The compounds injected were phenol, caffeine, 3-phenyl 1-propanol, 2-phenyl butyric acid, amphetamine, aniline, benzylamine, p-toluidine, procainamidium chloride, and propranololium chloride. Depending on the relative values of the analyte pK{sub a} and the buffer solution pH, these analytes elute as the neutral, the cationic, or the anionic species. The influence of structural parameters such as the charge, the size, and the hydrophobicity of the analytes on the shape of its overloaded band profile is discussed. Simple but general rules predict these shapes. An original adsorption model is proposed that accounts for the unusual peak shapes observed when the analyte is partially dissociated in the buffer solution during its elution.« less

Effect of nicergoline on cerebral blood flow

PubMed Central

Iliff, L. D.; Boulay, G. H. Du; Marshall, John; Russell, R. W. Ross; Symon, Lindsay

1977-01-01

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured before and after intravenous injection of the cerebral vasodilator nicergoline in 13 patients with cerebrovascular disease. CBF increased in seven. The possibility that the effect of the drug in the remainder may have been masked by a fall of CBF which occurs during sequential measurement of patients at rest is discussed. PMID:925694

Injection-induced moment release can also be aseismic

USGS Publications Warehouse

McGarr, Arthur; Barbour, Andrew J.

2018-01-01

The cumulative seismic moment is a robust measure of the earthquake response to fluid injection for injection volumes ranging from 3100 to about 12 million m3. Over this range, the moment release is limited to twice the product of the shear modulus and the volume of injected fluid. This relation also applies at the much smaller injection volumes of the field experiment in France reported by Guglielmi, et al. (2015) and laboratory experiments to simulate hydraulic fracturing described by Goodfellow, et al. (2015). In both of these studies, the relevant moment release for comparison with the fluid injection was aseismic and consistent with the scaling that applies to the much larger volumes associated with injection-induced earthquakes with magnitudes extending up to 5.8. Neither the micro-earthquakes, at the site in France, nor the acoustic emission in the laboratory samples contributed significantly to the deformation due to fluid injection.

FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION: Selective inactivation of micro-organisms with near-infrared femtosecond laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsen, K. T.; Tsen, Shaw-Wei D.; Sankey, Otto F.; Kiang, Juliann G.

2007-11-01

We demonstrate an unconventional and revolutionary method for selective inactivation of micro-organisms by using near-infrared femtosecond laser pulses. We show that if the wavelength and pulse width of the excitation femtosecond laser are appropriately selected, there exists a window in power density that enables us to achieve selective inactivation of target viruses and bacteria without causing cytotoxicity in mammalian cells. This strategy targets the mechanical (vibrational) properties of micro-organisms, and thus its antimicrobial efficacy is likely unaffected by genetic mutation in the micro-organisms. Such a method may be effective against a wide variety of drug resistant micro-organisms and has broad implications in disinfection as well as in the development of novel treatments for viral and bacterial pathogens.

Preformed gelatin microcryogels as injectable cell carriers for enhanced skin wound healing.

PubMed

Zeng, Yang; Zhu, Lin; Han, Qin; Liu, Wei; Mao, Xiaojing; Li, Yaqian; Yu, Nanze; Feng, Siyu; Fu, Qinyouen; Wang, Xiaojun; Du, Yanan; Zhao, Robert Chunhua

2015-10-01

Wound dressings of cell-laden bulk hydrogel or scaffold were mainly applied for enhanced cell engraftment in contrast to free cell injection. However, dressing of cells laden in biomaterials on wound surface might not effectively and timely exert functions on deep or chronic wounds where insufficient blood supply exists. Previously, we developed injectable gelatin microcryogels (GMs) which could load cells for enhanced cell delivery and cell therapy. In this study, biological changes of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) laden in GMs were compared in varied aspects with traditional two dimensional (2D) cell culture, such as cell phenotype markers, stemness genes, differentiation, secretion of growth factors, cell apoptosis and cell memory by FACS, QRT-PCR and ELISA, that demonstrated the priming effects of GMs on upregulation of stemness genes and improved secretion of growth factors of hASCs for potential augmented wound healing. In a full-thickness skin wound model in nude mice, multisite injection and dressing of hASCs-laden GMs could significantly accelerate the healing compared to free cell injection. Bioluminescence imaging and protein analysis indicated improved cell retention and secretion of multiple growth factors. Our study suggests that GMs as primed injectable 3D micro-niches represent a new cell delivery methodology for skin wound healing which could not only benefit on the recovery of wound bed but also play direct effects on wound basal layer for healing enhancement. Injectable GMs as facile multisite cell delivery approach potentially provide new minimally-invasive therapeutic strategy for refractory wounds such as diabetic ulcer or radiative skin wound. This work applied a type of elastic micro-scaffold (GMs) to load and prime hMSCs for skin wound healing. Due to the injectability of GMs, the 3D cellular micro-niches could simply realize minimally-invasive and multisite cell delivery approach for accelerating the wound healing process superior to free cell injection. The biological features of MSCs has been thoroughly characterized during 3D culture in GMs (i.e. cell proliferation, characterization of cell surface markers, stemness of MSCs in GMs, differentiation of MSCs in GMs, secretion of MSCs in GMs, induced apoptosis of MSCs in GMs). Multiple methods such as bioluminescent imaging, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, ELSA and western blot were used to assess the in vivo results between groups. Copyright © 2015 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coupled Hydro-Mechanical Modeling of Fluid Geological Storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castelletto, N.; Garipov, T.; Tchelepi, H. A.

2013-12-01

The accurate modeling of the complex coupled physical processes occurring during the injection and the post-injection period is a key factor for assessing the safety and the feasibility of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in subsurface formations. In recent years, it has become widely accepted the importance of the coupling between fluid flow and geomechanical response in constraining the sustainable pressure buildup caused by fluid injection relative to the caprock sealing capacity, induced seismicity effects and ground surface stability [e.g., Rutqvist, 2012; Castelletto et al., 2013]. Here, we present a modeling approach based on a suitable combination of Finite Volumes (FVs) and Finite Elements (FEs) to solve the coupled system of partial differential equations governing the multiphase flow in a deformable porous medium. Specifically, a FV method is used for the flow problem while the FE method is adopted to address the poro-elasto-plasticity equations. The aim of the present work is to compare the performance and the robustness of unconditionally stable sequential-implicit schemes [Kim et al., 2011] and the fully-implicit method in solving the algebraic systems arising from the discretization of the governing equations, for both normally conditioned and severely ill-conditioned problems. The two approaches are tested against well-known analytical solutions and experimented with in a realistic application of CO2 injection in a synthetic aquifer. References: - Castelletto N., G. Gambolati, and P. Teatini (2013), Geological CO2 sequestration in multi-compartment reservoirs: Geomechanical challenges, J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth, 118, 2417-2428, doi:10.1002/jgrb.50180. - Kim J., H. A. Tchelepi, and R. Juanes (2011), Stability, accuracy and efficiency of sequential methods for coupled flow and geomechanics, SPE J., 16(2), 249-262. - Rutqvist J. (2012), The geomechanics of CO2 storage in deep sedimentary formations, Geotech. Geol. Eng., 30, 525-551.

Identification of infusion strategy for achieving repeatable nanoparticle distribution and quantification of thermal dosage using micro-CT Hounsfield unit in magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia.

PubMed

LeBrun, Alexander; Joglekar, Tejashree; Bieberich, Charles; Ma, Ronghui; Zhu, Liang

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to identify an injection strategy leading to repeatable nanoparticle deposition patterns in tumours and to quantify volumetric heat generation rate distribution based on micro-CT Hounsfield unit (HU) in magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia. In vivo animal experiments were performed on graft prostatic cancer (PC3) tumours in immunodeficient mice to investigate whether lowering ferrofluid infusion rate improves control of the distribution of magnetic nanoparticles in tumour tissue. Nanoparticle distribution volume obtained from micro-CT scan was used to evaluate spreading of the nanoparticles from the injection site in tumours. Heating experiments were performed to quantify relationships among micro-CT HU values, local nanoparticle concentrations in the tumours, and the ferrofluid-induced volumetric heat generation rate (q(MNH)) when nanoparticles were subject to an alternating magnetic field. An infusion rate of 3 µL/min was identified to result in the most repeatable nanoparticle distribution in PC3 tumours. Linear relationships have been obtained to first convert micro-CT greyscale values to HU values, then to local nanoparticle concentrations, and finally to nanoparticle-induced q(MNH) values. The total energy deposition rate in tumours was calculated and the observed similarity in total energy deposition rates in all three infusion rate groups suggests improvement in minimising nanoparticle leakage from the tumours. The results of this study demonstrate that micro-CT generated q(MNH) distribution and tumour physical models improve predicting capability of heat transfer simulation for designing reliable treatment protocols using magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia.

Fabrication of unique 3D microparticles in non-rectangular microchannels with flow lithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nam, Sung Min; Kim, Kibeom; Park, Wook; Lee, Wonhee

Invention of flow lithography has offered a simple yet effective method of fabricating micro-particles. However particles produced with conventional techniques were largely limited to 2-dimensional shapes projected to form a column. We proposed inexpensive and simple soft-lithography techniques to fabricate micro-channels with various cross-sectional shapes. The non-rectangular channels are then used to fabricate micro-particles using flow lithography resulting in interesting 3D shapes such as tetrahedrals or half-pyramids. In addition, a microfluidic device capable of fabricating multi-layered micro-particles was developed. On-chip PDMS valves are used to trap and position the particle at the precise location in microchannel with varying cross-section. Multilayer particles are generated by sequential monomer exchange and polymerization along the channel. While conventional multi-layered particles made with droplet generators require their layer materials be dissolved in immiscible fluids, the new method allows diverse choice of materials, not limited to their diffusibility. The multilayer 3D particles can be applied in areas such as drug delivery and tissue engineering.

Learning Behavior Characterization with Multi-Feature, Hierarchical Activity Sequences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ye, Cheng; Segedy, James R.; Kinnebrew, John S.; Biswas, Gautam

2015-01-01

This paper discusses Multi-Feature Hierarchical Sequential Pattern Mining, MFH-SPAM, a novel algorithm that efficiently extracts patterns from students' learning activity sequences. This algorithm extends an existing sequential pattern mining algorithm by dynamically selecting the level of specificity for hierarchically-defined features…

An accessible micro-capillary electrophoresis device using surface-tension-driven flow

PubMed Central

Mohanty, Swomitra K.; Warrick, Jay; Gorski, Jack; Beebe, David J.

2010-01-01

We present a rapidly fabricated micro-capillary electrophoresis chip that utilizes surface-tension-driven flow for sample injection and extraction of DNA. Surface-tension-driven flow (i.e. passive pumping) injects a fixed volume of sample that can be predicted mathematically. Passive pumping eliminates the need for tubing, valves, syringe pumps, and other equipment typically needed for interfacing with microelectrophoresis chips. This method requires a standard micropipette to load samples before separation, and remove the resulting bands after analysis. The device was made using liquid phase photopolymerization to rapidly fabricate the chip without the need of special equipment typically associated with the construction of microelectrophoresis chips (e.g. cleanroom). Batch fabrication time for the device presented here was 1.5 h including channel coating time to suppress electroosmotic flow. Devices were constructed out of poly-isobornyl acrylate and glass. A standard microscope with a UV source was used for sample detection. Separations were demonstrated using Promega BenchTop 100 bp ladder in hydroxyl ethyl cellulose (HEC) and oligonucleotides of 91 and 118 bp were used to characterize sample injection and extraction of DNA bands. The end result was an inexpensive micro-capillary electrophoresis device that uses tools (e.g. micropipette, electrophoretic power supplies, and microscopes) already present in most labs for sample manipulation and detection, making it more accessible for potential end users. PMID:19425002

Sequential Systemic Administrations of Combretastatin A4 Phosphate and Radioiodinated Hypericin Exert Synergistic Targeted Theranostic Effects with Prolonged Survival on SCID Mice Carrying Bifocal Tumor Xenografts

PubMed Central

Li, Junjie; Cona, Marlein Miranda; Chen, Feng; Feng, Yuanbo; Zhou, Lin; Zhang, Guozhi; Nuyts, Johan; de Witte, Peter; Zhang, Jian; Yu, Jie; Oyen, Raymond; Verbruggen, Alfons; Ni, Yicheng

2013-01-01

Objectives: Based on the soil-to-seeds principle, we explored the small-molecular sequential dual-targeting theranostic strategy (SMSDTTS) for prolonged survival and imaging detectability in a xenograft tumor model. Materials and Methods: Thirty severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice bearing bilateral radiation-induced fibrosarcoma-1 (RIF-1) subcutaneously were divided into group A of SMSDTTS with sequential intravenous injections of combretastatin A4 phosphate (CA4P) and 131I-iodohypericin (131I-Hyp) at a 24 h interval; group B of single targeting control with CA4P and vehicle of 131I-Hyp; and group C of vehicle control (10 mice per group). Tumoricidal events were monitored by in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and planar gamma scintiscan, and validated by ex vivo autoradiography and histopathology. Besides, 9 mice received sequential intravenous injections of CA4P and 131I-Hyp were subjected to biodistribution analysis at 24, 72 and 120 h. Results: Gamma counting revealed fast clearance of 131I-Hyp from normal organs but intense accumulation in necrotic tumor over 120 h. After only one treatment, significantly prolonged survival (p<0.001) was found in group A compared to group B and C with median survival of 33, 22, and 21 days respectively. Tumor volume on day 15 was 2.0 ± 0.89, 5.66 ± 1.66, and 5.02 ± 1.0 cm3 with tumor doubling time 7.8 ± 2.8, 4.4 ± 0.67, and 4.5 ± 0.5 days respectively. SMSDTTS treated tumors were visualized as hot spots on gamma scintiscans, and necrosis over tumor ratio remained consistently high on MRI, autoradiography and histology. Conclusion: The synergistic antitumor effects, multifocal targetability, simultaneous theranostic property, and good tolerance of the SMSDTTS were evident in this experiment, which warrants further development for preclinical and clinical applications. PMID:23423247

Sequential Bayesian Geostatistical Inversion and Evaluation of Combined Data Worth for Aquifer Characterization at the Hanford 300 Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murakami, H.; Chen, X.; Hahn, M. S.; Over, M. W.; Rockhold, M. L.; Vermeul, V.; Hammond, G. E.; Zachara, J. M.; Rubin, Y.

2010-12-01

Subsurface characterization for predicting groundwater flow and contaminant transport requires us to integrate large and diverse datasets in a consistent manner, and quantify the associated uncertainty. In this study, we sequentially assimilated multiple types of datasets for characterizing a three-dimensional heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity field at the Hanford 300 Area. The datasets included constant-rate injection tests, electromagnetic borehole flowmeter tests, lithology profile and tracer tests. We used the method of anchored distributions (MAD), which is a modular-structured Bayesian geostatistical inversion method. MAD has two major advantages over the other inversion methods. First, it can directly infer a joint distribution of parameters, which can be used as an input in stochastic simulations for prediction. In MAD, in addition to typical geostatistical structural parameters, the parameter vector includes multiple point values of the heterogeneous field, called anchors, which capture local trends and reduce uncertainty in the prediction. Second, MAD allows us to integrate the datasets sequentially in a Bayesian framework such that it updates the posterior distribution, as a new dataset is included. The sequential assimilation can decrease computational burden significantly. We applied MAD to assimilate different combinations of the datasets, and then compared the inversion results. For the injection and tracer test assimilation, we calculated temporal moments of pressure build-up and breakthrough curves, respectively, to reduce the data dimension. A massive parallel flow and transport code PFLOTRAN is used for simulating the tracer test. For comparison, we used different metrics based on the breakthrough curves not used in the inversion, such as mean arrival time, peak concentration and early arrival time. This comparison intends to yield the combined data worth, i.e. which combination of the datasets is the most effective for a certain metric, which will be useful for guiding the further characterization effort at the site and also the future characterization projects at the other sites.

Micro-structurally detailed model of a therapeutic hydrogel injectate in a rat biventricular cardiac geometry for computational simulations

PubMed Central

Sirry, Mazin S.; Davies, Neil H.; Kadner, Karen; Dubuis, Laura; Saleh, Muhammad G.; Meintjes, Ernesta M.; Spottiswoode, Bruce S.; Zilla, Peter; Franz, Thomas

2013-01-01

Biomaterial injection based therapies have showed cautious success in restoration of cardiac function and prevention of adverse remodelling into heart failure after myocardial infarction (MI). However, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Computational studies utilised simplified representations of the therapeutic myocardial injectates. Wistar rats underwent experimental infarction followed by immediate injection of polyethylene glycol hydrogel in the infarct region. Hearts were explanted, cryo-sectioned and the region with the injectate histologically analysed. Histological micrographs were used to reconstruct the dispersed hydrogel injectate. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) data from a healthy rat were used to obtain an end-diastolic biventricular geometry which was subsequently adjusted and combined with the injectate model. The computational geometry of the injectate exhibited microscopic structural details found the in situ. The combination of injectate and cardiac geometry provides realistic geometries for multiscale computational studies of intra-myocardial injectate therapies for the rat model that has been widely used for MI research. PMID:23682845

Deltoid Injections of Risperidone Long-acting Injectable in Patients with Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Quiroz, Jorge A.; Rusch, Sarah; Thyssen, An; Kushner, Stuart

2011-01-01

Background Risperidone long-acting injectable was previously approved for treatment of schizophrenia as biweekly injections in the gluteal muscle only. We present data on local injection-site tolerability and safety of risperidone long-acting injectable and comparability of systemic exposure of deltoid versus gluteal injections. Methods Risperidone long-acting injectable was administered in an open-label, single-dose, two-way crossover study, with patients randomized to receive either 25mg gluteal/37.5mg deltoid crossover in two treatment periods or 50mg gluteal/50mg deltoid injections crossover; each treatment period was separated by an 85-day observation period (Study 1) and an open-label, multiple-dose study (4 sequential 37.5mg or 50mg deltoid injections every 2 weeks) (Study 2). The pharmacokinetic results from both the studies have already been published. Results In Study 1 (n=170), the majority of patients had no local injection-site findings, based on investigator and patient-rated evaluations. In Study 2 (n=53), seven of the 51 patients who received at least two deltoid injections discontinued (primary endpoint). However, none of the discontinuations were due to injection-site related reasons. The 90-percent upper confidence limit of the true proportion of injection-site issue withdrawals was 5.7 percent. No moderate or severe injection-site reactions were reported. Conclusion Intramuscular injections via the deltoid and gluteal sites are equivalent routes of administration of risperidone long-acting injectable with respect to local injection-site tolerability. The overall safety and tolerability profile of risperidone long-acting injectable was comparable when administered as an intramuscular injection in the deltoid (37.5mg and 50mg) and gluteal (25mg and 50mg) sites. PMID:21779538

Injection moulding of optical functional micro structures using laser structured, PVD-coated mould inserts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hopmann, Ch.; Weber, M.; Schöngart, M.; Schäfer, C.; Bobzin, K.; Bagcivan, N.; Brögelmann, T.; Theiß, S.; Münstermann, T.; Steger, M.

2015-05-01

Micro structured optical plastics components are intensively used i. e. in consumer electronics, for optical sensors in metrology, innovative LED-lighting or laser technology. Injection moulding has proven to be successful for the large-scale production of those parts. However, the production of those parts still causes difficulties due to challenges in the moulding and demoulding of plastics parts created with laser structured mould inserts. A complete moulding of the structures often leads to increased demoulding forces, which then cause a breaking of the structures and a clogging of the mould. An innovative approach is to combine PVD-coated (physical vapour deposition), laser structured inserts and a variothermal moulding process to create functional mic8iüro structures in a one-step process. Therefore, a PVD-coating is applied after the laser structuring process in order to improve the wear resistance and the anti-adhesive properties against the plastics melt. In a series of moulding trials with polycarbonate (PC) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) using different coated moulds, the mould temperature during injection was varied in the range of the glass transition and the melt temperature of the polymers. Subsequently, the surface topography of the moulded parts is evaluated by digital 3D laser-scanning microscopy. The influence of the moulding parameters and the coating of the mould insert on the moulding accuracy and the demoulding behaviour are being analysed. It is shown that micro structures created by ultra-short pulse laser ablation can be successfully replicated in a variothermal moulding process. Due to the mould coating, significant improvements could be achieved in producing micro structured optical plastics components.

Measurement of citrate in urine using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry: comparison with an enzymatic method.

PubMed

Keevil, B G; Owen, L; Thornton, S; Kavanagh, J

2005-09-01

Measurement of urine citrate is used to assess the risk of further urinary stone formation and to assess the benefit of treatment in affected individuals. We wanted to develop a simple and rapid liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the analysis of urinary citrate and to compare it with our current enzymatic assay. For the LC-MS/MS assay, samples were prepared in a deep-well block by adding 10 microL of urine and 20 microL of internal standard to 400 microL of water. After mixing, 3 microL of the diluted sample was injected into the LC-MS/MS system. An LC system was used to isocratically elute a C18 column (50 x 2.1 mm) with 0.4 mL/min water containing 2 mmol/L ammonium acetate and 0.1% (v/v) formic acid. A step gradient of 100% methanol containing 2 mmol/L ammonium acetate and 0.1% (v/v) formic acid was used to wash the column. The retention times were 1.4 min for citrate and 1.4 min for d4-citrate. Cycle time was 4.0 min, injection to injection. The analytes were monitored using a tandem mass spectrometer operated in multiple reaction monitoring mode using the following transitions, citrate m/z 191.0>111.0 and d4-citrate m/z 195.0>113.0. Within and between-batch coefficients of variation were <3% over the range 480-3800 micromol/L. The lower limit of quantification was 24.0 micromol/L. Regression analysis showed LC-MS/MS = 0.8781 (enzymatic assay) + 102.5, r = 0.964, n = 73. We have developed a simple LC-MS/MS method for urinary citrate measurement that shows acceptable performance.

Towards a non-linear theory for fluid pressure and osmosis in shales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Droghei, Riccardo; Salusti, Ettore

2015-04-01

In exploiting deep hydrocarbon reservoirs, often injections of fluid and/or solute are used. To control and avoid troubles as fluid and gas unexpected diffusions, a reservoir characterization can be obtained also from observations of space and time evolution of micro-earthquake clouds resulting from such injections. This is important since several among the processes caused by fluid injections can modify the deep matrix. Information about the evolution of such micro-seismicity clouds therefore plays a realistic role in the reservoir analyses. To reach a better insight about such processes, and obtain a better system control, we here analyze the initial stress necessary to originate strong non linear transients of combined fluid pressure and solute density (osmosis) in a porous matrix. All this can indeed perturb in a mild (i.e. a linear diffusion) or dramatic non linear way the rock structure, till inducing rock deformations, micro-earthquakes or fractures. I more detail we here assume first a linear Hooke law relating strain, stress, solute density and fluid pressure, and analyze their effect in the porous rock dynamics. Then we analyze its generalization, i.e. the further non linear effect of a stronger external pressure, also in presence of a trend of pressure or solute in the whole region. We moreover characterize the zones where a sudden arrival of such a front can cause micro-earthquakes or fractures. All this allows to reach a novel, more realistic insight about the control of rock evolution in presence of strong pressure fronts. We thus obtain a more efficient reservoir control to avoid large geological perturbations. It is of interest that our results are very similar to those found by Shapiro et al.(2013) with a different approach.

Micro CT visualization of silver nanoparticles in the middle and inner ear of rat and transportation pathway after transtympanic injection.

PubMed

Zou, Jing; Hannula, Markus; Misra, Superb; Feng, Hao; Labrador, Roberto Hanoi; Aula, Antti S; Hyttinen, Jari; Pyykkö, Ilmari

2015-01-27

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) displayed strong activities in anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal studies and were reportedly efficient in treating otitis media. Information on distribution of AgNPs in different compartments of the ear is lacking. To detect distribution of Ag NPs in the middle and inner ear and transportation pathways after transtympanic injection. Contrast effect of Ag NPs in the micro CT imaging was assessed in a phantom. AgNPs at various concentrations (1.85 mM, 37.1 mM, and 370.7 mM) were administered to rat middle ear using transtympanic injection and cadaver heads were imaged using micro CT at several time points. The lowest concentration of Ag NPs that could be visualized using micro CT was 37.1 mM. No difference was observed between the solvents, deionized H2O and saline. Ag NPs at 37.1 mM were visible in the middle ear on 7 d post-administration. Ag NPs at 370.7 mM generated signals in the middle ear, ossicular chain, round window membrane, oval window, scala tympani, and Eustachian tube for both 4 h and 24 h time points. A gradient distribution of Ag NPs from the middle ear to the inner ear was detected. The pathways for Ag NPs to be transported from the middle ear into the inner ear are round and oval windows. This study provided the imaging evidence that Ag NPs are able to access the inner ear in a dose-dependent manner after intratympanic administration, which is relevant to design the delivery concentration in the future clinic application in order to avoid adverse inner ear effect.

[Pharmacokinetics and safety of aripiprazole long-acting injection, following multiple deltoid administrations in schizophrenia patients in Japan].

PubMed

Ishigooka, Jun; Noda, Takamasa; Nishiyama, Kosuke; Tamaru, Noriko; Shima, Tomoko; Yamasaki, Yumiko; Tadori, Yoshihiro

2016-06-01

Aripiprazole once-monthly (AOM) was previously approved for treatment of schizophrenia as monthly injections in the gluteal muscle. The deltoid muscle provides a more accessible injection site. The present study was conducted in Japanese schizophrenia patients as a 24-week, open-label trial that assessed the pharmacokinetics and safety of 5 sequential doses of AOM 400 mg (AOM 400) once every 4 weeks administered in the deltoid muscle. Patients treated with an oral atypical antipsychotic (other than aripiprazole) continued to receive their pre-study medication up to 14 days after the first AOM 400 injection. The completion rate was 76.5% (n = 13/17). Mean aripiprazole plasma C(min) almost reached steady-state by the fourth AOM 400 injection. After the fifth AOM 400 injection, mean aripiprazole AUC(28d), C(max) and C(min) were 165 μg x h/ml, 331 ng/ml and 201 ng/ml, respectively, which were similar to previously published pharmacokinetic parameters after the fifth gluteal injection of AOM 400. The most common treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) was injection site pain (35.3%). Most TEAEs were classified as mild in intensity. In conclusion, the deltoid injection of AOM can be considered an alternative route of administration, as deltoid and gluteal injections are interchangeable in terms of aripiprazole plasma concentrations, with no additional safety issues.

A fast and accurate online sequential learning algorithm for feedforward networks.

PubMed

Liang, Nan-Ying; Huang, Guang-Bin; Saratchandran, P; Sundararajan, N

2006-11-01

In this paper, we develop an online sequential learning algorithm for single hidden layer feedforward networks (SLFNs) with additive or radial basis function (RBF) hidden nodes in a unified framework. The algorithm is referred to as online sequential extreme learning machine (OS-ELM) and can learn data one-by-one or chunk-by-chunk (a block of data) with fixed or varying chunk size. The activation functions for additive nodes in OS-ELM can be any bounded nonconstant piecewise continuous functions and the activation functions for RBF nodes can be any integrable piecewise continuous functions. In OS-ELM, the parameters of hidden nodes (the input weights and biases of additive nodes or the centers and impact factors of RBF nodes) are randomly selected and the output weights are analytically determined based on the sequentially arriving data. The algorithm uses the ideas of ELM of Huang et al. developed for batch learning which has been shown to be extremely fast with generalization performance better than other batch training methods. Apart from selecting the number of hidden nodes, no other control parameters have to be manually chosen. Detailed performance comparison of OS-ELM is done with other popular sequential learning algorithms on benchmark problems drawn from the regression, classification and time series prediction areas. The results show that the OS-ELM is faster than the other sequential algorithms and produces better generalization performance.

Design and development of an automated flow injection instrument for the determination of arsenic species in natural waters.

PubMed

Hanrahan, Grady; Fan, Tina K; Kantor, Melanie; Clark, Keith; Cardenas, Steven; Guillaume, Darrell W; Khachikian, Crist S

2009-10-01

The design and development of an automated flow injection instrument for the determination of arsenite [As(III)] and arsenate [As(V)] in natural waters is described. The instrument incorporates solenoid activated self-priming micropumps and electronic switching valves for controlling the fluidics of the system and a miniature charge-coupled device spectrometer operating in a graphical programming environment. The limits of detection were found to be 0.79 and 0.98 microM for As(III) and As(V), respectively, with linear range of 1-50 microM. Spiked ultrapure water samples were analyzed and recoveries were found to be 97%-101% for As(III) and 95%-99% for As(V), respectively. Future directions in terms of automation, optimization, and field deployment are discussed.

Stem cell-mediated accelerated bone healing observed with in vivo molecular and small animal imaging technologies in a model of skeletal injury.

PubMed

Lee, Sheen-Woo; Padmanabhan, Parasuraman; Ray, Pritha; Gambhir, Sanjiv Sam; Doyle, Timothy; Contag, Christopher; Goodman, Stuart B; Biswal, Sandip

2009-03-01

Adult stem cells are promising therapeutic reagents for skeletal regeneration. We hope to validate by molecular imaging technologies the in vivo life cycle of adipose-derived multipotent cells (ADMCs) in an animal model of skeletal injury. Primary ADMCs were lentivirally transfected with a fusion reporter gene and injected intravenously into mice with bone injury or sham operation. Bioluminescence imaging (BLI), [(18)F]FHBG (9-(fluoro-hydroxy-methyl-butyl-guanine)-micro-PET, [(18)F]Fluoride ion micro-PET and micro-CT were performed to monitor stem cells and their effect. Bioluminescence microscopy and immunohistochemistry were done for histological confirmation. BLI showed ADMC's traffic from the lungs then to the injury site. BLI microscopy and immunohistochemistry confirmed the ADMCs in the bone defect. Micro-CT measurements showed increased bone healing in the cell-injected group compared to the noninjected group at postoperative day 7 (p < 0.05). Systemically administered ADMC's traffic to the site of skeletal injury and facilitate bone healing, as demonstrated by molecular and small animal imaging. Molecular imaging technologies can validate the usage of adult adipose tissue-derived multipotent cells to promote fracture healing. Imaging can in the future help establish therapeutic strategies including dosage and administration route. (c) 2008 Orthopaedic Research Society.

Inhibition of spinal protein kinase C-epsilon or -gamma isozymes does not affect halothane minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration in rats.

PubMed

Shumilla, Jennifer A; Sweitzer, Sarah M; Eger, Edmond I; Laster, Michael J; Kendig, Joan J

2004-07-01

Anesthetic effects on receptor or ion channel phosphorylation by enzymes such as protein kinase C (PKC) have been postulated to underlie some aspects of anesthesia. In vitro studies show that anesthetic effects on several receptors are mediated by PKC. To test the importance of PKC for the immobility produced by inhaled anesthetics, we measured the effect of intrathecal injections of PKC-epsilon and -gamma inhibitors on halothane minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration (MAC) in 7-day-old and 21-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats. The inhibitors were made as solutions of 100 pmol/5 microL and were given in a volume of 5 microL (7-day-old [P7] rats) or 10 microL (21-day-old [P21] rats). Controls were saline injections or injections of the peptide carrier at the same concentration and volumes; there were six animals in each group. In P7 rats, MAC values (in percentage of an atmosphere) were 1.63 +/- 0.0727 (mean +/- SEM) in saline controls, 1.55 +/- 0.141 in carrier controls, 1.54 +/- 0.0800 in rats given PKC-epsilon, and 1.69 +/- 0.0554 in rats given PKC-gamma. In P21 animals, the values were 1.20 +/- 0.0490, 1.31 +/- 0.0124, 1.27 +/- 0.0367, and 1.15 +/- 0.0483, respectively. Injection of the inhibitors did not change MAC in either age group. These results do not support an anesthetic effect on phosphorylation as a mechanism underlying the capacity of inhaled anesthetics to prevent movement in response to noxious stimulation, and they indirectly support a direct action on receptors or ion channels.

Synchrotron radiation microimaging in rabbit models of cancer for preclinical testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umetani, Keiji; Uesugi, Kentaro; Kobatake, Makito; Yamamoto, Akira; Yamashita, Takenori; Imai, Shigeki

2009-10-01

Preclinical laboratory animal imaging modalities such as microangiography and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) have been developed at the SPring-8 BL20B2 bending magnet beamline. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the usefulness of microangiography systems for physiological examinations of live animals and micro-CT systems for postmortem morphological examinations. Synchrotron radiation microangiography and micro-CT with contrast agents present the main advantageous capability of depicting the anatomy of small blood vessels with tens of micrometers' diameter. This paper reports two imaging instrument types and their respective applications to preclinical imaging of tumor angiogenic blood vessels in tumor-bearing rabbits, where tumor angiogenesis is characterized morphologically by an increased number of blood vessels. A microangiography system with spatial resolution around 10 μm has been used for therapeutically evaluating angiogenic vessels in a rabbit model of cancer for evaluating embolization materials in transcatheter arterial embolization and for radiation therapy. After an iodine contrast agent was injected into an artery, in vivo imaging was carried out using a high-resolution real-time detector incorporating an X-ray direct-conversion-type SATICON pickup tube. On the other hand, a micro-CT system capably performed three-dimensional visualization of tumor angiogenic blood vessels using tumor-transplanted rabbit specimens with a barium sulfate contrast agent injected into the blood vessels. For specimen imaging, a large-field high-resolution micro-CT system based on a 10-megapixel CCD camera was developed to study tumor-associated alterations in angioarchitecture. Evidence of increased vascularity by tumor angiogenesis and decreased vascularity by tumor treatments was achieved by physiological evaluation of angiogenic small blood vessels in microangiographic imaging and by morphological assessment in micro-CT imaging. These results demonstrate the accuracy and usefulness of microangiography and micro-CT systems for quantitative examination of animals' angioarchitecture, respectively, during live and postmortem examinations.

Effect of short-term sequential administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on the stomach and proximal portion of the duodenum in healthy dogs.

PubMed

Dowers, Kristy L; Uhrig, Samantha R; Mama, Khursheed R; Gaynor, James S; Hellyer, Peter W

2006-10-01

To evaluate effects of injection with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) followed by oral administration of an NSAID on the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of healthy dogs. 6 healthy Walker Hounds. In a randomized, crossover design, dogs were administered 4 treatments consisting of an SC injection of an NSAID or control solution (day 0), followed by oral administration of an NSAID or inert substance for 4 days (days 1 through 4). Treatment regimens included carprofen (4 mg/kg) followed by inert substance; saline (0.9% NaCl) solution followed by deracoxib (4 mg/kg); carprofen (4 mg/kg) followed by carprofen (4 mg/kg); and carprofen (4 mg/kg) followed by deracoxib (4 mg/kg). Hematologic, serum biochemical, and fecal evaluations were conducted weekly, and clinical scores were obtained daily. Endoscopy of the GIT was performed before and on days 1, 2, and 5 for each treatment. Lesions were scored by use of a 6-point scale. No significant differences existed for clinical data, clinicopathologic data, or lesion scores in the esophagus, cardia, or duodenum. For the gastric fundus, antrum, and lesser curvature, an effect of time was observed for all treatments, with lesions worsening from before to day 2 of treatments but improving by day 5. Sequential administration of NSAIDs in this experiment did not result in clinically important gastroduodenal ulcers. A larger study to investigate the effect of sequential administration of NSAIDs for longer durations and in dogs with signs of acute and chronic pain is essential to substantiate these findings.

Micro- and nanofabrication methods in nanotechnological medical and pharmaceutical devices

PubMed Central

Betancourt, Tania; Brannon-Peppas, Lisa

2006-01-01

Micro- and nanofabrication techniques have revolutionized the pharmaceutical and medical fields as they offer the possibility for highly reproducible mass-fabrication of systems with complex geometries and functionalities, including novel drug delivery systems and bionsensors. The principal micro- and nanofabrication techniques are described, including photolithography, soft lithography, film deposition, etching, bonding, molecular self assembly, electrically induced nanopatterning, rapid prototyping, and electron, X-ray, colloidal monolayer, and focused ion beam lithography. Application of these techniques for the fabrication of drug delivery and biosensing systems including injectable, implantable, transdermal, and mucoadhesive devices is described. PMID:17722281

Kullback-Leibler information function and the sequential selection of experiments to discriminate among several linear models. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sidik, S. M.

1972-01-01

A sequential adaptive experimental design procedure for a related problem is studied. It is assumed that a finite set of potential linear models relating certain controlled variables to an observed variable is postulated, and that exactly one of these models is correct. The problem is to sequentially design most informative experiments so that the correct model equation can be determined with as little experimentation as possible. Discussion includes: structure of the linear models; prerequisite distribution theory; entropy functions and the Kullback-Leibler information function; the sequential decision procedure; and computer simulation results. An example of application is given.

Botulinum toxin in masticatory muscles of the adult rat induces bone loss at the condyle and alveolar regions of the mandible associated with a bone proliferation at a muscle enthesis.

PubMed

Kün-Darbois, Jean-Daniel; Libouban, Hélène; Chappard, Daniel

2015-08-01

In man, botulinum toxin type A (BTX) is injected in masticatory muscles for several indications such as trismus, bruxism, or masseter hypertrophy. Bone changes in the mandible following BTX injections in adult animal have therefore became a subject of interest. The aim of this study was to analyze condylar and alveolar bone changes following BTX unilateral injections in masseter and temporal muscles in adult rats. Mature male rats (n = 15) were randomized into 2 groups: control (CTRL; n = 6) and BTX group (n= 9). Rats of the BTX group received a single injection of BTX into right masseter and temporal muscles. Rats of the CTRL group were similarly injected with saline solution. Rats were sacrificed 4 weeks after injections. Masticatory muscles examination and microcomputed tomography (microCT) were performed. A significant difference of weight was found between the 2 groups at weeks 2, 3 and 4 (p < 0.05). Atrophy of the right masseter and temporal muscles was observed in all BTX rats. MicroCT analysis showed significant bone loss in the right alveolar and condylar areas in BTX rats. Decrease in bone volume reached -20% for right alveolar bone and -35% for right condylar bone. A hypertrophic bone metaplasia at the digastric muscle enthesis was found on every right hemimandible in the BTX group and none in the CTRL group. BTX injection in masticatory muscles leads to a significant and major mandible bone loss. These alterations can represent a risk factor for fractures in human. The occurrence of a hypertrophic bone metaplasia at the Mus Digastricus enthesis may constitute an etiological factor for tori. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Monitoring the Restart of a High-Rate Wastewater Disposal Well in the Val d'Agri Oilfield (Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Gori, P.; Improta, L.; Moretti, M.; Colasanti, G.; Criscuoli, F.

2015-12-01

The Val d'Agri Quaternary basin in the Southern Apennine range of Italy hosts the largest inland oil field in Europe. Wastewater coming from the oil exploitation is re-injected by a high-rate disposal well into strongly fractured limestones of the hydrocarbon carbonate reservoir. Disposal activity has induced micro-seismicity since the beginning of injection in June 2006. Around 220 small magnitude events (ML < 2.3) were recorded between 2006 and 2013 by the trigger-mode monitoring local network managed by the oil company and by the National Seismic Network of Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia. The induced micro-seismicity illuminated a pre-existing high-angle fault located 1 km below the well. Since June 2006, wastewater has been re-injected with only short interruptions due acid stimulations. In January 2015 disposal activity was halted due to technical operations in the oil refinery and wastewater injection restarted after two weeks. We installed 5 short-period stations within 10 km of the disposal well to carefully monitor the re-start phase and the subsequent 3 months of disposal activity. This temporary network was complemented by stations of the National Seismic Network giving this final configuration:9 stations within 10 km of the well with the closest station 2 km apart, 13 stations within 20 km. Here we report on the preliminary analysis of the local earthquake recorded during the survey focusing on the events occurred in the injection area. The seismicity rate is compared with injection data.In spite of the dense network, we found that the rate of induced seismicity (both the number and energy of events) is very low when compared to the seismicity recorded during the first 5 years of injection activity carried out with comparable rate and pressure.

Recipient Glycemic Micro-environments Govern Therapeutic Effects of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Infusion on Osteopenia

PubMed Central

Sui, Bing-Dong; Hu, Cheng-Hu; Zheng, Chen-Xi; Shuai, Yi; He, Xiao-Ning; Gao, Ping-Ping; Zhao, Pan; Li, Meng; Zhang, Xin-Yi; He, Tao; Xuan, Kun; Jin, Yan

2017-01-01

Therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) infusion have been revealed in various human disorders, but impacts of diseased micro-environments are only beginning to be noticed. Donor diabetic hyperglycemia is reported to impair therapeutic efficacy of stem cells. However, whether recipient diabetic condition also affects MSC-mediated therapy is unknown. We and others have previously shown that MSC infusion could cure osteopenia, particularly in ovariectomized (OVX) mice. Here, we discovered impaired MSC therapeutic effects on osteopenia in recipient type 1 diabetes (T1D). Through intensive glycemic control by daily insulin treatments, therapeutic effects of MSCs on osteopenia were maintained. Interestingly, by only transiently restoration of recipient euglycemia using single insulin injection, MSC infusion could also rescue T1D-induced osteopenia. Conversely, under recipient hyperglycemia induced by glucose injection in OVX mice, MSC-mediated therapeutic effects on osteopenia were diminished. Mechanistically, recipient hyperglycemic micro-environments reduce anti-inflammatory capacity of MSCs in osteoporotic therapy through suppressing MSC interaction with T cells via the Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway. We further revealed in diabetic micro-environments, double infusion of MSCs ameliorated osteopenia by anti-inflammation, attributed to the first transplanted MSCs which normalized the recipient glucose homeostasis. Collectively, our findings uncover a previously unrecognized role of recipient glycemic conditions controlling MSC-mediated therapy, and unravel that fulfillment of potent therapeutic effects of MSCs requires tight control of recipient micro-environments. PMID:28435461

The subtyping of primary aldosteronism by adrenal vein sampling: sequential blood sampling causes factitious lateralization.

PubMed

Rossitto, Giacomo; Battistel, Michele; Barbiero, Giulio; Bisogni, Valeria; Maiolino, Giuseppe; Diego, Miotto; Seccia, Teresa M; Rossi, Gian Paolo

2018-02-01

The pulsatile secretion of adrenocortical hormones and a stress reaction occurring when starting adrenal vein sampling (AVS) can affect the selectivity and also the assessment of lateralization when sequential blood sampling is used. We therefore tested the hypothesis that a simulated sequential blood sampling could decrease the diagnostic accuracy of lateralization index for identification of aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA), as compared with bilaterally simultaneous AVS. In 138 consecutive patients who underwent subtyping of primary aldosteronism, we compared the results obtained simultaneously bilaterally when starting AVS (t-15) and 15 min after (t0), with those gained with a simulated sequential right-to-left AVS technique (R ⇒ L) created by combining hormonal values obtained at t-15 and at t0. The concordance between simultaneously obtained values at t-15 and t0, and between simultaneously obtained values and values gained with a sequential R ⇒ L technique, was also assessed. We found a marked interindividual variability of lateralization index values in the patients with bilaterally selective AVS at both time point. However, overall the lateralization index simultaneously determined at t0 provided a more accurate identification of APA than the simulated sequential lateralization indexR ⇒ L (P = 0.001). Moreover, regardless of which side was sampled first, the sequential AVS technique induced a sequence-dependent overestimation of lateralization index. While in APA patients the concordance between simultaneous AVS at t0 and t-15 and between simultaneous t0 and sequential technique was moderate-to-good (K = 0.55 and 0.66, respectively), in non-APA patients, it was poor (K = 0.12 and 0.13, respectively). Sequential AVS generates factitious between-sides gradients, which lower its diagnostic accuracy, likely because of the stress reaction arising upon starting AVS.

Brain serotonin content - Increase following ingestion of carbohydrate diet.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fernstrom, J. D.; Wurtman, R. J.

1971-01-01

In the rat, the injection of insulin or the consumption of carbohydrate causes sequential increases in the concentrations of tryptophan in the plasma and the brain and of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin-containing neurons may thus participate in systems whereby the rat brain integrates information about the metabolic state in its relation to control of homeostasis and behavior.

Sequential injection ionic liquid dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for thallium preconcentration and determination with flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

PubMed

Anthemidis, Aristidis N; Ioannou, Kallirroy-Ioanna G

2012-08-01

A novel, automatic on-line sequential injection dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (SI-DLLME) method, based on 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([Hmim][PF(6)]) ionic liquid as an extractant solvent was developed and demonstrated for trace thallium determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The ionic liquid was on-line fully dispersed into the aqueous solution in a continuous flow format while the TlBr(4)(-) complex was easily migrated into the fine droplets of the extractant due to the huge contact area of them with the aqueous phase. Furthermore, the extractant was simply retained onto the surface of polyurethane foam packed into a microcolumn. No specific conditions like low temperature are required for extractant isolation. All analytical parameters of the proposed method were investigated and optimized. For 15 mL of sample solution, an enhancement factor of 290, a detection limit of 0.86 μg L(-1) and a precision (RSD) of 2.7% at 20.0 μg L(-1) Tl(I) concentration level, was obtained. The developed method was evaluated by analyzing certified reference materials while good recoveries from environmental and biological samples proved that present method was competitive in practical applications.

Determination of yeast assimilable nitrogen content in wine fermentations by sequential injection analysis with spectrophotometric detetection.

PubMed

Muik, Barbara; Edelmann, Andrea; Lendl, Bernhard; Ayora-Cañada, María José

2002-09-01

An automated method for measuring the primary amino acid concentration in wine fermentations by sequential injection analysis with spectrophotometric detection was developed. Isoindole-derivatives from the primary amino acid were formed by reaction with o-phthaldialdehyde and N-acetyl- L-cysteine and measured at 334 nm with respect to a baseline point at 700 nm to compensate the observed Schlieren effect. As the reaction kinetic was strongly matrix dependent the analytical readout at the final reaction equilibrium has been evaluated. Therefore four parallel reaction coils were included in the flow system to be capable of processing four samples simultaneously. Using isoleucine as the representative primary amino acid in wine fermentations a linear calibration curve from 2 to 10 mM isoleucine, corresponding to 28 to 140 mg nitrogen/L (N/L) was obtained. The coefficient of variation of the method was 1.5% at a throughput of 12 samples per hour. The developed method was successfully used to monitor two wine fermentations during alcoholic fermentation. The results were in agreement with an external reference method based on high performance liquid chromatography. A mean-t-test showed no significant differences between the two methods at a confidence level of 95%.

Sequential injection redox or acid-base titration for determination of ascorbic acid or acetic acid.

PubMed

Lenghor, Narong; Jakmunee, Jaroon; Vilen, Michael; Sara, Rolf; Christian, Gary D; Grudpan, Kate

2002-12-06

Two sequential injection titration systems with spectrophotometric detection have been developed. The first system for determination of ascorbic acid was based on redox reaction between ascorbic acid and permanganate in an acidic medium and lead to a decrease in color intensity of permanganate, monitored at 525 nm. A linear dependence of peak area obtained with ascorbic acid concentration up to 1200 mg l(-1) was achieved. The relative standard deviation for 11 replicate determinations of 400 mg l(-1) ascorbic acid was 2.9%. The second system, for acetic acid determination, was based on acid-base titration of acetic acid with sodium hydroxide using phenolphthalein as an indicator. The decrease in color intensity of the indicator was proportional to the acid content. A linear calibration graph in the range of 2-8% w v(-1) of acetic acid with a relative standard deviation of 4.8% (5.0% w v(-1) acetic acid, n=11) was obtained. Sample throughputs of 60 h(-1) were achieved for both systems. The systems were successfully applied for the assays of ascorbic acid in vitamin C tablets and acetic acid content in vinegars, respectively.

Effect of micro-aeration and inoculum type on the biodegradation of lignocellulosic substrate.

PubMed

Tsapekos, P; Kougias, P G; Vasileiou, S A; Lyberatos, G; Angelidaki, I

2017-02-01

The effect of various micro-aeration strategies on the anaerobic digestion (AD) of wheat straw was thoroughly examined using a mixture of inocula, containing compost and well digested sludge from biogas plant. The aim was to determine the most efficient oxygen load, pulse repetition and treatment duration, resulting in the highest methane production. The oxygen load had the largest impact on the biodegradability of straw, among the examined variables. More specifically, a micro-aeration intensity of 10mLO 2 /gVS was identified as the critical threshold above which the AD performance was more susceptible to instability. The highest enhancement in biogas production was achieved by injecting 5mLO 2 /gVS for a consecutive 3-day treatment period, presenting a 7.2% increase compared to the untreated wheat straw. Nevertheless, the results from optimisation case study indicated a higher increase of 9% by injecting 7.3mLO 2 /gVS, distributed in 2 pulses during a slightly shorter treatment period (i.e. 47h). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimization of a jet-propelled particle injection system for the uniform transdermal delivery of drug/vaccine.

PubMed

Liu, Yi; Kendall, Mark A F

2007-08-01

A jet-propelled particle injection system, the biolistics, has been developed and employed to accelerate micro-particles for transdermal drug delivery. We have examined a prototype biolistic device employing a converging-diverging supersonic nozzle (CDSN), and found that the micro-particles were delivered with a wide velocity range (200-800 m/s) and spatial distribution. To provide a controllable system for transdermal drug delivery, we present a contoured shock-tube (CST) concept and its embodiment device. The CST configuration utilizes a quasi-steady, quasi-one dimensional and shock-free supersonic flow to deliver the micro-particles with an almost uniform velocity (the mean velocity and the standard deviation, 699 +/- 4.7 m/s) and spatial distribution. The transient gas and particle dynamics in both prototype devices are interrogated with the validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. The predicted results for static pressure and Mach number histories, gas flow structures, particle velocity distributions and gas-particle interactions are presented and interpreted. The implications for clinical uses are discussed. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Signal Enhancement in HPLC/Micro-Coil NMR Using Automated Column Trapping

PubMed Central

Djukovic, Danijel; Liu, Shuhui; Henry, Ian; Tobias, Brian; Raftery, Daniel

2008-01-01

A new HPLC-NMR system is described that performs analytical separation, pre-concentration, and NMR spectroscopy in rapid succession. The central component of our method is the online pre-concentration sequence that improves the match between post-column analyte peak volume and the micro-coil NMR detection volume. Separated samples are collected on to a C18 guard column with a mobile phase composed of 90% D2O/10% acetonitrile-D3, and back-flashed to the NMR micro-coil probe with 90% acetonitrile-D3/10% D2O. In order to assess the performance of our unit, we separated a standard mixture of 1 mM ibuprofen, naproxen, and phenylbutazone using a commercially available C18 analytical column. The S/N measurements from the NMR acquisitions indicated that we achieved signal enhancement factors up to 10.4 (±1.2)-fold. Furthermore, we observed that pre-concentration factors increased as the injected amount of analyte decreased. The highest concentration enrichment of 14.7 (±2.2)-fold was attained injecting 100 μL solution of 0.2 mM (~4 μg) ibuprofen. PMID:17037915

A non-symmetric pillar[5]arene based on triazole-linked 8-oxyquinolines as a sequential sensor for thorium(IV) followed by fluoride ions.

PubMed

Fang, Yuyu; Li, Caixia; Wu, Lei; Bai, Bing; Li, Xing; Jia, Yiming; Feng, Wen; Yuan, Lihua

2015-09-07

A novel non-symmetric pillar[5]arene bearing triazole-linked 8-oxyquinolines at one rim was synthesized and demonstrated as a sequential fluorescence sensor for thorium(iv) followed by fluoride ions with high sensitivity and selectivity.

The Nature of Phonological Encoding During Spoken Word Retrieval.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Michael P.; Riffel, Brian

1999-01-01

Examined whether phonological selection occurs sequentially or in parallel. College students named picture primes and targets, with varied response stimulus intervals between primes and targets. Results were consistent with Dell's (1988) two-stage sequential model of encoding, which shows an initial parallel activation within a lexical network…

Discrimination between sequential and simultaneous virtual channels with electrical hearing

PubMed Central

Landsberger, David; Galvin, John J.

2011-01-01

In cochlear implants (CIs), simultaneous or sequential stimulation of adjacent electrodes can produce intermediate pitch percepts between those of the component electrodes. However, it is unclear whether simultaneous and sequential virtual channels (VCs) can be discriminated. In this study, CI users were asked to discriminate simultaneous and sequential VCs; discrimination was measured for monopolar (MP) and bipolar + 1 stimulation (BP + 1), i.e., relatively broad and focused stimulation modes. For sequential VCs, the interpulse interval (IPI) varied between 0.0 and 1.8 ms. All stimuli were presented at comfortably loud, loudness-balanced levels at a 250 pulse per second per electrode (ppse) stimulation rate. On average, CI subjects were able to reliably discriminate between sequential and simultaneous VCs. While there was no significant effect of IPI or stimulation mode on VC discrimination, some subjects exhibited better VC discrimination with BP + 1 stimulation. Subjects’ discrimination between sequential and simultaneous VCs was correlated with electrode discrimination, suggesting that spatial selectivity may influence perception of sequential VCs. To maintain equal loudness, sequential VC amplitudes were nearly double those of simultaneous VCs, presumably resulting in a broader spread of excitation. These results suggest that perceptual differences between simultaneous and sequential VCs might be explained by differences in the spread of excitation. PMID:21895094

Discrimination between sequential and simultaneous virtual channels with electrical hearing.

PubMed

Landsberger, David; Galvin, John J

2011-09-01

In cochlear implants (CIs), simultaneous or sequential stimulation of adjacent electrodes can produce intermediate pitch percepts between those of the component electrodes. However, it is unclear whether simultaneous and sequential virtual channels (VCs) can be discriminated. In this study, CI users were asked to discriminate simultaneous and sequential VCs; discrimination was measured for monopolar (MP) and bipolar + 1 stimulation (BP + 1), i.e., relatively broad and focused stimulation modes. For sequential VCs, the interpulse interval (IPI) varied between 0.0 and 1.8 ms. All stimuli were presented at comfortably loud, loudness-balanced levels at a 250 pulse per second per electrode (ppse) stimulation rate. On average, CI subjects were able to reliably discriminate between sequential and simultaneous VCs. While there was no significant effect of IPI or stimulation mode on VC discrimination, some subjects exhibited better VC discrimination with BP + 1 stimulation. Subjects' discrimination between sequential and simultaneous VCs was correlated with electrode discrimination, suggesting that spatial selectivity may influence perception of sequential VCs. To maintain equal loudness, sequential VC amplitudes were nearly double those of simultaneous VCs, presumably resulting in a broader spread of excitation. These results suggest that perceptual differences between simultaneous and sequential VCs might be explained by differences in the spread of excitation. © 2011 Acoustical Society of America

Improving performance of Si/CdS micro-/nanoribbon p-n heterojunction light emitting diodes by trenched structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Shiyuan; Wu, Yuanpeng; Ma, Xiangyang; Yang, Zongyin; Liu, Xu; Yang, Qing

2018-05-01

Realizing high performance silicon based light sources has been an unremitting pursuit for researchers. In this letter, we propose a simple structure to enhance electroluminescence emission and reduce the threshold of injected current of silicon/CdS micro-/nanoribbon p-n heterojunction visible light emitting diodes, by fabricating trenched structure on silicon substrate to mount CdS micro-/nanoribbon. A series of experiments and simulation analysis favors the rationality and validity of our mounting design. After mounting the CdS micro-/nanoribbon, the optical field confinement increases, and absorption and losses from high refractive silicon substrate are effectively reduced. Meanwhile the sharp change of silicon substrate near heterojunction also facilitates the balance between electron current and hole current, which substantially conduces to the stable amplification of electroluminescence emission in CdS micro-/nanoribbon.

Fabrication of a co-culture micro-bioreactor device for efficient hepatic differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs).

PubMed

Kehtari, Mousa; Zeynali, Bahman; Soleimani, Masoud; Kabiri, Mahboubeh; Seyedjafari, Ehsan

2018-04-27

Primary hepatocytes, as the gold standard cell type for in vitro models, lose their characteristic morphology and functions after few days. There is an urgent need to develop physiologically relevant models that recapitulate liver microenvironment to obtain mature hepatocyte from stem cells. We designed and fabricated a micro-bioreactor device mimicking the physiological shear stress and cell-cell interaction in liver sinusoid microenvironment. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were co-cultured with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in the micro-bioreactor device with continuous perfusion of hepatic differentiation medium (100 μL/h). Simulation results showed that flow field inside our perfusion device was uniform and shear stress was adjusted to physiological condition (<2 dyne/cm 2 ). IPSCs-derived hepatocytes (iPSCs-Heps) that were cultured in micro-bioreactor device showed a higher level of hepatic markers compared to those in static condition. Flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry analysis revealed iPSCs cultured in the device sequentially acquired characteristics of definitive endodermal cells (SOX17 positive), hepatoblasts (AFP positive) and mature hepatocyte (ALB positive). Moreover, the albumin and urea secretion were significantly higher in micro-bioreactor device than those cultured in culture dishes during experiment. Thus, based on our results, we propose our micro-bioreactor as a beneficial device to generate mature hepatocytes for drug screening and basic research.

Microcomputer-based artificial vision support system for real-time image processing for camera-driven visual prostheses.

PubMed

Fink, Wolfgang; You, Cindy X; Tarbell, Mark A

2010-01-01

It is difficult to predict exactly what blind subjects with camera-driven visual prostheses (e.g., retinal implants) can perceive. Thus, it is prudent to offer them a wide variety of image processing filters and the capability to engage these filters repeatedly in any user-defined order to enhance their visual perception. To attain true portability, we employ a commercial off-the-shelf battery-powered general purpose Linux microprocessor platform to create the microcomputer-based artificial vision support system (microAVS(2)) for real-time image processing. Truly standalone, microAVS(2) is smaller than a deck of playing cards, lightweight, fast, and equipped with USB, RS-232 and Ethernet interfaces. Image processing filters on microAVS(2) operate in a user-defined linear sequential-loop fashion, resulting in vastly reduced memory and CPU requirements during execution. MiccroAVS(2) imports raw video frames from a USB or IP camera, performs image processing, and issues the processed data over an outbound Internet TCP/IP or RS-232 connection to the visual prosthesis system. Hence, microAVS(2) affords users of current and future visual prostheses independent mobility and the capability to customize the visual perception generated. Additionally, microAVS(2) can easily be reconfigured for other prosthetic systems. Testing of microAVS(2) with actual retinal implant carriers is envisioned in the near future.

Reproducible Tissue Homogenization and Protein Extraction for Quantitative Proteomics Using MicroPestle-Assisted Pressure-Cycling Technology.

PubMed

Shao, Shiying; Guo, Tiannan; Gross, Vera; Lazarev, Alexander; Koh, Ching Chiek; Gillessen, Silke; Joerger, Markus; Jochum, Wolfram; Aebersold, Ruedi

2016-06-03

The reproducible and efficient extraction of proteins from biopsy samples for quantitative analysis is a critical step in biomarker and translational research. Recently, we described a method consisting of pressure-cycling technology (PCT) and sequential windowed acquisition of all theoretical fragment ions-mass spectrometry (SWATH-MS) for the rapid quantification of thousands of proteins from biopsy-size tissue samples. As an improvement of the method, we have incorporated the PCT-MicroPestle into the PCT-SWATH workflow. The PCT-MicroPestle is a novel, miniaturized, disposable mechanical tissue homogenizer that fits directly into the microTube sample container. We optimized the pressure-cycling conditions for tissue lysis with the PCT-MicroPestle and benchmarked the performance of the system against the conventional PCT-MicroCap method using mouse liver, heart, brain, and human kidney tissues as test samples. The data indicate that the digestion of the PCT-MicroPestle-extracted proteins yielded 20-40% more MS-ready peptide mass from all tissues tested with a comparable reproducibility when compared to the conventional PCT method. Subsequent SWATH-MS analysis identified a higher number of biologically informative proteins from a given sample. In conclusion, we have developed a new device that can be seamlessly integrated into the PCT-SWATH workflow, leading to increased sample throughput and improved reproducibility at both the protein extraction and proteomic analysis levels when applied to the quantitative proteomic analysis of biopsy-level samples.

Combined treatment in punctate inner choroidopathy

PubMed Central

Terelak-Borys, Barbara; Zagajewska, Katarzyna; Jankowska-Lech, Irmina; Tesla, Piotr; Grabska-Liberek, Iwona

2016-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this study was to describe a combination treatment for choroidal neovascular (CNV) membrane, secondary to punctate inner choroidopathy (PIC). Patient and methods A 44-year-old female patient was diagnosed with PIC complicated by the development of recurrent juxtafoveal neovascular membrane. The treatment included a sequence of monotherapy regimens: systemic steroid therapy, photodynamic therapy, and intravitreal injections of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor (anti-VEGF). Owing to the CNV membrane resistance to various types of monotherapy, a combination treatment consisting of local injections of steroid underneath the Tenon’s capsule and intravitreal anti-VEGF injections was used. Results Systemic steroid therapy resulted in rapid local improvement with a very short remission period. No positive effects of photodynamic therapy were observed. Sequential anti-VEGF injections led to remission periods of several months. Permanent regression of CNV membrane was achieved following combined local application of steroid and intravitreal anti-VEGF injections. Conclusion A combination treatment including steroid and anti-VEGF medication characterized by anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic effects may be a very beneficial option for the treatment of recurrent CNV membrane as a complication of PIC. PMID:27729795

Issues surrounding lethal injection as a means of capital punishment.

PubMed

Romanelli, Frank; Whisman, Tyler; Fink, Joseph L

2008-12-01

Lethal injection as a method of state-sanctioned capital punishment was initially proposed in the United States in 1977 and used for the first time in 1982. Most lethal injection protocols use a sequential drug combination of sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride. Lethal injection was originally introduced as a more humane form of execution compared with existing mechanical methods such as electrocution, toxic gassing, hanging, or firing squad. Lethal injection has not, however, been without controversy. Several states are considering whether lethal injection meets constitutional scrutiny forbidding cruel and unusual punishment. Recently in the case of Ralph Baze and Thomas C. Bowling, Petitioners, v John D. Rees, Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Corrections et al, the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the lethal injection protocol as carried out in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Most of the debate has surrounded the dosing and procedures used in lethal injection and whether the drug combinations and measures for administering the drugs truly produce a timely, pain-free, and fail-safe death. Many have also raised issues regarding the "medicalization" of execution and the ethics of health care professionals' participation in any part of the lethal injection process. As a result of all these issues, the future of lethal injection as a means of execution in the United States is under significant scrutiny. Outcomes of ongoing legislative and judicial reviews might result in cessation of lethal injection in totality or in alterations involving specific drug combinations or administration procedures.

TRPV1 channels in the nucleus of the solitary tract mediate thermal prolongation of the LCR in decerebrate piglets

PubMed Central

Xia, Luxi; Bartlett, Donald; Leiter, J.C.

2011-01-01

Elevating body temperature or just the temperature of the dorsal medulla by approximately 2 °C prolongs the laryngeal chemoreflex (LCR) in decerebrate neonatal piglets. We tested the hypothesis that transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptors in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) mediate thermal prolongation of the LCR. We studied the effect of a selective TRPV1 receptor antagonist on thermal prolongation of the LCR, and we tested the effect of a TRPV1 agonist on the duration of the LCR under normothermic conditions. We studied 37 decerebrate neonatal piglets between the ages of post-natal days 4 and 7. The TRPV1 receptor antagonist, 5−iodoresiniferatoxin (65 microM/L in 100 nL), blocked thermal prolongation of the LCR when injected bilaterally into the region of the NTS. The TRPV1 agonist, resiniferatoxin (0.65-1.0 mM/L in 100 nL), prolonged the LCR after bilateral injection into the NTS even when the body temperature of each piglet was normal. The effect of the TRPV1 agonists could be blocked by treatment with the GABAA receptor antagonist, bicuculline, whether given intravenously (0.3 mg/kg) or focally injected bilaterally into the NTS (10 mM in 100nL). We conclude that TRPV1 receptors in the NTS mediate thermal prolongation of the LCR. PMID:21276877

An analog neural hardware implementation using charge-injection multipliers and neutron-specific gain control.

PubMed

Massengill, L W; Mundie, D B

1992-01-01

A neural network IC based on a dynamic charge injection is described. The hardware design is space and power efficient, and achieves massive parallelism of analog inner products via charge-based multipliers and spatially distributed summing buses. Basic synaptic cells are constructed of exponential pulse-decay modulation (EPDM) dynamic injection multipliers operating sequentially on propagating signal vectors and locally stored analog weights. Individually adjustable gain controls on each neutron reduce the effects of limited weight dynamic range. A hardware simulator/trainer has been developed which incorporates the physical (nonideal) characteristics of actual circuit components into the training process, thus absorbing nonlinearities and parametric deviations into the macroscopic performance of the network. Results show that charge-based techniques may achieve a high degree of neural density and throughput using standard CMOS processes.

Kinetic mechanism and quaternary structure of Aminobacter aminovorans NADH:flavin oxidoreductase: an unusual flavin reductase with bound flavin.

PubMed

Russell, Thomas R; Demeler, Borries; Tu, Shiao-Chun

2004-02-17

The homodimeric NADH:flavin oxidoreductase from Aminobacter aminovorans is an NADH-specific flavin reductase herein designated FRD(Aa). FRD(Aa) was characterized with respect to purification yields, thermal stability, isoelectric point, molar absorption coefficient, and effects of phosphate buffer strength and pH on activity. Evidence from this work favors the classification of FRD(Aa) as a flavin cofactor-utilizing class I flavin reductase. The isolated native FRD(Aa) contained about 0.5 bound riboflavin-5'-phosphate (FMN) per enzyme monomer, but one bound flavin cofactor per monomer was obtainable in the presence of excess FMN or riboflavin. In addition, FRD(Aa) holoenzyme also utilized FMN, riboflavin, or FAD as a substrate. Steady-state kinetic results of substrate titrations, dead-end inhibition by AMP and lumichrome, and product inhibition by NAD(+) indicated an ordered sequential mechanism with NADH as the first binding substrate and reduced FMN as the first leaving product. This is contrary to the ping-pong mechanism shown by other class I flavin reductases. The FMN bound to the native FRD(Aa) can be fully reduced by NADH and subsequently reoxidized by oxygen. No NADH binding was detected using 90 microM FRD(Aa) apoenzyme and 300 microM NADH. All results favor the interpretation that the bound FMN was a cofactor rather than a substrate. It is highly unusual that a flavin reductase using a sequential mechanism would require a flavin cofactor to facilitate redox exchange between NADH and a flavin substrate. FRD(Aa) exhibited a monomer-dimer equilibrium with a K(d) of 2.7 microM. Similarities and differences between FRD(Aa) and certain flavin reductases are discussed.

A lock-free priority queue design based on multi-dimensional linked lists

DOE PAGES

Dechev, Damian; Zhang, Deli

2015-04-03

The throughput of concurrent priority queues is pivotal to multiprocessor applications such as discrete event simulation, best-first search and task scheduling. Existing lock-free priority queues are mostly based on skiplists, which probabilistically create shortcuts in an ordered list for fast insertion of elements. The use of skiplists eliminates the need of global rebalancing in balanced search trees and ensures logarithmic sequential search time on average, but the worst-case performance is linear with respect to the input size. In this paper, we propose a quiescently consistent lock-free priority queue based on a multi-dimensional list that guarantees worst-case search time of O(logN)more » for key universe of size N. The novel multi-dimensional list (MDList) is composed of nodes that contain multiple links to child nodes arranged by their dimensionality. The insertion operation works by first injectively mapping the scalar key to a high-dimensional vector, then uniquely locating the target position by using the vector as coordinates. Nodes in MDList are ordered by their coordinate prefixes and the ordering property of the data structure is readily maintained during insertion without rebalancing nor randomization. Furthermore, in our experimental evaluation using a micro-benchmark, our priority queue achieves an average of 50% speedup over the state of the art approaches under high concurrency.« less

A lock-free priority queue design based on multi-dimensional linked lists

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

Dechev, Damian; Zhang, Deli

The throughput of concurrent priority queues is pivotal to multiprocessor applications such as discrete event simulation, best-first search and task scheduling. Existing lock-free priority queues are mostly based on skiplists, which probabilistically create shortcuts in an ordered list for fast insertion of elements. The use of skiplists eliminates the need of global rebalancing in balanced search trees and ensures logarithmic sequential search time on average, but the worst-case performance is linear with respect to the input size. In this paper, we propose a quiescently consistent lock-free priority queue based on a multi-dimensional list that guarantees worst-case search time of O(logN)more » for key universe of size N. The novel multi-dimensional list (MDList) is composed of nodes that contain multiple links to child nodes arranged by their dimensionality. The insertion operation works by first injectively mapping the scalar key to a high-dimensional vector, then uniquely locating the target position by using the vector as coordinates. Nodes in MDList are ordered by their coordinate prefixes and the ordering property of the data structure is readily maintained during insertion without rebalancing nor randomization. Furthermore, in our experimental evaluation using a micro-benchmark, our priority queue achieves an average of 50% speedup over the state of the art approaches under high concurrency.« less

Renewable surface fluorescence sandwich immunoassay biosensor for rapid sensitive botulinum toxin detection in an automated fluidic format.

PubMed

Grate, Jay W; Warner, Marvin G; Ozanich, Richard M; Miller, Keith D; Colburn, Heather A; Dockendorff, Brian; Antolick, Kathryn C; Anheier, Norman C; Lind, Michael A; Lou, Jianlong; Marks, James D; Bruckner-Lea, Cynthia J

2009-05-01

A renewable surface biosensor for rapid detection of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A is described based on fluidic automation of a fluorescence sandwich immunoassay, using a recombinant protein fragment of the toxin heavy chain ( approximately 50 kDa) as a structurally valid simulant. Monoclonal antibodies AR4 and RAZ1 bind to separate non-overlapping epitopes of the full botulinum holotoxin ( approximately 150 kDa). Both of the targeted epitopes are located on the recombinant fragment. The AR4 antibody was covalently bound to Sepharose beads and used as the capture antibody. A rotating rod flow cell was used to capture these beads delivered as a suspension by a sequential injection flow system, creating a 3.6 microL column. After perfusing the bead column with sample and washing away the matrix, the column was perfused with Alexa 647 dye-labeled RAZ1 antibody as the reporter. Optical fibers coupled to the rotating rod flow cell at a 90 degrees angle to one another delivered excitation light from a HeNe laser (633 nm) using one fiber and collected fluorescent emission light for detection with the other. After each measurement, the used Sepharose beads are released and replaced with fresh beads. In a rapid screening approach to sample analysis, the toxin simulant was detected to concentrations of 10 pM in less than 20 minutes using this system.

Study of Direct RF Injection on Microcontroller

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-06

TASK NUMBER PPM00010812 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER EF002775 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) The University of Texas at Dallas Dept. of...Electrical Engineering Richardson, TX 75080 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS...test board and micro-instruction. 2.3 Organization of Report Section 3.0 describes the experiment procedure for direct RF injection. Section 4.0

Simultaneous Determination of 13 Priority Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Tehran’s Tap Water and Water for Injection Samples Using Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Micro Extraction Method and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

PubMed Central

Sadeghi, Ramezan; Kobarfard, Farzad; Yazdanpanah, Hassan; Eslamizad, Samira; Bayate, Mitra

2016-01-01

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are classified as persistent and carcinogenic organic pollutants. PAHs contamination has been reported in water. Many of relevant regulatory bodies such as EU and EPA have regulated the limit levels for PAHs in drinking water. In this study, 13 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in tap water samples of Tehran and water for injection. Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction procedure combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used for the extraction and determination of PAHs in the samples. Under the optimized conditions, the range of extraction recoveries and relative standard deviations (RSDs) of PAHs in water using internal standard (anthracene-d10) were in the range of 71-90% and 4-16%, respectively. Limit of detection for different PAHs were between 0.03 and 0.1 ngmL-1. The concentration of PAHs in all tap water as well as water for injection samples were lower than the limit of quantification of PAHs. This is the first study addressing the occurrence of PAHs in water for injection samples in Iran using dispersive liquid-liquid micro extraction procedure combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. PMID:27642318

A new rat model of portal hypertension induced by intraportal injection of microspheres

PubMed Central

Li, Xiang-Nong; Benjamin, IS; Alexander, B

1998-01-01

AIM: To produce a new rat model of portal hypertension by intraportal injection of microspheres. METHODS: Measured aliquots of single or different-sized microspheres (15, 40, 80μm) were injected into the portal vein to block intrahepatic portal radicals. The resultant changes in arterial,portal,hepatic venous and splenic pulp pressures were monitored. The liver and lungs were excised for histological examination. RESULTS: Portal venous pressure was elevated from basal value of 0.89-1.02 kPa to a steady-state of 1.98-3.19 kPa following the sequential injections of single- or different-sized microspheres, with a markedly lowered mean arterial pressure. However, a small-dose injection of 80 μm microspheres (1.8 × 105) produced a steady-state portal venous pressure of 2.53 × 0.17 kPa, and all rats showed normal arterial pressures. In addition, numerous microspheres were found in the lungs in all experimental groups. CONCLUSION: Portal hypertension can be reproduced in rats by intraportal injection of microspheres at a small dose of 80 μm (1.8 × 105). Intrahepatic portal-systemic shunts probably exist in the normal rat liver. PMID:11819236

FPGA-based multiprocessor system for injection molding control.

PubMed

Muñoz-Barron, Benigno; Morales-Velazquez, Luis; Romero-Troncoso, Rene J; Rodriguez-Donate, Carlos; Trejo-Hernandez, Miguel; Benitez-Rangel, Juan P; Osornio-Rios, Roque A

2012-10-18

The plastic industry is a very important manufacturing sector and injection molding is a widely used forming method in that industry. The contribution of this work is the development of a strategy to retrofit control of an injection molding machine based on an embedded system microprocessors sensor network on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device. Six types of embedded processors are included in the system: a smart-sensor processor, a micro fuzzy logic controller, a programmable logic controller, a system manager, an IO processor and a communication processor. Temperature, pressure and position are controlled by the proposed system and experimentation results show its feasibility and robustness. As validation of the present work, a particular sample was successfully injected.

Preparation of wafer-level glass cavities by a low-cost chemical foaming process (CFP).

PubMed

Shang, Jintang; Chen, Boyin; Lin, Wei; Wong, Ching-Ping; Zhang, Di; Xu, Chao; Liu, Junwen; Huang, Qing-An

2011-04-21

A novel foaming process-chemical foaming process (CFP)-using foaming agents to fabricate wafer-level micro glass cavities including channels and bubbles was investigated. The process consists of the following steps sequentially: (1) shallow cavities were fabricated by a wet etching on a silicon wafer; (2) powders of a proper foaming agent were placed in a silicon cavity, named 'mother cavity', on the etched silicon surface; (3) the silicon cavities were sealed with a glass wafer by anodic bonding; (4) the bonded wafers were heated to above the softening point of the glass, and baked for several minutes, when the gas released by the decomposition of the foaming agent in the 'mother cavity' went into the other sealed interconnected silicon cavities to foam the softened glass into cylindrical channels named 'daughter channels', or spherical bubbles named 'son bubbles'. Results showed that wafer-level micro glass cavities with smooth wall surfaces were achieved successfully without contamination by the CFP. A model for the CFP was proposed to predict the final shape of the glass cavity. Experimental results corresponded with model predictions. The CFP provides a low-cost avenue to preparation of micro glass cavities of high quality for applications such as micro-reactors, micro total analysis systems (μTAS), analytical and bio-analytical applications, and MEMS packaging.

Sequential ALK Inhibitors Can Select for Lorlatinib-Resistant Compound ALK Mutations in ALK-Positive Lung Cancer.

PubMed

Yoda, Satoshi; Lin, Jessica J; Lawrence, Michael S; Burke, Benjamin J; Friboulet, Luc; Langenbucher, Adam; Dardaei, Leila; Prutisto-Chang, Kylie; Dagogo-Jack, Ibiayi; Timofeevski, Sergei; Hubbeling, Harper; Gainor, Justin F; Ferris, Lorin A; Riley, Amanda K; Kattermann, Krystina E; Timonina, Daria; Heist, Rebecca S; Iafrate, A John; Benes, Cyril H; Lennerz, Jochen K; Mino-Kenudson, Mari; Engelman, Jeffrey A; Johnson, Ted W; Hata, Aaron N; Shaw, Alice T

2018-06-01

The cornerstone of treatment for advanced ALK-positive lung cancer is sequential therapy with increasingly potent and selective ALK inhibitors. The third-generation ALK inhibitor lorlatinib has demonstrated clinical activity in patients who failed previous ALK inhibitors. To define the spectrum of ALK mutations that confer lorlatinib resistance, we performed accelerated mutagenesis screening of Ba/F3 cells expressing EML4-ALK. Under comparable conditions, N -ethyl- N -nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis generated numerous crizotinib-resistant but no lorlatinib-resistant clones harboring single ALK mutations. In similar screens with EML4-ALK containing single ALK resistance mutations, numerous lorlatinib-resistant clones emerged harboring compound ALK mutations. To determine the clinical relevance of these mutations, we analyzed repeat biopsies from lorlatinib-resistant patients. Seven of 20 samples (35%) harbored compound ALK mutations, including two identified in the ENU screen. Whole-exome sequencing in three cases confirmed the stepwise accumulation of ALK mutations during sequential treatment. These results suggest that sequential ALK inhibitors can foster the emergence of compound ALK mutations, identification of which is critical to informing drug design and developing effective therapeutic strategies. Significance: Treatment with sequential first-, second-, and third-generation ALK inhibitors can select for compound ALK mutations that confer high-level resistance to ALK-targeted therapies. A more efficacious long-term strategy may be up-front treatment with a third-generation ALK inhibitor to prevent the emergence of on-target resistance. Cancer Discov; 8(6); 714-29. ©2018 AACR. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 663 . ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

Role of selective cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase inhibition in the myorelaxant actions of M&B 22,948, MY-5445, vinpocetine and 1-methyl-3-isobutyl-8-(methylamino)xanthine.

PubMed Central

Souness, J. E.; Brazdil, R.; Diocee, B. K.; Jordan, R.

1989-01-01

1. The mechanism by which M&B 22,948, MY-5445, vinpocetine and 1-methyl-3-isobutyl-8-(methylamino)xanthine (MIMAX), which have been described as selective cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors, relax rat aorta was investigated. 2. Three cyclic nucleotide PDEs were identified in the soluble fraction of rat aorta; a Ca2+-insensitive form exhibiting substrate selectivity for cyclic GMP (cGMP PDE), a Ca2+/calmodulin-stimulated form which also preferentially hydrolyzed cyclic GMP (Ca2+ PDE), and a form demonstrating substrate selectivity for cyclic AMP (cAMP PDE). 3. M&B 22,948 and MIMAX inhibited cGMP PDE (Ki = 0.16 microM and 0.43 microM, respectively) and Ca2+ PDE (Ki = 9.9 microM and 0.55 microM, respectively), but exhibited weak activity against cAMP PDE (Ki = 249 microM and 42 microM, respectively). MY-5445 selectivity inhibited cGMP PDE (Ki = 1.3 microM) and vinpocetine selectively inhibited Ca2+ PDE (Ki = 14 microM). 4. M&B 22,948 and MIMAX induced dose-dependent increases in the accumulation of cyclic GMP, but not cyclic AMP, in rat aorta pieces. These effects were greatly reduced by endothelial denudation and by methylene blue (5 microM) which blocks the actions of endothelium-derived relaxant factor. MY-5445 and vinpocetine had no effect on rat aorta cyclic GMP or cyclic AMP accumulation. 5. All four compounds caused dose-related relaxation of 5-hydroxytryptamine (10 microM) contracted, endothelium-intact rat aorta, the effects of M&B 22,948 and MIMAX being greatly reduced by methylene blue (5 microM). Methylene blue also caused 10 fold and 100 fold rightward shifts in the dose-response curves of MY-5445 and vinpocetine, respectively. 6. The results are consistent with the smooth muscle relaxant actions of M&B 22,948 and MIMAX, but not vinpocetine and MY-5445, being mediated through a mechanism involving inhibition of cyclic GMP hydrolysis. PMID:2480168

Single well tracer method to evaluate enhanced recovery

DOEpatents

Sheely, Jr., Clyde Q.; Baldwin, Jr., David E.

1978-01-01

Data useful to evaluate the effectiveness of or to design an enhanced recovery process (the recovery process involving mobilizing and moving hydrocarbons through a hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean formation from an injection well to a production well by injecting a mobilizing fluid into the injection well) are obtained by a process which comprises sequentially: determining hydrocarbon saturation in the formation in a volume in the formation near a well bore penetrating the formation, injecting sufficient of the mobilizing fluid to mobilize and move hydrocarbons from a volume in the formation near the well bore penetrating the formation, and determining by the single well tracer method a hydrocarbon saturation profile in a volume from which hydrocarbons are moved. The single well tracer method employed is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,842. The process is useful to evaluate surfactant floods, water floods, polymer floods, CO.sub.2 floods, caustic floods, micellar floods, and the like in the reservoir in much less time at greatly reduced costs, compared to conventional multi-well pilot test.

Free calcium ions in neurones of Helix aspersa measured with ion-selective micro-electrodes.

PubMed Central

Alvarez-Leefmans, F J; Rink, T J; Tsien, R Y

1981-01-01

1. Intracellular free calcium concentration, [Ca2+]i, was measured in giant neurones of the sub-oesophageal ganglia of Helix aspersa, using Ca-selective micro-electrodes containing a PVC-gelled, neutral-ligand sensor. 2. In calibration solutions the electrodes had a virtually ideal, Nernstian, response down to 1 microM-Ca2+ in the presence of 0.125 M-K+, 18-24 mV from 1 to 0.1 microM-Ca2+ and 8-14 mV from 0.1 to 0.01 microM-Ca2+. Interference from H+ and Mg2+ was negligible. The small response to Na+ at sub-micromolar Ca2+ was taken into account, when necessary, in measurement of [Ca2+]i. 3. Measurements of basal [Ca2+]i were made in ganglia from animals kept only a few weeks in captivity, in a bathing solution equilibrated with air and containing 2 mM-Ca2+. In thirteen measurements from impalements which met stringent criteria for electrode performance and cell viability, the mean basal pCa (--log10[Ca2+]) was 6.77 +/- 0.07 (S.E.), corresponding to a mean free Ca2+ concentration of 0.17 microM. 4. The basal [Ca2+]i in neurones from a group of snails kept hibernating for several months was higher, mean pCa 6.15, for ganglia handled in 2 mM-Ca2+ solution. 5. Intracellular injections of Ca2+ or EGTA raised and lowered, respectively, the indicated basal [Ca2+]i, showing that the electrodes responded appropriately inside the cells and that unknown or untested components of cytoplasm were not significantly interfering with the Ca-sensor. 6. Altering the external Ca2+ concentration between 0.1 and 10 mM usually produced only small, +/- 0.1 pCa units, changes in basal [Ca2+]i of satisfactorily impaled, quiescent cells. 7. In cell 1F, which has repetitive spikes with a substantial Ca current, changes in Ca gradient or blockade of voltage-dependent Ca channels sometimes markedly altered [Ca2+]i, showing that Ca entry with the spikes was elevating [Ca2+]i. 8. Replacing external Na+ with Li+ or bis(2-hydroxyethyl)dimethylammonium had little effect on [Ca2+]i. 9. Elevating CO2 to 5% or 79% lowered [Ca2+]i by an average of 0.16 and 0.26 pCa units respectively. PMID:6273543

Active Fail-Safe Micro-Array Flow Control for Advanced Embedded Propulsion Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Bernhard H.; Mace, James L.; Mani, Mori

2009-01-01

The primary objective of this research effort was to develop and analytically demonstrate enhanced first generation active "fail-safe" hybrid flow-control techniques to simultaneously manage the boundary layer on the vehicle fore-body and to control the secondary flow generated within modern serpentine or embedded inlet S-duct configurations. The enhanced first-generation technique focused on both micro-vanes and micro-ramps highly-integrated with micro -jets to provide nonlinear augmentation for the "strength' or effectiveness of highly-integrated flow control systems. The study focused on the micro -jet mass flow ratio (Wjet/Waip) range from 0.10 to 0.30 percent and jet total pressure ratios (Pjet/Po) from 1.0 to 3.0. The engine bleed airflow range under study represents about a 10 fold decrease in micro -jet airflow than previously required. Therefore, by pre-conditioning, or injecting a very small amount of high-pressure jet flow into the vortex generated by the micro-vane and/or micro-ramp, active flow control is achieved and substantial augmentation of the controlling flow is realized.

Determination of methylmercury and inorganic mercury in water samples by slurry sampling cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry in a flow injection system after preconcentration on silica C(18) modified.

PubMed

Segade, Susana Río; Tyson, Julian F

2007-03-15

A novel method for preconcentration of methylmercury and inorganic mercury from water samples was developed involving the determination of ngl(-1) levels of analytes retained on the silica C(18) solid sorbent, previous complexation with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC), by slurry sampling cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (SS-CVAAS) in a flow injection (FI) system. Several variables were optimized affecting either the retention of both mercury species, such as APDC concentration, silica C(18) amount, agitation times, or their determination, including hydrochloric acid concentration in the suspension medium, peristaltic pump speed and argon flow-rate. A Plackett-Burman saturated factorial design permitted to differentiate the influential parameters on the preconcentration efficiency, which were after optimized by the sequential simplex method. The contact time between mercury containing solution and APDC, required to reach an efficient sorption, was decreased from 26 to 3min by the use of sonication stirring instead of magnetic stirring. The use of 1moldm(-3) hydrochloric acid suspension medium and 0.75% (m/v) sodium borohydride reducing agent permitted the selective determination of methylmercury. The combination of 5moldm(-3) hydrochloric acid and 10(-4)% (m/v) sodium borohydride was used for the selective determination of inorganic mercury. The detection limits achieved for methylmercury and inorganic mercury determination under optimum conditions were 0.96 and 0.25ngl(-1), respectively. The reliability of the proposed method for the determination of both mercury species in waters was checked by the analysis of samples spiked with known concentrations of methylmercury and inorganic mercury; quantitative recoveries were obtained.

In-line micro-matrix solid-phase dispersion extraction for simultaneous separation and extraction of Sudan dyes in different spices.

PubMed

Rajabi, Maryam; Sabzalian, Sedigheh; Barfi, Behruz; Arghavani-Beydokhti, Somayeh; Asghari, Alireza

2015-12-18

A novel, simple, fast, and miniaturized method, termed in-line micro-matrix solid-phase dispersion (in-line MMSPD), coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed for the simultaneous extraction and determination of Sudan dyes (i.e. Sudan I-IV, Sudan orange G, Sudan black B, and Sudan red G) with the aid of an experimental design strategy. In this method, a matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) column including a suitable mixture of polar sorbents was inserted in the mobile phase pathway, and while the interfering compounds were retained, the analytes were eluted and entered into the analytical column. In this way, the extraction, elution, and separation of the analytes were performed sequentially. Under the optimal experimental conditions (including the amount of sample, 0.0426g; amount of dispersant phase, 0.0216g of florisil, 0.0227g of silica, 0.0141g of alumina; and blending time, 112s), the limits of detection (LODs), limits of quantification, linear dynamic ranges, and recoveries were obtained to be 0.3-15.3μgkg(-1), 1-50μgkg(-1), 50-28,000μgkg(-1), and 94.5-99.1%, respectively. The results obtained showed that determination of the selected Sudan dyes in food samples using an enough sensitive and a simple analytically validated method like in-line MMSPD may offer a suitable screening method, which could be useful for food analysis and adulteration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigation of particle lateral migration in sample-sheath flow of viscoelastic fluid and Newtonian fluid.

PubMed

Yuan, Dan; Zhang, Jun; Yan, Sheng; Peng, Gangrou; Zhao, Qianbin; Alici, Gursel; Du, Hejun; Li, Weihua

2016-08-01

In this work, particle lateral migration in sample-sheath flow of viscoelastic fluid and Newtonian fluid was experimentally investigated. The 4.8-μm micro-particles were dispersed in a polyethylene oxide (PEO) viscoelastic solution, and then the solution was injected into a straight rectangular channel with a deionised (DI) water Newtonian sheath flow. Micro-particles suspended in PEO solution migrated laterally to a DI water stream, but migration in the opposite direction from a DI water stream to a PEO solution stream or from one DI water stream to another DI water stream could not be achieved. The lateral migration of particles depends on the viscoelastic properties of the sample fluids. Furthermore, the effects of channel length, flow rate, and PEO concentration were studied. By using viscoelastic sample flow and Newtonian sheath flow, a selective particle lateral migration can be achieved in a simple straight channel, without any external force fields. This particle lateral migration technique could be potentially used in solution exchange fields such as automated cell staining and washing in microfluidic platforms, and holds numerous biomedical applications. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Hormonal regulation of Drosophila microRNA let-7 and miR-125 that target innate immunity.

PubMed

Garbuzov, Alina; Tatar, Marc

2010-01-01

The steroid 20-hydroxy-ecdysone (20-HE) and the sesquiterpenoid Juvenile Hormone (JH) coordinate insect life stage transitions. 20-HE exerts these effects by the sequential induction of response genes. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans hormones also play a role in such transitions, but notably, microRNA such as let-7 and lin-4 have likewise been found to help order developmental steps. Little is known about the corresponding function of homologous microRNA in Drosophila melanogaster, and the way microRNA might be regulated by 20-HE in the fly is ambiguous. Here we used Drosophila S2 cells to analyze the effects of 20-HE on D. melanogaster microRNA let-7 and miR-125, the homolog of lin-4. The induction by 20-HE of let-7 and miR-125 in S2 cells is inhibited by RNAi knockdown of the ecdysone receptor and, as previously shown, by knockdown of its cofactor broad-complex C. To help resolve the currently ambiguous role of 20-HE in the control of microRNA, we show that nanomolar concentrations of 20-HE primes cells to subsequently express microRNA when exposed to micromolar levels of 20-HE. We then explore the role microRNA plays in the established relationship between 20-HE and the induction of innate immunity. We show that the 3'UTR of the antimicrobial peptide diptericin has a let-7 binding site and that let-7 represses translation from this site. We conclude that 20-HE facilitates the initial expression of innate immunity while it simultaneously induces negative regulation via microRNA control of antimicrobial peptide translation.

Non-canonical microRNAs miR-320 and miR-702 promote proliferation in Dgcr8-deficient embryonic stem cells

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

Kim, Byeong-Moo; Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115; Choi, Michael Y., E-mail: mchoi@partners.org

2012-09-21

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) lacking non-canonical miRNAs proliferate slower. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer miR-320 and miR-702 are two non-canonical miRNAs expressed in ESCs. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer miR-320 and miR-702 promote proliferation of Dgcr8-deficient ESCs. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer miR-320 targets p57 and helps to release Dgcr8-deficient ESCs from G1 arrest. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer miR-702 targets p21 and helps to release Dgcr8-deficient ESCs from G1 arrest. -- Abstract: MicroRNAs are known to contribute significantly to stem cell phenotype by post-transcriptionally regulating gene expression. Most of our knowledge of microRNAs comes from the study of canonical microRNAs that require two sequential cleavages by the Drosha/Dgcr8 heterodimer and Dicer to generatemore » mature products. In contrast, non-canonical microRNAs bypass the cleavage by the Drosha/Dgcr8 heterodimer within the nucleus but still require cytoplasmic cleavage by Dicer. The function of non-canonical microRNAs in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) remains obscure. It has been hypothesized that non-canonical microRNAs have important roles in ESCs based upon the phenotypes of ESC lines that lack these specific classes of microRNAs; Dicer-deficient ESCs lacking both canonical and non-canonical microRNAs have much more severe proliferation defect than Dgcr8-deficient ESCs lacking only canonical microRNAs. Using these cell lines, we identified two non-canonical microRNAs, miR-320 and miR-702, that promote proliferation of Dgcr8-deficient ESCs by releasing them from G1 arrest. This is accomplished by targeting the 3 Prime -untranslated regions of the cell cycle inhibitors p57 and p21 and thereby inhibiting their expression. This is the first report of the crucial role of non-canonical microRNAs in ESCs.« less

Skin pre-ablation and laser assisted microjet injection for deep tissue penetration.

PubMed

Jang, Hun-Jae; Yeo, Seonggu; Yoh, Jack J

2017-04-01

For conventional needless injection, there still remain many unresolved issues such as the potential for cross-contamination, poor reliability of targeted delivery dose, and significantly painstaking procedures. As an alternative, the use of microjets generated with Er:YAG laser for delivering small doses with controlled penetration depths has been reported. In this study, a new system with two stages is evaluated for effective transdermal drug delivery. First, the skin is pre-ablated to eliminate the hard outer layer and second, laser-driven microjet penetrates the relatively weaker and freshly exposed epidermis. Each stage of operation shares a single Er:YAG laser that is suitable for skin ablation as well as for the generation of a microjet. In this study, pig skin is selected for quantification of the injection depth based on the two-stage procedure, namely pre-ablation and microjet injection. The three types of pre-ablation devised here consists of bulk ablation, fractional ablation, and fractional-rotational ablation. The number of laser pulses are 12, 18, and 24 for each ablation type. For fractional-rotational ablation, the fractional beams are rotated by 11.25° at each pulse. The drug permeation in the skin is evaluated using tissue marking dyes. The depth of penetration is quantified by a cross sectional view of the single spot injections. Multi-spot injections are also carried out to control the dose and spread of the drug. The benefits of a pre-ablation procedure prior to the actual microjet injection to the penetration is verified. The four possible combinations of injection are (a) microjet only; (b) bulk ablation and microjet injection; (c) fractional ablation and microjet injection; and (d) fractional-rotational ablation and microjet injection. Accordingly, the total depth increases with injection time for all cases. In particular, the total depth of penetration attained via fractional pre-ablation increased by 8 ∼ 11% and that of fractional-rotational pre-ablation increased by 13 ∼ 33%, when compared with the no pre-ablation or microjet only cases. A noticeable point is that the fraction-rotational pre-ablation and microjet result is comparable to the bulk ablation and microjet result of 11 ∼ 42%. The penetration depth underneath ablated stratum corneum (SC) is also measured in order to verify the pre-ablation effect. The penetration depths for each case are (a) 443 ± 104 µm; (b) 625 ± 98 µm; (c) 523 ± 95 µm; and (d) 595 ± 141 µm for microjet only, bulk ablation and microjet, fractional ablation and microjet, and fractional-rotational ablation and microjet, respectively. This is quite beneficial since any healing time associated with ablation is significantly reduced by avoiding hard-core bulk ablation. Thus the bulk pre-ablation and microjet may well be superseded by the less invasive fractiona-rotational ablation followed by the microjet injection. The density of micro-holes is 1.27 number/mm 2 for fractional ablation and 4.84 number/mm 2 for fractional-rotational ablation. The penetration depths measured underneath the ablated SC are 581 µm (fractional ablation and microjet) and 691 µm (fractional-rotational ablation and microjet). Fractional-rotational ablation increases number of micro-holes in a unit area, enabling fast reepithelialization and high drug delivery efficiency. Optimization of system parameters such as ablation time, number of ablations, and injection time will eventually ensure a macromolecule delivery technique with the potential to include vaccines, insulins, and growth hormones, all of which require deeper penetration into the skin. Lasers Surg. Med. 49:387-394, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Environmental fate of emamectin benzoate after tree micro injection of horse chestnut trees.

PubMed

Burkhard, Rene; Binz, Heinz; Roux, Christian A; Brunner, Matthias; Ruesch, Othmar; Wyss, Peter

2015-02-01

Emamectin benzoate, an insecticide derived from the avermectin family of natural products, has a unique translocation behavior in trees when applied by tree micro injection (TMI), which can result in protection from insect pests (foliar and borers) for several years. Active ingredient imported into leaves was measured at the end of season in the fallen leaves of treated horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) trees. The dissipation of emamectin benzoate in these leaves seems to be biphasic and depends on the decomposition of the leaf. In compost piles, where decomposition of leaves was fastest, a cumulative emamectin benzoate degradation half-life time of 20 d was measured. In leaves immersed in water, where decomposition was much slower, the degradation half-life time was 94 d, and in leaves left on the ground in contact with soil, where decomposition was slowest, the degradation half-life time was 212 d. The biphasic decline and the correlation with leaf decomposition might be attributed to an extensive sorption of emamectin benzoate residues to leaf macromolecules. This may also explain why earthworms ingesting leaves from injected trees take up very little emamectin benzoate and excrete it with the feces. Furthermore, no emamectin benzoate was found in water containing decomposing leaves from injected trees. It is concluded, that emamectin benzoate present in abscised leaves from horse chestnut trees injected with the insecticide is not available to nontarget organisms present in soil or water bodies. Published 2014 SETAC.

Hepatic Osteodystrophy: The Mechanism of Bone Loss in Hepatocellular Disease and the Effects of Pamidronate Treatment

PubMed Central

Spirlandeli, Adriano L.; Dick-de-Paula, Ingrid; Zamarioli, Ariane; Jorgetti, Vanda; Ramalho, Leandra N.Z.; Nogueira-Barbosa, Marcello H.; Volpon, Jose B.; Jordão, Alceu A.; Cunha, Fernando Q.; Fukada, Sandra Y.; de Paula, Francisco J.A.

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to evaluate the bone phenotypes and mechanisms involved in bone disorders associated with hepatic osteodystrophy. Hepatocellular disease was induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). In addition, the effects of disodium pamidronate on bone tissue were evaluated. METHODS: The study included 4 groups of 15 mice: a) C = mice subjected to vehicle injections; b) C+P = mice subjected to vehicle and pamidronate injections; c) CCl4+V = mice subjected to CCl4 and vehicle injections; and d) CCl4+P = mice subjected to CCl4 and pamidronate injections. CCl4 or vehicle was administered for 8 weeks, while pamidronate or vehicle was injected at the end of the fourth week. Bone histomorphometry and biomechanical analysis were performed in tibiae, while femora were used for micro-computed tomography and gene expression. RESULTS: CCl4 mice exhibited decreased bone volume/trabecular volume and trabecular numbers, as well as increased trabecular separation, as determined by bone histomorphometry and micro-computed tomography, but these changes were not detected in the group treated with pamidronate. CCl4 mice showed increased numbers of osteoclasts and resorption surface. High serum levels of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand and the increased expression of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase in the bones of CCl4 mice supported the enhancement of bone resorption in these mice. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results suggest that bone resorption is the main mechanism of bone loss in chronic hepatocellular disease in mice. PMID:28492723

Hepatic Osteodystrophy: The Mechanism of Bone Loss in Hepatocellular Disease and the Effects of Pamidronate Treatment.

PubMed

Spirlandeli, Adriano L; Dick-de-Paula, Ingrid; Zamarioli, Ariane; Jorgetti, Vanda; Ramalho, Leandra N Z; Nogueira-Barbosa, Marcello H; Volpon, Jose B; Jordão, Alceu A; Cunha, Fernando Q; Fukada, Sandra Y; de Paula, Francisco J A

2017-04-01

The present study was designed to evaluate the bone phenotypes and mechanisms involved in bone disorders associated with hepatic osteodystrophy. Hepatocellular disease was induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). In addition, the effects of disodium pamidronate on bone tissue were evaluated. The study included 4 groups of 15 mice: a) C = mice subjected to vehicle injections; b) C+P = mice subjected to vehicle and pamidronate injections; c) CCl4+V = mice subjected to CCl4 and vehicle injections; and d) CCl4+P = mice subjected to CCl4 and pamidronate injections. CCl4 or vehicle was administered for 8 weeks, while pamidronate or vehicle was injected at the end of the fourth week. Bone histomorphometry and biomechanical analysis were performed in tibiae, while femora were used for micro-computed tomography and gene expression. CCl4 mice exhibited decreased bone volume/trabecular volume and trabecular numbers, as well as increased trabecular separation, as determined by bone histomorphometry and micro-computed tomography, but these changes were not detected in the group treated with pamidronate. CCl4 mice showed increased numbers of osteoclasts and resorption surface. High serum levels of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand and the increased expression of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase in the bones of CCl4 mice supported the enhancement of bone resorption in these mice. Taken together, these results suggest that bone resorption is the main mechanism of bone loss in chronic hepatocellular disease in mice.

Combined effects of suction/injection and wall surface curvature on natural convection flow in a vertical micro-porous annulus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jha, B. K.; Aina, B.; Muhammad, S. A.

2015-03-01

This study investigates analytically the hydrodynamic and thermal behaviour of a fully developed natural convection flow in a vertical micro-porous-annulus (MPA) taking into account the velocity slip and temperature jump at the outer surface of inner porous cylinder and inner surface of outer porous cylinder. A closed — form solution is presented for velocity, temperature, volume flow rate, skin friction and rate of heat transfer expressed as a Nusselt number. The influence of each governing parameter on hydrodynamic and thermal behaviour is discussed with the aid of graphs. During the course of investigation, it is found that as suction/injection on the cylinder walls increases, the fluid velocity and temperature is enhanced. In addition, it is observed that wall surface curvature has a significant effect on flow and thermal characteristics.

A GPU-Based Implementation of the Firefly Algorithm for Variable Selection in Multivariate Calibration Problems

PubMed Central

de Paula, Lauro C. M.; Soares, Anderson S.; de Lima, Telma W.; Delbem, Alexandre C. B.; Coelho, Clarimar J.; Filho, Arlindo R. G.

2014-01-01

Several variable selection algorithms in multivariate calibration can be accelerated using Graphics Processing Units (GPU). Among these algorithms, the Firefly Algorithm (FA) is a recent proposed metaheuristic that may be used for variable selection. This paper presents a GPU-based FA (FA-MLR) with multiobjective formulation for variable selection in multivariate calibration problems and compares it with some traditional sequential algorithms in the literature. The advantage of the proposed implementation is demonstrated in an example involving a relatively large number of variables. The results showed that the FA-MLR, in comparison with the traditional algorithms is a more suitable choice and a relevant contribution for the variable selection problem. Additionally, the results also demonstrated that the FA-MLR performed in a GPU can be five times faster than its sequential implementation. PMID:25493625

A GPU-Based Implementation of the Firefly Algorithm for Variable Selection in Multivariate Calibration Problems.

PubMed

de Paula, Lauro C M; Soares, Anderson S; de Lima, Telma W; Delbem, Alexandre C B; Coelho, Clarimar J; Filho, Arlindo R G

2014-01-01

Several variable selection algorithms in multivariate calibration can be accelerated using Graphics Processing Units (GPU). Among these algorithms, the Firefly Algorithm (FA) is a recent proposed metaheuristic that may be used for variable selection. This paper presents a GPU-based FA (FA-MLR) with multiobjective formulation for variable selection in multivariate calibration problems and compares it with some traditional sequential algorithms in the literature. The advantage of the proposed implementation is demonstrated in an example involving a relatively large number of variables. The results showed that the FA-MLR, in comparison with the traditional algorithms is a more suitable choice and a relevant contribution for the variable selection problem. Additionally, the results also demonstrated that the FA-MLR performed in a GPU can be five times faster than its sequential implementation.

Targeted release of transcription factors for cell reprogramming by a natural micro-syringe.

PubMed

Berthoin, Lionel; Toussaint, Bertrand; Garban, Frédéric; Le Gouellec, Audrey; Caulier, Benjamin; Polack, Benoît; Laurin, David

2016-11-20

Ectopic expression of defined transcription factors (TFs) for cell fate handling has proven high potential interest in reprogramming differentiated cells, in particular for regenerative medicine, ontogenesis study and cell based modelling. Pluripotency or transdifferentiation induction as TF mediated differentiation is commonly produced by transfer of genetic information with safety concerns. The direct delivery of proteins could represent a safer alternative but still needs significant advances to be efficient. We have successfully developed the direct delivery of proteins by an attenuated bacterium with a type 3 secretion system that does not require challenging and laborious steps for production and purification of recombinant molecules. Here we show that this natural micro-syringe is able to inject TFs to primary human fibroblasts and cord blood CD34 + hematopoietic stem cells. The signal sequence for vectorization of the TF Oct4 has no effect on DNA binding to its nucleic target. As soon as one hour after injection, vectorized TFs are detectable in the nucleus. The injection process is not associated with toxicity and the bacteria can be completely removed from cell cultures. A three days targeted release of Oct4 or Sox2 embryonic TFs results in the induction of the core pluripotency genes expression in fibroblasts and CD34 + hematopoietic stem cells. This micro-syringe vectorization represents a new strategy for TF delivery and has potential applications for cell fate reprogramming. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Encapsulated cell bioremediation: Evaluation on the basis of particle tracer tests

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

Petrich, C.R.; Stormo, K.E.; Ralston, D.R.

1998-09-01

Microencapsulation of degradative organisms enhances microorganism survivability. The use of encapsulated cell microbeads for in situ biodegradation depends not only on microorganism survival but also on microbead transport characteristics. Two forced-gradient, recirculating-loop tracer experiments were conducted to evaluate the feasibility of encapsulated cell transport and bioremediation on the basis of polystyrene microsphere transport results. The tracer tests were conducted in a shallow, confined, unconsolidated, heterogeneous, sedimentary aquifer using bromide ion and 2 {micro}m, 5 {micro}m, and 15{micro}m microsphere tracers. Significant differences were observed in the transport of bromide solute and polystyrene microspheres. Microspheres reached peak concentrations in monitoring wells beforemore » bromide, which was thought to reflect the influence of aquifer heterogeneity. Greater decreases in microsphere C/C{sub 0} ratios were observed with distance from the injection wells than in bromide C/C{sub 0} ratios, which was attributed to particle filtration and/or settling. Several methods might be considered for introducing encapsulated cell microbeads into a subsurface environment, including direct injection into a contaminated aquifer zone, injection through a recirculating ground water flow system, or emplacement in a subsurface microbial curtain in advance of a plume. However, the in situ use of encapsulated cells in an aquifer is probably limited to aquifers containing sufficiently large pore spaces, allowing passage of at least some encapsulated cells. The use of encapsulated cells may also be limited by differences in solute and microbead transport patterns and flowpath clogging by larger encapsulated cell microbeads.« less

Micro-electrophoresis: a noninvasive method of sperm selection based on membrane charge.

PubMed

Simon, Luke; Murphy, Kristin; Aston, Kenneth I; Emery, Benjamin R; Hotaling, James M; Carrell, Douglas T

2015-02-01

To develop a technique with the potential of isolating genetically fit sperm for assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment without compromising its structural or functional competence. Observational study. University hospital. Fifty patients undergoing infertility diagnosis and 88 couples undergoing ART treatment. None. Under an electric field, the percentage of positively charged sperm (PCS), negatively charged sperm (NCS), and neutrally charged sperm was determined for each ejaculate before and after density gradient centrifugation (DGC), and evaluated for sperm DNA damage, histone retention, and couples' ART outcomes. Subsequently, PCS, NCS, and neutrally charged sperm were selected using an intracytoplasmic sperm injection needle and directly analyzed for DNA damage. There was a reduction in the NCS population (95.10% ± 0.94% vs. 54.48% ± 2.39%) and an increase in the PCS population (4.28% ± 0.58% vs. 42.52% ± 2.36%) after DGC. The DNA damage was inversely proportional to %NCS (r(2) = -0.242) and directly proportional to the %PCS (r(2) = 0.206). When sperm were picked according to their charge and directly analyzed, sperm DNA damage was lower in the NCS population (3.9% ± 1.5%) compared with control (17.3% ± 3.2%) and %PCS populations (27.8% ± 6.0%). The %NCS was positively associated with fertilization rate (r(2) = 0.469) and blastocyst development (r(2) = 0.308) and inversely associated with embryo arrest (r(2) = -0.253). Implantation rate and clinical pregnancies were higher in patient groups with increased NCS. Selection of NCS through micro-electrophoresis has the potential to isolate sperm relatively free of DNA damage to be used in ART. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A prospective randomized study comparing two commercially available types of human embryo culture media: G1-PLUS™/G2-PLUS™ sequential medium (Vitrolife) and the GL BLAST™ sole medium (Ingamed).

PubMed

Ceschin, Ianae I; Ribas, Mariana H; Ceschin, Alvaro P; Nishikawa, Lucileine; Rocha, Claudia C; Pic-Taylor, Aline; Baroneza, José Eduardo

2016-03-01

To check the efficacy of two types of commercially available embryo culture medium: G1-PLUS™/G2-PLUS™ sequential (Vitrolife, Gothenburg, Sweden) and GV BLAST™ sole (Ingamed, Maringá, Brazil) with regards to fertilization, cleavage, blastocyst and pregnancy rates. Prospective and randomized study conducted from March to July 2015, using the medical records of 60 patients submitted to Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection techniques (ICSI). Data regarding the age of patients, together with fertilization, cleavage, blastocyst and pregnancy rates, were collected and compared in relation to the: G1-PLUS™/G2-PLUS™ sequential and GV BLAST™ sole mediums. The data were tabulated and compared using the Pearson's Chi-Square test (95% CI). There was no significant difference when comparing patients divided into higher and lower fertility age. No significant statistical difference was noted between the fertilization rates (P=0.59), cleavage (P=0.91), evolution to blastocyst (P=0.33) and total pregnancy (P=0.83) when comparing the embryos cultured in the different media analysed. We conclude that the G1-PLUS™/G2-PLUS™ sequential and GV BLAST™ sole mediums are equally effective with regards to fertilization, cleavage, blastocyst development and total pregnancy rates.

A novel sequential process for remediating rare-earth wastewater.

PubMed

Cui, Mingcan; Jang, Min; Kang, Kyounglim; Kim, Dukmin; Snyder, Shane A; Khim, Jeehyeong

2016-02-01

A novel and economic sequential process consisting of precipitation, adsorption, and oxidation was developed to remediate actual rare-earth (RE) wastewater containing various toxic pollutants, including radioactive species. In the precipitation step, porous air stones (PAS) containing waste oyster shell (WOS), PASWOS, was prepared and used to precipitate most heavy metals with >97% removal efficiencies. The SEM-EDS analysis revealed that PAS plays a key role in preventing the surface coating of precipitants on the surface of WOS and in releasing the dissolved species of WOS successively. For the adsorption step, a polyurethane (PU) impregnated by coal mine drainage sludge (CMDS), PUCMDS, was synthesized and applied to deplete fluoride (F), arsenic (As), uranium (U), and thorium (Th) that remained after precipitation. The continuous-mode sequential process using PAS(WOS), PU(CMDS), and ozone (O3) had 99.9-100% removal efficiencies of heavy metals, 99.3-99.9% of F and As, 95.8-99.4% of U and Th, and 92.4% of COD(Cr) for 100 days. The sequential process can treat RE wastewater economically and effectively without stirred-tank reactors, pH controller, continuous injection of chemicals, and significant sludge generation, as well as the quality of the outlet met the EPA recommended limits. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Decreased microRNA-125a-3p contributes to upregulation of p38 MAPK in rat trigeminal ganglions with orofacial inflammatory pain.

PubMed

Dong, Yingchun; Li, Pengfei; Ni, Yanhong; Zhao, Junjie; Liu, Zhiqiang

2014-01-01

Orofacial inflammatory pain is a difficult clinical problem, and the specific molecular mechanisms for this pain remain largely unexplained. The present study aimed to determine the differential expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) and disclose the underlying role of miR-125a-3p in orofacial inflammatory pain induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Thirty-two differentially expressed miRNAs were first screened using a microarray chip in ipsilateral trigeminal ganglions (TGs) following CFA injection into the orofacial skin innervated by trigeminal nerve, and a portion of them, including miR-23a*, -24-2*, -26a, -92a, -125a-3p, -183 and -299 were subsequently selected and validated by qPCR. The target genes were predicted based on the miRWalk website and were further analyzed by gene ontology (GO). Further studies revealed miR-125a-3p expression was down-regulated, whereas both the expression of p38 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) alpha and CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) were up-regulated in ipsilateral TGs at different time points after CFA injection compared with control. Furthermore, mechanistic study revealed that miR-125a-3p negatively regulates p38 alpha gene expression and is positively correlated with the head withdrawal threshold reflecting pain. Luciferase assay showed that binding of miR-125a-3p to the 3'UTR of p38 alpha gene suppressed the transcriptional activity, and overexpression of miR-125a-3p significantly inhibited the p38 alpha mRNA level in ND8/34 cells. Taken together, our results show that miR-125a-3p is negatively correlated with the development and maintenance of orofacial inflammatory pain via regulating p38 MAPK.

A high brightness proton injector for the Tandetron accelerator at Jožef Stefan Institute

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelicon, Primož; Podaru, Nicolae C.; Vavpetič, Primož; Jeromel, Luka; Ogrinc Potocnik, Nina; Ondračka, Simon; Gottdang, Andreas; Mous, Dirk J. M.

2014-08-01

Jožef Stefan Institute recently commissioned a high brightness H- ion beam injection system for its existing tandem accelerator facility. Custom developed by High Voltage Engineering Europa, the multicusp ion source has been tuned to deliver at the entrance of the Tandetron™ accelerator H- ion beams with a measured brightness of 17.1 A m-2 rad-2 eV-1 at 170 μA, equivalent to an energy normalized beam emittance of 0.767 π mm mrad MeV1/2. Upgrading the accelerator facility with the new injection system provides two main advantages. First, the high brightness of the new ion source enables the reduction of object slit aperture and the reduction of acceptance angle at the nuclear microprobe, resulting in a reduced beam size at selected beam intensity, which significantly improves the probe resolution for micro-PIXE applications. Secondly, the upgrade strongly enhances the accelerator up-time since H and He beams are produced by independent ion sources, introducing a constant availability of 3He beam for fusion-related research with NRA. The ion beam particle losses and ion beam emittance growth imply that the aforementioned beam brightness is reduced by transport through the ion optical system. To obtain quantitative information on the available brightness at the high-energy side of the accelerator, the proton beam brightness is determined in the nuclear microprobe beamline. Based on the experience obtained during the first months of operation for micro-PIXE applications, further necessary steps are indicated to obtain optimal coupling of the new ion source with the accelerator to increase the normalized high-energy proton beam brightness at the JSI microprobe, currently at 14 A m-2 rad-2 eV-1, with the output current at 18% of its available maximum.

Tunable mode and line selection by injection in a TEA CO2 laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menzies, R. T.; Flamant, P. H.; Kavaya, M. J.; Kuiper, E. N.

1984-01-01

Tunable mode selection by injection in pulsed CO2 lasers is examined, and both analytical and numerical models are used to compute the required injection power for a variety of experimental cases. These are treated in two categories: mode selection at a desired frequency displacement from the center frequency of a transition line in a dispersive cavity and mode (and line) selection at the center frequency of a selected transition line in a nondispersive cavity. The results point out the potential flexibility of pulsed injection in providing wavelength tunable high-energy single-frequency pulses.

Flavonoids of Cynara scolymus possess potent xanthinoxidase inhibitory activity in vitro but are devoid of hypouricemic effects in rats after oral application.

PubMed

Sarawek, Sasiporn; Feistel, Bjoern; Pischel, Ivo; Butterweck, Veronika

2008-02-01

Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) leaves have been historically used for the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout, however whether artichoke is truly efficacious for this indication, is still a matter of debate. Thus, the goal of the present study was first to examine the xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitory activity of an artichoke leaf extract (ALE) and some of its main compounds in vitro and then further test potentially active substances for possible hypouricemic effects using an in vivo rat model. The in vitro study showed that ALE inhibited XO with only minimal inhibitory action (< 5 %) at 100 microg/mL. However, when selected compounds were tested, the caffeic acid derivatives revealed a weak XO inhibitory effect with IC (50) > 100 microM. From the tested flavones the aglycone luteolin potently inhibited XO with an IC (50) value of 1.49 microM. Luteolin 7-O-glucoside and luteolin 7-O-glucuronide showed lower XO inhibition activities with IC (50) values of 19.90 microM and 20.24 microM, respectively. However, oral administration of an aqueous ALE, luteolin, and luteolin 7-O-glucoside did not produce any observable hypouricemic effects after acute oral treatment in potassium oxonate-treated rats. After intraperitoneal injection of luteolin a decrease in uric acid levels was detected suggesting that the hypouricemic effects of luteolin are due to its original form rather than its metabolites produced by the gut flora. In conclusion, an aqueous ALE, caffeic acid derivatives and flavones exerted XO inhibitory effects in vitro but a hypouricemic activity could not be confirmed after oral administration.

Building a Lego wall: Sequential action selection.

PubMed

Arnold, Amy; Wing, Alan M; Rotshtein, Pia

2017-05-01

The present study draws together two distinct lines of enquiry into the selection and control of sequential action: motor sequence production and action selection in everyday tasks. Participants were asked to build 2 different Lego walls. The walls were designed to have hierarchical structures with shared and dissociated colors and spatial components. Participants built 1 wall at a time, under low and high load cognitive states. Selection times for correctly completed trials were measured using 3-dimensional motion tracking. The paradigm enabled precise measurement of the timing of actions, while using real objects to create an end product. The experiment demonstrated that action selection was slowed at decision boundary points, relative to boundaries where no between-wall decision was required. Decision points also affected selection time prior to the actual selection window. Dual-task conditions increased selection errors. Errors mostly occurred at boundaries between chunks and especially when these required decisions. The data support hierarchical control of sequenced behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Cost-effectiveness of simultaneous versus sequential surgery in head and neck reconstruction.

PubMed

Wong, Kevin K; Enepekides, Danny J; Higgins, Kevin M

2011-02-01

To determine whether simultaneous (ablation and reconstruction overlaps by two teams) head and neck reconstruction is cost effective compared to sequentially (ablation followed by reconstruction) performed surgery. Case-controlled study. Tertiary care hospital. Oncology patients undergoing free flap reconstruction of the head and neck. A match paired comparison study was performed with a retrospective chart review examining the total time of surgery for sequential and simultaneous surgery. Nine patients were selected for both the sequential and simultaneous groups. Sequential head and neck reconstruction patients were pair matched with patients who had undergone similar oncologic ablative or reconstructive procedures performed in a simultaneous fashion. A detailed cost analysis using the microcosting method was then undertaken looking at the direct costs of the surgeons, anesthesiologist, operating room, and nursing. On average, simultaneous surgery required 3 hours 15 minutes less operating time, leading to a cost savings of approximately $1200/case when compared to sequential surgery. This represents approximately a 15% reduction in the cost of the entire operation. Simultaneous head and neck reconstruction is more cost effective when compared to sequential surgery.

Fuel system for rotary distributor fuel injection pump

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

Klopfer, K.H.; Kelly, W.W.

1993-06-01

In a fuel injection pump having a drive shaft, a pump rotor driven by the drive shaft, reciprocating pumping means with periodic intake and pumping strokes to periodically receive an intake charge of fuel and deliver fuel at high pressure for fuel injection is described; a distributor head with a plurality of angularly spaced distributor outlets, the pump rotor providing a distributor rotor with a distributor port connected to the pumping means, the distributor rotor being rotatably mounted in the distributor head for sequential registration of the distributor port with the distributor outlets for distributing said high pressure delivery ofmore » fuel thereto; a fuel system for supplying fuel to the pumping means, having an end chamber at one end of the pump rotor and a fuel supply pump driven by the drive shaft and having an inlet and outlet, the supply pump outlet being connected to the end chamber for supplying fuel thereto, and a pressure regulator for regulating the fuel pressure in the end chamber; and a control valve connected between the pumping means and the end chamber and selectively opened during the intake strokes to supply fuel to the pumping means from the end chamber and during the pumping strokes to spill fuel from the pumping means into the end chamber to terminate said high pressure delivery of fuel; the improvement wherein the fuel system comprises a fuel return passage connected in series with the end chamber downstream thereof, wherein the pressure regulator is mounted in the return passage for regulating the upstream fuel pressure, including the upstream fuel pressure within the end chamber, and is connected for conducting excess fuel for return to the supply pump inlet, and wherein the supply pump is driven by the drive shaft to supply fuel at a rate exceeding the rate of said high pressure delivery of fuel for fuel injection and to provide excess fuel flow continuously through the end chamber and return passage to the pressure regulator.« less

Risk-aware multi-armed bandit problem with application to portfolio selection

PubMed Central

Huo, Xiaoguang

2017-01-01

Sequential portfolio selection has attracted increasing interest in the machine learning and quantitative finance communities in recent years. As a mathematical framework for reinforcement learning policies, the stochastic multi-armed bandit problem addresses the primary difficulty in sequential decision-making under uncertainty, namely the exploration versus exploitation dilemma, and therefore provides a natural connection to portfolio selection. In this paper, we incorporate risk awareness into the classic multi-armed bandit setting and introduce an algorithm to construct portfolio. Through filtering assets based on the topological structure of the financial market and combining the optimal multi-armed bandit policy with the minimization of a coherent risk measure, we achieve a balance between risk and return. PMID:29291122

Risk-aware multi-armed bandit problem with application to portfolio selection.

PubMed

Huo, Xiaoguang; Fu, Feng

2017-11-01

Sequential portfolio selection has attracted increasing interest in the machine learning and quantitative finance communities in recent years. As a mathematical framework for reinforcement learning policies, the stochastic multi-armed bandit problem addresses the primary difficulty in sequential decision-making under uncertainty, namely the exploration versus exploitation dilemma, and therefore provides a natural connection to portfolio selection. In this paper, we incorporate risk awareness into the classic multi-armed bandit setting and introduce an algorithm to construct portfolio. Through filtering assets based on the topological structure of the financial market and combining the optimal multi-armed bandit policy with the minimization of a coherent risk measure, we achieve a balance between risk and return.

Tomographic digital subtraction angiography for lung perfusion estimation in rodents.

PubMed

Badea, Cristian T; Hedlund, Laurence W; De Lin, Ming; Mackel, Julie S Boslego; Samei, Ehsan; Johnson, G Allan

2007-05-01

In vivo measurements of perfusion present a challenge to existing small animal imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance microscopy, micro computed tomography, micro positron emission tomography, and microSPECT, due to combined requirements for high spatial and temporal resolution. We demonstrate the use of tomographic digital subtraction angiography (TDSA) for estimation of perfusion in small animals. TDSA augments conventional digital subtraction angiography (DSA) by providing three-dimensional spatial information using tomosynthesis algorithms. TDSA is based on the novel paradigm that the same time density curves can be reproduced in a number of consecutive injections of microL volumes of contrast at a series of different angles of rotation. The capabilities of TDSA are established in studies on lung perfusion in rats. Using an imaging system developed in-house, we acquired data for four-dimensional (4D) imaging with temporal resolution of 140 ms, in-plane spatial resolution of 100 microm, and slice thickness on the order of millimeters. Based on a structured experimental approach, we optimized TDSA imaging providing a good trade-off between slice thickness, the number of injections, contrast to noise, and immunity to artifacts. Both DSA and TDSA images were used to create parametric maps of perfusion. TDSA imaging has potential application in a number of areas where functional perfusion measurements in 4D can provide valuable insight into animal models of disease and response to therapeutics.

Characteristics of transverse hydrogen jet in presence of multi air jets within scramjet combustor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barzegar Gerdroodbary, M.; Fallah, Keivan; Pourmirzaagha, H.

2017-03-01

In this article, three-dimensional simulation is performed to investigate the effects of micro air jets on mixing performances of cascaded hydrogen jets within a scramjet combustor. In order to compare the efficiency of this technique, constant total fuel rate is injected through one, four, eight and sixteen arrays of portholes in a Mach 4.0 crossflow with a fuel global equivalence ratio of 0.5. In this method, micro air jets are released within fuel portholes to augment the penetration in upward direction. Extensive studies were performed by using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with Menter's Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model. Numerical studies on various air and fuel arrangements are done and the mixing rate and penetration are comprehensively investigated. Also, the flow feature of the fuel and air jets for different configuration is revealed. According to the obtained results, the influence of the micro air jets is significant and the presence of micro air jets increases the mixing rate about 116%, 77%, 56% and 41% for single, 4, 8 and 16 multi fuel jets, respectively. The maximum mixing rate of the hydrogen jet is obtained when the air jets are injected within the sixteen multi fuel jets. According to the circulation analysis of the flow for different air and fuel arrangements, it was found that the effects of air jets on flow structure are varied in various conditions and the presence of the micro jet highly intensifies the circulation in the case of 8 and 16 multi fuel jets.

40 CFR 60.2680 - What if I do not use a wet scrubber, fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, an electrostatic... use a wet scrubber, fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, an... reduction, fabric filter, an electrostatic precipitator, or a dry scrubber or limit emissions in some other...

40 CFR 60.2680 - What if I do not use a wet scrubber, fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, an electrostatic... use a wet scrubber, fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, an... reduction, fabric filter, an electrostatic precipitator, or a dry scrubber or limit emissions in some other...

Continuous inline blending of antimisting kerosene

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parikh, P.; Yavrouian, A.; Sarohia, V.

1985-01-01

A continuous inline blender was developed to blend polymer slurries with a stream of jet A fuel. The viscosity of the slurries ranged widely. The key element of the blender was a static mixer placed immediately downstream of the slurry injection point. A positive displacement gear pump for jet A was employed, and a progressive cavity rotary screw pump was used for slurry pumping. Turbine flow meters were employed for jet A metering while the slurry flow rate was calibrated against the pressure drop in the injection tube. While using one of the FM-9 variant slurries, a provision was made for a time delay between the addition of slurry and the addition of amine sequentially into the jet A stream.

Three-dimensional Biomimetic Technology: Novel Biorubber Creates Defined Micro- and Macro-scale Architectures in Collagen Hydrogels

PubMed Central

Rodriguez-Rivera, Veronica; Weidner, John W.; Yost, Michael J.

2016-01-01

Tissue scaffolds play a crucial role in the tissue regeneration process. The ideal scaffold must fulfill several requirements such as having proper composition, targeted modulus, and well-defined architectural features. Biomaterials that recapitulate the intrinsic architecture of in vivo tissue are vital for studying diseases as well as to facilitate the regeneration of lost and malformed soft tissue. A novel biofabrication technique was developed which combines state of the art imaging, three-dimensional (3D) printing, and selective enzymatic activity to create a new generation of biomaterials for research and clinical application. The developed material, Bovine Serum Albumin rubber, is reaction injected into a mold that upholds specific geometrical features. This sacrificial material allows the adequate transfer of architectural features to a natural scaffold material. The prototype consists of a 3D collagen scaffold with 4 and 3 mm channels that represent a branched architecture. This paper emphasizes the use of this biofabrication technique for the generation of natural constructs. This protocol utilizes a computer-aided software (CAD) to manufacture a solid mold which will be reaction injected with BSA rubber followed by the enzymatic digestion of the rubber, leaving its architectural features within the scaffold material. PMID:26967145

Three-dimensional Biomimetic Technology: Novel Biorubber Creates Defined Micro- and Macro-scale Architectures in Collagen Hydrogels.

PubMed

Rodriguez-Rivera, Veronica; Weidner, John W; Yost, Michael J

2016-02-12

Tissue scaffolds play a crucial role in the tissue regeneration process. The ideal scaffold must fulfill several requirements such as having proper composition, targeted modulus, and well-defined architectural features. Biomaterials that recapitulate the intrinsic architecture of in vivo tissue are vital for studying diseases as well as to facilitate the regeneration of lost and malformed soft tissue. A novel biofabrication technique was developed which combines state of the art imaging, three-dimensional (3D) printing, and selective enzymatic activity to create a new generation of biomaterials for research and clinical application. The developed material, Bovine Serum Albumin rubber, is reaction injected into a mold that upholds specific geometrical features. This sacrificial material allows the adequate transfer of architectural features to a natural scaffold material. The prototype consists of a 3D collagen scaffold with 4 and 3 mm channels that represent a branched architecture. This paper emphasizes the use of this biofabrication technique for the generation of natural constructs. This protocol utilizes a computer-aided software (CAD) to manufacture a solid mold which will be reaction injected with BSA rubber followed by the enzymatic digestion of the rubber, leaving its architectural features within the scaffold material.

Optimization of 64-MDCT urography: effect of dual-phase imaging with furosemide on collecting system opacification and radiation dose.

PubMed

Portnoy, Orith; Guranda, Larisa; Apter, Sara; Eiss, David; Amitai, Marianne Michal; Konen, Eli

2011-11-01

The purpose of this study was to compare opacification of the urinary collecting system and radiation dose associated with three-phase 64-MDCT urographic protocols and those associated with a split-bolus dual-phase protocol including furosemide. Images from 150 CT urographic examinations performed with three scanning protocols were retrospectively evaluated. Group A consisted of 50 sequentially registered patients who underwent a three-phase protocol with saline infusion. Group B consisted of 50 sequentially registered patients who underwent a reduced-radiation three-phase protocol with saline. Group C consisted of 50 sequentially registered patients who underwent a dual-phase split-bolus protocol that included a low-dose furosemide injection. Opacification of the urinary collecting system was evaluated with segmental binary scoring. Contrast artifacts were evaluated, and radiation doses were recorded. Results were compared by analysis of variance. A significant reduction in mean effective radiation dose was found between groups A and B (p < 0.001) and between groups B and C (p < 0.001), resulting in 65% reduction between groups A and C (p < 0.001). This reduction did not significantly affect opacification score in any of the 12 urinary segments (p = 0.079). In addition, dense contrast artifacts overlying the renal parenchyma observed with the three-phase protocols (groups A and B) were avoided with the dual-phase protocol (group C) (p < 0.001). A dual-phase protocol with furosemide injection is the preferable technique for CT urography. In comparison with commonly used three-phase protocols, the dual-phase protocol significantly reduces radiation exposure dose without reduction in image quality.

Electrochemical immunoassay for vitellogenin based on sequential injection using antigen-immobilized magnetic microbeads.

PubMed

Hirakawa, Koji; Katayama, Masaaki; Soh, Nobuaki; Nakano, Koji; Imato, Toshihiko

2006-01-01

A rapid and sensitive immunoassay for the determination of vitellogenin (Vg) is described. The method involves a sequential injection analysis (SIA) system equipped with an amperometric detector and a neodymium magnet. Magnetic beads, onto which an antigen (Vg) was immobilized, were used as a solid support in an immunoassay. The introduction, trapping and release of magnetic beads in an immunoreaction cell were controlled by means of the neodymium magnet and by adjusting the flow of the carrier solution. The immunoassay was based on an indirect competitive immunoreaction of an alkaline phosphatase (ALP) labeled anti-Vg monoclonal antibody between the fraction of Vg immobilized on the magnetic beads and Vg in the sample solution. The immobilization of Vg on the beads involved coupling an amino group moiety of Vg with the magnetic beads after activation of a carboxylate moiety on the surface of magnetic beads that had been coated with a polylactate film. The Vg-immobilized magnetic beads were introduced and trapped in the immunoreaction cell equipped with the neodymium magnet; a Vg sample solution containing an ALP labeled anti-Vg antibody at a constant concentration and a p-aminophenyl phosphate (PAPP) solution were sequentially introduced into the immunoreaction cell. The product of the enzyme reaction of PAPP with ALP on the antibody, paminophenol, was transported to an amperometric detector, the applied voltage of which was set at +0.2 V vs. an Ag/AgCl reference electrode. A sigmoid calibration curve was obtained when the logarithm of the concentration of Vg was plotted against the peak current of the amperometric detector using various concentrations of standard Vg sample solutions (0-500 ppb). The time required for the analysis is less than 15 min.

Sequential variable fuel injection

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

Weglarz, M.W.; Vincent, M.T.; Prestel, J.F.

This patent describes a fuel injection system for an engine of an automotive vehicle including cylinders, a spark plug for each of the cylinders, a distributor electrically connected to the spark plug, a throttle body having a throttle valve connected to the engine to allow or prevent air to the cylinders, a fuel source at least one fuel line connected to the fuel source, fuel injectors connected to the fuel line for delivering fuel to the cylinders, a sensor located near the distributor for sensing predetermined states of the distributor, and an electronic control unit (ECU) electrically connected to themore » sensor, distributor and fuel injectors. It comprises calculating a desired total injector on time for current engine conditions; calculating a variable injection time (VIT) and a turn on time based on the VIT; and firing the fuel injectors at the calculated turn on time for the calculated total injector on time.« less

Three-dimensional rotational angiography fused with multimodal imaging modalities for targeted endomyocardial injections in the ischaemic heart.

PubMed

Dauwe, Dieter Frans; Nuyens, Dieter; De Buck, Stijn; Claus, Piet; Gheysens, Olivier; Koole, Michel; Coudyzer, Walter; Vanden Driessche, Nina; Janssens, Laurens; Ector, Joris; Dymarkowski, Steven; Bogaert, Jan; Heidbuchel, Hein; Janssens, Stefan

2014-08-01

Biological therapies for ischaemic heart disease require efficient, safe, and affordable intramyocardial delivery. Integration of multiple imaging modalities within the fluoroscopy framework can provide valuable information to guide these procedures. We compared an anatomo-electric method (LARCA) with a non-fluoroscopic electromechanical mapping system (NOGA(®)). LARCA integrates selective three-dimensional-rotational angiograms with biplane fluoroscopy. To identify the infarct region, we studied LARCA-fusion with pre-procedural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), dedicated CT, or (18)F-FDG-PET/CT. We induced myocardial infarction in 20 pigs by 90-min LAD occlusion. Six weeks later, we compared peri-infarct delivery accuracy of coloured fluospheres using sequential NOGA(®)- and LARCA-MRI-guided vs. LARCA-CT- and LARCA-(18)F-FDG-PET/CT-guided intramyocardial injections. MRI after 6 weeks revealed significant left ventricular (LV) functional impairment and remodelling (LVEF 31 ± 3%, LVEDV 178 ± 15 mL, infarct size 17 ± 2% LV mass). During NOGA(®)-procedures, three of five animals required DC-shock for major ventricular arrhythmias vs. one of ten during LARCA-procedures. Online procedure time was shorter for LARCA than NOGA(®) (77 ± 6 vs. 130 ± 3 min, P < 0.0001). Absolute distance of injection spots to the infarct border was similar for LARCA-MRI (4.8 ± 0.5 mm) and NOGA(®) (5.4 ± 0.5 mm). LARCA-CT-integration allowed closer approximation of the targeted border zone than LARCA-PET (4.0 ± 0.5 mm vs. 6.2 ± 0.6 mm, P < 0.05). Three-dimensional -rotational angiography fused with multimodal imaging offers a new, cost-effective, and safe strategy to guide intramyocardial injections. Endoventricular procedure times and arrhythmias compare favourably to NOGA(®), without compromising injection accuracy. LARCA-based fusion imaging is a promising enabling technology for cardiac biological therapies. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2014. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

FPGA-Based Multiprocessor System for Injection Molding Control

PubMed Central

Muñoz-Barron, Benigno; Morales-Velazquez, Luis; Romero-Troncoso, Rene J.; Rodriguez-Donate, Carlos; Trejo-Hernandez, Miguel; Benitez-Rangel, Juan P.; Osornio-Rios, Roque A.

2012-01-01

The plastic industry is a very important manufacturing sector and injection molding is a widely used forming method in that industry. The contribution of this work is the development of a strategy to retrofit control of an injection molding machine based on an embedded system microprocessors sensor network on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device. Six types of embedded processors are included in the system: a smart-sensor processor, a micro fuzzy logic controller, a programmable logic controller, a system manager, an IO processor and a communication processor. Temperature, pressure and position are controlled by the proposed system and experimentation results show its feasibility and robustness. As validation of the present work, a particular sample was successfully injected. PMID:23202036

On the Sequential Negotiation of Identity in Spanish-Language Discourse: Mobilizing Linguistic Resources in the Service of Social Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raymond, Chase Wesley

2014-01-01

This dissertation takes an ethnomethodologically-grounded, conversation-analytic approach in investigating the sequential deployment of linguistic resources in Spanish-language talk-in-interaction. Three sets of resources are examined: 2nd-person singular reference forms (tú, vos, usted), indicative/subjunctive verbal mood selection, and…

Evaluating Bias of Sequential Mixed-Mode Designs against Benchmark Surveys

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klausch, Thomas; Schouten, Barry; Hox, Joop J.

2017-01-01

This study evaluated three types of bias--total, measurement, and selection bias (SB)--in three sequential mixed-mode designs of the Dutch Crime Victimization Survey: telephone, mail, and web, where nonrespondents were followed up face-to-face (F2F). In the absence of true scores, all biases were estimated as mode effects against two different…

Mercury(II) and methyl mercury determinations in water and fish samples by using solid phase extraction and cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry combination.

PubMed

Tuzen, Mustafa; Karaman, Isa; Citak, Demirhan; Soylak, Mustafa

2009-07-01

A method has been developed for mercury(II) and methyl mercury speciation on Staphylococcus aureus loaded Dowex Optipore V-493 micro-column in the presented work, by using cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry. Selective and sequential elution with 0.1 molL(-1) HCl for methyl mercury and 2 molL(-1) HCl for mercury(II) were performed at the pH range of 2-6. Optimal analytical conditions including pH, amounts of biosorbent, sample volumes were investigated. The detection limits of the analytes were 2.5 ngL(-1) for Hg(II) and 1.7 ngL(-1) for methyl mercury. The capacity of biosorbent for mercury(II) and methyl mercury was 6.5 and 5.4 mgg(-1), respectively. The validation of the presented procedure is performed by the analysis of standard reference material. The speciation procedure established was successfully applied to the speciation of mercury(II) and methyl mercury in natural water and microwave digested fish samples.

Multiplexed detection of nitrate and nitrite for capillary electrophoresis with an automated device for high injection efficiency.

PubMed

Gao, Leyi; Patterson, Eric E; Shippy, Scott A

2006-02-01

A simple automated nanoliter scale injection device which allows for reproducible 5 nL sample injections from samples with a volume of <1 microL is successfully used for conventional capillary electrophoresis (CE) and Hadamard transform (HT) CE detection. Two standard fused silica capillaries are assembled axially through the device to function as an injection and a separation capillary. Sample solution is supplied to the injection capillary using pressure controlled with a solenoid valve. Buffer solution flows gravimetrically by the junction of the injection and separation capillaries and is also gated with a solenoid valve. Plugs of sample are pushed into the space between the injection and separation capillaries for electrokinectic injection. To evaluate the performance of the injection device, several optimizations are performed including the influence of flow rates, the injected sample volume and the control of the buffer transverse flow on the overall sensitivity. The system was then applied to HT-CE-UV detection for the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) improvement of the nitric oxide (NO) metabolites, nitrite and nitrate. In addition, signal averaging was performed to explore the possibility of greater sensitivity enhancements compared to single injections.

Cationic microbubbles and antibiotic-free miniplasmid for sustained ultrasound-mediated transgene expression in liver.

PubMed

Manta, Simona; Renault, Gilles; Delalande, Anthony; Couture, Olivier; Lagoutte, Isabelle; Seguin, Johanne; Lager, Franck; Houzé, Pascal; Midoux, Patrick; Bessodes, Michel; Scherman, Daniel; Bureau, Michel-Francis; Marie, Corinne; Pichon, Chantal; Mignet, Nathalie

2017-09-28

Despite the increasing number of clinical trials in gene therapy, no ideal methods still allow non-viral gene transfer in deep tissues such as the liver. We were interested in ultrasound (US)-mediated gene delivery to provide long term liver expression. For this purpose, new positively charged microbubbles were designed and complexed with pFAR4, a highly efficient small length miniplasmid DNA devoid of antibiotic resistance sequence. Sonoporation parameters, such as insonation time, acoustic pressure and duration of plasmid injection were controlled under ultrasound imaging guidance. The optimization of these various parameters was performed by bioluminescence optical imaging of luciferase reporter gene expression in the liver. Mice were injected with 50μg pFAR4-LUC either alone, or complexed with positively charged microbubbles, or co-injected with neutral MicroMarker™ microbubbles, followed by low ultrasound energy application to the liver. Injection of the pFAR4 encoding luciferase alone led to a transient transgene expression that lasted only for two days. The significant luciferase signal obtained with neutral microbubbles decreased over 2days and reached a plateau with a level around 1 log above the signal obtained with pFAR4 alone. With the newly designed positively charged microbubbles, we obtained a much stronger bioluminescence signal which increased over 2days. The 12-fold difference (p<0.05) between MicroMarker™ and our positively charged microbubbles was maintained over a period of 6months. Noteworthy, the positively charged microbubbles led to an improvement of 180-fold (p<0.001) as regard to free pDNA using unfocused ultrasound performed at clinically tolerated ultrasound amplitude. Transient liver damage was observed when using the cationic microbubble-pFAR4 complexes and the optimized sonoporation parameters. Immunohistochemistry analyses were performed to determine the nature of cells transfected. The pFAR4 miniplasmid complexed with cationic microbubbles allowed to transfect mostly hepatocytes compared to its co-injection with MicroMarker™ which transfected more preferentially endothelial cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sequential solvent extraction for forms of antimony in five selected coals

USGS Publications Warehouse

Qi, C.; Liu, Gaisheng; Kong, Y.; Chou, C.-L.; Wang, R.

2008-01-01

Abundance of antimony in bulk samples has been determined in five selected coals, three coals from Huaibei Coalfield, Anhui, China, and two from the Illinois Basin in the United States. The Sb abundance in these samples is in the range of 0.11-0.43 ??g/g. The forms of Sb in coals were studied by sequential solvent extraction. The six forms of Sb are water soluble, ion changeable, organic matter bound, carbonate bound, silicate bound, and sulfide bound. Results of sequential extraction show that silicate-bound Sb is the most abundant form in these coals. Silicate- plus sulfide-bound Sb accounts for more than half of the total Sb in all coals. Bituminous coals are higher in organic matterbound Sb than anthracite and natural coke, indicating that the Sb in the organic matter may be incorporated into silicate and sulfide minerals during metamorphism. ?? 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

[Professor GAO Yuchun's experience on "sequential acupuncture leads to smooth movement of qi"].

PubMed

Wang, Yanjun; Xing, Xiao; Cui, Linhua

2016-01-01

Professor GAO Yuchun is considered as the key successor of GAO's academic school of acupuncture and moxibustion in Yanzhao region. Professor GAO's clinical experience of, "sequential acupuncture" is introduced in details in this article. In Professor GAO's opinions, appropriate acupuncture sequence is the key to satisfactory clinical effects during treatment. Based on different acupoints, sequential acupuncture can achieve the aim of qi following needles and needles leading qi; based on different symptoms, sequential acupuncture can regulate qi movement; based on different body positions, sequential acupuncture can harmonize qi-blood and reinforcing deficiency and reducing excess. In all, according to the differences of disease condition and constitution, based on the accurate acupoint selection and appropriate manipulation, it is essential to capture the nature of diseases and make the order of acupuncture, which can achieve the aim of regulating qi movement and reinforcing deficiency and reducing excess.

Plasma exosome microRNAs are indicative of breast cancer.

PubMed

Hannafon, Bethany N; Trigoso, Yvonne D; Calloway, Cameron L; Zhao, Y Daniel; Lum, David H; Welm, Alana L; Zhao, Zhizhuang J; Blick, Kenneth E; Dooley, William C; Ding, W Q

2016-09-08

microRNAs are promising candidate breast cancer biomarkers due to their cancer-specific expression profiles. However, efforts to develop circulating breast cancer biomarkers are challenged by the heterogeneity of microRNAs in the blood. To overcome this challenge, we aimed to develop a molecular profile of microRNAs specifically secreted from breast cancer cells. Our first step towards this direction relates to capturing and analyzing the contents of exosomes, which are small secretory vesicles that selectively encapsulate microRNAs indicative of their cell of origin. To our knowledge, circulating exosome microRNAs have not been well-evaluated as biomarkers for breast cancer diagnosis or monitoring. Exosomes were collected from the conditioned media of human breast cancer cell lines, mouse plasma of patient-derived orthotopic xenograft models (PDX), and human plasma samples. Exosomes were verified by electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis, and western blot. Cellular and exosome microRNAs from breast cancer cell lines were profiled by next-generation small RNA sequencing. Plasma exosome microRNA expression was analyzed by qRT-PCR analysis. Small RNA sequencing and qRT-PCR analysis showed that several microRNAs are selectively encapsulated or highly enriched in breast cancer exosomes. Importantly, the selectively enriched exosome microRNA, human miR-1246, was detected at significantly higher levels in exosomes isolated from PDX mouse plasma, indicating that tumor exosome microRNAs are released into the circulation and can serve as plasma biomarkers for breast cancer. This observation was extended to human plasma samples where miR-1246 and miR-21 were detected at significantly higher levels in the plasma exosomes of 16 patients with breast cancer as compared to the plasma exosomes of healthy control subjects. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that the combination of plasma exosome miR-1246 and miR-21 is a better indicator of breast cancer than their individual levels. Our results demonstrate that certain microRNA species, such as miR-21 and miR-1246, are selectively enriched in human breast cancer exosomes and significantly elevated in the plasma of patients with breast cancer. These findings indicate a potential new strategy to selectively analyze plasma breast cancer microRNAs indicative of the presence of breast cancer.

40 CFR 60.2115 - What if I do not use a wet scrubber, fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, or an electrostatic... Limitations and Operating Limits § 60.2115 What if I do not use a wet scrubber, fabric filter, activated... carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, fabric filter, or an electrostatic precipitator or...

Sequence-based design of bioactive small molecules that target precursor microRNAs.

PubMed

Velagapudi, Sai Pradeep; Gallo, Steven M; Disney, Matthew D

2014-04-01

Oligonucleotides are designed to target RNA using base pairing rules, but they can be hampered by poor cellular delivery and nonspecific stimulation of the immune system. Small molecules are preferred as lead drugs or probes but cannot be designed from sequence. Herein, we describe an approach termed Inforna that designs lead small molecules for RNA from solely sequence. Inforna was applied to all human microRNA hairpin precursors, and it identified bioactive small molecules that inhibit biogenesis by binding nuclease-processing sites (44% hit rate). Among 27 lead interactions, the most avid interaction is between a benzimidazole (1) and precursor microRNA-96. Compound 1 selectively inhibits biogenesis of microRNA-96, upregulating a protein target (FOXO1) and inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. Apoptosis is ablated when FOXO1 mRNA expression is knocked down by an siRNA, validating compound selectivity. Markedly, microRNA profiling shows that 1 only affects microRNA-96 biogenesis and is at least as selective as an oligonucleotide.

Sequence-based design of bioactive small molecules that target precursor microRNAs

PubMed Central

Velagapudi, Sai Pradeep; Gallo, Steven M.; Disney, Matthew D.

2014-01-01

Oligonucleotides are designed to target RNA using base pairing rules, however, they are hampered by poor cellular delivery and non-specific stimulation of the immune system. Small molecules are preferred as lead drugs or probes, but cannot be designed from sequence. Herein, we describe an approach termed Inforna that designs lead small molecules for RNA from solely sequence. Inforna was applied to all human microRNA precursors and identified bioactive small molecules that inhibit biogenesis by binding to nuclease processing sites (41% hit rate). Amongst 29 lead interactions, the most avid interaction is between a benzimidazole (1) and precursor microRNA-96. Compound 1 selectively inhibits biogenesis of microRNA-96, upregulating a protein target (FOXO1) and inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. Apoptosis is ablated when FOXO1 mRNA expression is knocked down by an siRNA, validating compound selectivity. Importantly, microRNA profiling shows that 1 only significantly effects microRNA-96 biogenesis and is more selective than an oligonucleotide. PMID:24509821

A Micro-Ark for Cells: Highly Open Porous Polyhydroxyalkanoate Microspheres as Injectable Scaffolds for Tissue Regeneration.

PubMed

Wei, Dai-Xu; Dao, Jin-Wei; Chen, Guo-Qiang

2018-06-19

To avoid large open surgery using scaffold transplants, small-sized cell carriers are employed to repair complexly shaped tissue defects. However, most cell carriers show poor cell adherences and viability. Therefore, polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a natural biopolymer, is used to prepare highly open porous microspheres (OPMs) of 300-360 µm in diameter, combining the advantages of microspheres and scaffolds to serve as injectable carriers harboring proliferating stem cells. In addition to the convenient injection to a defected tissue, and in contrast to poor performances of OPMs made of polylactides (PLA OPMs) and traditional less porous hollow microspheres (PHA HMs), PHA OPMs present suitable surface pores of 10-60 µm and interconnected passages with an average size of 8.8 µm, leading to a high in vitro cell adhesion of 93.4%, continuous proliferation for 10 d and improved differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). PHA OPMs also support stronger osteoblast-regeneration compared with traditional PHA HMs, PLA OPMs, commercial hyaluronic acid hydrogels, and carrier-free hMSCs in an ectopic bone-formation mouse model. PHA OPMs protect cells against stresses during injection, allowing more living cells to proliferate and migrate to damaged tissues. They function like a micro-Noah's Ark to safely transport cells to a defect tissue. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Combined Use of Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Sheet Transplantation and Local Injection of SDF-1 for Bone Repair in a Rat Nonunion Model.

PubMed

Chen, Guangnan; Fang, Tingting; Qi, Yiying; Yin, Xiaofan; Di, Tuoyu; Feng, Gang; Lei, Zhong; Zhang, Yuxiang; Huang, Zhongming

2016-10-01

Bone nonunion treatments pose a challenge in orthopedics. This study investigated the joint effects of using mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) sheets with local injection of stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) on bone formation. In vitro, we found that migration of MSCs was mediated by SDF-1 in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, stimulation with SDF-1 had no direct effect on the proliferation or osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. Furthermore, the results indicated elevated expression levels of bone morphogenetic protein 2, alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and vascular endothelial growth factor in MSC sheets compared with MSCs cultured in medium. New bone formation in fractures was evaluated by X-ray, micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, Safranin-O staining, and immunohistochemistry in vivo. In the rat bone fracture model, the MSC sheets transplanted into the injured site along with injection of SDF-1 showed significantly more new bone formation within the gap. Moreover, at 8 weeks, complete bone union was obtained in this group. In contrast, the control group showed nonunion of the bone. Our study suggests a new strategy involving the use of MSC sheets with a local injection of SDF-1 for hard tissue reconstruction, such as the healing of nonunions and bone defects.

Micro-focused Brillouin light scattering study of the magnetization dynamics driven by Spin Hall effect in a transversely magnetized NiFe nanowire

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

Madami, M., E-mail: marco.madami@fisica.unipg.it; Carlotti, G.; Gubbiotti, G.

2015-05-07

We employed micro-focused Brillouin light scattering to study the amplification of the thermal spin wave eigenmodes by means of a pure spin current, generated by the spin-Hall effect, in a transversely magnetized Pt(4 nm)/NiFe(4 nm)/SiO{sub 2}(5 nm) layered nanowire with lateral dimensions 500 × 2750 nm{sup 2}. The frequency and the cross section of both the center (fundamental) and the edge spin wave modes have been measured as a function of the intensity of the injected dc electric current. The frequency of both modes exhibits a clear redshift while their cross section is greatly enhanced on increasing the intensity of the injected dc. A threshold-like behaviormore » is observed for a value of the injected dc of 2.8 mA. Interestingly, an additional mode, localized in the central part of the nanowire, appears at higher frequency on increasing the intensity of the injected dc above the threshold value. Micromagnetic simulations were used to quantitatively reproduce the experimental results and to investigate the complex non-linear dynamics induced by the spin-Hall effect, including the modification of the spatial profile of the spin wave modes and the appearance of the extra mode above the threshold.« less

Dye injection for predicting pesticide movement in micro-irrigated polyethylene film mulch beds.

PubMed

Csinos, Alex S; Laska, James E; Childers, Stan

2002-04-01

A new method is described for tracing water movement in polyethylene film covered soil beds. Dye was delivered via a drip tape micro-irrigation system which was placed in the bed as the soil beds were shaped and covered with polyethylene film. The dye was injected into the system and irrigated with water for 4-24 h at 0.41-1.38 bar (41-138 kPa) pressure depending on the experiment. The dye appeared as blue circles on the soil surface within 20 min of injection and produced a three-dimensional pattern in the soil profile. Injection-irrigation-pressure scenarios were evaluated by measuring dye movement directly below and between emitters by sliding fabricated blades vertically into the bed at the desired examination point and excavating the soil away from the blade. The dye typically produced a U shape on the face of the bed and the area was calculated for each of these exposed faces. The area increased as the length of irrigation and water pressure increased. Interrupted irrigation (pulsing) scenarios did not alter the calculated areas encompassed by the dye compared to uninterrupted irrigation scenarios. The blue dye provided a direct, inexpensive and easy method of visualizing water movement in soil beds. This information will be used to optimize application of emulsifiable plant-care products in polyethylene film mulch beds.

Injection doping of ultrathin microcrystalline silicon films prepared by CC-CVD

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

Koynov, S.; Grebner, S.; Schwarz, R.

1997-07-01

Recently, the authors have proposed a cyclic method, referred to as Closed Chamber CVD (CC-CVD), for the preparation of {micro}c-Si films of high crystalline fraction at increased deposition rates. In this work, they first report new process conditions of CC-CVD, which result in growth of highly crystalline films with a sharp interface on a foreign substrate. Then these conditions are further used together with a pulsed injection of B{sub 2}H{sub 6} in an appropriate moment of each cycle, so that the disturbance of the crystallization process is prevented. A series of ultrathin {micro}c-Si films, doped by this technique, is characterizedmore » by conductivity measurements, SEM, Raman Scattering, optical transmission and UV reflection. A strong reduction of the transient interface layer is achieved and conductivity as high as 2 S/cm with an activation energy of 27 meV is reached.« less

Biocomposites from co-polypropylene and distillers' grains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zarrinbakhsh, Nima; Mohanty, Amar K.; Misra, Manjusri

2015-05-01

In the present work, we have explored the polymeric composites of distillers' grains with co-polypropylene (co-PP). The effect of maleated-PP compatibilizer on mechanical, thermomechanical and physical properties was evaluated. The composite materials were produced by melt extrusion in a micro-compounder followed by injection molding in a micro-injection machine. The composites were characterized for their tensile, flexural and impact properties. Also, melt flow index and heat deflection temperature were measured. The results showed more than 30 % improvement in modulus when comparing the compatibilized biocomposite with neat co-PP. Also, the strength of the compatibilized biocomposite measured in tensile and flexural tests was comparable to or even better than that of the neat matrix. On the other hand, the reduced flexibility and toughness as a result of compatibilization were in an acceptable range. The biocomposites showed more rigidity at elevated temperatures. The produced distillers' grain biocomposites showed promises for industrial applications.

Shenfu Formula reduces cardiomyocyte apoptosis in heart failure rats by regulating microRNAs.

PubMed

Yan, Xu; Wu, Hongjin; Ren, Jianxun; Liu, Yuna; Wang, Shengqi; Yang, Jiyuan; Qin, Shuyan; Wu, Delin

2018-05-07

Shenfu decoction consists of the water extract from the dried root or rootstalk of Panax ginseng C. A. Mey (Asian ginseng) and the lateral root of Aconitum carmichaeli Debx (Fuzi, Heishunpian in Chinese). Shenfu Formula has been used as a folk Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Recent studies have shown that Shenfu injection can enhance cardiac function and regulate arrhythmia. Shenfu Formula plays an important role in the treatment of heart failure. However, its microRNA-mediated mechanisms are still not fully understood. Thus, we established a heart failure model in rats to investigate the microRNA mechanism of Shenfu Formula in cardiac function and apoptosis. The heart failure animal model was established via left-anterior descending coronary artery ligation in rats. Seven days after surgery, Shenfu Formula was given to the heart failure rats, which were selected by echocardiography with an LVEF<45%. After Shenfu Formula was given intragastrically for 30 days, blood samples were drawn, the heart was excised after echocardiography, and echocardiographic parameters and apoptosis-related proteins were further examined. Fas/Fas-L and Bcl-2/Bax proteins were analyzed by Western blot, and microRNAs were evaluated using Affymetrix GeneChip miRNA arrays. Shenfu Formula increased the left ventricular ejection fraction, improved the hemodynamic index of heart failure rats, and decreased serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels. Shenfu Formula also decreased the positive rate of myocardial cells as detected by the TUNEL method and significantly suppressed caspase 3 expression. Moreover, we found that Shenfu formula can regulate the initiative factors Fas/Fas-L in the intrinsic pathway and Bcl-2/Bax in the extrinsic apoptosis pathway to suppress apoptosis in heart failure rats. Finally, Shenfu formula potentially alters the balance of microRNAs involved in activating and inhibiting apoptosis, ultimately suppressing apoptosis; this leads to changes in the gene expression profiles of microRNAs targets. Shenfu Granule can effectively improve cardiac function in heart failure rats, and the anti-apoptosis effects of Shenfu Formula are potential mechanisms for inhibiting heart failure. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Solid State Television Camera (CID)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steele, D. W.; Green, W. T.

1976-01-01

The design, development and test are described of a charge injection device (CID) camera using a 244x248 element array. A number of video signal processing functions are included which maximize the output video dynamic range while retaining the inherently good resolution response of the CID. Some of the unique features of the camera are: low light level performance, high S/N ratio, antiblooming, geometric distortion, sequential scanning and AGC.

Effect of oxygen breathing on micro oxygen bubbles in nitrogen-depleted rat adipose tissue at sea level and 25 kPa altitude exposures.

PubMed

Randsoe, Thomas; Hyldegaard, Ole

2012-08-01

The standard treatment of altitude decompression sickness (aDCS) caused by nitrogen bubble formation is oxygen breathing and recompression. However, micro air bubbles (containing 79% nitrogen), injected into adipose tissue, grow and stabilize at 25 kPa regardless of continued oxygen breathing and the tissue nitrogen pressure. To quantify the contribution of oxygen to bubble growth at altitude, micro oxygen bubbles (containing 0% nitrogen) were injected into the adipose tissue of rats depleted from nitrogen by means of preoxygenation (fraction of inspired oxygen = 1.0; 100%) and the bubbles studied at 101.3 kPa (sea level) or at 25 kPa altitude exposures during continued oxygen breathing. In keeping with previous observations and bubble kinetic models, we hypothesize that oxygen breathing may contribute to oxygen bubble growth at altitude. Anesthetized rats were exposed to 3 h of oxygen prebreathing at 101.3 kPa (sea level). Micro oxygen bubbles of 500-800 nl were then injected into the exposed abdominal adipose tissue. The oxygen bubbles were studied for up to 3.5 h during continued oxygen breathing at either 101.3 or 25 kPa ambient pressures. At 101.3 kPa, all bubbles shrank consistently until they disappeared from view at a net disappearance rate (0.02 mm(2) × min(-1)) significantly faster than for similar bubbles at 25 kPa altitude (0.01 mm(2) × min(-1)). At 25 kPa, most bubbles initially grew for 2-40 min, after which they shrank and disappeared. Four bubbles did not disappear while at 25 kPa. The results support bubble kinetic models based on Fick's first law of diffusion, Boyles law, and the oxygen window effect, predicting that oxygen contributes more to bubble volume and growth during hypobaric conditions. As the effect of oxygen increases, the lower the ambient pressure. The results indicate that recompression is instrumental in the treatment of aDCS.

Endothelial microparticles-mediated transfer of microRNA-19b promotes atherosclerosis via activating perivascular adipose tissue inflammation in apoE-/- mice.

PubMed

Li, Changlong; Li, Sufang; Zhang, Feng; Wu, Manyan; Liang, Huizhu; Song, Junxian; Lee, Chongyou; Chen, Hong

2018-01-08

Microparticles(MPs) are the major carriers of circulating microRNAs. Our previous study has shown that microRNA (miR)-19b in endothelial cell-derived microparticles (EMPs) is significantly increased in patients with unstable angina. However, little is known about the relationship between miR-19b in EMPs and the progression of atherosclerosis. The aim of the present study was to define the role and potential mechanism of miR-19b incorporated in EMPs in the development of atherosclerosis. Western-diet-fed apoE -/- mice were injected with phosphate buffered solution(PBS), EMP carrying microRNA control(EMP control ) or miR-19b mimic (EMP miR19b ) intravenously. Systemic treatment with EMP miR19b significantly accelerated carotid artery atherosclerosis progression by increasing lipid, macrophages and smooth muscle cells and decreasing collagen content in atherosclerotic plaque. Fluorescence-labelled EMP miR19b injection proved that miR-19b could be transported into perivascular adipose tissue(PVAT) by EMPs. EMP miR19b treatment also promoted inflammatory cytokines secretion and macrophages infiltration in PVAT. In further experiment, apoE -/- mice were divided into 3 groups: EMP control PVAT(+), EMP miR19b PVAT(+) and EMP miR19b PVAT(-), based on removing or keeping pericarotid adipose tissue and injected with EMP control or EMP miR19b . Loss of PVAT attenuated EMP miR19b -mediated effects on increasing carotid atherosclerosis formation and inflammatory cytokines level in plaque. EMP miR19b inhibited suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) expression in PVAT. Our findings demonstrate that miR-19b in EMPs exaggerates atherosclerosis progression by augmenting PVAT-specific inflammation proceeded by downregulating SOCS3 expression. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Kinetics of the neuroinflammation-oxidative stress correlation in rat brain following the injection of fibrillar amyloid-beta onto the hippocampus in vivo.

PubMed

Rosales-Corral, Sergio; Tan, Dun-Xian; Reiter, Russel J; Valdivia-Velázquez, Miguel; Acosta-Martínez, J Pablo; Ortiz, Genaro G

2004-05-01

The purpose of this study was to describe-following the injection of a single intracerebral dose of fibrillar amyloid-beta(1-40) in vivo-some correlations between proinflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress indicators in function of time, as well as how these variables fit in a regression model. We found a positive, significant correlation between interleukin (IL)-1beta or IL-6 and the activity of the glutathione peroxidase enzyme (GSH-Px), but IL-1beta or IL-6 maintained a strong, negative correlation with the lipid peroxidation (LPO). The first 12 h marked a positive correlation between IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), but starting from the 36 h, this relationship became negative. We found also particular patterns of behavior through the time for IL-1beta, nitrites and IL-6, with parallel or sequential interrelationships. Results shows clearly that, in vivo, the fibrillar amyloid-beta (Abeta) disrupts the oxidative balance and initiate a proinflammatory response, which in turn feeds the oxidative imbalance in a coordinated, sequential way. This work contributes to our understanding of the positive feedbacks, focusing the "cytokine cycle" along with the oxidative stress mediators in a complex, multicellular, and interactive environment.

The sequential injection system with adsorptive stripping voltammetric detection.

PubMed

Kubiak, W W; Latonen, R M; Ivaska, A

2001-03-16

Two sequential injection systems have been developed for adsorptive stripping voltammetric measurement. One is for substances adsorbing at mercury, e.g. riboflavin. In this case, a simple arrangement with only sample aspiration is needed. Reproducibility was 3% and detection limit 0.07 muM. The measuring system was applied to determination of riboflavin in vitamin pills and to study the photodegradation process of riboflavin in aqueous solutions. In the second case, metal ions were determined. They have to be complexed before deposition on the mercury surface. Thus, both the sample and the ligand have to be aspirated in the system. In this case, the reproducibility was approximately 6% and the detection limit <0.1 ppm for cadmium, lead and copper when complexation with oxine was used. Dimethylglyoxime was used in determination of nickel and cobalt and nioxime complexes were used in determination of nickel and copper. With these complexing agents, the reproducibility was the same as with oxine, but the metals could be determined at concentrations lower than 0.01 ppm. Application of two ligands in a SIA system with AdSV detection was also studied. Simultaneous determination of copper, lead, cadmium and cobalt was possible by using oxine and dimethylglyoxime. Copper and nickel were simultaneously determined by using dimethylglyoxime and nioxime.

A 400 MHz Wireless Neural Signal Processing IC With 625 $\\times$ On-Chip Data Reduction and Reconfigurable BFSK/QPSK Transmitter Based on Sequential Injection Locking.

PubMed

Teng, Kok-Hin; Wu, Tong; Liu, Xiayun; Yang, Zhi; Heng, Chun-Huat

2017-06-01

An 8-channel wireless neural signal processing IC, which can perform real-time spike detection, alignment, and feature extraction, and wireless data transmission is proposed. A reconfigurable BFSK/QPSK transmitter (TX) at MICS/MedRadio band is incorporated to support different data rate requirement. By using an Exponential Component-Polynomial Component (EC-PC) spike processing unit with an incremental principal component analysis (IPCA) engine, the detection of neural spikes with poor SNR is possible while achieving 625× data reduction. For the TX, a dual-channel at 401 MHz and 403.8 MHz are supported by applying sequential injection locked techniques while attaining phase noise of -102 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset. From the measurement, error vector magnitude (EVM) of 4.60%/9.55% with power amplifier (PA) output power of -15 dBm is achieved for the QPSK at 8 Mbps and the BFSK at 12.5 kbps. Fabricated in 65 nm CMOS with an active area of 1 mm 2 , the design consumes a total current of 5  ∼ 5.6 mA with a maximum energy efficiency of 0.7 nJ/b.

Bioremediation of PAHs contaminated river sediment by an integrated approach with sequential injection of co-substrate and electron acceptor: Lab-scale study.

PubMed

Liu, Tongzhou; Zhang, Zhen; Dong, Wenyi; Wu, Xiaojing; Wang, Hongjie

2017-11-01

In this study, the feasibility of employing an integrated bioremediation approach in contaminated river sediment was evaluated. Sequential addition of co-substrate (acetate) and electron acceptor (NO 3 - ) in a two-phase treatment was capable of effectively removing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in river sediment. The residual concentration of total PAHs decreased to far below effect range low (ERL) value within 91 days of incubation, at which concentration it could rarely pose biological impairment. The biodegradation of high molecular weight PAHs were found to be mainly occurred in the sediment treated with co-substrates (i.e. acetate or methanol), in which acetate was found to be more suitable for PAHs degradation. The role of co-substrates in influencing PAHs biodegradation was tentatively discussed herein. Additionally, the sediment odorous problem and blackish appearance were intensively addressed by NO 3 - injection. The results of this study demonstrated that integrating two or more approaches/processes would be a helpful option in sediment remediation. It can lead to a more effective remediation performance, handle multiple contamination issues, as well as mitigate environmental risks caused by one of the single methods. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safety and Feasibility of Lin- Cells Administration to ALS Patients: A Novel View on Humoral Factors and miRNA Profiles.

PubMed

Sobuś, Anna; Baumert, Bartłomiej; Litwińska, Zofia; Gołąb-Janowska, Monika; Stępniewski, Jacek; Kotowski, Maciej; Pius-Sadowska, Ewa; Kawa, Miłosz P; Gródecka-Szwajkiewicz, Dorota; Peregud-Pogorzelski, Jarosław; Dulak, Józef; Nowacki, Przemysław; Machaliński, Bogusław

2018-04-27

Therapeutic options for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are still limited. Great hopes, however, are placed in growth factors that show neuroprotective abilities (e.g., nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)) and in the immune modulating features, in particular, the anti-inflammatory effects. In our study we aimed to investigate whether a bone marrow-derived lineage-negative (Lin-) cells population, after autologous application into cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), is able to produce noticeable concentrations of trophic factors and inflammatory-related proteins and thus influence the clinical course of ALS. To our knowledge, the evaluation of Lin- cells transplantation for ALS treatment has not been previously reported. Early hematopoietic Lin- cells were isolated from twelve ALS patients’ bone marrow, and later, the suspension of cells was administered into the subarachnoid space by lumbar puncture. Concentrations of selected proteins in the CSF and plasma were quantified by multiplex fluorescent bead-based immunoassays at different timepoints post-transplantation. We also chose microRNAs (miRNAs) related to muscle biology (miRNA-1, miRNA-133a, and miRNA-206) and angiogenesis and inflammation (miRNA-155 and miRNA-378) and tested, for the first time, their expression profiles in the CSF and plasma of ALS patients after Lin- cells transplantation. The injection of bone marrow cells resulted in decreased concentration of selected inflammatory proteins (C3) after Lin- cells injection, particularly in patients who had a better clinical outcome. Moreover, several analyzed miRNAs have changed expression levels in the CSF and plasma of ALS patients subsequent to Lin- cells administration. Interestingly, the expression of miR-206 increased in ALS patients, while miR-378 decreased both in the CSF and plasma one month after the cells’ injection. We propose that autologous lineage-negative early hematopoietic cells injected intrathecally may be a safe and feasible source of material for transplantations to the central nervous system (CNS) environment aimed at anti-inflammatory support provision for ALS adjuvant treatment strategies. Further research is needed to evaluate whether the observed effects could significantly influence the ALS progression.

Prime-boost vaccination with plasmid and adenovirus gene vaccines control HER2/neu+ metastatic breast cancer in mice.

PubMed

Wang, Xiaoyan; Wang, Jian-Ping; Rao, Xiao-Mei; Price, Janet E; Zhou, Heshan S; Lachman, Lawrence B

2005-01-01

Once metastasis has occurred, the possibility of completely curing breast cancer is unlikely, particularly for the 30 to 40% of cancers overexpressing the gene for HER2/neu. A vaccine targeting p185, the protein product of the HER2/neu gene, could have therapeutic application by controlling the growth and metastasis of highly aggressive HER2/neu+ cells. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of two gene vaccines targeting HER2/neu in preventive and therapeutic tumor models. The mouse breast cancer cell line A2L2, which expresses the gene for rat HER2/neu and hence p185, was injected into the mammary fat pad of mice as a model of solid tumor growth or was injected intravenously as a model of lung metastasis. SINCP-neu, a plasmid containing Sindbis virus genes and the gene for rat HER2/neu, and Adeno-neu, an E1,E2a-deleted adenovirus also containing the gene for rat HER2/neu, were tested as preventive and therapeutic vaccines. Vaccination with SINCP-neu or Adeno-neu before tumor challenge with A2L2 cells significantly inhibited the growth of the cells injected into the mammary fat or intravenously. Vaccination 2 days after tumor challenge with either vaccine was ineffective in both tumor models. However, therapeutic vaccination in a prime-boost protocol with SINCP-neu followed by Adeno-neu significantly prolonged the overall survival rate of mice injected intravenously with the tumor cells. Naive mice vaccinated using the same prime-boost protocol demonstrated a strong serum immunoglobulin G response and p185-specific cellular immunity, as shown by the results of ELISPOT (enzyme-linked immunospot) analysis for IFNgamma. We report herein that vaccination of mice with a plasmid gene vaccine and an adenovirus gene vaccine, each containing the gene for HER2/neu, prevented growth of a HER2/neu-expressing breast cancer cell line injected into the mammary fat pad or intravenously. Sequential administration of the vaccines in a prime-boost protocol was therapeutically effective when tumor cells were injected intravenously before the vaccination. The vaccines induced high levels of both cellular and humoral immunity as determined by in vitro assessment. These findings indicate that clinical evaluation of these vaccines, particularly when used sequentially in a prime-boost protocol, is justified.

Rate-dependent inverse-addition beta-selective mannosylation and contiguous sequential glycosylation involving beta-mannosidic bond formation.

PubMed

Chang, Shih-Sheng; Shih, Che-Hao; Lai, Kwun-Cheng; Mong, Kwok-Kong Tony

2010-05-03

The beta-selectivity of mannosylation has been found to be dependent on the addition rate of the mannosyl trichloroacetimidate donor in an inverse-addition (I-A) procedure. This rate dependent I-A procedure can improve the selectivity of direct beta-mannosylation and is applicable to orthogonal glycosylations of thioglycoside acceptors. Further elaboration of this novel procedure enables the development of the contiguous sequential glycosylation strategy, which streamlines the preparation of oligosaccharides invoking beta-mannosidic bond formation. The synthetic utility of the contiguous glycosylation strategy was demonstrated by the preparation of the trisaccharide core of human N-linked glycoproteins and the trisaccharide repeating unit of the O-specific polysaccharide found in the cellular capsule of Salmonelle bacteria.

Environmental Fate of Emamectin Benzoate After Tree Micro Injection of Horse Chestnut Trees

PubMed Central

Burkhard, Rene; Binz, Heinz; Roux, Christian A; Brunner, Matthias; Ruesch, Othmar; Wyss, Peter

2015-01-01

Emamectin benzoate, an insecticide derived from the avermectin family of natural products, has a unique translocation behavior in trees when applied by tree micro injection (TMI), which can result in protection from insect pests (foliar and borers) for several years. Active ingredient imported into leaves was measured at the end of season in the fallen leaves of treated horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) trees. The dissipation of emamectin benzoate in these leaves seems to be biphasic and depends on the decomposition of the leaf. In compost piles, where decomposition of leaves was fastest, a cumulative emamectin benzoate degradation half-life time of 20 d was measured. In leaves immersed in water, where decomposition was much slower, the degradation half-life time was 94 d, and in leaves left on the ground in contact with soil, where decomposition was slowest, the degradation half-life time was 212 d. The biphasic decline and the correlation with leaf decomposition might be attributed to an extensive sorption of emamectin benzoate residues to leaf macromolecules. This may also explain why earthworms ingesting leaves from injected trees take up very little emamectin benzoate and excrete it with the feces. Furthermore, no emamectin benzoate was found in water containing decomposing leaves from injected trees. It is concluded, that emamectin benzoate present in abscised leaves from horse chestnut trees injected with the insecticide is not available to nontarget organisms present in soil or water bodies. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;9999:1–6. © 2014 The Authors. Published 2014 SETAC PMID:25363584

Building emotional resilience over 14 sessions of emotion focused therapy: Micro-longitudinal analyses of productive emotional patterns.

PubMed

Pascual-Leone, A; Yeryomenko, N; Sawashima, T; Warwar, S

2017-05-04

Pascual-Leone and Greenberg's sequential model of emotional processing has been used to explore process in over 24 studies. This line of research shows emotional processing in good psychotherapy often follows a sequential order, supporting a saw-toothed pattern of change within individual sessions (progressing "2-steps-forward, 1-step-back"). However, one cannot assume that local in-session patterns are scalable across an entire course of therapy. Thus, the primary objective of this exploratory study was to consider how the sequential patterns identified by Pascual-Leone, may apply across entire courses of treatment. Intensive emotion coding in two separate single-case designs were submitted for quantitative analyses of longitudinal patterns. Comprehensive coding in these cases involved recording observations for every emotional event in an entire course of treatment (using the Classification of Affective-Meaning States), which were then treated as a 9-point ordinal scale. Applying multilevel modeling to each of the two cases showed significant patterns of change over a large number of sessions, and those patterns were either nested at the within-session level or observed at the broader session-by-session level of change. Examining successful treatment cases showed several theoretically coherent kinds of temporal patterns, although not always in the same case. Clinical or methodological significance of this article: This is the first paper to demonstrate systematic temporal patterns of emotion over the course of an entire treatment. (1) The study offers a proof of concept that longitudinal patterns in the micro-processes of emotion can be objectively derived and quantified. (2) It also shows that patterns in emotion may be identified on the within-session level, as well as the session-by-session level of analysis. (3) Finally, observed processes over time support the ordered pattern of emotional states hypothesized in Pascual-Leone and Greenberg's ( 2007 ) model of emotional processing.

Reproductive practices by patterns of marriage among Iranian women: study protocol for an explanatory sequential mixed methods design.

PubMed

Taghizadeh, Ziba; Vedadhir, Abouali; Behmanesh, Fereshteh; Ebadi, Abbas; Pourreza, Abulghasem; Abbasi-Shavazi, Mohammad Jalal

2015-09-18

Nowadays, nearly half of the world population lives in societies with low fertility or the below-replacement fertility. This potentially grounds the critical situation of reduction in the workforce and causes the aging of population due to an overall increase in life expectancy and standard of living. Hence, population and its transitions including the issue of fertility decline has become a topic of intense debate in the agenda-setting and policy-making processes in both the developed and developing countries. In this view, what can practically be done to respond to the fertility decline that entails effectively addressing the determinants of fertility change? In line with the literature, how people form their marriages or patterns of marriage is amongst influencing factors which potentially affect their reproductive practices as diverse societies recognize different conventions for marriage. This study is to examine women's reproductive practices by the various patterns of marriage using the explanatory sequential mixed methods design. This study has an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the follow-up explanations variant model, with two strands. This design will be implemented in two distinct phases. In the first phase, a cross-sectional quantitative study will be done using a cluster sampling strategy on 850 married women 15-49 years old living in Babol city, Iran. In order to obtain a deeper understanding of the results of the quantitative phase, researchers will implement a qualitative research in the second phase of this study. This design will provide an explanation of the quantitative research results using the qualitative evidence. As patterns of marriage have implications for the status of women, their health and fertility, the result of this study can provide a rich source of information for the required health-related interventions and policies are required to put the demographic changes on the right track at micro and macro level and improve the reproductive practices of women at micro level.

The optional selection of micro-motion feature based on Support Vector Machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Bo; Ren, Hongmei; Xiao, Zhi-he; Sheng, Jing

2017-11-01

Micro-motion form of target is multiple, different micro-motion forms are apt to be modulated, which makes it difficult for feature extraction and recognition. Aiming at feature extraction of cone-shaped objects with different micro-motion forms, this paper proposes the best selection method of micro-motion feature based on support vector machine. After the time-frequency distribution of radar echoes, comparing the time-frequency spectrum of objects with different micro-motion forms, features are extracted based on the differences between the instantaneous frequency variations of different micro-motions. According to the methods based on SVM (Support Vector Machine) features are extracted, then the best features are acquired. Finally, the result shows the method proposed in this paper is feasible under the test condition of certain signal-to-noise ratio(SNR).

Prostaglandin E1 fever induced in rabbits

PubMed Central

Stitt, J. T.

1973-01-01

1. Micro-injections of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) into the anterior hypothalamus of the rabbit produced fever which was nearly immediate in onset. The prostaglandin sensitive region appears to be identical to that described as being fever sensitive to leucocytic pyrogen. 2. Micro-injections of PGE1 into the posterior hypothalamus and midbrain reticular formation of the rabbit did not produce fever. 3. The febrile response to PGE1 injected into the anterior hypothalamus was dose dependent over a range of 20-1000 ng. 4. Ambient temperature influenced the thermoregulatory mechanism by which PGE1 fever evolved. In the cold, PGE1 fever was due to increased heat production while during heat exposure both evaporative and dry heat losses were reduced without significant changes in heat production. Vasoconstriction, confined mainly to the ears, was effective in producing fever in standard room environments (24-25° C) along with a small increase in heat production. 5. The preoptic anterior hypothalamic area retained its thermosensitivity during PGE1 fever; heating this area attenuated, while cooling augmented the fever. 6. The results support the view that PGE1 is a mediator of pyrogen induced fever. ImagesFig. 2 PMID:4733481

Anatomy of hepatic arteriolo-portal venular shunts evaluated by 3D micro-CT imaging.

PubMed

Kline, Timothy L; Knudsen, Bruce E; Anderson, Jill L; Vercnocke, Andrew J; Jorgensen, Steven M; Ritman, Erik L

2014-06-01

The liver differs from other organs in that two vascular systems deliver its blood - the hepatic artery and the portal vein. However, how the two systems interact is not fully understood. We therefore studied the microvascular geometry of rat liver hepatic artery and portal vein injected with the contrast polymer Microfil(®). Intact isolated rat livers were imaged by micro-CT and anatomic evidence for hepatic arteriolo-portal venular shunts occurring between hepatic artery and portal vein branches was found. Simulations were performed to rule out the possibility of the observed shunts being artifacts resulting from image blurring. In addition, in the case of specimens where only the portal vein was injected, only the portal vein was opacified, whereas in hepatic artery injections, both the hepatic artery and portal vein were opacified. We conclude that mixing of the hepatic artery and portal vein blood can occur proximal to the sinusoidal level, and that the hepatic arteriolo-portal venular shunts may function as a one-way valve-like mechanism, allowing flow only from the hepatic artery to the portal vein (and not the other way around). © 2014 Mayo Foundation Journal of Anatomy © 2014 Anatomical Society.

Fluorescent blue lights, injecting drug use and related health risk in public conveniences: findings from a qualitative study of micro-injecting environments.

PubMed

Parkin, Stephen; Coomber, Ross

2010-07-01

This paper presents findings relating to injecting drug users' experiences and opinions of public toilets illuminated with fluorescent blue lights and presents an empirical assessment of the intended deterrent effect of such installations. Data analysis identified that blue lights deterred less than half the sample interviewed. Furthermore over half (18/31) of the sample were prepared to inject in conditions specifically designed to deter injecting practice. Of these, 11 respondents were completely undeterred and 7 individuals were only partially deterred by blue light environments. These findings are discussed within the interpretative frameworks of Pierre Bourdieu's theory of habitus and symbolic violence. The authors conclude that fluorescent blue lights contribute towards the development of situated resistance by injecting drug users within a public injecting habitus; a resistance that produces and reproduces drug-related harm and is a behaviour that opposes the symbolic violence of harm reduction intervention. The paper concludes with suggestions for theory-driven practical intervention that may seek to disrupt the harmful elements of the public injecting habitus. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Targeted delivery of lovastatin and tocotrienol to fracture site promotes fracture healing in osteoporosis model: micro-computed tomography and biomechanical evaluation.

PubMed

Ibrahim, Nurul 'Izzah; Khamis, Mohd Fadhli; Mod Yunoh, Mohd Faridz; Abdullah, Shahrum; Mohamed, Norazlina; Shuid, Ahmad Nazrun

2014-01-01

Osteoporosis is becoming a major health problem that is associated with increased fracture risk. Previous studies have shown that osteoporosis could delay fracture healing. Although there are potential agents available to promote fracture healing of osteoporotic bone such as statins and tocotrienol, studies on direct delivery of these agents to the fracture site are limited. This study was designed to investigate the effects of two potential agents, lovastatin and tocotrienol using targeted drug delivery system on fracture healing of postmenopausal osteoporosis rats. The fracture healing was evaluated using micro CT and biomechanical parameters. Forty-eight Sprague-Dawley female rats were divided into 6 groups. The first group was sham-operated (SO), while the others were ovariectomized (OVx). After two months, the right tibiae of all rats were fractured at metaphysis region using pulsed ultrasound and were fixed with plates and screws. The SO and OVxC groups were given two single injections of lovastatin and tocotrienol carriers. The estrogen group (OVx+EST) was given daily oral gavages of Premarin (64.5 µg/kg). The Lovastatin treatment group (OVx+Lov) was given a single injection of 750 µg/kg lovastatin particles. The tocotrienol group (OVx+TT) was given a single injection of 60 mg/kg tocotrienol particles. The combination treatment group (OVx+Lov+TT) was given two single injections of 750 µg/kg lovastatin particles and 60 mg/kg tocotrienol particles. After 4 weeks of treatment, the fractured tibiae were dissected out for micro-CT and biomechanical assessments. The combined treatment group (OVx+Lov+TT) showed significantly higher callus volume and callus strength than the OVxC group (p<0.05). Both the OVx+Lov and OVx+TT groups showed significantly higher callus strength than the OVxC group (p<0.05), but not for callus volume. In conclusion, combined lovastatin and tocotrienol may promote better fracture healing of osteoporotic bone.

Value for money in changing clinical practice: should decisions about guidelines and implementation strategies be made sequentially or simultaneously?

PubMed

Hoomans, Ties; Severens, Johan L; Evers, Silvia M A A; Ament, Andre J H A

2009-01-01

Decisions about clinical practice change, that is, which guidelines to adopt and how to implement them, can be made sequentially or simultaneously. Decision makers adopting a sequential approach first compare the costs and effects of alternative guidelines to select the best set of guideline recommendations for patient management and subsequently examine the implementation costs and effects to choose the best strategy to implement the selected guideline. In an integral approach, decision makers simultaneously decide about the guideline and the implementation strategy on the basis of the overall value for money in changing clinical practice. This article demonstrates that the decision to use a sequential v. an integral approach affects the need for detailed information and the complexity of the decision analytic process. More importantly, it may lead to different choices of guidelines and implementation strategies for clinical practice change. The differences in decision making and decision analysis between the alternative approaches are comprehensively illustrated using 2 hypothetical examples. We argue that, in most cases, an integral approach to deciding about change in clinical practice is preferred, as this provides more efficient use of scarce health-care resources.

Islet organogenesis, angiogenesis and innervation.

PubMed

Cerf, Marlon E

2011-11-01

The pancreas is characterized by a major component, an exocrine and ductal system involved in digestion, and a minor component, the endocrine islets represented by islet micro-organs that tightly regulate glucose homoeostasis. Pancreatic organogenesis is strictly co-ordinated by transcription factors that are expressed sequentially to yield functional islets capable of maintaining glucose homoeostasis. Angiogenesis and innervation complete islet development, equipping islets to respond to metabolic demands. Proper regulation of this triad of processes during development is critical for establishing functional islets.

Classification of epileptic EEG signals based on simple random sampling and sequential feature selection.

PubMed

Ghayab, Hadi Ratham Al; Li, Yan; Abdulla, Shahab; Diykh, Mohammed; Wan, Xiangkui

2016-06-01

Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are used broadly in the medical fields. The main applications of EEG signals are the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as epilepsy, Alzheimer, sleep problems and so on. This paper presents a new method which extracts and selects features from multi-channel EEG signals. This research focuses on three main points. Firstly, simple random sampling (SRS) technique is used to extract features from the time domain of EEG signals. Secondly, the sequential feature selection (SFS) algorithm is applied to select the key features and to reduce the dimensionality of the data. Finally, the selected features are forwarded to a least square support vector machine (LS_SVM) classifier to classify the EEG signals. The LS_SVM classifier classified the features which are extracted and selected from the SRS and the SFS. The experimental results show that the method achieves 99.90, 99.80 and 100 % for classification accuracy, sensitivity and specificity, respectively.

Sequential two-photon double ionization of noble gases by circularly polarized XUV radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gryzlova, E. V.; Grum-Grzhimailo, A. N.; Kuzmina, E. I.; Strakhova, S. I.

2014-10-01

Photoelectron angular distributions (PADs) and angular correlations between two emitted electrons in sequential two-photon double ionization (2PDI) of atoms by circularly polarized radiation are studied theoretically. In particular, the sequential 2PDI of the valence n{{p}6} shell in noble gas atoms (neon, argon, krypton) is analyzed, accounting for the first-order corrections to the dipole approximation. Due to different selection rules in ionization transitions, the circular polarization of photons causes some new features of the cross sections, PADs and angular correlation functions in comparison with the case of linearly polarized photons.

Determination of dextromethorphan in human plasma using pipette tip solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Hasegawa, Chika; Kumazawa, Takeshi; Uchigasaki, Seisaku; Lee, Xiao-Pen; Sato, Keizo; Terada, Masaru; Kurosaki, Kunihiko

2011-10-01

Dextromethorphan was extracted from human plasma samples (100 μL) using MonoTip C(18) tips, which are packed with C(18)-bonded monolithic silica gel that is attached to the inside of the tip. The samples, which contained dextromethorphan and trimeprazine as an internal standard (IS), were mixed with 200 μL of distilled water and 50 μL of 1 mol/L glycine-sodium hydroxide buffer (pH 10). The mixture was extracted to the C(18) phase of the tip by 20 sequential aspirating/dispensing cycles using a manual micropipettor. The analytes retained on the C(18) phase were then eluted with methanol by five sequential aspirating/dispensing cycles. The eluate was injected directly into a gas chromatograph and detected by a mass spectrometer with selected ion monitoring in positive electron ionization mode. An Equity-5 fused silica capillary column (30 m × 0.32 mm i.d., film thickness 0.5 μm) gave adequate separation of the dextromethorphan, IS, and impurities. The recoveries of dextromethorphan and the IS spiked into plasma were >87.4%. The regression equation for dextromethorphan showed excellent linearity from 2.5 to 320 ng/mL of plasma, and the limit of detection was 1.25 ng/mL of plasma. The intraday and interday coefficients of variation were less than 10.5% and 14.7%, respectively. The accuracy ranged from 91.9% to 107%. The validated method was successfully used to quantify the plasma concentration of dextromethorphan in a human subject after oral administration of the drug. © Springer-Verlag 2011

Small Molecule Sequential Dual-Targeting Theragnostic Strategy (SMSDTTS): from Preclinical Experiments towards Possible Clinical Anticancer Applications

PubMed Central

Li, Junjie; Oyen, Raymond; Verbruggen, Alfons; Ni, Yicheng

2013-01-01

Hitting the evasive tumor cells proves challenging in targeted cancer therapies. A general and unconventional anticancer approach namely small molecule sequential dual-targeting theragnostic strategy (SMSDTTS) has recently been introduced with the aims to target and debulk the tumor mass, wipe out the residual tumor cells, and meanwhile enable cancer detectability. This dual targeting approach works in two steps for systemic delivery of two naturally derived drugs. First, an anti-tubulin vascular disrupting agent, e.g., combretastatin A4 phosphate (CA4P), is injected to selectively cut off tumor blood supply and to cause massive necrosis, which nevertheless always leaves peripheral tumor residues. Secondly, a necrosis-avid radiopharmaceutical, namely 131I-hypericin (131I-Hyp), is administered the next day, which accumulates in intratumoral necrosis and irradiates the residual cancer cells with beta particles. Theoretically, this complementary targeted approach may biologically and radioactively ablate solid tumors and reduce the risk of local recurrence, remote metastases, and thus cancer mortality. Meanwhile, the emitted gamma rays facilitate radio-scintigraphy to detect tumors and follow up the therapy, hence a simultaneous theragnostic approach. SMSDTTS has now shown promise from multicenter animal experiments and may demonstrate unique anticancer efficacy in upcoming preliminary clinical trials. In this short review article, information about the two involved agents, the rationale of SMSDTTS, its preclinical antitumor efficacy, multifocal targetability, simultaneous theragnostic property, and toxicities of the dose regimens are summarized. Meanwhile, possible drawbacks, practical challenges and future improvement with SMSDTTS are discussed, which hopefully may help to push forward this strategy from preclinical experiments towards possible clinical applications. PMID:23412554

Small Molecule Sequential Dual-Targeting Theragnostic Strategy (SMSDTTS): from Preclinical Experiments towards Possible Clinical Anticancer Applications.

PubMed

Li, Junjie; Oyen, Raymond; Verbruggen, Alfons; Ni, Yicheng

2013-01-01

Hitting the evasive tumor cells proves challenging in targeted cancer therapies. A general and unconventional anticancer approach namely small molecule sequential dual-targeting theragnostic strategy (SMSDTTS) has recently been introduced with the aims to target and debulk the tumor mass, wipe out the residual tumor cells, and meanwhile enable cancer detectability. This dual targeting approach works in two steps for systemic delivery of two naturally derived drugs. First, an anti-tubulin vascular disrupting agent, e.g., combretastatin A4 phosphate (CA4P), is injected to selectively cut off tumor blood supply and to cause massive necrosis, which nevertheless always leaves peripheral tumor residues. Secondly, a necrosis-avid radiopharmaceutical, namely (131)I-hypericin ((131)I-Hyp), is administered the next day, which accumulates in intratumoral necrosis and irradiates the residual cancer cells with beta particles. Theoretically, this complementary targeted approach may biologically and radioactively ablate solid tumors and reduce the risk of local recurrence, remote metastases, and thus cancer mortality. Meanwhile, the emitted gamma rays facilitate radio-scintigraphy to detect tumors and follow up the therapy, hence a simultaneous theragnostic approach. SMSDTTS has now shown promise from multicenter animal experiments and may demonstrate unique anticancer efficacy in upcoming preliminary clinical trials. In this short review article, information about the two involved agents, the rationale of SMSDTTS, its preclinical antitumor efficacy, multifocal targetability, simultaneous theragnostic property, and toxicities of the dose regimens are summarized. Meanwhile, possible drawbacks, practical challenges and future improvement with SMSDTTS are discussed, which hopefully may help to push forward this strategy from preclinical experiments towards possible clinical applications.

Replay of Episodic Memories in the Rat.

PubMed

Panoz-Brown, Danielle; Iyer, Vishakh; Carey, Lawrence M; Sluka, Christina M; Rajic, Gabriela; Kestenman, Jesse; Gentry, Meredith; Brotheridge, Sydney; Somekh, Isaac; Corbin, Hannah E; Tucker, Kjersten G; Almeida, Bianca; Hex, Severine B; Garcia, Krysten D; Hohmann, Andrea G; Crystal, Jonathon D

2018-05-21

Vivid episodic memories in people have been characterized as the replay of multiple unique events in sequential order [1-3]. The hippocampus plays a critical role in episodic memories in both people and rodents [2, 4-6]. Although rats remember multiple unique episodes [7, 8], it is currently unknown if animals "replay" episodic memories. Therefore, we developed an animal model of episodic memory replay. Here, we show that rats can remember a trial-unique stream of multiple episodes and the order in which these events occurred by engaging hippocampal-dependent episodic memory replay. We document that rats rely on episodic memory replay to remember the order of events rather than relying on non-episodic memories. Replay of episodic memories survives a long retention-interval challenge and interference from the memory of other events, which documents that replay is part of long-term episodic memory. The chemogenetic activating drug clozapine N-oxide (CNO), but not vehicle, reversibly impairs episodic memory replay in rats previously injected bilaterally in the hippocampus with a recombinant viral vector containing an inhibitory designer receptor exclusively activated by a designer drug (DREADD; AAV8-hSyn-hM4Di-mCherry). By contrast, two non-episodic memory assessments are unaffected by CNO, showing selectivity of this hippocampal-dependent impairment. Our approach provides an animal model of episodic memory replay, a process by which the rat searches its representations in episodic memory in sequential order to find information. Our findings using rats suggest that the ability to replay a stream of episodic memories is quite old in the evolutionary timescale. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Technologist radiation exposure in routine clinical practice with 18F-FDG PET.

PubMed

Guillet, Benjamin; Quentin, Pierre; Waultier, Serge; Bourrelly, Marc; Pisano, Pascale; Mundler, Olivier

2005-09-01

The use of 18F-FDG for clinical PET studies increases technologist radiation dose exposure because of the higher gamma-radiation energy of this isotope than of other conventional medical gamma-radiation-emitting isotopes. Therefore, 18F-FDG imaging necessitates stronger radiation protection requirements. The aims of this study were to assess technologist whole-body and extremity exposure in our PET department and to evaluate the efficiency of our radiation protection devices (homemade syringe drawing device, semiautomated injector, and video tracking of patients). Radiation dose assessment was performed for monodose as well as for multidose 18F-FDG packaging with both LiF thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLD) and electronic personal dosimeters (ED) during 5 successive 18F-FDG PET steps (from syringe filling to patient departure). The mean +/- SD total effective doses received by technologists (n = 50) during all of the working steps were 3.24 +/- 2.1 and 3.01 +/- 1.4 microSv, respectively, as measured with ED and TLD (345 +/- 84 MBq injected). These values were confirmed by daily TLD technologist whole-body dose measurements (2.98 +/- 1.8 microSv; 294 +/- 78 MBq injected; n = 48). Finger irradiation doses during preparation of single 18F-FDG syringes were 204.9 +/- 24 and 198.4 +/- 23 microSv with multidose vials (345 +/- 93 MBq injected) and 127.3 +/- 76 and 55.9 +/- 47 microSv with monodose vials (302 +/- 43 MBq injected) for the right hand and the left hand, respectively. The protection afforded by the semiautomated injector, estimated as the ratio of the doses received by TLD placed on the syringe shield and on the external face of the injector, was near 2,000. These results showed that technologist radiation doses in our PET department were lower than those reported in the literature. This finding may be explained by the use of a homemade syringe drawing device, a semiautomated injector, and patient video tracking, allowing a shorter duration of contact between the technologist and the patient. Extrapolation of these results to an annual dose (4 patients per day per technologist) revealed that the annual extrapolated exposure values remained under the authorized limits for workers classified to work in a radioactivity-controlled area.

Successful pregnancy after spermatid injection.

PubMed

Bernabeu, R; Cremades, N; Takahashi, K; Sousa, M

1998-07-01

We present nine cases of spermatid intracytoplasmic injection for the treatment of non-obstructive azoospermia. In eight cases, no elongated spermatids or spermatozoa were found in previous spermiograms or testicular biopsies. In these patients, treatment was performed using ejaculated (n = 6) and testicular (n = 2) retrieved round spermatids (Sa type). In cases where ejaculated round spermatids were used, they were isolated on the day before oocyte retrieval and left in culture for 24 h before intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). No pregnancy was obtained in either group, although culturing seemed to increase the fertilization rate. In one other case, elongated spermatids were observed in the previous spermiogram and thus a normal ICSI procedure was scheduled. However, on the day of oocyte retrieval, no spermatids could be recovered from fresh sequential ejaculates, and a testicular open biopsy was then performed. Both round and elongated spermatids were found in the testicular tissue, but only the more mature germinal cells (Sb2) were injected. From this case, a normal pregnancy was obtained which resulted in the birth by Caesarean section at 37 weeks of gestation of a normal healthy baby girl, weighing 2700 g.

Prediction of plant pre-microRNAs and their microRNAs in genome-scale sequences using structure-sequence features and support vector machine.

PubMed

Meng, Jun; Liu, Dong; Sun, Chao; Luan, Yushi

2014-12-30

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of non-coding RNAs approximately 21 nucleotides in length that play pivotal roles at the post-transcriptional level in animals, plants and viruses. These molecules silence their target genes by degrading transcription or suppressing translation. Studies have shown that miRNAs are involved in biological responses to a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses. Identification of these molecules and their targets can aid the understanding of regulatory processes. Recently, prediction methods based on machine learning have been widely used for miRNA prediction. However, most of these methods were designed for mammalian miRNA prediction, and few are available for predicting miRNAs in the pre-miRNAs of specific plant species. Although the complete Solanum lycopersicum genome has been published, only 77 Solanum lycopersicum miRNAs have been identified, far less than the estimated number. Therefore, it is essential to develop a prediction method based on machine learning to identify new plant miRNAs. A novel classification model based on a support vector machine (SVM) was trained to identify real and pseudo plant pre-miRNAs together with their miRNAs. An initial set of 152 novel features related to sequential structures was used to train the model. By applying feature selection, we obtained the best subset of 47 features for use with the Back Support Vector Machine-Recursive Feature Elimination (B-SVM-RFE) method for the classification of plant pre-miRNAs. Using this method, 63 features were obtained for plant miRNA classification. We then developed an integrated classification model, miPlantPreMat, which comprises MiPlantPre and MiPlantMat, to identify plant pre-miRNAs and their miRNAs. This model achieved approximately 90% accuracy using plant datasets from nine plant species, including Arabidopsis thaliana, Glycine max, Oryza sativa, Physcomitrella patens, Medicago truncatula, Sorghum bicolor, Arabidopsis lyrata, Zea mays and Solanum lycopersicum. Using miPlantPreMat, 522 Solanum lycopersicum miRNAs were identified in the Solanum lycopersicum genome sequence. We developed an integrated classification model, miPlantPreMat, based on structure-sequence features and SVM. MiPlantPreMat was used to identify both plant pre-miRNAs and the corresponding mature miRNAs. An improved feature selection method was proposed, resulting in high classification accuracy, sensitivity and specificity.

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

M. D. White; B. P. McGrail; S. K. Wurstner

Displacing natural gas and petroleum with carbon dioxide is a proven technology for producing conventional geologic hydrocarbon reservoirs, and producing additional yields from abandoned or partially produced petroleum reservoirs. Extending this concept to natural gas hydrate production offers the potential to enhance gas hydrate recovery with concomitant permanent geologic sequestration. Numerical simulation was used to assess a suite of carbon dioxide injection techniques for producing gas hydrates from a variety of geologic deposit types. Secondary hydrate formation was found to inhibit contact of the injected CO{sub 2} regardless of injectate phase state, thus diminishing the exchange rate due to poremore » clogging and hydrate zone bypass of the injected fluids. Additional work is needed to develop methods of artificially introducing high-permeability pathways in gas hydrate zones if injection of CO{sub 2} in either gas, liquid, or micro-emulsion form is to be more effective in enhancing gas hydrate production rates.« less

REML/BLUP and sequential path analysis in estimating genotypic values and interrelationships among simple maize grain yield-related traits.

PubMed

Olivoto, T; Nardino, M; Carvalho, I R; Follmann, D N; Ferrari, M; Szareski, V J; de Pelegrin, A J; de Souza, V Q

2017-03-22

Methodologies using restricted maximum likelihood/best linear unbiased prediction (REML/BLUP) in combination with sequential path analysis in maize are still limited in the literature. Therefore, the aims of this study were: i) to use REML/BLUP-based procedures in order to estimate variance components, genetic parameters, and genotypic values of simple maize hybrids, and ii) to fit stepwise regressions considering genotypic values to form a path diagram with multi-order predictors and minimum multicollinearity that explains the relationships of cause and effect among grain yield-related traits. Fifteen commercial simple maize hybrids were evaluated in multi-environment trials in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The environmental variance (78.80%) and genotype-vs-environment variance (20.83%) accounted for more than 99% of the phenotypic variance of grain yield, which difficult the direct selection of breeders for this trait. The sequential path analysis model allowed the selection of traits with high explanatory power and minimum multicollinearity, resulting in models with elevated fit (R 2 > 0.9 and ε < 0.3). The number of kernels per ear (NKE) and thousand-kernel weight (TKW) are the traits with the largest direct effects on grain yield (r = 0.66 and 0.73, respectively). The high accuracy of selection (0.86 and 0.89) associated with the high heritability of the average (0.732 and 0.794) for NKE and TKW, respectively, indicated good reliability and prospects of success in the indirect selection of hybrids with high-yield potential through these traits. The negative direct effect of NKE on TKW (r = -0.856), however, must be considered. The joint use of mixed models and sequential path analysis is effective in the evaluation of maize-breeding trials.

Sequential alterations in the micro-localization of catalase in mouse liver after treatment with hypolipidemic drugs.

PubMed

Klucis, E; Crane, D; Masters, C

1984-11-01

A comparative study has been carried out on the micro-localization of catalase in mouse tissues subsequent to treatment with a representative range of hypolipidemic drugs. A commonality of effect was shown by clofibrate (ethyl-alpha-p-chlorophenoxyisobutyrate), Wy-14,643 (4-chloro-6-[2,3 xylidino)-2-pyrimidinylthio] acetic acid), RMI-15,414 (5-tetradecyloxy-2-furancarboxylic acid) and aspirin (acetyl salicylic acid), in that treatments with each of these drugs was associated with the release of peroxisomal catalase into the cytoplasmic compartment of liver and kidney. It was also noticeable that this increased cytosolic activity was characterized by the presence of an 'aged' form of the enzyme with different mobility and activity characteristics to that of the peroxisomal enzyme. Possible molecular bases for these effects and their relationship to peroxisomal biogenesis are discussed.

Evaluation and improvement of micro-surfacing mix design method and modelling of asphalt emulsion mastic in terms of filler-emulsion interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robati, Masoud

This Doctorate program focuses on the evaluation and improving the rutting resistance of micro-surfacing mixtures. There are many research problems related to the rutting resistance of micro-surfacing mixtures that still require further research to be solved. The main objective of this Ph.D. program is to experimentally and analytically study and improve rutting resistance of micro-surfacing mixtures. During this Ph.D. program major aspects related to the rutting resistance of micro-surfacing mixtures are investigated and presented as follow: 1) evaluation of a modification of current micro-surfacing mix design procedures: On the basis of this effort, a new mix design procedure is proposed for type III micro-surfacing mixtures as rut-fill materials on the road surface. Unlike the current mix design guidelines and specification, the new mix design is capable of selecting the optimum mix proportions for micro-surfacing mixtures; 2) evaluation of test methods and selection of aggregate grading for type III application of micro-surfacing: Within the term of this study, a new specification for selection of aggregate grading for type III application of micro-surfacing is proposed; 3) evaluation of repeatability and reproducibility of micro-surfacing mixture design tests: In this study, limits for repeatability and reproducibility of micro-surfacing mix design tests are presented; 4) a new conceptual model for filler stiffening effect on asphalt mastic of micro-surfacing: A new model is proposed, which is able to establish limits for minimum and maximum filler concentrations in the micro-surfacing mixture base on only the filler important physical and chemical properties; 5) incorporation of reclaimed asphalt pavement and post-fabrication asphalt shingles in micro-surfacing mixture: The effectiveness of newly developed mix design procedure for micro-surfacing mixtures is further validated using recycled materials. The results present the limits for the use of RAP and RAS amount in micro-surfacing mixtures; 6) new colored micro-surfacing formulations with improved durability and performance: The significant improvement of around 45% in rutting resistance of colored and conventional micro-surfacing mixtures is achieved through employing low penetration grade bitumen polymer modified asphalt emulsion stabilized using nanoparticles.

Immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery: advantages and disadvantages.

PubMed

Singh, Ranjodh; Dohlman, Thomas H; Sun, Grace

2017-01-01

The number of cataract surgeries performed globally will continue to rise to meet the needs of an aging population. This increased demand will require healthcare systems and providers to find new surgical efficiencies while maintaining excellent surgical outcomes. Immediately sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS) has been proposed as a solution and is increasingly being performed worldwide. The purpose of this review is to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of ISBCS. When appropriate patient selection occurs and guidelines are followed, ISBCS is comparable with delayed sequential bilateral cataract surgery in long-term patient satisfaction, visual acuity and complication rates. In addition, the risk of bilateral postoperative endophthalmitis and concerns of poorer refractive outcomes have not been supported by the literature. ISBCS is cost-effective for the patient, healthcare payors and society, but current reimbursement models in many countries create significant financial barriers for facilities and surgeons. As demand for cataract surgery rises worldwide, ISBCS will become increasingly important as an alternative to delayed sequential bilateral cataract surgery. Advantages include potentially decreased wait times for surgery, patient convenience and cost savings for healthcare payors. Although they are comparable in visual acuity and complication rates, hurdles that prevent wide adoption include liability concerns as ISBCS is not an established standard of care, economic constraints for facilities and surgeons and inability to fine-tune intraocular lens selection in the second eye. Given these considerations, an open discussion regarding the advantages and disadvantages of ISBCS is important for appropriate patient selection.

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Vibrating Syringe Attachment in Decreasing Intraoral Injection Pain Perception

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

mucosa penetrations to periosteum by a 27-gauge short needle attached to a dental cartridge syringe . New needles were used for each injection, and the...of the American Dental Association, 134(2), 228-234. 7. Bonjar AHS. (2011) Syringe micro vibrator (SMV) a new device being introduced in dentistry...Lautenbacher S. (2004) Pathophysiology of Pain Perception. New York , New York : Kluwer and Plenum. 16 Flanagan T, Wahl MJ, Schmitt MM, Wahl JA. (2007) Size

Method for gasification of deep, thin coal seams. [DOE patent

DOEpatents

Gregg, D.W.

1980-08-29

A method of gasification of coal in deep, thin seams by using controlled bending subsidence to confine gas flow to a region close to the unconsumed coal face is given. The injection point is moved sequentially around the perimeter of a coal removal area from a production well to sweep out the area to cause the controlled bending subsidence. The injection holes are drilled vertically into the coal seam through the overburden or horizontally into the seam from an exposed coal face. The method is particularly applicable to deep, thin seams found in the eastern United States and at abandoned strip mines where thin seams were surface mined into a hillside or down a modest dip until the overburden became too thick for further mining.

Method for gasification of deep, thin coal seams

DOEpatents

Gregg, David W.

1982-01-01

A method of gasification of coal in deep, thin seams by using controlled bending subsidence to confine gas flow to a region close to the unconsumed coal face. The injection point is moved sequentially around the perimeter of a coal removal area from a production well to sweep out the area to cause the controlled bending subsidence. The injection holes are drilled vertically into the coal seam through the overburden or horizontally into the seam from an exposed coal face. The method is particularly applicable to deep, thin seams found in the eastern United States and at abandoned strip mines where thin seams were surface mined into a hillside or down a modest dip until the overburden became too thick for further mining.

Antitumor effect of cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine) on mouse melanoma and lung carcinoma cells involves adenosine A3 receptor stimulation.

PubMed

Nakamura, Kazuki; Yoshikawa, Noriko; Yamaguchi, Yu; Kagota, Satomi; Shinozuka, Kazumasa; Kunitomo, Masaru

2006-01-01

An attempt was made to elucidate the molecular targetfor the antitumor effects of cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine) using non-selective and selective adenosine A1, A2a, A2b and A3 receptor agonists and antagonists. Although adenosine and 2'-deoxyadenosine (up to 100 microM) had no effect, cordycepin showed remarkable inhibitory effects on the growth curves of B16-BL6 mouse melanoma (IC50= 39 microM) and mouse Lewis lung carcinoma (IC50 = 48 microM) cell lines in vitro. Among the adenosine receptor agonists and antagonists used (up to 100 microM), only 2-chloro-N6-(3-iodobenzyl)-adenosine-5'-N-methyluronamide (Cl-IB-MECA), a selective adenosine A3 receptor agonist, notably inhibited the growth of both mouse tumor cell lines (B16-BL6; IC50 = 5 microM, LLC; 14 microM). In addition, the tumor growth inhibitory effect of cordycepin was antagonized by 3-ethyl 5-benzyl 2-methyl-6-phenyl-4-phenylethynyl-1,4-(+/-)-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxylate (MRS1191), a selective adenosine A3 receptor antagonist. These results suggest that cordycepin exerts inhibitory effects on the growth of mouse melanoma and lung carcinoma cells by stimulating adenosine A3 receptors on tumor cells.

Hybrid 3D-2D printing for bone scaffolds fabrication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seleznev, V. A.; Prinz, V. Ya

2017-02-01

It is a well-known fact that bone scaffold topography on micro- and nanometer scale influences the cellular behavior. Nano-scale surface modification of scaffolds allows the modulation of biological activity for enhanced cell differentiation. To date, there has been only a limited success in printing scaffolds with micro- and nano-scale features exposed on the surface. To improve on the currently available imperfect technologies, in our paper we introduce new hybrid technologies based on a combination of 2D (nano imprint) and 3D printing methods. The first method is based on using light projection 3D printing and simultaneous 2D nanostructuring of each of the layers during the formation of the 3D structure. The second method is based on the sequential integration of preliminarily created 2D nanostructured films into a 3D printed structure. The capabilities of the developed hybrid technologies are demonstrated with the example of forming 3D bone scaffolds. The proposed technologies can be used to fabricate complex 3D micro- and nanostructured products for various fields.

Programmable spectrometer using MOEMs devices for space applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viard, Thierry; Buisset, Christophe; Rejeaunier, Xavier; Zamkotsian, Frédéric; Venancio, Luis M.

2017-11-01

A new class of spectrometer can be designed using programmable components such as MOEMS which enable to tune the beam in spectral width and central wavelength. It becomes possible to propose for space applications a spectrometer with programmable resolution and adjustable spectral bandwidth. The proposed way to tune the output beam is to use the diffraction effect with the so-called PMDG (Programmable Micro Diffraction Gratings ) diffractive MEMS. In that case, small moving structures can form programmable gratings, diffracting or not the incoming light. In the proposed concept, the MOEMS is placed in the focal plane of a first diffracting stage (using a grating for instance). With such implementation, the MOEMS component can be used to select some wavelengths (for instance by reflecting them) and to switch-off the others (for instance by diffracting them). A second diffracting stage is used to recombine the beam composed by all the selected wavelengths. It becomes then possible to change and adjust the filter in λ and Δλ. This type of implementation is very interesting for space applications (Astronomy, Earth observation, planetary observation). Firstly because it becomes possible to tune the filtering function quasi instantaneously. And secondly because the focal plane dimension can be reduced to a single detector (for application without field of view) or to a linear detector instead of a 2D matrix detector (for application with field of view) thanks to a sequential acquisition of the signal.

Universal, colorimetric microRNA detection strategy based on target-catalyzed toehold-mediated strand displacement reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Yeonkyung; Lee, Chang Yeol; Kang, Shinyoung; Kim, Hansol; Park, Ki Soo; Park, Hyun Gyu

2018-02-01

In this work, we developed a novel, label-free, and enzyme-free strategy for the colorimetric detection of microRNA (miRNA), which relies on a target-catalyzed toehold-mediated strand displacement (TMSD) reaction. The system employs a detection probe that specifically binds to the target miRNA and sequentially releases a catalyst strand (CS) intended to trigger the subsequent TMSD reaction. Thus, the presence of target miRNA releases the CS that mediates the formation of an active G-quadruplex DNAzyme which is initially caged and inactivated by a blocker strand. In addition, a fuel strand that is supplemented for the recycling of the CS promotes another TMSD reaction, consequently generating a large number of active G-quadruplex DNAzymes. As a result, a distinct colorimetric signal is produced by the ABTS oxidation promoted by the peroxidase mimicking activity of the released G-quadruplex DNAzymes. Based on this novel strategy, we successfully detected miR-141, a promising biomarker for human prostate cancer, with high selectivity. The diagnostic capability of this system was also demonstrated by reliably determining target miR-141 in human serum, showing its great potential towards real clinical applications. Importantly, the proposed approach is composed of separate target recognition and signal transduction modules. Thus, it could be extended to analyze different target miRNAs by simply redesigning the detection probe while keeping the same signal transduction module as a universal signal amplification unit, which was successfully demonstrated by analyzing another target miRNA, let-7d.

Universal, colorimetric microRNA detection strategy based on target-catalyzed toehold-mediated strand displacement reaction.

PubMed

Park, Yeonkyung; Lee, Chang Yeol; Kang, Shinyoung; Kim, Hansol; Park, Ki Soo; Park, Hyun Gyu

2018-02-23

In this work, we developed a novel, label-free, and enzyme-free strategy for the colorimetric detection of microRNA (miRNA), which relies on a target-catalyzed toehold-mediated strand displacement (TMSD) reaction. The system employs a detection probe that specifically binds to the target miRNA and sequentially releases a catalyst strand (CS) intended to trigger the subsequent TMSD reaction. Thus, the presence of target miRNA releases the CS that mediates the formation of an active G-quadruplex DNAzyme which is initially caged and inactivated by a blocker strand. In addition, a fuel strand that is supplemented for the recycling of the CS promotes another TMSD reaction, consequently generating a large number of active G-quadruplex DNAzymes. As a result, a distinct colorimetric signal is produced by the ABTS oxidation promoted by the peroxidase mimicking activity of the released G-quadruplex DNAzymes. Based on this novel strategy, we successfully detected miR-141, a promising biomarker for human prostate cancer, with high selectivity. The diagnostic capability of this system was also demonstrated by reliably determining target miR-141 in human serum, showing its great potential towards real clinical applications. Importantly, the proposed approach is composed of separate target recognition and signal transduction modules. Thus, it could be extended to analyze different target miRNAs by simply redesigning the detection probe while keeping the same signal transduction module as a universal signal amplification unit, which was successfully demonstrated by analyzing another target miRNA, let-7d.

Effects of methiothepin on changes in brain serotonin release induced by repeated administration of high doses of anorectic serotoninergic drugs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardier, A. M.; Kaakkola, S.; Erfurth, A.; Wurtman, R. J.

1992-01-01

We previously observed, using in vivo microdialysis, that the potassium-evoked release of frontocortical serotonin (5-HT) is suppressed after rats receive high doses (30 mg/kg, i.p., daily for 3 days) of fluoxetine, a selective blocker of 5-HT reuptake. We now describe similar impairments in 5-HT release after repeated administration of two other 5-HT uptake blockers, zimelidine and sertraline (both at 20 mg/kg, i.p. for 3 days) as well as after dexfenfluramine (7.5 mg/kg, i.p. daily for 3 days), a drug which both releases 5-HT and blocks its reuptake. Doses of these indirect serotonin agonists were about 4-6 times the drug's ED50 in producing anorexia, a serotonin-related behavior. In addition, methiothepin (20 microM), a non-selective receptor antagonist, locally perfused through the dialysis probe 24 h after the last drug injection, enhanced K(+)-evoked release of 5-HT at serotoninergic nerve terminals markedly in control rats and slightly in rats treated with high doses of dexfenfluramine or fluoxetine. On the other hand, pretreatment with methiothepin (10 mg/kg, i.p.) one hour before each of the daily doses of fluoxetine or dexfenfluramine given for 3 days, totally prevented the decrease in basal and K(+)-evoked release of 5-HT. Finally, when methiothepin was injected systemically the day before the first of 3 daily injections of dexfenfluramine, it partially attenuated the long-term depletion of brain 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels induced by repeated administration of high doses of dexfenfluramine. These data suggest that drugs which bring about the prolonged blockade of 5-HT reuptake - such as dexfenfluramine and fluoxetine - can, by causing prolonged increases in intrasynaptic 5-HT levels as measured by in vivo microdialysis, produce receptor-mediated long-term changes in the processes controlling serotonin levels and dynamics.

Externally resonated linear microvibromotor for microassembly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saitou, Kazuhiro; Wou, Soungjin J.

1998-10-01

A new design of a linear micro vibromotor for on-substrate fine positioning of micro-scale components is presented where a micro linear slider is actuated by vibratory impacts exerted by micro cantilever impacters. These micro cantilever impacters are selectively resonated by shaking the entire substrate with a piezoelectric vibrator, requiring no need for built-in driving mechanisms such as electrostatic comb actuators as reported previously. This selective resonance of the micro cantilever impacters via an external vibration energy field provides with a very simple means of controlling forward and backward motion of the micro linear slider, facilitating assembly and disassembly of a micro component on a substrate. The double-V beam suspension design is employed in the micro cantilever impacters for larger displacement in the lateral direction while achieving higher stiffness in the transversal direction. An analytical model of the device is derived in order to obtain, through the Simulated Annealing algorithm, an optimal design which maximizes translation speed of the linear slider at desired external input frequencies. Prototypes of the externally-resonated linear micro vibromotor are fabricated using the three-layer polysilicon surface micro machining process provided by the MCNC MUMPS service.

Evolution of deep-bed filtration of engine exhaust particulates with trapped mass

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

Viswanathan, Sandeep; Rothamer, David A.; Foster, David E.

Micro-scale filtration experiments were performed on cordierite filter samples using particulate matter (PM) generated by a spark-ignition direct-injection (SIDI) engine fueled with tier II EEE certification gasoline. Size-resolved mass and number concentrations were obtained from several engine operating conditions. The resultant mass-mobility relationships showed weak dependence on the operating condition. An integrated particle size distribution (IPSD) method was used estimate the PM mass concentration in the exhaust stream from the SIDI engine and a heavy duty diesel (HDD) engine. The average estimated mass concentration between all conditions was ~77****** % of the gravimetric measurements performed on Teflon filters. Despite themore » relatively low elemental carbon fraction (~0.4 to 0.7), the IPSD mass for stoichiometric SIDI exhaust was ~83±38 % of the gravimetric measurement. Identical cordierite filter samples with properties representative of diesel particulate filters were sequentially loaded with PM from the different SIDI engine operating conditions, in order of increasing PM mass concentration. Simultaneous particle size distribution measurements upstream and downstream of the filter sample were used to evaluate filter performance evolution and the instantaneous trapped mass within the filter for two different filter face velocities. The evolution of filtration performance for the different samples was sensitive only to trapped mass, despite using PM from a wide range of operating conditions. Higher filtration velocity resulted in a more rapid shift in the most penetrating particle size towards smaller mobility diameters.« less

Compact LED based LCOS optical engine for mobile projection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wenzi; Li, Xiaoyan; Liu, Qinxiao; Yu, Feihong

2009-11-01

With the development of high power LED (light emitting diode) technology and color filter LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) technology, the research on LED based micro optical engine for mobile projection has been a hot topic recently. In this paper one compact LED powered LCOS optical engine design is presented, which is intended to be embedded in cell phone, digital camera, and so on. Compared to DLP (digital light processor) and traditional color sequential LCOS technology, the color filter based LCOS panel is chosen for the compact optical engine, this is because only white LED is needed. To further decrease the size of the optical engine, only one specifically designed plastic free form lens is applied in the illumination part of the optical engine. This free form lens is designed so that it plays the roles of both condenser and integrator, by which the output light of LED is condensed and redistributed, and light illumination of high efficiency, high uniformity and small incident angle on LCOS is acquired. Besides PBS (polarization beam splitter), LCOS, and projection lens, the compact optical engine contains only this piece of free form plastic lens, which can be produced by plastic injection molding. Finally a white LED powered LCOS optical engine with a compact size of less than 6.6 cc can be acquired. With the ray tracing simulation result, the light efficiency analysis shows that the output flux is over 8.5 ANSI lumens and the ANSI uniformity of over 80%.

The Effects of a Modified Treatment Package with and without Feeder Modeling on One Child's Acceptance of Novel Foods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seiverling, Laura; Harclerode, Whitney; Williams, Keith

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine if sequential presentation with feeder modeling would lead to an increase in bites accepted of new foods compared to sequential presentation without feeder modeling in a typically developing 4-year-old boy with food selectivity. The participant's acceptance of novel foods increased both in the modeling and…

Brain micro-inflammation at specific vessels dysregulates organ-homeostasis via the activation of a new neural circuit

PubMed Central

Arima, Yasunobu; Ohki, Takuto; Nishikawa, Naoki; Higuchi, Kotaro; Ota, Mitsutoshi; Tanaka, Yuki; Nio-Kobayashi, Junko; Elfeky, Mohamed; Sakai, Ryota; Mori, Yuki; Kawamoto, Tadafumi; Stofkova, Andrea; Sakashita, Yukihiro; Morimoto, Yuji; Kuwatani, Masaki; Iwanaga, Toshihiko; Yoshioka, Yoshichika; Sakamoto, Naoya; Yoshimura, Akihiko; Takiguchi, Mitsuyoshi; Sakoda, Saburo; Prinz, Marco; Kamimura, Daisuke; Murakami, Masaaki

2017-01-01

Impact of stress on diseases including gastrointestinal failure is well-known, but molecular mechanism is not understood. Here we show underlying molecular mechanism using EAE mice. Under stress conditions, EAE caused severe gastrointestinal failure with high-mortality. Mechanistically, autoreactive-pathogenic CD4+ T cells accumulated at specific vessels of boundary area of third-ventricle, thalamus, and dentate-gyrus to establish brain micro-inflammation via stress-gateway reflex. Importantly, induction of brain micro-inflammation at specific vessels by cytokine injection was sufficient to establish fatal gastrointestinal failure. Resulting micro-inflammation activated new neural pathway including neurons in paraventricular-nucleus, dorsomedial-nucleus-of-hypothalamus, and also vagal neurons to cause fatal gastrointestinal failure. Suppression of the brain micro-inflammation or blockage of these neural pathways inhibited the gastrointestinal failure. These results demonstrate direct link between brain micro-inflammation and fatal gastrointestinal disease via establishment of a new neural pathway under stress. They further suggest that brain micro-inflammation around specific vessels could be switch to activate new neural pathway(s) to regulate organ homeostasis. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.25517.001 PMID:28809157

A flow system for the spectrophotometric determination of lead in different types of waters using ion-exchange for pre-concentration and elimination of interferences.

PubMed

Mesquita, Raquel B R; Fernandes, Sílvia M V; Rangel, António O S S

2004-02-06

A flow system for the spectrophotometric determination of lead in natural and waste waters is proposed. The determination is based on the colorimetric reaction between malachite green and iodide, followed by the formation of a ternary complex between those reagents and lead cations. The developed flow system includes a lead pre-concentration step in a column packed with a cationic resin (Chelex 100) operating in a sequential injection mode. To improve the mixture of sample and reagents, a flow injection approach was adopted for the colorimetric determination. This way a hybrid flow system, involving both sequential and flow injection concepts was designed. Another feature of the proposed system is the efficient elimination of major interferent species, such as cadmium and copper. The elimination of cadmium interference is obtained by complexing Cd(2+) with chloride and retaining the formed negatively charged complexes in an anionic resin, AG1 X-8. As for copper, with the presence of both ionic resins as well as the conditions for cadmium elimination, it no longer acts as an interferent. Different ranges of lead concentration (50-300 and 300-1000mugl(-1)) can be determined with minor changes in the controlling software, useful for application to both natural and waste waters. Therefore, a detection limit of 25mugl(-1) was achieved. Repeatability was evaluated from 10 consecutive determinations being the results better than 4%. The recoveries of lead spikes added to the samples ranged from 93 to 102%. The sampling frequency was 17 and 24 determinations per hour, for 50-300 and 300-1000mugl(-1) ranges, respectively.

Sample Size Calculations for Micro-randomized Trials in mHealth

PubMed Central

Liao, Peng; Klasnja, Predrag; Tewari, Ambuj; Murphy, Susan A.

2015-01-01

The use and development of mobile interventions are experiencing rapid growth. In “just-in-time” mobile interventions, treatments are provided via a mobile device and they are intended to help an individual make healthy decisions “in the moment,” and thus have a proximal, near future impact. Currently the development of mobile interventions is proceeding at a much faster pace than that of associated data science methods. A first step toward developing data-based methods is to provide an experimental design for testing the proximal effects of these just-in-time treatments. In this paper, we propose a “micro-randomized” trial design for this purpose. In a micro-randomized trial, treatments are sequentially randomized throughout the conduct of the study, with the result that each participant may be randomized at the 100s or 1000s of occasions at which a treatment might be provided. Further, we develop a test statistic for assessing the proximal effect of a treatment as well as an associated sample size calculator. We conduct simulation evaluations of the sample size calculator in various settings. Rules of thumb that might be used in designing a micro-randomized trial are discussed. This work is motivated by our collaboration on the HeartSteps mobile application designed to increase physical activity. PMID:26707831

Anaesthetic modulation of nicotinic ion channel kinetics in bovine chromaffin cells.

PubMed Central

Charlesworth, P; Richards, C D

1995-01-01

1. We have investigated the action of the anaesthetics methoxyflurane, methohexitone and etomidate on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor channel of bovine adrenal chromaffin cells using the whole cell patch clamp technique. 2. Spectral analysis of macroscopic currents evoked by 25 microM carbachol revealed that each of the agents tested reduced the lifetime of the channel open state in a dose-dependent manner. The whole cell current was inhibited in a concentration-dependent fashion by each agent. 3. Channel gating parameters were calculated from single channel studies and the results used to test models explaining the modulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor channels by anaesthetics. 4. Each of the agents studied reduced the mean channel open time in a concentration-dependent manner. Anaesthetic concentrations reducing mean open time by 50% were: 370 microM methoxyflurane, 30 microM methohexitone or 23 microM etomidate. 5. Methohexitone and etomidate produced an increase in the number of brief closures within bursts, while no such increase was observed with methoxyflurane. Despite these inter-burst gaps, mean burst length was reduced by each of the agents tested. 6. It is concluded that a simple sequential blocking model fails to account for the action of these anaesthetics. An extended model, in which blocked channels can close, may be applicable. PMID:7773553

Simultaneous quantification of voriconazole and posaconazole in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultra-violet detection.

PubMed

Chhun, Stéphanie; Rey, Elisabeth; Tran, Agnes; Lortholary, Olivier; Pons, Gérard; Jullien, Vincent

2007-06-01

A sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with ultra-violet detection has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of posaconazole and voriconazole, two systemic anti-fungal agents. An internal standard diazepam was added to 100 microL of human plasma followed by 3 mL of hexane-methylene chloride (70:30, v/v). The organic layer was evaporated to dryness and the residue was reconstituted with 100 microL of mobile phase before being injected in the chromatographic system. The compounds were separated on a C8 column using sodium potassium phosphate buffer (0.04 M, pH 6.0): acetonitrile:ultrapure water (45:52.5:2.5, v/v/v) as mobile phase. All compounds were detected at a wavelength of 255 nm. The assay was linear and validated over the range 0.2-10.0 mg/L for voriconazole and 0.05-10.0 mg/L for posaconazole. The biases were comprised between -3 and 5% for voriconazole and -2 and 8% for posaconazole. The intra- and inter-day precisions of the method were lower than 8% for the routine quality control (QC). The mean recovery was 98% for voriconazole and 108% for posaconazole. This method provides a useful tool for therapeutic drug monitoring.

Optimization of process parameters in the RF-DC plasma N2-H2 for AISI420 molds and dies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herdianto, Hengky; Djoko, D. J.; Santjojo, H.; Masruroh

2017-11-01

The RF-DC plasma N2-H2 was used to make precise AISI420 molds and dies have complex textured geometry. The quality of the molds and dies directly affect the quality of the produced parts. The excellent examples of molds were used for injection molding lenses and dies used for the precision forging of automotive drive train components. In this study, a temperature, DC bias, and duration as process parameters of the RF-DC plasma N2-H2 have been optimized for molds and dies fabrication. The mask-less micro-patterned method was utilized to draw the initial 2D micro patterns directly onto the AISI420 substrate surface. The unprinted substrate surfaces were selectively nitrided by the RF-DC plasma N2-H2 at 673 K for 5400 s by 70 Pa with hollow cathode device. Energy Dispersive X-ray was utilized to describe the nitrogen content distribution at the vicinity of the border between the unprinted surfaces. This exclusive nitrogen mapping proves that only the unprinted parts of the substrate have high content nitrogen solutes. XRD analysis was performed to investigate whether the iron nitrides were precipitated by RF-DC plasma N2-H2 in the AISI420.

Biodegradation and detoxification of textile azo dyes by bacterial consortium under sequential microaerophilic/aerobic processes

PubMed Central

Lade, Harshad; Kadam, Avinash; Paul, Diby; Govindwar, Sanjay

2015-01-01

Release of textile azo dyes to the environment is an issue of health concern while the use of microorganisms has proved to be the best option for remediation. Thus, in the present study, a bacterial consortium consisting of Providencia rettgeri strain HSL1 and Pseudomonas sp. SUK1 has been investigated for degradation and detoxification of structurally different azo dyes. The consortium showed 98-99 % decolorization of all the selected azo dyes viz. Reactive Black 5 (RB 5), Reactive Orange 16 (RO 16), Disperse Red 78 (DR 78) and Direct Red 81 (DR 81) within 12 to 30 h at 100 mg L-1 concentration at 30 ± 0.2 °C under microaerophilic, sequential aerobic/microaerophilic and microaerophilic/aerobic processes. However, decolorization under microaerophilic conditions viz. RB 5 (0.26 mM), RO 16 (0.18 mM), DR 78 (0.20 mM) and DR 81 (0.23 mM) and sequential aerobic/microaerophilic processes viz. RB 5 (0.08 mM), RO 16 (0.06 mM), DR 78 (0.07 mM) and DR 81 (0.09 mM) resulted into the formation of aromatic amines. In distinction, sequential microaerophilic/ aerobic process doesn’t show the formation of amines. Additionally, 62-72 % reduction in total organic carbon content was observed in all the dyes decolorized broths under sequential microaerophilic/aerobic processes suggesting the efficacy of method in mineralization of dyes. Notable induction within the levels of azoreductase and NADH-DCIP reductase (97 and 229 % for RB 5, 55 and 160 % for RO 16, 63 and 196 % for DR 78, 108 and 258 % for DR 81) observed under sequential microaerophilic/aerobic processes suggested their critical involvements in the initial breakdown of azo bonds, whereas, a slight increase in the levels of laccase and veratryl alcohol oxidase confirmed subsequent oxidation of formed amines. Also, the acute toxicity assay with Daphnia magna revealed the nontoxic nature of the dye-degraded metabolites under sequential microaerophilic/aerobic processes. As biodegradation under sequential microaerophilic/aerobic process completely detoxified all the selected textile azo dyes, further efforts should be made to implement such methods for large scale dye wastewater treatment technologies. PMID:26417357

Feature Selection based on Machine Learning in MRIs for Hippocampal Segmentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tangaro, Sabina; Amoroso, Nicola; Brescia, Massimo; Cavuoti, Stefano; Chincarini, Andrea; Errico, Rosangela; Paolo, Inglese; Longo, Giuseppe; Maglietta, Rosalia; Tateo, Andrea; Riccio, Giuseppe; Bellotti, Roberto

2015-01-01

Neurodegenerative diseases are frequently associated with structural changes in the brain. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans can show these variations and therefore can be used as a supportive feature for a number of neurodegenerative diseases. The hippocampus has been known to be a biomarker for Alzheimer disease and other neurological and psychiatric diseases. However, it requires accurate, robust, and reproducible delineation of hippocampal structures. Fully automatic methods are usually the voxel based approach; for each voxel a number of local features were calculated. In this paper, we compared four different techniques for feature selection from a set of 315 features extracted for each voxel: (i) filter method based on the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test; two wrapper methods, respectively, (ii) sequential forward selection and (iii) sequential backward elimination; and (iv) embedded method based on the Random Forest Classifier on a set of 10 T1-weighted brain MRIs and tested on an independent set of 25 subjects. The resulting segmentations were compared with manual reference labelling. By using only 23 feature for each voxel (sequential backward elimination) we obtained comparable state-of-the-art performances with respect to the standard tool FreeSurfer.

Synthesis of the PPARbeta/delta-selective agonist GW501516 and C4-thiazole-substituted analogs.

PubMed

Pereira, Raquel; Gaudon, Claudine; Iglesias, Beatriz; Germain, Pierre; Gronemeyer, Hinrich; de Lera, Angel R

2006-01-01

Sequential, position-selective, Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of 2,4-dibromo-5-hydroxymethylthiazole provided the scaffold for the synthesis of GW501516, the most potent PPARbeta/delta agonist yet described, and equally selective analogs at the thiazole-C4 position.

Design and validation of a low cost surface plasmon resonance bioanalyzer using microprocessors and a touch-screen monitor.

PubMed

Hu, Jiandong; Hu, Jingfang; Luo, Fukun; Li, Wei; Jiang, Guoliang; Li, Zhengfeng; Zhang, Runna

2009-03-15

An economical and high-performance bioanalyzer, with no use of laptop computer, based on the use of TSPR1k23 biosensors was systematically designed, and validated experimentally for its high performance. The analyzer is composed of a micro-flow cell, a thermoelectric cooler (TEC), a clamp, a touch-screen monitor, and an electronic control unit (ECU) incorporated with photoelectric conversion device. The micro-flow cell is made of stainless steel with high thermal conductivity, and the micro-flow system is based on PID temperature-controlled algorithm to keep the constant temperature (25 degrees C) of the liquid sample via thermal exchange with the clamp. With a peristaltic pump implemented by an injection loop flow system, the bioanalyzer allows the core sensor to be completely exposed to samples. The touch-screen monitor displays the normalized response signal values updated every 0.25s, with a typical noise level less than 5RU (response unit) within 2h. The bioanalyzer was validated using hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) as an example. Anti-HBsAg monoclonal antibody is adhered to the surface of the sensor chip by a bifunctional cross-linker with the technology of self-assembly. The duration of the HBsAg measurement only lasts 5min with a dilution factor ranging from 200 to 1200, optimized with a R-squared value 0.998. The results suggested that the bioanalyzer has higher selectivity, lower cost, expanded detection limit, and shorter measuring time as compared with the HBsAg ELISA kit, especially for low concentrations of analyte.