Process for removing an organic compound from water

DOEpatents

Baker, Richard W.; Kaschemekat, Jurgen; Wijmans, Johannes G.; Kamaruddin, Henky D.

1993-12-28

A process for removing organic compounds from water is disclosed. The process involves gas stripping followed by membrane separation treatment of the stripping gas. The stripping step can be carried out using one or multiple gas strippers and using air or any other gas as stripping gas. The membrane separation step can be carried out using a single-stage membrane unit or a multistage unit. Apparatus for carrying out the process is also disclosed. The process is particularly suited for treatment of contaminated groundwater or industrial wastewater.

Control of Chemical Effects in the Separation Process of a Differential Mobility / Mass Spectrometer System

PubMed Central

Schneider, Bradley B.; Coy, Stephen L.; Krylov, Evgeny V.; Nazarov, Erkinjon G.

2013-01-01

Differential mobility spectrometry (DMS) separates ions on the basis of the difference in their migration rates under high versus low electric fields. Several models describing the physical nature of this field mobility dependence have been proposed but emerging as a dominant effect is the clusterization model sometimes referred to as the dynamic cluster-decluster model. DMS resolution and peak capacity is strongly influenced by the addition of modifiers which results in the formation and dissociation of clusters. This process increases selectivity due to the unique chemical interactions that occur between an ion and neutral gas phase molecules. It is thus imperative to bring the parameters influencing the chemical interactions under control and find ways to exploit them in order to improve the analytical utility of the device. In this paper we describe three important areas that need consideration in order to stabilize and capitalize on the chemical processes that dominate a DMS separation. The first involves means of controlling the dynamic equilibrium of the clustering reactions with high concentrations of specific reagents. The second area involves a means to deal with the unwanted heterogeneous cluster ion populations emitted from the electrospray ionization process that degrade resolution and sensitivity. The third involves fine control of parameters that affect the fundamental collision processes, temperature and pressure. PMID:20065515

Metal Separations and Recovery in the Mining Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izatt, Steven R.; Bruening, Ronald L.; Izatt, Neil E.

2012-11-01

Molecular Recognition Technology (MRT) plays an important role in the hydrometallurgical processing dissolved entities in solutions in the mining industry. The status of this industry with respect to sustainability and environmental issues is presented and discussed. The roles of MRT and ion exchange in metal separation and recovery processes in the mining industry are discussed and evaluated. Examples of MRT separation processes of interest to the mining community are given involving gold, cobalt purification by extraction of trace cadmium, rhenium, and platinum group metals (PGMs). MRT processes are shown to be sustainable, economically viable, energy efficient, and environmentally friendly, and to have a low carbon footprint.

Genetic and Cellular Mechanisms Regulating Anterior Foregut and Esophageal Development

PubMed Central

Jacobs, Ian J.; Ku, Wei-Yao; Que, Jianwen

2012-01-01

Separation of the single anterior foregut tube into the esophagus and trachea involves cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as dynamic changes in cell-cell adhesion and migration. These biological processes are regulated and coordinated at multiple levels through the interplay of the epithelium and mesenchyme. Genetic studies and in vitro modeling have shed light on relevant regulatory networks that include a number of transcription factors and signaling pathways. These signaling molecules exhibit unique expression patterns and play specific functions in their respective territories before the separation process occurs. Disruption of regulatory networks inevitably leads to defective separation and malformation of the trachea and esophagus and results in the formation of a relatively common birth defect, esophageal atresia with or without tracheoesophageal fistula (EA/TEF). Significantly, some of the signaling pathways and transcription factors involved in anterior foregut separation continue to play important roles in the morphogenesis of the individual organs. In this review, we will focus on new findings related to these different developmental processes and discuss them in the context of developmental disorders (or birth defects) commonly seen in clinics. PMID:22750256

Pi-Pi contacts are an overlooked protein feature relevant to phase separation

PubMed Central

Vernon, Robert McCoy; Chong, Paul Andrew; Tsang, Brian; Kim, Tae Hun; Bah, Alaji; Farber, Patrick; Lin, Hong

2018-01-01

Protein phase separation is implicated in formation of membraneless organelles, signaling puncta and the nuclear pore. Multivalent interactions of modular binding domains and their target motifs can drive phase separation. However, forces promoting the more common phase separation of intrinsically disordered regions are less understood, with suggested roles for multivalent cation-pi, pi-pi, and charge interactions and the hydrophobic effect. Known phase-separating proteins are enriched in pi-orbital containing residues and thus we analyzed pi-interactions in folded proteins. We found that pi-pi interactions involving non-aromatic groups are widespread, underestimated by force-fields used in structure calculations and correlated with solvation and lack of regular secondary structure, properties associated with disordered regions. We present a phase separation predictive algorithm based on pi interaction frequency, highlighting proteins involved in biomaterials and RNA processing. PMID:29424691

Separation of Zirconium and Hafnium: A Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, L.; Xiao, Y.; van Sandwijk, A.; Xu, Q.; Yang, Y.

Zirconium is an ideal material for nuclear reactors due to its low absorption cross-section for thermal neutrons, whereas the typically contained hafnium with strong neutron-absorption is very harmful for zirconium. This paper provides an overview of the processes for separating hafnium from zirconium. The separation processes are roughly classified into hydro- and pyrometallurgical routes. The current dominant zirconium production route involves pyrometallurgical ore cracking, multi-step hydrometallurgical liquid-liquid extraction for hafnium removal and the reduction of zirconium tetrachloride to the pure metal by the Kroll process. The lengthy hydrometallurgical Zr-Hf separation operations leads to high production cost, intensive labour and heavy environmental burden. Using a compact pyrometallurgical separation method can simplify the whole production flowsheet with a higher process efficiency. The known separation methods are discussed based on the following reaction features: redox characteristics, volatility, electrochemical properties and molten salt extraction. The commercially operating extractive distillation process is a significant advance in Zr-Hf separation technology but it suffers from high process maintenance cost. The recently developed new process based on molten salt-metal equilibrium for Zr-Hf separation shows a great potential for industrial application, which is compact for nuclear grade zirconium production starting from crude ore. In the present paper, the available separation technologies are compared. The advantages and disadvantages as well as future directions of research and development for nuclear grade zirconium production are discussed.

Assessment of critical-fluid extractions in the process industries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

The potential for critical-fluid extraction as a separation process for improving the productive use of energy in the process industries is assessed. Critical-fluid extraction involves the use of fluids, normally gaseous at ambient conditions, as extraction solvents at temperatures and pressures around the critical point. Equilibrium and kinetic properties in this regime are very favorable for solvent applications, and generally allow major reductions in the energy requirements for separating and purifying chemical component of a mixture.

DEMONSTRATION BULLETIN: THE DEHYDRO-TECH CORP. CARVER-GREENFIELD PROCESS

EPA Science Inventory

The Carver-Greenfield (C-G) Process (Figure 1) is a physical process that separates hazardous oil-soluble organic contaminants from sludges, soils, and non-aqueous liquids. The process involves adding to the waste a "carrier" oil, which removes hazardous organics from contamin...

Multimedia Network Design Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-09-30

manipulation and analysis of the equations involved, thereby providing the application of the great range of powerful mathematical optimization...be treated by this analysis. First, all arrivals to the network have the Poisson distribution, and separate traffic classes may have separate qrrival...different for open and closed networks, so these two situations will be treated separately in the following subsections. 2.3.1 The Computational Process in

APPLICATION OF CYCLODEXTRIN-MODIFIED MICELLAR ELECTRONKINETIC CHROMATOGRAPHY TO THE SEPARATIONS OF SELECTED NEUTRAL PESTICIDES AND THEIR ENANTIOMERS

EPA Science Inventory

The environmental chemistry of chiral pesticides is receiving increased attention - enantiomeric ratios are being measured and enantioselective degradation processes are being reported. The requisite analysis involves separation of the various enantiomers. Mixtures of three class...

Method and apparatus for continuous electrophoresis

DOEpatents

Watson, Jack S.

1992-01-01

A method and apparatus for conducting continuous separation of substances by electrophoresis are disclosed. The process involves electrophoretic separation combined with couette flow in a thin volume defined by opposing surfaces. By alternating the polarity of the applied potential and producing reciprocating short rotations of at least one of the surfaces relative to the other, small increments of separation accumulate to cause substantial, useful segregation of electrophoretically separable components in a continuous flow system.

Biologically Inspired Purification and Dispersion of SWCNTs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feeback, Daniel L.; Clarke, Mark S.; Nikolaev, Pavel

2009-01-01

A biologically inspired method has been developed for (1) separating single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) from other materials (principally, amorphous carbon and metal catalysts) in raw production batches and (2) dispersing the SWCNTs as individual particles (in contradistinction to ropes and bundles) in suspension, as required for a number of applications. Prior methods of purification and dispersal of SWCNTs involve, variously, harsh physical processes (e.g., sonication) or harsh chemical processes (e.g., acid reflux). These processes do not completely remove the undesired materials and do not disperse bundles and ropes into individual suspended SWCNTs. Moreover, these processes cut long SWCNTs into shorter pieces, yielding typical nanotube lengths between 150 and 250 nm. In contrast, the present method does not involve harsh physical or chemical processes. The method involves the use of biologically derived dispersal agents (BDDAs) in an aqueous solution that is mechanically homogenized (but not sonicated) and centrifuged. The dense solid material remaining after centrifugation is resuspended by vortexing in distilled water, yielding an aqueous suspension of individual, separated SWCNTs having lengths from about 10 to about 15 microns.

Pi-Pi contacts are an overlooked protein feature relevant to phase separation.

PubMed

Vernon, Robert McCoy; Chong, Paul Andrew; Tsang, Brian; Kim, Tae Hun; Bah, Alaji; Farber, Patrick; Lin, Hong; Forman-Kay, Julie Deborah

2018-02-09

Protein phase separation is implicated in formation of membraneless organelles, signaling puncta and the nuclear pore. Multivalent interactions of modular binding domains and their target motifs can drive phase separation. However, forces promoting the more common phase separation of intrinsically disordered regions are less understood, with suggested roles for multivalent cation-pi, pi-pi, and charge interactions and the hydrophobic effect. Known phase-separating proteins are enriched in pi-orbital containing residues and thus we analyzed pi-interactions in folded proteins. We found that pi-pi interactions involving non-aromatic groups are widespread, underestimated by force-fields used in structure calculations and correlated with solvation and lack of regular secondary structure, properties associated with disordered regions. We present a phase separation predictive algorithm based on pi interaction frequency, highlighting proteins involved in biomaterials and RNA processing. © 2018, Vernon et al.

Hybrid flotation--membrane filtration process for the removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater.

PubMed

Blöcher, C; Dorda, J; Mavrov, V; Chmiel, H; Lazaridis, N K; Matis, K A

2003-09-01

A promising process for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions involves bonding the metals firstly to a special bonding agent and then separating the loaded bonding agents from the wastewater stream by separation processes. For the separation stage, a new hybrid process of flotation and membrane separation has been developed in this work by integrating specially designed submerged microfiltration modules directly into a flotation reactor. This made it possible to combine the advantages of both flotation and membrane separation while overcoming the limitations. The feasibility of this hybrid process was proven using powdered synthetic zeolites as bonding agents. Stable fluxes of up to 80l m(-2)h(-1) were achieved with the ceramic flat-sheet multi-channel membranes applied at low transmembrane pressure (<100 mbar). The process was applied in lab-scale to treat wastewater from the electronics industry. All toxic metals in question, namely copper, nickel and zinc, were reduced from initial concentrations of 474, 3.3 and 167mg x l(-1), respectively, to below 0.05 mg x l(-1), consistently meeting the discharge limits.

Treatment of evaporator condensates by pervaporation

DOEpatents

Blume, Ingo; Baker, Richard W.

1990-01-01

A pervaporation process for separating organic contaminants from evaporator condensate streams is disclosed. The process employs a permselective membrane that is selectively permeable to an organic component of the condensate. The process involves contacting the feed side of the membrane with a liquid condensate stream, and withdrawing from the permeate side a vapor enriched in the organic component. The driving force for the process is the in vapor pressure across the membrane. This difference may be provided for instance by maintaining a vacuum on the permeate side, or by condensing the permeate. The process offers a simple, economic alternative to other separation techniques.

Direct production of fractionated and upgraded hydrocarbon fuels from biomass

DOEpatents

Felix, Larry G.; Linck, Martin B.; Marker, Terry L.; Roberts, Michael J.

2014-08-26

Multistage processing of biomass to produce at least two separate fungible fuel streams, one dominated by gasoline boiling-point range liquids and the other by diesel boiling-point range liquids. The processing involves hydrotreating the biomass to produce a hydrotreatment product including a deoxygenated hydrocarbon product of gasoline and diesel boiling materials, followed by separating each of the gasoline and diesel boiling materials from the hydrotreatment product and each other.

Separation of Bismuth from Lead with (Ethylenediamine)tetraacetic Acid. Application to Radiochemistry; SEPARACAO DE BISMUTO DO CHUMBO COM ACIDO ETILENODIAMINOTETRAACETICO APLICACAO PARA RADIOQUIMICA

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

Lima, F.W.; Abrao, A.

1958-09-01

Bismuth can be separated from lead radiochemically by using (ethylenediamine)tetraacetic acid. The separation is successful when both elements are in trace concentration when one is in trace concentrations and other in macroconcentrations, and when both are in macroconcentrations. A single separation gives more than 90% of both elements. The process involves simple manipulations and can be done in less than fifteen minutes, which is of importance in the separation of short-lived isotopes. (tr-auth)

Membrane applications and research in food processing: An assessment

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

Mohr, C.M.; Leeper, S.A.; Engelau, D.E.

This assessment is intended to aid in planning separations research and development projects aimed at reducing energy consumption in the food industry. The food processing industry uses approximately 1.5 quadrillion Btu per year, 2% of the US national annual energy consumption. Food processing involves a variety of liquid feed, product, and waste streams and makes extensive use of thermal operations such as drying, evaporation, pasteurization, and distillation. As such, it is a candidate for energy conservation through the use of membrane separations. The assessment is organized according to Standard Industry Classification (SIC) Code for the food industry. Individual subindustries consideredmore » are: (a) Meat Processing, Dairy Products, Preserved Fruit and Vegetables, Grain Milling, Bakery Products, Sugar and Confectionery products, Edible Fats and Oils, and Beverages. Topics covered include: (a) background information on food processing and membrane separations, (b) a review of current and developing membrane separations for the food industry, (c) energy consumption and processes used in individual subindustries, (d) separations in the subindustries that could be augmented or replaced by membrane processes, (e) industry practices and market conditions that could affect adoption of new technologies, and (f) prioritized recommendations for DOE-OIP supported research to further use of membrane separations in the food industry. 435 refs.« less

Separation of Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide for Mars ISRU-Concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LeVan, M. Douglas; Finn, John E.; Sridhar, K. R.

2000-01-01

Solid oxide electrolyzers, such as electrolysis cells utilizing yttria-stabilized zirconia, can produce oxygen from Mars atmospheric carbon dioxide and reject carbon monoxide and unreacted carbon dioxide in a separate stream. The oxygen-production process has been shown to be far more efficient if the high-pressure, unreacted carbon dioxide can be separated and recycled back into the feed stream. Additionally, the mass of the adsorption compressor can be reduced. Also, the carbon monoxide by-product is a valuable fuel for space exploration and habitation, with applications from fuel cells to production of hydrocarbons and plastics. In our research, we will design, construct, and test an innovative, robust, low mass, low power separation device that can recover carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide for Mars ISRU. Such fundamental process technology, involving gas-solid phase separation in a reduced gravitational environment, will help to enable Human Exploration and Development of Space. The separation device will be scaled to operate with a CO2 sorption compressor and a zirconia electrolysis device built at the NASA Ames Research Center and the University of Arizona, respectively. In our research, we will design, construct, and test an innovative, robust, low mass, low power separation device that can recover carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide for Mars ISRU, Such fundamental process technology, involving gas-solid phase separation in a reduced gravitational environment, will help to enable Human Exploration and Development of Space. The separation device will be scaled to operate with a CO2 sorption compressor and a zirconia electrolysis device built at the NASA Ames Research Center and the University of Arizona, The separation device will be scaled to operate with a CO2 sorption compressor and a zirconia electrolysis device built at the NASA Ames Research Center and the University of Arizona, Research needs for the design shown are as follows: (1) The best adsorbent for the process must be determined. (2) Adsorption isotherms must be measured, both for pure components and mixtures. (3) Mathematical modeling must be performed to provide a solid framework for design. (4) The separation system must be constructed and tested. (5) System integration must be studied.

Genetic and cellular mechanisms of the formation of Esophageal Atresia and Tracheoesophageal Fistula

PubMed Central

Jacobs, Ian J.; Que, Jianwen

2015-01-01

Foregut separation involves dynamic changes in the activities of signaling pathways and transcription factors. Recent mouse genetic studies demonstrate that some of these pathways interact with each other to form a complex network, leading to a unique dorsal-ventral patterning in the early foregut. In this review we will discuss how this unique dorsal-ventral patterning is set prior to the foregut separation and how disruption of this patterning affects the separation process. We will further discuss the roles of downstream targets of these pathways in regulating separation at cellular and molecular levels. Understanding the mechanism of normal separation process will provide us insights into the pathobiology of a relatively common birth defect Esophageal Atresia (EA) with/without Tracheo-esophageal Fistula (TEF). PMID:23679023

Involving young people in decision making about sequential cochlear implantation.

PubMed

Ion, Rebecca; Cropper, Jenny; Walters, Hazel

2013-11-01

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines recommended young people who currently have one cochlear implant be offered assessment for a second, sequential implant, due to the reported improvements in sound localization and speech perception in noise. The possibility and benefits of group information and counselling assessments were considered. Previous research has shown advantages of group sessions involving young people and their families and such groups which also allow young people opportunity to discuss their concerns separately to their parents/guardians are found to be 'hugely important'. Such research highlights the importance of involving children in decision-making processes. Families considering a sequential cochlear implant were invited to a group information/counselling session, which included time for parents and children to meet separately. Fourteen groups were held with approximately four to five families in each session, totalling 62 patients. The sessions were facilitated by the multi-disciplinary team, with a particular psychological focus in the young people's session. Feedback from families has demonstrated positive support for this format. Questionnaire feedback, to which nine families responded, indicated that seven preferred the group session to an individual session and all approved of separate groups for the child and parents/guardians. Overall the group format and psychological focus were well received in this typically surgical setting and emphasized the importance of involving the young person in the decision-making process. This positive feedback also opens up the opportunity to use a group format in other assessment processes.

Process Dissociation and Mixture Signal Detection Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeCarlo, Lawrence T.

2008-01-01

The process dissociation procedure was developed in an attempt to separate different processes involved in memory tasks. The procedure naturally lends itself to a formulation within a class of mixture signal detection models. The dual process model is shown to be a special case. The mixture signal detection model is applied to data from a widely…

Rethinking Communication in Innovation Processes: Creating Space for Change in Complex Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leeuwis, Cees; Aarts, Noelle

2011-01-01

This paper systematically rethinks the role of communication in innovation processes, starting from largely separate theoretical developments in communication science and innovation studies. Literature review forms the basis of the arguments presented. The paper concludes that innovation is a collective process that involves the contextual…

Separation of actinides from lanthanides utilizing molten salt electrorefining

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

Grimmett, D.L.; Fusselman, S.P.; Roy, J.J.

1996-10-01

TRUMP-S (TRansUranic Management through Pyropartitioning Separation) is a pyrochemical process being developed to separate actinides form fission products in nuclear waste. A key process step involving molten salt electrorefining to separate actinides from lanthanides has been studied on a laboratory scale. Electrorefining of U, Np, Pu, Am, and lanthanide mixtures from molten cadmium at 450 C to a solid cathode utilizing a molten chloride electrolyte resulted in > 99% removal of actinides from the molten cadmium and salt phases. Removal of the last few percent of actinides is accompanied by lowered cathodic current efficiency and some lanthanide codeposition. Actinide/lanthanide separationmore » ratios on the cathode are ordered U > Np > Pu > Am and are consistent with predictions based on equilibrium potentials.« less

Coulomb explosion: a novel approach to separate single-walled carbon nanotubes from their bundle.

PubMed

Liu, Guangtong; Zhao, Yuanchun; Zheng, Kaihong; Liu, Zheng; Ma, Wenjun; Ren, Yan; Xie, Sishen; Sun, Lianfeng

2009-01-01

A novel approach based on Coulomb explosion has been developed to separate single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) from their bundle. With this technique, we can readily separate a bundle of SWNTs into smaller bundles with uniform diameter as well as some individual SWNTs. The separated SWNTs have a typical length of several microns and form a nanotree at one end of the original bundle. More importantly, this separating procedure involves no surfactant and includes only one-step physical process. The separation method offers great conveniences for the subsequent individual SWNT or multiterminal SWNTs device fabrication and their physical properties studies.

A system dynamics model to evaluate effects of source separation of municipal solid waste management: A case of Bangkok, Thailand.

PubMed

Sukholthaman, Pitchayanin; Sharp, Alice

2016-06-01

Municipal solid waste has been considered as one of the most immediate and serious problems confronting urban government in most developing and transitional economies. Providing solid waste performance highly depends on the effectiveness of waste collection and transportation process. Generally, this process involves a large amount of expenditures and has very complex and dynamic operational problems. Source separation has a major impact on effectiveness of waste management system as it causes significant changes in quantity and quality of waste reaching final disposal. To evaluate the impact of effective source separation on waste collection and transportation, this study adopts a decision support tool to comprehend cause-and-effect interactions of different variables in waste management system. A system dynamics model that envisages the relationships of source separation and effectiveness of waste management in Bangkok, Thailand is presented. Influential factors that affect waste separation attitudes are addressed; and the result of change in perception on waste separation is explained. The impacts of different separation rates on effectiveness of provided collection service are compared in six scenarios. 'Scenario 5' gives the most promising opportunities as 40% of residents are willing to conduct organic and recyclable waste separation. The results show that better service of waste collection and transportation, less monthly expense, extended landfill life, and satisfactory efficiency of the provided service at 60.48% will be achieved at the end of the simulation period. Implications of how to get public involved and conducted source separation are proposed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teaching Simulation and Computer-Aided Separation Optimization in Liquid Chromatography by Means of Illustrative Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fasoula, S.; Nikitas, P.; Pappa-Louisi, A.

2017-01-01

A series of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets were developed to simulate the process of separation optimization under isocratic and simple gradient conditions. The optimization procedure is performed in a stepwise fashion using simple macros for an automatic application of this approach. The proposed optimization approach involves modeling of the peak…

Continuous, high-flux and efficient oil/water separation assisted by an integrated system with opposite wettability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jian; Long, Yifei; Xu, Changcheng; Tian, Haifeng; Wu, Yanxia; Zha, Fei

2018-03-01

To resolve the drawbacks that single-mesh involved for oil/water separation, such as batch processing mode, only one phase was purified and the quick decrease in flux et al., herein, a two-way separation T-tube device was designed by integrating a pair of meshes with opposite wettability, i.e., underwater superoleophobic and superhydrophobic/superoleophilic properties. Such integrated system can continuously separate both oil and water phase from the oil/water mixtures simultaneously through one-step procedure with high flux (above 3.675 L m-2 s-1) and high separation efficiency larger than 99.8% regardless of the heavy oil or light oil involved in the mixture. Moreover, the as-prepared two meshes still maintained high separation efficiency larger than above 98.9% even after 50 cycle-usages. It worthy mentioned that this two-way separation mode essentially solves the oil liquid accumulation problem that is the single separation membrane needs to tolerate a large hydrostatic pressure caused by the accumulated liquid. We deeply believe this two-way separation system would provide a new strategy for realizing practical applications in oil spill clean-up via a continuous mode.

Pilot trial on separation conditions for diaper recycling.

PubMed

Kim, Kyung-Shin; Cho, Hee-Sun

2017-09-01

By utilizing laboratory-scale tests, the optimal separation conditions for diaper recycling were identified, and then, these conditions were validated by a pilot trial. In this research, we determined the mass balances derived during various processing steps and identified the most feasible procedures to use for separating each material in the output flow. The results showed that drum screening was not able to remove all the fiber and super absorbent particles (SAP) in the plastic-rich fraction and that cellulose enzyme treatment can be a good solution. To achieve better separation of fibers and SAP, slot screening followed by a cleaner is a potential option. A feasible diaper recycling process was recommended based on these results. This process involves screening and enzymatic treatment for the plastic fraction, and screening, cleaning, and thickening for the fiber fraction. Treatment procedures were also proposed for the SAP fraction and rejected materials. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Pattern separation in the hippocampus: distinct circuits under different conditions.

PubMed

Kassab, Randa; Alexandre, Frédéric

2018-04-11

Pattern separation is a fundamental hippocampal process thought to be critical for distinguishing similar episodic memories, and has long been recognized as a natural function of the dentate gyrus (DG), supporting autoassociative learning in CA3. Understanding how neural circuits within the DG-CA3 network mediate this process has received much interest, yet the exact mechanisms behind remain elusive. Here, we argue for the case that sparse coding is necessary but not sufficient to ensure efficient separation and, alternatively, propose a possible interaction of distinct circuits which, nevertheless, act in synergy to produce a unitary function of pattern separation. The proposed circuits involve different functional granule-cell populations, a primary population mediates sparsification and provides recurrent excitation to the other populations which are related to additional pattern separation mechanisms with higher degrees of robustness against interference in CA3. A variety of top-down and bottom-up factors, such as motivation, emotion, and pattern similarity, control the selection of circuitry depending on circumstances. According to this framework, a computational model is implemented and tested against model variants in a series of numerical simulations and biological experiments. The results demonstrate that the model combines fast learning, robust pattern separation and high storage capacity. It also accounts for the controversy around the involvement of the DG during memory recall, explains other puzzling findings, and makes predictions that can inform future investigations.

Vaporizable Scaffolds for Fabricating Thermoelectric Modules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sakamoto, Jeffrey; Yen, Shiao-pin; Fleurial, Jean-Pierre; Paik, Jong-Ah

2006-01-01

A process for fabricating thermoelectric modules with vacuum gaps separating the thermoelectric legs has been conceived, and the feasibility of some essential parts of the process has been demonstrated. The vacuum gaps are needed to electrically insulate the legs from each other. The process involves the use of scaffolding in the form of sheets of a polymer to temporarily separate the legs by the desired distance, which is typically about 0.5 mm. During a bonding subprocess that would take place in a partial vacuum at an elevated temperature, the polymer would be vaporized, thereby creating the vacuum gaps.

The Generation and Maintenance of Visual Mental Images: Evidence from Image Type and Aging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Beni, Rossana; Pazzaglia, Francesca; Gardini, Simona

2007-01-01

Imagery is a multi-componential process involving different mental operations. This paper addresses whether separate processes underlie the generation, maintenance and transformation of mental images or whether these cognitive processes rely on the same mental functions. We also examine the influence of age on these mental operations for…

10 CFR Appendix I to Part 110 - Illustrative List of Reprocessing Plant Components Under NRC Export Licensing Authority

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... transuranic elements. Different technical processes can accomplish this separation. However, over the years Purex has become the most commonly used and accepted process. Purex involves the dissolution of... facilities have process functions similar to each other, including: irradiated fuel element chopping, fuel...

Orienting the Work-Based Curriculum Towards Work Process Knowledge: A Rationale and a German Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boreham, Nick

2004-01-01

The term 'work process knowledge' refers to the knowledge needed for working in flexible and innovative business environments, including those in which information and communication technologies have been introduced to integrate previously separated production functions. It involves a systems-level understanding of the work process in the…

Working principle and application of magnetic separation for biomedical diagnostic at high- and low-field gradients.

PubMed

Leong, Sim Siong; Yeap, Swee Pin; Lim, JitKang

2016-12-06

Magnetic separation is a versatile technique used in sample preparation for diagnostic purpose. For such application, an external magnetic field is applied to drive the separation of target entity (e.g. bacteria, viruses, parasites and cancer cells) from a complex raw sample in order to ease the subsequent task(s) for disease diagnosis. This separation process not only can be achieved via the utilization of high magnetic field gradient, but also, in most cases, low magnetic field gradient with magnitude less than 100 T m -1 is equally feasible. It is the aim of this review paper to summarize the usage of both high gradient magnetic separation and low gradient magnetic separation (LGMS) techniques in this area of research. It is noteworthy that effectiveness of the magnetic separation process not only determines the outcome of a diagnosis but also directly influences its accuracy as well as sensing time involved. Therefore, understanding the factors that simultaneously influence the efficiency of both magnetic separation process and target detection is necessary. Moreover, for LGMS, there are several important considerations that should be taken into account in order to ensure its successful implementation. Hence, this review paper aims to provide an overview to relate all this crucial information by linking the magnetic separation theory to biomedical diagnostic applications.

78 FR 20625 - Spent Nuclear Fuel Management at the Savannah River Site

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-05

... processing is a chemical separations process that involves dissolving spent fuel in nitric acid and... Engineering Laboratory Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Programs Final Environmental Impact... chemical properties, and radionuclide inventory. The fuel groups and the seven technologies that could be...

Spontaneous Charge Separation and Sublimation Processes are Ubiquitous in Nature and in Ionization Processes in Mass Spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trimpin, Sarah; Lu, I.-Chung; Rauschenbach, Stephan; Hoang, Khoa; Wang, Beixi; Chubatyi, Nicholas D.; Zhang, Wen-Jing; Inutan, Ellen D.; Pophristic, Milan; Sidorenko, Alexander; McEwen, Charles N.

2018-02-01

Ionization processes have been discovered by which small and large as well as volatile and nonvolatile compounds are converted to gas-phase ions when associated with a matrix and exposed to sub-atmospheric pressure. Here, we discuss experiments further defining these simple and unexpected processes. Charge separation is found to be a common process for small molecule chemicals, solids and liquids, passed through an inlet tube from a higher to a lower pressure region, with and without heat applied. This charge separation process produces positively- and negatively-charged particles with widely different efficiencies depending on the compound and its physical state. Circumstantial evidence is presented suggesting that in the new ionization process, charged particles carry analyte into the gas phase, and desolvation of these particles produce the bare ions similar to electrospray ionization, except that solid particles appear likely to be involved. This mechanistic proposition is in agreement with previous theoretical work related to ion emission from ice.

Evaluation of possible physical-chemical processes that might lead to separations of actinides in ORNL waste tanks

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

Del Cul, G.D.; Toth, L.M.; Bond, W.D.

The concern that there might be some physical-chemical process which would lead to a separation of the poisoning actinides ({sup 232}Th, {sup 238}U) from the fissionable ones ({sup 239}Pu, {sup 235}U) in waste storage tanks at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has led to a paper study of potential separations processes involving these elements. At the relatively high pH values (>8), the actinides are normally present as precipitated hydroxides. Mechanisms that might then selectively dissolve and reprecipitate the actinides through thermal processes or additions of reagents were addressed. Although redox reactions, pH changes, and complexation reactions were all considered, only themore » last type was regarded as having any significant probability. Furthermore, only carbonate accumulation, through continual unmonitored air sparging of the tank contents, could credibly account for gross transport and separation of the actinide components. From the large amount of equilibrium data in the literature, concentration differences in Th, U, and Pu due to carbonate complexation as a function of pH have been presented to demonstrate this phenomenon. While the carbonate effect does represent a potential separations process, control of long-term air sparging and solution pH, accompanied by routine determinations of soluble carbonate concentration, should ensure that this separations process does not occur.« less

Scrap tyre recycling process with molten zinc as direct heat transfer and solids separation fluid: A new reactor concept.

PubMed

Riedewald, Frank; Goode, Kieran; Sexton, Aidan; Sousa-Gallagher, Maria J

2016-01-01

Every year about 1.5 billion tyres are discarded worldwide representing a large amount of solid waste, but also a largely untapped source of raw materials. The objective of the method was to prove the concept of a novel scrap tyre recycling process which uses molten zinc as the direct heat transfer fluid and, simultaneously, uses this media to separate the solids products (i.e. steel and rCB) in a sink-float separation at an operating temperature of 450-470 °C. This methodology involved: •construction of the laboratory scale batch reactor,•separation of floating rCB from the zinc,•recovery of the steel from the bottom of the reactor following pyrolysis.

New polymers for low-gravity purification of cells by phase partitioning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, J. M.

1983-01-01

A potentially powerful technique for separating different biological cell types is based on the partitioning of these cells between the immiscible aqueous phases formed by solution of certain polymers in water. This process is gravity-limited because cells sediment rather than associate with the phase most favored on the basis of cell-phase interactions. In the present contract we have been involved in the synthesis of new polymers both to aid in understanding the partitioning process and to improve the quality of separations. The prime driving force behind the design of these polymers is to produce materials which will aid in space experiments to separate important cell types and to study the partitioning process in the absence of gravity (i.e., in an equilibrium state).

Daily Access to Sucrose Impairs Aspects of Spatial Memory Tasks Reliant on Pattern Separation and Neural Proliferation in Rats

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reichelt, Amy C.; Morris, Margaret J.; Westbrook, Reginald Frederick

2016-01-01

High sugar diets reduce hippocampal neurogenesis, which is required for minimizing interference between memories, a process that involves "pattern separation." We provided rats with 2 h daily access to a sucrose solution for 28 d and assessed their performance on a spatial memory task. Sucrose consuming rats discriminated between objects…

Magnetically Enhanced Solid-Liquid Separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rey, C. M.; Keller, K.; Fuchs, B.

2005-07-01

DuPont is developing an entirely new method of solid-liquid filtration involving the use of magnetic fields and magnetic field gradients. The new hybrid process, entitled Magnetically Enhanced Solid-Liquid Separation (MESLS), is designed to improve the de-watering kinetics and reduce the residual moisture content of solid particulates mechanically separated from liquid slurries. Gravitation, pressure, temperature, centrifugation, and fluid dynamics have dictated traditional solid-liquid separation for the past 50 years. The introduction of an external field (i.e. the magnetic field) offers the promise to manipulate particle behavior in an entirely new manner, which leads to increased process efficiency. Traditional solid-liquid separation typically consists of two primary steps. The first is a mechanical step in which the solid particulate is separated from the liquid using e.g. gas pressure through a filter membrane, centrifugation, etc. The second step is a thermal drying process, which is required due to imperfect mechanical separation. The thermal drying process is over 100-200 times less energy efficient than the mechanical step. Since enormous volumes of materials are processed each year, more efficient mechanical solid-liquid separations can be leveraged into dramatic reductions in overall energy consumption by reducing downstream drying requirements have a tremendous impact on energy consumption. Using DuPont's MESLS process, initial test results showed four very important effects of the magnetic field on the solid-liquid filtration process: 1) reduction of the time to reach gas breakthrough, 2) less loss of solid into the filtrate, 3) reduction of the (solids) residual moisture content, and 4) acceleration of the de-watering kinetics. These test results and their potential impact on future commercial solid-liquid filtration is discussed. New applications can be found in mining, chemical and bioprocesses.

Laterality Biases to Chimeric Faces in Asperger Syndrome: What Is Right about Face-Processing?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashwin, Chris; Wheelwright, Sally; Baron-Cohen, Simon

2005-01-01

People show a left visual field (LVF) bias for faces, i.e., involving the right hemisphere of the brain. Lesion and neuroimaging studies confirm the importance of the right-hemisphere and suggest separable neural pathways for processing facial identity vs. emotions. We investigated the hemispheric processing of faces in adults with and without…

Integrated Extraction Chromatographic Separation of the Lithophile Elements Involved in Long-Lived Radiogenic Isotope Systems (Rb-Sr, U-Th-Pb, Sm-Nd, La-Ce, and Lu-Hf) Useful in Geochemical and Environmental Sciences.

PubMed

Pin, Christian; Gannoun, Abdelmouhcine

2017-02-21

A fast and efficient sample preparation method in view of isotope ratio measurements is described, allowing the separation of 11 elements involved, either as "parent" or as "daughter" isotopes, in six radiogenic isotope systems used as chronometers and tracers in earth, planetary, and environmental sciences. The protocol is based on small extraction chromatographic columns, used either alone or in tandem, through which a single nitric acid solution is passed, without any intervening evaporation step. The columns use commercially available extraction resins (Sr resin, TRU resin, Ln resin, RE resin, and again Ln resin for isolating Sr and Pb, LREE then La-Ce-Nd-Sm, Lu(Yb), and Hf, Th, and U, respectively) along with an additional, in-house prepared resin for separating Rb. A simplified scheme is proposed for samples requiring the separation of Sr, Pb, Nd, and Hf only. Adverse effects of troublesome major elements (Fe 3+ , Ti) are circumvented by masking with ascorbic acid and hydrofluoric acid, respectively. Typical recoveries in the 85-95% range are achieved, with procedural blanks of 10-100 pg, negligible with regard to the amounts of analytes processed. The fractions separated are suitable for high precision isotope ratio measurements by TIMS or MC-ICP-MS, as demonstrated by the repeat analyses of several international reference materials of basaltic composition for 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, 208,207,206 Pb/ 204 Pb, 143 Nd/ 144 Nd, 176 Hf/ 177 Hf, and 230 Th/ 232 Th. Concentration data could be obtained by spiking and equilibrating the sample with appropriate isotopic tracers before the onset of the separation process and, finally, measuring the isotope ratios modified by the isotope dilution process.

Apparatus and process for the refrigeration, liquefaction and separation of gases with varying levels of purity

DOEpatents

Bingham, Dennis N.; Wilding, Bruce M.; McKellar, Michael G.

2002-01-01

A process for the separation and liquefaction of component gasses from a pressurized mix gas stream is disclosed. The process involves cooling the pressurized mixed gas stream in a heat exchanger so as to condensing one or more of the gas components having the highest condensation point; separating the condensed components from the remaining mixed gas stream in a gas-liquid separator; cooling the separated condensed component stream by passing it through an expander; and passing the cooled component stream back through the heat exchanger such that the cooled component stream functions as the refrigerant for the heat exchanger. The cycle is then repeated for the remaining mixed gas stream so as to draw off the next component gas and further cool the remaining mixed gas stream. The process continues until all of the component gases are separated from the desired gas stream. The final gas stream is then passed through a final heat exchanger and expander. The expander decreases the pressure on the gas stream, thereby cooling the stream and causing a portion of the gas stream to liquify within a tank. The portion of the gas which is hot liquefied is passed back through each of the heat exchanges where it functions as a refrigerant.

Apparatus and process for the refrigeration, liquefaction and separation of gases with varying levels of purity

DOEpatents

Bingham, Dennis N.; Wilding, Bruce M.; McKellar, Michael G.

2000-01-01

A process for the separation and liquefaction of component gasses from a pressurized mix gas stream is disclosed. The process involves cooling the pressurized mixed gas stream in a heat exchanger so as to condense one or more of the gas components having the highest condensation point; separating the condensed components from the remaining mixed gas stream in a gas-liquid separator; cooling the separated condensed component stream by passing it through an expander; and passing the cooled component stream back through the heat exchanger such that the cooled component stream functions as the refrigerant for the heat exchanger. The cycle is then repeated for the remaining mixed gas stream so as to draw off the next component gas and further cool the remaining mixed gas stream. The process continues until all of the component gases are separated from the desired gas stream. The final gas stream is then passed through a final heat exchanger and expander. The expander decreases the pressure on the gas stream, thereby cooling the stream and causing a portion of the gas stream to liquify within a tank. The portion of the gas which is not liquefied is passed back through each of the heat exchanges where it functions as a refrigerant.

Elastic-wave-mode separation in TTI media with inverse-distance weighted interpolation involving position shading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jian; Meng, Xiaohong; Zheng, Wanqiu

2017-10-01

The elastic-wave reverse-time migration of inhomogeneous anisotropic media is becoming the hotspot of research today. In order to ensure the accuracy of the migration, it is necessary to separate the wave mode into P-wave and S-wave before migration. For inhomogeneous media, the Kelvin-Christoffel equation can be solved in the wave-number domain by using the anisotropic parameters of the mesh nodes, and the polarization vector of the P-wave and S-wave at each node can be calculated and transformed into the space domain to obtain the quasi-differential operators. However, this method is computationally expensive, especially for the process of quasi-differential operators. In order to reduce the computational complexity, the wave-mode separation of mixed domain can be realized on the basis of a reference model in the wave-number domain. But conventional interpolation methods and reference model selection methods reduce the separation accuracy. In order to further improve the separation effect, this paper introduces an inverse-distance interpolation method involving position shading and uses the reference model selection method of random points scheme. This method adds the spatial weight coefficient K, which reflects the orientation of the reference point on the conventional IDW algorithm, and the interpolation process takes into account the combined effects of the distance and azimuth of the reference points. Numerical simulation shows that the proposed method can separate the wave mode more accurately using fewer reference models and has better practical value.

Speech Research: A Report on the Status and Progress of Studies on the Nature of Speech , Instrumentation for Its Investigation, and Practical Applications, 1 October-31 December 1971.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turney, Michael T.; And Others

This report on speech research contains papers describing experiments involving both information processing and speech production. The papers concerned with information processing cover such topics as peripheral and central processes in vision, separate speech and nonspeech processing in dichotic listening, and dichotic fusion along an acoustic…

Separation of organic azeotropic mixtures by pervaporation. Final technical report

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

Baker, R.W.

1991-12-01

Distillation is a commonly used separation technique in the petroleum refining and chemical processing industries. However, there are a number of potential separations involving azetropic and close-boiling organic mixtures that cannot be separated efficiently by distillation. Pervaporation is a membrane-based process that uses selective permeation through membranes to separate liquid mixtures. Because the separation process is not affected by the relative volatility of the mixture components being separated, pervaporation can be used to separate azetropes and close-boiling mixtures. Our results showed that pervaporation membranes can be used to separate azeotropic mixtures efficiently, a result that is not achievable with simplemore » distillation. The membranes were 5--10 times more permeable to one of the components of the mixture, concentrating it in the permeate stream. For example, the membrane was 10 times more permeable to ethanol than methyl ethyl ketone, producing 60% ethanol permeate from an azeotropic mixture of ethanol and methyl ethyl ketone containing 18% ethanol. For the ethyl acetate/water mixture, the membranes showed a very high selectivity to water (> 300) and the permeate was 50--100 times enriched in water relative to the feed. The membranes had permeate fluxes on the order of 0.1--1 kg/m{sup 2}{center_dot}h in the operating range of 55--70{degrees}C. Higher fluxes were obtained by increasing the operating temperature.« less

Separation of organic azeotropic mixtures by pervaporation

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

Baker, R.W.

1991-12-01

Distillation is a commonly used separation technique in the petroleum refining and chemical processing industries. However, there are a number of potential separations involving azetropic and close-boiling organic mixtures that cannot be separated efficiently by distillation. Pervaporation is a membrane-based process that uses selective permeation through membranes to separate liquid mixtures. Because the separation process is not affected by the relative volatility of the mixture components being separated, pervaporation can be used to separate azetropes and close-boiling mixtures. Our results showed that pervaporation membranes can be used to separate azeotropic mixtures efficiently, a result that is not achievable with simplemore » distillation. The membranes were 5--10 times more permeable to one of the components of the mixture, concentrating it in the permeate stream. For example, the membrane was 10 times more permeable to ethanol than methyl ethyl ketone, producing 60% ethanol permeate from an azeotropic mixture of ethanol and methyl ethyl ketone containing 18% ethanol. For the ethyl acetate/water mixture, the membranes showed a very high selectivity to water (> 300) and the permeate was 50--100 times enriched in water relative to the feed. The membranes had permeate fluxes on the order of 0.1--1 kg/m{sup 2}{center dot}h in the operating range of 55--70{degrees}C. Higher fluxes were obtained by increasing the operating temperature.« less

Working principle and application of magnetic separation for biomedical diagnostic at high- and low-field gradients

PubMed Central

Yeap, Swee Pin; Lim, JitKang

2016-01-01

Magnetic separation is a versatile technique used in sample preparation for diagnostic purpose. For such application, an external magnetic field is applied to drive the separation of target entity (e.g. bacteria, viruses, parasites and cancer cells) from a complex raw sample in order to ease the subsequent task(s) for disease diagnosis. This separation process not only can be achieved via the utilization of high magnetic field gradient, but also, in most cases, low magnetic field gradient with magnitude less than 100 T m−1 is equally feasible. It is the aim of this review paper to summarize the usage of both high gradient magnetic separation and low gradient magnetic separation (LGMS) techniques in this area of research. It is noteworthy that effectiveness of the magnetic separation process not only determines the outcome of a diagnosis but also directly influences its accuracy as well as sensing time involved. Therefore, understanding the factors that simultaneously influence the efficiency of both magnetic separation process and target detection is necessary. Moreover, for LGMS, there are several important considerations that should be taken into account in order to ensure its successful implementation. Hence, this review paper aims to provide an overview to relate all this crucial information by linking the magnetic separation theory to biomedical diagnostic applications. PMID:27920891

On the Capacity of Attention: Its Estimation and Its Role in Working Memory and Cognitive Aptitudes

PubMed Central

Cowan, Nelson; Elliott, Emily M.; Saults, J. Scott; Morey, Candice C.; Mattox, Sam; Hismjatullina, Anna; Conway, Andrew R.A.

2008-01-01

Working memory (WM) is the set of mental processes holding limited information in a temporarily accessible state in service of cognition. We provide a theoretical framework to understand the relation between WM and aptitude measures. The WM measures that have yielded high correlations with aptitudes include separate storage and processing task components, on the assumption that WM involves both storage and processing. We argue that the critical aspect of successful WM measures is that rehearsal and grouping processes are prevented, allowing a clearer estimate of how many separate chunks of information the focus of attention circumscribes at once. Storage-and-processing tasks correlate with aptitudes, according to this view, largely because the processing task prevents rehearsal and grouping of items to be recalled. In a developmental study, we document that several scope-of-attention measures that do not include a separate processing component, but nevertheless prevent efficient rehearsal or grouping, also correlate well with aptitudes and with storage-and-processing measures. So does digit span in children too young to rehearse. PMID:16039935

Default network activation during episodic and semantic memory retrieval: A selective meta-analytic comparison.

PubMed

Kim, Hongkeun

2016-01-08

It remains unclear whether and to what extent the default network subregions involved in episodic memory (EM) and semantic memory (SM) processes overlap or are separated from one another. This study addresses this issue through a controlled meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies involving healthy participants. Various EM and SM task paradigms differ widely in the extent of default network involvement. Therefore, the issue at hand cannot be properly addressed without some control for this factor. In this regard, this study employs a two-stage analysis: a preliminary meta-analysis to select EM and SM task paradigms that recruit relatively extensive default network regions and a main analysis to compare the selected task paradigms. Based on a within-EM comparison, the default network contributed more to recollection/familiarity effects than to old/new effects, and based on a within-SM comparison, it contributed more to word/pseudoword effects than to semantic/phonological effects. According to a direct comparison of recollection/familiarity and word/pseudoword effects, each involving a range of default network regions, there were more overlaps than separations in default network subregions involved in these two effects. More specifically, overlaps included the bilateral posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex, left inferior parietal lobule, and left anteromedial prefrontal regions, whereas separations included only the hippocampal formation and the parahippocampal cortex region, which was unique to recollection/familiarity effects. These results indicate that EM and SM retrieval processes involving strong memory signals recruit extensive and largely overlapping default network regions and differ mainly in distinct contributions of hippocampus and parahippocampal regions to EM retrieval. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Membrane separation for non-aqueous solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widodo, S.; Khoiruddin; Ariono, D.; Subagjo; Wenten, I. G.

2018-01-01

Membrane technology has been widely used in a number of applications competing with conventional technologies in various ways. Despite the enormous applications, they are mainly used for the aqueous system. The use of membrane-based processes in a non-aqueous system is an emerging area. This is because developed membranes are still limited in separations involving aqueous solution which show several drawbacks when implemented in a non-aqueous system. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the current application of membrane processes in non-aqueous solutions, such as mineral oil treatment, vegetable oil processing, and organic solvent recovery. Developments of advanced membrane materials for the non-aqueous solutions such as super-hydrophobic and organic solvent resistant membranes are reviewed. In addition, challenges and future outlook of membrane separation for the non-aqueous solution are discussed.

Light metal production

DOEpatents

Fan, Qinbai

2016-04-19

An electrochemical process for the production of light metals, particularly aluminum. Such a process involves contacting a light metal source material with an inorganic acid to form a solution containing the light metal ions in high concentration. The solution is fed to an electrochemical reactor assembly having an anode side containing an anode and a cathode side containing a cathode, with anode side and the cathode side separated by a bipolar membrane, with the solution being fed to the anode side. Light metal ions are electrochemically transferred through the bipolar membrane to the cathode side. The process further involves reducing the light metal ions to light metal powder. An associated processing system is also provided.

Materials processing in space: A survey of referred open literature publications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pentecost, E. (Compiler)

1981-01-01

Over 190 reports published in the open literature by workers in the materials processing in space program are listed according to year as well as alphabetically by author. Thirty five reports submitted for publication are also cited. Supported either directly or indirectly by NASA, the research generally pertains to the influence (or lack of influence) of gravity on processes involved in crystal growth, solidification, fluid transport, containerless phenomena, and various separation techniques of interest to the biomedical community. Studies of the possibilities of using the high vacuum in the wake of orbiting vehicles for performing processes involving large heat loads and evolution of gases are also included.

Industrial processes influenced by gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ostrach, Simon

1988-01-01

In considering new directions for low gravity research with particular regard to broadening the number and types of industrial involvements, it is noted that transport phenomena play a vital role in diverse processes in the chemical, pharmaceutical, food, and biotech industries. Relatively little attention has been given to the role of gravity in such processes. Accordingly, numerous industrial processes and phenomena are identified which involve gravity and/or surface tension forces. Phase separations and mixing are examples that will be significantly different in low gravity conditions. A basis is presented for expanding the scope of the low gravity research program and the potential benefits of such research is indicated.

Laser-assisted isotope separation of tritium

DOEpatents

Herman, Irving P.; Marling, Jack B.

1983-01-01

Methods for laser-assisted isotope separation of tritium, using infrared multiple photon dissociation of tritium-bearing products in the gas phase. One such process involves the steps of (1) catalytic exchange of a deuterium-bearing molecule XYD with tritiated water DTO from sources such as a heavy water fission reactor, to produce the tritium-bearing working molecules XYT and (2) photoselective dissociation of XYT to form a tritium-rich product. By an analogous procedure, tritium is separated from tritium-bearing materials that contain predominately hydrogen such as a light water coolant from fission or fusion reactors.

Safeguard monitoring of direct electrolytic reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jurovitzki, Abraham L.

Nuclear power is regaining global prominence as a sustainable energy source as the world faces the consequences of depending on limited fossil based, CO2 emitting fuels. A key component to achieving this sustainability is to implement a closed nuclear fuel cycle. Without achieving this goal, a relatively small fraction of the energy value in nuclear fuel is actually utilized. This involves recycling of spent nuclear fuel (SNF)---separating fissile actinides from waste products and using them to fabricate fresh fuel. Pyroprocessing is a viable option being developed for this purpose with a host of benefits compared to other recycling options, such as PUREX. Notably, pyroprocessing is ill suited to separate pure plutonium from spent fuel and thus has non-proliferation benefits. Pyroprocessing involves high temperature electrochemical and chemical processing of SNF in a molten salt electrolyte. During this batch process, several intermediate and final streams are produced that contain radioactive material. While pyroprocessing is ineffective at separating pure plutonium, there are various process misuse scenarios that could result in diversion of impure plutonium into one or more of these streams. This is a proliferation risk that should be addressed with innovative safeguards technology. One approach to meeting this challenge is to develop real time monitoring techniques that can be implemented in the hot cells and coupled with the various unit operations involved with pyroprocessing. Current state of the art monitoring techniques involve external chemical assaying which requires sample removal from these unit operations. These methods do not meet International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) timeliness requirements. In this work, a number of monitoring techniques were assessed for their viability as online monitoring tools. A hypothetical diversion scenario for the direct electrolytic reduction process was experimentally verified (using Nd2O3 as a surrogate for PuO2). Electrochemical analysis was demonstrated to be effective at detecting even very dilute concentrations of actinides as evidence for a diversion attempt.

Hybrid and Mixed Matrix Membranes for Separations from Fermentations

PubMed Central

Davey, Christopher John; Leak, David; Patterson, Darrell Alec

2016-01-01

Fermentations provide an alternative to fossil fuels for accessing a number of biofuel and chemical products from a variety of renewable and waste substrates. The recovery of these dilute fermentation products from the broth, however, can be incredibly energy intensive as a distillation process is generally involved and creates a barrier to commercialization. Membrane processes can provide a low energy aid/alternative for recovering these dilute fermentation products and reduce production costs. For these types of separations many current polymeric and inorganic membranes suffer from poor selectivity and high cost respectively. This paper reviews work in the production of novel mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) for fermentative separations and those applicable to these separations. These membranes combine a trade-off of low-cost and processability of polymer membranes with the high selectivity of inorganic membranes. Work within the fields of nanofiltration, reverse osmosis and pervaporation has been discussed. The review shows that MMMs are currently providing some of the most high-performing membranes for these separations, with three areas for improvement identified: Further characterization and optimization of inorganic phase(s), Greater understanding of the compatibility between the polymer and inorganic phase(s), Improved methods for homogeneously dispersing the inorganic phase. PMID:26938567

Liberation characteristic and physical separation of printed circuit board (PCB).

PubMed

Guo, Chao; Wang, Hui; Liang, Wei; Fu, Jiangang; Yi, Xin

2011-01-01

Recycling of printed circuit board (PCB) is an important subject and to which increasing attention is paid, both in treatment of waste as well as recovery of valuable material terms. Precede physical and mechanical method, a good liberation is the premise to further separation. In this study, two-step crushing process is employed, and standard sieve is applied to screen crushed material to different size fractions, moreover, the liberation situation and particles shape in different size are observed. Then metal of the PCB is separated by physical methods, including pneumatic separation, electrostatic separation and magnetic separation, and major metal contents are characterized by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Results show that the metal and nonmetal particles of PCB are dissociated completely under the crush size 0.6mm; metal is mainly enriched in the four size fractions between 0.15 and 1.25 mm; relatively, pneumatic separation is suitable for 0.6-0.9 mm size fraction, while the electrostatic separation is suitable for three size fractions that are 0.15-0.3mm, 0.3-0.6mm and 0.9-1.25 mm. The whole process that involves crushing, electrostatic and magnetic separation has formed a closed cycle that can return material and provide salable product. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical formation of field emitters

DOEpatents

Bernhardt, Anthony F.

1999-01-01

Electrochemical formation of field emitters, particularly useful in the fabrication of flat panel displays. The fabrication involves field emitting points in a gated field emitter structure. Metal field emitters are formed by electroplating and the shape of the formed emitter is controlled by the potential imposed on the gate as well as on a separate counter electrode. This allows sharp emitters to be formed in a more inexpensive and manufacturable process than vacuum deposition processes used at present. The fabrication process involves etching of the gate metal and the dielectric layer down to the resistor layer, and then electroplating the etched area and forming an electroplated emitter point in the etched area.

First-principles studies of interfacial charge separation in nano-materials photovoltaic heterojunction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanai, Yosuke

2009-03-01

Charge separation is a crucial process that must be understood in order to make substantial improvements in nano-materials based PV cells. In our work, first principles quantum mechanical calculations are employed to shed light on this process for some important nano-material heterojunctions. I will first present our work on the interfacial charge separation in Fullerene/P3HT and CNT/P3HT heterojunctions. Our findings indicate that in the fullerene system a two-step process is operative, involving an adiabatic electron transfer and an exciton dissociation via quasi-degenerate states localized on the fullerene. For the nanotubes, on the other hand, while such a two-step process is not necessary for efficient charge separation, the presence of metallic nanotubes lead to undesirable charge traps. Secondly, I will discuss how we are addressing the difficulty in employing standard DFT approaches for investigating inorganic-organic PV interfaces, which are composed of two distinct materials with very different electronic environments. I will discuss a QMC scheme for obtaining many-body corrections to the Kohn-Sham level alignments and its application to a CdSe/Oligothiophene hybrid PV interface, with the aim of tailoring its behavior by controlling the conjugation length.

Microfluidic Blood Cell Preparation: Now and Beyond

PubMed Central

Yu, Zeta Tak For; Yong, Koh Meng Aw; Fu, Jianping

2014-01-01

Blood plays an important role in homeostatic regulation with each of its cellular components having important therapeutic and diagnostic uses. Therefore, separation and sorting of blood cells has been of a great interest to clinicians and researchers. However, while conventional methods of processing blood have been successful in generating relatively pure fractions, they are time consuming, labor intensive, and are not optimal for processing small volume blood samples. In recent years, microfluidics has garnered great interest from clinicians and researchers as a powerful technology for separating blood into different cell fractions. As microfluidics involves fluid manipulation at the microscale level, it has the potential for achieving high-resolution separation and sorting of blood cells down to a single-cell level, with an added benefit of integrating physical and biological methods for blood cell separation and analysis on the same single chip platform. This paper will first review the conventional methods of processing and sorting blood cells, followed by a discussion on how microfluidics is emerging as an efficient tool to rapidly change the field of blood cell sorting for blood-based therapeutic and diagnostic applications. PMID:24515899

Pattern separation in the hippocampus

PubMed Central

Yassa, Michael A.; Stark, Craig E. L.

2011-01-01

The ability to discriminate among similar experiences is a critical feature of episodic memory. This ability has long been hypothesized to require the hippocampus, with computational models suggesting it is dependent on pattern separation. However, empirical data for the hippocampus’ role in pattern separation was not available until recently. This review summarizes data from electrophysiological recordings, lesion studies, immediate early gene imaging, transgenic mouse models, as well as human functional neuroimaging that provide convergent evidence for the involvement of particular hippocampal subfields in this key process. We discuss the impact of aging and adult neurogenesis on pattern separation, as well as highlight several challenges to linking across species and approaches and suggest future directions for investigation. PMID:21788086

Method and apparatus for iterative lysis and extraction of algae

DOEpatents

Chew, Geoffrey; Boggs, Tabitha; Dykes, Jr., H. Waite H.; Doherty, Stephen J.

2015-12-01

A method and system for processing algae involves the use of an ionic liquid-containing clarified cell lysate to lyse algae cells. The resulting crude cell lysate may be clarified and subsequently used to lyse algae cells. The process may be repeated a number of times before a clarified lysate is separated into lipid and aqueous phases for further processing and/or purification of desired products.

Metal separations using aqueous biphasic partitioning systems

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

Chaiko, D.J.; Zaslavsky, B.; Rollins, A.N.

1996-05-01

Aqueous biphasic extraction (ABE) processes offer the potential for low-cost, highly selective separations. This countercurrent extraction technique involves selective partitioning of either dissolved solutes or ultrafine particulates between two immiscible aqueous phases. The extraction systems that the authors have studied are generated by combining an aqueous salt solution with an aqueous polymer solution. They have examined a wide range of applications for ABE, including the treatment of solid and liquid nuclear wastes, decontamination of soils, and processing of mineral ores. They have also conducted fundamental studies of solution microstructure using small angle neutron scattering (SANS). In this report they reviewmore » the physicochemical fundamentals of aqueous biphase formation and discuss the development and scaleup of ABE processes for environmental remediation.« less

Challenges for a Sustainable Financial Foundation for Antimicrobial Stewardship.

PubMed

Dik, Jan-Willem H; Sinha, Bhanu

2017-03-30

Antimicrobial resistance is a worldwide threat and a problem with large clinical and economic impact. Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs are a solution to curb resistance development. A problem of resistance is a separation of actions and consequences, financial and clinical. Such a separation makes it difficult to create support among stakeholders leading to a lack of sense of responsibility. To counteract the resistance development it is important to perform diagnostics and know how to interpret the results. One should see diagnostics, therapy and resistance as one single process. Within this process all involved stakeholders need to work together on a more institutional level. We suggest therefore a solution: combining diagnostics and therapy into one single financial product . Such a product should act as an incentive to perform correct diagnostics. It also makes it easier to cover the costs of an antimicrobial stewardship program, which is often overlooked. Finally, such a product involves all stakeholders in the process and does not lay the costs at one stakeholder and the benefits somewhere else, solving the misbalance that is present nowadays.

Selective separation of Eu{sup 3+} using polymer-enhanced ultrafiltration

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

Norton, M.V.

1994-03-01

A process to selectively remove {sup 241}Am from liquid radioactive waste was investigated as an actinide separation method applicable to Hanford and other waste sites. The experimental procedures involved removal of Eu, a nonradioactive surrogate for Am, from aqueous solutions at pH 5 using organic polymers in conjunction with ultrafiltration. Commercially available polyacrylic acid (60,000 MW) and Pacific Northwest Laboratory`s (PNL) synthesized E3 copolymer ({approximately}10,000 MW) were tested. Test solutions containing 10 {mu}g/mL of Eu were dosed vath each polymer at various concentrations in order to bind Eu (i.e., by complexation and/or cation exchange) for subsequent rejection by an ultrafiltrationmore » coupon. Test solutions were filtered with and without polymer to determine if enhanced Eu separation could be achieved from polymer treatment. Both polymers significantly increased Eu removal. Optimum concentrations were 20 {mu}g/mL of polyacrylic acid and 100 {mu}g/mL of E3 for 100% Eu rejection by the Amicon PM10 membrane at 55 psi. In addition to enhancement of removal, the polymers selectively bound Eu over Na, suggesting that selective separation of Eu was possible. This suggests that polymer-enhanced ultrafiltration is a potential process for separation of {sup 241}Am from Hanford tank waste, further investigation of binding agents and membranes effective under very alkaline and high ionic strength is warranted. This process also has potential applications for selective separation of toxic metals from industrial process streams.« less

ERP Go/NoGo condition effects are better detected with separate PCAs.

PubMed

Barry, Robert J; De Blasio, Frances M; Fogarty, Jack S; Karamacoska, Diana

2016-08-01

We explored the separation of Go and NoGo effects in the ERP components elicited in an equiprobable Go/NoGo task, using different forms of temporal Principal Components Analysis (PCA). Following exploratory simulation studies assessing the PCA impact of latency jitter and between-condition latency differences in the P3 latency range, an empirical study compared results of a Combined PCA carried out using both Go and NoGo ERPs together as input, with those from two Separate PCAs carried out on the Go and NoGo ERPs separately. The simulation studies indicated that Separate PCAs provide adequate component recovery in the presence of P3 latency jitter, and that Combined PCAs provide good separation of components only when systematic condition-related latency differences are sufficiently large (here ~110ms). In the empirical data, broadly-similar components were obtained from the Combined and Separate PCAs, supporting previous findings from Combined PCA investigations, and the consequent interpretations of the sequential processing involved. However, the Separate PCAs generated latency differences for components in the Go and NoGo processing chains that better matched the late Go/NoGo ERP peaks, and produced better-defined and larger components that fitted the stages in a hypothetical processing schema developed for this paradigm. Overall, the Separate PCAs yielded a better partitioning of the ERP variance associated with the Go and NoGo conditions, and should be considered as the first choice in future investigations if systematic component or subcomponent latency differences are present or suspected. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Metaphor and Knowing: Analysis, Synthesis, Rationale.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rico, Gabriele Lusser

Evidence is presented to indicate that human knowing involves both a propositional mode stressing discourse, sequence, and logic and an appositional mode characterized by metaphoric constructs, holistic relationships, and the capacity to process many variables simultaneously. Separate sections discuss our culture's heavy emphasis on propositional…

Electrochemical formation of field emitters

DOEpatents

Bernhardt, A.F.

1999-03-16

Electrochemical formation of field emitters, particularly useful in the fabrication of flat panel displays is disclosed. The fabrication involves field emitting points in a gated field emitter structure. Metal field emitters are formed by electroplating and the shape of the formed emitter is controlled by the potential imposed on the gate as well as on a separate counter electrode. This allows sharp emitters to be formed in a more inexpensive and manufacturable process than vacuum deposition processes used at present. The fabrication process involves etching of the gate metal and the dielectric layer down to the resistor layer, and then electroplating the etched area and forming an electroplated emitter point in the etched area. 12 figs.

Changes in acoustic features and their conjunctions are processed by separate neuronal populations.

PubMed

Takegata, R; Huotilainen, M; Rinne, T; Näätänen, R; Winkler, I

2001-03-05

We investigated the relationship between the neuronal populations involved in detecting change in two acoustic features and their conjunction. Equivalent current dipole (ECD) models of the magnetic mismatch negativity (MMNm) generators were calculated for infrequent changes in pitch, perceived sound source location, and the conjunction of these two features. All of these three changes elicited MMNms that were generated in the vicinity of auditory cortex. The location of the ECD best describing the MMNm to the conjunction deviant was anterior to those for the MMNm responses elicited by either one of the constituent features. The present data thus suggest that at least partially separate neuronal populations are involved in detecting change in acoustic features and feature conjunctions.

Development and evaluation of polyvinyl-alcohol blend polymer films as battery separators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manzo, M. A.

1982-01-01

Several dialdehydes and epoxies were evaluated for their suitability as cross-linkers. Optium concentrations of several cross-linking reagents were determined. A two-step method of cross-linking, which involves treatment of the film in an acid or acid periodate bath, was investigated and dropped in favor of a one-step method in which the acid catalyst, which initiates cross-linking, is added to the PVA - cross-linker solution before casting. The cross-linking was thus achieved during the drying step. This one-step method was much more adaptable to commercial processing. Cross-linked films were characterized as alkaline battery separators. Films were prepared in the lab and tested in cells in order to evaluate the effect of film composition and a number of processing parameters on cell performance. These tests were conducted in order to provide a broader data base from which to select optimum processing parameters. Results of the separator screening tests and the cell tests are discussed.

A generalized disjunctive programming framework for the optimal synthesis and analysis of processes for ethanol production from corn stover.

PubMed

Scott, Felipe; Aroca, Germán; Caballero, José Antonio; Conejeros, Raúl

2017-07-01

The aim of this study is to analyze the techno-economic performance of process configurations for ethanol production involving solid-liquid separators and reactors in the saccharification and fermentation stage, a family of process configurations where few alternatives have been proposed. Since including these process alternatives creates a large number of possible process configurations, a framework for process synthesis and optimization is proposed. This approach is supported on kinetic models fed with experimental data and a plant-wide techno-economic model. Among 150 process configurations, 40 show an improved MESP compared to a well-documented base case (BC), almost all include solid separators and some show energy retrieved in products 32% higher compared to the BC. Moreover, 16 of them also show a lower capital investment per unit of ethanol produced per year. Several of the process configurations found in this work have not been reported in the literature. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High gradient magnetic beneficiation of dry pulverized coal via upwardly directed recirculating fluidization

DOEpatents

Eissenberg, David M.; Liu, Yin-An

1980-01-01

This invention relates to an improved device and method for the high gradient magnetic beneficiation of dry pulverized coal, for the purpose of removing sulfur and ash from the coal whereby the product is a dry environmentally acceptable, low-sulfur fuel. The process involves upwardly directed recirculating air fluidization of selectively sized powdered coal in a separator having sections of increasing diameters in the direction of air flow, with magnetic field and flow rates chosen for optimum separations depending upon particulate size.

High performance hybrid magnetic structure for biotechnology applications

DOEpatents

Humphries, David E [El Cerrito, CA; Pollard, Martin J [El Cerrito, CA; Elkin, Christopher J [San Ramon, CA

2009-02-03

The present disclosure provides a high performance hybrid magnetic structure made from a combination of permanent magnets and ferromagnetic pole materials which are assembled in a predetermined array. The hybrid magnetic structure provides means for separation and other biotechnology applications involving holding, manipulation, or separation of magnetic or magnetizable molecular structures and targets. Also disclosed are further improvements to aspects of the hybrid magnetic structure, including additional elements and for adapting the use of the hybrid magnetic structure for use in biotechnology and high throughput processes.

Methods and apparatus for catalytic hydrothermal gasification of biomass

DOEpatents

Elliott, Douglas C.; Butner, Robert Scott; Neuenschwander, Gary G.; Zacher, Alan H.; Hart, Todd R.

2012-08-14

Continuous processing of wet biomass feedstock by catalytic hydrothermal gasification must address catalyst fouling and poisoning. One solution can involve heating the wet biomass with a heating unit to a temperature sufficient for organic constituents in the feedstock to decompose, for precipitates of inorganic wastes to form, for preheating the wet feedstock in preparation for subsequent separation of sulfur contaminants, or combinations thereof. Treatment further includes separating the precipitates out of the wet feedstock, removing sulfur contaminants, or both using a solids separation unit and a sulfur separation unit, respectively. Having removed much of the inorganic wastes and the sulfur that can cause poisoning and fouling, the wet biomass feedstock can be exposed to the heterogeneous catalyst for gasification.

Recovering and recycling uranium used for production of molybdenum-99

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

Reilly, Sean Douglas; May, Iain; Copping, Roy

A processes for recycling uranium that has been used for the production of molybdenum-99 involves irradiating a solution of uranium suitable for forming fission products including molybdenum-99, conditioning the irradiated solution to one suitable for inducing the formation of crystals of uranyl nitrate hydrates, then forming the crystals and a supernatant and then separating the crystals from the supernatant, thus using the crystals as a source of uranium for recycle. Molybdenum-99 is recovered from the supernatant using an adsorbent such as alumina. Another process involves irradiation of a solid target comprising uranium, forming an acidic solution from the irradiated targetmore » suitable for inducing the formation of crystals of uranyl nitrate hydrates, then forming the crystals and a supernatant and then separating the crystals from the supernatant, thus using the crystals as a source of uranium for recycle. Molybdenum-99 is recovered from the supernatant using an adsorbent such as alumina.« less

Analysis of IAEA Environmental Samples for Plutonium and Uranium by ICP/MS in Support Of International Safeguards

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

Farmer, Orville T.; Olsen, Khris B.; Thomas, May-Lin P.

2008-05-01

A method for the separation and determination of total and isotopic uranium and plutonium by ICP-MS was developed for IAEA samples on cellulose-based media. Preparation of the IAEA samples involved a series of redox chemistries and separations using TRU® resin (Eichrom). The sample introduction system, an APEX nebulizer (Elemental Scientific, Inc), provided enhanced nebulization for a several-fold increase in sensitivity and reduction in background. Application of mass bias (ALPHA) correction factors greatly improved the precision of the data. By combining the enhancements of chemical separation, instrumentation and data processing, detection levels for uranium and plutonium approached high attogram levels.

Vibration-type particle separation device with piezoceramic vibrator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ooe, Katsutoshi; Doi, Akihiro

2008-12-01

During hemanalysis, it is necessary to separate blood cells from whole blood. Many blood separation methods, for example, centrifugation and filtering, are in practical use. However, the use of these methods involves problems from the perspectives of processing speed and processing volume. We develop new types of blood separation devices that use piezo-ceramic vibrators. The first device uses a capillary. One end of the capillary is fixed to the device frame, and the other is fixed to a piezo-ceramic vibrator. The vibrator transmits bending waves to the capillary. This device can process only a small amount of solution; therefore, it is not suitable for hemanalysis. In order to solve this problem, we developed a second device; this device has a pair of thin glass plates with a small gap as a substitute for the capillary used in the first device. These devices are based on the fact that particles heavier than water move toward transverse velocity antinodes while those lighter than water move toward velocity nodes. In this report, we demonstrate the highspeed separation of silica microbeads and 50-vol% glycerol water by using these devices. The first device can separate the abovementioned solution within 3 min while the second can separate it within 1 min. Both devices are driven by a rectangular wave of 15 to 20 Vpp. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that red blood cells are separated from diluted whole blood using the first device within approximately 1 min. These devices have transparency, so they can compose as the analysis system with the chemical analyzer easily.

Gender Differences in How Family Income and Parental Education Relate to Reading Achievement in China: The Mediating Role of Parental Expectation and Parental Involvement.

PubMed

Guo, Xiaolin; Lv, Bo; Zhou, Huan; Liu, Chunhui; Liu, Juan; Jiang, Kexin; Luo, Liang

2018-01-01

The impact of social economic status (SES) on children's academic outcomes has been well documented. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain poorly understood. Furthermore, the process by which SES relates to academic achievement needs to be studied separately for boys and girls. Using a sample of 598 Chinese children (299 boys, 299 girls) in grades 4 to 6 and their parents, this study examined the process of how family SES, specifically family income and parental education, indirectly relates to children's reading achievement through parental expectation and parental involvement and whether this process differs between boys and girls. The results revealed that parental expectation and specific parental involvement behaviors played critical mediating roles between family SES and reading achievement. Moreover, the exact nature of these links differed by the gender of children. For boys, both the effect of parental education and the effect of family income were partially mediated by parental expectation and parent-child communication orderly. For girls, the effect of parental education was partially mediated by three separate pathways: (1) home monitoring; (2) parent-child communication; and (3) parental expectation followed by parent-child communication, while the effect of family income was fully mediated by parent-child communication. These findings suggest a process through which SES factors are related to children's academic development and identify a context under which these associations may differ. The practical implications of these findings are discussed, along with possible future research directions.

Conveyor Performance based on Motor DC 12 Volt Eg-530ad-2f using K-Means Clustering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arifin, Zaenal; Artini, Sri DP; Much Ibnu Subroto, Imam

2017-04-01

To produce goods in industry, a controlled tool to improve production is required. Separation process has become a part of production process. Separation process is carried out based on certain criteria to get optimum result. By knowing the characteristics performance of a controlled tools in separation process the optimum results is also possible to be obtained. Clustering analysis is popular method for clustering data into smaller segments. Clustering analysis is useful to divide a group of object into a k-group in which the member value of the group is homogeny or similar. Similarity in the group is set based on certain criteria. The work in this paper based on K-Means method to conduct clustering of loading in the performance of a conveyor driven by a dc motor 12 volt eg-530-2f. This technique gives a complete clustering data for a prototype of conveyor driven by dc motor to separate goods in term of height. The parameters involved are voltage, current, time of travelling. These parameters give two clusters namely optimal cluster with center of cluster 10.50 volt, 0.3 Ampere, 10.58 second, and unoptimal cluster with center of cluster 10.88 volt, 0.28 Ampere and 40.43 second.

Summary and recommendations. [reduced gravitational effects on materials manufactured in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

An economic analysis using econometric and cost benefit analysis techniques was performed to determine the feasibility of space processing of certain products. The overall objectives of the analysis were (1) to determine specific products or processes uniquely connected with space manufacturing, (2) to select a specific product or process from each of the areas of semiconductors, metals, and biochemicals, and (3) to determine the overall price/cost structure of each product or process considered. The economic elements of the analysis involved a generalized decision making format for analyzing space manufacturing, a comparative cost study of the selected processes in space vs. earth manufacturing, and a supply and demand study of the economic relationships of one of the manufacturing processes. Space processing concepts were explored. The first involved the use of the shuttle as the factory with all operations performed during individual flights. The second concept involved a permanent unmanned space factory which would be launched separately. The shuttle in this case would be used only for maintenance and refurbishment. Finally, some consideration was given to a permanent manned space factory.

Efficient gas-separation process to upgrade dilute methane stream for use as fuel

DOEpatents

Wijmans, Johannes G [Menlo Park, CA; Merkel, Timothy C [Menlo Park, CA; Lin, Haiqing [Mountain View, CA; Thompson, Scott [Brecksville, OH; Daniels, Ramin [San Jose, CA

2012-03-06

A membrane-based gas separation process for treating gas streams that contain methane in low concentrations. The invention involves flowing the stream to be treated across the feed side of a membrane and flowing a sweep gas stream, usually air, across the permeate side. Carbon dioxide permeates the membrane preferentially and is picked up in the sweep air stream on the permeate side; oxygen permeates in the other direction and is picked up in the methane-containing stream. The resulting residue stream is enriched in methane as well as oxygen and has an EMC value enabling it to be either flared or combusted by mixing with ordinary air.

Design and testing of small scale fish meat bone separator useful for fish processing.

PubMed

Ali Muhammed, M; Manjunatha, N; Murthy, K Venkatesh; Bhaskar, N

2015-06-01

The present study relates to the food processing machinery and, more specifically machine for producing boneless comminuted meat from raw fish fillet. This machine is of belt and drum type meat bone separator designed for small scale fish processing in a continuous mode. The basic principal involved in this machine is compression force. The electric geared motor consists of 1HP and the conveyor belt has a linear velocity of 19 to 22 m min(-1), which was sufficient to debone the fish effectively. During the meat bone separation trials an efficiency up to 75 % on dressed fish weight basis was observed and with a capacity to separate 70 kg h(-1) of meat from fish at the machine speed of 25 rpm. During the trials, it was demonstrated that there was no significant change in the proximate composition of comminuted fish meat when compared to unprocessed fish meat. This design has a greater emphasis on hygiene, provision for cleaning-in-place (CIP) and gives cost effective need and reliability for small scale industries to produce fish meat in turn used for their value added products.

The price of independence: cell separation in fission yeast.

PubMed

Martín-García, Rebeca; Santos, Beatriz

2016-04-01

The ultimate goal of cell division is to give rise to two viable independent daughter cells. A tight spatial and temporal regulation between chromosome segregation and cytokinesis ensures the viability of the daughter cells. Schizosaccharomyces pombe, commonly known as fission yeast, has become a leading model organism for studying essential and conserved mechanisms of the eukaryotic cell division process. Like many other eukaryotic cells it divides by binary fission and the cleavage furrow undergoes ingression due to the contraction of an actomyosin ring. In contrast to mammalian cells, yeasts as cell-walled organisms, also need to form a division septum made of cell wall material to complete the process of cytokinesis. The division septum is deposited behind the constricting ring and it will constitute the new ends of the daughter cells. Cell separation also involves cell wall degradation and this process should be precisely regulated to avoid cell lysis. In this review, we will give a brief overview of the whole cytokinesis process in fission yeast, from the positioning and assembly of the contractile ring to the final step of cell separation, and the problems generated when these processes are not precise.

Reading and Writing in Multimodal Contexts: Exploring the Deictic Nature of Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bailey, Margaret Denice

2012-01-01

This study examined the reading and writing processes that seventh-graders used in hypertext versus traditional print environments. Additionally, it considered the impact of incorporating technology and collaboration into pedagogical practice. Three separate literacy activities involved students in finding information, creating presentations, and…

7 CFR 1780.39 - Application processing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... profession as a whole for similar work when RUS financing is not involved. Applicants will be responsible for... services are procured separately, the selection of the engineer or architect shall be done by requesting.... Contracts or other forms of agreements for other services including management, operation, and maintenance...

Naproxen Attenuates Sensitization of Depressive-Like Behavior and Fever during Maternal Separation

PubMed Central

Hennessy, Michael B.; Stafford, Nathan P.; Yusko-Osborne, Brittany; Schiml, Patricia A.; Xanthos, Evan D.; Deak, Terrence

2014-01-01

Early life stress can increase susceptibility for later development of depressive illness though a process thought to involve inflammatory mediators. Isolated guinea pig pups exhibit a passive, depressive-like behavioral response and fever that appear mediated by proinflammatory activity, and which sensitize with repeated separations. Treatment with an anti-inflammatory can attenuate the behavioral response during the initial separation and separation the following day. Here we used the cyclooxygenase inhibitor naproxen to examine the role of prostaglandins in mediating the depressive-like behavior and core body temperature of young guinea pigs during an initial separation, separation the next day, and separation 10 days after the first. The passive, depressive-like behavior as well as fever sensitized with repeated separation. Three days of injection with 14 mg/kg of naproxen prior to the initial separation reduced depressive-like behavior during all three separations. A 28 mg/kg dose of naproxen, however, had minimal effect on behavior. Fever during the early separations was moderated by naproxen, but only at the higher dose. These results suggest a role of prostaglandins in the behavioral and febrile response to maternal separation, and particularly in the sensitization of depressive-like behavior following repeated separation. PMID:25449392

Establishing a process for conducting cross-jurisdictional record linkage in Australia.

PubMed

Moore, Hannah C; Guiver, Tenniel; Woollacott, Anthony; de Klerk, Nicholas; Gidding, Heather F

2016-04-01

To describe the realities of conducting a cross-jurisdictional data linkage project involving state and Australian Government-based data collections to inform future national data linkage programs of work. We outline the processes involved in conducting a Proof of Concept data linkage project including the implementation of national data integration principles, data custodian and ethical approval requirements, and establishment of data flows. The approval process involved nine approval and regulatory bodies and took more than two years. Data will be linked across 12 datasets involving three data linkage centres. A framework was established to allow data to flow between these centres while maintaining the separation principle that serves to protect the privacy of the individual. This will be the first project to link child immunisation records from an Australian Government dataset to other administrative health datasets for a population cohort covering 2 million births in two Australian states. Although the project experienced some delays, positive outcomes were realised, primarily the development of strong collaborations across key stakeholder groups including community engagement. We have identified several recommendations and enhancements to this now established framework to further streamline the process for data linkage studies involving Australian Government data. © 2015 Public Health Association of Australia.

Mechanical recycling of waste electric and electronic equipment: a review.

PubMed

Cui, Jirang; Forssberg, Eric

2003-05-30

The production of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest growing areas. This development has resulted in an increase of waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE). In view of the environmental problems involved in the management of WEEE, many counties and organizations have drafted national legislation to improve the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of such wastes so as to reduce disposal. Recycling of WEEE is an important subject not only from the point of waste treatment but also from the recovery of valuable materials.WEEE is diverse and complex, in terms of materials and components makeup as well as the original equipment's manufacturing processes. Characterization of this waste stream is of paramount importance for developing a cost-effective and environmentally friendly recycling system. In this paper, the physical and particle properties of WEEE are presented. Selective disassembly, targeting on singling out hazardous and/or valuable components, is an indispensable process in the practice of recycling of WEEE. Disassembly process planning and innovation of disassembly facilities are most active research areas. Mechanical/physical processing, based on the characterization of WEEE, provides an alternative means of recovering valuable materials. Mechanical processes, such as screening, shape separation, magnetic separation, Eddy current separation, electrostatic separation, and jigging have been widely utilized in recycling industry. However, recycling of WEEE is only beginning. For maximum separation of materials, WEEE should be shredded to small, even fine particles, generally below 5 or 10mm. Therefore, a discussion of mechanical separation processes for fine particles is highlighted in this paper. Consumer electronic equipment (brown goods), such as television sets, video recorders, are most common. It is very costly to perform manual dismantling of those products, due to the fact that brown goods contain very low-grade precious metals and copper. It is expected that a mechanical recycling process will be developed for the upgrading of low metal content scraps.

Control of flow separation and mixing by aerodynamic excitation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rice, Edward J.; Abbott, John M.

1990-01-01

The recent research in the control of shear flows using unsteady aerodynamic excitation conducted at the NASA Lewis Research Center is reviewed. The program is of a fundamental nature, concentrating on the physics of the unsteady aerodynamic processes. This field of research is a fairly new development with great promise in the areas of enhanced mixing and flow separation control. Enhanced mixing research includes influence of core turbulence, forced pairing of coherent structures, and saturation of mixing enhancement. Separation flow control studies included are for a two-dimensional diffuser, conical diffusers, and single airfoils. Ultimate applications include aircraft engine inlet flow control at high angle of attack, wide angle diffusers, highly loaded airfoils as in turbomachinery, and ejector/suppressor nozzles for the supersonic transport. An argument involving the Coanda Effect is made that all of the above mentioned application areas really only involve forms of shear layer mixing enhancement. The program also includes the development of practical excitation devices which might be used in aircraft applications.

Thought disorder in schizophrenia: impairment in contextual processing via integrative failures in cognition.

PubMed

Patniyot, Nicholas S

2011-10-01

Formal thought disorder is a critical dysfunction in schizophrenia whose cause remains uncertain, but whose explanation may greatly further our understanding of the disease. Thought disorder in patients with schizophrenia has been hypothesized to involve a disturbance in the internal representation of context. Positive symptoms of schizophrenia attributable to thought disorder display a lack of organization that may be accounted for by an absence of normal contextual processing occurring within the operations of the executive system. But the precise nature and pervasiveness of the deficient cognitive operation remain undistinguished. It is proposed here that the assimilatory functions of the brain appear to lack the ability to perform a particular type of integrative operation when presented with heterogeneous information. This deficit involves committing cognitive misattributions through a confusion of mental terms via a process in thought analogous to a linguistic failure to correctly interpret deictic referents. Both proposed deficits in mental deixis and analogous "metarepresentational" deficits in schizophrenia potentially involve a failure to draw information for a conclusion from a separate framework of relations in integrative fashion. These deficits appear to involve a failure to take an interpreted piece of information as an output from a particular mental task and incorporate it into a new operational scheme, and a central attribute to the deficit is that there is a loss of an effective or adequate integration of separate strata of information. Potential neurobiological correlates to such a system based on current knowledge about schizophrenia neurocircuitry, as well as implications for testing, are also discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 1601.24 - Timing of responses to requests.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... by a group of requesters acting in concert, constitute a single request that would otherwise involve... means that there is a need to: (1) Search for and collect the requested records from facilities that are separate from the office processing the request; (2) Search for, collect, and appropriately examine a...

Using Participatory Management in a Traditional Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tavarone, Antonia R.

This paper describes the use of a participatory management process in an older, public-sector bureaucracy with an extremely traditional, hierarchical, and entrenched culture. Into this culture, two separate projects were introduced: an employee involvement program using the quality circle concept and a task force that would design and implement an…

REMOVAL OF CHLORIDE FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

DOEpatents

Schulz, W.W.

1959-08-01

The removal of chlorides from aqueons solutions is described. The process involves contacting the aqueous chloride containing solution with a benzene solution about 0.005 M in phenyl mercuric acetate whereby the chloride anions are taken up by the organic phase and separating the organic phase from the aqueous solutions.

Individual Differences in Dual Task Performance. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lansman, Marcy; Hunt, Earl

This report summarizes the research results and provides a reference. The basic question addressed was, "Is performance on multi-component tasks predicted by performance on the individual components performed separately?" In the first series of experiments, a dual task involving memory and verbal processing components to predict a…

Hydrometallurgical process for recovering iron sulfate and zinc sulfate from baghouse dust

DOEpatents

Zaromb, Solomon; Lawson, Daniel B.

1994-01-01

A process for recovering zinc/rich and iron-rich fractions from the baghouse dust that is generated in various metallurgical operations, especially in steel-making and other iron-making plants, comprises the steps of leaching the dust by hot concentrated sulfuric acid so as to generate dissolved zinc sulfate and a precipitate of iron sulfate, separating the precipitate from the acid by filtration and washing with a volatile liquid, such as methanol or acetone, and collecting the filtered acid and the washings into a filtrate fraction. The volatile liquid may be recovered distillation, and the zinc may be removed from the filtrate by alternative methods, one of which involves addition of a sufficient amount of water to precipitate hydrated zinc sulfate at 10.degree. C., separation of the precipitate from sulfuric acid by filtration, and evaporation of water to regenerate concentrated sulfuric acid. The recovery of iron may also be effected in alternative ways, one of which involves roasting the ferric sulfate to yield ferric oxide and sulfur trioxide, which can be reconverted to concentrated sulfuric acid by hydration. The overall process should not generate any significant waste stream.

Hydrometallurgical process for recovering iron sulfate and zinc sulfate from baghouse dust

DOEpatents

Zaromb, S.; Lawson, D.B.

1994-02-15

A process for recovering zinc-rich and iron-rich fractions from the baghouse dust that is generated in various metallurgical operations, especially in steel-making and other iron-making plants, comprises the steps of leaching the dust by hot concentrated sulfuric acid so as to generate dissolved zinc sulfate and a precipitate of iron sulfate, separating the precipitate from the acid by filtration and washing with a volatile liquid, such as methanol or acetone, and collecting the filtered acid and the washings into a filtrate fraction. The volatile liquid may be recovered by distillation, and the zinc may be removed from the filtrate by alternative methods, one of which involves addition of a sufficient amount of water to precipitate hydrated zinc sulfate at 10 C, separation of the precipitate from sulfuric acid by filtration, and evaporation of water to regenerate concentrated sulfuric acid. The recovery of iron may also be effected in alternative ways, one of which involves roasting the ferric sulfate to yield ferric oxide and sulfur trioxide, which can be reconverted to concentrated sulfuric acid by hydration. The overall process should not generate any significant waste stream. 1 figure.

Low-Rank Matrix Recovery Approach for Clutter Rejection in Real-Time IR-UWB Radar-Based Moving Target Detection

PubMed Central

Sabushimike, Donatien; Na, Seung You; Kim, Jin Young; Bui, Ngoc Nam; Seo, Kyung Sik; Kim, Gil Gyeom

2016-01-01

The detection of a moving target using an IR-UWB Radar involves the core task of separating the waves reflected by the static background and by the moving target. This paper investigates the capacity of the low-rank and sparse matrix decomposition approach to separate the background and the foreground in the trend of UWB Radar-based moving target detection. Robust PCA models are criticized for being batched-data-oriented, which makes them inconvenient in realistic environments where frames need to be processed as they are recorded in real time. In this paper, a novel method based on overlapping-windows processing is proposed to cope with online processing. The method consists of processing a small batch of frames which will be continually updated without changing its size as new frames are captured. We prove that RPCA (via its Inexact Augmented Lagrange Multiplier (IALM) model) can successfully separate the two subspaces, which enhances the accuracy of target detection. The overlapping-windows processing method converges on the optimal solution with its batch counterpart (i.e., processing batched data with RPCA), and both methods prove the robustness and efficiency of the RPCA over the classic PCA and the commonly used exponential averaging method. PMID:27598159

Study of role of meniscus and viscous forces during liquid-mediated contacts separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhital, Prabin

Menisci may form between two solid surfaces with the presence of an ultra-thin liquid film. When the separation operation is needed, meniscus and viscous forces contribute to an adhesion leading stiction, high friction, possibly high wear and potential failure of the contact systems, for instance microdevices, magnetic head disks and diesel fuel injectors. The situation may become more pronounced when the contacting surfaces are ultra-smooth and the normal load is small. Various design parameters, such as contact angle, initial separation height, surface tension and liquid viscosity, have been investigated during liquid-mediated contact separation. However, how the involved forces will change roles for various liquid is of interest and is necessary to be studied. In this study, meniscus and viscous forces due to water and liquid lubricants during separation of two flat surfaces are studied. Previously established mathematical model for meniscus and viscous forces during flat on flat contact separation is simulated. The effect of meniscus and viscous force on critical meniscus area at which those forces change role is studied with different liquid properties for flat on flat contact surfaces. The roles of the involved forces at various meniscus areas are analyzed. Experiments are done in concerns to studying the effect of surface roughness on contact angle. The impact of liquid properties, initial separation heights and contact angle on critical meniscus area for different liquid properties are analyzed. The study provides a fundamental understanding of the forces of the separation process and its value for the design of interfaces. The effect of surface roughness and liquid properties on contact angle are studied.

Oceanographic Interpretation of Apollo Photographs. Coastal Oceanographic and Sedimentologic Interpretation of Apollo 9 Space Photographs; Carolina's Continental Shelf, USA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mairs, R. L.

1971-01-01

Apollo 9 photographs, color band separations, and oceanographic and meteorological data are used in the study of the origin, movement, and dissipation of masses of discolored water near the shores of North and South Carolina. A model has been developed incorporating jet theory, climatology, currents, surface temperatures, color separations, and other oceanographic data to explain the processes involved in the life cycle of the discolored water masses. Special treatment is afforded the Gulf Stream boundary definition and the Cape Hatteras oceanographic barrier.

Process for fabricating PBI hollow fiber asymmetric membranes for gas separation and liquid separation

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

Jayaweera, Indira; Krishnan, Gopala N.; Sanjurjo, Angel

2016-04-26

The invention provides methods for preparing an asymmetric hollow fiber, the asymmetric hollow fibers prepared by such methods, and uses of the asymmetric hollow fibers. One method involves passing a polymeric solution through an outer annular orifice of a tube-in-orifice spinneret, passing a bore fluid though an inner tube of the spinneret, dropping the polymeric solution and bore fluid through an atmosphere over a dropping distance, and quenching the polymeric solution and bore fluid in a bath to form an asymmetric hollow fiber.

Gender Differences in How Family Income and Parental Education Relate to Reading Achievement in China: The Mediating Role of Parental Expectation and Parental Involvement

PubMed Central

Guo, Xiaolin; Lv, Bo; Zhou, Huan; Liu, Chunhui; Liu, Juan; Jiang, Kexin; Luo, Liang

2018-01-01

The impact of social economic status (SES) on children's academic outcomes has been well documented. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain poorly understood. Furthermore, the process by which SES relates to academic achievement needs to be studied separately for boys and girls. Using a sample of 598 Chinese children (299 boys, 299 girls) in grades 4 to 6 and their parents, this study examined the process of how family SES, specifically family income and parental education, indirectly relates to children's reading achievement through parental expectation and parental involvement and whether this process differs between boys and girls. The results revealed that parental expectation and specific parental involvement behaviors played critical mediating roles between family SES and reading achievement. Moreover, the exact nature of these links differed by the gender of children. For boys, both the effect of parental education and the effect of family income were partially mediated by parental expectation and parent-child communication orderly. For girls, the effect of parental education was partially mediated by three separate pathways: (1) home monitoring; (2) parent-child communication; and (3) parental expectation followed by parent-child communication, while the effect of family income was fully mediated by parent-child communication. These findings suggest a process through which SES factors are related to children's academic development and identify a context under which these associations may differ. The practical implications of these findings are discussed, along with possible future research directions. PMID:29910752

Effects of ozone and peroxone on algal separation via dispersed air flotation.

PubMed

Nguyen, Truc Linh; Lee, D J; Chang, J S; Liu, J C

2013-05-01

Effects of pre-oxidation on algal separation by dispersed air flotation were examined. Ozone (O3) and peroxone (O3 and H2O2) could induce cell lysis, release of intracellular organic matter (IOM), and mineralization of organic substances. Separation efficiency of algal cells improved when pre-oxidized. Total of 76.4% algal cells was separated at 40 mg/L of N-cetyl-N-N-N-trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), while 95% were separated after 30-min ozonation. Pre-oxidation by ozone and peroxone also enhanced flotation separation efficiency of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), polysaccharide, and protein, in which peroxone process exerted more significantly than O3. Two main mechanisms were involved in flotation separation of unoxidized algal suspension, namely hydrophobic cell surface and cell flocculation resulting from CTAB adsorption. However, flocculation by CTAB was hindered for pre-oxidized algal suspensions. It implied that the compositional changes in extracellular organic matter (EOM) by pre-oxidation were more determined for flotation separation of pre-oxidized cells. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electric field measurements during the Condor critical velocity experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelley, M. C.; Pfaff, R. F.; Haerendel, G.

1986-01-01

The instrumentation of the Condor critical velocity Ba experiment (Wescott et al., 1986) for the measurements of the energetic particles and the electric field associated with a Ba explosion is described. The Ba explosion created a complex electric field pulse detected in situ by a single-axis double electric-field probe on a separate spacecraft. The measurements provide evidence of several important links in the critical-velocity chain, and are consistent with two hypotheses. The first hypothesis involves the creation of large polarization electric field due to charge separation; the second hypothesis implies a polarization of the beam by currents flowing across it. The chain of physical processes inferred from the observations is in agreement with most theories for the Alfven process.

Does recyclable separation reduce the cost of municipal waste management in Japan?

PubMed

Chifari, Rosaria; Lo Piano, Samuele; Matsumoto, Shigeru; Tasaki, Tomohiro

2017-02-01

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is a system involving multiple sub-systems that typically require demanding inputs, materials and resources to properly process generated waste throughput. For this reason, MSW management is generally one of the most expensive services provided by municipalities. In this paper, we analyze the Japanese MSW management system and estimate the cost elasticity with respect to the waste volumes at three treatment stages: collection, processing, and disposal. Although we observe economies of scale at all three stages, the collection cost is less elastic than the disposal cost. We also examine whether source separation at home affects the cost of MSW management. The empirical results show that the separate collection of the recyclable fraction leads to reduced processing costs at intermediate treatment facilities, but does not change the overall waste management cost. Our analysis also reveals that the cost of waste management systems decreases when the service is provided by private companies through a public tender. The cost decreases even more when the service is performed under the coordination of adjacent municipalities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Republic of Moldova and the Transnistrian Conflict: The Impact of NATO and the European Union Enlargements on the Dispute Resolution Process

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

candidates. Either one of these two organizations, taken separately, possesses enough potential to create an asymmetry against Russia. Would these... two institutions get more involved in the fate of this intra-state conflict? Possible courses of action of actors involved will be analyzed through...stand-off against Russia on the Transnistrian issue. In this respect, NATO and the EU appear to be appropriate candidates. Either one of these two

Automating multistep flow synthesis: approach and challenges in integrating chemistry, machines and logic

PubMed Central

Shukla, Chinmay A

2017-01-01

The implementation of automation in the multistep flow synthesis is essential for transforming laboratory-scale chemistry into a reliable industrial process. In this review, we briefly introduce the role of automation based on its application in synthesis viz. auto sampling and inline monitoring, optimization and process control. Subsequently, we have critically reviewed a few multistep flow synthesis and suggested a possible control strategy to be implemented so that it helps to reliably transfer the laboratory-scale synthesis strategy to a pilot scale at its optimum conditions. Due to the vast literature in multistep synthesis, we have classified the literature and have identified the case studies based on few criteria viz. type of reaction, heating methods, processes involving in-line separation units, telescopic synthesis, processes involving in-line quenching and process with the smallest time scale of operation. This classification will cover the broader range in the multistep synthesis literature. PMID:28684977

M-DAS: System for multispectral data analysis. [in Saginaw Bay, Michigan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, R. H.

1975-01-01

M-DAS is a ground data processing system designed for analysis of multispectral data. M-DAS operates on multispectral data from LANDSAT, S-192, M2S and other sources in CCT form. Interactive training by operator-investigators using a variable cursor on a color display was used to derive optimum processing coefficients and data on cluster separability. An advanced multivariate normal-maximum likelihood processing algorithm was used to produce output in various formats: color-coded film images, geometrically corrected map overlays, moving displays of scene sections, coverage tabulations and categorized CCTs. The analysis procedure for M-DAS involves three phases: (1) screening and training, (2) analysis of training data to compute performance predictions and processing coefficients, and (3) processing of multichannel input data into categorized results. Typical M-DAS applications involve iteration between each of these phases. A series of photographs of the M-DAS display are used to illustrate M-DAS operation.

Self-regenerating column chromatography

DOEpatents

Park, Woo K.

1995-05-30

The present invention provides a process for treating both cations and anions by using a self-regenerating, multi-ionic exchange resin column system which requires no separate regeneration steps. The process involves alternating ion-exchange chromatography for cations and anions in a multi-ionic exchange column packed with a mixture of cation and anion exchange resins. The multi-ionic mixed-charge resin column works as a multi-function column, capable of independently processing either cationic or anionic exchange, or simultaneously processing both cationic and anionic exchanges. The major advantage offered by the alternating multi-function ion exchange process is the self-regeneration of the resins.

Spatial release from masking based on binaural processing for up to six maskers

PubMed Central

Yost, William A.

2017-01-01

Spatial Release from Masking (SRM) was measured for identification of a female target word spoken in the presence of male masker words. Target words from a single loudspeaker located at midline were presented when two, four, or six masker words were presented either from the same source as the target or from spatially separated masker sources. All masker words were presented from loudspeakers located symmetrically around the centered target source in the front azimuth hemifield. Three masking conditions were employed: speech-in-speech masking (involving both informational and energetic masking), speech-in-noise masking (involving energetic masking), and filtered speech-in-filtered speech masking (involving informational masking). Psychophysical results were summarized as three-point psychometric functions relating proportion of correct word identification to target-to-masker ratio (in decibels) for both the co-located and spatially separated target and masker sources cases. SRM was then calculated by comparing the slopes and intercepts of these functions. SRM decreased as the number of symmetrically placed masker sources increased from two to six. This decrease was independent of the type of masking, with almost no SRM measured for six masker sources. These results suggest that when SRM is dependent primarily on binaural processing, SRM is effectively limited to fewer than six sound sources. PMID:28372135

Solid Lubrication of Laser Deposited Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Nickel Matrix Nanocomposites Preprint

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

others [24-27], involves third body processes. Third bodies are formed by the relative motion of the two parent (first body ) materials in the...into wear particles. By separating the two first bodies , third bodies take on the chore of transmitting stresses and accommodate the relative...motion between the counterfaces. Thus friction and wear behavior is controlled by the third body processes, as opposed to the first body properties

Breaking the Change Barrier: A 40 Year Analysis of Air Force Pilot Retention Solutions

DTIC Science & Technology

national defense. A problem/solution research methodology using the organizational management theory of path dependence explored the implications of the...exodus is to start the incentive process earlier in the career and prior to the final decision to separate. Path dependent analysis indicates all prior... incentive options and personal involvement in the overall process. The Air Force can annually budget and forecast incentive requirements and personnel

Using Green Star Metrics to Optimize the Greenness of Literature Protocols for Syntheses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duarte, Rita C. C.; Ribeiro, M. Gabriela T. C.; Machado, Adélio A. S. C.

2015-01-01

A procedure to improve the greenness of a synthesis, without performing laboratory work, using alternative protocols available in the literature is presented. The greenness evaluation involves the separate assessment of the different steps described in the available protocols--reaction, isolation, and purification--as well as the global process,…

Division in a Binary Representation for Complex Numbers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blest, David C.; Jamil, Tariq

2003-01-01

Computer operations involving complex numbers, essential in such applications as Fourier transforms or image processing, are normally performed in a "divide-and-conquer" approach dealing separately with real and imaginary parts. A number of proposals have treated complex numbers as a single unit but all have foundered on the problem of the…

Characterization of Gas Chromatographic Liquid Phases Using McReynolds Constants. An Experiment for Instrumental Analysis Laboratory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erskine, Steven R.; And Others

1986-01-01

Describes a laboratory experiment that is designed to aid in the understanding of the fundamental process involved in gas chromatographic separations. Introduces the Kovats retention index system for use by chemistry students to establish criteria for the optimal selection of gas chromatographic stationary phases. (TW)

Effects of illness and disability on job separation.

PubMed

Magee, William

2004-03-01

Effects of illness and disability on job separation result from both voluntary and involuntary processes. Voluntary processes range from the reasoned actions of workers who weigh illness and disability in their decision-making, to reactive stress-avoidance responses. Involuntary processes include employer discrimination against ill or disabled workers. Analyses of the effects of illness and disability that differentiate reasons for job separation can illuminate the processes involved. This paper reports on an evaluation of effects of illness and disability on job separation predicted by theories of reasoned action, stress, and employer discrimination against ill and disabled workers. Effects of four illness/disability conditions on the rate of job separation for 12 reasons are estimated using data from a longitudinal study of a representative sample of the Canadian population-the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID). Two of the four effects that are statistically significant (under conservative Bayesian criteria for statistical significance) are consistent with the idea that workers weigh illness and disability as costs, and calculate the costs and benefits of continuing to work with an illness or disability: (1) disabling illness increases the hazard of leaving a job in order to engage in caregiving, and (2) work-related disability increases the hazard of leaving a job due to poor pay. The other two significant effects indicate that: (3) disabling illness decreases the hazard of layoff, and (4) non-work disability increases the hazard of leaving one job to take a different job. This last effect is consistent with a stress-interruption process. Other effects are statistically significant under conventional criteria for statistical significance, and most of these effects are also consistent with cost-benefit and stress theories. Some effects of illness and disability are sex and age-specific, and reasons for the specificity of these effects are discussed.

Origin of Reversible Photoinduced Phase Separation in Hybrid Perovskites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bischak, Connor G.; Hetherington, Craig L.; Wu, Hao; Aloni, Shaul; Ogletree, D. Frank; Limmer, David T.; Ginsberg, Naomi S.

2017-02-01

Nonequilibrium processes occurring in functional materials can significantly impact device efficiencies and are often difficult to characterize due to the broad range of length and time scales involved. In particular, mixed halide hybrid perovskites are promising for optoelectronics, yet the halides reversibly phase separate when photo-excited, significantly altering device performance. By combining nanoscale imaging and multiscale modeling, we elucidate the mechanism underlying this phenomenon, demonstrating that local strain induced by photo-generated polarons promotes halide phase separation and leads to nucleation of light-stabilized iodide-rich clusters. This effect relies on the unique electromechanical properties of hybrid materials, characteristic of neither their organic nor inorganic constituents alone. Exploiting photo-induced phase separation and other nonequilibrium phenomena in hybrid materials, generally, could enable new opportunities for expanding the functional applications in sensing, photoswitching, optical memory, and energy storage.

Online sensing and control of oil in process wastewater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khomchenko, Irina B.; Soukhomlinoff, Alexander D.; Mitchell, T. F.; Selenow, Alexander E.

2002-02-01

Industrial processes, which eliminate high concentration of oil in their waste stream, find it extremely difficult to measure and control the water purification process. Most oil separation processes involve chemical separation using highly corrosive caustics, acids, surfactants, and emulsifiers. Included in the output of this chemical treatment process are highly adhesive tar-like globules, emulsified and surface oils, and other emulsified chemicals, in addition to suspended solids. The level of oil/hydrocarbons concentration in the wastewater process may fluctuate from 1 ppm to 10,000 ppm, depending upon the specifications of the industry and level of water quality control. The authors have developed a sensing technology, which provides the accuracy of scatter/absorption sensing in a contactless environment by combining these methodologies with reflective measurement. The sensitivity of the sensor may be modified by changing the fluid level control in the flow cell, allowing for a broad range of accurate measurement from 1 ppm to 10,000 ppm. Because this sensing system has been designed to work in a highly invasive environment, it can be placed close to the process source to allow for accurate real time measurement and control.

The functional role of dorso-lateral premotor cortex during mental rotation: an event-related fMRI study separating cognitive processing steps using a novel task paradigm.

PubMed

Lamm, Claus; Windischberger, Christian; Moser, Ewald; Bauer, Herbert

2007-07-15

Subjects deciding whether two objects presented at angular disparity are identical or mirror versions of each other usually show response times that linearly increase with the angle between objects. This phenomenon has been termed mental rotation. While there is widespread agreement that parietal cortex plays a dominant role in mental rotation, reports concerning the involvement of motor areas are less consistent. From a theoretical point of view, activation in motor areas suggests that mental rotation relies upon visuo-motor rather than visuo-spatial processing alone. However, the type of information that is processed by motor areas during mental rotation remains unclear. In this study we used event-related fMRI to assess whether activation in parietal and dorsolateral premotor areas (dPM) during mental rotation is distinctively related to processing spatial orientation information. Using a newly developed task paradigm we explicitly separated the processing steps (encoding, mental rotation proper and object matching) required by mental rotation tasks and additionally modulated the amount of spatial orientation information that had to be processed. Our results show that activation in dPM during mental rotation is not strongly modulated by the processing of spatial orientation information, and that activation in dPM areas is strongest during mental rotation proper. The latter finding suggests that dPM is involved in more generalized processes such as visuo-spatial attention and movement anticipation. We propose that solving mental rotation tasks is heavily dependent upon visuo-motor processes and evokes neural processing that may be considered as an implicit simulation of actual object rotation.

Low density microcellular foams

DOEpatents

Aubert, J.H.; Clough, R.L.; Curro, J.G.; Quintana, C.A.; Russick, E.M.; Shaw, M.T.

1985-10-02

Low density, microporous polymer foams are provided by a process which comprises forming a solution of polymer and a suitable solvent followed by rapid cooling of the solution to form a phase-separated system and freeze the phase-separated system. The phase-separated system comprises a polymer phase and a solvent phase, each of which is substantially continuous within the other. The morphology of the polymer phase prior to and subsequent to freezing determine the morphology of the resultant foam. Both isotropic and anisotropic foams can be produced. If isotropic foams are produced, the polymer and solvent are tailored such that the solution spontaneously phase-separates prior to the point at which any component freezes. The morphology of the resultant polymer phase determines the morphology of the reusltant foam and the morphology of the polymer phase is retained by cooling the system at a rate sufficient to freeze one or both components of the system before a change in morphology can occur. Anisotropic foams are produced by forming a solution of polymer and solvent that will not phase separate prior to freezing of one or both components of the solution. In such a process, the solvent typically freezes before phase separation occurs. The morphology of the resultant frozen two-phase system determines the morphology of the resultant foam. The process involves subjecting the solution to essentially one-dimensional cooling. Foams having a density of less than 0.1 g/cc and a uniform cell size of less than 10 ..mu..m and a volume such that the foams have a length greater than 1 cm are provided.

Auditory verbal hallucinations: Social, but how?

PubMed Central

Alderson-Day, Ben; Fernyhough, Charles

2017-01-01

Summary Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are experiences of hearing voices in the absence of an external speaker. Standard explanatory models propose that AVH arise from misattributed verbal cognitions (i.e. inner speech), but provide little account of how heard voices often have a distinct persona and agency. Here we review the argument that AVH have important social and agent-like properties and consider how different neurocognitive approaches to AVH can account for these elements, focusing on inner speech, memory, and predictive processing. We then evaluate the possible role of separate social-cognitive processes in the development of AVH, before outlining three ways in which speech and language processes already involve socially important information, such as cues to interact with others. We propose that when these are taken into account, the social characteristics of AVH can be explained without an appeal to separate social-cognitive systems. PMID:29238264

Hormone purification by isoelectric focusing in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bier, M.

1988-01-01

The objective of the program was the definition and development of optimal methods for electrophoretic separations in microgravity. The approach is based on a triad consisting of ground based experiments, mathematical modeling and experiments in microgravity. Zone electrophoresis is a rate process, where separation is achieved in uniform buffers on the basis of differences in electrophoretic mobilities. Optimization and modeling of continuous flow electrophoresis mainly concern the hydrodynamics of the flow process, including gravity dependent fluid convection due to density gradients and gravity independent electroosmosis. Optimization of focusing requires a more complex model describing the molecular transport processes involved in electrophoresis of interacting systems. Three different focusing instruments were designed, embodying novel principles of fluid stabilization. Fluid stability was achieved by: (1) flow streamlining by means of membrane elements in combination with rapid fluid recycling; (2) apparatus rotation in combination with said membrane elements; and (3) shear stress induced by rapid recycling through a narrow gap channel.

Modification of Gaussian mixture models for data classification in high energy physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Štěpánek, Michal; Franc, Jiří; Kůs, Václav

2015-01-01

In high energy physics, we deal with demanding task of signal separation from background. The Model Based Clustering method involves the estimation of distribution mixture parameters via the Expectation-Maximization algorithm in the training phase and application of Bayes' rule in the testing phase. Modifications of the algorithm such as weighting, missing data processing, and overtraining avoidance will be discussed. Due to the strong dependence of the algorithm on initialization, genetic optimization techniques such as mutation, elitism, parasitism, and the rank selection of individuals will be mentioned. Data pre-processing plays a significant role for the subsequent combination of final discriminants in order to improve signal separation efficiency. Moreover, the results of the top quark separation from the Tevatron collider will be compared with those of standard multivariate techniques in high energy physics. Results from this study has been used in the measurement of the inclusive top pair production cross section employing DØ Tevatron full Runll data (9.7 fb-1).

Recovery of Iron from Hematite-Rich Diasporic-Type Bauxite Ore

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Tao; Li, Zhuoxuan; Yang, Lin; Li, Guanghui; Zhang, Yuanbo; Zeng, Jinghua

A technique has been proposed for recovering iron from hematite-rich diasporic-type bauxite ore in this study. Direct reduction roasting followed by low intensity wet magnetic separation process was carried out. The parameters including reduction temperature and time, sodium salts, grinding conditions and magnetic field intensity for separation of iron were determined. The optimum process parameters as follows: roasting temperature of 1050 °C, time of 60 min, sodium salts involving sodium sulfate, borax, sodium carbonate with dosages of 10 wt%, 2 wt%, 35 wt% respectively, and magnetic field intensity of 1000 Gs with fineness of pulp reached 92.75% passing -0.074mm. Under the optimal conditions, an iron concentrate containing 88.17% total iron grade and iron recovery of 92.51% was obtained, 4.55% total iron grade in tailings. This novel technique provide a potential route for utilizing hematiterich diasporic bauxite ore, recovering iron resource firstly, and extracting alumina from magnetic separation tailings further.

Brain signatures of monetary loss and gain: outcome-related potentials in a single outcome gambling task

PubMed Central

Kamarajan, Chella; Porjesz, Bernice; Rangaswamy, Madhavi; Tang, Yongqiang; Chorlian, David B.; Padmanabhapillai, Ajayan; Saunders, Ramotse; Pandey, Ashwini K.; Roopesh, Bangalore N.; Manz, Niklas; Stimus, Arthur T.; Begleiter, Henri

2009-01-01

This study evaluates the event-related potential (ERP) components in a single outcome gambling task that involved monetary losses and gains. The participants were 50 healthy young volunteers (25 males and 25 females). The gambling task involved valence (loss and gain) and amount (50¢ and 10¢) as outcomes. The outcome-related negativity (ORN/N2) and outcome-related positivity (ORP/P3) were analyzed and compared across conditions and gender. Monetary gain (compared to loss) and higher amount (50¢ compared to 10¢) produced higher amplitudes and shorter latencies in both ORN and ORP components. Difference wave plots showed that earlier processing (200-400 ms) is dominated by the valence (loss/gain) while later processing (after 400 ms) is marked by the amount (50¢/10¢). Functional mapping using Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) indicated that the ORN separated the loss against gain in both genders, while the ORP activity distinguished the 50¢ against 10¢ in males. This study further strengthens the view that separate brain processes/circuitry may mediate loss and gain. Although there were no gender differences in behavioral and impulsivity scores, ORN and ORP measures for different task conditions had significant correlations with behavioral scores. This gambling paradigm may potentially offer valuable indicators to study outcome processing and impulsivity in normals as well as in clinical populations. PMID:18775749

A Chimeric Kinesin-1 Head/Kinesin-5 Tail Motor Switches between Diffusive and Processive Motility

PubMed Central

Thiede, Christina; Lakämper, Stefan; Wessel, Alok D.; Kramer, Stefanie; Schmidt, Christoph F.

2013-01-01

Homotetrameric kinesin-5 motors are essential for chromosome separation and assembly of the mitotic spindle. These kinesins bind between two microtubules (MTs) and slide them apart, toward the spindle poles. This process must be tightly regulated in mitosis. In in vitro assays, Eg5 moves diffusively on single MTs and switches to a directed mode between MTs. How allosteric communication between opposing motor domains works remains unclear, but kinesin-5 tail domains may be involved. Here we present a single-molecule fluorescence study of a tetrameric kinesin-1 head/kinesin-5 tail chimera, DK4mer. This motor exhibited fast processive motility on single MTs interrupted by pauses. Like Eg5, DK4mer diffused along MTs with ADP, and slid antiparallel MTs apart with ATP. In contrast to Eg5, diffusive and processive periods were clearly distinguishable. This allowed us to measure transition rates among states and for unbinding as a function of buffer ionic strength. These data, together with results from controls using tail-less dimers, indicate that there are two modes of interaction with MTs, separated by an energy barrier. This result suggests a scheme of motor regulation that involves switching between two bound states, possibly allosterically controlled by the opposing tetramer end. Such a scheme is likely to be relevant for the regulation of native kinesin-5 motors. PMID:23442865

Investigation of Allan variance for determining noise spectral forms with application to microwave radiometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stanley, William D.

1994-01-01

An investigation of the Allan variance method as a possible means for characterizing fluctuations in radiometric noise diodes has been performed. The goal is to separate fluctuation components into white noise, flicker noise, and random-walk noise. The primary means is by discrete-time processing, and the study focused primarily on the digital processes involved. Noise satisfying the requirements was generated by direct convolution, fast Fourier transformation (FFT) processing in the time domain, and FFT processing in the frequency domain. Some of the numerous results obtained are presented along with the programs used in the study.

Internalization, separation-individuation, and the nature of therapeutic action.

PubMed

Blatt, S J; Behrends, R S

1987-01-01

Based on the assumption that the mutative factors that facilitate growth in psychoanalysis involve the same fundamental mechanisms that lead to psychological growth in normal development, this paper considers the constant oscillation between gratification and deprivation leading to internalization as the central therapeutic mechanism of the psychoanalytic process. Patients experience the analytic process as a series of gratifying involvements and experienced incompatibilities that facilitate internalization, whereby the patient recovers lost or disrupted regulatory, gratifying interactions with the analyst, which are real or fantasied, by appropriating these interactions, transforming them into their own, enduring, self-generated functions and characteristics. Patients internalize not only the analyst's interpretive activity, but also the analyst's sensitivity, compassion and acceptance, and, in addition, their own activity in relation to the analyst such as free association. Both interpretation and the therapeutic relationship can contain elements of gratifying involvement and experienced incompatibility that lead to internalization and therefore both can be mutative factors in the therapeutic process.

Capillary electrophoretic study of dibasic acids of different structures: Relation to separation of oxidative intermediates in remediation

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

Yu, Z.; Cocke, D.L.

Dicarboxylic acids are important in environmental chemistry because they are intermediates in oxidative processes involved in natural remediation and waste management processes such as oxidative detoxification and advanced oxidation. Capillary electrophoresis (CE), a promising technique for separating and analyzing these intermediates, has been used to examine a series of dibasic acids of different structures and conformations. This series includes malonic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, phthalic acid, and trans, trans-muconic acid. The CE parameters as well as structural variations (molecular structure and molecular isomers, buffer composition, pH, applied voltage, injection mode, current,more » temperature, and detection wavelength) that affect the separations and analytical results have been examined in this study. Those factors that affect the separation have been delineated. Among these parameters, the pH has been found to be the most important, which affects the double-layer of the capillary wall, the electro-osmotic flow and analyte mobility. The optimum pH for separating these dibasic acids, as well as the other parameters are discussed in detail and related to the development of methods for analyzing oxidation intermediates in oxidative waste management procedures.« less

Estimation of bladder wall location in ultrasound images.

PubMed

Topper, A K; Jernigan, M E

1991-05-01

A method of automatically estimating the location of the bladder wall in ultrasound images is proposed. Obtaining this estimate is intended to be the first stage in the development of an automatic bladder volume calculation system. The first step in the bladder wall estimation scheme involves globally processing the images using standard image processing techniques to highlight the bladder wall. Separate processing sequences are required to highlight the anterior bladder wall and the posterior bladder wall. The sequence to highlight the anterior bladder wall involves Gaussian smoothing and second differencing followed by zero-crossing detection. Median filtering followed by thresholding and gradient detection is used to highlight as much of the rest of the bladder wall as was visible in the original images. Then a 'bladder wall follower'--a line follower with rules based on the characteristics of ultrasound imaging and the anatomy involved--is applied to the processed images to estimate the bladder wall location by following the portions of the bladder wall which are highlighted and filling in the missing segments. The results achieved using this scheme are presented.

Composing for the Left Hand: Writing Activities for the Intermediate Grades.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blake, Robert W.

This paper cites descriptions, by professional writers, of two stages in the composing process that appear to correspond with the two modes of mental activity separately controlled by the hemispheres of the brain. The stage of writing a first draft involves unconscious, personal, irrational, intuitive writing which may be called "writing for the…

Cryogenic engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beliakov, V. P.

Recent developments and trends in cryogenic engineering are reviewed, with emphasis on the role of cryogenics in power generation, machine building, chemistry, and metallurgy. Several cryogenic systems are described, including air-separation apparatus, cryogenic storage systems, cryothermovacuum devices, and the cryogenic systems of superconducting devices. The theoretical principles underlying the design of cryogenic systems are examined, along with the theory for the processes involved.

Local Instruction Theory on Division in Mathematics GASING: The Case of Rural Area's Student in Indonesia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prahmana, Rully Charitas Indra; Suwasti, Petra

2014-01-01

Several studies on learning mathematics for rural area's student indicate that students have difficulty in understanding the concept of division operation. Students are more likely to be introduced by the use of the formula without involving the concept itself and learning division separate the concrete situation of learning process. This…

Developing Health and Family Planning Print Materials for Low-Literate Audiences: A Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmerman, Margot; And Others

This manual offers guidelines for developing health and family planning support materials for illiterate and low-literate groups. The techniques used rely heavily on involvement of the target audience. Following the introduction, each of the nine sections of the guide discusses a separate step in the materials development process: (1) "target…

75 FR 30742 - Modification of the Process for Requesting a Waiver of the Mandatory Separation Age of 56 for Air...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-02

... Control Specialists would no longer be required to certify they have not been involved in an operational error (OE), operational deviation (OD), or runway incursion in the past 5 years. The proposed change... references to employee identification, training record entries, performance management, and return-to-duty...

Breakdown of middle lamella pectin by (●) OH during rapid abscission in Azolla.

PubMed

Yamada, Yoshiya; Koibuchi, Mizuki; Miyamoto, Kensuke; Ueda, Junichi; Uheda, Eiji

2015-08-01

Azolla, a small water fern, abscises its roots and branches within 30 min upon treatment with various stresses. This study was conducted to test whether, in the rapid abscission that occurs in Azolla, breakdown of wall components of abscission zone cells by (●) OH is involved. Experimentally generated (●) OH caused the rapid separation of abscission zone cells from detached roots and the rapid shedding of roots from whole plants. Electron microscopic observations revealed that (●) OH rapidly and selectively dissolved a well-developed middle lamella between abscission zone cells and resultantly caused rapid cell separation and shedding. Treatment of abscission zones of Impatiens leaf petiole with (●) OH also accelerated the separation of abscission zone cells. However, compared with that of Azolla roots, accelerative effects in Impatiens were weak. A large amount of (●) OH was cytochemically detected in abscission zone cells both of Azolla roots and of Impatiens leaf petioles. These results suggest that (●) OH is involved in the cell separation process not only in the rapid abscission in Azolla but also in the abscission of Impatiens. However, for rapid abscission to occur, a well-developed middle lamella, a unique structure, which is sensitive to the attack of (●) OH, might be needed. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Application of flotation for the separation of metal-loaded zeolites.

PubMed

Matis, Kostas A; Zouboulis, Anastasios I; Gallios, George P; Erwe, Torsten; Blöcher, Christoph

2004-04-01

Several industrial wastewater streams may contain heavy metal ions, which must be effectively removed, before the discharge or reuse of treated waters could take place. Different bonding materials, presenting selectivity and fast reaction kinetics for the removal of metals, have been examined for this purpose. The objective of the present paper was to investigate the application of dispersed-air flotation for the separation of metal-loaded sorbents. Two similar zeolite samples were applied as effective bonding agents for the removal of zinc, a toxic metal commonly found in many industrial wastewaters. This combined process, termed sorptive flotation, involves the preliminary scavenging of metal ions, by using the appropriate sorbent particles (usually present as ultrafine particulates), followed by flotation for the effective separation of them. The obtained results were very promising, as both metal and sorbent were effectively removed/separated from the dispersion.

Disturbance Source Separation in Shear Flows Using Blind Source Separation Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gluzman, Igal; Cohen, Jacob; Oshman, Yaakov

2017-11-01

A novel approach is presented for identifying disturbance sources in wall-bounded shear flows. The method can prove useful for active control of boundary layer transition from laminar to turbulent flow. The underlying idea is to consider the flow state, as measured in sensors, to be a mixture of sources, and to use Blind Source Separation (BSS) techniques to recover the separate sources and their unknown mixing process. We present a BSS method based on the Degenerate Unmixing Estimation Technique. This method can be used to identify any (a priori unknown) number of sources by using the data acquired by only two sensors. The power of the new method is demonstrated via numerical and experimental proofs of concept. Wind tunnel experiments involving boundary layer flow over a flat plate were carried out, in which two hot-wire anemometers were used to separate disturbances generated by disturbance generators such as a single dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator and a loudspeaker.

Involvement of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis in Learning and Forgetting

PubMed Central

Yau, Suk-yu; Li, Ang; So, Kwok-Fai

2015-01-01

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is a process involving the continuous generation of newborn neurons in the hippocampus of adult animals. Mounting evidence has suggested that hippocampal neurogenesis contributes to some forms of hippocampus-dependent learning and memory; however, the detailed mechanism concerning how this small number of newborn neurons could affect learning and memory remains unclear. In this review, we discuss the relationship between adult-born neurons and learning and memory, with a highlight on recently discovered potential roles of neurogenesis in pattern separation and forgetting. PMID:26380120

Mental Health Following Separation in a Disaster: The Role of Attachment.

PubMed

Gallagher, H Colin; Richardson, John; Forbes, David; Harms, Louise; Gibbs, Lisa; Alkemade, Nathan; MacDougall, Colin; Waters, Elizabeth; Block, Karen; Lusher, Dean; Baker, Elyse; Bryant, Richard A

2016-02-01

Short-term separation from close family members during a disaster is a highly salient event for those involved. Yet, its subsequent impact on mental health has received little empirical attention. One relevant factor may be attachment style, which influences patterns of support-seeking under threatening conditions. Individuals (N = 914) affected by the 2009 Victorian bushfires in southeastern Australia were assessed for disaster experiences, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and attachment style 3-4 years after the fires. Using multigroup structural equation modelling, individuals who reported separation from close family members during the bushfires (n = 471) were compared to those who reported no separation (n = 443). Cross-sectional results indicated that separated individuals had higher levels of PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, attachment anxiety was more strongly positively associated with depression among separated (b = 0.62) versus not separated individuals (b = 0.32). Unexpectedly, among separated individuals, attachment avoidance had a statistically weaker association with depression (b = 0.17 vs. b = 0.35) and with PTSD symptoms (b = 0.06 vs. b = 0.22). These results suggest that attachment anxiety amplifies a negative reaction to separation; meanwhile, for avoidant individuals, separation in times of danger may facilitate defensive cognitive processes. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

β -decay studies of very neutron-rich Pd and Ag isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Karl

2014-03-01

The rapid-neutron capture process (r-process) is attributed as the source of nearly half the elements heavier than iron. To gain insight into the r-process nucleosynthesis, uncertainties such as the nuclear physics involved must be minimized. An experiment was performed to measure properties of neutron-rich nuclei just below the N = 82 shell closure believed to be responsible for production of the A = 130 peak in the solar r-process abundance pattern. β-decay half-lives and neutron branching ratios, Pn values, were measured for Pd and Ag isotopes at the GSI Fragment Separator (FRS). The FRS provided in-flight separation and identification of fission fragments produced by a 900 MeV/u 238U beam. Ions of interest were implanted in the Silicon Implantation detector and Beta Absorber (SIMBA) array. The large pixelation of the array allowed for position-time correlation between implants and the corresponding β-decays. The parent nucleus may decay to an excited state in the daughter, above the neutron separation energy emitting a neutron. These neutrons were moderated and detected in Beta deLayEd Neutron (BELEN) detector surrounding SIMBA. Resulting analysis of half-lives and neutron emission branching ratios including a time-dependent background will be presented.

One-dimension modeling on the parallel-plate ion extraction process based on a non-electron-equilibrium fluid model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, He-Ping; Chen, Jian; Guo, Heng; Jiang, Dong-Jun; Zhou, Ming-Sheng; Department of Engineering Physics Team

2017-10-01

Ion extraction from a plasma under an externally applied electric field involve multi-particle and multi-field interactions, and has wide applications in the fields of materials processing, etching, chemical analysis, etc. In order to develop the high-efficiency ion extraction methods, it is indispensable to establish a feasible model to understand the non-equilibrium transportation processes of the charged particles and the evolutions of the space charge sheath during the extraction process. Most of the previous studies on the ion extraction process are mainly based on the electron-equilibrium fluid model, which assumed that the electrons are in the thermodynamic equilibrium state. However, it may lead to some confusions with neglecting the electron movement during the sheath formation process. In this study, a non-electron-equilibrium model is established to describe the transportation of the charged particles in a parallel-plate ion extraction process. The numerical results show that the formation of the Child-Langmuir sheath is mainly caused by the charge separation. And thus, the sheath shielding effect will be significantly weakened if the charge separation is suppressed during the extraction process of the charged particles.

Method for the removal of ultrafine particulates from an aqueous suspension

DOEpatents

Chaiko, David J.; Kopasz, John P.; Ellison, Adam J. G.

2000-01-01

A method of separating ultra-fine particulates from an aqueous suspension such as a process stream or a waste stream. The method involves the addition of alkali silicate and an organic gelling agent to a volume of liquid, from the respective process or waste stream, to form a gel. The gel then undergoes syneresis to remove water and soluble salts from the gel containing the particulates, thus, forming a silica monolith. The silica monolith is then sintered to form a hard, nonporous waste form.

Method for the Removal of Ultrafine Particulates from an Aqueous Suspension

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

Chaiko, David J.; Kopasz, John P.; Ellison, Adam J.G.

1999-03-05

A method of separating ultra-fine particulate from an aqueous suspension such as a process stream or a waste stream. The method involves the addition of alkali silicate and an organic gelling agent to a volume of liquid, from the respective process or waste stream, to form a gel. The gel then undergoes syneresis to remove water and soluble salts from the gel-containing the particulate, thus, forming a silica monolith. The silica monolith is then sintered to form a hard, nonporous waste form.

Multiphase Transport in Porous Media: Gas-Liquid Separation Using Capillary Pressure Gradients International Space Station (ISS) Flight Experiment Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, Richard R., Jr.; Holtsnider, John T.; Dahl, Roger W.; Deeks, Dalton; Javanovic, Goran N.; Parker, James M.; Ehlert, Jim

2013-01-01

Advances in the understanding of multiphase flow characteristics under variable gravity conditions will ultimately lead to improved and as of yet unknown process designs for advanced space missions. Such novel processes will be of paramount importance to the success of future manned space exploration as we venture into our solar system and beyond. In addition, because of the ubiquitous nature and vital importance of biological and environmental processes involving airwater mixtures, knowledge gained about fundamental interactions and the governing properties of these mixtures will clearly benefit the quality of life here on our home planet. The techniques addressed in the current research involving multiphase transport in porous media and gas-liquid phase separation using capillary pressure gradients are also a logical candidate for a future International Space Station (ISS) flight experiment. Importantly, the novel and potentially very accurate Lattice-Boltzmann (LB) modeling of multiphase transport in porous media developed in this work offers significantly improved predictions of real world fluid physics phenomena, thereby promoting advanced process designs for both space and terrestrial applications.This 3-year research effort has culminated in the design and testing of a zero-g demonstration prototype. Both the hydrophilic (glass) and hydrophobic (Teflon) media Capillary Pressure Gradient (CPG) cartridges prepared during the second years work were evaluated. Results obtained from ground testing at 1-g were compared to those obtained at reduced gravities spanning Martian (13-g), Lunar (16-g) and zero-g. These comparisons clearly demonstrate the relative strength of the CPG phenomena and the efficacy of its application to meet NASAs unique gas-liquid separation (GLS) requirements in non-terrestrial environments.LB modeling software, developed concurrently with the zero-g test effort, was shown to accurately reproduce observed CPG driven gas-liquid separation phenomena. The design and fabrication of a micropost plate-lamina Hele-Shaw (HS) cell was performed which served as a computationally attainable geometric structure facilitating direct comparison between physical phenomena observed in our laboratory and the LB software predictions.

Electrospun Polymer Blend Nanofibers for Tunable Drug Delivery: The Role of Transformative Phase Separation on Controlling the Release Rate.

PubMed

Tipduangta, Pratchaya; Belton, Peter; Fábián, László; Wang, Li Ying; Tang, Huiru; Eddleston, Mark; Qi, Sheng

2016-01-04

Electrospun fibrous materials have a wide range of biomedical applications, many of them involving the use of polymers as matrices for incorporation of therapeutic agents. The use of polymer blends improves the tuneability of the physicochemical and mechanical properties of the drug loaded fibers. This also benefits the development of controlled drug release formulations, for which the release rate can be modified by altering the ratio of the polymers in the blend. However, to realize these benefits, a clear understanding of the phase behavior of the processed polymer blend is essential. This study reports an in depth investigation of the impact of the electrospinning process on the phase separation of a model partially miscible polymer blend, PVP K90 and HPMCAS, in comparison to other conventional solvent evaporation based processes including film casting and spin coating. The nanoscale stretching and ultrafast solvent removal of electrospinning lead to an enhanced apparent miscibility between the polymers, with the same blends showing micronscale phase separation when processed using film casting and spin coating. Nanoscale phase separation in electrospun blend fibers was confirmed in the dry state. Rapid, layered, macroscale phase separation of the two polymers occurred during the wetting of the fibers. This led to a biphasic drug release profile from the fibers, with a burst release from PVP-rich phases and a slower, more continuous release from HPMCAS-rich phases. It was noted that the model drug, paracetamol, had more favorable partitioning into the PVP-rich phase, which is likely to be a result of greater hydrogen bonding between PVP and paracetamol. This led to higher drug contents in the PVP-rich phases than the HPMCAS-rich phases. By alternating the proportions of the PVP and HPMCAS, the drug release rate can be modulated.

Pilot-Scale Demonstration of Pefi's Oxygenated Transportation Fuels Production Technology

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

None

Coal-cleaning processes have been utilized to increase the heating value of coal by extracting ash-forming minerals in the coal. These processes involve the crushing or grinding of raw coal followed by physical separation processes, taking advantage of the density difference between carbonaceous particles and mineral particles. In addition to the desired increase in the heating value of coal, a significant reduction of the sulfur content of the coal fed to a combustion unit is effected by the removal of pyrite and other sulfides found in the mineral matter. WRI is assisting PulseWave to develop an alternate, more efficient method ofmore » liberating and separating the undesirable mineral matter from the carbonaceous matter in coal. The approach is based on PulseWave's patented resonance disintegration technology that reduces that particle size of materials by application of destructive resonance, shock waves, and vortex generating forces. Illinois No.5 coal, a Wyodak coal, and a Pittsburgh No.8 coal were processed using the resonance disintegration apparatus then subjected to conventional density separations. Initial microscopic results indicate that up to 90% of the pyrite could be liberated from the coal in the machine, but limitations in the density separations reduced overall effectiveness of contaminant removal. Approximately 30-80% of the pyritic sulfur and 30-50% of the mercury was removed from the coal. The three coals (both with and without the pyritic phase separated out) were tested in WRI's 250,000 Btu/hr Combustion Test Facility, designed to replicate a coal-fired utility boiler. The flue gases were characterized for elemental, particle bound, and total mercury in addition to sulfur. The results indicated that pre-combustion cleaning could reduce a large fraction of the mercury emissions.« less

Mood influences supraspinal pain processing separately from attention.

PubMed

Villemure, Chantal; Bushnell, M Catherine

2009-01-21

Studies show that inducing a positive mood or diverting attention from pain decreases pain perception. Nevertheless, induction manipulations, such as viewing interesting movies or performing mathematical tasks, often influence both emotional and attentional states. Imaging studies have examined the neural basis of psychological pain modulation, but none has explicitly separated the effects of emotion and attention. Using odors to modulate mood and shift attention from pain, we previously showed that the perceptual consequences of changing mood differed from those of altering attention, with mood primarily altering pain unpleasantness and attention preferentially altering pain intensity. These findings suggest that brain circuits involved in pain modulation provoked by mood or attention are partially separable. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to directly compare the neurocircuitry involved in mood- and attention-related pain modulation. We manipulated independently mood state and attention direction, using tasks involving heat pain and pleasant and unpleasant odors. Pleasant odors, independent of attentional focus, induced positive mood changes and decreased pain unpleasantness and pain-related activity within the anterior cingulate (ACC), medial thalamus, and primary and secondary somatosensory cortices. The effects of attentional state were less robust, with only the activity in anterior insular cortex (aIC) showing possible attentional modulation. Lateral inferior frontal cortex [LinfF; Brodmann's area (BA) 45/47] activity correlated with mood-related modulation, whereas superior posterior parietal (SPP; BA7) and entorhinal activity correlated with attention-related modulation. ACC activity covaried with LinfF and periacqueductal gray activity, whereas aIC activity covaried with SPP activity. These findings suggest that separate neuromodulatory circuits underlie emotional and attentional modulation of pain.

Rapid Separation of Bacteria from Blood—Review and Outlook

PubMed Central

Alizadeh, Mahsa; Husseini, Ghaleb A.; McClellan, Daniel S.; Buchanan, Clara M.; Bledsoe, Colin G.; Robison, Richard A.; Blanco, Rae; Roeder, Beverly L.; Melville, Madison; Hunter, Alex K.

2017-01-01

The high morbidity and mortality rate of bloodstream infections involving antibiotic-resistant bacteria necessitate a rapid identification of the infectious organism and its resistance profile. Traditional methods based on culturing the blood typically require at least 24 h, and genetic amplification by PCR in the presence of blood components has been problematic. The rapid separation of bacteria from blood would facilitate their genetic identification by PCR or other methods so that the proper antibiotic regimen can quickly be selected for the septic patient. Microfluidic systems that separate bacteria from whole blood have been developed, but these are designed to process only microliter quantities of whole blood or only highly diluted blood. However, symptoms of clinical blood infections can be manifest with bacterial burdens perhaps as low as 10 CFU/mL, and thus milliliter quantities of blood must be processed to collect enough bacteria for reliable genetic analysis. This review considers the advantages and shortcomings of various methods to separate bacteria from blood, with emphasis on techniques that can be done in less than 10 min on milliliter-quantities of whole blood. These techniques include filtration, screening, centrifugation, sedimentation, hydrodynamic focusing, chemical capture on surfaces or beads, field-flow fractionation, and dielectrophoresis. Techniques with the most promise include screening, sedimentation, and magnetic bead capture, as they allow large quantities of blood to be processed quickly. Some microfluidic techniques can be scaled up. PMID:27160415

Mixed ionic and electronic conducting membranes for hydrogen generation and separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Hengdong

Dense mixed ionic and electronic conducting (MIEC) membranes are receiving increasing attention due to their potential for application as gas separation membranes to separate oxygen from air. The objective of this work is to study a novel, chemically-assisted separation process that utilizes oxygen-ion and electron-conducting MIECs for generating and separating hydrogen from steam. This research aims at exploring new routes and materials for high-purity hydrogen production for use in fuel cells and hydrogen-based internal combustion (IC) engines. In this approach, hydrocarbon fuel such as methane is fed to one side of the membrane, while steam is fed to the other side. The MIEC membrane separation process involves steam dissociation and oxidation of the fuel. The oxygen ions formed as a result of steam dissociation are transported across the membrane in a coupled transport process with electrons being transported in the opposite direction. Upon reaching the fuel side of the membrane, the oxygen ions oxidize the hydrocarbon. This process results in hydrogen production on the steam side of the membrane. The oxygen partial pressure gradient across the membrane is the driving force for this process. In this work, a novel, dual-phase composite MIEC membrane system comprising of rare-earth doped ceria with high oxygen ion conductivity and donor-doped strontium titanate with high electronic conductivity were investigated. The chemical diffusion coefficient and surface exchange coefficient have been measured using the electrical conductivity relaxation (ECR) technique. These two parameters control the rate of oxygen permeation across the membrane. The permeation data have been fit with a kinetic model that incorporates oxygen surface exchange on two sides of the membrane and bulk transport of oxygen through the membrane. This material has higher bulk diffusion coefficient and surface exchange reaction rate compared to other known MIEC conductors under the process conditions of interest. Over 10 mumol·cm-2·s-1 (micromoles per square cm per second) of area specific hydrogen flux has been achieved employing a membrane of this material with thickness of 0.2 mm. This flux is several orders of magnitude higher than the hydrogen generation rates reported using other MIEC materials under similar operating conditions.

Immobilized monolithic enzymatic reactor and its application for analysis of in-vitro fertilization media samples.

PubMed

Chen, Wei-Qiang; Obermayr, Philipp; Černigoj, Urh; Vidič, Jana; Panić-Janković, Tanta; Mitulović, Goran

2017-11-01

Classical proteomics approaches involve enzymatic hydrolysis of proteins (either separated by polyacrylamide gels or in solution) followed by peptide identification using LC-MS/MS analysis. This method requires normally more than 16 h to complete. In the case of clinical analysis, it is of the utmost importance to provide fast and reproducible analysis with minimal manual sample handling. Herein we report the method development for online protein digestion on immobilized monolithic enzymatic reactors (IMER) to accelerate protein digestion, reduce manual sample handling, and provide reproducibility to the digestion process in clinical laboratory. An integrated online digestion and separation method using monolithic immobilized enzymatic reactor was developed and applied to digestion and separation of in-vitro-fertilization media. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Low density microcellular foams

DOEpatents

Aubert, James H.; Clough, Roger L.; Curro, John G.; Quintana, Carlos A.; Russick, Edward M.; Shaw, Montgomery T.

1987-01-01

Low density, microporous polymer foams are provided by a process which comprises forming a solution of polymer and a suitable solvent followed by rapid cooling of the solution to form a phase-separated system and freeze the phase-separated system. The phase-separated system comprises a polymer phase and a solvent phase, each of which is substantially continuous within the other. The morphology of the polymer phase prior to and subsequent to freezing determine the morphology of the resultant foam. Both isotropic and anisotropic foams can be produced. If isotropic foams are produced, the polymer and solvent are tailored such that the solution spontaneously phase-separates prior to the point at which any component freezes. The morphology of the resultant polymer phase determines the morphology of the resultant foam and the morphology of the polymer phase is retained by cooling the system at a rate sufficient to freeze one or both components of the system before a change in morphology can occur. Anisotropic foams are produced by forming a solution of polymer and solvent that will not phase separate prior to freezing of one or both components of the solution. In such a process, the solvent typically freezes before phase separation occurs. The morphology of the resultant frozen two-phase system determines the morphology of the resultant foam. The process involves subjecting the solution to essentially one-dimensional cooling. Means for subjecting such a solvent to one-dimensional cooling are also provided. Foams having a density of less than 0.1 g/cc and a uniform cell size of less than 10 .mu.m and a volume such that the foams have a length greater than 1 cm are provided.

Mesoscopic Modeling of Blood Clotting: Coagulation Cascade and Platelets Adhesion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yazdani, Alireza; Li, Zhen; Karniadakis, George

2015-11-01

The process of clot formation and growth at a site on a blood vessel wall involve a number of multi-scale simultaneous processes including: multiple chemical reactions in the coagulation cascade, species transport and flow. To model these processes we have incorporated advection-diffusion-reaction (ADR) of multiple species into an extended version of Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) method which is considered as a coarse-grained Molecular Dynamics method. At the continuum level this is equivalent to the Navier-Stokes equation plus one advection-diffusion equation for each specie. The chemistry of clot formation is now understood to be determined by mechanisms involving reactions among many species in dilute solution, where reaction rate constants and species diffusion coefficients in plasma are known. The role of blood particulates, i.e. red cells and platelets, in the clotting process is studied by including them separately and together in the simulations. An agonist-induced platelet activation mechanism is presented, while platelets adhesive dynamics based on a stochastic bond formation/dissociation process is included in the model.

Risks for Early Substance Involvement Associated with Parental Alcoholism and Parental Separation in an Adolescent Female Cohort*

PubMed Central

Waldron, Mary; Vaughan, Ellen L.; Bucholz, Kathleen K.; Lynskey, Michael T.; Sartor, Carolyn E.; Duncan, Alexis E.; Madden, Pamela A.F.; Heath, Andrew C.

2014-01-01

Background We examined timing of substance involvement as a joint function of parental history of alcoholism and parental separation during childhood. Method Data were drawn from a large cohort of female like-sex twins [n = 613 African Ancestry (AA), n = 3550 European or other Ancestry (EA)]. Cox proportional hazards regression was conducted predicting age at first use of alcohol, first alcohol intoxication, first use and regular use of cigarettes, and first use of cannabis and other illicit drugs from dummy variables coding for parental alcoholism and parental separation. Propensity score analysis was also conducted comparing intact and separated families by predicted probability of parental separation. Results In EA families, increased risk of substance involvement was found in both alcoholic and separated families, particularly through ages 10 or 14 years, with risk to offspring from alcoholic separated families further increased. In AA families, associations with parental alcoholism and parental separation were weak and with few exceptions statistically nonsignificant. While propensity score findings confirmed unique risks observed in EA families, intact and separated AA families were poorly matched on risk-factors presumed to predate parental separation, especially parental alcoholism, requiring cautious interpretation of AA survival-analytic findings. Conclusion For offspring of European ancestry, parental separation predicts early substance involvement that is not explained by parental alcoholism nor associated family background characteristics. Additional research is needed to better characterize risks associated with parental separation in African American families. PMID:24647368

Risks for early substance involvement associated with parental alcoholism and parental separation in an adolescent female cohort.

PubMed

Waldron, Mary; Vaughan, Ellen L; Bucholz, Kathleen K; Lynskey, Michael T; Sartor, Carolyn E; Duncan, Alexis E; Madden, Pamela A F; Heath, Andrew C

2014-05-01

We examined timing of substance involvement as a joint function of parental history of alcoholism and parental separation during childhood. Data were drawn from a large cohort of female like-sex twins [n=613 African Ancestry (AA), n=3550 European or other ancestry (EA)]. Cox proportional hazards regression was conducted predicting age at first use of alcohol, first alcohol intoxication, first use and regular use of cigarettes, and first use of cannabis and other illicit drugs from dummy variables coding for parental alcoholism and parental separation. Propensity score analysis was also conducted comparing intact and separated families by predicted probability of parental separation. In EA families, increased risk of substance involvement was found in both alcoholic and separated families, particularly through ages 10 or 14 years, with risk to offspring from alcoholic separated families further increased. In AA families, associations with parental alcoholism and parental separation were weak and with few exceptions statistically nonsignificant. While propensity score findings confirmed unique risks observed in EA families, intact and separated AA families were poorly matched on risk-factors presumed to predate parental separation, especially parental alcoholism, requiring cautious interpretation of AA survival-analytic findings. For offspring of European ancestry, parental separation predicts early substance involvement that is not explained by parental alcoholism nor associated family background characteristics. Additional research is needed to better characterize risks associated with parental separation in African American families. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Waitz, M.; Metz, D.; Lower, J.

Here, wWe investigate the photodouble ionization of H 2 molecules with 400 eV photons. We find that the emitted electrons do not show any sign of two-center interference fringes in their angular emission distributions if considered separately. Conversely, the quasiparticle consisting of both electrons (i.e., the "dielectron") does. The work highlights the fact that nonlocal effects are embedded everywhere in nature where many-particle processes are involved.

The Separability of Morphological Processes from Semantic Meaning and Syntactic Class in Production of Single Words: Evidence from the Hebrew Root Morpheme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deutsch, Avital

2016-01-01

In the present study we investigated to what extent the morphological facilitation effect induced by the derivational root morpheme in Hebrew is independent of semantic meaning and grammatical information of the part of speech involved. Using the picture-word interference paradigm with auditorily presented distractors, Experiment 1 compared the…

Detergent-Based Isolation of Yeast Membrane Rafts: An Inquiry-Based Laboratory Series for the Undergraduate Cell Biology or Biochemistry Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willhite, D. Grant; Wright, Stephen E.

2009-01-01

Lipid rafts have been implicated in numerous cellular processes including cell signaling, endocytosis, and even viral infection. Isolation of these lipid rafts often involves detergent treatment of the membrane to dissolve nonraft components followed by separation of raft regions in a density gradient. We present here an inquiry-based lab series…

Spatial separation of the processing and MHC class I loading compartments for cross-presentation of the tumor-associated antigen HER2/neu by human dendritic cells

PubMed Central

Baleeiro, Renato B; Rietscher, René; Diedrich, Andrea; Czaplewska, Justyna A; Lehr, Claus-Michael; Scherließ, Regina; Hanefeld, Andrea; Gottschaldt, Michael; Walden, Peter

2015-01-01

Cross-presentation is the process by which professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) (B cells, dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages) present endocytosed antigens (Ags) via MHC-I to CD8+ T cells. This process is crucial for induction of adaptive immune responses against tumors and infected cells. The pathways and cellular compartments involved in cross-presentation are unresolved and controversial. Among the cells with cross-presenting capacity, DCs are the most efficient, which was proposed to depend on prevention of endosomal acidification to block degradation of the epitopes. Contrary to this view, we show in this report that some cargoes induce strong endosomal acidification following uptake by human DCs, while others not. Moreover, processing of the tumor-associated antigen HER2/neu delivered in nanoparticles (NP) for cross-presentation of the epitope HER2/neu369–377 on HLA-A2 depended on endosomal acidification and cathepsin activity as well as proteasomes, and newly synthesized HLA class I. However, the HLA-A*0201/HER2/neu369–377 complexes were not found in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) nor in endolysosomes but in hitherto not described vesicles. The data thus indicate spatial separation of antigen processing and loading of MHC-I for cross-presentation: antigen processing occurs in the uptake compartment and the cytosol whereas MHC-I loading with peptide takes place in a distinct subcellular compartment. The findings further elucidate the cellular pathways involved in the cross-presentation of a full-length, clinically relevant tumor-associated antigen by human DCs, and the impact of the vaccine formulation on antigen processing and CD8+ T cell induction. PMID:26985398

Design and Control of Glycerol-tert-Butyl Alcohol Etherification Process

PubMed Central

Vlad, Elena; Bozga, Grigore

2012-01-01

Design, economics, and plantwide control of a glycerol-tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) etherification plant are presented. The reaction takes place in liquid phase, in a plug flow reactor, using Amberlyst 15 as a catalyst. The products' separation is achieved by two distillation columns where high-purity ethers are obtained and a section involving extractive distillation with 1,4-butanediol as solvent, which separates TBA from the TBA/water azeotrope. Details of design performed in AspenPlus and an economic evaluation of the process are given. Three plantwide control structures are examined using a mass balance model of the plant. The preferred control structure fixes the fresh glycerol flow rate and the ratio glycerol + monoether : TBA at reactor-inlet. The stability and robustness in the operation are checked by rigorous dynamic simulation in AspenDynamics. PMID:23365512

Soni-removal of nucleic acids from inclusion bodies.

PubMed

Neerathilingam, Muniasamy; Mysore, Sumukh; Gandham, Sai Hari A

2014-05-23

Inclusion bodies (IBs) are commonly formed in Escherichia coli due to over expression of recombinant proteins in non-native state. Isolation, denaturation and refolding of these IBs is generally performed to obtain functional protein. However, during this process IBs tend to form non-specific interactions with sheared nucleic acids from the genome, thus getting carried over into downstream processes. This may hinder the refolding of IBs into their native state. To circumvent this, we demonstrate a methodology termed soni-removal which involves disruption of nucleic acid-inclusion body interaction using sonication; followed by solvent based separation. As opposed to conventional techniques that use enzymes and column-based separations, soni-removal is a cost effective alternative for complete elimination of buried and/or strongly bound short nucleic acid contaminants from IBs. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Low-cost digital image processing at the University of Oklahoma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrington, J. A., Jr.

1981-01-01

Computer assisted instruction in remote sensing at the University of Oklahoma involves two separate approaches and is dependent upon initial preprocessing of a LANDSAT computer compatible tape using software developed for an IBM 370/158 computer. In-house generated preprocessing algorithms permits students or researchers to select a subset of a LANDSAT scene for subsequent analysis using either general purpose statistical packages or color graphic image processing software developed for Apple II microcomputers. Procedures for preprocessing the data and image analysis using either of the two approaches for low-cost LANDSAT data processing are described.

Mesoporous Cladophora cellulose separators for lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Ruijun; Cheung, Ocean; Wang, Zhaohui; Tammela, Petter; Huo, Jinxing; Lindh, Jonas; Edström, Kristina; Strømme, Maria; Nyholm, Leif

2016-07-01

Much effort is currently made to develop inexpensive and renewable materials which can replace the polyolefin microporous separators conventionally used in contemporary lithium-ion batteries. In the present work, it is demonstrated that mesoporous Cladophora cellulose (CC) separators constitute very promising alternatives based on their high crystallinity, good thermal stability and straightforward manufacturing. The CC separators, which are fabricated using an undemanding paper-making like process involving vacuum filtration, have a typical thickness of about 35 μm, an average pore size of about 20 nm, a Young's modulus of 5.9 GPa and also exhibit an ionic conductivity of 0.4 mS cm-1 after soaking with 1 M LiPF6 EC: DEC (1/1, v/v) electrolyte. The CC separators are demonstrated to be thermally stable at 150 °C and electrochemically inert in the potential range between 0 and 5 V vs. Li+/Li. A LiFePO4/Li cell containing a CC separator showed good cycling stability with 99.5% discharge capacity retention after 50 cycles at a rate of 0.2 C. These results indicate that the renewable CC separators are well-suited for use in high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

Ethical approval for research involving geographically dispersed subjects: unsuitability of the UK MREC/LREC system and relevance to uncommon genetic disorders.

PubMed

Lewis, J C; Tomkins, S; Sampson, J R

2001-10-01

To assess the process involved in obtaining ethical approval for a single-centre study involving geographically dispersed subjects with an uncommon genetic disorder. Observational data of the application process to 53 local research ethics committees (LRECs) throughout Wales, England and Scotland. The Multicentre Research Ethics Committee (MREC) for Wales had already granted approval. Application to the 53 LRECs required 24,552 sheets of paper and took two months of the researcher's time. The median time taken for approval was 39 days with only seven (13%) of committees responding within the recommended 21 days. In at least nineteen cases (36%) a subcommittee considered the application. Thirty-three committees (62%) accepted the proposal without amendments but, of the remainder, four (8%) requested changes outside of the remit of LRECs. Difficulties still exist with the system for obtaining ethical approval for studies involving a single centre but with patients at multiple sites, as is often required for genetic observational research. As such studies differ from true multicentre studies, it may be advantageous to develop a separate and specific process of application to ensure that resources are not unnecessarily expended in the quest for ethical approval.

Minimally invasive surgical method to detect sound processing in the cochlear apex by optical coherence tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramamoorthy, Sripriya; Zhang, Yuan; Petrie, Tracy; Fridberger, Anders; Ren, Tianying; Wang, Ruikang; Jacques, Steven L.; Nuttall, Alfred L.

2016-02-01

Sound processing in the inner ear involves separation of the constituent frequencies along the length of the cochlea. Frequencies relevant to human speech (100 to 500 Hz) are processed in the apex region. Among mammals, the guinea pig cochlear apex processes similar frequencies and is thus relevant for the study of speech processing in the cochlea. However, the requirement for extensive surgery has challenged the optical accessibility of this area to investigate cochlear processing of signals without significant intrusion. A simple method is developed to provide optical access to the guinea pig cochlear apex in two directions with minimal surgery. Furthermore, all prior vibration measurements in the guinea pig apex involved opening an observation hole in the otic capsule, which has been questioned on the basis of the resulting changes to cochlear hydrodynamics. Here, this limitation is overcome by measuring the vibrations through the unopened otic capsule using phase-sensitive Fourier domain optical coherence tomography. The optically and surgically advanced method described here lays the foundation to perform minimally invasive investigation of speech-related signal processing in the cochlea.

High performance hybrid magnetic structure for biotechnology applications

DOEpatents

Humphries, David E; Pollard, Martin J; Elkin, Christopher J

2005-10-11

The present disclosure provides a high performance hybrid magnetic structure made from a combination of permanent magnets and ferromagnetic pole materials which are assembled in a predetermined array. The hybrid magnetic structure provides means for separation and other biotechnology applications involving holding, manipulation, or separation of magnetizable molecular structures and targets. Also disclosed are: a method of assembling the hybrid magnetic plates, a high throughput protocol featuring the hybrid magnetic structure, and other embodiments of the ferromagnetic pole shape, attachment and adapter interfaces for adapting the use of the hybrid magnetic structure for use with liquid handling and other robots for use in high throughput processes.

High performance hybrid magnetic structure for biotechnology applications

DOEpatents

Humphries, David E.; Pollard, Martin J.; Elkin, Christopher J.

2006-12-12

The present disclosure provides a high performance hybrid magnetic structure made from a combination of permanent magnets and ferromagnetic pole materials which are assembled in a predetermined array. The hybrid magnetic structure provides for separation and other biotechnology applications involving holding, manipulation, or separation of magnetic or magnetizable molecular structures and targets. Also disclosed are: a method of assembling the hybrid magnetic plates, a high throughput protocol featuring the hybrid magnetic structure, and other embodiments of the ferromagnetic pole shape, attachment and adapter interfaces for adapting the use of the hybrid magnetic structure for use with liquid handling and other robots for use in high throughput processes.

Process-related factors associated with disciplinary board decisions

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background In most health care systems disciplinary boards have been organised in order to process patients’ complaints about health professionals. Although, the safe-guarding of the legal rights of the involved parties is a crucial concern, there is limited knowledge about what role the complaint process plays with regard to board decision outcomes. Using complaint cases towards general practitioners, the aim of this study was to identify what process factors are statistically associated with disciplinary actions as seen from the party of the complainant and the defendant general practitioner, respectively. Methods Danish Patient Complaints Board decisions concerning general practitioners completed in 2007 were examined. Information on process factors was extracted from the case files and included complaint delay, complainant’s lawyer involvement, the number of general practitioners involved, event duration, expert witness involvement, case management duration and decision outcome (discipline or no discipline). Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed on compound case decisions eventually involving more general practitioners (as seen from the complainant’s side) and on separated decisions (as seen from the defendant general practitioner’s side). Results From the general practitioner’s side, when the number of general practitioners involved in a complaint case increased, odds of being disciplined significantly decreased (OR=0.661 per additional general practitioner involved, p<0.001). Contrarily, from the complainant’s side, no association could be detected between complaining against a plurality of general practitioners and the odds of at least one general practitioner being disciplined. From both sides, longer case management duration was associated with higher odds of discipline (OR=1.038 per additional month, p=0.010). No association could be demonstrated with regard to complaint delay, lawyer involvement, event duration, or expert witness involvement. There was lawyer involvement in 5% of cases and expert witness involvement in 92% of cases. The mean complaint delay was 3 months and 18 days and the mean case management duration was 14 months and 7 days. Conclusions Certain complaint process factors might be statistically associated with decision outcomes. However, the impact diverges as seen from the different parties. Future studies are merited in order to uncover the judicial mechanisms lying behind. PMID:23294599

Process-related factors associated with disciplinary board decisions.

PubMed

Birkeland, Søren; Christensen, Rene dePont; Damsbo, Niels; Kragstrup, Jakob

2013-01-07

In most health care systems disciplinary boards have been organised in order to process patients' complaints about health professionals. Although, the safe-guarding of the legal rights of the involved parties is a crucial concern, there is limited knowledge about what role the complaint process plays with regard to board decision outcomes. Using complaint cases towards general practitioners, the aim of this study was to identify what process factors are statistically associated with disciplinary actions as seen from the party of the complainant and the defendant general practitioner, respectively. Danish Patient Complaints Board decisions concerning general practitioners completed in 2007 were examined. Information on process factors was extracted from the case files and included complaint delay, complainant's lawyer involvement, the number of general practitioners involved, event duration, expert witness involvement, case management duration and decision outcome (discipline or no discipline). Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed on compound case decisions eventually involving more general practitioners (as seen from the complainant's side) and on separated decisions (as seen from the defendant general practitioner's side). From the general practitioner's side, when the number of general practitioners involved in a complaint case increased, odds of being disciplined significantly decreased (OR=0.661 per additional general practitioner involved, p<0.001). Contrarily, from the complainant's side, no association could be detected between complaining against a plurality of general practitioners and the odds of at least one general practitioner being disciplined. From both sides, longer case management duration was associated with higher odds of discipline (OR=1.038 per additional month, p=0.010). No association could be demonstrated with regard to complaint delay, lawyer involvement, event duration, or expert witness involvement. There was lawyer involvement in 5% of cases and expert witness involvement in 92% of cases. The mean complaint delay was 3 months and 18 days and the mean case management duration was 14 months and 7 days. Certain complaint process factors might be statistically associated with decision outcomes. However, the impact diverges as seen from the different parties. Future studies are merited in order to uncover the judicial mechanisms lying behind.

Role of lipid phase separations and membrane hydration in phospholipid vesicle fusion.

PubMed

Hoekstra, D

1982-06-08

The relationship between lipid phase separation and fusion of small unilamellar phosphatidylserine-containing vesicles was investigated. The kinetics of phase separation were monitored by following the increase of self-quenching of the fluorescent phospholipid analogue N-(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)phosphatidylethanolamine, which occurs when the local concentration of the probe increases upon Ca2+-induced phase separation in phosphatidylserine (PS) bilayers [Hoekstra, D. (1982) Biochemistry 21, 1055-1061]. Fusion was determined by using the resonance energy transfer fusion assay [Struck, D. K., Hoekstra, D., & Pagano, R. E. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 4093-4099], which monitors the mixing of fluorescent lipid donor and acceptor molecules, resulting in an increase in energy transfer efficiency. The results show that in the presence of Ca2+, fusion proceeds much more rapidly (t 1/2 less than 5 s) than the process of phase separation (T 1/2 congruent to 1 min). Mg2+ also induced fusion, albeit at higher concentrations than Ca2+. Mg2+-induced phase separation were not detected, however. Subthreshold concentrations of Ca2+ (0.5 mM) or Mg2+ (2 mM) induced extensive fusion of PS-containing vesicles in poly(ethylene glycol) containing media. This effect did not appear to be a poly(ethylene glycol)-facilitated enhancement of cation binding to the bilayer, and consequently Ca2+-induced phase separation was not observed. The results suggest that macroscopic phase separation may facilitate but does not induced the fusion process and is therefore, not directly involved in the actual fusion mechanism. The fusion experiments performed in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) suggest that the degree of bilayer dehydration and the creation of "point defects" in the bilayer without rigorous structural rearrangements in the membrane are dominant factors in the initial fusion events.

Reward acts on the pFC to enhance distractor resistance of working memory representations.

PubMed

Fallon, Sean James; Cools, Roshan

2014-12-01

Working memory and reward processing are often thought to be separate, unrelated processes. However, most daily activities involve integrating these two types of information, and the two processes rarely, if ever, occur in isolation. Here, we show that working memory and reward interact in a task-dependent manner and that this task-dependent interaction involves modulation of the pFC by the ventral striatum. Specifically, BOLD signal during gains relative to losses in the ventral striatum and pFC was associated not only with enhanced distractor resistance but also with impairment in the ability to update working memory representations. Furthermore, the effect of reward on working memory was accompanied by differential coupling between the ventral striatum and ignore-related regions in the pFC. Together, these data demonstrate that reward-related signals modulate the balance between cognitive stability and cognitive flexibility by altering functional coupling between the ventral striatum and the pFC.

Development of digital sideband separating down-conversion for Yuan-Tseh Lee Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chao-Te; Kubo, Derek; Cheng, Jen-Chieh; Kuroda, John; Srinivasan, Ranjani; Ho, Solomon; Guzzino, Kim; Chen, Ming-Tang

2016-07-01

This report presents a down-conversion method involving digital sideband separation for the Yuan-Tseh Lee Array (YTLA) to double the processing bandwidth. The receiver consists of a MMIC HEMT LNA front end operating at a wavelength of 3 mm, and sub-harmonic mixers that output signals at intermediate frequencies (IFs) of 2-18 GHz. The sideband separation scheme involves an analog 90° hybrid followed by two mixers that provide down-conversion of the IF signal to a pair of in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) signals in baseband. The I and Q baseband signals are digitized using 5 Giga sample per second (Gsps) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). A second hybrid is digitally implemented using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to produce two sidebands, each with a bandwidth of 1.6 GHz. The 2 x 1.6 GHz band can be tuned to cover any 3.6 GHz window within the aforementioned IF range of the array. Sideband rejection ratios (SRRs) above 20 dB can be obtained across the 3.6 GHz bandwidth by equalizing the power and delay between the I and Q baseband signals. Furthermore, SRRs above 30 dB can be achieved when calibration is applied.

Conceptual Design of a Condensing Heat Exchanger for Space Systems Using Porous Media

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hasan, Mohammad M.; Khan, Lutful I.; Nayagam, Vedha; Balasubramaniam, Ramaswamy

2006-01-01

Condensing heat exchangers are used in many space applications in the thermal and humidity control systems. In the International Space Station (ISS), humidity control is achieved by using a water cooled fin surface over which the moist air condenses, followed by "slurper bars" that take in both the condensate and air into a rotary separator and separates the water from air. The use of a cooled porous substrate as the condensing surface provides and attractive alternative that combines both heat removal as well as liquid/gas separation into a single unit. By selecting the pore sizes of the porous substrate a gravity independent operation may also be possible with this concept. Condensation of vapor into and on the porous surface from the flowing air and the removal of condensate from the porous substrate are the critical processes involved in the proposed concept. This paper describes some preliminary results of the proposed condensate withdrawal process and discusses the on-going design and development work of a porous media based condensing heat exchanger at the NASA Glenn Research Center in collaboration with NASA Johnson Space Center.

Report on all ARRA Funded Technical Work

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

None, None

2013-10-05

The main focus of this American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funded project was to design an energy efficient carbon capture and storage (CCS) process using the Recipients membrane system for H{sub 2} separation and CO{sub 2} capture. In the ARRA-funded project, the Recipient accelerated development and scale-up of ongoing hydrogen membrane technology research and development (R&D). Specifically, this project focused on accelerating the current R&D work scope of the base program-funded project, involving lab scale tests, detail design of a 250 lb/day H{sub 2} process development unit (PDU), and scale-up of membrane tube and coating manufacturing. Thismore » project scope included the site selection and a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study of a nominally 4 to 10 ton-per-day (TPD) Pre-Commercial Module (PCM) hydrogen separation membrane system. Process models and techno-economic analysis were updated to include studies on integration of this technology into an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power generation system with CCS.« less

Biomolecular filters for improved separation of output signals in enzyme logic systems applied to biomedical analysis.

PubMed

Halámek, Jan; Zhou, Jian; Halámková, Lenka; Bocharova, Vera; Privman, Vladimir; Wang, Joseph; Katz, Evgeny

2011-11-15

Biomolecular logic systems processing biochemical input signals and producing "digital" outputs in the form of YES/NO were developed for analysis of physiological conditions characteristic of liver injury, soft tissue injury, and abdominal trauma. Injury biomarkers were used as input signals for activating the logic systems. Their normal physiological concentrations were defined as logic-0 level, while their pathologically elevated concentrations were defined as logic-1 values. Since the input concentrations applied as logic 0 and 1 values were not sufficiently different, the output signals being at low and high values (0, 1 outputs) were separated with a short gap making their discrimination difficult. Coupled enzymatic reactions functioning as a biomolecular signal processing system with a built-in filter property were developed. The filter process involves a partial back-conversion of the optical-output-signal-yielding product, but only at its low concentrations, thus allowing the proper discrimination between 0 and 1 output values.

An Internal Signal Sequence Directs Intramembrane Proteolysis of a Cellular Immunoglobulin Domain Protein*S⃞

PubMed Central

Robakis, Thalia; Bak, Beata; Lin, Shu-huei; Bernard, Daniel J.; Scheiffele, Peter

2008-01-01

Precursor proteolysis is a crucial mechanism for regulating protein structure and function. Signal peptidase (SP) is an enzyme with a well defined role in cleaving N-terminal signal sequences but no demonstrated function in the proteolysis of cellular precursor proteins. We provide evidence that SP mediates intraprotein cleavage of IgSF1, a large cellular Ig domain protein that is processed into two separate Ig domain proteins. In addition, our results suggest the involvement of signal peptide peptidase (SPP), an intramembrane protease, which acts on substrates that have been previously cleaved by SP. We show that IgSF1 is processed through sequential proteolysis by SP and SPP. Cleavage is directed by an internal signal sequence and generates two separate Ig domain proteins from a polytopic precursor. Our findings suggest that SP and SPP function are not restricted to N-terminal signal sequence cleavage but also contribute to the processing of cellular transmembrane proteins. PMID:18981173

Recovery of uranium from an irradiated solid target after removal of molybdenum-99 produced from the irradiated target

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

Reilly, Sean Douglas; May, Iain; Copping, Roy

A process for minimizing waste and maximizing utilization of uranium involves recovering uranium from an irradiated solid target after separating the medical isotope product, molybdenum-99, produced from the irradiated target. The process includes irradiating a solid target comprising uranium to produce fission products comprising molybdenum-99, and thereafter dissolving the target and conditioning the solution to prepare an aqueous nitric acid solution containing irradiated uranium. The acidic solution is then contacted with a solid sorbent whereby molybdenum-99 remains adsorbed to the sorbent for subsequent recovery. The uranium passes through the sorbent. The concentrations of acid and uranium are then adjusted tomore » concentrations suitable for crystallization of uranyl nitrate hydrates. After inducing the crystallization, the uranyl nitrate hydrates are separated from a supernatant. The process results in the purification of uranyl nitrate hydrates from fission products and other contaminants. The uranium is therefore available for reuse, storage, or disposal.« less

A class of temporal boundaries derived by quantifying the sense of separation.

PubMed

Paine, Llewyn Elise; Gilden, David L

2013-12-01

The perception of moment-to-moment environmental flux as being composed of meaningful events requires that memory processes coordinate with cues that signify beginnings and endings. We have constructed a technique that allows this coordination to be monitored indirectly. This technique works by embedding a sequential priming task into the event under study. Memory and perception must be coordinated to resolve temporal flux into scenes. The implicit memory processes inherent in sequential priming are able to effectively shadow then mirror scene-forming processes. Certain temporal boundaries are found to weaken the strength of irrelevant feature priming, a signal which can then be used in more ambiguous cases to infer how people segment time. Over the course of 13 independent studies, we were able to calibrate the technique and then use it to measure the strength of event segmentation in several instructive contexts that involved both visual and auditory modalities. The signal generated by sequential priming may permit the sense of separation between events to be measured as an extensive psychophysical quantity.

Cofactors involved in light-driven charge separation in photosystem I identified by subpicosecond infrared spectroscopy.

PubMed

Di Donato, Mariangela; Stahl, Andreas D; van Stokkum, Ivo H M; van Grondelle, Rienk; Groot, Marie-Louise

2011-02-01

Photosystem I is one of the key players in the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy. While the chlorophyll dimer P(700) has long been identified as the primary electron donor, the components involved in the primary charge separation process in PSI remain undetermined. Here, we have studied the charge separation dynamics in Photosystem I trimers from Synechococcus elongatus by femtosecond vis-pump/mid-infrared-probe spectroscopy upon excitation at 700, 710, and 715 nm. Because of the high specificity of the infrared region for the redox state and small differences in the molecular structure of pigments, we were able to clearly identify specific marker bands indicating chlorophyll (Chl) oxidation. Magnitudes of chlorophyll cation signals are observed to increase faster than the time resolution of the experiment (~0.2 ps) upon both excitation conditions: 700 nm and selective red excitation. Two models, involving either ultrafast charge separation or charge transfer character of the red pigments in PSI, are discussed to explain this observation. A further increase in the magnitudes of cation signals on a subpicosecond time scale (0.8-1 ps) indicates the formation of the primary radical pair. Evolution in the cation region with time constants of 7 and 40 ps reveals the formation of the secondary radical pair, involving a secondary electron donor. Modeling of the data allows us to extract the spectra of the two radical pairs, which have IR signatures consistent with A+A₀- and P₇₀₀+A₁-. We conclude that the cofactor chlorophyll A acts as the primary donor in PSI. The existence of an equilibrium between the two radical pairs we interpret as concerted hole/electron transfer between the pairs of electron donors and acceptors, until after 40 ps, relaxation leads to a full population of the P₇₀₀+A₁. radical pair.

A model structure for an EBM program in a multihospital system.

PubMed

Schumacher, Dale N; Stock, Joseph R; Richards, Joan K

2003-01-01

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) offers a great opportunity to translate advances in medical science into advances in clinical practice. We describe the structure of a comprehensive EBM program in a multihospital community teaching system. This EBM model is distinct and separate from the peer review process and has achieved substantial physician involvement. The program emanates from the Board of Directors Quality of Care Committee and has strong administrative support. The approach relies extensively on physician involvement and expert physician panels to enhance existing EBM practice guidelines, with an explicit strategy of performance reports and feedback.

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

Scrudato, R.J.; Chiarenzelli, J.R.

An electrochemical peroxidation (ECP) process has been developed and used to degrade polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and volatile organic compounds (VOC)-contaminated water, sludge, and sediments at a New York State Federal and State Superfund Site. The process involves passing an oscillating low-amperage (<10 amps) current through steel electrodes immersed in an acidified water or sediment slurry into which hydrogen peroxide (<1,000 ppm) is added. The generated free radicals attack organic compounds, including organo-metallic complexes and refractory compounds including PCBs. PCB degradation ranged from about 30% to 80% in experiments involving Federal Superfund Site sediments; total PCBs were reduced by {approximately}97% tomore » 68%, respectively, in water and slurry collected from a State Superfund subsurface storage tank. VOC bench-scale experiments involved chloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, dichloromethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and acetone and after a 3-min ECP treatment, degradation ranged from >94% to about 99.9%. Results indicate the ECP is a viable process to degrade organic contaminants in water and sediment suspensions. Because the treated water suspensions are acidified, select trace metal sorbed to the particulates is solubilized and therefore can be segregated from the particulates, offering a process that simultaneously degrades organic contaminants and separates trace metals. 19 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs.« less

Selective spatial attention modulates bottom-up informational masking of speech

PubMed Central

Carlile, Simon; Corkhill, Caitlin

2015-01-01

To hear out a conversation against other talkers listeners overcome energetic and informational masking. Largely attributed to top-down processes, information masking has also been demonstrated using unintelligible speech and amplitude-modulated maskers suggesting bottom-up processes. We examined the role of speech-like amplitude modulations in information masking using a spatial masking release paradigm. Separating a target talker from two masker talkers produced a 20 dB improvement in speech reception threshold; 40% of which was attributed to a release from informational masking. When across frequency temporal modulations in the masker talkers are decorrelated the speech is unintelligible, although the within frequency modulation characteristics remains identical. Used as a masker as above, the information masking accounted for 37% of the spatial unmasking seen with this masker. This unintelligible and highly differentiable masker is unlikely to involve top-down processes. These data provides strong evidence of bottom-up masking involving speech-like, within-frequency modulations and that this, presumably low level process, can be modulated by selective spatial attention. PMID:25727100

Selective spatial attention modulates bottom-up informational masking of speech.

PubMed

Carlile, Simon; Corkhill, Caitlin

2015-03-02

To hear out a conversation against other talkers listeners overcome energetic and informational masking. Largely attributed to top-down processes, information masking has also been demonstrated using unintelligible speech and amplitude-modulated maskers suggesting bottom-up processes. We examined the role of speech-like amplitude modulations in information masking using a spatial masking release paradigm. Separating a target talker from two masker talkers produced a 20 dB improvement in speech reception threshold; 40% of which was attributed to a release from informational masking. When across frequency temporal modulations in the masker talkers are decorrelated the speech is unintelligible, although the within frequency modulation characteristics remains identical. Used as a masker as above, the information masking accounted for 37% of the spatial unmasking seen with this masker. This unintelligible and highly differentiable masker is unlikely to involve top-down processes. These data provides strong evidence of bottom-up masking involving speech-like, within-frequency modulations and that this, presumably low level process, can be modulated by selective spatial attention.

Computational models of music perception and cognition I: The perceptual and cognitive processing chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purwins, Hendrik; Herrera, Perfecto; Grachten, Maarten; Hazan, Amaury; Marxer, Ricard; Serra, Xavier

2008-09-01

We present a review on perception and cognition models designed for or applicable to music. An emphasis is put on computational implementations. We include findings from different disciplines: neuroscience, psychology, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and musicology. The article summarizes the methodology that these disciplines use to approach the phenomena of music understanding, the localization of musical processes in the brain, and the flow of cognitive operations involved in turning physical signals into musical symbols, going from the transducers to the memory systems of the brain. We discuss formal models developed to emulate, explain and predict phenomena involved in early auditory processing, pitch processing, grouping, source separation, and music structure computation. We cover generic computational architectures of attention, memory, and expectation that can be instantiated and tuned to deal with specific musical phenomena. Criteria for the evaluation of such models are presented and discussed. Thereby, we lay out the general framework that provides the basis for the discussion of domain-specific music models in Part II.

Distinct populations of neurons respond to emotional valence and arousal in the human subthalamic nucleus.

PubMed

Sieger, Tomáš; Serranová, Tereza; Růžička, Filip; Vostatek, Pavel; Wild, Jiří; Štastná, Daniela; Bonnet, Cecilia; Novák, Daniel; Růžička, Evžen; Urgošík, Dušan; Jech, Robert

2015-03-10

Both animal studies and studies using deep brain stimulation in humans have demonstrated the involvement of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in motivational and emotional processes; however, participation of this nucleus in processing human emotion has not been investigated directly at the single-neuron level. We analyzed the relationship between the neuronal firing from intraoperative microrecordings from the STN during affective picture presentation in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and the affective ratings of emotional valence and arousal performed subsequently. We observed that 17% of neurons responded to emotional valence and arousal of visual stimuli according to individual ratings. The activity of some neurons was related to emotional valence, whereas different neurons responded to arousal. In addition, 14% of neurons responded to visual stimuli. Our results suggest the existence of neurons involved in processing or transmission of visual and emotional information in the human STN, and provide evidence of separate processing of the affective dimensions of valence and arousal at the level of single neurons as well.

Processing of Mixed Oxide Superconductors

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-07-01

rapid changes world wide a major research centre on high Tc superconductors was awarded to Cambridge which involved moving the work and people to a...reports and paper is in the appendices. Separation Ceramic superconductors tend to be mixtures of phases, especially when first discovered. It would...properties of the superconducting state will in principle allow superconducting material to be levitated from the non superconductor and several designs

Relationship between Mental Models Related to the Particulate Nature of Matter and the Infinite Nature of Geometrical Figures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tirosh, Dina; Stavy, Ruth

A study was conducted in Israel to determine effects of external similarity in problem structure on students' responses. Fifty students from each of the 7th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade levels were presented with three problems involving successive divisions that were similar in structure. The problems asked separately whether the processes of…

Hydrologic Source Term Processes and Models for the Clearwater and Wineskin Tests, Rainier Mesa, Nevada National Security Site

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

Carle, Steven F.

2011-05-04

This report describes the development, processes, and results of a hydrologic source term (HST) model for the CLEARWATER (U12q) and WINESKIN (U12r) tests located on Rainier Mesa, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada (Figure 1.1). Of the 61 underground tests (involving 62 unique detonations) conducted on Rainier Mesa (Area 12) between 1957 and 1992 (USDOE, 2015), the CLEARWATER and WINESKIN tests present many unique features that warrant a separate HST modeling effort from other Rainier Mesa tests.

Enhance gas processing with reflux heat-exchangers

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

Finn, A.J.

1994-05-01

Despite recent successes of membrane-based separations in low-throughput applications, cryogenic processing remains the best route for separating and purifying gas mixtures, especially when high recoveries are required. Now conventional units are being modified to yield even higher recoveries at lower costs. Throughout the chemical process industries (CPI), this is being accomplished with reflux or plate-fin exchangers, especially for processing of natural gas, and offgases from refineries and petrochemical facilities. The concept of utilizing a heat exchanger as a multi stage rectification device is not new. However, only in the last fifteen years or so has accurate design of reflux exchangersmore » become feasible. Also helpful have been the availability of prediction techniques for high-quality thermodynamic data, and process simulators that can rapidly solve the complex material, equilibrium and enthalpy relationships involved in simulating the performance of reflux exchangers. Four projects that show the value and effectiveness of reflux exchangers are discussed below in more detail. The first example considers hydrogen recovery from demethanizer overheads; the second highlights a low energy process for NGL and LPG recovery from natural gas. The third is a simple process for recovery of ethylene from fluid-catalytic cracker (FCC) offgas; and the fourth is a similar process for olefin recovery from dehydrogenation-reactor offgas.« less

Bioprocessing development: Immune/cellular applications: Anti-Ig autoantibody and complement-mediated destruction of neoplastic cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Twomey, J. J.

1976-01-01

This space bioprocessing contract effort was comprised of four general objectives. These were: (1) the evaluation of current separation processes, (2) the identification of problems relevant to the separation of important biologicals, (3) the identification of ground-based assay methods needed for pre- and postflight analysis of space bioprocessing separation technology; and (4) the establishment of methods to determine the efficiency of space bioprocessing separation procedures. Immunology was deemed advantageous to study the diversity of cells and cell products involved and the extensive interest being given to their separation. Upon recognition of a cellular or molecular agent as foreign to the body, the immune system becomes activated to produce cells whose function is to destroy that agent and cell products whose function is to inactivate the agent and assist in its destruction. Long after the agent is removed from the body, some cells remain in a state of readiness to continue these destructive actions specifically against that agent should further exposure to it occur. This is the basis of acquired immunity to disease.

Sex differences in oral asymmetries during wordrepetition.

PubMed

Hausmann, M; Behrendt-Körbitz, S; Kautz, H; Lamm, C; Radelt, F; Güntürkün, O

1998-12-01

During speech production the right side of the mouth is opened to a larger degree in most people. This facial asymmetry is thought to be related to a left hemisphere dominance in language processing and/or motor programming. We investigated asymmetrical lip separations during discrete or serial word productions in right handed persons. The results revealed a right sided lip separation bias in both genders during discrete word production in which the words had to be uttered once. As soon as the words had to be produced continuously, however, a clear sex difference appeared with males having the usual right bias but females now showing no clear asymmetry, with a tendency for larger lip separations on the left side. These results suggest the existence of two separate neural systems from which one controls the discrete task and which is left hemisphere dominant in both genders. The other is probably involved in serial word productions and shows a sex difference with regard to its asymmetry pattern.

The structure of dilute combusting sprays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shuen, J. S.; Solomon, A. S. P.; Faeth, F. M.

1985-01-01

An experimental and theoretical study of drop processes in a turbulent flame is described. The experiments involved a monodisperse (105 and 180 micro m initial diameter) stream of methanol drops injected at the base of a turbulent methane-fueled diffusion flame burning in still air. The following measurements were made: mean and fluctuating phase velocities, mean drop number flux, drop-size distributions and mean gas-phase temperatures. Measurements were compared with predictions of two separated flow models: (1) deterministic separated flow, where drop-turbulence interactions are ignored; and (2) stochastic separated flow, where drop-turbulence interactions are considered using random-walk computations. The stochastic separated flow analysis yielded best agreement with measurements, since it provides for turbulent dispersion of drops which was important for present test conditions (and probably for most combusting sprays as well). Distinguishing the presence or absence of envelope flames around the drops, however, was relatively unimportant for present test conditions, since the drops spent most of their lifetime in fuel-rich regions of the flow where this distinction is irrelevant.

Exploration, Sampling, And Reconstruction of Free Energy Surfaces with Gaussian Process Regression.

PubMed

Mones, Letif; Bernstein, Noam; Csányi, Gábor

2016-10-11

Practical free energy reconstruction algorithms involve three separate tasks: biasing, measuring some observable, and finally reconstructing the free energy surface from those measurements. In more than one dimension, adaptive schemes make it possible to explore only relatively low lying regions of the landscape by progressively building up the bias toward the negative of the free energy surface so that free energy barriers are eliminated. Most schemes use the final bias as their best estimate of the free energy surface. We show that large gains in computational efficiency, as measured by the reduction of time to solution, can be obtained by separating the bias used for dynamics from the final free energy reconstruction itself. We find that biasing with metadynamics, measuring a free energy gradient estimator, and reconstructing using Gaussian process regression can give an order of magnitude reduction in computational cost.

Quantitation of chlorophylls and 22 of their colored degradation products in culinary aromatic herbs by HPLC-DAD-MS and correlation with color changes during the dehydration process.

PubMed

Lafeuille, Jean-Louis; Lefèvre, Stéphane; Lebuhotel, Julie

2014-02-26

Chlorophylls and their green and olive-brown derivatives were successfully separated from culinary herb extracts by HPLC with photodiode-array and mass spectrometry detection. The method involved a ternary gradient elution and reverse-phase separation conditions capable of resolving 24 different pigments (2 chlorophylls and 22 of their derivatives) of different polarities within 28 min. The method was applied to monitor color changes in 50 samples of culinary aromatic herbs subjected to five different drying treatments. Of the 24 pigments, 14 were key to understanding the differences between the primary degradation pathways of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b in culinary herbs during drying processes. A color degradation ladder based on the total molar percentage of all the remaining green pigments was also proposed as a tool to measure the impact of drying treatments on aromatic herb visual aspects.

Accelerated sintering in phase-separating nanostructured alloys

PubMed Central

Park, Mansoo; Schuh, Christopher A.

2015-01-01

Sintering of powders is a common means of producing bulk materials when melt casting is impossible or does not achieve a desired microstructure, and has long been pursued for nanocrystalline materials in particular. Acceleration of sintering is desirable to lower processing temperatures and times, and thus to limit undesirable microstructure evolution. Here we show that markedly enhanced sintering is possible in some nanocrystalline alloys. In a nanostructured W–Cr alloy, sintering sets on at a very low temperature that is commensurate with phase separation to form a Cr-rich phase with a nanoscale arrangement that supports rapid diffusional transport. The method permits bulk full density specimens with nanoscale grains, produced during a sintering cycle involving no applied stress. We further show that such accelerated sintering can be evoked by design in other nanocrystalline alloys, opening the door to a variety of nanostructured bulk materials processed in arbitrary shapes from powder inputs. PMID:25901420

Separation and determination of synthetic impurities of difloxacin by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Rao, R Nageswara; Nagaraju, V

2004-11-19

A simple and rapid reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for separation and determination of process-related impurities of difloxacin (DFL) was developed. The separation was achieved on a reversed-phase C(18) column using methanol-water-acetic acid (78:21.9:0.1, v/v/v) as a mobile solvent at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min at 28 degrees C using UV detection at 230 nm. It was linear over a range of 0.03 x 10(-6) to 1.60 x 10(-6)g for process related impurities and 0.05 x 10(-6) to 2.40 x 10(-6)g for difloxacin. The detection limits were 0.009 x 10(-6) to 0.024 x 10(-6)g for all the compounds examined. The recoveries were found to be in the range of 97.6-102.0% for impurities as well as difloxacin. The precision and robustness of the method were evaluated. It was used for not only quality assurance, but also monitoring the synthetic reactions involved in the process development work of difloxacin. The method was found to be specific, precise and reliable for the determination of unreacted levels of raw materials, intermediates in the reaction mixtures and the finished products of difloxacin.

Modern separation techniques coupled to high performance mass spectrometry for glycolipid analysis.

PubMed

Sarbu, Mirela; Zamfir, Alina Diana

2018-01-21

Glycolipids (GLs), involved in biological processes and pathologies, such as viral, neurodegenerative and oncogenic transformations are in the focus of research related to method development for structural analysis. This review highlights modern separation techniques coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) for the investigation of GLs from various biological matrices. First section is dedicated to methods, which, although provide the separation in a non-liquid phase, are able to supply important data on the composition of complex mixtures. While classical thin layer chromatography (TLC) is useful for MS analyses of the fractionated samples, ultramodern ion mobility (IMS) characterized by high reproducibility facilitates to discover minor species and to apply low sample amounts, in addition to providing conformational separation with isomer discrimination. Second section highlights the advantages, applications and limitations of liquid-based separation techniques such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) in direct or indirect coupling to MS for glycolipidomics surveys. The on- and off-line capillary electrophoresis (CE) MS, offering a remarkable separation efficiency of GLs is also presented and critically assessed from the technical and application perspective in the final part of the review. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Digestion of peptidoglycan near the cross-link is necessary for the growth of Bacillus subtilis.

PubMed

Hashimoto, Masayuki; Matsushima, Hiroaki; Suparthana, I Putu; Ogasawara, Hiroshi; Yamamoto, Hiroki; Teng, ChingHao; Sekiguchi, Junichi

2018-03-01

Bacterial cells are covered with peptidoglycan (PG) layer(s), serving as the cellular exoskeleton. The PG sacculus changes its shape during cell growth, and thus both the synthesis and disassembly of PG are important for cell proliferation. In Bacillus subtilis, four dl-endopeptidases (DLEPases; LytE, LytF, CwlO and CwlS) are involved in the maintenance of cell morphology. The lytE cwlO double mutant exhibits synthetic lethality and defective cell elongation, while the lytE lytF cwlS triple mutant exhibits defective cell separation, albeit with septum formation. LytE is involved in both cell separation and elongation. We propose that DLEPases have varied roles in cell separation and elongation. To determine these roles, the catalytic domain of LytE was substituted with another catalytic domain that digests the other bonds in PG. By using the chimeric enzymes, we assessed the suppression of the synthetic lethality by the cell elongation defect and the disruption of chain morphology by the cell separation defect. All the constructed chimeric enzymes suppressed the cell separation defect, restoring the chain morphology. Digestion at any position of PG broke the linkage between two daughter cells, releasing them from each other. However, only d,d-endopeptidases suppressed the lack of DLEPase in the lytE cwlO double mutant. This indicated that the release of tension on the expanding PG sacculus is not the sole essential function of DLEPases. Considering that the structure of the digested PG is important for cell elongation, the digested product might be reused in the growth process in some way.

Intentional and automatic numerical processing as predictors of mathematical abilities in primary school children

PubMed Central

Pina, Violeta; Castillo, Alejandro; Cohen Kadosh, Roi; Fuentes, Luis J.

2015-01-01

Previous studies have suggested that numerical processing relates to mathematical performance, but it seems that such relationship is more evident for intentional than for automatic numerical processing. In the present study we assessed the relationship between the two types of numerical processing and specific mathematical abilities in a sample of 109 children in grades 1–6. Participants were tested in an ample range of mathematical tests and also performed both a numerical and a size comparison task. The results showed that numerical processing related to mathematical performance only when inhibitory control was involved in the comparison tasks. Concretely, we found that intentional numerical processing, as indexed by the numerical distance effect in the numerical comparison task, was related to mathematical reasoning skills only when the task-irrelevant dimension (the physical size) was incongruent; whereas automatic numerical processing, indexed by the congruency effect in the size comparison task, was related to mathematical calculation skills only when digits were separated by small distance. The observed double dissociation highlights the relevance of both intentional and automatic numerical processing in mathematical skills, but when inhibitory control is also involved. PMID:25873909

The nucleus accumbens and learning and memory.

PubMed

Setlow, B

1997-09-01

Recent research on the nucleus accumbens (NA) indicates that this brain region is involved in learning and memory processes in a way that is separable from its other well-known roles in behavior, such as motivation, reward, and locomotor activity. These findings have suggested that 1) the NA may be involved in declarative, or hippocampal formation-dependent learning and memory, and not in several other non-declarative forms of learning and memory, and 2) the NA may be selectively involved in certain stages of learning and memory. These characteristics suggest that the NA may be part of a larger striatal system which subserves acquisition and consolidation, but is not a site of long-term storage, of different forms of learning and memory.

Manager`s views of public involvement

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

Branch, K.M.; Heerwagen, J.; Bradbury, J.

1995-12-01

Four issues commonly form the framework for debates about the acceptability of proposed projects or technologies--the substantive decision or technological choice; the treatment of the community by the proponent organization; the way the decision-making process has been structured and managed; and the status of institutional safeguards and protection. One of the clear messages of cultural theory is that differences in perspectives are a normal and inevitable part of society, and that attempts to resolve differences by persuasion are not likely to work. These findings are useful when considering the goals and possibilities of public involvement as a decision-making tool, andmore » when designing or evaluating public involvement training programs for managers. The research reported here examines the viewpoints and concerns of managers and decision-makers about the four issues identified above, with particular emphasis on their perspectives and concerns about opening decision-making processes to the public and about managers` roles and responsibilities for structuring and managing open decision-making processes. Implications of these findings for public involvement training for managers is also discussed. The data presented in this paper were obtained from face-to-face interviews with managers and decision-makers with experience managing a variety of hazardous waste management decision-making processes. We conducted these interviews in the course of four separate research projects: needs assessments to support the design and development of a public involvement training program for managers; a study of community residents` and managers` perspectives on the chemical stockpile disposal program; an evaluation of the effectiveness of public involvement training for managers in the Department of Energy; and a study to develop indicators of the benefits and costs of public involvement.« less

Separate neural substrates in the human cerebellum for sensory-motor adaptation of reactive and of scanning voluntary saccades.

PubMed

Alahyane, N; Fonteille, V; Urquizar, C; Salemme, R; Nighoghossian, N; Pelisson, D; Tilikete, C

2008-01-01

Sensory-motor adaptation processes are critically involved in maintaining accurate motor behavior throughout life. Yet their underlying neural substrates and task-dependency bases are still poorly understood. We address these issues here by studying adaptation of saccadic eye movements, a well-established model of sensory-motor plasticity. The cerebellum plays a major role in saccadic adaptation but it has not yet been investigated whether this role can account for the known specificity of adaptation to the saccade type (e.g., reactive versus voluntary). Two patients with focal lesions in different parts of the cerebellum were tested using the double-step target paradigm. Each patient was submitted to two separate sessions: one for reactive saccades (RS) triggered by the sudden appearance of a visual target and the second for scanning voluntary saccades (SVS) performed when exploring a more complex scene. We found that a medial cerebellar lesion impaired adaptation of reactive-but not of voluntary-saccades, whereas a lateral lesion affected adaptation of scanning voluntary saccades, but not of reactive saccades. These findings provide the first evidence of an involvement of the lateral cerebellum in saccadic adaptation, and extend the demonstrated role of the cerebellum in RS adaptation to adaptation of SVS. The double dissociation of adaptive abilities is also consistent with our previous hypothesis of the involvement in saccadic adaptation of partially separated cerebellar areas specific to the reactive or voluntary task (Alahyane et al. Brain Res 1135:107-121 (2007)).

Structural study of complexes formed by acidic and neutral organophosphorus reagents

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

Braatz, Alexander D.; Antonio, Mark R.; Nilsson, Mikael

The coordination of the trivalent 4f ions, Ln = La 3+, Dy 3+, and Lu 3+, with neutral and acidic organophosphorus reagents, both individually and combined, was studied by use of X-ray absorption spectroscopy. These studies provide metrical information about the interatomic interactions between these cations and the ligands tri- n-butyl phosphate (TBP) and di- n-butyl phosphoric acid (HDBP), whose behavior are of practical importance to chemical separation processes that are currently used on an industrial scale. Previous studies have suggested the existence of complexes involving a mixture of ligands, accounting for extraction synergy. Through systematic variation of the aqueousmore » phase acidity and extractant concentration and combination, we have found that complexes with Ln and TBP : HDBP at any mixture and HDBP alone involve direct Ln–O interactions involving 6 oxygen atoms and distant Ln–P interactions involving on average 3–5 phosphorus atoms per Ln ion. It was also found that Ln complexes formed by TBP alone seem to favor eight oxygen coordination, though we were unable to obtain metrical results regarding the distant Ln–P interactions due to the low signal attributed to a lower concentration of Ln ions in the organic phases. Our study does not support the existence of mixed Ln–TBP–HDBP complexes but, rather, indicates that the lanthanides are extracted as either Ln–HDBP complexes or Ln–TBP complexes and that these complexes exist in different ratios depending on the conditions of the extraction system. Furthermore, this fundamental structural information offers insight into the solvent extraction processes that are taking place and are of particular importance to issues arising from the separation and disposal of radioactive materials from used nuclear fuel.« less

Structural study of complexes formed by acidic and neutral organophosphorus reagents

DOE PAGES

Braatz, Alexander D.; Antonio, Mark R.; Nilsson, Mikael

2016-12-23

The coordination of the trivalent 4f ions, Ln = La 3+, Dy 3+, and Lu 3+, with neutral and acidic organophosphorus reagents, both individually and combined, was studied by use of X-ray absorption spectroscopy. These studies provide metrical information about the interatomic interactions between these cations and the ligands tri- n-butyl phosphate (TBP) and di- n-butyl phosphoric acid (HDBP), whose behavior are of practical importance to chemical separation processes that are currently used on an industrial scale. Previous studies have suggested the existence of complexes involving a mixture of ligands, accounting for extraction synergy. Through systematic variation of the aqueousmore » phase acidity and extractant concentration and combination, we have found that complexes with Ln and TBP : HDBP at any mixture and HDBP alone involve direct Ln–O interactions involving 6 oxygen atoms and distant Ln–P interactions involving on average 3–5 phosphorus atoms per Ln ion. It was also found that Ln complexes formed by TBP alone seem to favor eight oxygen coordination, though we were unable to obtain metrical results regarding the distant Ln–P interactions due to the low signal attributed to a lower concentration of Ln ions in the organic phases. Our study does not support the existence of mixed Ln–TBP–HDBP complexes but, rather, indicates that the lanthanides are extracted as either Ln–HDBP complexes or Ln–TBP complexes and that these complexes exist in different ratios depending on the conditions of the extraction system. Furthermore, this fundamental structural information offers insight into the solvent extraction processes that are taking place and are of particular importance to issues arising from the separation and disposal of radioactive materials from used nuclear fuel.« less

Aerospace Environmental Technology Conference: Exectutive summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitaker, A. F. (Editor)

1995-01-01

The mandated elimination of CFC's, Halons, TCA, and other ozone depleting chemicals and specific hazardous materials has required changes and new developments in aerospace materials and processes. The aerospace industry has been involved for several years in providing product substitutions, redesigning entire production processes, and developing new materials that minimize or eliminate damage to the environment. These activities emphasize replacement cleaning solvents and their application verifications, compliant coatings including corrosion protection systems, and removal techniques, chemical propulsion effects on the environment, and the initiation of modifications to relevant processing and manufacturing specifications and standards. The papers from this conference are being published in a separate volume as NASA CP-3298.

Pretreatment of coal during transport

DOEpatents

Johnson, Glenn E.; Neilson, Harry B.; Forney, Albert J.; Haynes, William P.

1977-04-19

Many available coals are "caking coals" which possess the undesirable characteristic of fusing into a solid mass when heated through their plastic temperature range (about 400.degree. C.) which temperature range is involved in many common treatment processes such as gasification, hydrogenation, carbonization and the like. Unless the caking properties are first destroyed, the coal cannot be satisfactorily used in such processes. A process is disclosed herein for decaking finely divided coal during its transport to the treating zone by propelling the coal entrained in an oyxgen-containing gas through a heated transport pipe whereby the separate transport and decaking steps of the prior art are combined into a single step.

Development of an integrated control and measurement system

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

Manges, W.W.

1984-03-01

This thesis presents a tutorial on the issues involved in the development of a minicomputer-based, distributed intelligence data acquisition and process control system to support complex experimental facilities. The particular system discussed in this thesis is under development for the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) Program at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP). In the AVLIS program, we were careful to integrate the computer sections of the implementation into the instrumentation system rather than adding them as an appendage. We then addressed the reliability and availability of the system as a separate concern. Thus, our concept of anmore » integrated control and measurement (ICAM) system forms the basis for this thesis. This thesis details the logic and philosophy that went into the development of this system and explains why the commercially available turn-key systems generally are not suitable. Also, the issues involved in the specification of the components for such an integrated system are emphasized.« less

Similar or Different? The Role of the Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Similarity Detection

PubMed Central

Garcin, Béatrice; Volle, Emmanuelle; Dubois, Bruno; Levy, Richard

2012-01-01

Patients with frontal lobe syndrome can exhibit two types of abnormal behaviour when asked to place a banana and an orange in a single category: some patients categorize them at a concrete level (e.g., “both have peel”), while others continue to look for differences between these objects (e.g., “one is yellow, the other is orange”). These observations raise the question of whether abstraction and similarity detection are distinct processes involved in abstract categorization, and that depend on separate areas of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). We designed an original experimental paradigm for a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study involving healthy subjects, confirming the existence of two distinct processes relying on different prefrontal areas, and thus explaining the behavioural dissociation in frontal lesion patients. We showed that: 1) Similarity detection involves the anterior ventrolateral PFC bilaterally with a right-left asymmetry: the right anterior ventrolateral PFC is only engaged in detecting physical similarities; 2) Abstraction per se activates the left dorsolateral PFC. PMID:22479551

Sensors and filters based on nano- and microchannel membranes for biomedical technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romanov, S. I.; Pyshnyi, D. V.; Laktionov, P. P.

2012-02-01

A new technology is presented in a concise form which enables the silicon membranes to be produced over a wide range of channel dimensions from a few nanometers to tens of micrometers. There is good reason to believe that this method based on rather simple technical processing is competitive with other technologies for fabricating nanofluidic analysis systems. Some of the completed developments involving microchannel membranes, namely, the optical DNA-sensor and the human cell separation system are demonstrated without going into details. The other applications of micro- and nanochannel membranes, namely, the electrical sensor and electrokinetic filters for detecting and separating liquids and biomolecules are shown with the first results and are in progress.

Brain activation in response to randomized visual stimulation as obtained from conjunction and differential analysis: an fMRI study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasaruddin, N. H.; Yusoff, A. N.; Kaur, S.

2014-11-01

The objective of this multiple-subjects functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was to identify the common brain areas that are activated when viewing black-and-white checkerboard pattern stimuli of various shapes, pattern and size and to investigate specific brain areas that are involved in processing static and moving visual stimuli. Sixteen participants viewed the moving (expanding ring, rotating wedge, flipping hour glass and bowtie and arc quadrant) and static (full checkerboard) stimuli during an fMRI scan. All stimuli have black-and-white checkerboard pattern. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) was used in generating brain activation. Differential analyses were implemented to separately search for areas involved in processing static and moving stimuli. In general, the stimuli of various shapes, pattern and size activated multiple brain areas mostly in the left hemisphere. The activation in the right middle temporal gyrus (MTG) was found to be significantly higher in processing moving visual stimuli as compared to static stimulus. In contrast, the activation in the left calcarine sulcus and left lingual gyrus were significantly higher for static stimulus as compared to moving stimuli. Visual stimulation of various shapes, pattern and size used in this study indicated left lateralization of activation. The involvement of the right MTG in processing moving visual information was evident from differential analysis, while the left calcarine sulcus and left lingual gyrus are the areas that are involved in the processing of static visual stimulus.

Information in general medical practices: the information processing model.

PubMed

Crowe, Sarah; Tully, Mary P; Cantrill, Judith A

2010-04-01

The need for effective communication and handling of secondary care information in general practices is paramount. To explore practice processes on receiving secondary care correspondence in a way that integrates the information needs and perceptions of practice staff both clinical and administrative. Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with a wide range of practice staff (n = 36) in nine practices in the Northwest of England. Analysis was based on the framework approach using N-Vivo software and involved transcription, familiarization, coding, charting, mapping and interpretation. The 'information processing model' was developed to describe the six stages involved in practice processing of secondary care information. These included the amendment or updating of practice records whilst simultaneously or separately actioning secondary care recommendations, using either a 'one-step' or 'two-step' approach, respectively. Many factors were found to influence each stage and impact on the continuum of patient care. The primary purpose of processing secondary care information is to support patient care; this study raises the profile of information flow and usage within practices as an issue requiring further consideration.

Comparisons of Attacks on Honeypots With Those on Real Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

Oracle , MySQL , or PostgreSQL. Figure 2 shows an incoming packet and the process involved before and after the Snort engine detects the suspicious...stored on a separate, secured system.”[2]. Honeypots have several other uses besides monitoring attackers. They serve to protect real networks and...interaction vs . high-interaction. Although, both low-interaction and high-interaction honeypots are effective in soliciting attacks, high-interaction

Perception for Outdoor Navigation

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-11-01

without lane marktings. Our perception modules use a variety of techniques for video processing (clusering theory, symbolic feature detection, neural nets...on gravel and dirt roads, as expected. The most difficult case involved a dirt road in a forest, which was mainly distinguishable in the video images...in that estimate. u bIsrshigl Neural Nets. Under separate funding, we have driven the Naviab using neural nets to track the road in video iages. We ame

Ethical approval for research involving geographically dispersed subjects: unsuitability of the UK MREC/LREC system and relevance to uncommon genetic disorders

PubMed Central

Lewis, J C; Tomkins, S; Sampson, J R

2001-01-01

Objectives—To assess the process involved in obtaining ethical approval for a single-centre study involving geographically dispersed subjects with an uncommon genetic disorder. Design—Observational data of the application process to 53 local research ethics committees (LRECs) throughout Wales, England and Scotland. The Multicentre Research Ethics Committee (MREC) for Wales had already granted approval. Results—Application to the 53 LRECs required 24,552 sheets of paper and took two months of the researcher's time. The median time taken for approval was 39 days with only seven (13%) of committees responding within the recommended 21 days. In at least nineteen cases (36%) a subcommittee considered the application. Thirty-three committees (62%) accepted the proposal without amendments but, of the remainder, four (8%) requested changes outside of the remit of LRECs. Discussion—Difficulties still exist with the system for obtaining ethical approval for studies involving a single centre but with patients at multiple sites, as is often required for genetic observational research. As such studies differ from true multicentre studies, it may be advantageous to develop a separate and specific process of application to ensure that resources are not unnecessarily expended in the quest for ethical approval. Key Words: Research ethics • MREC • LREC PMID:11579194

Exploring Photoinduced Excited State Evolution in Heterobimetallic Ru(II)-Co(III) Complexes.

PubMed

Kuhar, Korina; Fredin, Lisa A; Persson, Petter

2015-06-18

Quantum chemical calculations provide detailed theoretical information concerning key aspects of photoinduced electron and excitation transfer processes in supramolecular donor-acceptor systems, which are particularly relevant to fundamental charge separation in emerging molecular approaches for solar energy conversion. Here we use density functional theory (DFT) calculations to explore the excited state landscape of heterobimetallic Ru-Co systems with varying degrees of interaction between the two metal centers, unbound, weakly bound, and tightly bound systems. The interplay between structural and electronic factors involved in various excited state relaxation processes is examined through full optimizations of multiple charge/spin states of each of the investigated systems. Low-energy relaxed heterobimetallic states of energy transfer and excitation transfer character are characterized in terms of energy, structure, and electronic properties. These findings support the notion of efficient photoinduced charge separation from a Ru(II)-Co(III) ground state, via initial optical excitation of the Ru-center, to low-energy Ru(III)-Co(II) states. The strongly coupled system has significant involvement of the conjugated bridge, qualitatively distinguishing it from the other two weakly coupled systems. Finally, by constructing potential energy surfaces for the three systems where all charge/spin state combinations are projected onto relevant reaction coordinates, excited state decay pathways are explored.

Dissociation of a Dynamic Protein Complex Studied by All-Atom Molecular Simulations.

PubMed

Zhang, Liqun; Borthakur, Susmita; Buck, Matthias

2016-02-23

The process of protein complex dissociation remains to be understood at the atomic level of detail. Computers now allow microsecond timescale molecular-dynamics simulations, which make the visualization of such processes possible. Here, we investigated the dissociation process of the EphA2-SHIP2 SAM-SAM domain heterodimer complex using unrestrained all-atom molecular-dynamics simulations. Previous studies on this system have shown that alternate configurations are sampled, that their interconversion can be fast, and that the complex is dynamic by nature. Starting from different NMR-derived structures, mutants were designed to stabilize a subset of configurations by swapping ion pairs across the protein-protein interface. We focused on two mutants, K956D/D1235K and R957D/D1223R, with attenuated binding affinity compared with the wild-type proteins. In contrast to calculations on the wild-type complexes, the majority of simulations of these mutants showed protein dissociation within 2.4 μs. During the separation process, we observed domain rotation and pivoting as well as a translation and simultaneous rolling, typically to alternate and weaker binding interfaces. Several unsuccessful recapturing attempts occurred once the domains were moderately separated. An analysis of protein solvation suggests that the dissociation process correlates with a progressive loss of protein-protein contacts. Furthermore, an evaluation of internal protein dynamics using quasi-harmonic and order parameter analyses indicates that changes in protein internal motions are expected to contribute significantly to the thermodynamics of protein dissociation. Considering protein association as the reverse of the separation process, the initial role of charged/polar interactions is emphasized, followed by changes in protein and solvent dynamics. The trajectories show that protein separation does not follow a single distinct pathway, but suggest that the mechanism of dissociation is common in that it initially involves transitions to surfaces with fewer, less favorable contacts compared with those seen in the fully formed complex. Copyright © 2016 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An application of the theory of planned behaviour to study the influencing factors of participation in source separation of food waste.

PubMed

Karim Ghani, Wan Azlina Wan Ab; Rusli, Iffah Farizan; Biak, Dayang Radiah Awang; Idris, Azni

2013-05-01

Tremendous increases in biodegradable (food waste) generation significantly impact the local authorities, who are responsible to manage, treat and dispose of this waste. The process of separation of food waste at its generation source is identified as effective means in reducing the amount food waste sent to landfill and can be reused as feedstock to downstream treatment processes namely composting or anaerobic digestion. However, these efforts will only succeed with positive attitudes and highly participations rate by the public towards the scheme. Thus, the social survey (using questionnaires) to analyse public's view and influencing factors towards participation in source separation of food waste in households based on the theory of planned behaviour technique (TPB) was performed in June and July 2011 among selected staff in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor. The survey demonstrates that the public has positive intention in participating provided the opportunities, facilities and knowledge on waste separation at source are adequately prepared by the respective local authorities. Furthermore, good moral values and situational factors such as storage convenience and collection times are also encouraged public's involvement and consequently, the participations rate. The findings from this study may provide useful indicator to the waste management authorities in Malaysia in identifying mechanisms for future development and implementation of food waste source separation activities in household programmes and communication campaign which advocate the use of these programmes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ensemble Response in Mushroom Body Output Neurons of the Honey Bee Outpaces Spatiotemporal Odor Processing Two Synapses Earlier in the Antennal Lobe

PubMed Central

Strube-Bloss, Martin F.; Herrera-Valdez, Marco A.; Smith, Brian H.

2012-01-01

Neural representations of odors are subject to computations that involve sequentially convergent and divergent anatomical connections across different areas of the brains in both mammals and insects. Furthermore, in both mammals and insects higher order brain areas are connected via feedback connections. In order to understand the transformations and interactions that this connectivity make possible, an ideal experiment would compare neural responses across different, sequential processing levels. Here we present results of recordings from a first order olfactory neuropile – the antennal lobe (AL) – and a higher order multimodal integration and learning center – the mushroom body (MB) – in the honey bee brain. We recorded projection neurons (PN) of the AL and extrinsic neurons (EN) of the MB, which provide the outputs from the two neuropils. Recordings at each level were made in different animals in some experiments and simultaneously in the same animal in others. We presented two odors and their mixture to compare odor response dynamics as well as classification speed and accuracy at each neural processing level. Surprisingly, the EN ensemble significantly starts separating odor stimuli rapidly and before the PN ensemble has reached significant separation. Furthermore the EN ensemble at the MB output reaches a maximum separation of odors between 84–120 ms after odor onset, which is 26 to 133 ms faster than the maximum separation at the AL output ensemble two synapses earlier in processing. It is likely that a subset of very fast PNs, which respond before the ENs, may initiate the rapid EN ensemble response. We suggest therefore that the timing of the EN ensemble activity would allow retroactive integration of its signal into the ongoing computation of the AL via centrifugal feedback. PMID:23209711

Separation of Corn Fiber and Conversion to Fuels and Chemicals Phase II: Pilot-scale Operation

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

Abbas, Charles; Beery, Kyle; Orth, Rick

2007-09-28

The purpose of the Department of Energy (DOE)-supported corn fiber conversion project, “Separation of Corn Fiber and Conversion to Fuels and Chemicals Phase II: Pilot-scale Operation” is to develop and demonstrate an integrated, economical process for the separation of corn fiber into its principal components to produce higher value-added fuel (ethanol and biodiesel), nutraceuticals (phytosterols), chemicals (polyols), and animal feed (corn fiber molasses). This project has successfully demonstrated the corn fiber conversion process on the pilot scale, and ensured that the process will integrate well into existing ADM corn wet-mills. This process involves hydrolyzing the corn fiber to solubilize 50%more » of the corn fiber as oligosaccharides and soluble protein. The solubilized fiber is removed and the remaining fiber residue is solvent extracted to remove the corn fiber oil, which contains valuable phytosterols. The extracted oil is refined to separate the phytosterols and the remaining oil is converted to biodiesel. The de-oiled fiber is enzymatically hydrolyzed and remixed with the soluble oligosaccharides in a fermentation vessel where it is fermented by a recombinant yeast, which is capable of fermenting the glucose and xylose to produce ethanol. The fermentation broth is distilled to remove the ethanol. The stillage is centrifuged to separate the yeast cell mass from the soluble components. The yeast cell mass is sold as a high-protein yeast cream and the remaining sugars in the stillage can be purified to produce a feedstock for catalytic conversion of the sugars to polyols (mainly ethylene glycol and propylene glycol) if desirable. The remaining materials from the purification step and any materials remaining after catalytic conversion are concentrated and sold as a corn fiber molasses. Additional high-value products are being investigated for the use of the corn fiber as a dietary fiber sources.« less

Industrial Membrane Filtration and Short-bed Fractal Separation Systems for Separating Monomers from Heterogeneous Plant Material

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

Kearney, M; Kochergin, V; Hess, R

2005-03-31

Large-scale displacement of petroleum will come from low-cost cellulosic feedstocks such as straw and corn stover crop residues. This project has taken a step toward making this projection a reality by reducing capital and energy costs, the two largest cost factors associated with converting cellulosic biomass to chemicals and fuels. The technology exists for using acid or enzyme hydrolysis processes to convert biomass feedstock (i.e., waste cellulose such as straw, corn stover, and wood) into their base monomeric sugar building blocks, which can, in turn, be processed into chemicals and fuels using a number of innovative fermentation technologies. However, whilemore » these processes are technically possible, practical and economic barriers make these processes only marginally feasible or not feasible at all. These barriers are due in part to the complexity and large fixed and recurring capital costs of unit operations including filtration, chromatographic separation, and ion exchange. This project was designed to help remove these barriers by developing and implementing new purification and separation technologies that will reduce the capital costs of the purification and chromatographic separation units by 50% to 70%. The technologies fundamental to these improvements are: (a) highly efficient clarification and purification systems that use screening and membrane filtration to eliminate suspended solids and colloidal material from feed streams and (b) fractal technology based chromatographic separation and ion exchange systems that can substitute for conventional systems but at much smaller size and cost. A non-hazardous ''raw sugar beet juice'' stream (75 to 100 gal/min) was used for prototype testing of these technologies. This raw beet juice stream from the Amalgamated Sugar LLC plant in Twin Falls, Idaho contained abrasive materials and membrane foulants. Its characteristics were representative of an industrial-scale heterogeneous plant extract/hydrolysis stream, and therefore was an ideal model system for developing new separation equipment. Subsequent testing used both synthetic acid hydrolysate and corn stover derived weak acid hydrolysate (NREL produced). A two-phased approach was used for the research and development described in this project. The first level of study involved testing the new concepts at the bench level. The bench-scale evaluations provided fundamental understanding of the processes, building and testing small prototype systems, and determining the efficiency of the novel processes. The second level of study, macro-level, required building larger systems that directly simulated industrial operations and provided validation of performance to minimize financial risk during commercialization. The project goals and scope included: (1) Development of low-capital alternatives to conventional crop-based purification/separation processes; and (2) Development of each process to the point that transition to commercial operation is low risk. The project reporting period was January 2001 to December 2004. This included a one year extension of the project (without additional funding).« less

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

Radchenko, Valery; Meyer, Catherine Anne Louise; Engle, Jonathan Ward

Scandium-44 g (half-life 3.97 h) shows promise for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of longer biological processes than that of the current gold standard, 18F, due to its favorable decay parameters. One source of 44gSc is the long-lived parent nuclide 44Ti (half-life 60.0 a). A 44Ti/ 44gSc generator would have the ability to provide radionuclidically pure 44gSc on a daily basis. The production of 44Ti via the 45Sc(p,2n) reaction requires high proton beam currents and long irradiation times. Recovery and purification of no-carrier added (nca) 44Ti from scandium metal targets involves complex separation chemistry. In this study, separation systems basedmore » on solid phase extraction chromatography were investigated, including branched diglycolamide (BDGA) resin and hydroxamate based ZR resin. Lastly, results indicate that ZR resin in HCl media represents an effective 44Ti/ 44gSc separation system.« less

Measurement of dielectric constant of organic solvents by indigenously developed dielectric probe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keshari, Ajay Kumar; Rao, J. Prabhakar; Rao, C. V. S. Brahmmananda; Ramakrishnan, R.; Ramanarayanan, R. R.

2018-04-01

The extraction, separation and purification of actinides (uranium and plutonium) from various matrices are an important step in nuclear fuel cycle. One of the separation process adopted in an industrial scale is the liquid-liquid extraction or solvent extraction. Liquid-liquid extraction uses a specific ligand/extractant in conjunction with suitable diluent. Solvent extraction or liquid-liquid extraction, involves the partitioning of the solute between two immiscible phases. In most cases, one of the phases is aqueous, and the other one is an organic solvent. The solvent used in solvent extraction should be selective for the metal of interest, it should have optimum distribution ratio, and the loaded metal from the organic phase should be easily stripped under suitable experimental conditions. Some of the important physical properties which are important for the solvent are density, viscosity, phase separation time, interfacial surface tension and the polarity of the extractant.

Secretion of CyaA-PrtB and HlyA-PrtB fusion proteins in Escherichia coli: involvement of the glycine-rich repeat domain of Erwinia chrysanthemi protease B.

PubMed Central

Létoffé, S; Wandersman, C

1992-01-01

Protease B from Erwinia chrysanthemi was shown previously to have a C-terminal secretion signal located downstream of a domain that contains six glycine-rich repeats. This domain is conserved in all known bacterial proteins secreted by the signal peptide-independent pathway. The role of these repeats in the secretion process is controversial. We compared the secretion processes of various heterologous polypeptides fused either directly to the signal or separated from it by the glycine-rich domain. Although the repeats are not involved in the secretion of small truncated protease B carboxy-terminal peptides, they are required for the secretion of higher-molecular-weight fusion proteins. Secretion efficiency was also dependent on the size of the passenger polypeptide. Images PMID:1629152

Universality Results for Multi-phase Hele-Shaw Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daripa, Prabir

2013-03-01

Saffman-Taylor instability is a well known viscosity driven instability of an interface separating two immiscible fluids. We study linear stability of displacement processes in a Hele-Shaw cell involving an arbitrary number of immiscible fluid phases. This is a problem involving many interfaces. Universal stability results have been obtained for this multi-phase immiscible flow in the sense that the results hold for arbitrary number of interfaces. These stability results have been applied to design displacement processes that are considerably less unstable than the pure Saffman-Taylor case. In particular, we derive universal formula which gives specific values of the viscosities of the fluid layers corresponding to smallest unstable band. Other similar universal results will also be presented. The talk is based on the following paper. This work was supported by the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation).

A review of induction and attachment times of wetting thin films between air bubbles and particles and its relevance in the separation of particles by flotation.

PubMed

Albijanic, Boris; Ozdemir, Orhan; Nguyen, Anh V; Bradshaw, Dee

2010-08-11

Bubble-particle attachment in water is critical to the separation of particles by flotation which is widely used in the recovery of valuable minerals, the deinking of wastepaper, the water treatment and the oil recovery from tar sands. It involves the thinning and rupture of wetting thin films, and the expansion and relaxation of the gas-liquid-solid contact lines. The time scale of the first two processes is referred to as the induction time, whereas the time scale of the attachment involving all the processes is called the attachment time. This paper reviews the experimental studies into the induction and attachment times between minerals and air bubbles, and between oil droplets and air bubbles. It also focuses on the experimental investigations and mathematical modelling of elementary processes of the wetting film thinning and rupture, and the three-phase contact line expansion relevant to flotation. It was confirmed that the time parameters, obtained by various authors, are sensitive enough to show changes in both flotation surface chemistry and physical properties of solid surfaces of pure minerals. These findings should be extended to other systems. It is proposed that measurements of the bubble-particle attachment can be used to interpret changes in flotation behaviour or, in conjunction with other factors, such as particle size and gas dispersion, to predict flotation performance. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High-throughput process development: I. Process chromatography.

PubMed

Rathore, Anurag S; Bhambure, Rahul

2014-01-01

Chromatographic separation serves as "a workhorse" for downstream process development and plays a key role in removal of product-related, host cell-related, and process-related impurities. Complex and poorly characterized raw materials and feed material, low feed concentration, product instability, and poor mechanistic understanding of the processes are some of the critical challenges that are faced during development of a chromatographic step. Traditional process development is performed as trial-and-error-based evaluation and often leads to a suboptimal process. High-throughput process development (HTPD) platform involves an integration of miniaturization, automation, and parallelization and provides a systematic approach for time- and resource-efficient chromatography process development. Creation of such platforms requires integration of mechanistic knowledge of the process with various statistical tools for data analysis. The relevance of such a platform is high in view of the constraints with respect to time and resources that the biopharma industry faces today. This protocol describes the steps involved in performing HTPD of process chromatography step. It described operation of a commercially available device (PreDictor™ plates from GE Healthcare). This device is available in 96-well format with 2 or 6 μL well size. We also discuss the challenges that one faces when performing such experiments as well as possible solutions to alleviate them. Besides describing the operation of the device, the protocol also presents an approach for statistical analysis of the data that is gathered from such a platform. A case study involving use of the protocol for examining ion-exchange chromatography of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF), a therapeutic product, is briefly discussed. This is intended to demonstrate the usefulness of this protocol in generating data that is representative of the data obtained at the traditional lab scale. The agreement in the data is indeed very significant (regression coefficient 0.93). We think that this protocol will be of significant value to those involved in performing high-throughput process development of process chromatography.

HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT OF MEDICAL DEVICES IN EUROPE: PROCESSES, PRACTICES, AND METHODS.

PubMed

Fuchs, Sabine; Olberg, Britta; Panteli, Dimitra; Busse, Reinhard

2016-01-01

To review and compare current Health Technology Assessment (HTA) activities for medical devices (MDs) across European HTA institutions. A comprehensive approach was adopted to identify institutions involved in HTA in European countries. We systematically searched institutional Web sites and other online sources by using a structured tool to extract information on the role and link to decision making, structure, scope, process, methodological approach, and available HTA reports for each included institution. Information was obtained from eighty-four institutions, forty-seven of which were analyzed. Fifty-four methodological documents from twenty-three agencies in eighteen countries were identified. Only five agencies had separate documents for the assessment of MDs. A few agencies made separate provisions for the assessment of MDs in their general methods. The amount of publicly available HTA reports on MDs varied by device category and agency remit. Despite growing consensus on their importance and international initiatives, such as the EUnetHTA Core Model®, specific tools for the assessment of MDs are rarely developed and implemented at the national level. Separate additional signposts incorporated in existing general methods guides may be sufficient for the evaluation of MDs.

Non-stationary pre-envelope covariances of non-classically damped systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muscolino, G.

1991-08-01

A new formulation is given to evaluate the stationary and non-stationary response of linear non-classically damped systems subjected to multi-correlated non-separable Gaussian input processes. This formulation is based on a new and more suitable definition of the impulse response function matrix for such systems. It is shown that, when using this definition, the stochastic response of non-classically damped systems involves the evaluation of quantities similar to those of classically damped ones. Furthermore, considerations about non-stationary cross-covariances, spectral moments and pre-envelope cross-covariances are presented for a monocorrelated input process.

The behavior and importance of lactic acid complexation in Talspeak extraction systems

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

Grimes, Travis S.; Nilsson, Mikael; Nash, Kenneth L.

2008-07-01

Advanced partitioning of spent nuclear fuel in the UREX +la process relies on the TALSPEAK process for separation of fission-product lanthanides from trivalent actinides. The classic TALSPEAK utilizes an aqueous medium of both lactic acid and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid and the extraction reagent di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid in an aromatic diluent. In this study, the specific role of lactic acid and the complexes involved in the extraction of the trivalent actinides and lanthanides have been investigated using {sup 14}C-labeled lactic acid. Our results show that lactic acid partitions between the phases in a complex fashion. (authors)

Machine vision system for automated detection of stained pistachio nuts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearson, Tom C.

1995-01-01

A machine vision system was developed to separate stained pistachio nuts, which comprise of about 5% of the California crop, from unstained nuts. The system may be used to reduce labor involved with manual grading or to remove aflatoxin contaminated product from low grade process streams. The system was tested on two different pistachio process streams: the bi- chromatic color sorter reject stream and the small nut shelling stock stream. The system had a minimum overall error rate of 14% for the bi-chromatic sorter reject stream and 15% for the small shelling stock stream.

Simulation of the microwave heating of a thin multilayered composite material: A parameter analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tertrais, Hermine; Barasinski, Anaïs; Chinesta, Francisco

2018-05-01

Microwave (MW) technology relies on volumetric heating. Thermal energy is transferred to the material that can absorb it at specific frequencies. The complex physics involved in this process is far from being understood and that is why a simulation tool has been developed in order to solve the electromagnetic and thermal equations in such a complex material as a multilayered composite part. The code is based on the in-plane-out-of-plane separated representation within the Proper Generalized Decomposition framework. To improve the knowledge on the process, a parameter study in carried out in this paper.

Numerical Validation of Chemical Compositional Model for Wettability Alteration Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bekbauov, Bakhbergen; Berdyshev, Abdumauvlen; Baishemirov, Zharasbek; Bau, Domenico

2017-12-01

Chemical compositional simulation of enhanced oil recovery and surfactant enhanced aquifer remediation processes is a complex task that involves solving dozens of equations for all grid blocks representing a reservoir. In the present work, we perform a numerical validation of the newly developed mathematical formulation which satisfies the conservation laws of mass and energy and allows applying a sequential solution approach to solve the governing equations separately and implicitly. Through its application to the numerical experiment using a wettability alteration model and comparisons with existing chemical compositional model's numerical results, the new model has proven to be practical, reliable and stable.

Neural correlates of processing facial identity based on features versus their spacing.

PubMed

Maurer, D; O'Craven, K M; Le Grand, R; Mondloch, C J; Springer, M V; Lewis, T L; Grady, C L

2007-04-08

Adults' expertise in recognizing facial identity involves encoding subtle differences among faces in the shape of individual facial features (featural processing) and in the spacing among features (a type of configural processing called sensitivity to second-order relations). We used fMRI to investigate the neural mechanisms that differentiate these two types of processing. Participants made same/different judgments about pairs of faces that differed only in the shape of the eyes and mouth, with minimal differences in spacing (featural blocks), or pairs of faces that had identical features but differed in the positions of those features (spacing blocks). From a localizer scan with faces, objects, and houses, we identified regions with comparatively more activity for faces, including the fusiform face area (FFA) in the right fusiform gyrus, other extrastriate regions, and prefrontal cortices. Contrasts between the featural and spacing conditions revealed distributed patterns of activity differentiating the two conditions. A region of the right fusiform gyrus (near but not overlapping the localized FFA) showed greater activity during the spacing task, along with multiple areas of right frontal cortex, whereas left prefrontal activity increased for featural processing. These patterns of activity were not related to differences in performance between the two tasks. The results indicate that the processing of facial features is distinct from the processing of second-order relations in faces, and that these functions are mediated by separate and lateralized networks involving the right fusiform gyrus, although the FFA as defined from a localizer scan is not differentially involved.

Demonstration of a strategy for product purification by high-gradient magnetic fishing: recovery of superoxide dismutase from unconditioned whey.

PubMed

Meyer, Andrea; Hansen, Dennis B; Gomes, Cláudia S G; Hobley, Timothy J; Thomas, Owen R T; Franzreb, Matthias

2005-01-01

A systematic approach for the design of a bioproduct recovery process employing magnetic supports and the technique of high-gradient magnetic fishing (HGMF) is described. The approach is illustrated for the separation of superoxide dismutase (SOD), an antioxidant protein present in low concentrations (ca. 0.15-0.6 mg L(-1)) in whey. The first part of the process design consisted of ligand screening in which metal chelate supports charged with copper(II) ions were found to be the most suitable. The second stage involved systematic and sequential optimization of conditions for the following steps: product adsorption, support washing, and product elution. Next, the capacity of a novel high-gradient magnetic separator (designed for biotechnological applications) for trapping and holding magnetic supports was determined. Finally, all of the above elements were assembled to deliver a HGMF process for the isolation of SOD from crude sweet whey, which consisted of (i) binding SOD using Cu2+ -charged magnetic metal chelator particles in a batch reactor with whey; (ii) recovery of the "SOD-loaded" supports by high-gradient magnetic separation (HGMS); (iii) washing out loosely bound and entrained proteins and solids; (iv) elution of the target protein; and (v) recovery of the eluted supports from the HGMF rig. Efficient recovery of SOD was demonstrated at approximately 50-fold increased scale (cf magnetic rack studies) in three separate HGMF experiments, and in the best of these (run 3) an SOD yield of >85% and purification factor of approximately 21 were obtained.

Interactions between motion and form processing in the human visual system.

PubMed

Mather, George; Pavan, Andrea; Bellacosa Marotti, Rosilari; Campana, Gianluca; Casco, Clara

2013-01-01

The predominant view of motion and form processing in the human visual system assumes that these two attributes are handled by separate and independent modules. Motion processing involves filtering by direction-selective sensors, followed by integration to solve the aperture problem. Form processing involves filtering by orientation-selective and size-selective receptive fields, followed by integration to encode object shape. It has long been known that motion signals can influence form processing in the well-known Gestalt principle of common fate; texture elements which share a common motion property are grouped into a single contour or texture region. However, recent research in psychophysics and neuroscience indicates that the influence of form signals on motion processing is more extensive than previously thought. First, the salience and apparent direction of moving lines depends on how the local orientation and direction of motion combine to match the receptive field properties of motion-selective neurons. Second, orientation signals generated by "motion-streaks" influence motion processing; motion sensitivity, apparent direction and adaptation are affected by simultaneously present orientation signals. Third, form signals generated by human body shape influence biological motion processing, as revealed by studies using point-light motion stimuli. Thus, form-motion integration seems to occur at several different levels of cortical processing, from V1 to STS.

Interactions between motion and form processing in the human visual system

PubMed Central

Mather, George; Pavan, Andrea; Bellacosa Marotti, Rosilari; Campana, Gianluca; Casco, Clara

2013-01-01

The predominant view of motion and form processing in the human visual system assumes that these two attributes are handled by separate and independent modules. Motion processing involves filtering by direction-selective sensors, followed by integration to solve the aperture problem. Form processing involves filtering by orientation-selective and size-selective receptive fields, followed by integration to encode object shape. It has long been known that motion signals can influence form processing in the well-known Gestalt principle of common fate; texture elements which share a common motion property are grouped into a single contour or texture region. However, recent research in psychophysics and neuroscience indicates that the influence of form signals on motion processing is more extensive than previously thought. First, the salience and apparent direction of moving lines depends on how the local orientation and direction of motion combine to match the receptive field properties of motion-selective neurons. Second, orientation signals generated by “motion-streaks” influence motion processing; motion sensitivity, apparent direction and adaptation are affected by simultaneously present orientation signals. Third, form signals generated by human body shape influence biological motion processing, as revealed by studies using point-light motion stimuli. Thus, form-motion integration seems to occur at several different levels of cortical processing, from V1 to STS. PMID:23730286

Processing structure in language and music: a case for shared reliance on cognitive control.

PubMed

Slevc, L Robert; Okada, Brooke M

2015-06-01

The relationship between structural processing in music and language has received increasing interest in the past several years, spurred by the influential Shared Syntactic Integration Resource Hypothesis (SSIRH; Patel, Nature Neuroscience, 6, 674-681, 2003). According to this resource-sharing framework, music and language rely on separable syntactic representations but recruit shared cognitive resources to integrate these representations into evolving structures. The SSIRH is supported by findings of interactions between structural manipulations in music and language. However, other recent evidence suggests that such interactions also can arise with nonstructural manipulations, and some recent neuroimaging studies report largely nonoverlapping neural regions involved in processing musical and linguistic structure. These conflicting results raise the question of exactly what shared (and distinct) resources underlie musical and linguistic structural processing. This paper suggests that one shared resource is prefrontal cortical mechanisms of cognitive control, which are recruited to detect and resolve conflict that occurs when expectations are violated and interpretations must be revised. By this account, musical processing involves not just the incremental processing and integration of musical elements as they occur, but also the incremental generation of musical predictions and expectations, which must sometimes be overridden and revised in light of evolving musical input.

Motor programming when sequencing multiple elements of the same duration.

PubMed

Magnuson, Curt E; Robin, Donald A; Wright, David L

2008-11-01

Motor programming at the self-select paradigm was adopted in 2 experiments to examine the processing demands of independent processes. One process (INT) is responsible for organizing the internal features of the individual elements in a movement (e.g., response duration). The 2nd process (SEQ) is responsible for placing the elements into the proper serial order before execution. Participants in Experiment 1 performed tasks involving 1 key press or sequences of 4 key presses of the same duration. Implementing INT and SEQ was more time consuming for key-pressing sequences than for single key-press tasks. Experiment 2 examined whether the INT costs resulting from the increase in sequence length observed in Experiment 1 resulted from independent planning of each sequence element or via a separate "multiplier" process that handled repetitions of elements of the same duration. Findings from Experiment 2, in which participants performed single key presses or double or triple key sequences of the same duration, suggested that INT is involved with the independent organization of each element contained in the sequence. Researchers offer an elaboration of the 2-process account of motor programming to incorporate the present findings and the findings from other recent sequence-learning research.

Visual enhancement of unmixed multispectral imagery using adaptive smoothing

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lemeshewsky, G.P.; Rahman, Z.-U.; Schowengerdt, R.A.; Reichenbach, S.E.

2004-01-01

Adaptive smoothing (AS) has been previously proposed as a method to smooth uniform regions of an image, retain contrast edges, and enhance edge boundaries. The method is an implementation of the anisotropic diffusion process which results in a gray scale image. This paper discusses modifications to the AS method for application to multi-band data which results in a color segmented image. The process was used to visually enhance the three most distinct abundance fraction images produced by the Lagrange constraint neural network learning-based unmixing of Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus multispectral sensor data. A mutual information-based method was applied to select the three most distinct fraction images for subsequent visualization as a red, green, and blue composite. A reported image restoration technique (partial restoration) was applied to the multispectral data to reduce unmixing error, although evaluation of the performance of this technique was beyond the scope of this paper. The modified smoothing process resulted in a color segmented image with homogeneous regions separated by sharpened, coregistered multiband edges. There was improved class separation with the segmented image, which has importance to subsequent operations involving data classification.

The Role of Glottal Surface Adhesion on Vocal Folds Biomechanics

PubMed Central

Bhattacharya, Pinaki; Siegmund, Thomas

2014-01-01

The airway surface liquid (ASL) is a very thin mucus layer and covers the vocal fold (VF) surface. Adhesion mediated by the ASL occurs during phonation as the VFs separate after collision. Such adhesion is hypothesized to determine voice quality and health. However, biomechanical insights into the adhesive processes during VF oscillation are lacking. Here, a computational study is reported on self-sustained VF vibration involving contact and adhesion. The VF structural model and the glottal airflow are considered fully three-dimensional. The mechanical behavior of the ASL is described through a constitutive traction–separation law where mucosal cohesive strength, cohesive energy and rupture length enter. Cohesive energy values considered are bound below by the cohesive energy of water at standard temperature and pressure. Cohesive strength values considered are bound above by prior reported data on the adhesive strength of mucosal surface of rat small intestine. This model introduces a mechanical length scale into the analysis. The sensitivity of various aspects of VF dynamics such as flow-declination rate, VF separation under adhesive condition and formation of multiple local fluid bridges is determined in relation to specific ASL adhesive properties. It is found that for the ASL considered here, the characteristics of the VF separation process are of debond type. Instabilities lead to the breakup of the bond area into several smaller bond patches. Such finding is consistent with in-vivo observations. PMID:25034504

Mathematical Model of Nonstationary Separation Processes Proceeding in the Cascade of Gas Centrifuges in the Process of Separation of Multicomponent Isotope Mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orlov, A. A.; Ushakov, A. A.; Sovach, V. P.

2017-03-01

We have developed and realized on software a mathematical model of the nonstationary separation processes proceeding in the cascades of gas centrifuges in the process of separation of multicomponent isotope mixtures. With the use of this model the parameters of the separation process of germanium isotopes have been calculated. It has been shown that the model adequately describes the nonstationary processes in the cascade and is suitable for calculating their parameters in the process of separation of multicomponent isotope mixtures.

Wet separation processes as method to separate limestone and oil shale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurme, Martin; Karu, Veiko

2015-04-01

Biggest oil shale industry is located in Estonia. Oil shale usage is mainly for electricity generation, shale oil generation and cement production. All these processes need certain quality oil shale. Oil shale seam have interlayer limestone layers. To use oil shale in production, it is needed to separate oil shale and limestone. A key challenge is find separation process when we can get the best quality for all product types. In oil shale separation typically has been used heavy media separation process. There are tested also different types of separation processes before: wet separation, pneumatic separation. Now oil shale industry moves more to oil production and this needs innovation methods for separation to ensure fuel quality and the changes in quality. The pilot unit test with Allmineral ALLJIG have pointed out that the suitable new innovation way for oil shale separation can be wet separation with gravity, where material by pulsating water forming layers of grains according to their density and subsequently separates the heavy material (limestone) from the stratified material (oil shale)bed. Main aim of this research is to find the suitable separation process for oil shale, that the products have highest quality. The expected results can be used also for developing separation processes for phosphorite rock or all others, where traditional separation processes doesn't work property. This research is part of the study Sustainable and environmentally acceptable Oil shale mining No. 3.2.0501.11-0025 http://mi.ttu.ee/etp and the project B36 Extraction and processing of rock with selective methods - http://mi.ttu.ee/separation; http://mi.ttu.ee/miningwaste/

Molecular Mechanisms in Perirhinal Cortex Selectively Necessary for Discrimination of Overlapping Memories, but Independent of Memory Persistence

PubMed Central

Miranda, Magdalena; Kent, Brianne A.; Weisstaub, Noelia V.

2017-01-01

Abstract Successful memory involves not only remembering over time but also keeping memories distinct. The ability to separate similar experiences into distinct memories is a main feature of episodic memory. Discrimination of overlapping representations has been investigated in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus (DG), but little is known about this process in other regions such as the perirhinal cortex (Prh). We found in male rats that perirhinal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is required for separable storage of overlapping, but not distinct, object representations, which is identical to its role in the DG for spatial representations. Also, activity-regulated cytoskeletal-associated protein (Arc) is required for disambiguation of object memories, as measured by infusion of antisense oligonucleotides. This is the first time Arc has been implicated in the discrimination of objects with overlapping features. Although molecular mechanisms for object memory have been shown previously in Prh, these have been dependent on delay, suggesting a role specifically in memory duration. BDNF and Arc involvement were independent of delay—the same demand for memory persistence was present in all conditions—but only when discrimination of similar objects was required were these mechanisms recruited and necessary. Finally, we show that BDNF and Arc participate in the same pathway during consolidation of overlapping object memories. We provide novel evidence regarding the proteins involved in disambiguation of object memories outside the DG and suggest that, despite the anatomical differences, similar mechanisms underlie this process in the DG and Prh that are engaged depending on the similarity of the stimuli. PMID:29085903

Making effective use of tolerancing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perrin, Jean-Claude

2005-09-01

After having summarized the different methods in use to tolerance optical systems, with advantages and drawbacks, we present a new software, called TOLTRI, to post process the data's of tolerancing obtained with the TOR routine of CODE V and also introduce new features which are not possible in another way. This software accelerate the interpretation and discussions between the different disciplines involved, by presenting and sorting the results on separate EXCEL sheets and Matlab figures.

Two-Particle Interference of Electron Pairs on a Molecular Level

DOE PAGES

Waitz, M.; Metz, D.; Lower, J.; ...

2016-08-15

Here, wWe investigate the photodouble ionization of H 2 molecules with 400 eV photons. We find that the emitted electrons do not show any sign of two-center interference fringes in their angular emission distributions if considered separately. Conversely, the quasiparticle consisting of both electrons (i.e., the "dielectron") does. The work highlights the fact that nonlocal effects are embedded everywhere in nature where many-particle processes are involved.

Laboratory Evaluation of Remediation Alternatives for U.S. Coast Guard Small Arms Firing Ranges

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-11-01

S) is an immobilization process that involves the mixing of a contaminated soil with a binder material to enhance the physical and chemical...samples were shipped to WES for laboratory analysis. Phase III: Homogenization of the Bulk Samples. Each of the bulk samples was separately mixed to...produce uniform samples for testing. These mixed bulk soil samples were analyzed for metal content. Phase IV: Characterization of the Bulk Soils

Mineral resource of the month: niobium (columbium)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Papp, John F.

2007-01-01

It’s not just diamonds associated with conflict in Africa. Coltan, short for columbite-tantalite (a blend of niobium — also called columbium — and tantalum minerals), is linked with the recent conflicts in the Congo that involved several African countries. The metallic ore, which is processed to separate out niobium and the very valuable tantalum (see Geotimes, August 2004), is believed to be smuggled out and sold to help finance the armed conflicts.

Specialized Genetic Recombination Systems in Bacteria: Their Involvement in Gene Expression and Evolution,

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-01-01

genetics (Hayes 1968). This marvelous process is important in providing us with the breadth of phenotypic diversity that one sees within a single plant or...separate overall pro- cesses, but may share common components of DNA metabolism, such as winding/unwinding enzymes, ligase, polymerases , various nucle...incorpuoted DNA segmnent are re- paired by DNA polymerase and ligase. Any diffoernces (base mispairing’S, nil- cleotide additions or deletions) between

Structure of Enhanced Cued Recall Task in the 7 Minute Screen Test.

PubMed

Mora-Simon, Sara; Ladera-Fernandez, Valentina; Garcia-Garcia, Ricardo; Patino-Alonso, María C; Perea-Bartolome, M Victoria; Unzueta-Arce, Jaime; Perez-Arechaederra, Diana; Rodriguez-Sanchez, Emiliano

2017-01-01

Episodic memory in the 7 Minute Screen is assessed by the Enhanced Cued Recall (ECR) test. The ECR test is composed of three phases, Identification, Immediate Recall, and Free and Cued Recall. However, just the last phase is considered for the total score. We believe that collecting the performance data of the Identification and Immediate Recall phases could provide information regarding possible difficulties or impairments in the different aspects involved in the temporal mnesic process of acquisition of new information, such as in working memory or visual identification. The objective was to assess the goodness of fit for the three phases of the ECR test using a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to show if each phase is separated from each other as a different aspect that participates in the mnesic process. A total of 311 participants greater than 65 years were included in this study. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted for each individual phase. The analyses show that the ECR test consists of three separate phases that identify different steps of the mnesic process. Individual scores for each phase could allow for investigation of patient performance in different aspects of the memory process and could help in further neuropsychological assessment.

Supercritical fluid processing: opportunities for new resist materials and processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gallagher-Wetmore, Paula M.; Ober, Christopher K.; Gabor, Allen H.; Allen, Robert D.

1996-05-01

Over the past two decades supercritical fluids have been utilized as solvents for carrying out separations of materials as diverse as foods, polymers, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, natural products, and explosives. More recently they have been used for non-extractive applications such as recrystallization, deposition, impregnation, surface modification, and as a solvent alternative for precision parts cleaning. Today, supercritical fluid extraction is being practiced in the foods and beverage industries; there are commercial plants for decaffeinating coffee and tea, extracting beer flavoring agents from hops, and separating oils and oleoresins from spices. Interest in supercritical fluid processing of polymers has grown over the last ten years, and many new purification, fractionation, and even polymerization techniques have emerged. One of the most significant motivations for applying this technology to polymers has been increased performance demands. More recently, with increasing scrutiny of traditional solvents, supercritical fluids, and in particular carbon dioxide, are receiving widespread attention as 'environmentally conscious' solvents. This paper describes several examples of polymers applications, including a few involving photoresists, which demonstrate that as next- generation advanced polymer systems emerge, supercritical fluids are certain to offer advantages as cutting edge processing tools.

Signal Enhancement and Suppression During Visual-Spatial Selective Attention

PubMed Central

Couperus, J. W.; Mangun, G.R.

2010-01-01

Selective attention involves the relative enhancement of relevant versus irrelevant stimuli. However, whether this relative enhancement involves primarily enhancement of attended stimuli, or suppression of irrelevant stimuli, remains controversial. Moreover, if both enhancement and suppression are involved, whether they result from a single mechanism or separate mechanisms during attentional control or selection is not known. In two experiments using a spatial cuing paradigm with task-relevant targets and irrelevant distractors, target and distracter processing was examined as a function of distractor expectancy. Additionally, in the second study the interaction of perceptual load and distractor expectancy was explored. In both experiments, distractors were either validly cued (70%) or invalidly cued (30%) in order to examine the effects of distractor expectancy on attentional control as well as target and distractor processing. The effects of distractor expectancy were assessed using event-related potentials recorded during the cue-to-target period (preparatory attention) and in response to the task-relevant target stimuli (selective stimulus processing). Analyses of distractor-present displays (anticipated versus unanticipated), showed modulations in brain activity during both the preparatory period and during target processing. The pattern of brain responses suggest both facilitation of attended targets and suppression of unattended distractors. These findings provide evidence for a two-process model of visual spatial selective attention, where one mechanism (facilitation) influences relevant stimuli and another (suppression) acts to filter distracting stimuli. PMID:20807513

Blending protein separation and peptide analysis through real-time proteolytic digestion.

PubMed

Slysz, Gordon W; Schriemer, David C

2005-03-15

Typical liquid- or gel-based protein separations require enzymatic digestion as an important first step in generating protein identifications. Traditional protocols involve long-term proteolytic digestion of the separated protein, often leading to sample loss and reduced sensitivity. Previously, we presented a rapid method of proteolytic digestion that showed excellent digestion of resistant and low concentrations of protein without requiring reduction and alkylation. Here, we demonstrate on-line, real-time tryptic digestion in conjunction with reversed-phase protein separation. The studies were aimed at optimizing pH and ionic strength and the size of the digestion element, to produce maximal protein digestion with minimal effects on chromatographic integrity. Upon establishing optimal conditions, the digestion element was attached downstream from a capillary C4 reversed-phase column. A four-protein mixture was processed through the combined system, and the resulting peptides were analyzed on-line by electrospray mass spectrometry. Extracted ion chromatograms for protein chromatography based on peptide elution were generated. These were shown to emulate ion chromatograms produced in a subsequent run without the digestion element, based on protein elution. The methodology will enable rapid and sensitive analysis of liquid-based protein separations using the power of bottom-up proteomics methodologies.

Quantum modeling of ultrafast photoinduced charge separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rozzi, Carlo Andrea; Troiani, Filippo; Tavernelli, Ivano

2018-01-01

Phenomena involving electron transfer are ubiquitous in nature, photosynthesis and enzymes or protein activity being prominent examples. Their deep understanding thus represents a mandatory scientific goal. Moreover, controlling the separation of photogenerated charges is a crucial prerequisite in many applicative contexts, including quantum electronics, photo-electrochemical water splitting, photocatalytic dye degradation, and energy conversion. In particular, photoinduced charge separation is the pivotal step driving the storage of sun light into electrical or chemical energy. If properly mastered, these processes may also allow us to achieve a better command of information storage at the nanoscale, as required for the development of molecular electronics, optical switching, or quantum technologies, amongst others. In this Topical Review we survey recent progress in the understanding of ultrafast charge separation from photoexcited states. We report the state-of-the-art of the observation and theoretical description of charge separation phenomena in the ultrafast regime mainly focusing on molecular- and nano-sized solar energy conversion systems. In particular, we examine different proposed mechanisms driving ultrafast charge dynamics, with particular regard to the role of quantum coherence and electron-nuclear coupling, and link experimental observations to theoretical approaches based either on model Hamiltonians or on first principles simulations.

High Selectivity Gas Separation Membrane Assemblies

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

Nachlas, Jesse; Corn, Isaac; Wegst, Ulrike

Global energy consumption is projected to be more than double of today’s levels by 2050. Economic and environmental pressures are putting significant limits on fossil fuel resources, and there is a significant push for improved efficiency in many industrial processes. Membranes for gas separation represent a significant opportunity for reduced energy consumption and improved efficiencies in a wide range of industrial applications by replacing typical high temperature processes or energy intensive processes with low temperature energy efficient processes. Carbon membranes represent an attractive class of membrane materials that offer the potential to improve the reliability, corrosion resistance and temperature capabilitymore » of polymeric membranes, which limit their adoption for many industrial applications. However, there are still a number of technical hurdles which must be overcome before carbon membranes can be made commercially ready including elimination of manufacturing defects, and improved performance (permeability and selectivity) relative to polymeric membranes. Examples of potential application of carbon membranes include production of oxygen enriched air (OEA) for combustion applications, separation of carbon dioxide (CO 2) from flue gas to improve the commercial feasibility of CO 2 sequestration, separation of hydrogen from CO/CO 2 during hydrogen manufacturing, and separation of H 2 from hydrocarbons during refinery operations to improve the kinetics of cracking reactions. As a result of these benefits there is a strong driving force to develop processing technologies capable of producing carbon membranes and possessing high reliability, for a wide range of applications. The DOE provides significant support for research and development is this area, as they have recognized the significant impact a low cost carbon membrane technology can have on energy consumption and polluting emissions across a broad range of industrial applications. In this SBIR Phase I project, we developed a novel polymer precursor composition, which led to highly reproducible crack-free porous carbon membranes that were capable of producing 30-50% oxygen for OEA from a pressurized air feed, thereby meeting the primary Phase I objective, and possessing a selectivity of ~20:1 for CO 2/N 2 separation. We also successfully developed a method for fabricating a ceramic support from low-cost fly ash. In general, the effectiveness of a carbon membrane at separating various gases is a function of the pore structure and size. The novel processing method utilized is capable of accurately controlling pore structure during the fabrication process opening the possibility to create a membrane technology platform that can operate across a broad range of gas compositions and applications. Nanoporous carbon membrane technology offers a very attractive option for important industrial gas separation processes that are typically energy intensive and expensive to install and operate. Highly efficient gas separation represents a key enabling technology for increasing efficiency and lowering cost in various applications involving advanced power generation systems, metallurgical operations and chemical processes. These benefits will be translated to the public through lower cost for goods and services in addition to lower cost for energy. Increased national security will come from decreased dependence on imported oil by making local resources, such as coal and natural gas, competitive in energy generation markets. Finally, making low cost oxygen available in these industries results in cleaner power production and reduced emissions of polluting gases.« less

Distinct populations of neurons respond to emotional valence and arousal in the human subthalamic nucleus

PubMed Central

Sieger, Tomáš; Serranová, Tereza; Růžička, Filip; Vostatek, Pavel; Wild, Jiří; Šťastná, Daniela; Bonnet, Cecilia; Novák, Daniel; Růžička, Evžen; Urgošík, Dušan; Jech, Robert

2015-01-01

Both animal studies and studies using deep brain stimulation in humans have demonstrated the involvement of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in motivational and emotional processes; however, participation of this nucleus in processing human emotion has not been investigated directly at the single-neuron level. We analyzed the relationship between the neuronal firing from intraoperative microrecordings from the STN during affective picture presentation in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and the affective ratings of emotional valence and arousal performed subsequently. We observed that 17% of neurons responded to emotional valence and arousal of visual stimuli according to individual ratings. The activity of some neurons was related to emotional valence, whereas different neurons responded to arousal. In addition, 14% of neurons responded to visual stimuli. Our results suggest the existence of neurons involved in processing or transmission of visual and emotional information in the human STN, and provide evidence of separate processing of the affective dimensions of valence and arousal at the level of single neurons as well. PMID:25713375

Purification and Crystallization of Murine Myostatin: A Negative Regulator of Muscle Mass

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hong, Young S.; Adamek, Daniel; Bridge, Kristi; Malone, Christine C.; Young, Ronald B.; Miller, Teresa; Karr, Laurel

2004-01-01

Myostatin (MSTN) has been crystallized and its preliminary X-ray diffraction data were collected. MSTN is a negative regulator of muscle growt/differentiation and suppressor of fat accumulation. It is a member of TGF-b family of proteins. Like other members of this family, the regulation of MSTN is critically tied to its process of maturation. This process involves the formation of a homodimer followed by two proteolytic steps. The first proteolytic cleavage produces a species where the n-terminal portion of the dimer is covalently separated from, but remains non-covalently bound to, the c-terminal, functional, portion of the protein. The protein is activated upon removal of the n-terminal "pro-segment" by a second n-terminal proteolytic cut by BMP-1 in vivo, or by acid treatment in vitro. Understanding the structural nature and physical interactions involved in these regulatory processes is the objective of our studies. Murine MSTN was purified from culture media of genetically engineered Chinese Hamster Ovary cells by multicolumn purification process and crystallized using the vapor diffusion method.

Processing Pathways in Mental Arithmetic—Evidence from Probabilistic Fiber Tracking

PubMed Central

Glauche, Volkmar; Weiller, Cornelius; Willmes, Klaus

2013-01-01

Numerical cognition is a case of multi-modular and distributed cerebral processing. So far neither the anatomo-functional connections between the cortex areas involved nor their integration into established frameworks such as the differentiation between dorsal and ventral processing streams have been specified. The current study addressed this issue combining a re-analysis of previously published fMRI data with probabilistic fiber tracking data from an independent sample. We aimed at differentiating neural correlates and connectivity for relatively easy and more difficult addition problems in healthy adults and their association with either rather verbally mediated fact retrieval or magnitude manipulations, respectively. The present data suggest that magnitude- and fact retrieval-related processing seem to be subserved by two largely separate networks, both of them comprising dorsal and ventral connections. Importantly, these networks not only differ in localization of activation but also in the connections between the cortical areas involved. However, it has to be noted that even though seemingly distinct anatomically, these networks operate as a functionally integrated circuit for mental calculation as revealed by a parametric analysis of brain activation. PMID:23383194

Processes involved in the development of latent fingerprints using the cyanoacrylate fuming method.

PubMed

Lewis, L A; Smithwick, R W; Devault, G L; Bolinger, B; Lewis, S A

2001-03-01

Chemical processes involved in the development of latent fingerprints using the cyanoacrylate fuming method have been studied. Two major types of latent prints have been investigated-clean and oily prints. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been used as a tool for determining the morphology of the polymer developed separately on clean and oily prints after cyanoacrylate fuming. A correlation between the chemical composition of an aged latent fingerprint, prior to development, and the quality of a developed fingerprint has been observed in the morphology. The moisture in the print prior to fuming has been found to be more important than the moisture in the air during fuming for the development of a useful latent print. In addition, the amount of time required to develop a high quality latent print has been found to be within 2 min. The cyanoacrylate polymerization process is extremely rapid. When heat is used to accelerate the fuming process, typically a period of 2 min is required to develop the print. The optimum development time depends upon the concentration of cyanoacrylate vapors within the enclosure.

Microgravity Passive Phase Separator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paragano, Matthew; Indoe, William; Darmetko, Jeffrey

2012-01-01

A new invention disclosure discusses a structure and process for separating gas from liquids in microgravity. The Microgravity Passive Phase Separator consists of two concentric, pleated, woven stainless- steel screens (25-micrometer nominal pore) with an axial inlet, and an annular outlet between both screens (see figure). Water enters at one end of the center screen at high velocity, eventually passing through the inner screen and out through the annular exit. As gas is introduced into the flow stream, the drag force exerted on the bubble pushes it downstream until flow stagnation or until it reaches an equilibrium point between the surface tension holding bubble to the screen and the drag force. Gas bubbles of a given size will form a front that is moved further down the length of the inner screen with increasing velocity. As more bubbles are added, the front location will remain fixed, but additional bubbles will move to the end of the unit, eventually coming to rest in the large cavity between the unit housing and the outer screen (storage area). Owing to the small size of the pores and the hydrophilic nature of the screen material, gas does not pass through the screen and is retained within the unit for emptying during ground processing. If debris is picked up on the screen, the area closest to the inlet will become clogged, so high-velocity flow will persist farther down the length of the center screen, pushing the bubble front further from the inlet of the inner screen. It is desired to keep the velocity high enough so that, for any bubble size, an area of clean screen exists between the bubbles and the debris. The primary benefits of this innovation are the lack of any need for additional power, strip gas, or location for venting the separated gas. As the unit contains no membrane, the transport fluid will not be lost due to evaporation in the process of gas separation. Separation is performed with relatively low pressure drop based on the large surface area of the separating screen. Additionally, there are no moving parts, and there are no failure modes that involve fluid loss. A patent application has been filed.

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

DOE PAGES

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

2017-08-15

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

The Alliance of Advanced Process Control and Accountability – A Future Safeguards-By-Design Tool

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

Lumetta, Gregg J.; Bresee, James C.; Paviet, Patricia D.

For any chemical separation process producing a valuable product, a material balance is an important process control measurement. That is particularly true for the separation of actinides from irradiated nuclear fuel, not only for their intrinsic value but also because an incomplete material balance may indicate diversion for unauthorized use. The DOE Office of Nuclear Energy is currently carrying out at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory an experimental measurement of how well and with what precision current technologies can implement near real-time actinide material balances. This measurement effort is called the CoDCon project. It involves the separation of a productmore » with a 70/30 uranium/plutonium mass ratio. Initial tests will use dissolved fuel simulants prepared with pure uranium and plutonium nitrates at the same input ratios as irradiated fuel. Subsequent testing with actual irradiated fuel would be done to verify the results obtained with simulants. The experiments will use advanced on-line instrumentation supported by dynamic process models. Since accountability uncertainties could mask diversions, the aim of the project is not only to measure present-day capabilities but also, through sensitivity analyses, to identify those measurements with the greatest potential for overall material-balance improvements. The latter results will help identify priorities for future fuel cycle R&D programs. Advanced separations process control and material accountability technologies thus have a common goal: to provide the best tools available for safeguards-by-design [defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as the integration of the design of a new nuclear facility through planning, construction, operation and decommissioning]. Since the potential domestic use of CoDCon results may be later than their possible foreign applications, arrangements may be feasible for possible bilateral or multinational cooperation in the CoDCon project.« less

Teaching Separations: Why, What, When, and How?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wankat, Phillip C.

2001-01-01

Describes how and when to teach separation science to chemical engineering students. Separation science is important for industrial businesses involving the manufacture of adsorption systems, distillation columns, extractors, and other separation equipment and techniques. (Contains 13 references.) (YDS)

Identification of candidate amino acids involved in the formation of pink-red pigments in onion (Allium cepa L.) juice and separation by HPLC.

PubMed

Lee, Eun Jin; Yoo, Kil Sun; Patil, Bhimanagouda S

2010-10-01

The formation of pink-red pigments ("pinking") by various amino acids was investigated by reacting amino acids with compounds present in onion juice. The unknown pink-red pigments were generated and separated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and a diode array detector (DAD) in the range of 200 to 700 nm. To generate pink-red pigments, we developed several reaction systems using garlic alliinase, purified 1-propenyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide (1-PeCSO), onion thiosulfinate, natural onion juice, and 21 free amino acids. The compound 1-PeCSO was a key compound associated with pinking in the presence of both the alliinase and amino acids. Numerous naturally occurring pink-red pigments were detected and separated from pink onion juice using the HPLC-DAD system at 515 nm. Most free amino acids, with the exceptions of histidine, serine, and cysteine, formed various pink-red pigments when reacted with onion thiosulfinate. This observation indicated that onion pinking is caused not by a single pigment, but by many. Furthermore, more than one color compound could be produced from a single amino acid; this explains, in part, why there were many pink-red compound peaks in the chromatogram of discolored natural onion juice. We presumed that the complexity of the pink-red pigments was due to the involvement of more than 21 natural amino acids as well as several derivatives of the color products produced from each amino acid. We observed that the pinking process in onion juice is very similar to that of the greening process in crushed garlic, emphasizing that both thiosulfinate from flavor precursors and free amino acids are absolutely required for the discoloration.

Involving people with learning disabilities in nurse education: towards an inclusive approach.

PubMed

Bollard, Martin; Lahiff, John; Parkes, Neville

2012-02-01

There is limited evidence that explores how to effectively include people with learning disabilities in nurse education in the U.K. The majority of reported work relates to mental health nursing and social work training (Morgan and Jones, 2009). This paper specifically reports on the processes and activities undertaken by the authors with people with learning disabilities in the development of a new BSc learning disability nursing programme, a specific branch of nursing in the U.K. In doing so, findings and discussion from two separate projects involving students and people with learning disabilities will be integrated into the paper. EPICURE (Engagement, Processing, Interpretation, Critique, Usefulness, Relevance and Ethics (Stige et al. 2009) is adopted as a qualitative framework throughout the paper to evaluate the reported work that took place between September 2006 and October 2010. Suggestions are therefore made regarding the benefits and challenges of striving towards an inclusive approach to user involvement in nurse education, with particular reference to learning disability. The work presented in the paper demonstrates how through careful involvement of this population, deeper learning opportunities for all nursing students can be created. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Separation of 44Ti from proton irradiated scandium by using solid-phase extraction chromatography and design of 44Ti/44Sc generator system.

PubMed

Radchenko, V; Meyer, C A L; Engle, J W; Naranjo, C M; Unc, G A; Mastren, T; Brugh, M; Birnbaum, E R; John, K D; Nortier, F M; Fassbender, M E

2016-12-16

Scandium-44g (half-life 3.97h [1]) shows promise for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of longer biological processes than that of the current gold standard, 18 F, due to its favorable decay parameters. One source of 44g Sc is the long-lived parent nuclide 44 Ti (half-life 60.0 a). A 44 Ti/ 44g Sc generator would have the ability to provide radionuclidically pure 44g Sc on a daily basis. The production of 44 Ti via the 45 Sc(p,2n) reaction requires high proton beam currents and long irradiation times. Recovery and purification of no-carrier added (nca) 44 Ti from scandium metal targets involves complex separation chemistry. In this study, separation systems based on solid phase extraction chromatography were investigated, including branched diglycolamide (BDGA) resin and hydroxamate based ZR resin. Results indicate that ZR resin in HCl media represents an effective 44 Ti/ 44g Sc separation system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Food waste management using an electrostatic separator with corona discharge

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

Lai, Koonchun; Teh, Pehchiong; Lim, Sooking

In Malaysia, municipal solid waste contains a high portion of organic matters, typically contributed by food waste. It is estimated that about 45% of the municipal waste are food waste, followed by the non-food waste such as plastics, metals, glass and others. Food waste, while being properly sorted and contamination free from non-food waste, can be reused (e.g. fertiliser) instead of being landfilled. Therefore, recycling of food waste is crucial not only from the view point of waste management, but also with respect to the reduction of resource losses and greenhouse gases emission. A new waste separation process involved foodmore » particles, non-food particles and electrostatic discharge was investigated in this study. The empirical results reveal that the corona electrostatic separation is an environmental-friendly way in recovering foods from municipal waste. The efficiency of the separator, under same operating conditions, varies with the particle size of the food and non-food particles. The highest efficiency of 82% is recorded for the particle sizes between 1.5 and 3.0 mm.« less

Revealing the physicochemical mechanism for ultrasonic separation of alcohol-water mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirpalani, D. M.; Toll, F.

2002-08-01

The selective separation of ethanol from ethanol-water mixtures by ultrasonic atomization has been reported recently by Sato, Matsuura, and Fujii [J. Chem. Phys. 114, 2382 (2001)]. In that work, experimental data were reported that confirmed the generation of an ethanol-rich droplet mist and attempted to explain the selective separation in terms of parametric decay instability of the capillary wave formed during sonication. In the present work, an alternate mechanism based on the conjunction theory has been postulated for the process of ultrasonic atomization. This mechanism involves the formation of cavitating bubbles in the liquid during sonication and their eventual collapse at the liquid surface into a cloud of microbubbles that moves upwards in a capillary fountain jet. The selective separation of alcohols has been explained as a corollary effect of the physical mechanism resulting in a surface excess of alcohol molecules formed at the surface of the microbubbles. The alcohol molecules vaporize into the microbubbles and release an alcohol-rich mist on their collapse in regions of high accumulation of acoustic energy.

Charge and energy dynamics in photo-excited poly(para-phenylenevinylene) systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gisslén, L.; Johansson, A.˚.; Stafström, S.

2004-07-01

We report results from simulations of charge and energy dynamics in poly(para-phenylenevinylene) (PPV) and PPV interacting with C60. The simulations were performed by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation and the lattice equation of motion simultaneously and nonadiabatically. The electronic system and the coupling of the electrons to the lattice were described by an extended three-dimensional version of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model, which also included an external electric field. Electron and lattice dynamics following electronic excitations at different energies have been simulated. The effect of additional lattice energy was also included in the simulations. Our results show that both exciton diffusion and transitions from high to lower lying excitations are stimulated by increasing the lattice energy. Also field induced charge separation occurs faster if the lattice energy is increased. This separation process is highly nonadiabatic and involves a significant rearrangement of the electron distribution. In the case of PPV coupled to C60, we observe a spontaneous charge separation. The separation time is in this case limited by the local concentration of C60 molecules close to the PPV chain.

Simplified transient isotachophoresis/capillary gel electrophoresis method for highly sensitive analysis of polymerase chain reaction samples on a microchip with laser-induced fluorescence detection.

PubMed

Liu, Dayu; Ou, Ziyou; Xu, Mingfei; Wang, Lihui

2008-12-19

We present a sensitive, simple and robust on-chip transient isotachophoresis/capillary gel electrophoresis (tITP/CGE) method for the analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) samples. Using chloride ions in the PCR buffer and N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) in the background electrolyte, respectively, as the leading and terminating electrolytes, the tITP preconcentration was coupled with CGE separation with double-T shaped channel network. The tITP/CGE separation was carried out with a single running buffer. The separation process involved only two steps that were performed continuously with the sequential switching of four voltage outputs. The tITP/CGE method showed an analysis time and a separation efficiency comparable to those of standard CGE, while the signal intensity was enhanced by factors of over 20. The limit of detection of the chip-based tITP/CGE method was estimated to be 1.1 ng/mL of DNA in 1x PCR buffer using confocal fluorescence detection following 473 nm laser excitation.

Food waste management using an electrostatic separator with corona discharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lai, Koonchun; Lim, Sooking; Teh, Pehchiong

2015-05-01

In Malaysia, municipal solid waste contains a high portion of organic matters, typically contributed by food waste. It is estimated that about 45% of the municipal waste are food waste, followed by the non-food waste such as plastics, metals, glass and others. Food waste, while being properly sorted and contamination free from non-food waste, can be reused (e.g. fertiliser) instead of being landfilled. Therefore, recycling of food waste is crucial not only from the view point of waste management, but also with respect to the reduction of resource losses and greenhouse gases emission. A new waste separation process involved food particles, non-food particles and electrostatic discharge was investigated in this study. The empirical results reveal that the corona electrostatic separation is an environmental-friendly way in recovering foods from municipal waste. The efficiency of the separator, under same operating conditions, varies with the particle size of the food and non-food particles. The highest efficiency of 82% is recorded for the particle sizes between 1.5 and 3.0 mm.

Separation of 44Ti from proton irradiated scandium by using solid-phase extraction chromatography and design of 44Ti/ 44Sc generator system

DOE PAGES

Radchenko, Valery; Meyer, Catherine Anne Louise; Engle, Jonathan Ward; ...

2016-11-24

Scandium-44 g (half-life 3.97 h) shows promise for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of longer biological processes than that of the current gold standard, 18F, due to its favorable decay parameters. One source of 44gSc is the long-lived parent nuclide 44Ti (half-life 60.0 a). A 44Ti/ 44gSc generator would have the ability to provide radionuclidically pure 44gSc on a daily basis. The production of 44Ti via the 45Sc(p,2n) reaction requires high proton beam currents and long irradiation times. Recovery and purification of no-carrier added (nca) 44Ti from scandium metal targets involves complex separation chemistry. In this study, separation systems basedmore » on solid phase extraction chromatography were investigated, including branched diglycolamide (BDGA) resin and hydroxamate based ZR resin. Lastly, results indicate that ZR resin in HCl media represents an effective 44Ti/ 44gSc separation system.« less

Reprocessing system with nuclide separation based on chromatography in hydrochloric acid solution

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

Suzuki, Tatsuya; Tachibana, Yu; Koyama, Shi-ichi

2013-07-01

We have proposed the reprocessing system with nuclide separation processes based on the chromatographic technique in the hydrochloric acid solution system. Our proposed system consists of the dissolution process, the reprocessing process, the minor actinide separation process, and nuclide separation processes. In the reprocessing and separation processes, the pyridine resin is used as a main separation media. It was confirmed that the dissolution in the hydrochloric acid solution is easily achieved by the plasma voloxidation and by the addition of oxygen peroxide into the hydrochloric acid solution.

Switching auditory attention using spatial and non-spatial features recruits different cortical networks.

PubMed

Larson, Eric; Lee, Adrian K C

2014-01-01

Switching attention between different stimuli of interest based on particular task demands is important in many everyday settings. In audition in particular, switching attention between different speakers of interest that are talking concurrently is often necessary for effective communication. Recently, it has been shown by multiple studies that auditory selective attention suppresses the representation of unwanted streams in auditory cortical areas in favor of the target stream of interest. However, the neural processing that guides this selective attention process is not well understood. Here we investigated the cortical mechanisms involved in switching attention based on two different types of auditory features. By combining magneto- and electro-encephalography (M-EEG) with an anatomical MRI constraint, we examined the cortical dynamics involved in switching auditory attention based on either spatial or pitch features. We designed a paradigm where listeners were cued in the beginning of each trial to switch or maintain attention halfway through the presentation of concurrent target and masker streams. By allowing listeners time to switch during a gap in the continuous target and masker stimuli, we were able to isolate the mechanisms involved in endogenous, top-down attention switching. Our results show a double dissociation between the involvement of right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ) and the left inferior parietal supramarginal part (LIPSP) in tasks requiring listeners to switch attention based on space and pitch features, respectively, suggesting that switching attention based on these features involves at least partially separate processes or behavioral strategies. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An application of the theory of planned behaviour to study the influencing factors of participation in source separation of food waste

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

Karim Ghani, Wan Azlina Wan Ab., E-mail: wanaz@eng.upm.edu.my; Rusli, Iffah Farizan, E-mail: iffahrusli@yahoo.com; Biak, Dayang Radiah Awang, E-mail: dayang@eng.upm.edu.my

Highlights: ► Theory of planned behaviour (TPB) has been conducted to identify the influencing factors for participation in source separation of food waste using self administered questionnaires. ► The findings suggested several implications for the development and implementation of waste separation at home programme. ► The analysis indicates that the attitude towards waste separation is determined as the main predictors where this in turn could be a significant predictor of the repondent’s actual food waste separation behaviour. ► To date, none of similar have been reported elsewhere and this finding will be beneficial to local Authorities as indicator in designingmore » campaigns to promote the use of waste separation programmes to reinforce the positive attitudes. - Abstract: Tremendous increases in biodegradable (food waste) generation significantly impact the local authorities, who are responsible to manage, treat and dispose of this waste. The process of separation of food waste at its generation source is identified as effective means in reducing the amount food waste sent to landfill and can be reused as feedstock to downstream treatment processes namely composting or anaerobic digestion. However, these efforts will only succeed with positive attitudes and highly participations rate by the public towards the scheme. Thus, the social survey (using questionnaires) to analyse public’s view and influencing factors towards participation in source separation of food waste in households based on the theory of planned behaviour technique (TPB) was performed in June and July 2011 among selected staff in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor. The survey demonstrates that the public has positive intention in participating provided the opportunities, facilities and knowledge on waste separation at source are adequately prepared by the respective local authorities. Furthermore, good moral values and situational factors such as storage convenience and collection times are also encouraged public’s involvement and consequently, the participations rate. The findings from this study may provide useful indicator to the waste management authorities in Malaysia in identifying mechanisms for future development and implementation of food waste source separation activities in household programmes and communication campaign which advocate the use of these programmes.« less

Beneficial uses of space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bloom, H. L.

1977-01-01

The study elicited over 100 ideas for Space Processing. Of the elicited ideas, more than 20% involved processing of biologicals, or related medical and life sciences applications. Among these were High Purity Separation of Isoenzymes, and Development of Biorhythms applications data. Program planning for four products is outlined. Experimentation and testing resulted in definition of nearly 70 series of tests in ground-based laboratories, sounding rockets, etc., and space shuttle. Development schedules established timing and interrelationships of decisions involved in carrying these products to the point of production. The potential profitability of the four products is determined. Resources needed to achieve full scale production included use of shuttle for transportation, for which cost apportionment model was developed. R and D resources for the four products totalled $46,000,000 with Isoenzymes requiring the smallest expenditure, $4,000,000. A computerized profitability model (INVEST) was used to determine the measures of profitability of each product. Results build confidence that there will be a payoff.

Rapid encoding of relationships between spatially remote motion signals.

PubMed

Maruya, Kazushi; Holcombe, Alex O; Nishida, Shin'ya

2013-02-06

For visual processing, the temporal correlation of remote local motion signals is a strong cue to detect meaningful large-scale structures in the retinal image, because related points are likely to move together regardless of their spatial separation. While the processing of multi-element motion patterns involved in biological motion and optic flow has been studied intensively, the encoding of simpler pairwise relationships between remote motion signals remains poorly understood. We investigated this process by measuring the temporal rate limit for perceiving the relationship of two motion directions presented at the same time at different spatial locations. Compared to luminance or orientation, motion comparison was more rapid. Performance remained very high even when interstimulus separation was increased up to 100°. Motion comparison also remained rapid regardless of whether the two motion directions were similar to or different from each other. The exception was a dramatic slowing when the elements formed an orthogonal "T," in which two motions do not perceptually group together. Motion presented at task-irrelevant positions did not reduce performance, suggesting that the rapid motion comparison could not be ascribed to global optic flow processing. Our findings reveal the existence and unique nature of specialized processing that encodes long-range relationships between motion signals for quick appreciation of global dynamic scene structure.

A novel mechanical model for phase-separation in debris flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pudasaini, Shiva P.

2015-04-01

Understanding the physics of phase-separation between solid and fluid phases as a two-phase mass moves down slope is a long-standing challenge. Here, I propose a fundamentally new mechanism, called 'separation-flux', that leads to strong phase-separation in avalanche and debris flows. This new model extends the general two-phase debris flow model (Pudasaini, 2012) to include a separation-flux mechanism. The new flux separation mechanism is capable of describing and controlling the dynamically evolving phase-separation, segregation, and/or levee formation in a real two-phase, geometrically three-dimensional debris flow motion and deposition. These are often observed phenomena in natural debris flows and industrial processes that involve the transportation of particulate solid-fluid mixture material. The novel separation-flux model includes several dominant physical and mechanical aspects that result in strong phase-separation (segregation). These include pressure gradients, volume fractions of solid and fluid phases and their gradients, shear-rates, flow depth, material friction, viscosity, material densities, boundary structures, gravity and topographic constraints, grain shape, size, etc. Due to the inherent separation mechanism, as the mass moves down slope, more and more solid particles are brought to the front, resulting in a solid-rich and mechanically strong frontal surge head followed by a weak tail largely consisting of the viscous fluid. The primary frontal surge head followed by secondary surge is the consequence of the phase-separation. Such typical and dominant phase-separation phenomena are revealed here for the first time in real two-phase debris flow modeling and simulations. However, these phenomena may depend on the bulk material composition and the applied forces. Reference: Pudasaini, Shiva P. (2012): A general two-phase debris flow model. J. Geophys. Res., 117, F03010, doi: 10.1029/2011JF002186.

Assessment of anodal and cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on MMN-indexed auditory sensory processing.

PubMed

Impey, Danielle; de la Salle, Sara; Knott, Verner

2016-06-01

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive form of brain stimulation which uses a very weak constant current to temporarily excite (anodal stimulation) or inhibit (cathodal stimulation) activity in the brain area of interest via small electrodes placed on the scalp. Currently, tDCS of the frontal cortex is being used as a tool to investigate cognition in healthy controls and to improve symptoms in neurological and psychiatric patients. tDCS has been found to facilitate cognitive performance on measures of attention, memory, and frontal-executive functions. Recently, a short session of anodal tDCS over the temporal lobe has been shown to increase auditory sensory processing as indexed by the Mismatch Negativity (MMN) event-related potential (ERP). This preliminary pilot study examined the separate and interacting effects of both anodal and cathodal tDCS on MMN-indexed auditory pitch discrimination. In a randomized, double blind design, the MMN was assessed before (baseline) and after tDCS (2mA, 20min) in 2 separate sessions, one involving 'sham' stimulation (the device is turned off), followed by anodal stimulation (to temporarily excite cortical activity locally), and one involving cathodal stimulation (to temporarily decrease cortical activity locally), followed by anodal stimulation. Results demonstrated that anodal tDCS over the temporal cortex increased MMN-indexed auditory detection of pitch deviance, and while cathodal tDCS decreased auditory discrimination in baseline-stratified groups, subsequent anodal stimulation did not significantly alter MMN amplitudes. These findings strengthen the position that tDCS effects on cognition extend to the neural processing of sensory input and raise the possibility that this neuromodulatory technique may be useful for investigating sensory processing deficits in clinical populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Meta-analysis: how does posterior parietal cortex contribute to reasoning?

PubMed Central

Wendelken, Carter

2015-01-01

Reasoning depends on the contribution of posterior parietal cortex (PPC). But PPC is involved in many basic operations—including spatial attention, mathematical cognition, working memory, long-term memory, and language—and the nature of its contribution to reasoning is unclear. Psychological theories of the processes underlying reasoning make divergent claims about the neural systems that are likely to be involved, and better understanding the specific contribution of PPC can help to inform these theories. We set out to address several competing hypotheses, concerning the role of PPC in reasoning: (1) reasoning involves application of formal logic and is dependent on language, with PPC activation for reasoning mainly reflective of linguistic processing; (2) reasoning involves probabilistic computation and is thus dependent on numerical processing mechanisms in PPC; and (3) reasoning is built upon the representation and processing of spatial relations, and PPC activation associated with reasoning reflects spatial processing. We conducted two separate meta-analyses. First, we pooled data from our own studies of reasoning in adults, and examined activation in PPC regions of interest (ROI). Second, we conducted an automated meta-analysis using Neurosynth, in which we examined overlap between activation maps associated with reasoning and maps associated with other key functions of PPC. In both analyses, we observed reasoning-related activation concentrated in the left Inferior Parietal Lobe (IPL). Reasoning maps demonstrated the greatest overlap with mathematical cognition. Maintenance, visuospatial, and phonological processing also demonstrated some overlap with reasoning, but a large portion of the reasoning map did not overlap with the map for any other function. This evidence suggests that the PPC’s contribution to reasoning may be most closely related to its role in mathematical cognition, but that a core component of this contribution may be specific to reasoning. PMID:25653604

The neural system of metacognition accompanying decision-making in the prefrontal cortex

PubMed Central

Qiu, Lirong; Su, Jie; Ni, Yinmei; Bai, Yang; Zhang, Xuesong; Li, Xiaoli

2018-01-01

Decision-making is usually accompanied by metacognition, through which a decision maker monitors uncertainty regarding a decision and may then consequently revise the decision. These metacognitive processes can occur prior to or in the absence of feedback. However, the neural mechanisms of metacognition remain controversial. One theory proposes an independent neural system for metacognition in the prefrontal cortex (PFC); the other, that metacognitive processes coincide and overlap with the systems used for the decision-making process per se. In this study, we devised a novel “decision–redecision” paradigm to investigate the neural metacognitive processes involved in redecision as compared to the initial decision-making process. The participants underwent a perceptual decision-making task and a rule-based decision-making task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that the anterior PFC, including the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and lateral frontopolar cortex (lFPC), were more extensively activated after the initial decision. The dACC activity in redecision positively scaled with decision uncertainty and correlated with individual metacognitive uncertainty monitoring abilities—commonly occurring in both tasks—indicating that the dACC was specifically involved in decision uncertainty monitoring. In contrast, the lFPC activity seen in redecision processing was scaled with decision uncertainty reduction and correlated with individual accuracy changes—positively in the rule-based decision-making task and negatively in the perceptual decision-making task. Our results show that the lFPC was specifically involved in metacognitive control of decision adjustment and was subject to different control demands of the tasks. Therefore, our findings support that a separate neural system in the PFC is essentially involved in metacognition and further, that functions of the PFC in metacognition are dissociable. PMID:29684004

Strategies for Efficient Charge Separation and Transfer in Artificial Photosynthesis of Solar Fuels.

PubMed

Xu, Yuxing; Li, Ailong; Yao, Tingting; Ma, Changtong; Zhang, Xianwen; Shah, Jafar Hussain; Han, Hongxian

2017-11-23

Converting sunlight to solar fuels by artificial photosynthesis is an innovative science and technology for renewable energy. Light harvesting, photogenerated charge separation and transfer (CST), and catalytic reactions are the three primary steps in the processes involved in the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy (SE-CE). Among the processes, CST is the key "energy pump and delivery" step in determining the overall solar-energy conversion efficiency. Efficient CST is always high priority in designing and assembling artificial photosynthesis systems for solar-fuel production. This Review not only introduces the fundamental strategies for CST but also the combinatory application of these strategies to five types of the most-investigated semiconductor-based artificial photosynthesis systems: particulate, Z-scheme, hybrid, photoelectrochemical, and photovoltaics-assisted systems. We show that artificial photosynthesis systems with high SE-CE efficiency can be rationally designed and constructed through combinatory application of these strategies, setting a promising blueprint for the future of solar fuels. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Lab-on-fiber electrophoretic trace mixture separating and detecting an optofluidic device based on a microstructured optical fiber.

PubMed

Yang, Xinghua; Guo, Xiaohui; Li, Song; Kong, Depeng; Liu, Zhihai; Yang, Jun; Yuan, Libo

2016-04-15

We report an in-fiber integrated electrophoretic trace mixture separating and detecting an optofluidic optical fiber sensor based on a specially designed optical fiber. In this design, rapid in situ separation and simultaneous detection of mixed analytes can be realized under electro-osmotic flow in the microstructured optical fiber. To visually display the in-fiber separating and detecting process, two common fluorescent indicators are adopted as the optofluidic analytes in the optical fiber. Results show that a trace amount of the mixture (0.15 μL) can be completely separated within 3.5 min under a high voltage of 5 kV. Simultaneously, the distributed information of the separated analytes in the optical fiber can be clearly obtained by scanning along the optical fiber using a 355 nm laser. The emission from the analytes can be efficiently coupled into the inner core and guides to the remote end of the optical fiber. In addition, the thin cladding around the inner core in the optical fiber can prevent the fluorescent cross talk between the analytes in this design. Compared to previous optical fiber optofluidic devices, this device first realizes simultaneously separating treatment and the detection of the mixed samples in an optical fiber. Significantly, such an in-fiber integrated separating and detecting optofluidic device can find wide applications in various analysis fields involves mixed samples, such as biology, chemistry, and environment.

Motivated To Win: Relationship between Anticipatory and Outcome Reward-Related Neural Activity

PubMed Central

Nusslock, Robin

2015-01-01

Reward-processing involves two temporal stages characterized by two distinct neural processes: reward-anticipation and reward-outcome. Intriguingly, very little research has examined the relationship between neural processes involved in reward-anticipation and reward-outcome. To investigate this, one needs to consider the heterogeneity of reward-processing within each stage. To identify different stages of reward processing, we adapted a reward time-estimation task. While EEG data were recorded, participants were instructed to button-press 3.5 s after the onset of an Anticipation-Cue and received monetary reward for good time-estimation on the Reward trials, but not on No-Reward trials. We first separated reward-anticipation into event related potentials (ERPs) occurring at three sub-stages: reward/no-reward cue-evaluation, motor-preparation and feedback-anticipation. During reward/no-reward cue-evaluation, the Reward-Anticipation Cue led to a smaller N2 and larger P3. During motor-preparation, we report, for the first time, that the Reward-Anticipation Cue enhanced the Readiness Potential (RP), starting approximately 1 s before movement. At the subsequent feedback-anticipation stage, the Reward-Anticipation Cue elevated the Stimulus-Preceding Negativity (SPN). We also separated reward-outcome ERPs into different components occurring at different time-windows: the Feedback-Related Negativity (FRN), Feedback-P3 (FB-P3) and Late-Positive Potentials (LPP). Lastly, we examined the relationship between reward-anticipation and reward-outcome ERPs. We report that individual-differences in specific reward-anticipation ERPs uniquely predicted specific reward-outcome ERPs. In particular, the reward-anticipation Early-RP (1 to .8 s before movement) predicted early reward-outcome ERPs (FRN and FB-P3), whereas, the reward-anticipation SPN most strongly predicted a later reward-outcome ERP (LPP). Results have important implications for understanding the nature of the relationship between reward-anticipation and reward-outcome neural-processes. PMID:26433773

Diagnostic Genetics at a Distance: Von Hippel-Lindau Disease and a Novel Mutation

PubMed Central

Prosser, Debra O.; Love, Jennifer M.; Gardner, R. J. McKinlay; Love, Donald R.

2013-01-01

Genetic testing at a distance is commonplace where members of a family with a segregating germline mutation are geographically separated. For the most part, this challenge is addressed through the intervention of health professionals in taking and/or processing blood samples for subsequent couriering of DNA to a referral laboratory. In some circumstances, however, the collecting of pivotal clinical material may involve direct patient involvement. We describe such a situation where noninvasive saliva samples were provided by members of a family manifesting Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease. The analysis identified a novel mutation in the VHL gene that was used to exclude other family members as being at risk of VHL disease. PMID:24062953

Investigating the Relevance of Some Suggested Textbooks for the Teaching of the New Chemistry Syllabus in Kenyan Secondary Schools. African Studies in Curriculum Development & Evaluation No. 88.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ochola, Joel Aduma

This study was designed to find out how far suggested textbooks have been adopted in teaching a new chemistry syllabus in Kenya and if the chemistry books now being used in schools to teach the new syllabus involve activity and encourage the process of scientific inquiry. The new syllabus is a merger between the traditional separate chemistry…

Separated Component-Based Restoration of Speckled SAR Images

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

One of the simplest approaches for speckle noise reduction is known as multi-look processing. It involves non-coherently summing the independent...image is assumed to be piecewise smooth [21], [22], [23]. It has been shown that TV regular- ization often yields images with the stair -casing effect...as a function f , is to be decomposed into a sum of two components f = u+ v, where u represents the cartoon or geometric (i.e. piecewise smooth

Contributions of in situ microscopy to the current understanding of stone biodeterioration.

PubMed

de Los Ríos, Asunción; Ascaso, Carmen

2005-09-01

In situ microscopy consists of simultaneously applying several microscopy techniques without separating the biological component from its habitat. Over the past few years, this strategy has allowed characterization of the biofilms involved in biodeterioration processes affecting stone monuments and has revealed the biogeophysical and biogeochemical impact of the microbiota present. In addition, through in situ microscopy diagnosis, appropriate treatments can be designed to resolve the problems related to microbial colonization of stone monuments.

Biological complexity and adaptability of simple mammalian olfactory memory systems.

PubMed

Brennan, P; Keverne, E B

2015-03-01

Chemosensory systems play vital roles in the lives of most mammals, including the detection and identification of predators, as well as sex and reproductive status and the identification of individual conspecifics. All of these capabilities require a process of recognition involving a combination of innate (kairomonal/pheromonal) and learned responses. Across very different phylogenies, the mechanisms for pheromonal and odour learning have much in common. They are frequently associated with plasticity of GABA-ergic feedback at the initial level of processing the chemosensory information, which enhances its pattern separation capability. Association of odourant features into an odour object primarily involves anterior piriform cortex for non-social odours. However, the medial amygdala appears to be involved in both the recognition of social odours and their association with chemosensory information sensed by the vomeronasal system. Unusually not only the sensory neurons themselves, but also the GABA-ergic interneurons in the olfactory bulb are continually being replaced, with implications for the induction and maintenance of learned chemosensory responses. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evidence of automatic processing in sequence learning using process-dissociation

PubMed Central

Mong, Heather M.; McCabe, David P.; Clegg, Benjamin A.

2012-01-01

This paper proposes a way to apply process-dissociation to sequence learning in addition and extension to the approach used by Destrebecqz and Cleeremans (2001). Participants were trained on two sequences separated from each other by a short break. Following training, participants self-reported their knowledge of the sequences. A recognition test was then performed which required discrimination of two trained sequences, either under the instructions to call any sequence encountered in the experiment “old” (the inclusion condition), or only sequence fragments from one half of the experiment “old” (the exclusion condition). The recognition test elicited automatic and controlled process estimates using the process dissociation procedure, and suggested both processes were involved. Examining the underlying processes supporting performance may provide more information on the fundamental aspects of the implicit and explicit constructs than has been attainable through awareness testing. PMID:22679465

Military fathers' perspectives on involvement.

PubMed

Willerton, Elaine; Schwarz, Rona L; Wadsworth, Shelley M Macdermid; Oglesby, Mary Schultheis

2011-08-01

Military fathers endure repeated separations from their children. In this qualitative study we describe military fathers' range of involvement with their children, paying special attention to the implications of deployment separation and reintegration. We discuss father involvement using three overlapping major domains of functioning: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. Additionally, we consider how types of father involvement differ vis-à-vis child age. Data were gathered via focus groups conducted with 71 fathers at 14 U.S. military installations. Descriptions of involvement were rich and varied. Involvement with children was a major concern for fathers, despite or perhaps because of the challenges of military careers. We discuss factors that help explain variations in involvement and offer insights about the conceptualization of father involvement for occupations requiring prolonged absences from home.

Energy-efficient membrane separations in the sweetener industry. Final report

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

Ray, R.J.

1986-02-14

Objective was to investigate the use of membrane processes as energy-efficient alternatives to certain conventional separation processes now in use in the corn-sweetener industry. Three applications of membranes were studied during the program: the concentration of corn steep water by reverse osmosis; the concentration of dilute wastes, called ''sweetwater,'' by a combination of reverse osmosis and countercurrent reverse osmosis; and the enrichment of corn syrup in fructose by a process involving selective complexation of fructose by membrane filtration. Laboratory experiments were conducted for all three applications, and the results were used to conduct technical and economic analyses of the process.more » Calculations indicate that the use of reverse osmosis in combination with conventional mechanical-vapor-recompression evaporation to concentrate steep water, offers savings of a factor of 2.5 in capital costs and a factor of 4.5 in operating costs over currently used evaporation alone. In the concentration of sweetwater by reverse osmosis and countercurrent reverse osmosis, capital costs would be about the same as those for evaporation, but operating costs would only be about one-half those of evaporation. For the fructose-enrichment scheme, preliminary results indicate that the savings in energy alone for the membrane process would be about $0.01/lb of sweetener produced by the process, or about $20 million annually, for the corn-sweetener industry.« less

Mass spectrometric profiling of lipids in intestinal tissue from rats fed cereals processed for medical conditions.

PubMed

Dowlatshahi Pour, Masoumeh; Jennische, Eva; Lange, Stefan; Ewing, Andrew G; Malmberg, Per

2016-06-11

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used for lipid profiling of intestine tissue sections from rats fed specially processed cereals and rats fed ordinary feed as a control. This cereal is known to increase the activity of antisecretory factor in plasma and the exact mechanism for the activation process at the cellular level is unclear. ToF-SIMS has been used to track food induced changes in lipid content in intestinal tissue sections to gain insight into the possible mechanisms involved. Data from 20 intestine sections belonging to four different rats from each group of control and specially processed cereals-fed rats were obtained using the stage scan macroraster with a lateral resolution of 5 μm. Data were subsequently subjected to orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis. The data clearly show that changes of certain lipids are induced by the specially processed cereal feed. Scores plots show a well-defined separation between the two groups. The corresponding loading plots reveal that the groups separate mainly due to changes of vitamin E, phosphocholine, and phosphosphingolipid fragments, and that for the c18:2 fatty acid. The observed changes in lipids might give insight into the working mechanisms of antisecretory factor in the body, and this has been successfully used to understand the working mechanism of specially processed cereal-induced antisecretory factor activation in intestine.

Process for separating nitrogen from methane using microchannel process technology

DOEpatents

Tonkovich, Anna Lee [Marysville, OH; Qiu, Dongming [Dublin, OH; Dritz, Terence Andrew [Worthington, OH; Neagle, Paul [Westerville, OH; Litt, Robert Dwayne [Westerville, OH; Arora, Ravi [Dublin, OH; Lamont, Michael Jay [Hilliard, OH; Pagnotto, Kristina M [Cincinnati, OH

2007-07-31

The disclosed invention relates to a process for separating methane or nitrogen from a fluid mixture comprising methane and nitrogen, the process comprising: (A) flowing the fluid mixture into a microchannel separator, the microchannel separator comprising a plurality of process microchannels containing a sorption medium, the fluid mixture being maintained in the microchannel separator until at least part of the methane or nitrogen is sorbed by the sorption medium, and removing non-sorbed parts of the fluid mixture from the microchannel separator; and (B) desorbing the methane or nitrogen from the sorption medium and removing the desorbed methane or nitrogen from the microchannel separator. The process is suitable for upgrading methane from coal mines, landfills, and other sub-quality sources.

Orbital construction support equipment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

Approximately 200 separate construction steps were defined for the three solar power satellite (SPS) concepts. Detailed construction scenarios were developed which describe the specific tasks to be accomplished, and identify general equipment requirements. The scenarios were used to perform a functional analysis, which resulted in the definition of 100 distinct SPS elements. These elements are the components, parts, subsystems, or assemblies upon which construction activities take place. The major SPS elements for each configuration are shown. For those elements, 300 functional requirements were identified in seven generic processes. Cumulatively, these processes encompass all functions required during SPS construction/assembly. Individually each process is defined such that it includes a specific type of activity. Each SPS element may involve activities relating to any or all of the generic processes. The processes are listed, and examples of the requirements defined for a typical element are given.

Mechanistic Studies Of Combustion And Structure Formation During Combustion Synthesis Of Advanced Materials: Phase Separation Mechanism For Bio-Alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Varma, A.; Lau, C.; Mukasyan, A.

2003-01-01

Among all implant materials, Co-Cr-Mo alloys demonstrate perhaps the most useful balance of resistance to corrosion, fatigue and wear, along with strength and biocompatibility [1]. Currently, these widely used alloys are produced by conventional furnace technology. Owing to high melting points of the main alloy elements (e.g. Tm.p.(Co) 1768 K), high-temperature furnaces and long process times (several hours) are required. Therefore, attempts to develop more efficient and flexible methods for production of such alloys with superior properties are of great interest. The synthesis of materials using combustion phenomena is an advanced approach in powder metallurgy [2]. The process is characterized by unique conditions involving extremely fast heating rates (up to 10(exp 6 K/s), high temperatures (up to 3500 K), and short reaction times (on the order of seconds). As a result, combustion synthesis (CS) offers several attractive advantages over conventional metallurgical processing and alloy development technologies. The foremost is that solely the heat of chemical reaction (instead of an external source) supplies the energy for the synthesis. Also, simple equipment, rather than energy-intensive high-temperature furnaces, is sufficient. This work was devoted to experiments on CS of Co-based alloys by utilizing thermite (metal oxide-reducing metal) reactions, where phase separation subsequently produces materials with tailored compositions and properties. Owing to high reaction exothermicity, the CS process results in a significant increase of temperature (up to 3000 C), which is higher than melting points of all products. Since the products differ in density, phase separation may be a gravitydriven process: the heavy (metallic phase) settles while the light (slag) phase floats. The goal was to determine if buoyancy is indeed the major mechanism that controls phase segregation.

Experience of gastric cancer survivors and their spouses in Korea: secondary analysis.

PubMed

Yi, Myungsun; Kahn, David

2004-06-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of gastric cancer couples in Korea and to generate a substantive theory integrating the experiences of gastric cancer survivors and their spouses as a whole. The specific aims of this study were to explore major problems gastric cancer couples faced and how they resolved these problems, focusing on inter-relational dynamics within the couples and on similarities and differences between the couples. This was a secondary analysis study using grounded theory techniques. The study used the data of 11 married couples which was collected from in-depth interviews from two primary studies. The unit of analysis was dyads of gastric cancer survivors and their spouses. The basic social psychological process that emerged from the analysis was "taking charge of their health." Major categories involved in this process were identified as 1) adjusting to new diets, 2) reinforcing physical strength, 3) seeking information, 4) strengthening Ki, 5) lowering life-expectations, and 6) going their separate ways. These six categories represent major strategies in overcoming critical problems that occurred in day-to-day experiences. In terms of the process, the first five categories characterize the earlier stage of the process of "taking charge of their health," while "going their separate ways" indicates the later stage and also the beginning of their separate ways: "pursuing spiritual life" for the survivors, and "preparing for the future" for the spouses. The results of this study will help design family care for the people with gastric cancer by providing in-depth understanding and insight on the lives of gastric cancer couples.

Cycles, scaling and crossover phenomenon in length of the day (LOD) time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Telesca, Luciano

2007-06-01

The dynamics of the temporal fluctuations of the length of the day (LOD) time series from January 1, 1962 to November 2, 2006 were investigated. The power spectrum of the whole time series has revealed annual, semi-annual, decadal and daily oscillatory behaviors, correlated with oceanic-atmospheric processes and interactions. The scaling behavior was analyzed by using the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), which has revealed two different scaling regimes, separated by a crossover timescale at approximately 23 days. Flicker-noise process can describe the dynamics of the LOD time regime involving intermediate and long timescales, while Brownian dynamics characterizes the LOD time series for small timescales.

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.

Separate development of the maxilla and mandible is controlled by regional signaling of the maxillomandibular junction during avian development.

PubMed

Tak, Hye-Jin; Park, Tae-Jin; Piao, Zhenngu; Lee, Sang-Hwy

2017-01-01

Syngnathia is a congenital craniofacial disorder characterized by bony or soft tissue fusion of upper and lower jaws. Previous studies suggested some causative signals, such as Foxc1 or Bmp4, cause the disruption of maxillomandibular identity, but their location and the interactive signals involved remain unexplored. We wanted to examine the embryonic origin of syngnathia based on the assumption that it may be located at the separation between the maxillary and mandibular processes. This region, known as the maxillomandibular junction (MMJ), is involved in segregation of cranial neural crest-derived mesenchyme into the presumptive upper and lower jaws. Here we investigated the role of Fgf, Bmp, and retinoid signaling during development of MMJ in chicken embryos. By changing the levels of these signals with bead implants, we induced syngnathia with microstomia on the treated side, which showed increased Barx1 and neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) expression. Redistribution of proliferating cells was also observed at the proximal region to maxillary and mandibular arch around MMJ. We propose that interactive molecular signaling by Fgfs, Bmps, and retinoids around MMJ is required for normal separation of the maxilla and mandible, as well as the proper positioning of beak commissure during early facial morphogenesis. Developmental Dynamics 246:28-40, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Pulmonary involvement in connective tissue disease].

PubMed

Bartosiewicz, Małgorzata

2016-01-01

The connective tissue diseases are a variable group of autoimmune mediated disorders characterized by multiorgan damage. Pulmonary complications are common, usually occur after the onset of joint symptoms, but can also be initially presenting complaint. The respiratory system may be involved in all its component: airways, vessels, parenchyma, pleura and respiratory muscles. Lung involvement is an increasing cause of morbidity and mortality in the connective tissue diseases. Clinical course is highly variable - can range from mild to rapidly progressive, some processes are reversible, while others are irreversible. Thus, the identification of reversible disease , and separately progressive disease, are important clinical issues. The frequency, clinical presentation, prognosis and responce to therapy are different, depending on the pattern of involvement as well as on specyfic diagnostic method used to identify it. High- resolution computed tompography plays an important role in identifying patients with respiratory involvement. Pulmonary function tests are a sensitive tool detecting interstitial lung disease. In this article, pulmonary lung involvement accompanying most frequently apperaing connective tissue diseases - rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, polymyositis/dermatomyositis, Sjögrens syndrome and mixed connective tissue disaese are reviewed.

The kinetics of influenza-virus adsorption on iron oxide in the process of viral purification and concentration

PubMed Central

Larin, N. M.; Gallimore, P. H.

1971-01-01

This paper reports a study carried out to clarify the mechanisms involved in adsorption of influenza A and B viruses on iron oxide. Accordingly, the amounts of virus that are adsorbed from virus suspensions of varying concentrations per unit surface area of magnetic or non-magnetic oxide at fixed temperature and time have been determined. The principles involved are clearly the same as those involved in multiple equilibria during the interaction of particles with a large number of combining sites with different intrinsic affinity. Consequently, the amount of virus that is adsorbed per unit mass of iron oxide depends on the size of the adsorbent area, not on its magnetic property. Owing to a significant difference between the affinities of influenza A and B particles for the binding sites on iron oxide, unit surface area of the adsorbent is invariably capable of adsorbing significantly greater amounts of influenza A than B particles. The practical implications of these findings are that a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in virus adsorption on iron oxide will permit a more efficient separation of virus particles from impurities. The simplicity and the rapidity of the technique and the cheapness of the equipment required suggest that the iron oxide method is of great value for both small- or large-scale viral purification, whether it is used as a single step procedure or as a primary step followed by zonal separation. PMID:5291749

Conceptual design of distillation-based hybrid separation processes.

PubMed

Skiborowski, Mirko; Harwardt, Andreas; Marquardt, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Hybrid separation processes combine different separation principles and constitute a promising design option for the separation of complex mixtures. Particularly, the integration of distillation with other unit operations can significantly improve the separation of close-boiling or azeotropic mixtures. Although the design of single-unit operations is well understood and supported by computational methods, the optimal design of flowsheets of hybrid separation processes is still a challenging task. The large number of operational and design degrees of freedom requires a systematic and optimization-based design approach. To this end, a structured approach, the so-called process synthesis framework, is proposed. This article reviews available computational methods for the conceptual design of distillation-based hybrid processes for the separation of liquid mixtures. Open problems are identified that must be addressed to finally establish a structured process synthesis framework for such processes.

Discovery of optimal zeolites for challenging separations and chemical transformations using predictive materials modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Peng; Jeon, Mi Young; Ren, Limin; Knight, Chris; Deem, Michael W.; Tsapatsis, Michael; Siepmann, J. Ilja

2015-01-01

Zeolites play numerous important roles in modern petroleum refineries and have the potential to advance the production of fuels and chemical feedstocks from renewable resources. The performance of a zeolite as separation medium and catalyst depends on its framework structure. To date, 213 framework types have been synthesized and >330,000 thermodynamically accessible zeolite structures have been predicted. Hence, identification of optimal zeolites for a given application from the large pool of candidate structures is attractive for accelerating the pace of materials discovery. Here we identify, through a large-scale, multi-step computational screening process, promising zeolite structures for two energy-related applications: the purification of ethanol from fermentation broths and the hydroisomerization of alkanes with 18-30 carbon atoms encountered in petroleum refining. These results demonstrate that predictive modelling and data-driven science can now be applied to solve some of the most challenging separation problems involving highly non-ideal mixtures and highly articulated compounds.

The star 12 Persei and separated fringe packet binaries (SFPB)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagnuolo, William G., Jr.; ten Brummelaar, Theo A.; McAlister, H. A.; Gies, Douglas R.; Ridgway, Stephen T.

2006-06-01

We have obtained high resolution orbital data with the CHARA Array for the bright star 12 Persei, a resolved double-lined spectroscopic binary, an example of a Separated Fringe Packet Binary. We describe the data reduction process involved. By using a technique we have developed of 'side-lobe verniering', we can obtain an improved precision in separation of up to 25 micro-arcsec along a given baseline. For this object we find a semi-major axis 0.3 of Barlow, Scarfe, and Fekel (1998) [BSF], but with an increased inclination angle. The revised masses are therefore almost 6% greater than those of BSF. The overall accuracy in the masses is about 1.3%, now primarily limited by the spectroscopically determined radial velocities. The precision of the masses due to the interferometrically derived "visual" orbit alone is only about 0.2%. We expect that improved RVs and improved absolute calibration can bring down the mass errors to below 1%.

Separation and conversion dynamics of nuclear-spin isomers of gaseous methanol

PubMed Central

Sun, Zhen-Dong; Ge, Meihua; Zheng, Yujun

2015-01-01

All symmetrical molecules with non-zero nuclear spin exist in nature as nuclear-spin isomers (NSIs). However, owing to the lack of experimental information, knowledge is rare about interconversions of NSIs of gaseous molecules with torsional symmetry. Here we report our separation and conversion observations on NSI-torsion-specific transition systems of gaseous methanol from a light-induced drift experiment involving partially spatial separation of the ortho and para isomers. We find that vibrationally excited molecules of the methanol spin isomer have a smaller collision cross-section than their ground-state counterparts. Interconversion of the enriched ortho isomer with the para isomer, which is generally considered improbable, has been quantitatively studied by sensitive detections of the spectral intensities. Rather counterintuitively, this reveals that the interconversion is inhibited with increasing pressure. Our results suggest that the spin conversion mechanism in methanol is via a quantum relaxation process with the quantum Zeno effect induced by molecular collisions. PMID:25880882

In-space fabrication of thin-film structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lippman, M. E.

1972-01-01

A conceptual study of physical vapor-deposition processes for in-space fabrication of thin-film structures is presented. Potential advantages of in-space fabrication are improved structural integrity and surface reflectivity of free-standing ultra-thin films and coatings. Free-standing thin-film structures can find use as photon propulsion devices (solar sails). Other applications of the concept involve free-standing shadow shields, or thermal control coatings of spacecraft surfaces. Use of expendables (such as booster and interstage structures) as source material for the physical vapor deposition process is considered. The practicability of producing thin, textured, aluminum films by physical vapor deposition and subsequent separation from a revolving substrate is demonstrated by laboratory experiments. Heating power requirement for the evaporation process is estimated for a specific mission.

Atomic vapor laser isotope separation of lead-210 isotope

DOEpatents

Scheibner, K.F.; Haynam, C.A.; Johnson, M.A.; Worden, E.F.

1999-08-31

An isotopically selective laser process and apparatus for removal of Pb-210 from natural lead that involves a one-photon near-resonant, two-photon resonant excitation of one or more Rydberg levels, followed by field ionization and then electrostatic extraction. The wavelength to the near-resonant intermediate state is counter propagated with respect to the second wavelength required to populate the final Rydberg state. This scheme takes advantage of the large first excited state cross section, and only modest laser fluences are required. The non-resonant process helps to avoid two problems: first, stimulated Raman Gain due to the nearby F=3/2 hyperfine component of Pb-207 and, second, direct absorption of the first transition process light by Pb-207. 5 figs.

Atomic vapor laser isotope separation of lead-210 isotope

DOEpatents

Scheibner, Karl F.; Haynam, Christopher A.; Johnson, Michael A.; Worden, Earl F.

1999-01-01

An isotopically selective laser process and apparatus for removal of Pb-210 from natural lead that involves a one-photon near-resonant, two-photon resonant excitation of one or more Rydberg levels, followed by field ionization and then electrostatic extraction. The wavelength to the near-resonant intermediate state is counter propagated with respect to the second wavelength required to populate the final Rydberg state. This scheme takes advantage of the large first excited state cross section, and only modest laser fluences are required. The non-resonant process helps to avoid two problems: first, stimulated Raman Gain due to the nearby F=3/2 hyperfine component of Pb-207 and, second, direct absorption of the first transition process light by Pb-207.

Process, including PSA and membrane separation, for separating hydrogen from hydrocarbons

DOEpatents

Baker, Richard W.; Lokhandwala, Kaaeid A.; He, Zhenjie; Pinnau, Ingo

2001-01-01

An improved process for separating hydrogen from hydrocarbons. The process includes a pressure swing adsorption step, a compression/cooling step and a membrane separation step. The membrane step relies on achieving a methane/hydrogen selectivity of at least about 2.5 under the conditions of the process.

Initial observation of potential factors involved in the specification process of oral-aboral axis in the sand dollar Scaphechinus mirabilis.

PubMed

Satoh, Kanehide; Kominami, Tetsuya

2008-10-01

To elucidate factors involved in the oral-aboral axis specification, several observations and experiments were undertaken using the sand dollar Scaphechinus mirabilis. Unlike in Strongylcentrotus purpuratus, localization of mitochondria was not detected in unfertilized eggs. After fertilization, however, the bulk of mitochondria became localized to the opposite side of sperm entry. The first cleavage divided this mitochondrial cluster into daughter blastomeres. On the other hand, a second cleavage produced daughter blastomeres containing quite different amounts of mitochondria. To know whether such mitochondrial localization affects the oral-aboral axis specification, 4-cell-stage embryos were separated along the second cleavage plane. Although both half embryos developed into morphologically normal plutei, some differences, such as the number of pigment cells, were noticed between the siblings. In contrast, cell tracing revealed that the first cleavage separated the oral from the aboral part in most cases, indicating that the unequal distribution of mitochondria is not critical for the oral-aboral axis specification. Further, stained and non-stained half embryo fragments were combined. Such combined embryos developed into normal plutei with a single oral-aboral axis. The plane dividing labeled and non-labeled parts were incident, oblique or perpendicular to the median plane of the combined embryo, and the appearance frequencies of those labeling patterns were similar to those obtained by cell tracing in intact embryos. Interestingly, the half fragments derived from embryos inseminated earlier showed a tendency to form the oral part. These suggest that several factors as well as the localized cytoplasmic components would be involved in the specification process of oral-aboral axis.

Early bacteriopheophytin reduction in charge separation in reaction centers of Rhodobacter sphaeroides.

PubMed

Zhu, Jingyi; van Stokkum, Ivo H M; Paparelli, Laura; Jones, Michael R; Groot, Marie Louise

2013-06-04

A question at the forefront of biophysical sciences is, to what extent do quantum effects and protein conformational changes play a role in processes such as biological sensing and energy conversion? At the heart of photosynthetic energy transduction lie processes involving ultrafast energy and electron transfers among a small number of tetrapyrrole pigments embedded in the interior of a protein. In the purple bacterial reaction center (RC), a highly efficient ultrafast charge separation takes place between a pair of bacteriochlorophylls: an accessory bacteriochlorophyll (B) and bacteriopheophytin (H). In this work, we applied ultrafast spectroscopy in the visible and near-infrared spectral region to Rhodobacter sphaeroides RCs to accurately track the timing of the electron on BA and HA via the appearance of the BA and HA anion bands. We observed an unexpectedly early rise of the HA⁻ band that challenges the accepted simple picture of stepwise electron transfer with 3 ps and 1 ps time constants. The implications for the mechanism of initial charge separation in bacterial RCs are discussed in terms of a possible adiabatic electron transfer step between BA and HA, and the effect of protein conformation on the electron transfer rate. Copyright © 2013 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Separation anxiety: Stress, tension and cytokinesis

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

Mohan, Krithika; Iglesias, Pablo A., E-mail: pi@jhu.edu; Robinson, Douglas N., E-mail: dnr@jhmi.edu

Cytokinesis, the physical separation of a mother cell into two daughter cells, progresses through a series of well-defined changes in morphology. These changes involve distinct biochemical and mechanical processes. Here, we review the mechanical features of cells during cytokinesis, discussing both the material properties as well as sources of stresses, both active and passive, which lead to the observed changes in morphology. We also describe a mechanosensory feedback control system that regulates protein localization and shape progression during cytokinesis. -- Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Cytokinesis progresses through three distinct mechanical phases. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Cortical tension initially resists deformation of mother cell. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Latemore » in cytokinesis, cortical tension provides stress, enabling furrow ingression. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A mechanosensory feedback control system regulates cytokinesis.« less

Dementia Grief: A Theoretical Model of a Unique Grief Experience

PubMed Central

Blandin, Kesstan; Pepin, Renee

2016-01-01

Previous literature reveals a high prevalence of grief in dementia caregivers before physical death of the person with dementia that is associated with stress, burden, and depression. To date, theoretical models and therapeutic interventions with grief in caregivers have not adequately considered the grief process, but instead have focused on grief as a symptom that manifests within the process of caregiving. The Dementia Grief Model explicates the unique process of pre-death grief in dementia caregivers. In this paper we introduce the Dementia Grief Model, describe the unique characteristics dementia grief, and present the psychological states associated with the process of dementia grief. The model explicates an iterative grief process involving three states – separation, liminality, and re-emergence – each with a dynamic mechanism that facilitates or hinders movement through the dementia grief process. Finally, we offer potential applied research questions informed by the model. PMID:25883036

Assessment of MSFCs Process for the Development and Activation of Space Act Agreements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daugherty, Rachel A.

2014-01-01

A Space Act Agreement (SAA) is a contractual vehicle that NASA utilizes to form partnerships with non-NASA entities to stimulate cutting-edge innovation within the science and technology communities while concurrently supporting the NASA missions. SAAs are similar to traditional contracts in that they involve the commitment of Agency resources but allow more flexibility and are more cost effective to implement than traditional contracts. Consequently, the use of SAAs to develop partnerships has greatly increased over the past several years. To facilitate this influx of SAAs, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed a process during a kaizen event to streamline and improve the quality of SAAs developed at the Center level. This study assessed the current SAA process to determine if improvements could be implemented to increase productivity, decrease time to activation, and improve the quality of deliverables. Using a combination of direct procedural observation, personnel interviews, and statistical analysis, elements of the process in need of remediation were identified and potential solutions developed. The findings focus primarily on the difficulties surrounding tracking and enforcing process adherence and communication issues among stakeholders. Potential solutions include utilizing customer relationship management (CRM) software to facilitate process coordination and co-locating or potentially merging the two separate organizations involved in SAA development and activation at MSFC.

Locality, reflection, and wave-particle duality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mugur-Schächter, Mioara

1987-08-01

Bell's theorem is believed to establish that the quantum mechanical predictions do not generally admit a causal representation compatible with Einsten's principle of separability, thereby proving incompatibility between quantum mechanics and relativity. This interpretation is contested via two convergent approaches which lead to a sharp distinction between quantum nonseparability and violation of Einstein's theory of relativity. In a first approach we explicate from the quantum mechanical formalism a concept of “reflected dependence.” Founded on this concept, we produce a causal representation of the quantum mechanical probability measure involved in Bell's proof, which is clearly separable in Einstein's sense, i.e., it does not involve supraluminal velocities, and nevertheless is “nonlocal” in Bell's sense. So Bell locality and Einstein separability are distinct qualifications, and Bell nonlocality (or Bell nonseparability) and Einstein separability are not incompatible. It is then proved explicitly that with respect to the mentioned representation Bell's derivation does not hold. So Bell's derivation does not establish that any Einstein-separable representation is incompatible with quantum mechanics. This first—negative—conclusion is a syntactic fact. The characteristics of the representation and of the reasoning involved in the mentioned counterexample to the usual interpretation of Bell's theorem suggest that the representation used—notwithstanding its ability to bring forth the specified syntactic fact—is not factually true. Factual truth and syntactic properties also have to be radically distinguished in their turn. So, in a second approach, starting from de Broglie's initial relativistic model of a microsystem, a deeper, factually acceptable representation is constructed. The analyses leading to this second representation show that quantum mechanics does indeed involve basically a certain sort of nonseparability, called here de Broglie-Bohr quantum nonseparability. But the de Broglie-Bohr quantum nonseparability is shown to stem directly from the relativistic character of the considerations which led Louis de Broglie to the fundamental relation p = h/λ, thereby being essentially consistent with relativity. As to Einstein separability, it appears to be a still insufficiently specified concept of which a future, improved specification, will probably be explicitly harmonizable with the de Broglie-Bohr quantum nonseparability. The ensemble of the conclusions obtained here brings forth a new concept of causality, a concept of folded, zigzag, reflexive causality, with respect to which the type of causality conceived of up to now appears as a particular case of outstretched, one-way causality. The reflexive causality is found compatible with the results of Aspect's experiment, and it suggests new experiments. Considered globally, the conclusions obtained in the present work might convert the conceptual situation created by Bell's proof into a process of unification of quantum mechanics and relativity.

Parental separation in childhood and adult inflammation: the importance of material and psychosocial pathways.

PubMed

Lacey, Rebecca E; Kumari, Meena; McMunn, Anne

2013-11-01

Childhood adversities are known to be associated with poorer health outcomes. A potential mechanism may be through changes in inflammatory processes. One such childhood adversity is separation of parents, however relatively little is known about the association between parental separation and inflammation in adulthood. The aims of this study were to (1) investigate whether parental separation is associated with inflammation in mid-life, (2) focus upon the mechanisms that may be involved in translating childhood adversities, such as parental separation, into poorer health outcomes in adulthood. We examine the association of parental separation in childhood, defined as the breakdown of the parent's partnership, and levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in middle age. The role played by material (through material disadvantage and educational attainment), psychosocial (through parent-child relationship quality and psychological distress) and adiposity (through BMI) mechanisms is investigated using path analysis in a multiply-imputed dataset from a British birth cohort with concurrent measurements made throughout the life course (n=7462). Participants that report parental separation have higher CRP levels at age 44 than those who grew up with both parents (β=0.16, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.27). This association is largely explained by BMI, material and psychosocial factors. Material disadvantage after separation and educational attainment seem to be particularly important in this association. Parental separation increases CRP in adulthood via chains of disadvantage across the life course. This study points towards potential points for intervention and highlights a need to support separating families in order to minimise the long-term impact on adult health. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Upgrading platform using alkali metals

DOEpatents

Gordon, John Howard

2014-09-09

A process for removing sulfur, nitrogen or metals from an oil feedstock (such as heavy oil, bitumen, shale oil, etc.) The method involves reacting the oil feedstock with an alkali metal and a radical capping substance. The alkali metal reacts with the metal, sulfur or nitrogen content to form one or more inorganic products and the radical capping substance reacts with the carbon and hydrogen content to form a hydrocarbon phase. The inorganic products may then be separated out from the hydrocarbon phase.

Innovative site remediation technology: Thermal desorption. Volume 6

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

Anderson, W.C.

1993-11-01

The monograph on thermal desorption is one of a series of eight on innovative site and waste remediation technologies that are the culmination of a multiorganization effort involving more than 100 experts over a two-year period. The thermal desorption processes addressed in this monograph use heat, either direct or indirect, ex situ, as the principal means to physically separate and transfer contaminants from soils, sediments, sludges, filter cakes, or other media. Thermal desorption is part of a treatment train; some pre- and postprocessing is necessary.

Feasibility of commercial space manufacturing, production of pharmaceuticals. Volume 1: Executive summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The feasibility of the commercial manufacturing of pharmaceuticals in space is examined. The method of obtaining pharmaceutical company involvement, laboratory results of the separation of serum proteins by the continuous flow electrophoresis process, the selection and study of candidate products, and their production requirements is presented. Antihemophilic factor, beta cells, erythropoietin, epidermal growth factor, alpha-1-antitrypsin and interferon were studied. Production mass balances for antihemophilic factor, beta cells, and erythropoietin were compared for space verus ground operation.

Fast determination of sugars in Coke and Diet Coke by miniaturized capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection.

PubMed

Chu, Qingcui; Fu, Liang; Guan, Yueqing; Ye, Jiannong

2005-02-01

The fast separation capability of a novel miniaturized capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection (CE-AD) system was demonstrated by determining sugar contents in Coke and diet Coke with an estimated separation efficiency of 60,000 TP/m. Factors influencing the separation and detection processes were examined and optimized. The end-capillary 300 microm Cu wire amperometric detector offers favorable signal-to-noise characteristics at a relatively low potential (+0.50 V vs. Ag/AgCl) for detecting sugars. Three sugars (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) have been separated within 330 s in a 8.5 cm length capillary at a separation voltage of 1000 V using a 50 mM NaOH running buffer (pH 12.7). Highly linear response is obtained for the above compounds over the range of 5.0 to 2.0 x 10(2) microg/mL with low detection limit, down to 0.8 microg/mL for glucose (S/N = 3). The injection-to-injection repeatability for analytes in peak current (RSD < 3.6%) and for migration times (RSD < 1.4%) was excellent. The new miniaturized CE-AD system should find a wide range of analytical applications involving assays of carbohydrates as an alternative to conventional CE and micro-CE.

[From program to metaphor--managing the needs of children in a separation or divorce process involving their parents].

PubMed

Frey, E

2000-02-01

In German-speaking regions there are several independent intervention programs, derived from concepts originating in the USA, which are designed to assist children whose parents are separated or divorced. Two of these programs will be presented here. Consistent with the thematic implication that divorce entails trauma and stress, the childrens' need of advice and help is placed at the conceptual center of the intervention. This results in a behavioral-cognitive training program, which should enable children to overcome the stress of their situation. In contrast to these two programs, an understanding of divorce may be achieved, through phenomenological analysis, which gives due consideration to the various aspects and meanings of the divorce process. The concept of intervention derived from this approach is to assist children in further developing their own search for solutions, focused on the parents-child-relation. The primary emphasis of this approach is not the childrens' difficulty in dealing with their parents' separation and divorce, but rather their own attempt to deal with the problem, as is visible in the metaphor of their spontaneous descriptions and images of experiences and events. The central concept of the proposed course is the further development of this creative process in the form of a dynamic-communicative group happening. Furthermore it is shown how children can be assisted in a practical way, and encouraged to create their individual and personally adequate solution to the experience of divorce.

An Assessment of Behavioral Dynamic Information Processing Measures in Audiovisual Speech Perception

PubMed Central

Altieri, Nicholas; Townsend, James T.

2011-01-01

Research has shown that visual speech perception can assist accuracy in identification of spoken words. However, little is known about the dynamics of the processing mechanisms involved in audiovisual integration. In particular, architecture and capacity, measured using response time methodologies, have not been investigated. An issue related to architecture concerns whether the auditory and visual sources of the speech signal are integrated “early” or “late.” We propose that “early” integration most naturally corresponds to coactive processing whereas “late” integration corresponds to separate decisions parallel processing. We implemented the double factorial paradigm in two studies. First, we carried out a pilot study using a two-alternative forced-choice discrimination task to assess architecture, decision rule, and provide a preliminary assessment of capacity (integration efficiency). Next, Experiment 1 was designed to specifically assess audiovisual integration efficiency in an ecologically valid way by including lower auditory S/N ratios and a larger response set size. Results from the pilot study support a separate decisions parallel, late integration model. Results from both studies showed that capacity was severely limited for high auditory signal-to-noise ratios. However, Experiment 1 demonstrated that capacity improved as the auditory signal became more degraded. This evidence strongly suggests that integration efficiency is vitally affected by the S/N ratio. PMID:21980314

A method for recovery of iron, titanium, and vanadium from vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yi-min; Wang, Li-na; Chen, De-sheng; Wang, Wei-jing; Liu, Ya-hui; Zhao, Hong-xin; Qi, Tao

2018-02-01

An innovative method for recovering valuable elements from vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite is proposed. This method involves two procedures: low-temperature roasting of vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite and water leaching of roasting slag. During the roasting process, the reduction of iron oxides to metallic iron, the sodium oxidation of vanadium oxides to water-soluble sodium vanadate, and the smelting separation of metallic iron and slag were accomplished simultaneously. Optimal roasting conditions for iron/slag separation were achieved with a mixture thickness of 42.5 mm, a roasting temperature of 1200°C, a residence time of 2 h, a molar ratio of C/O of 1.7, and a sodium carbonate addition of 70wt%, as well as with the use of anthracite as a reductant. Under the optimal conditions, 93.67% iron from the raw ore was recovered in the form of iron nugget with 95.44% iron grade. After a water leaching process, 85.61% of the vanadium from the roasting slag was leached, confirming the sodium oxidation of most of the vanadium oxides to water-soluble sodium vanadate during the roasting process. The total recoveries of iron, vanadium, and titanium were 93.67%, 72.68%, and 99.72%, respectively.

When underadditivity of factor effects in the Psychological Refractory Period paradigm implies a bottleneck: evidence from psycholinguistics.

PubMed

Besner, Derek; Reynolds, Mike; O'Malley, Shannon

2009-11-01

The Psychological Refractory Period (PRP) paradigm is a dual-task procedure that can be used to examine the resource demands of specific cognitive processes. Inferences about the underlying processes are typically based on performance in the second of two speeded tasks. If the effect of a factor manipulated in Task 2 decreases as the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between tasks decreases (underadditivity), the normative inference is that the effect of this factor occurs prior to a limited-capacity central processing mechanism. In contrast, if the effect of a factor is additive with SOA then the inference is that this indexes a process that either uses a limited-capacity central processing mechanism or occurs after some process that uses this mechanism. A heretofore unidentified exception to this logic arises when Task 2 involves two separate processes that operate in parallel, but compete. Interference with one process in Task 2 because of work on Task 1 will eliminate or reduce competition within Task 2 and is hence manifest as an underadditive interaction with decreasing SOA. This is illustrated here by reference to a PRP experiment in which the ubiquitous effect of spelling-to-sound regularity on reading aloud time is eliminated at a short SOA and by consideration of three converging lines of investigation in the PRP paradigm when Task 2 involves reading aloud.

A new dynamic 3D virtual methodology for teaching the mechanics of atrial septation as seen in the human heart.

PubMed

Schleich, Jean-Marc; Dillenseger, Jean-Louis; Houyel, Lucile; Almange, Claude; Anderson, Robert H

2009-01-01

Learning embryology remains difficult, since it requires understanding of many complex phenomena. The temporal evolution of developmental events has classically been illustrated using cartoons, which create difficulty in linking spatial and temporal aspects, such correlation being the keystone of descriptive embryology. We synthesized the bibliographic data from recent studies of atrial septal development. On the basis of this synthesis, consensus on the stages of atrial septation as seen in the human heart has been reached by a group of experts in cardiac embryology and pediatric cardiology. This has permitted the preparation of three-dimensional (3D) computer graphic objects for the anatomical components involved in the different stages of normal human atrial septation. We have provided a virtual guide to the process of normal atrial septation, the animation providing an appreciation of the temporal and morphologic events necessary to separate the systemic and pulmonary venous returns. We have shown that our animations of normal human atrial septation increase significantly the teaching of the complex developmental processes involved, and provide a new dynamic for the process of learning.

Development of a Premixed Combustion Capability for Scramjet Combustion Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rockwell, Robert D.; Goyne, Christopher P.; Rice, Brian E.; Chelliah, Harsha; McDaniel, James C.; Edwards, Jack R.; Cantu, Luca M. L.; Gallo, Emanuela C. A.; Cutler, Andrew D.; Danehy, Paul M.

2015-01-01

Hypersonic air-breathing engines rely on scramjet combustion processes, which involve high speed, compressible, and highly turbulent flows. The combustion environment and the turbulent flames at the heart of these engines are difficult to simulate and study in the laboratory under well controlled conditions. Typically, wind-tunnel testing is performed that more closely approximates engine testing rather than a careful investigation of the underlying physics that drives the combustion process. The experiments described in this paper, along with companion data sets being developed separately, aim to isolate the chemical kinetic effects from the fuel-air mixing process in a dual-mode scramjet combustion environment. A unique fuel injection approach is taken that produces a nearly uniform fuel-air mixture at the entrance to the combustor. This approach relies on the precombustion shock train upstream of the dual-mode scramjet combustor. A stable ethylene flame anchored on a cavity flameholder with a uniformly mixed combustor inflow has been achieved in these experiments allowing numerous companion studies involving coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS), particle image velocimetry (PIV), and planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) to be performed.

Neural basis of bilingual language control.

PubMed

Calabria, Marco; Costa, Albert; Green, David W; Abutalebi, Jubin

2018-06-19

Acquiring and speaking a second language increases demand on the processes of language control for bilingual as compared to monolingual speakers. Language control for bilingual speakers involves the ability to keep the two languages separated to avoid interference and to select one language or the other in a given conversational context. This ability is what we refer with the term "bilingual language control" (BLC). It is now well established that the architecture of this complex system of language control encompasses brain networks involving cortical and subcortical structures, each responsible for different cognitive processes such as goal maintenance, conflict monitoring, interference suppression, and selective response inhibition. Furthermore, advances have been made in determining the overlap between the BLC and the nonlinguistic executive control networks, under the hypothesis that the BLC processes are just an instantiation of a more domain-general control system. Here, we review the current knowledge about the neural basis of these control systems. Results from brain imaging studies of healthy adults and on the performance of bilingual individuals with brain damage are discussed. © 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.

A new two-roll electrostatic separator for recycling of metals and nonmetals from waste printed circuit board.

PubMed

Jiang, Wu; Jia, Li; Zhen-Ming, Xu

2009-01-15

The electrostatic separation is an effective method for recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The efficiency of electrostatic separation processes depends on the ability of the separator. As a classical one, the roll-type corona-electrostatic separator has some advantages in recycling metals and plastics from waste printed circuit board (PCB). However, its industry application still faces some problems, such as: the further disposal of the middling products of the separation process; the balance of the production capacity and the good separation efficiency; the separation of the fine granular mixture and the stability of the separation process. A new "two-roll-type corona-electrostatic separator" was built to overcome the limitation of the classical one. The experimental data were discussed and the results showed that the outcome of the separation process was improved by using the new separator. Compared with the classical machine, the mass of conductive products increases 8.9% (groups 2 and 3) and10.2% (group 4) while the mass of the middling products decreases 45% (groups 2 and 3) and 31.7% (group 4), respectively. The production capacity of the new machine increases, and the stability of the separation process is enhanced.

Separation process using microchannel technology

DOEpatents

Tonkovich, Anna Lee [Dublin, OH; Perry, Steven T [Galloway, OH; Arora, Ravi [Dublin, OH; Qiu, Dongming [Bothell, WA; Lamont, Michael Jay [Hilliard, OH; Burwell, Deanna [Cleveland Heights, OH; Dritz, Terence Andrew [Worthington, OH; McDaniel, Jeffrey S [Columbus, OH; Rogers, Jr; William, A [Marysville, OH; Silva, Laura J [Dublin, OH; Weidert, Daniel J [Lewis Center, OH; Simmons, Wayne W [Dublin, OH; Chadwell, G Bradley [Reynoldsburg, OH

2009-03-24

The disclosed invention relates to a process and apparatus for separating a first fluid from a fluid mixture comprising the first fluid. The process comprises: (A) flowing the fluid mixture into a microchannel separator in contact with a sorption medium, the fluid mixture being maintained in the microchannel separator until at least part of the first fluid is sorbed by the sorption medium, removing non-sorbed parts of the fluid mixture from the microchannel separator; and (B) desorbing first fluid from the sorption medium and removing desorbed first fluid from the microchannel separator. The process and apparatus are suitable for separating nitrogen or methane from a fluid mixture comprising nitrogen and methane. The process and apparatus may be used for rejecting nitrogen in the upgrading of sub-quality methane.

An economic comparison of different fermentation configurations to convert corn stover to ethanol using Z. mobilis and Saccharomyces.

PubMed

Dutta, Abhijit; Dowe, Nancy; Ibsen, Kelly N; Schell, Daniel J; Aden, Andy

2010-01-01

Numerous routes are being explored to lower the cost of cellulosic ethanol production and enable large-scale production. One critical area is the development of robust cofermentative organisms to convert the multiple, mixed sugars found in biomass feedstocks to ethanol at high yields and titers without the need for processing to remove inhibitors. Until such microorganisms are commercialized, the challenge is to design processes that exploit the current microorganisms' strengths. This study explored various process configurations tailored to take advantage of the specific capabilities of three microorganisms, Z. mobilis 8b, S. cerevisiae, and S. pastorianus. A technoeconomic study, based on bench-scale experimental data generated by integrated process testing, was completed to understand the resulting costs of the different process configurations. The configurations included whole slurry fermentation with a coculture, and separate cellulose simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) and xylose fermentations with none, some or all of the water to the SSF replaced with the fermented liquor from the xylose fermentation. The difference between the highest and lowest ethanol cost for the different experimental process configurations studied was $0.27 per gallon ethanol. Separate fermentation of solid and liquor streams with recycle of fermented liquor to dilute the solids gave the lowest ethanol cost, primarily because this option achieved the highest concentrations of ethanol after fermentation. Further studies, using methods similar to ones employed here, can help understand and improve the performance and hence the economics of integrated processes involving enzymes and fermentative microorganisms.

Glycerol extracting dealcoholization for the biodiesel separation process.

PubMed

Ye, Jianchu; Sha, Yong; Zhang, Yun; Yuan, Yunlong; Wu, Housheng

2011-04-01

By means of utilizing sunflower oil and Jatropha oil as raw oil respectively, the biodiesel transesterification production and the multi-stage extracting separation were carried out experimentally. Results indicate that dealcoholized crude glycerol can be utilized as the extracting agent to achieve effective separation of methanol from the methyl ester phase, and the glycerol content in the dealcoholized methyl esters is as low as 0.02 wt.%. For the biodiesel separation process utilizing glycerol extracting dealcoholization, its technical and equipment information were acquired through the rigorous process simulation in contrast to the traditional biodiesel distillation separation process, and results show that its energy consumption decrease about 35% in contrast to that of the distillation separation process. The glycerol extracting dealcoholization has sufficient feasibility and superiority for the biodiesel separation process. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An ERP investigation of conditional reasoning with emotional and neutral contents.

PubMed

Blanchette, Isabelle; El-Deredy, Wael

2014-11-01

In two experiments we investigate conditional reasoning using event-related potentials (ERPs). Our goal was to examine the time course of inference making in two conditional forms, one logically valid (Modus Ponens, MP) and one logically invalid (Affirming the Consequent, AC). We focus particularly on the involvement of semantically-based inferential processes potentially marked by modulations of the N400. We also compared reasoning about emotional and neutral contents with separate sets of stimuli of differing linguistic complexity across the two experiments. Both MP and AC modulated the N400 component, suggesting the involvement of a semantically-based inferential mechanism common across different logical forms, content types, and linguistic features of the problems. Emotion did not have an effect on early components, and did not interact with components related to inference making. There was a main effect of emotion in the 800-1050 ms time window, consistent with an effect on sustained attention. The results suggest that conditional reasoning is not a purely formal process but that it importantly implicates semantic processing, and that the effect of emotion on reasoning does not primarily operate through a modulation of early automatic stages of information processing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Fitzpatrick, Stephen W.

This project involved a three-year program managed by BioMetics, Inc. (Waltham, MA) to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of Biofine thermochemical process technology for conversion of cellulose-containing wastes or renewable materials into levulinic acid, a versatile platform chemical. The program, commencing in October 1995, involved the design, procurement, construction and operation of a plant utilizing the Biofine process to convert 1 dry ton per day of paper sludge waste. The plant was successfully designed, constructed, and commissioned in 1997. It was operated for a period of one year on paper sludge from a variety of source paper mills to collect datamore » to verify the design for a commercial scale plant. Operational results were obtained for four different feedstock varieties. Stable, continuous operation was achieved for two of the feedstocks. Continuous operation of the plant at demonstration scale provided the opportunity for process optimization, development of operational protocols, operator training and identification of suitable materials of construction for scale up to commercial operation . Separated fiber from municipal waster was also successfully processed. The project team consisted of BioMetics Inc., Great Lakes Chemical Corporation (West Lafayette, IN), and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Albany, NY).« less

Characterizing the Associative Content of Brain Structures Involved in Habitual and Goal-Directed Actions in Humans: A Multivariate fMRI Study

PubMed Central

Liljeholm, Mimi; Zika, Ondrej; O'Doherty, John P.

2015-01-01

While there is accumulating evidence for the existence of distinct neural systems supporting goal-directed and habitual action selection in the mammalian brain, much less is known about the nature of the information being processed in these different brain regions. Associative learning theory predicts that brain systems involved in habitual control, such as the dorsolateral striatum, should contain stimulus and response information only, but not outcome information, while regions involved in goal-directed action, such as ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and dorsomedial striatum, should be involved in processing information about outcomes as well as stimuli and responses. To test this prediction, human participants underwent fMRI while engaging in a binary choice task designed to enable the separate identification of these different representations with a multivariate classification analysis approach. Consistent with our predictions, the dorsolateral striatum contained information about responses but not outcomes at the time of an initial stimulus, while the regions implicated in goal-directed action selection contained information about both responses and outcomes. These findings suggest that differential contributions of these regions to habitual and goal-directed behavioral control may depend in part on basic differences in the type of information that these regions have access to at the time of decision making. PMID:25740507

Researching Reflexively With Patients and Families: Two Studies Using Video-Reflexive Ethnography to Collaborate With Patients and Families in Patient Safety Research.

PubMed

Collier, Aileen; Wyer, Mary

2016-06-01

Patient safety research has to date offered few opportunities for patients and families to be actively involved in the research process. This article describes our collaboration with patients and families in two separate studies, involving end-of-life care and infection control in acute care. We used the collaborative methodology of video-reflexive ethnography, which has been primarily used with clinicians, to involve patients and families as active participants and collaborators in our research. The purpose of this article is to share our experiences and findings that iterative researcher reflexivity in the field was critical to the progress and success of each study. We present and analyze the complexities of reflexivity-in-the-field through a framework of multilayered reflexivity. We share our lessons here for other researchers seeking to actively involve patients and families in patient safety research using collaborative visual methods. © The Author(s) 2015.

Effective application of multiple locus variable number of tandem repeats analysis to tracing Staphylococcus aureus in food-processing environment.

PubMed

Rešková, Z; Koreňová, J; Kuchta, T

2014-04-01

A total of 256 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from 98 samples (34 swabs and 64 food samples) obtained from small or medium meat- and cheese-processing plants in Slovakia. The strains were genotypically characterized by multiple locus variable number of tandem repeats analysis (MLVA), involving multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with subsequent separation of the amplified DNA fragments by an automated flow-through gel electrophoresis. With the panel of isolates, MLVA produced 31 profile types, which was a sufficient discrimination to facilitate the description of spatial and temporal aspects of contamination. Further data on MLVA discrimination were obtained by typing a subpanel of strains by multiple locus sequence typing (MLST). MLVA coupled to automated electrophoresis proved to be an effective, comparatively fast and inexpensive method for tracing S. aureus contamination of food-processing factories. Subspecies genotyping of microbial contaminants in food-processing factories may facilitate identification of spatial and temporal aspects of the contamination. This may help to properly manage the process hygiene. With S. aureus, multiple locus variable number of tandem repeats analysis (MLVA) proved to be an effective method for the purpose, being sufficiently discriminative, yet comparatively fast and inexpensive. The application of automated flow-through gel electrophoresis to separation of DNA fragments produced by multiplex PCR helped to improve the accuracy and speed of the method. © 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

A Neuropsychological Approach to Understanding Risk-Taking for Potential Gains and Losses

PubMed Central

Levin, Irwin P.; Xue, Gui; Weller, Joshua A.; Reimann, Martin; Lauriola, Marco; Bechara, Antoine

2012-01-01

Affective neuroscience has helped guide research and theory development in judgment and decision-making by revealing the role of emotional processes in choice behavior, especially when risk is involved. Evidence is emerging that qualitatively and quantitatively different processes may be involved in risky decision-making for gains and losses. We start by reviewing behavioral work by Kahneman and Tversky (1979) and others, which shows that risk-taking differs for potential gains and potential losses. We then turn to the literature in decision neuroscience to support the gain versus loss distinction. Relying in part on data from a new task that separates risky decision-making for gains and losses, we test a neural model that assigns unique mechanisms for risky decision-making involving potential losses. Included are studies using patients with lesions to brain areas specified as important in the model and studies with healthy individuals whose brains are scanned to reveal activation in these and other areas during risky decision-making. In some cases, there is evidence that gains and losses are processed in different regions of the brain, while in other cases the same region appears to process risk in a different manner for gains and losses. At a more general level, we provide strong support for the notion that decisions involving risk-taking for gains and decisions involving risk-taking for losses represent different psychological processes. At a deeper level, we present mounting evidence that different neural structures play different roles in guiding risky choices in these different domains. Some structures are differentially activated by risky gains and risky losses while others respond uniquely in one domain or the other. Taken together, these studies support a clear functional dissociation between risk-taking for gains and risk-taking for losses, and further dissociation at the neural level. PMID:22347161

Brain stimulation reveals crucial role of overcoming self-centeredness in self-control

PubMed Central

Soutschek, Alexander; Ruff, Christian C.; Strombach, Tina; Kalenscher, Tobias; Tobler, Philippe N.

2016-01-01

Neurobiological models of self-control predominantly focus on the role of prefrontal brain mechanisms involved in emotion regulation and impulse control. We provide evidence for an entirely different neural mechanism that promotes self-control by overcoming bias for the present self, a mechanism previously thought to be mainly important for interpersonal decision-making. In two separate studies, we show that disruptive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the temporo-parietal junction—a brain region involved in overcoming one’s self-centered perspective—increases the discounting of delayed and prosocial rewards. This effect of TMS on temporal and social discounting is accompanied by deficits in perspective-taking and does not reflect altered spatial reorienting and number recognition. Our findings substantiate a fundamental commonality between the domains of self-control and social decision-making and highlight a novel aspect of the neurocognitive processes involved in self-control. PMID:27774513

Brain stimulation reveals crucial role of overcoming self-centeredness in self-control.

PubMed

Soutschek, Alexander; Ruff, Christian C; Strombach, Tina; Kalenscher, Tobias; Tobler, Philippe N

2016-10-01

Neurobiological models of self-control predominantly focus on the role of prefrontal brain mechanisms involved in emotion regulation and impulse control. We provide evidence for an entirely different neural mechanism that promotes self-control by overcoming bias for the present self, a mechanism previously thought to be mainly important for interpersonal decision-making. In two separate studies, we show that disruptive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the temporo-parietal junction-a brain region involved in overcoming one's self-centered perspective-increases the discounting of delayed and prosocial rewards. This effect of TMS on temporal and social discounting is accompanied by deficits in perspective-taking and does not reflect altered spatial reorienting and number recognition. Our findings substantiate a fundamental commonality between the domains of self-control and social decision-making and highlight a novel aspect of the neurocognitive processes involved in self-control.

System and method for treatment of a flue gas

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

Spiry, Irina Pavlovna; Wood, Benjamin Rue; Singh, Surinder Prabhjot

A method for treatment of a flue gas involves feeding the flue gas and a lean solvent to an absorber. The method further involves reacting the flue gas with the lean solvent within the absorber to generate a clean flue gas and a rich solvent. The method also involves feeding the clean flue gas from the absorber and water from a source, to a wash tower to separate a stripped portion of the lean solvent from the clean flue gas to generate a washed clean flue gas and a mixture of the water and the stripped portion of the leanmore » solvent. The method further involves treating at least a portion of the mixture of the water and the stripped portion of the lean solvent via a separation system to separate the water from the stripped portion of the lean solvent.« less

Self-Other Differentiation and the Mother-Child Relationship: The Effects of Sex and Birth Order.

PubMed

Olver, Rose R; Aries, Elizabeth; Batgos, Joanna

1989-09-01

We examined the effect of sex and birth order on the experience of a separate sense of self and its connection to mothers' differential involvement with sons and daughters. Results from two samples of college-age students are reported. Men showed a more separate sense of self than women, and mothers were reported to be more highly involved with and intrusive in the lives of their daughters than their sons. Results for birth order were consistent though not always statistically significant: First-born women had the least separate sense of self and reported the greatest degree of maternal involvement and intrusiveness. Implications of these findings for developmental theory and criteria of Psychological well-being are discussed.

[Establishment of industry promotion technology system in Chinese medicine secondary exploitation based on "component structure theory"].

PubMed

Cheng, Xu-Dong; Feng, Liang; Zhang, Ming-Hua; Gu, Jun-Fei; Jia, Xiao-Bin

2014-10-01

The purpose of the secondary exploitation of Chinese medicine is to improve the quality of Chinese medicine products, enhance core competitiveness, for better use in clinical practice, and more effectively solve the patient suffering. Herbs, extraction, separation, refreshing, preparation and quality control are all involved in the industry promotion of Chinese medicine secondary exploitation of industrial production. The Chinese medicine quality improvement and industry promotion could be realized with the whole process of process optimization, quality control, overall processes improvement. Based on the "component structure theory", "multi-dimensional structure & process dynamic quality control system" and systematic and holistic character of Chinese medicine, impacts of whole process were discussed. Technology systems of Chinese medicine industry promotion was built to provide theoretical basis for improving the quality and efficacy of the secondary development of traditional Chinese medicine products.

Ultrasonography evaluation during the weaning process: the heart, the diaphragm, the pleura and the lung.

PubMed

Mayo, P; Volpicelli, G; Lerolle, N; Schreiber, A; Doelken, P; Vieillard-Baron, A

2016-07-01

On a regular basis, the intensivist encounters the patient who is difficult to wean from mechanical ventilatory support. The causes for failure to wean from mechanical ventilatory support are often multifactorial and involve a complex interplay between cardiac and pulmonary dysfunction. A potential application of point of care ultrasonography relates to its utility in the process of weaning the patient from mechanical ventilatory support. This article reviews some applications of ultrasonography that may be relevant to the process of weaning from mechanical ventilatory support. The authors have divided these applications of ultrasonography into four separate categories: the assessment of cardiac, diaphragmatic, and lung function; and the identification of pleural effusion; which can all be evaluated with ultrasonography during a dynamic process in which the intensivist is uniquely positioned to use ultrasonography at the point of care. Ultrasonography may have useful application during the weaning process from mechanical ventilatory support.

Cuticular Compounds Bring New Insight in the Post-Glacial Recolonization of a Pyrenean Area: Deutonura deficiens Deharveng, 1979 Complex, a Case Study

PubMed Central

Porco, David; Bedos, Anne; Deharveng, Louis

2010-01-01

Background In most Arthropod groups, the study of systematics and evolution rely mostly on neutral characters, in this context cuticular compounds, as non-neutral characters, represent an underexplored but potentially informative type of characters at the infraspecific level as they have been routinely proven to be involved in sexual attraction. Methods and Findings The collembolan species complex Deutonura deficiens was chosen as a model in order to test the utility of these characters for delineating four infraspecific entities of this group. Specimens were collected for three subspecies (D. d. deficiens, D. d. meridionalis, D. d. sylvatica) and two morphotypes (D. d. sylvatica morphoype A and B) of the complex; an additional species D. monticola was added. Cuticular compounds were extracted and separated by gas chromatography for each individual. Our results demonstrate that cuticular compounds succeeded in separating the different elements of this complex. Those data allowed also the reconstruction of the phylogenetic relationships among them. Conclusions The discriminating power of cuticular compounds is directly related to their involvement in sexual attraction and mate recognition. These findings allowed a discussion on the potential involvement of intrinsic and paleoclimatic factors in the origin and the diversification of this complex in the Pyrenean zone. This character type brings the first advance from pattern to process concerning the origin of this species complex. PMID:21209797

Cuticular compounds bring new insight in the post-glacial recolonization of a Pyrenean area: Deutonura deficiens Deharveng, 1979 complex, a case study.

PubMed

Porco, David; Bedos, Anne; Deharveng, Louis

2010-12-21

In most Arthropod groups, the study of systematics and evolution rely mostly on neutral characters, in this context cuticular compounds, as non-neutral characters, represent an underexplored but potentially informative type of characters at the infraspecific level as they have been routinely proven to be involved in sexual attraction. The collembolan species complex Deutonura deficiens was chosen as a model in order to test the utility of these characters for delineating four infraspecific entities of this group. Specimens were collected for three subspecies (D. d. deficiens, D. d. meridionalis, D. d. sylvatica) and two morphotypes (D. d. sylvatica morphoype A and B) of the complex; an additional species D. monticola was added. Cuticular compounds were extracted and separated by gas chromatography for each individual. Our results demonstrate that cuticular compounds succeeded in separating the different elements of this complex. Those data allowed also the reconstruction of the phylogenetic relationships among them. The discriminating power of cuticular compounds is directly related to their involvement in sexual attraction and mate recognition. These findings allowed a discussion on the potential involvement of intrinsic and paleoclimatic factors in the origin and the diversification of this complex in the Pyrenean zone. This character type brings the first advance from pattern to process concerning the origin of this species complex.

Process and domain specificity in regions engaged for face processing: an fMRI study of perceptual differentiation.

PubMed

Collins, Heather R; Zhu, Xun; Bhatt, Ramesh S; Clark, Jonathan D; Joseph, Jane E

2012-12-01

The degree to which face-specific brain regions are specialized for different kinds of perceptual processing is debated. This study parametrically varied demands on featural, first-order configural, or second-order configural processing of faces and houses in a perceptual matching task to determine the extent to which the process of perceptual differentiation was selective for faces regardless of processing type (domain-specific account), specialized for specific types of perceptual processing regardless of category (process-specific account), engaged in category-optimized processing (i.e., configural face processing or featural house processing), or reflected generalized perceptual differentiation (i.e., differentiation that crosses category and processing type boundaries). ROIs were identified in a separate localizer run or with a similarity regressor in the face-matching runs. The predominant principle accounting for fMRI signal modulation in most regions was generalized perceptual differentiation. Nearly all regions showed perceptual differentiation for both faces and houses for more than one processing type, even if the region was identified as face-preferential in the localizer run. Consistent with process specificity, some regions showed perceptual differentiation for first-order processing of faces and houses (right fusiform face area and occipito-temporal cortex and right lateral occipital complex), but not for featural or second-order processing. Somewhat consistent with domain specificity, the right inferior frontal gyrus showed perceptual differentiation only for faces in the featural matching task. The present findings demonstrate that the majority of regions involved in perceptual differentiation of faces are also involved in differentiation of other visually homogenous categories.

Process- and Domain-Specificity in Regions Engaged for Face Processing: An fMRI Study of Perceptual Differentiation

PubMed Central

Collins, Heather R.; Zhu, Xun; Bhatt, Ramesh S.; Clark, Jonathan D.; Joseph, Jane E.

2015-01-01

The degree to which face-specific brain regions are specialized for different kinds of perceptual processing is debated. The present study parametrically varied demands on featural, first-order configural or second-order configural processing of faces and houses in a perceptual matching task to determine the extent to which the process of perceptual differentiation was selective for faces regardless of processing type (domain-specific account), specialized for specific types of perceptual processing regardless of category (process-specific account), engaged in category-optimized processing (i.e., configural face processing or featural house processing) or reflected generalized perceptual differentiation (i.e. differentiation that crosses category and processing type boundaries). Regions of interest were identified in a separate localizer run or with a similarity regressor in the face-matching runs. The predominant principle accounting for fMRI signal modulation in most regions was generalized perceptual differentiation. Nearly all regions showed perceptual differentiation for both faces and houses for more than one processing type, even if the region was identified as face-preferential in the localizer run. Consistent with process-specificity, some regions showed perceptual differentiation for first-order processing of faces and houses (right fusiform face area and occipito-temporal cortex, and right lateral occipital complex), but not for featural or second-order processing. Somewhat consistent with domain-specificity, the right inferior frontal gyrus showed perceptual differentiation only for faces in the featural matching task. The present findings demonstrate that the majority of regions involved in perceptual differentiation of faces are also involved in differentiation of other visually homogenous categories. PMID:22849402

Final Report - "Foaming and Antifoaming and Gas Entrainment in Radioactive Waste Pretreatment and Immobilization Processes"

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

Wasan, Darsh T.

2007-10-09

The Savannah River Site (SRS) and Hanford site are in the process of stabilizing millions of gallons of radioactive waste slurries remaining from production of nuclear materials for the Department of Energy (DOE). The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at SRS is currently vitrifying the waste in borosilicate glass, while the facilities at the Hanford site are in the construction phase. Both processes utilize slurry-fed joule-heated melters to vitrify the waste slurries. The DWPF has experienced difficulty during operations. The cause of the operational problems has been attributed to foaming, gas entrainment and the rheological properties of the process slurries.more » The rheological properties of the waste slurries limit the total solids content that can be processed by the remote equipment during the pretreatment and meter feed processes. Highly viscous material can lead to air entrainment during agitation and difficulties with pump operations. Excessive foaming in waste evaporators can cause carryover of radionuclides and non-radioactive waste to the condensate system. Experimental and theoretical investigations of the surface phenomena, suspension rheology and bubble generation of interactions that lead to foaming and air entrainment problems in the DOE High Level and Low Activity Radioactive Waste separation and immobilization processes were pursued under this project. The first major task accomplished in the grant proposal involved development of a theoretical model of the phenomenon of foaming in a three-phase gas-liquid-solid slurry system. This work was presented in a recently completed Ph.D. thesis (9). The second major task involved the investigation of the inter-particle interaction and microstructure formation in a model slurry by the batch sedimentation method. Both experiments and modeling studies were carried out. The results were presented in a recently completed Ph.D. thesis. The third task involved the use of laser confocal microscopy to study the effectiveness of three slurry rheology modifiers. An effective modifier was identified which resulted in lowering the yield stress of the waste simulant. Therefore, the results of this research have led to the basic understanding of the foaming/antifoaming mechanism in waste slurries as well as identification of a rheology modifier, which enhances the processing throughput, and accelerates the DOE mission. The objectives of this research effort were to develop a fundamental understanding of the physico-chemical mechanisms that produced foaming and air entrainment in the DOE High Level (HLW) and Low Activity (LAW) radioactive waste separation and immobilization processes, and to develop and test advanced antifoam/defoaming/rheology modifier agents. Antifoams/rheology modifiers developed from this research ere tested using non-radioactive simulants of the radioactive wastes obtained from Hanford and the Savannah River Site (SRS).« less

Technical and Energy Performance of an Advanced, Aqueous Ammonia-Based CO2 Capture Technology for a 500 MW Coal-Fired Power Station.

PubMed

Li, Kangkang; Yu, Hai; Feron, Paul; Tade, Moses; Wardhaugh, Leigh

2015-08-18

Using a rate-based model, we assessed the technical feasibility and energy performance of an advanced aqueous-ammonia-based postcombustion capture process integrated with a coal-fired power station. The capture process consists of three identical process trains in parallel, each containing a CO2 capture unit, an NH3 recycling unit, a water separation unit, and a CO2 compressor. A sensitivity study of important parameters, such as NH3 concentration, lean CO2 loading, and stripper pressure, was performed to minimize the energy consumption involved in the CO2 capture process. Process modifications of the rich-split process and the interheating process were investigated to further reduce the solvent regeneration energy. The integrated capture system was then evaluated in terms of the mass balance and the energy consumption of each unit. The results show that our advanced ammonia process is technically feasible and energy-competitive, with a low net power-plant efficiency penalty of 7.7%.

Twenty-First Century Research Needs in Electrostatic Processes Applied to Industry and Medicine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mazumder, M. K.; Sims, R. A.; Biris, A. S.; Srirama, P. K.; Saini, D.; Yurteri, C. U.; Trigwell, S.; De, S.; Sharma, R.

2005-01-01

From the early century Nobel Prize winning (1923) experiments with charged oil droplets, resulting in the discovery of the elementary electronic charge by Robert Millikan, to the early 21st century Nobel Prize (2002) awarded to John Fenn for his invention of electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy and its applications to proteomics, electrostatic processes have been successfully applied to many areas of industry and medicine. Generation, transport, deposition, separation, analysis, and control of charged particles involved in the four states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma are of interest in many industrial and biomedical processes. In this paper, we briefly discuss some of the applications and research needs involving charged particles in industrial and medical applications including: (1) Generation and deposition of unipolarly charged dry powder without the presence of ions or excessive ozone, (2) Control of tribocharging process for consistent and reliable charging, (3) Thin film (less than 25 micrometers) powder coating and Powder coating on insulative surfaces, (4) Fluidization and dispersion of fine powders, (5) Mitigation of Mars dust, (6) Effect of particle charge on the lung deposition of inhaled medical aerosols, (7) Nanoparticle deposition, and (8) Plasma/Corona discharge processes. A brief discussion on the measurements of charged particles and suggestions for research needs are also included.

Grafting of alginates on UF/NF ceramic membranes for wastewater treatment.

PubMed

Athanasekou, C P; Romanos, G E; Kordatos, K; Kasselouri-Rigopoulou, V; Kakizis, N K; Sapalidis, A A

2010-10-15

The mechanism of heavy metal ion removal in processes involving multi-layered tubular ultrafiltration and nanofiltration (UF/NF) membranes was investigated by conducting retention experiments in both flow-through and cross-flow modes. The prospect of the regeneration of the membranes through an acidic process was also examined and discussed. The UF/NF membranes were functionalised with alginates to develop hybrid inorganic/organic materials for continuous, single pass, wastewater treatment applications. The challenge laid in the induction of additional metal adsorption and improved regeneration capacity. This was accomplished by stabilizing alginates either into the pores or on the top-separating layer of the membrane. The preservation of efficient water fluxes at moderate trans-membrane pressures introduced an additional parameter that was pursued in parallel to the membrane modification process. The deposition and stabilization of alginates was carried out via physical (filtration/cross-linking) and chemical (grafting) procedures. The materials developed by means of the filtration process exhibited a 25-60% enhancement of their Cd(2+) binding capacity, depending on the amount of the filtered alginate solution. The grafting process led to the development of alginate layers with adequate stability under acidic regeneration conditions and metal retention enhancement of 25-180%, depending on the silane involved as grafting agent and the solvent of silanisation. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Linear ion-trap mass spectrometric characterization of human pituitary nitrotyrosine-containing proteins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhan, Xianquan; Desiderio, Dominic M.

2007-01-01

The nitric oxide-mediated Tyr-nitration of endogenous proteins is associated with several pathological and physiological processes. In order to investigate the presence - and potential roles - of Tyr-nitration in the human pituitary, a large-format two-dimensional gel separation plus a Western blot against a specific anti-3-nitrotyrosine antibody were used to separate and detect nitroproteins from a human pituitary proteome. The nitroproteins were subjected to in-gel trypsin digestion, and high-sensitivity vacuum matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (vMALDI) linear ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry was used to analyze the tryptic peptides. Those MS/MS data were used to determine the amino acid sequence and the specific nitration site of each tryptic nitropeptide, and were matched to corresponding proteins with Bioworks TuboSEQUEST software. Compared to our previous study, 16 new nitrotyrosine-immunoreactive positive Western blot spots were found within the area pI 3.0-10 and Mr 10-100 kDa. Four new nitroproteins were discovered: the stanniocalcin 1 precursor--involved in calcium and phosphate metabolism; mitochondrial co-chaperone protein HscB, which might act as a co-chaperone in iron-sulfur cluster assembly in mitochrondria; progestin and adipoQ receptor family member III--a seven-transmembrane receptor; proteasome subunit alpha type 2--involved in an ATP/ubiquitin-dependent non-lysosomal proteolytic pathway. Those data demonstrate that nitric oxide-mediated Tyr-nitration might participate in various biochemical, metabolic, and pathological processes in the human pituitary.

How much of reinforcement learning is working memory, not reinforcement learning? A behavioral, computational, and neurogenetic analysis

PubMed Central

Collins, Anne G. E.; Frank, Michael J.

2012-01-01

Instrumental learning involves corticostriatal circuitry and the dopaminergic system. This system is typically modeled in the reinforcement learning (RL) framework by incrementally accumulating reward values of states and actions. However, human learning also implicates prefrontal cortical mechanisms involved in higher level cognitive functions. The interaction of these systems remains poorly understood, and models of human behavior often ignore working memory (WM) and therefore incorrectly assign behavioral variance to the RL system. Here we designed a task that highlights the profound entanglement of these two processes, even in simple learning problems. By systematically varying the size of the learning problem and delay between stimulus repetitions, we separately extracted WM-specific effects of load and delay on learning. We propose a new computational model that accounts for the dynamic integration of RL and WM processes observed in subjects' behavior. Incorporating capacity-limited WM into the model allowed us to capture behavioral variance that could not be captured in a pure RL framework even if we (implausibly) allowed separate RL systems for each set size. The WM component also allowed for a more reasonable estimation of a single RL process. Finally, we report effects of two genetic polymorphisms having relative specificity for prefrontal and basal ganglia functions. Whereas the COMT gene coding for catechol-O-methyl transferase selectively influenced model estimates of WM capacity, the GPR6 gene coding for G-protein-coupled receptor 6 influenced the RL learning rate. Thus, this study allowed us to specify distinct influences of the high-level and low-level cognitive functions on instrumental learning, beyond the possibilities offered by simple RL models. PMID:22487033

Crystallization-induced dynamic resolution R-epimer from 25-OCH3-PPD epimeric mixture.

PubMed

Zhang, Sainan; Tang, Yun; Cao, Jiaqing; Zhao, Chen; Zhao, Yuqing

2015-11-15

25-OCH3-PPD is a promising antitumor dammarane sapogenin isolated from the total saponin-hydrolyzed extract of Panax ginseng berry and Panax notoginseng leaves. 20(R)-25-OCH3-PPD was more potent as an anti-cancer agent than 20(S)-25-OCH3-PPD and epimeric mixture of 25-OCH3-PPD. This paper describes the rapid separation process of the R-epimer of 25-OCH3-PPD from its epimeric mixture by crystallization-induced dynamic resolution (CIDR). The optimized CIDR process was based on single factor analysis and nine well-planned orthogonal design experiments (OA9 matrix). A rapid and sensitive reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with evaporative light-scattering detector (ELSD) was developed and validated for the quantitation of 25-OCH3-PPD epimeric mixture and crystalline product. Separation and quantitation were achieved with a silica column using a mobile phase consisting of methanol and water (87:13, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0mL/min. The ELSD detection was performed at 50°C and 3L/min. Under conditions involving 3mL of 95% ethanol, 8% HCl, and a hermetically sealed environment for 72h, the maximum production of 25(R)-OCH3-PPD was achieved with a chemical purity of 97% and a total yield of 87% through the CIDR process. The 25(R)-OCH3-PPD was nearly completely separated from the 220mg 25-OCH3-PPD epimeric mixture. Overall, a simple and steady small-batch purification process for the large-scale production of 25(R)-OCH3-PPD from 25-OCH3-PPD epimeric mixture was developed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Apparatus and method for carbon fiber surface treatment

DOEpatents

Paulauskas, Felix L; Sherman, Daniel M

2014-06-03

An apparatus and method for enhancing the surface energy and/or surface chemistry of carbon fibers involves exposing the fibers to direct or indirect contact with atmospheric pressure plasma generated using a background gas containing at least some oxygen or other reactive species. The fiber may be exposed directly to the plasma, provided that the plasma is nonfilamentary, or the fiber may be exposed indirectly through contact with gases exhausting from a plasma discharge maintained in a separate volume. In either case, the process is carried out at or near atmospheric pressure, thereby eliminating the need for vacuum equipment. The process may be further modified by moistening the fibers with selected oxygen-containing liquids before exposure to the plasma.

Apparatus and method for carbon fiber surface treatment

DOEpatents

Paulauskas, Felix L [Knoxville, TN; Sherman, Daniel M [Knoxville, TN

2012-07-24

An apparatus and method for enhancing the surface energy and/or surface chemistry of carbon fibers involves exposing the fibers to direct or indirect contact with atmospheric pressure plasma generated using a background gas containing at least some oxygen or other reactive species. The fiber may be exposed directly to the plasma, provided that the plasma is nonfilamentary, or the fiber may be exposed indirectly through contact with gases exhausting from a plasma discharge maintained in a separate volume. In either case, the process is carried out at or near atmospheric pressure, thereby eliminating the need for vacuum equipment. The process may be further modified by moistening the fibers with selected oxygen-containing liquids before exposure to the plasma.

Feasibility of commercial space manufacturing, production of pharmaceuticals. Volume 2: Technical analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

A technical analysis on the feasibility of commercial manufacturing of pharmaceuticals in space is presented. The method of obtaining pharmaceutical company involvement, laboratory results of the separation of serum proteins by the continuous flow electrophoresis process, the selection and study of candidate products, and their production requirements is described. The candidate products are antihemophilic factor, beta cells, erythropoietin, epidermal growth factor, alpha-1-antitrypsin and interferon. Production mass balances for antihemophelic factor, beta cells, and erythropoietin were compared for space versus ground operation. A conceptual description of a multiproduct processing system for space operation is discussed. Production requirements for epidermal growth factor of alpha-1-antitrypsin and interferon are presented.

Carbohydrates as indicators of biogeochemical processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazareva, E. V.; Romankevich, E. A.

2012-05-01

A method is presented to study the carbohydrate composition of marine objects involved into sedimento- and diagenesis (plankton, particulate matter, benthos, and bottom sediments). The analysis of the carbohydrates is based upon the consecutive separation of their fractions with different solvents (water, alkali, and acid). The ratio of the carbohydrate fractions allows one to evaluate the lability of the carbohydrate complex. It is also usable as an indicator of the biogeochemical processes in the ocean, as well of the genesis and the degree of conversion of organic matter in the bottom sediments and nodules. The similarity in the monosaccharide composition is shown for dissolved organic matter and aqueous and alkaline fractions of seston and particulate matter.

The effect of processing code, response modality and task difficulty on dual task performance and subjective workload in a manual system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Yili; Wickens, Christopher D.

1987-01-01

This paper reports on the first experiment of a series studying the effect of task structure and difficulty demand on time-sharing performance and workload in both automated and corresponding manual systems. The experimental task involves manual control time-shared with spatial and verbal decisions tasks of two levels of difficulty and two modes of response (voice or manual). The results provide strong evidence that tasks and processes competing for common processing resources are time shared less effecively and have higher workload than tasks competing for separate resources. Subjective measures and the structure of multiple resources are used in conjunction to predict dual task performance. The evidence comes from both single-task and from dual-task performance.

The Masterson Approach with play therapy: a parallel process between mother and child.

PubMed

Mulherin, M A

2001-01-01

This paper discusses a case in which the Masterson Approach was used with play therapy to treat a child with a developing personality disorder. It describes the parallel progression of the child and mother in adjunct therapy throughout a six-year period. The unique value of the Masterson Approach is that it provides the therapist with a framework and tool to diagnose and treat a child during the dynamic process of play. The case describes the mother-child dyad throughout therapy. It traces their parallel processes that involve separation, individuation, rapprochement, and the recovery of real self-capacities. Each stage of treatment is described, including verbal interventions. The child's internal affective state and intrapsychic structure during the various stages of treatment are illustrated by representative pictures.

Master-equation approach to the study of phase-change processes in data storage media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blyuss, K. B.; Ashwin, P.; Bassom, A. P.; Wright, C. D.

2005-07-01

We study the dynamics of crystallization in phase-change materials using a master-equation approach in which the state of the crystallizing material is described by a cluster size distribution function. A model is developed using the thermodynamics of the processes involved and representing the clusters of size two and greater as a continuum but clusters of size one (monomers) as a separate equation. We present some partial analytical results for the isothermal case and for large cluster sizes, but principally we use numerical simulations to investigate the model. We obtain results that are in good agreement with experimental data and the model appears to be useful for the fast simulation of reading and writing processes in phase-change optical and electrical memories.

Noise squeezing of fields that bichromatically excite atoms in a cavity.

PubMed

Li, Lingchao; Hu, Xiangming; Rao, Shi; Xu, Jun

2016-11-14

It is well known that bichromatic excitation on one common transition can tune the emission or absorption spectra of atoms due to the modulation frequency dependent non-linearities. However little attention has been focused on the quantum dynamics of fields under bichromatic excitation. Here we present dissipative effects on noise correlations of fields in bichromatic interactions with atoms in cavities. We first consider an ensemble of two-level atoms that interacts with the two cavity fields of different frequencies and considerable amplitudes. By transferring the atom-field nonlinearities to the dressed atoms we separate out the dissipative interactions of Bogoliubov modes with the dressed atoms. The Bogoliubov mode dissipation establishes stable two-photon processes of two involved fields and therefore leads to two-mode squeezing. As a generalization, we then consider an ensemble of three-level Λ atoms for cascade bichromatic interactions. We extract the Bogoliubov-like four-mode interactions, which establish a quadrilateral of the two-photon processes of four involved fields and thus result in four-mode squeezing.

The chemistry of sodium chloride involvement in processes related to hot corrosion. [in gas turbine engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stearns, C. A.; Kohl, F. J.; Fryburg, G. C.

1979-01-01

Thermodynamic and mass transport calculations, and laboratory experiments elucidating the behavior of sodium chloride in combustion environments, in the deposition process, and in reactions with certain oxides on the surfaces of superalloys are summarized. It was found that some of the ingested salt is separated out of the air stream by the compressor. However, sodium chloride does pass from the compressor to the combustor where numerous chemical reactions take place. Here some of the salt is vaporized to yield gaseous sodium chloride molecules. Hydrogen and oxygen atoms present in the combustion products react with some sodium chloride to yield other gaseous species such as sodium, and a fraction of the salt remains as particulates. Both the gas phase and condensed sodium chloride can lead to sodium sulfate formation by various routes, all of which involve reaction with sulfur oxides and oxygen. In addition to contributing to the formation of sodium sulfate, the sodium chloride can contribute to corrosion directly.

Separomics applied to the proteomics and peptidomics of low-abundance proteins: Choice of methods and challenges - A review.

PubMed

Baracat-Pereira, Maria Cristina; de Oliveira Barbosa, Meire; Magalhães, Marcos Jorge; Carrijo, Lanna Clicia; Games, Patrícia Dias; Almeida, Hebréia Oliveira; Sena Netto, José Fabiano; Pereira, Matheus Rodrigues; de Barros, Everaldo Gonçalves

2012-06-01

The enrichment and isolation of proteins are considered limiting steps in proteomic studies. Identification of proteins whose expression is transient, those that are of low-abundance, and of natural peptides not described in databases, is still a great challenge. Plant extracts are in general complex, and contaminants interfere with the identification of proteins involved in important physiological processes, such as plant defense against pathogens. This review discusses the challenges and strategies of separomics applied to the identification of low-abundance proteins and peptides in plants, especially in plants challenged by pathogens. Separomics is described as a group of methodological strategies for the separation of protein molecules for proteomics. Several tools have been used to remove highly abundant proteins from samples and also non-protein contaminants. The use of chromatographic techniques, the partition of the proteome into subproteomes, and an effort to isolate proteins in their native form have allowed the isolation and identification of rare proteins involved in different processes.

Separomics applied to the proteomics and peptidomics of low-abundance proteins: Choice of methods and challenges – A review

PubMed Central

Baracat-Pereira, Maria Cristina; de Oliveira Barbosa, Meire; Magalhães, Marcos Jorge; Carrijo, Lanna Clicia; Games, Patrícia Dias; Almeida, Hebréia Oliveira; Sena Netto, José Fabiano; Pereira, Matheus Rodrigues; de Barros, Everaldo Gonçalves

2012-01-01

The enrichment and isolation of proteins are considered limiting steps in proteomic studies. Identification of proteins whose expression is transient, those that are of low-abundance, and of natural peptides not described in databases, is still a great challenge. Plant extracts are in general complex, and contaminants interfere with the identification of proteins involved in important physiological processes, such as plant defense against pathogens. This review discusses the challenges and strategies of separomics applied to the identification of low-abundance proteins and peptides in plants, especially in plants challenged by pathogens. Separomics is described as a group of methodological strategies for the separation of protein molecules for proteomics. Several tools have been used to remove highly abundant proteins from samples and also non-protein contaminants. The use of chromatographic techniques, the partition of the proteome into subproteomes, and an effort to isolate proteins in their native form have allowed the isolation and identification of rare proteins involved in different processes. PMID:22802713

Use of Chromatography Techniques to Separate a Mixture of Substances

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donaldson, W.

1976-01-01

Explains the separation of the constituents of mixtures on one piece of chromatography paper. The example presented involves a vitamin C tablet, a disprin tablet, and a glucose tablet. Outlined are two methods for separating the constituents. (GS)

Membrane-augmented cryogenic methane/nitrogen separation

DOEpatents

Lokhandwala, Kaaeid

1997-01-01

A membrane separation process combined with a cryogenic separation process for treating a gas stream containing methane, nitrogen and at least one other component. The membrane separation process works by preferentially permeating methane and the other component and rejecting nitrogen. The process is particularly useful in removing components such as water, carbon dioxide or C.sub.3+ hydrocarbons that might otherwise freeze and plug the cryogenic equipment.

Border cell release: Cell separation without cell wall degradation?

PubMed

Mravec, Jozef

2017-07-03

Plant border cells are specialized cells derived from the root cap with roles in the biomechanics of root growth and in forming a barrier against pathogens. The mechanism of highly localized cell separation which is essential for their release to the environment is little understood. Here I present in situ analysis of Brachypodium distachyon, a model organism for grasses which possess type II primary cell walls poor in pectin content. Results suggest similarity in spatial dynamics of pectic homogalacturonan during dicot and monocot border cell release. Integration of observations from different species leads to the hypothesis that this process most likely does not involve degradation of cell wall material but rather uses unique cell wall structural and compositional means enabling both the rigidity of the root cap as well as detachability of given cells on its surface.

The Rules and Functions of Nucleocytoplasmic Shuttling Proteins.

PubMed

Fu, Xuekun; Liang, Chao; Li, Fangfei; Wang, Luyao; Wu, Xiaoqiu; Lu, Aiping; Xiao, Guozhi; Zhang, Ge

2018-05-12

Biological macromolecules are the basis of life activities. There is a separation of spatial dimension between DNA replication and RNA biogenesis, and protein synthesis, which is an interesting phenomenon. The former occurs in the cell nucleus, while the latter in the cytoplasm. The separation requires protein to transport across the nuclear envelope to realize a variety of biological functions. Nucleocytoplasmic transport of protein including import to the nucleus and export to the cytoplasm is a complicated process that requires involvement and interaction of many proteins. In recent years, many studies have found that proteins constantly shuttle between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. These shuttling proteins play a crucial role as transport carriers and signal transduction regulators within cells. In this review, we describe the mechanism of nucleocytoplasmic transport of shuttling proteins and summarize some important diseases related shuttling proteins.

Analytical separations of mammalian decomposition products for forensic science: a review.

PubMed

Swann, L M; Forbes, S L; Lewis, S W

2010-12-03

The study of mammalian soft tissue decomposition is an emerging area in forensic science, with a major focus of the research being the use of various chemical and biological methods to study the fate of human remains in the environment. Decomposition of mammalian soft tissue is a postmortem process that, depending on environmental conditions and physiological factors, will proceed until complete disintegration of the tissue. The major stages of decomposition involve complex reactions which result in the chemical breakdown of the body's main constituents; lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. The first step to understanding this chemistry is identifying the compounds present in decomposition fluids and determining when they are produced. This paper provides an overview of decomposition chemistry and reviews recent advances in this area utilising analytical separation science. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Proteomics screening of adenosine triphosphate-interacting proteins in the liver of diazinon-treated rats.

PubMed

Pourtaji, A; Robati, R Yazdian; Lari, P; Hosseinzadeh, H; Ramezani, M; Abnous, K

2016-10-01

Diazinon (DZN) is one of the most important organophosphorus compounds used to control pests in agriculture in many countries. Several studies have shown that exposure to DZN may alter protein expression in the liver. In order to further investigate the mechanism of DZN toxicity, differentially expressed ATP-interacting proteins, following subacute exposure to toxin, were separated and identified in rat liver. Male rats were equally divided into four groups: control (corn oil) and DZN (15 mg/kg) by gavage once a day for 4 weeks. After homogenization of liver tissue, lysates were incubated ATP-sepharose beads. After several washes, ATP-interacting proteins were eluted and separated on 2-D polyacrylamide gels. Deferentially expressed proteins were cut and identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization/time-of-flight and Mascot database. Identified proteins were classified according to their biological process using protein analysis through evolutionary relationships (PANTHER) Web site. In this work, we showed that several key proteins involved in biological processes such as antioxidant system, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and metabolism were differentially expressed after subacute exposure to DZN. © The Author(s) 2015.

Quantum coherence spectroscopy reveals complex dynamics in bacterial light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2).

PubMed

Harel, Elad; Engel, Gregory S

2012-01-17

Light-harvesting antenna complexes transfer energy from sunlight to photosynthetic reaction centers where charge separation drives cellular metabolism. The process through which pigments transfer excitation energy involves a complex choreography of coherent and incoherent processes mediated by the surrounding protein and solvent environment. The recent discovery of coherent dynamics in photosynthetic light-harvesting antennae has motivated many theoretical models exploring effects of interference in energy transfer phenomena. In this work, we provide experimental evidence of long-lived quantum coherence between the spectrally separated B800 and B850 rings of the light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2) of purple bacteria. Spectrally resolved maps of the detuning, dephasing, and the amplitude of electronic coupling between excitons reveal that different relaxation pathways act in concert for optimal transfer efficiency. Furthermore, maps of the phase of the signal suggest that quantum mechanical interference between different energy transfer pathways may be important even at ambient temperature. Such interference at a product state has already been shown to enhance the quantum efficiency of transfer in theoretical models of closed loop systems such as LH2.

Quantum coherence spectroscopy reveals complex dynamics in bacterial light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2)

PubMed Central

Harel, Elad; Engel, Gregory S.

2012-01-01

Light-harvesting antenna complexes transfer energy from sunlight to photosynthetic reaction centers where charge separation drives cellular metabolism. The process through which pigments transfer excitation energy involves a complex choreography of coherent and incoherent processes mediated by the surrounding protein and solvent environment. The recent discovery of coherent dynamics in photosynthetic light-harvesting antennae has motivated many theoretical models exploring effects of interference in energy transfer phenomena. In this work, we provide experimental evidence of long-lived quantum coherence between the spectrally separated B800 and B850 rings of the light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2) of purple bacteria. Spectrally resolved maps of the detuning, dephasing, and the amplitude of electronic coupling between excitons reveal that different relaxation pathways act in concert for optimal transfer efficiency. Furthermore, maps of the phase of the signal suggest that quantum mechanical interference between different energy transfer pathways may be important even at ambient temperature. Such interference at a product state has already been shown to enhance the quantum efficiency of transfer in theoretical models of closed loop systems such as LH2. PMID:22215585

Mars Atmospheric Capture and Gas Separation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muscatello, Anthony; Santiago-Maldonado, Edgardo; Gibson, Tracy; Devor, Robert; Captain, James

2011-01-01

The Mars atmospheric capture and gas separation project is selecting, developing, and demonstrating techniques to capture and purify Martian atmospheric gases for their utilization for the production of hydrocarbons, oxygen, and water in ISRU systems. Trace gases will be required to be separated from Martian atmospheric gases to provide pure C02 to processing elements. In addition, other Martian gases, such as nitrogen and argon, occur in concentrations high enough to be useful as buffer gas and should be captured as welL To achieve these goals, highly efficient gas separation processes will be required. These gas separation techniques are also required across various areas within the ISRU project to support various consumable production processes. The development of innovative gas separation techniques will evaluate the current state-of-the-art for the gas separation required, with the objective to demonstrate and develop light-weight, low-power methods for gas separation. Gas separation requirements include, but are not limited to the selective separation of: (1) methane and water from un-reacted carbon oxides (C02- CO) and hydrogen typical of a Sabatier-type process, (2) carbon oxides and water from unreacted hydrogen from a Reverse Water-Gas Shift process, (3) carbon oxides from oxygen from a trash/waste processing reaction, and (4) helium from hydrogen or oxygen from a propellant scavenging process. Potential technologies for the separations include freezers, selective membranes, selective solvents, polymeric sorbents, zeolites, and new technologies. This paper and presentation will summarize the results of an extensive literature review and laboratory evaluations of candidate technologies for the capture and separation of C02 and other relevant gases.

The Neural Bases of Taxonomic and Thematic Conceptual Relations: An MEG Study

PubMed Central

Lewis, Gwyneth A.; Poeppel, David; Murphy, Gregory L.

2015-01-01

Converging evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies of human concepts indicate distinct neural systems for taxonomic and thematic knowledge. A recent study of naming in aphasia found involvement of the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) during taxonomic (feature-based) processing, and involvement of the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) during thematic (function-based) processing. We conducted an online magnetoencephalography (MEG) study to examine the spatio-temporal nature of taxonomic and thematic relations. We measured participants’ brain responses to words preceded by either a taxonomically or thematically related item (e.g., cottage→castle, king→castle). In a separate experiment we collected relatedness ratings of the word pairs from participants. We examined effects of relatedness and relation type on activation in ATL and TPJ regions of interest (ROIs) using permutation t-tests to identify differences in ROI activation between conditions as well as single-trial correlational analyses to examine the millisecond-by-millisecond influence of the stimulus variables on the ROIs. Taxonomic relations strongly predicted ATL activation, and both kinds of relations influenced the TPJ. Our results further strengthen the view of the ATL's importance to taxonomic knowledge. Moreover, they provide a nuanced view of thematic relations as involving taxonomic knowledge. PMID:25582406

Divergent cellular pathways of hippocampal memory consolidation and reconsolidation

PubMed Central

Lee, Jonathan L. C.; Hynds, Robert E.

2013-01-01

The reconsolidation of memories after their retrieval involves cellular mechanisms that recapitulate much of the initial consolidation process. However, we have previously demonstrated that there are independent cellular mechanisms of consolidation and reconsolidation in the dorsal hippocampus for contextual fear memories. Expression of BDNF was required for consolidation, while Zif268 expression was necessary for reconsolidation. Given the dichotomy between the obvious mechanistic similarity and notable dissociations between consolidation and reconsolidation, we sought to determine whether the separation at the level of gene expression reflected either parallel and independent upstream signalling pathways, or common upstream mechanisms that diverge by the level of transcriptional activation. Here we show that while consolidation and reconsolidation are commonly dependent upon NMDA receptor activation in the dorsal hippocampus there is a double dissociation between the effects of the MEK inhibitor U0126 and the IKK inhibitor sulfasalazine. Moreover, rescue experiments and western blot analyses show that there are functional NMDA receptor–ERK1–BDNF and NMDA receptor–IKKα–Zif268 pathways for consolidation and reconsolidation, respectively. Therefore, there are divergent pathways of hippocampal memory consolidation and reconsolidation, involving commonality at the cell surface, but separable downstream kinase cascades and transcriptional regulation. PMID:23197404

CFD Validation Studies for Hypersonic Flow Prediction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gnoffo, Peter A.

2001-01-01

A series of experiments to measure pressure and heating for code validation involving hypersonic, laminar, separated flows was conducted at the Calspan-University at Buffalo Research Center (CUBRC) in the Large Energy National Shock (LENS) tunnel. The experimental data serves as a focus for a code validation session but are not available to the authors until the conclusion of this session. The first set of experiments considered here involve Mach 9.5 and Mach 11.3 N2 flow over a hollow cylinder-flare with 30 degree flare angle at several Reynolds numbers sustaining laminar, separated flow. Truncated and extended flare configurations are considered. The second set of experiments, at similar conditions, involves flow over a sharp, double cone with fore-cone angle of 25 degrees and aft-cone angle of 55 degrees. Both sets of experiments involve 30 degree compressions. Location of the separation point in the numerical simulation is extremely sensitive to the level of grid refinement in the numerical predictions. The numerical simulations also show a significant influence of Reynolds number on extent of separation. Flow unsteadiness was easily introduced into the double cone simulations using aggressive relaxation parameters that normally promote convergence.

CFD Validation Studies for Hypersonic Flow Prediction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gnoffo, Peter A.

2001-01-01

A series of experiments to measure pressure and heating for code validation involving hypersonic, laminar, separated flows was conducted at the Calspan-University at Buffalo Research Center (CUBRC) in the Large Energy National Shock (LENS) tunnel. The experimental data serves as a focus for a code validation session but are not available to the authors until the conclusion of this session. The first set of experiments considered here involve Mach 9.5 and Mach 11.3 N, flow over a hollow cylinder-flare with 30 deg flare angle at several Reynolds numbers sustaining laminar, separated flow. Truncated and extended flare configurations are considered. The second set of experiments, at similar conditions, involves flow over a sharp, double cone with fore-cone angle of 25 deg and aft-cone angle of 55 deg. Both sets of experiments involve 30 deg compressions. Location of the separation point in the numerical simulation is extremely sensitive to the level of grid refinement in the numerical predictions. The numerical simulations also show a significant influence of Reynolds number on extent of separation. Flow unsteadiness was easily introduced into the double cone simulations using aggressive relaxation parameters that normally promote convergence.

Patterns of conservation and change in honey bee developmental genes

PubMed Central

Dearden, Peter K.; Wilson, Megan J.; Sablan, Lisha; Osborne, Peter W.; Havler, Melanie; McNaughton, Euan; Kimura, Kiyoshi; Milshina, Natalia V.; Hasselmann, Martin; Gempe, Tanja; Schioett, Morten; Brown, Susan J.; Elsik, Christine G.; Holland, Peter W.H.; Kadowaki, Tatsuhiko; Beye, Martin

2006-01-01

The current insect genome sequencing projects provide an opportunity to extend studies of the evolution of developmental genes and pathways in insects. In this paper we examine the conservation and divergence of genes and developmental processes between Drosophila and the honey bee; two holometabolous insects whose lineages separated ∼300 million years ago, by comparing the presence or absence of 308 Drosophila developmental genes in the honey bee. Through examination of the presence or absence of genes involved in conserved pathways (cell signaling, axis formation, segmentation and homeobox transcription factors), we find that the vast majority of genes are conserved. Some genes involved in these processes are, however, missing in the honey bee. We have also examined the orthology of Drosophila genes involved in processes that differ between the honey bee and Drosophila. Many of these genes are preserved in the honey bee despite the process in which they act in Drosophila being different or absent in the honey bee. Many of the missing genes in both situations appear to have arisen recently in the Drosophila lineage, have single known functions in Drosophila, and act early in developmental pathways, while those that are preserved have pleiotropic functions. An evolutionary interpretation of these data is that either genes with multiple functions in a common ancestor are more likely to be preserved in both insect lineages, or genes that are preserved throughout evolution are more likely to co-opt additional functions. PMID:17065607

9 CFR 318.24 - Product prepared using advanced meat/bone separation machinery; process control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

.../bone separation machinery; process control. 318.24 Section 318.24 Animals and Animal Products FOOD.../bone separation machinery; process control. (a) General. Meat, as defined in § 301.2 of this subchapter, may be derived by mechanically separating skeletal muscle tissue from the bones of livestock, other...

9 CFR 318.24 - Product prepared using advanced meat/bone separation machinery; process control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

.../bone separation machinery; process control. 318.24 Section 318.24 Animals and Animal Products FOOD.../bone separation machinery; process control. (a) General. Meat, as defined in § 301.2 of this subchapter, may be derived by mechanically separating skeletal muscle tissue from the bones of livestock, other...

9 CFR 318.24 - Product prepared using advanced meat/bone separation machinery; process control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

.../bone separation machinery; process control. 318.24 Section 318.24 Animals and Animal Products FOOD.../bone separation machinery; process control. (a) General. Meat, as defined in § 301.2 of this subchapter, may be derived by mechanically separating skeletal muscle tissue from the bones of livestock, other...

9 CFR 318.24 - Product prepared using advanced meat/bone separation machinery; process control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

.../bone separation machinery; process control. 318.24 Section 318.24 Animals and Animal Products FOOD.../bone separation machinery; process control. (a) General. Meat, as defined in § 301.2 of this subchapter, may be derived by mechanically separating skeletal muscle tissue from the bones of livestock, other...

9 CFR 318.24 - Product prepared using advanced meat/bone separation machinery; process control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

.../bone separation machinery; process control. 318.24 Section 318.24 Animals and Animal Products FOOD.../bone separation machinery; process control. (a) General. Meat, as defined in § 301.2 of this subchapter, may be derived by mechanically separating skeletal muscle tissue from the bones of livestock, other...

A web service system supporting three-dimensional post-processing of medical images based on WADO protocol.

PubMed

He, Longjun; Xu, Lang; Ming, Xing; Liu, Qian

2015-02-01

Three-dimensional post-processing operations on the volume data generated by a series of CT or MR images had important significance on image reading and diagnosis. As a part of the DIOCM standard, WADO service defined how to access DICOM objects on the Web, but it didn't involve three-dimensional post-processing operations on the series images. This paper analyzed the technical features of three-dimensional post-processing operations on the volume data, and then designed and implemented a web service system for three-dimensional post-processing operations of medical images based on the WADO protocol. In order to improve the scalability of the proposed system, the business tasks and calculation operations were separated into two modules. As results, it was proved that the proposed system could support three-dimensional post-processing service of medical images for multiple clients at the same moment, which met the demand of accessing three-dimensional post-processing operations on the volume data on the web.

H CANYON PROCESSING IN CORRELATION WITH FH ANALYTICAL LABS

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

Weinheimer, E.

2012-08-06

Management of radioactive chemical waste can be a complicated business. H Canyon and F/H Analytical Labs are two facilities present at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC that are at the forefront. In fact H Canyon is the only large-scale radiochemical processing facility in the United States and this processing is only enhanced by the aid given from F/H Analytical Labs. As H Canyon processes incoming materials, F/H Labs provide support through a variety of chemical analyses. Necessary checks of the chemical makeup, processing, and accountability of the samples taken from H Canyon process tanks are performed at themore » labs along with further checks on waste leaving the canyon after processing. Used nuclear material taken in by the canyon is actually not waste. Only a small portion of the radioactive material itself is actually consumed in nuclear reactors. As a result various radioactive elements such as Uranium, Plutonium and Neptunium are commonly found in waste and may be useful to recover. Specific processing is needed to allow for separation of these products from the waste. This is H Canyon's specialty. Furthermore, H Canyon has the capacity to initiate the process for weapons-grade nuclear material to be converted into nuclear fuel. This is one of the main campaigns being set up for the fall of 2012. Once usable material is separated and purified of impurities such as fission products, it can be converted to an oxide and ultimately turned into commercial fuel. The processing of weapons-grade material for commercial fuel is important in the necessary disposition of plutonium. Another processing campaign to start in the fall in H Canyon involves the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel for disposal in improved containment units. The importance of this campaign involves the proper disposal of nuclear waste in order to ensure the safety and well-being of future generations and the environment. As processing proceeds in the fall, H Canyon will have a substantial number of samples being sent to F/H Labs. All analyses of these samples are imperative to safe and efficient processing. The important campaigns to occur would be impossible without feedback from analyses such as chemical makeup of solutions, concentrations of dissolution acids and nuclear material, as well as nuclear isotopic data. The necessity of analysis for radiochemical processing is evident. Processing devoid of F/H Lab's feedback would go against the ideals of a safety-conscious and highly accomplished processing facility such as H Canyon.« less

Membrane-augmented cryogenic methane/nitrogen separation

DOEpatents

Lokhandwala, K.

1997-07-15

A membrane separation process is described which is combined with a cryogenic separation process for treating a gas stream containing methane, nitrogen and at least one other component. The membrane separation process works by preferentially permeating methane and the other component and rejecting nitrogen. The process is particularly useful in removing components such as water, carbon dioxide or C{sub +2} hydrocarbons that might otherwise freeze and plug the cryogenic equipment. 10 figs.

Miniaturized Temperature-Controlled Planar Chromatography (Micro-TLC) as a Versatile Technique for Fast Screening of Micropollutants and Biomarkers Derived from Surface Water Ecosystems and During Technological Processes of Wastewater Treatment.

PubMed

Ślączka-Wilk, Magdalena M; Włodarczyk, Elżbieta; Kaleniecka, Aleksandra; Zarzycki, Paweł K

2017-07-01

There is increasing interest in the development of simple analytical systems enabling the fast screening of target components in complex samples. A number of newly invented protocols are based on quasi separation techniques involving microfluidic paper-based analytical devices and/or micro total analysis systems. Under such conditions, the quantification of target components can be performed mainly due to selective detection. The main goal of this paper is to demonstrate that miniaturized planar chromatography has the capability to work as an efficient separation and quantification tool for the analysis of multiple targets within complex environmental samples isolated and concentrated using an optimized SPE method. In particular, we analyzed various samples collected from surface water ecosystems (lakes, rivers, and the Baltic Sea of Middle Pomerania in the northern part of Poland) in different seasons, as well as samples collected during key wastewater technological processes (originating from the "Jamno" wastewater treatment plant in Koszalin, Poland). We documented that the multiple detection of chromatographic spots on RP-18W microplates-under visible light, fluorescence, and fluorescence quenching conditions, and using the visualization reagent phosphomolybdic acid-enables fast and robust sample classification. The presented data reveal that the proposed micro-TLC system is useful, inexpensive, and can be considered as a complementary method for the fast control of treated sewage water discharged by a municipal wastewater treatment plant, particularly for the detection of low-molecular mass micropollutants with polarity ranging from estetrol to progesterone, as well as chlorophyll-related dyes. Due to the low consumption of mobile phases composed of water-alcohol binary mixtures (less than 1 mL/run for the simultaneous separation of up to nine samples), this method can be considered an environmentally friendly and green chemistry analytical tool. The described analytical protocol can be complementary to those involving classical column chromatography (HPLC) or various planar microfluidic devices.

Information and processes underlying semantic and episodic memory across tasks, items, and individuals.

PubMed

Cox, Gregory E; Hemmer, Pernille; Aue, William R; Criss, Amy H

2018-04-01

The development of memory theory has been constrained by a focus on isolated tasks rather than the processes and information that are common to situations in which memory is engaged. We present results from a study in which 453 participants took part in five different memory tasks: single-item recognition, associative recognition, cued recall, free recall, and lexical decision. Using hierarchical Bayesian techniques, we jointly analyzed the correlations between tasks within individuals-reflecting the degree to which tasks rely on shared cognitive processes-and within items-reflecting the degree to which tasks rely on the same information conveyed by the item. Among other things, we find that (a) the processes involved in lexical access and episodic memory are largely separate and rely on different kinds of information, (b) access to lexical memory is driven primarily by perceptual aspects of a word, (c) all episodic memory tasks rely to an extent on a set of shared processes which make use of semantic features to encode both single words and associations between words, and (d) recall involves additional processes likely related to contextual cuing and response production. These results provide a large-scale picture of memory across different tasks which can serve to drive the development of comprehensive theories of memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Working Memory Contributions to Reinforcement Learning Impairments in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Brown, Jaime K.; Gold, James M.; Waltz, James A.; Frank, Michael J.

2014-01-01

Previous research has shown that patients with schizophrenia are impaired in reinforcement learning tasks. However, behavioral learning curves in such tasks originate from the interaction of multiple neural processes, including the basal ganglia- and dopamine-dependent reinforcement learning (RL) system, but also prefrontal cortex-dependent cognitive strategies involving working memory (WM). Thus, it is unclear which specific system induces impairments in schizophrenia. We recently developed a task and computational model allowing us to separately assess the roles of RL (slow, cumulative learning) mechanisms versus WM (fast but capacity-limited) mechanisms in healthy adult human subjects. Here, we used this task to assess patients' specific sources of impairments in learning. In 15 separate blocks, subjects learned to pick one of three actions for stimuli. The number of stimuli to learn in each block varied from two to six, allowing us to separate influences of capacity-limited WM from the incremental RL system. As expected, both patients (n = 49) and healthy controls (n = 36) showed effects of set size and delay between stimulus repetitions, confirming the presence of working memory effects. Patients performed significantly worse than controls overall, but computational model fits and behavioral analyses indicate that these deficits could be entirely accounted for by changes in WM parameters (capacity and reliability), whereas RL processes were spared. These results suggest that the working memory system contributes strongly to learning impairments in schizophrenia. PMID:25297101

Preparation of graphene oxide-manganese dioxide for highly efficient adsorption and separation of Th(IV)/U(VI).

PubMed

Pan, Ning; Li, Long; Ding, Jie; Li, Shengke; Wang, Ruibing; Jin, Yongdong; Wang, Xiangke; Xia, Chuanqin

2016-05-15

Manganese dioxide decorated graphene oxide (GOM) was prepared via fixation of crystallographic MnO2 (α, γ) on the surface of graphene oxide (GO) and was explored as an adsorbent material for simultaneous removal of thorium/uranium ions from aqueous solutions. In single component systems (Th(IV) or U(VI)), the α-GOM2 (the weight ratio of GO/α-MnO2 of 2) exhibited higher maximum adsorption capacities toward both Th(IV) (497.5mg/g) and U(VI) (185.2 mg/g) than those of GO. In the binary component system (Th(IV)/U(VI)), the saturated adsorption capacity of Th(IV) (408.8 mg/g)/U(VI) (66.8 mg/g) on α-GOM2 was also higher than those on GO. Based on the analysis of various data, it was proposed that the adsorption process may involve four types of molecular interactions including coordination, electrostatic interaction, cation-pi interaction, and Lewis acid-base interaction between Th(IV)/U(VI) and α-GOM2. Finally, the Th(IV)/U(VI) ions on α-GOM2 can be separated by a two-stage desorption process with Na2CO3/EDTA. Those results displayed that the α-GOM2 may be utilized as an potential adsorbent for removing and separating Th(IV)/U(VI) ions from aqueous solutions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gravity separation of fat, somatic cells, and bacteria in raw and pasteurized milks.

PubMed

Caplan, Z; Melilli, C; Barbano, D M

2013-04-01

The objective of experiment 1 was to determine if the extent of gravity separation of milk fat, bacteria, and somatic cells is influenced by the time and temperature of gravity separation or the level of contaminating bacteria present in the raw milk. The objective of experiment 2 was to determine if different temperatures of milk heat treatment affected the gravity separation of milk fat, bacteria, and somatic cells. In raw milk, fat, bacteria, and somatic cells rose to the top of columns during gravity separation. About 50 to 80% of the fat and bacteria were present in the top 8% of the milk after gravity separation of raw milk. Gravity separation for 7h at 12°C or for 22h at 4°C produced equivalent separation of fat, bacteria, and somatic cells. The completeness of gravity separation of fat was influenced by the level of bacteria in the milk before separation. Milk with a high bacterial count had less (about 50 to 55%) gravity separation of fat than milk with low bacteria count (about 80%) in 22h at 4°C. Gravity separation caused fat, bacteria, and somatic cells to rise to the top of columns for raw whole milk and high temperature, short-time pasteurized (72.6°C, 25s) whole milk. Pasteurization at ≥76.9°C for 25s prevented all 3 components from rising, possibly due to denaturation of native bovine immunoglobulins that normally associate with fat, bacteria, and somatic cells during gravity separation. Gravity separation can be used to produce reduced-fat milk with decreased bacterial and somatic cell counts, and may be a critical factor in the history of safe and unique traditional Italian hard cheeses produced from gravity-separated raw milk. A better understanding of the mechanism of this natural process could lead to the development of new nonthermal thermal technology (that does not involve heating the milk to high temperatures) to remove bacteria and spores from milk or other liquids. Copyright © 2013 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Experimental and Model Studies on Continuous Separation of 2-Phenylpropionic Acid Enantiomers by Enantioselective Liquid-Liquid Extraction in Centrifugal Contactor Separators.

PubMed

Feng, Xiaofeng; Tang, Kewen; Zhang, Pangliang; Yin, Shuangfeng

2016-03-01

Multistage enantioselective liquid-liquid extraction (ELLE) of 2-phenylpropionic acid (2-PPA) enantiomers using hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) as extractant was studied experimentally in a counter-current cascade of centrifugal contactor separators (CCSs). Performance of the process was evaluated by purity (enantiomeric excess, ee) and yield (Y). A multistage equilibrium model was established on the basis of single-stage model for chiral extraction of 2-PPA enantiomers and the law of mass conservation. A series of experiments on the extract phase/washing phase ratio (W/O ratio), extractant concentration, the pH value of aqueous phase, and the number of stages was conducted to verify the multistage equilibrium model. It was found that model predictions were in good agreement with the experimental results. The model was applied to predict and optimize the symmetrical separation of 2-PPA enantiomers. The optimal conditions for symmetric separation involves a W/O ratio of 0.6, pH of 2.5, and HP-β-CD concentration of 0.1 mol L(-1) at a temperature of 278 K, where eeeq (equal enantiomeric excess) can reach up to 37% and Yeq (equal yield) to 69%. By simulation and optimization, the minimum number of stages was evaluated at 98 and 106 for eeeq > 95% and eeeq > 97%. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Separation of phenolic acids from sugarcane rind by online solid-phase extraction with high-speed counter-current chromatography.

PubMed

Geng, Ping; Fang, Yingtong; Xie, Ronglong; Hu, Weilun; Xi, Xingjun; Chu, Qiao; Dong, Genlai; Shaheen, Nusrat; Wei, Yun

2017-02-01

Sugarcane rind contains some functional phenolic acids. The separation of these compounds from sugarcane rind is able to realize the integrated utilization of the crop and reduce environment pollution. In this paper, a novel protocol based on interfacing online solid-phase extraction with high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was established, aiming at improving and simplifying the process of phenolic acids separation from sugarcane rind. The conditions of online solid-phase extraction with HSCCC involving solvent system, flow rate of mobile phase as well as saturated extent of absorption of solid-phase extraction were optimized to improve extraction efficiency and reduce separation time. The separation of phenolic acids was performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of butanol/acetic acid/water at a volume ratio of 4:1:5, and the developed online solid-phase extraction with HSCCC method was validated and successfully applied for sugarcane rind, and three phenolic acids including 6.73 mg of gallic acid, 10.85 mg of p-coumaric acid, and 2.78 mg of ferulic acid with purities of 60.2, 95.4, and 84%, respectively, were obtained from 150 mg sugarcane rind crude extracts. In addition, the three different elution methods of phenolic acids purification including HSCCC, elution-extrusion counter-current chromatography and back-extrusion counter-current chromatography were compared. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Hydrogen recovery process

DOEpatents

Baker, Richard W.; Lokhandwala, Kaaeid A.; He, Zhenjie; Pinnau, Ingo

2000-01-01

A treatment process for a hydrogen-containing off-gas stream from a refinery, petrochemical plant or the like. The process includes three separation steps: condensation, membrane separation and hydrocarbon fraction separation. The membrane separation step is characterized in that it is carried out under conditions at which the membrane exhibits a selectivity in favor of methane over hydrogen of at least about 2.5.

System and process for efficient separation of biocrudes and water in a hydrothermal liquefaction system

DOEpatents

Elliott, Douglas C.; Hart, Todd R.; Neuenschwander, Gary G.; Oyler, James R.; Rotness, Jr, Leslie J.; Schmidt, Andrew J.; Zacher, Alan H.

2016-08-02

A system and process are described for clean separation of biocrudes and water by-products from hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) product mixtures of organic and biomass-containing feedstocks at elevated temperatures and pressures. Inorganic compound solids are removed prior to separation of biocrude and water by-product fractions to minimize formation of emulsions that impede separation. Separation may be performed at higher temperatures that reduce heat loss and need to cool product mixtures to ambient. The present invention thus achieves separation efficiencies not achieved in conventional HTL processing.

Membranes for Food and Bioproduct Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avram, Alexandru M.

Modified membranes for process intensification in biomass hydrolysis: Production of biofuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass is one of the leading candidates for replacement of petroleum based fuels and chemicals. However, conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into fuels and chemicals is not cost effective compared to the production of fuels and chemicals from crude oil reserves. Some novel and economically feasible approaches involve the use of ionic liquids as solvents or co-solvents, since these show improved solvation capability of cellulose over simple aqueous systems. Membranes offer unique opportunities for process intensification which involves fractionation of the resulting biomass hydrolysate leading to a more efficient and cheaper operation. This research attempts to develop membranes that would usher the economics of the biochemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into fuels and chemicals by recycling the expensive ionic liquid. The overall aim of this work is the development of novel membranes with unique surface properties that enable the selective separation of non-reacted cellulose and hydrolysis sugars from ionic liquids. Nanofiltration separation for application in food product engineering: With the advent of the modern, well-informed consumer who has high expectations from the nutritional value of consumed food products, novel approaches are being developed to produce nutrient-enhanced foods and drinks. As a response to the consumer needs, different techniques to recover, concentrate and retain as much as possible of bioactive compounds are being investigated. Membrane technology has the advantage of selective fractionation of food products (e.g. salt removal, removal of bitter-tasting compounds or removal of sugar for sweet taste adjustment), volume reduction, and product recovery at mild conditions. In this work, we use nanofiltration in dead-end and crossflow mode to concentrate polyphenols from blueberry pomace. Blueberry pomace is an overlooked waste product form the juice pressing of blueberries that contains high amounts of health-beneficial antioxidants. We aim at developing a simple, yet efficient membrane process that reduces the amount of water and thus concentrates the amount of polyphenols in the retentate.

Phase field approaches of bone remodeling based on TIP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganghoffer, Jean-François; Rahouadj, Rachid; Boisse, Julien; Forest, Samuel

2016-01-01

The process of bone remodeling includes a cycle of repair, renewal, and optimization. This adaptation process, in response to variations in external loads and chemical driving factors, involves three main types of bone cells: osteoclasts, which remove the old pre-existing bone; osteoblasts, which form the new bone in a second phase; osteocytes, which are sensing cells embedded into the bone matrix, trigger the aforementioned sequence of events. The remodeling process involves mineralization of the bone in the diffuse interface separating the marrow, which contains all specialized cells, from the newly formed bone. The main objective advocated in this contribution is the setting up of a modeling and simulation framework relying on the phase field method to capture the evolution of the diffuse interface between the new bone and the marrow at the scale of individual trabeculae. The phase field describes the degree of mineralization of this diffuse interface; it varies continuously between the lower value (no mineral) and unity (fully mineralized phase, e.g. new bone), allowing the consideration of a diffuse moving interface. The modeling framework is the theory of continuous media, for which field equations for the mechanical, chemical, and interfacial phenomena are written, based on the thermodynamics of irreversible processes. Additional models for the cellular activity are formulated to describe the coupling of the cell activity responsible for bone production/resorption to the kinetics of the internal variables. Kinetic equations for the internal variables are obtained from a pseudo-potential of dissipation. The combination of the balance equations for the microforce associated to the phase field and the kinetic equations lead to the Ginzburg-Landau equation satisfied by the phase field with a source term accounting for the dissipative microforce. Simulations illustrating the proposed framework are performed in a one-dimensional situation showing the evolution of the diffuse interface separating new bone from marrow.

Quantum Chemical Study of Rare Gas/Halide Interactions as a Model for High Energy Density Material: 2. The Interaction of Hydrogen Chloride with the Rare Gas Xenon

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-11-01

the negatively charged halide, X(-), remains scparatcd from the Rgnl(+) hole. But when the (+) holes migrate to the X(-), they rapidly form the exciplex ...Xe2.(+)X(-), releasing the exciton energy as fluorescence. The gas phase equilibrium geometry for the Xe 2C1 exciplex in the 421- state is predicted...understanding of the microscopic processes involved in formation c. the exciplex , as well as the factors determining the lifetime of the separated

Protein blotting protocol for beginners.

PubMed

Petrasovits, Lars A

2014-01-01

The transfer and immobilization of biological macromolecules onto solid nitrocellulose or nylon (polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF)) membranes subsequently followed by specific detection is referred to as blotting. DNA blots are called Southerns after the inventor of the technique, Edwin Southern. By analogy, RNA blots are referred to as northerns and protein blots as westerns (Burnette, Anal Biochem 112:195-203, 1981). With few exceptions, western blotting involves five steps, namely, sample collection, preparation, separation, immobilization, and detection. In this chapter, protocols for the entire process from sample collection to detection are described.

Integrated System Design for Air Revitalization in Next Generation Crewed Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mulloth, Lila; Perry, Jay; LeVan, Douglas

2004-01-01

The capabilities of NASA's existing environmental control and life support (ECLS) system designs are inadequate for future human space initiatives that involve long-duration space voyages and interplanetary missions. This paper discusses the concept of an integrated system of CO2 removal and trace contaminant control units that utilizes novel gas separation and purification techniques and optimized thermal and mechanical design, for future spacecraft. The integration process will enhance the overall life and economics of the existing systems by eliminating multiple mechanical devices with moving parts.

Creativity in adolescence.

PubMed

Rothenberg, A

1990-09-01

Findings from an empirical research project on creativity, including controlled experimental assessment, indicate that the development of creative capacity occurs primarily during the adolescent period. Defined as the production of entities that are both new and valuable, creativity necessarily involves two specific types of cognition designated as the janusian and homospatial processes. Although there are precursors to the development of creativity during earlier childhood, both the motivation and the capacity to create appear first in the adolescent period. Important motivational factors derive from adolescent conflicts and developmental tasks such as the impetus to solve and consolidate issues relating to identity, the return of oedipal conflicts, and the pressures toward autonomy and independence. Engaging in creative types of fields and outlets helps generally to establish coherent identity during adolescence and beyond; the beginnings of a specific creative identity in adolescence are a necessary foundation for creative motivation and ability to create throughout life. The return of the oedipal conflict at the onset of puberty motivates the dual compliance and competition of the creatively disposed adolescent with his or her same-sex parent. The pressures toward autonomy and independence provide the motivational and affective substrate for the development of the homospatial and janusian processes. The homospatial process arises from the vacillating and concomitant experiences of autonomy (or separation) and connectedness. In the creatively disposed adolescent, one who activates and uses cognition to express and explore affect, the creative aspect of those experiences begins to be manifested in the concomitant cognitive separation and connection involved in superimposition of mental images. The janusian process arises from the experiences of rebellious oppositionality and intense emotional ambivalence. The creative cognitive aspect of these experiences is manifested in conscious conceptualization and use of simultaneous antitheses and oppositions. The use of simultaneous opposition in the janusian process at any age necessarily involves the capacity to grasp and manipulate abstract relations. Evidence for the first development of this capacity in adolescence comes from the research on formal operations reasoning and on understanding of the null class. Regarding the onset near that age period of capacity to use and comprehend the relational nature of opposition, supporting evidence derives from experimental data on the syntagmatic-paradigmatic shift. With regard to the homospatial process, which is largely responsible for the creation of effective metaphors, both the late appearance of class inclusion behavior and the inability of younger children to comprehend and use relational metaphors preclude a preadolescent onset of this creative capacity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Parental psychological control and dysfunctional separation-individuation: a tale of two different dynamics.

PubMed

Kins, Evie; Soenens, Bart; Beyers, Wim

2012-10-01

This study examined associations between psychologically controlling parenting and two possible manifestations of problematic separation-individuation (i.e., dysfunctional dependence and dysfunctional independence). To explain these associations, it has been argued that psychological control is an inherently independence-stifling parenting dimension that gives rise to a dysfunctional dependent orientation. In this study, it was argued that psychological control may relate to dysfunctional dependence and dysfunctional independence, depending on whether parents' use of psychological control is driven by issues of interpersonal closeness (i.e., dependency-oriented psychological control) or by issues of achievement (i.e., achievement-oriented psychological control). A Belgian sample of 232 emerging adults, involved in the process of home leaving, and their parents completed self-report questionnaires. Regression analyses indicated that domain-specific expressions of psychological control were related differentially to dysfunctional dependent and dysfunctional independent manifestations of problematic separation-individuation. Emerging adults' residential status did not moderate these associations. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2012 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transformation of OODT CAS to Perform Larger Tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattmann, Chris; Freeborn, Dana; Crichton, Daniel; Hughes, John; Ramirez, Paul; Hardman, Sean; Woollard, David; Kelly, Sean

2008-01-01

A computer program denoted OODT CAS has been transformed to enable performance of larger tasks that involve greatly increased data volumes and increasingly intensive processing of data on heterogeneous, geographically dispersed computers. Prior to the transformation, OODT CAS (also alternatively denoted, simply, 'CAS') [wherein 'OODT' signifies 'Object-Oriented Data Technology' and 'CAS' signifies 'Catalog and Archive Service'] was a proven software component used to manage scientific data from spaceflight missions. In the transformation, CAS was split into two separate components representing its canonical capabilities: file management and workflow management. In addition, CAS was augmented by addition of a resource-management component. This third component enables CAS to manage heterogeneous computing by use of diverse resources, including high-performance clusters of computers, commodity computing hardware, and grid computing infrastructures. CAS is now more easily maintainable, evolvable, and reusable. These components can be used separately or, taking advantage of synergies, can be used together. Other elements of the transformation included addition of a separate Web presentation layer that supports distribution of data products via Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, and provision for full Resource Description Framework (RDF) exports of metadata.

STS pilot user development program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcdowell, J. R.

1977-01-01

Full exploitation of the STS capabilities will be not only dependent on the extensive use of the STS for known space applications and research, but also on new, innovative ideas of use originating with both current and new users. In recognition of this, NASA has been engaged in a User Development Program for the STS. The program began with four small studies. Each study addressed a separate sector of potential new users to identify techniques and methodologies for user development. The collective results established that a user development function was not only feasible, but necessary for NASA to realize the full potential of the STS. This final report begins with a description of the overall pilot program plan, which involved five specific tasks defined in the contract Statement of Work. Each task is then discussed separately; but two subjects, the development of principal investigators and space processing users, are discussed separately for improved continuity of thought. These discussions are followed by a summary of the primary results and conclusions of the Pilot User Development Program. Specific recommendations of the study are given.

Characterization and Determination of Interesterification Markers (Triacylglycerol Regioisomers) in Confectionery Oils by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

PubMed Central

Santoro, Valentina; Aigotti, Riccardo; Gastaldi, Daniela; Romaniello, Francesco; Forte, Emanuele; Magni, Martina; Baiocchi, Claudio

2018-01-01

Interesterification is an industrial transformation process aiming to change the physico-chemical properties of vegetable oils by redistributing fatty acid position within the original constituent of the triglycerides. In the confectionery industry, controlling formation degree of positional isomers is important in order to obtain fats with the desired properties. Silver ion HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) is the analytical technique usually adopted to separate triglycerides (TAGs) having different unsaturation degrees. However, separation of TAG positional isomers is a challenge when the number of double bonds is the same and the only difference is in their position within the triglyceride molecule. The TAG positional isomers involved in the present work have a structural specificity that require a separation method tailored to the needs of confectionery industry. The aim of this work was to obtain a chromatographic resolution that might allow reliable qualitative and quantitative evaluation of TAG positional isomers within reasonably rapid retention times and robust in respect of repeatability and reproducibility. The resulting analytical procedure was applied both to confectionery raw materials and final products. PMID:29462917

The initial establishment and epithelial morphogenesis of the esophagus: a new model of tracheal–esophageal separation and transition of simple columnar into stratified squamous epithelium in the developing esophagus

PubMed Central

Que, Jianwen

2016-01-01

The esophagus and trachea are tubular organs that initially share a single common lumen in the anterior foregut. Several models have been proposed to explain how this single-lumen developmental intermediate generates two tubular organs. However, new evidence suggests that these models are not comprehensive. I will first briefly review these models and then propose a novel ‘splitting and extension’ model based on our in vitro modeling of the foregut separation process. Signaling molecules (e.g., SHHs, WNTs, BMPs) and transcription factors (e.g., NKX2.1 and SOX2) are critical for the separation of the foregut. Intriguingly, some of these molecules continue to play essential roles during the transition of simple columnar into stratified squamous epithelium in the developing esophagus, and they are also closely involved in epithelial maintenance in the adults. Alterations in the levels of these molecules have been associated with the initiation and progression of several esophageal diseases and cancer in adults. PMID:25727889

Permanent wire splicing by an explosive joining process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bement, Laurence J. (Inventor); Kushnick, Anne C. (Inventor)

1991-01-01

The invention is an apparatus and method for wire splicing using an explosive joining process. The apparatus consists of a prebent, U-shaped strap of metal that slides over prepositioned wires. A standoff means separates the wires from the strap before joining. An adhesive means holds two ribbon explosives in position centered over the U-shaped strap. A detonating means connects to the ribbon explosives. The process involves spreading strands of each wire to be joined into a flat plane. The process then requires alternating each strand in alignment to form a mesh-like arrangement with an overlapped area. The strap slides over the strands of the wires, and the standoff means is positioned between the two surfaces. The detonating means then initiates the ribbon explosives that drive the strap to accomplish a high velocity, angular collision between the mating surfaces. This collision creates surface melts and collision bonding results in electron sharing linkups.

Self-Elongation with Sequential Folding of a Filament of Bacterial Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Honda, Ryojiro; Wakita, Jun-ichi; Katori, Makoto

2015-11-01

Under hard-agar and nutrient-rich conditions, a cell of Bacillus subtilis grows as a single filament owing to the failure of cell separation after each growth and division cycle. The self-elongating filament of cells shows sequential folding processes, and multifold structures extend over an agar plate. We report that the growth process from the exponential phase to the stationary phase is well described by the time evolution of fractal dimensions of the filament configuration. We propose a method of characterizing filament configurations using a set of lengths of multifold parts of a filament. Systems of differential equations are introduced to describe the folding processes that create multifold structures in the early stage of the growth process. We show that the fitting of experimental data to the solutions of equations is excellent, and the parameters involved in our model systems are determined.

Characterization and Evaluation of Lunar Regolith and Simulants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cross, William M.; Murphy, Gloria A.

2010-01-01

A NASA-ESMD (National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Exploration Systems Mission Directorate) funded senior design project "Mineral Separation Technology for Lunar Regolith Simulant Production" is directed toward designing processes to produce Simulant materials as close to lunar regolith as possible. The eight undergraduate (junior and senior) students involved are taking a systems engineering design approach to identifying the most pressing concerns in simulant needs, then designing subsystems and processing strategies to meet these needs using terrestrial materials. This allows the students to, not only learn the systems engineering design process, but also, to make a significant contribution to an important NASA ESMD project. This paper will primarily be focused on the implementation aspect, particularly related to the systems engineering process, of this NASA EMSD senior design project. In addition comparison of the NASA ESMD group experience to the implementation of systems engineering practices into a group of existing design projects is given.

Plasma Spraying of Ceramics with Particular Difficulties in Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mauer, G.; Schlegel, N.; Guignard, A.; Jarligo, M. O.; Rezanka, S.; Hospach, A.; Vaßen, R.

2015-01-01

Emerging new applications and growing demands of plasma-sprayed coatings initiate the development of new materials. Regarding ceramics, often complex compositions are employed to achieve advanced material properties, e.g., high thermal stability, low thermal conductivity, high electronic and ionic conductivity as well as specific thermo-mechanical properties and microstructures. Such materials however, often involve particular difficulties in processing by plasma spraying. The inhomogeneous dissociation and evaporation behavior of individual constituents can lead to changes of the chemical composition and the formation of secondary phases in the deposited coatings. Hence, undesired effects on the coating characteristics are encountered. In this work, examples of such challenging materials are investigated, namely pyrochlores applied for thermal barrier coatings as well as perovskites for gas separation membranes. In particular, new plasma spray processes like suspension plasma spraying and plasma spray-physical vapor deposition are considered. In some cases, plasma diagnostics are applied to analyze the processing conditions.

Phase separation driven by density-dependent movement: A novel mechanism for ecological patterns.

PubMed

Liu, Quan-Xing; Rietkerk, Max; Herman, Peter M J; Piersma, Theunis; Fryxell, John M; van de Koppel, Johan

2016-12-01

Many ecosystems develop strikingly regular spatial patterns because of small-scale interactions between organisms, a process generally referred to as spatial self-organization. Self-organized spatial patterns are important determinants of the functioning of ecosystems, promoting the growth and survival of the involved organisms, and affecting the capacity of the organisms to cope with changing environmental conditions. The predominant explanation for self-organized pattern formation is spatial heterogeneity in establishment, growth and mortality, resulting from the self-organization processes. A number of recent studies, however, have revealed that movement of organisms can be an important driving process creating extensive spatial patterning in many ecosystems. Here, we review studies that detail movement-based pattern formation in contrasting ecological settings. Our review highlights that a common principle, where movement of organisms is density-dependent, explains observed spatial regular patterns in all of these studies. This principle, well known to physics as the Cahn-Hilliard principle of phase separation, has so-far remained unrecognized as a general mechanism for self-organized complexity in ecology. Using the examples presented in this paper, we explain how this movement principle can be discerned in ecological settings, and clarify how to test this mechanism experimentally. Our study highlights that animal movement, both in isolation and in unison with other processes, is an important mechanism for regular pattern formation in ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermodynamic analyses of hydrogen production from sub-quality natural gas. Part I: Pyrolysis and autothermal pyrolysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Cunping; T-Raissi, Ali

Sub-quality natural gas (SQNG) is defined as natural gas whose composition exceeds pipeline specifications of nitrogen, carbon dioxide (CO 2) and/or hydrogen sulfide (H 2S). Approximately one-third of the U.S. natural gas resource is sub-quality gas [1]. Due to the high cost of removing H 2S from hydrocarbons using current processing technologies, SQNG wells are often capped and the gas remains in the ground. We propose and analyze a two-step hydrogen production scheme using SQNG as feedstock. The first step of the process involves hydrocarbon processing (via steam-methane reformation, autothermal steam-methane reformation, pyrolysis and autothermal pyrolysis) in the presence of H 2S. Our analyses reveal that H 2S existing in SQNG is stable and can be considered as an inert gas. No sulfur dioxide (SO 2) and/or sulfur trioxide (SO 3) is formed from the introduction of oxygen to SQNG. In the second step, after the separation of hydrogen from the main stream, un-reacted H 2S is used to reform the remaining methane, generating more hydrogen and carbon disulfide (CS 2). Thermodynamic analyses on SQNG feedstock containing up to 10% (v/v) H 2S have shown that no H 2S separation is required in this process. The Part I of this paper includes only thermodynamic analyses for SQNG pyrolysis and autothermal pyrolysis.

Evolution of Protein Synthesis from an RNA World

PubMed Central

Noller, Harry F.

2012-01-01

SUMMARY Because of the molecular complexity of the ribosome and protein synthesis, it is a challenge to imagine how translation could have evolved from a primitive RNA World. Two specific suggestions are made here to help to address this, involving separate evolution of the peptidyl transferase and decoding functions. First, it is proposed that translation originally arose not to synthesize functional proteins, but to provide simple (perhaps random) peptides that bound to RNA, increasing its available structure space, and therefore its functional capabilities. Second, it is proposed that the decoding site of the ribosome evolved from a mechanism for duplication of RNA. This process involved homodimeric “duplicator RNAs,” resembling the anticodon arms of tRNAs, which directed ligation of trinucleotides in response to an RNA template. PMID:20610545

Separation of Biologically Active Compounds by Membrane Operations.

PubMed

Zhu, Xiaoying; Bai, Renbi

2017-01-01

Bioactive compounds from various natural sources have been attracting more and more attention, owing to their broad diversity of functionalities and availabilities. However, many of the bioactive compounds often exist at an extremely low concentration in a mixture so that massive harvesting is needed to obtain sufficient amounts for their practical usage. Thus, effective fractionation or separation technologies are essential for the screening and production of the bioactive compound products. The applicatons of conventional processes such as extraction, distillation and lyophilisation, etc. may be tedious, have high energy consumption or cause denature or degradation of the bioactive compounds. Membrane separation processes operate at ambient temperature, without the need for heating and therefore with less energy consumption. The "cold" separation technology also prevents the possible degradation of the bioactive compounds. The separation process is mainly physical and both fractions (permeate and retentate) of the membrane processes may be recovered. Thus, using membrane separation technology is a promising approach to concentrate and separate bioactive compounds. A comprehensive survey of membrane operations used for the separation of bioactive compounds is conducted. The available and established membrane separation processes are introduced and reviewed. The most frequently used membrane processes are the pressure driven ones, including microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF). They are applied either individually as a single sieve or in combination as an integrated membrane array to meet the different requirements in the separation of bioactive compounds. Other new membrane processes with multiple functions have also been developed and employed for the separation or fractionation of bioactive compounds. The hybrid electrodialysis (ED)-UF membrane process, for example has been used to provide a solution for the separation of biomolecules with similar molecular weights but different surface electrical properties. In contrast, the affinity membrane technology is shown to have the advantages of increasing the separation efficiency at low operational pressures through selectively adsorbing bioactive compounds during the filtration process. Individual membranes or membrane arrays are effectively used to separate bioactive compounds or achieve multiple fractionation of them with different molecule weights or sizes. Pressure driven membrane processes are highly efficient and widely used. Membrane fouling, especially irreversible organic and biological fouling, is the inevitable problem. Multifunctional membranes and affinity membranes provide the possibility of effectively separating bioactive compounds that are similar in sizes but different in other physical and chemical properties. Surface modification methods are of great potential to increase membrane separation efficiency as well as reduce the problem of membrane fouling. Developing membranes and optimizing the operational parameters specifically for the applications of separation of various bioactive compounds should be taken as an important part of ongoing or future membrane research in this field. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Methane/nitrogen separation process

DOEpatents

Baker, R.W.; Lokhandwala, K.A.; Pinnau, I.; Segelke, S.

1997-09-23

A membrane separation process is described for treating a gas stream containing methane and nitrogen, for example, natural gas. The separation process works by preferentially permeating methane and rejecting nitrogen. The authors have found that the process is able to meet natural gas pipeline specifications for nitrogen, with acceptably small methane loss, so long as the membrane can exhibit a methane/nitrogen selectivity of about 4, 5 or more. This selectivity can be achieved with some rubbery and super-glassy membranes at low temperatures. The process can also be used for separating ethylene from nitrogen. 11 figs.

Methane/nitrogen separation process

DOEpatents

Baker, Richard W.; Lokhandwala, Kaaeid A.; Pinnau, Ingo; Segelke, Scott

1997-01-01

A membrane separation process for treating a gas stream containing methane and nitrogen, for example, natural gas. The separation process works by preferentially permeating methane and rejecting nitrogen. We have found that the process is able to meet natural gas pipeline specifications for nitrogen, with acceptably small methane loss, so long as the membrane can exhibit a methane/nitrogen selectivity of about 4, 5 or more. This selectivity can be achieved with some rubbery and super-glassy membranes at low temperatures. The process can also be used for separating ethylene from nitrogen.

An integrated groundwater and surface water approach to quantifying the contribution of hydrological pathways to streamflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Brien, R. J.; Deakin, J.; Misstear, B.; Gill, L.; Flynn, R. M.

2012-12-01

An appreciation of the quantity of streamflow derived from the main hydrological groundwater and surface water pathways transporting diffuse pollutants is critical when addressing a wide range of water resource management issues. The Pathways Project, funded by the Irish EPA, is developing a Catchment Management Tool (CMT) as an aid to water resource decision makers. The pollutants investigated by the CMT include phosphorus, nitrogen, sediments, pesticides and pathogens. An important first step in this process is to provide reliable estimates of the slower responding groundwater pathways in conjunction with the quicker overland and interflow pathways. Four watersheds are being investigated, with continuous rainfall, discharge, temperature and conductivity data being collected at gauging points within each of the watersheds. These datasets are being used to populate the semi-distributed, lumped flow model, NAM and also the distributed, finite difference model, MODFLOW. One of the main challenges is to achieve credible separations of the hydrograph into the main pathways in relatively small catchments (sometimes less than 5km2) with short response times. To assist the numerical modelling, physical separation techniques have been used to constrain the separations within probable limits. Physical techniques include: Master Recession Analysis; a modified Lyne and Hollick one-parameter digital separation; an approach developed in Ireland involving the application of recharge coefficients to hydrologically effective rainfall estimates; and finally using the NAM and MODFLOW models themselves as means of investigating separations. The contribution from each of the pathways, combined with an understanding of the attenuation of the contaminants along those pathways, will inform the CMT. This understanding will lay the foundation for linking the parameters of the NAM model to watershed descriptors such as slope, drainage density, watershed area, soil type, etc., in order to predict the response of a watershed to rainfall. This is an important deliverable of this research and will be fundamental for initial investigations in ungauged watersheds. This approach to quantifying hydrological pathways will therefore have wider applicability across Ireland and in hydrological settings elsewhere internationally. The research is being carried out for the Environmental Protection Agency by a consortium involving Queen's University Belfast, University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. Pathway separations in a karst watershed. Observed discharge (Black) with separated pathways: quick diffuse flow (Blue); slow diffuse flow (Green); interflow (Light Blue) and overland flow (Red).

Symposium on the reprocessing of irradiated fuels. Book 2, Session IV

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

None

1958-12-31

Book two of this conference has a single-focused session IV entitled Nonaqueous Processing, with 8 papers. The session deals with fluoride volatility processes and pyrometallurgical or pyrochemical processes. The latter involves either an oxide drossing or molten metal extraction or fused salt extraction technique and results in only partial decontamination. Fluoride volatility processes appear to be especially favorable for recovery of enriched uranium and decontamination factors of 10/sup 7/ to 10/sup 8/ would be achieved by simpler means than those employed in solvent extraction. Data from lab research on the BrF/sub 3/ process and the ClF/sub 3/ process are givenmore » and discussed and pilot plant experience is described, all in connection with natural uranium or slightly enriched uranium processing. Fluoride volatility processes for enriched or high alloy fuels are described step by step. The economic and engineering considerations of both types of nonaqueous processing are treated separately and as fully as present knowledge allows. A comprehensive review of the chemistry of pyrometallurgical processes is included.« less

Characterizing the associative content of brain structures involved in habitual and goal-directed actions in humans: a multivariate FMRI study.

PubMed

McNamee, Daniel; Liljeholm, Mimi; Zika, Ondrej; O'Doherty, John P

2015-03-04

While there is accumulating evidence for the existence of distinct neural systems supporting goal-directed and habitual action selection in the mammalian brain, much less is known about the nature of the information being processed in these different brain regions. Associative learning theory predicts that brain systems involved in habitual control, such as the dorsolateral striatum, should contain stimulus and response information only, but not outcome information, while regions involved in goal-directed action, such as ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and dorsomedial striatum, should be involved in processing information about outcomes as well as stimuli and responses. To test this prediction, human participants underwent fMRI while engaging in a binary choice task designed to enable the separate identification of these different representations with a multivariate classification analysis approach. Consistent with our predictions, the dorsolateral striatum contained information about responses but not outcomes at the time of an initial stimulus, while the regions implicated in goal-directed action selection contained information about both responses and outcomes. These findings suggest that differential contributions of these regions to habitual and goal-directed behavioral control may depend in part on basic differences in the type of information that these regions have access to at the time of decision making. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/353764-08$15.00/0.

The Process of People Gold Mining in Paningkaban Village Banyumas Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muslihudin; Bambang, Azis Nur; Hendarto, Eko; Putranto, Thomas Triadi

2018-02-01

Gold mining in Paningkaban Banyumas conducted by the community is called the People gold mining. At the beginning, many miners from outside the region have involved and transferred of method, technic and knowledge about gold mining to local people. The aim of the study is to identify the existing process of public gold mining. The method of the study is qualitative by using observation and interview. The result showed that the mining process are: 1. Determining the location of mining well; in this determination there are two references; rational and intuition 2. Mining; at this stage, a deep well is drawn about 50-100 meters that leads vertically and horizontally. It is the most high-risk stage because of work accidents that occurred and potentially environment destruction. 3. Pulverization; this stage is classified as the lowest level of difficulty and risk, therefore in this work many woman included. 4. Rolling; in this stage involves enough technology, electrical mechanic and energy with the dynamo and using mercury that potentially contaminate environment. 5. Filtering; this stage is a quite risky because the workers contact directly with mercury. 6. Burning; is the shortest process to separate mercury with gold grains. 7. Sales to local buyer guided by the international gold market in every Thursday.

Coproduction of volatiles and metals from extraterrestrial materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, John S.

1991-01-01

Two main efforts in support of the general goals of SERC/culpr are presented. Investigations of processes for the coproduction of metals from extra-terrestrial materials in conjunction with plausible schemes for oxygen extraction continue. The principal emphasis was on the extraction and purification of iron from the ilmenite reduction process for oxygen, from the cathode metal deposits made in the magma electrolysis process for oxygen, and from native ferrous metal alloys on the moon and asteroids. All work on the separation and purification of ferrous metals was focussed upon the gaseous carbonyl process, a scheme that involves only temperatures attainable by passive thermal control. The exploration of a variety of schemes was initiated, involving the use of several different propulsion options and both propulsive and aerobraking capture at earth, for return of extraterrestrial resources to earth orbits. In addition, the search for new opportunities in space resource utilization continues. Examples include the continuation of work underway on: (1) the feasibility of locating solar power satellites in highly eccentric earth orbit; (2) the energetics of extracting the potential clean fusion fuel He-3 from the atmosphere for return to earth; and (3) the utility of a nuclear steam rocket (using non-terrestrial water as the working fluid) for transportation in the inner solar system.

[Optimization theory and practical application of membrane science technology based on resource of traditional Chinese medicine residue].

PubMed

Zhu, Hua-Xu; Duan, Jin-Ao; Guo, Li-Wei; Li, Bo; Lu, Jin; Tang, Yu-Ping; Pan, Lin-Mei

2014-05-01

Resource of traditional Chinese medicine residue is an inevitable choice to form new industries characterized of modem, environmental protection and intensive in the Chinese medicine industry. Based on the analysis of source and the main chemical composition of the herb residue, and for the advantages of membrane science and technology used in the pharmaceutical industry, especially membrane separation technology used in improvement technical reserves of traditional extraction and separation process in the pharmaceutical industry, it is proposed that membrane science and technology is one of the most important choices in technological design of traditional Chinese medicine resource industrialization. Traditional Chinese medicine residue is a very complex material system in composition and character, and scientific and effective "separation" process is the key areas of technology to re-use it. Integrated process can improve the productivity of the target product, enhance the purity of the product in the separation process, and solve many tasks which conventional separation is difficult to achieve. As integrated separation technology has the advantages of simplified process and reduced consumption, which are in line with the trend of the modern pharmaceutical industry, the membrane separation technology can provide a broad platform for integrated process, and membrane separation technology with its integrated technology have broad application prospects in achieving resource and industrialization process of traditional Chinese medicine residue. We discuss the principles, methods and applications practice of effective component resources in herb residue using membrane separation and integrated technology, describe the extraction, separation, concentration and purification application of membrane technology in traditional Chinese medicine residue, and systematically discourse suitability and feasibility of membrane technology in the process of traditional Chinese medicine resource industrialization in this paper.

A new dynamic 3D virtual methodology for teaching the mechanics of atrial septation as seen in the human heart

PubMed Central

Schleich, Jean-Marc; Dillenseger, Jean-Louis; Houyel, Lucile; Almange, Claude; Anderson, Robert H.

2009-01-01

Background Learning embryology remains difficult, since it requires understanding of many complex phenomena. The temporal evolution of developmental events has classically been illustrated using cartoons, which create difficulty in linking spatial and temporal aspects, such correlation being the keystone of descriptive embryology. Methods We synthesized the bibliographic data from recent studies of atrial septal development. On the basis of this synthesis, consensus on the stages of atrial septation as seen in the human heart has been reached by a group of experts in cardiac embryology and paediatric cardiology. This has permitted the preparation of three-dimensional (3-D) computer graphic objects for the anatomical components involved in the different stages of normal human atrial septation. Results We have provided a virtual guide to the process of normal atrial septation, the animation providing an appreciation of the temporal and morphologic events necessary to separate the systemic and pulmonary venous returns. Conclusion We have shown that our animations of normal human atrial septation increase significantly the teaching of the complex developmental processes involved, and provide a new dynamic for the process of learning. PMID:19363807

Pediatric neurology: the diagnostic process.

PubMed

Neville, Brian G R

2013-01-01

Pediatric neurology comprises a very large of number of conditions exhibiting symptoms and signs in several functional domains arising from damage and dysfunction to the developing nervous system. The diagnostic process involves ensuring that data from all possible domains are sought including those that are unaffected. The subsequent analysis involves fitting these data into patterns of classical natural history and rigorous investigation of the aspects that do not appear to fit. There may be a pattern of illness that is immediately recognized or something that is a fairly close fit. However, the aim is to develop a pathogenic sequence for the condition particularly so that conditions that have been lumped together for convenience are separated into distinct disease entities. The major presentations of pediatric neurology of fixed central motor impairments (the cerebral palsies), the epilepsies, and the progressive degenerative diseases are in the process of being split into such pathogenic sequences so that definitive treatments and possible primary prevention can be added to aims of simple diagnostic recognition. Much of this is at an early stage and pediatric neurology is still a young and fast developing specialty. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Separation of time scales in one-dimensional directed nucleation-growth processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierobon, Paolo; Miné-Hattab, Judith; Cappello, Giovanni; Viovy, Jean-Louis; Lagomarsino, Marco Cosentino

2010-12-01

Proteins involved in homologous recombination such as RecA and hRad51 polymerize on single- and double-stranded DNA according to a nucleation-growth kinetics, which can be monitored by single-molecule in vitro assays. The basic models currently used to extract biochemical rates rely on ensemble averages and are typically based on an underlying process of bidirectional polymerization, in contrast with the often observed anisotropic polymerization of similar proteins. For these reasons, if one considers single-molecule experiments, the available models are useful to understand observations only in some regimes. In particular, recent experiments have highlighted a steplike polymerization kinetics. The classical model of one-dimensional nucleation growth, the Kolmogorov-Avrami-Mehl-Johnson (KAMJ) model, predicts the correct polymerization kinetics only in some regimes and fails to predict the steplike behavior. This work illustrates by simulations and analytical arguments the limitation of applicability of the KAMJ description and proposes a minimal model for the statistics of the steps based on the so-called stick-breaking stochastic process. We argue that this insight might be useful to extract information on the time and length scales involved in the polymerization kinetics.

Observation and explanation of two-dimensional interconversion of oximes with multiple heart-cutting using comprehensive multidimensional gas chromatography.

PubMed

Kulsing, Chadin; Nolvachai, Yada; Wong, Yong Foo; Glouzman, Melissa I; Marriott, Philip J

2018-04-20

Real-time interconversion processes produce unconventional peak broadening in gas chromatography (GC), and can be used to generate kinetic and thermodynamic data. In this study, an unusual separation situation in comprehensive two dimensional GC where two dimensional interconversion (i.e. a raised plateau in both first and second dimension, 1 D and 2 D) was observed in analysis of oxime isomers. This resulted in a characteristic and unusual rectangular peak shape in the two dimensional result. A related theoretical approach was introduced to explain the peak shape supported by simulation results which can be varied depending on concentration profiles and kinetics of the process. The simulated results were supported by experimental results obtained by a comprehensive heart-cut multidimensional GC (H/C MDGC) approach which was developed to clearly investigate isomerisation of E/Z oxime molecules in both 1 D and 2 D separations under different isothermal conditions. The carrier gas flow and oven temperature were selected according to initial results for 1D interconversion on a poly(ethyleneglycol) stationary phase, which was further used in both 1 D and 2 D separations to result in broad zones of oxime interconversion in both dimensions. The method involved repetitive injections of oxime sample, then sampling contiguous fractions of sample into a long 2 D column which is intended to promote considerable interconversion. Comprehensiveness arises from the fact that the whole sample is sampled from the 1 D to the 2 D column, with the long 2 D column replacing the short 2 D column used in classical comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography, where the latter will not promote sufficient interconversion. Data processing and presentation permits a 'rectangular' distribution corresponding to the separated compounds, characteristic of this experiment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Isothermal separation processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

England, C.

1982-01-01

The isothermal processes of membrane separation, supercritical extraction and chromatography were examined using availability analysis. The general approach was to derive equations that identified where energy is consumed in these processes and how they compare with conventional separation methods. These separation methods are characterized by pure work inputs, chiefly in the form of a pressure drop which supplies the required energy. Equations were derived for the energy requirement in terms of regular solution theory. This approach is believed to accurately predict the work of separation in terms of the heat of solution and the entropy of mixing. It can form the basis of a convenient calculation method for optimizing membrane and solvent properties for particular applications. Calculations were made on the energy requirements for a membrane process separating air into its components.

Flow-through biological conversion of lignocellulosic biomass

DOEpatents

Herring, Christopher D.; Liu, Chaogang; Bardsley, John

2014-07-01

The present invention is directed to a process for biologically converting carbohydrates from lignocellulosic biomass comprising the steps of: suspending lignocellulosic biomass in a flow-through reactor, passing a reaction solution into the reactor, wherein the solution is absorbed into the biomass substrate and at least a portion of the solution migrates through said biomass substrate to a liquid reservoir, recirculating the reaction solution in the liquid reservoir at least once to be absorbed into and migrate through the biomass substrate again. The biological converting of the may involve hydrolyzing cellulose, hemicellulose, or a combination thereof to form oligosaccharides, monomelic sugars, or a combination thereof; fermenting oligosaccharides, monomelic sugars, or a combination thereof to produce ethanol, or a combination thereof. The process can further comprise removing the reaction solution and processing the solution to separate the ethanol produced from non-fermented solids.

Mitochondrial Fission and Autophagy in the Normal and Diseased Heart

PubMed Central

Iglewski, Myriam; Hill, Joseph A.; Lavandero, Sergio; Rothermel, Beverly A.

2011-01-01

Sustained hypertension promotes structural, functional and metabolic remodeling of cardiomyocyte mitochondria. As long-lived, postmitotic cells, cardiomyocytes turn over mitochondria continuously to compensate for changes in energy demands and to remove damaged organelles. This process involves fusion and fission of existing mitochondria to generate new organelles and separate old ones for degradation via autophagy. Autophagy is a lysosome-dependent proteolytic pathway capable of processing cellular components, including organelles and protein aggregates. Autophagy can be either nonselective or selective and contributes to remodeling of the myocardium under stress. Fission of mitochondria, loss of membrane potential, and ubiquitination are emerging as critical steps that direct selective autophagic degradation of mitochondria. This review discusses the molecular mechanisms controlling mitochondrial dynamics, including fission, fusion, transport, and degradation. Furthermore, it examines recent studies revealing the importance of these processes in normal and diseased heart. PMID:20865352

Modeling Multibody Stage Separation Dynamics Using Constraint Force Equation Methodology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tartabini, Paul V.; Roithmayr, Carlos M.; Toniolo, Matthew D.; Karlgaard, Christopher D.; Pamadi, Bandu N.

2011-01-01

This paper discusses the application of the constraint force equation methodology and its implementation for multibody separation problems using three specially designed test cases. The first test case involves two rigid bodies connected by a fixed joint, the second case involves two rigid bodies connected with a universal joint, and the third test case is that of Mach 7 separation of the X-43A vehicle. For the first two cases, the solutions obtained using the constraint force equation method compare well with those obtained using industry- standard benchmark codes. For the X-43A case, the constraint force equation solutions show reasonable agreement with the flight-test data. Use of the constraint force equation method facilitates the analysis of stage separation in end-to-end simulations of launch vehicle trajectories

Discovery of optimal zeolites for challenging separations and chemical conversions through predictive materials modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siepmann, J. Ilja; Bai, Peng; Tsapatsis, Michael; Knight, Chris; Deem, Michael W.

2015-03-01

Zeolites play numerous important roles in modern petroleum refineries and have the potential to advance the production of fuels and chemical feedstocks from renewable resources. The performance of a zeolite as separation medium and catalyst depends on its framework structure and the type or location of active sites. To date, 213 framework types have been synthesized and >330000 thermodynamically accessible zeolite structures have been predicted. Hence, identification of optimal zeolites for a given application from the large pool of candidate structures is attractive for accelerating the pace of materials discovery. Here we identify, through a large-scale, multi-step computational screening process, promising zeolite structures for two energy-related applications: the purification of ethanol beyond the ethanol/water azeotropic concentration in a single separation step from fermentation broths and the hydroisomerization of alkanes with 18-30 carbon atoms encountered in petroleum refining. These results demonstrate that predictive modeling and data-driven science can now be applied to solve some of the most challenging separation problems involving highly non-ideal mixtures and highly articulated compounds. Financial support from the Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences under Award DE-FG02-12ER16362 is gratefully acknowledged.

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

Gencaga, Deniz; Knuth, Kevin H.; Carbon, Duane F.

Understanding the origins of life has been one of the greatest dreams throughout history. It is now known that star-forming regions contain complex organic molecules, known as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), each of which has particular infrared spectral characteristics. By understanding which PAH species are found in specific star-forming regions, we can better understand the biochemistry that takes place in interstellar clouds. Identifying and classifying PAHs is not an easy task: we can only observe a single superposition of PAH spectra at any given astrophysical site, with the PAH species perhaps numbering in the hundreds or even thousands. This ismore » a challenging source separation problem since we have only one observation composed of numerous mixed sources. However, it is made easier with the help of a library of hundreds of PAH spectra. In order to separate PAH molecules from their mixture, we need to identify the specific species and their unique concentrations that would provide the given mixture. We develop a Bayesian approach for this problem where sources are separated from their mixture by Metropolis Hastings algorithm. Separated PAH concentrations are provided with their error bars, illustrating the uncertainties involved in the estimation process. The approach is demonstrated on synthetic spectral mixtures using spectral resolutions from the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). Performance of the method is tested for different noise levels.« less

Induction patterns of structural mutations in barley leaf meristem upon the combined action of ionizing radiation and heavy metals

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

Geras`kin, S.A.; Dikarev, V.G.; Udalova, A.A.

1995-07-01

Environmental protection requires the development of principles, universal methods, and quantitative criteria for estimating the ecological risk of the combined effects of various factors on natural ecosystems. The combined action of these factors may induce complex multidirectional processes, e.g., the induction and inhibition of separation systems that result in a broad spectrum of cell responses (from antagonism to synergism), depending on the relative involvement of the factors. This was confirmed by numerous examples of nonlinear responses of biological systems to alterations in the order and level of damaging agents, as well as in the duration of their action. For thismore » reason, the response of a biological system to the combined action of various damaging factors cannot be predicted from the data on the separate action of factors. 7 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.« less

Multivariate longitudinal data analysis with mixed effects hidden Markov models.

PubMed

Raffa, Jesse D; Dubin, Joel A

2015-09-01

Multiple longitudinal responses are often collected as a means to capture relevant features of the true outcome of interest, which is often hidden and not directly measurable. We outline an approach which models these multivariate longitudinal responses as generated from a hidden disease process. We propose a class of models which uses a hidden Markov model with separate but correlated random effects between multiple longitudinal responses. This approach was motivated by a smoking cessation clinical trial, where a bivariate longitudinal response involving both a continuous and a binomial response was collected for each participant to monitor smoking behavior. A Bayesian method using Markov chain Monte Carlo is used. Comparison of separate univariate response models to the bivariate response models was undertaken. Our methods are demonstrated on the smoking cessation clinical trial dataset, and properties of our approach are examined through extensive simulation studies. © 2015, The International Biometric Society.

Supramolecular complexation for environmental control.

PubMed

Albelda, M Teresa; Frías, Juan C; García-España, Enrique; Schneider, Hans-Jörg

2012-05-21

Supramolecular complexes offer a new and efficient way for the monitoring and removal of many substances emanating from technical processes, fertilization, plant and animal protection, or e.g. chemotherapy. Such pollutants range from toxic or radioactive metal ions and anions to chemical side products, herbicides, pesticides to drugs including steroids, and include degradation products from natural sources. The applications involve usually fast and reversible complex formation, due to prevailing non-covalent interactions. This is of importance for sensing as well as for separation techniques, where the often expensive host compounds can then be reused almost indefinitely. Immobilization of host compounds, e.g. on exchange resins or on membranes, and their implementation in smart new materials hold particular promise. The review illustrates how the design of suitable host compounds in combination with modern sensing and separation methods can contribute to solve some of the biggest problems facing chemistry, which arise from the everyday increasing pollution of the environment.

Energy Savings by Treating Buildings as Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harvey, L. D. Danny

2008-09-01

This paper reviews the opportunities for dramatically reducing energy use in buildings by treating buildings as systems, rather than focusing on device efficiencies. Systems-level considerations are relevant for the operation of heat pumps (where the temperatures at which heat or coldness are distributed are particularly important); the joint or separate provision of heating, cooling, and ventilation; the joint or separate removal of sensible heat and moisture; and in the operation of fluid systems having pumps. Passive heating, cooling, and ventilation, as well as daylighting (use of sunlight for lighting purposes) also require consideration of buildings as systems. In order to achieve the significant (50-75%) energy savings that are possible through a systems approach, the design process itself has to involve a high degree of integration between the architect and various engineering disciplines (structural, mechanical, electrical), and requires the systematic examination and adjustment of alternative designs using computer simulation models.

Cash income, intrahousehold cooperative conflict, and child health in central Mozambique.

PubMed

Pfeiffer, James

2003-01-01

This study presents qualitative data on individual cash income generation and intrahousehold bargaining in a sample of 100 households in central Mozambique. It is now recognized that intrahousehold resource allocation patterns can be critical determinants of children's health in the developing world. Recently developed "bargaining-power" models suggest that individual incomes are often not pooled in households and that decisions are the result of a bargaining process that involves cooperation and conflict between men and women. Women's income, many believe, is more often spent on child welfare. Development projects should target benefits to women for greater impact on child health. Some argue that households consist of separate, gendered spheres of economic responsibility that intersect through a "conjugal contract" that defines the terms of cooperation. The findings here support the "separate-spheres" depiction of the household and reveal women's subordinated position in the external cash economy, which undermines their intrahousehold bargaining power.

Micro-total envelope system with silicon nanowire separator for safe carcinogenic chemistry.

PubMed

Singh, Ajay K; Ko, Dong-Hyeon; Vishwakarma, Niraj K; Jang, Seungwook; Min, Kyoung-Ik; Kim, Dong-Pyo

2016-02-26

Exploration and expansion of the chemistries involving toxic or carcinogenic reagents are severely limited by the health hazards their presence poses. Here, we present a micro-total envelope system (μ-TES) and an automated total process for the generation of the carcinogenic reagent, its purification and its utilization for a desired synthesis that is totally enveloped from being exposed to the carcinogen. A unique microseparator is developed on the basis of SiNWs structure to replace the usual exposure-prone distillation in separating the generated reagent. Chloromethyl methyl ether chemistry is explored as a carcinogenic model in demonstrating the efficiency of the μ-TES that is fully automated so that feeding the ingredients for the generation is all it takes to produce the desired product. Syntheses taking days can be accomplished safely in minutes with excellent yields, which bodes well for elevating the carcinogenic chemistry to new unexplored dimensions.

Time-Limited Psychotherapy With Adolescents

PubMed Central

Shefler, Gaby

2000-01-01

Short-term dynamic therapies, characterized by abbreviated lengths (10–40 sessions) and, in many cases, preset termination dates, have become more widespread in the past three decades. Short-term therapies are based on rapid psychodynamic diagnosis, a therapeutic focus, a rapidly formed therapeutic alliance, awareness of termination and separation processes, and the directive stance of the therapist. The emotional storm of adolescence, stemming from both developmental and psychopathological sources, leaves many adolescents in need of psychotherapy. Many adolescents in need of therapy resist long-term attachment and involvement in an ambiguous relationship, which they experience as a threat to their emerging sense of independence and separateness. Short-term dynamic therapy can be the treatment of choice for many adolescents because it minimizes these threats and is more responsive to their developmental needs. The article presents treatment and follow-up of a 17-year-old youth, using James Mann's time-limited psychotherapy method. PMID:10793128

The thermodynamics of pyrochemical processes for liquid metal reactor fuel cycles

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

Johnson, I.

1987-01-01

The thermodynamic basis for pyrochemical processes for the recovery and purification of fuel for the liquid metal reactor fuel cycle is described. These processes involve the transport of the uranium and plutonium from one liquid alloy to another through a molten salt. The processes discussed use liquid alloys of cadmium, zinc, and magnesium and molten chloride salts. The oxidation-reduction steps are done either chemically by the use of an auxiliary redox couple or electrochemically by the use of an external electrical supply. The same basic thermodynamics apply to both the salt transport and the electrotransport processes. Large deviations from idealmore » solution behavior of the actinides and lanthanides in the liquid alloys have a major influence on the solubilities and the performance of both the salt transport and electrotransport processes. Separation of plutonium and uranium from each other and decontamination from the more noble fission product elements can be achieved using both transport processes. The thermodynamic analysis is used to make process design computations for different process conditions.« less

Containerless, Low-Gravity Undercooling of Ti-Ce Alloys in the MSFC Drop Tube

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, M. B.; Rathz, T. J.; Li, D.; Williams, G.; Workman, G.

1999-01-01

Previous tests of the classical nucleation theory as applied to liquid-liquid gap miscibility systems found a discrepancy between experiment and theory in the ability to undercool one of the liquids before the L1-L2 separation occurs. To model the initial separation process in a two-phase liquid mixture, different theoretical approaches, such as free-energy gradient and density gradient theories, have been put forth. If there is a large enough interaction between the critical liquid and the crucible, both models predict a wetting temperature (T(sub w)) above which the minority liquid perfectly wets and layers the crucible interface, but only on one side of the immiscibility dome. Materials with compositions on the other side of the dome will have simple surface adsorption by the minority liquid before bulk separation occurs when the coexistence (i.e., binoidal) line in reached. If the interaction between the critical liquid and the crucible were to decrease, T(sub w) would increase, eventually approaching the critical consolute temperature (T(sub cc)). If this situation occurs, then there could be large regions of the miscibility gap where non-perfect wetting conditions prevail resulting in droplets of L1 liquid at the surface having a non-zero contact angle. The resulting bulk structure will then depend on what happens on the surface and the subsequent processing conditions. In the past several decades, many experiments in space have been performed on liquid metal binary immiscible systems for the purpose of determining the effects that different crucibles may have on the wetting and separation process of the liquids. Potard performed experiments that showed different crucible materials could cause the majority phase to preferentially wet the container and thus produce a dispersed microstructure of the minority phase. Several other studies have been performed on immiscibles in a semi-container environment using an emulsion technique. Only one previous study was performed using completely containerless processing of immiscible metals and the results of that investigation are similar to some of the emulsion studies. In all the studies, surface wetting was attributed as the cause for the similar microstructures or the asymmetry in the ability to undercool the liquid below the binoidal on one side of the immiscibility dome. By removing the container completely from the separation process, it was proposed that the loss of the crucible/liquid interaction would produce a large shift in T(sub w) and thus change the wetting characteristics at the surface. By investigating various compositions across the miscibility gap, a change in the type and amount of liquid wetting at the surface of a containerless droplet should change the surface nucleating behavior of the droplet - whether it be the liquid-liquid wetting or the liquid-to-solid transition. Undercooling of the liquid into the metastable region should produce significant differences in the separation process and the microstructure upon solidification. In this study, we attempt to measure these transitions by monitoring the temperature of the sample by optical pyrometry. Microstructural analysis will be made to correlate with the degree of undercooling and the separation mechanisms involved.

Thermal Stability of Acetohydroxamic Acid/Nitric Acid Solutions

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

Rudisill, T.S.

2002-03-13

The transmutation of transuranic actinides and long-lived fission products in spent commercial nuclear reactor fuel has been proposed as one element of the Advanced Accelerator Applications Program. Preparation of targets for irradiation in an accelerator-driven subcritical reactor would involve dissolution of the fuel and separation of uranium, technetium, and iodine from the transuranic actinides and other fission products. The UREX solvent extraction process is being developed to reject and isolate the transuranic actinides in the acid waste stream by scrubbing with acetohydroxamic acid (AHA). To ensure that a runaway reaction will not occur between nitric acid and AHA, an analoguemore » of hydroxyl amine, thermal stability tests were performed to identify if any processing conditions could lead to a runaway reaction.« less

Binary chromatographic data and estimation of adsorbent porosities. [data for system n-heptane/n-pentane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meisch, A. J.

1972-01-01

Data for the system n-pentane/n-heptane on porous Chromosorb-102 adsorbent were obtained at 150, 175, and 200 C for mixtures containing zero to 100% n-pentane by weight. Prior results showing limitations on superposition of pure component data to predict multicomponent chromatograms were verified. The thermodynamic parameter MR0 was found to be a linear function of sample composition. A nonporous adsorbent failed to separate the system because of large input sample dispersions. A proposed automated data processing scheme involving magnetic tape recording of the detector signals and processing by a minicomputer was rejected because of resolution limitations of the available a/d converters. Preliminary data on porosity and pore size distributions of the adsorbents were obtained.

Hormone Purification by Isoelectric Focusing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bier, M.

1985-01-01

Various ground-based research approaches are being applied to a more definitive evaluation of the natures and degrees of electroosmosis effects on the separation capabilities of the Isoelectric Focusing (IEF) process. A primary instrumental system for this work involves rotationally stabilized, horizontal electrophoretic columns specially adapted for the IEF process. Representative adaptations include segmentation, baffles/screens, and surface coatings. Comparative performance and development testing are pursued against the type of column or cell established as an engineering model. Previously developed computer simulation capabilities are used to predict low-gravity behavior patterns and performance for IEF apparatus geometries of direct project interest. Three existing mathematical models plus potential new routines for particular aspects of simulating instrument fluid patterns with varied wall electroosmosis influences are being exercised.

Method for preparing membranes with adjustable separation performance

DOEpatents

Peterson, E.S.; Orme, C.J.; Stone, M.L.

1995-01-31

Methods for adjustable separation of solutes and solvents involve the combination of the use of a maximally swollen membrane and subsequent vacuum depressurization exerted on the permeate side of that membrane. By adjusting the extent of depressurization it is possible to separate solvent from solutes and solutes from each other. Improved control of separation parameters as well as improved flux rates characterize the present invention. 2 figs.

Method for preparing membranes with adjustable separation performance

DOEpatents

Peterson, Eric S.; Orme, Christopher J.; Stone, Mark L.

1995-01-01

Methods for adjustable separation of solutes and solvents involve the combination of the use of a maximally swollen membrane and subsequent vacuum depressurization exerted on the permeate side of that membrane. By adjusting the extent of depressurization it is possible to separate solvent from solutes and solutes from each other. Improved control of separation parameters as well as improved flux rates characterize the present invention.

A multi-stage oil-water-separating process design for the sea oil spill recovery robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Min-ge; Wu, Jian-guo; Lin, Xinhua; Wang, Xiao-ming

2018-03-01

Oil spill have the most common pollution to the marine ecological environment. In the late stage of physical method recovery, because of the thin oil and the strong sea breeze, the recovery vessels has low efficiency and high energy consumption. This paper develops a multi-stage oil-water-separating process carried by the sea oil spill recovery robot in severe conditions. This design consists of three separation process, among which both the first and third process adopt corrugated sheets horizontal oil-water separator, while the second is hydraulic rotary breaker. This design also equiptment with rectifier and cyclone separator and other important components. This process has high flexibility and high recovery efficiency. The implement effect is significant.

Imitation and speech: commonalities within Broca's area.

PubMed

Kühn, Simone; Brass, Marcel; Gallinat, Jürgen

2013-11-01

The so-called embodiment of communication has attracted considerable interest. Recently a growing number of studies have proposed a link between Broca's area's involvement in action processing and its involvement in speech. The present quantitative meta-analysis set out to test whether neuroimaging studies on imitation and overt speech show overlap within inferior frontal gyrus. By means of activation likelihood estimation (ALE), we investigated concurrence of brain regions activated by object-free hand imitation studies as well as overt speech studies including simple syllable and more complex word production. We found direct overlap between imitation and speech in bilateral pars opercularis (BA 44) within Broca's area. Subtraction analyses revealed no unique localization neither for speech nor for imitation. To verify the potential of ALE subtraction analysis to detect unique involvement within Broca's area, we contrasted the results of a meta-analysis on motor inhibition and imitation and found separable regions involved for imitation. This is the first meta-analysis to compare the neural correlates of imitation and overt speech. The results are in line with the proposed evolutionary roots of speech in imitation.

Involving the public in spatial decision making using Internet GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhengrong; Sheng, Grant; Wang, Lei

2006-10-01

Public participation is an integral part of legislation or decision making processes. Traditionally, public participation took place through face-to-face encounters such as public meetings and other fora. However, some important factors limiting the efficiency and effectiveness of this mode of public participation include: geographic separation of participants, scheduling and financial constraints in attending meetings, and limited duration of meetings. These led to the awareness that public participation requires new methods in order to achieve a better democratic decision making. On the other hand, GIS has in the past been accused of being an elitist technology, giving more power to those people already possessing it and depriving those, namely the general public, who more often lack such direct forms of information access. Public participation GIS (PPGIS) is emerging as a distinct subset of two previously separate activities: technology-based spatial analysis and participatory democracy. The paper considers both traditional methods and Internet-based technologies of public participation and argues that new Internet-based technologies have the potential to widen participation by using online spatial decision support systems. GIS and the Internet can be used together to provide the general public with a powerful mechanism for becoming more involved in decision problems. Provision of full access to spatial and non-spatial data, along with the appropriate tools with which to use it, may greatly empower the general public. PPGIS focuses on engaging the public to participate and become involved in a particular subject of interest. It empowers GIS users from all walks of life and enabling them to use the technology purposefully to capture their local knowledge and advance their goals. In the project of public participatory Ontario nuclear waste siting, we focused on developing an Internet based PPGIS prototype to help the public to participate online from inception to the final phase of site decision-making. It shows that in certain siting problems and policy formulation processes, participatory online systems are a useful means of implementing public participation through informing and engaging the public to participate in spatial decision making. Web based PPGIS can involve more participants and higher degree of participation among experts, officials and the pblic than traditional means.

Fluid-Structure Interaction Modeling of Parachutes with Disreefing and Modified Geometric Porosity and Separation Aerodynamics of a Cover Jettisoned to the Spacecraft Wake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fritze, Matthew D.

Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) modeling of spacecraft parachutes involves a number of computational challenges. The canopy complexity created by the hundreds of gaps and slits and design-related modification of that geometric porosity by removal of some of the sails and panels are among the formidable challenges. Disreefing from one stage to another when the parachute is used in multiple stages is another formidable challenge. This thesis addresses the computational challenges involved in disreefing of spacecraft parachutes and fully-open and reefed stages of the parachutes with modified geometric porosity. The special techniques developed to address these challenges are described and the FSI computations are be reported. The thesis also addresses the modeling and computation challenges involved in very early stages, where the sudden separation of a cover jettisoned to the spacecraft wake needs to be modeled. Higher-order temporal representations used in modeling the separation motion are described, and the computed separation and wake-induced forces acting on the cover are reported.

ECUT: Energy Conversion and Utilization Technologies program biocatalysis research activity. Potential membrane applications to biocatalyzed processes: Assessment of concentration polarization and membrane fouling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ingham, J. D.

1983-01-01

Separation and purification of the products of biocatalyzed fermentation processes, such as ethanol or butanol, consumes most of the process energy required. Since membrane systems require substantially less energy for separation than most alternatives (e.g., distillation) they have been suggested for separation or concentration of fermentation products. This report is a review of the effects of concentration polarization and membrane fouling for the principal membrane processes: microfiltration, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and electrodialysis including a discussion of potential problems relevant to separation of fermentation products. It was concluded that advanced membrane systems may result in significantly decreased energy consumption. However, because of the need to separate large amounts of water from much smaller amounts of product that may be more volatile than wate, it is not clear that membrane separations will necessarily be more efficient than alternative processes.

Rule-Guided Executive Control of Response Inhibition: Functional Topography of the Inferior Frontal Cortex

PubMed Central

Cai, Weidong; Leung, Hoi-Chung

2011-01-01

Background The human inferior frontal cortex (IFC) is a large heterogeneous structure with distinct cytoarchitectonic subdivisions and fiber connections. It has been found involved in a wide range of executive control processes from target detection, rule retrieval to response control. Since these processes are often being studied separately, the functional organization of executive control processes within the IFC remains unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings We conducted an fMRI study to examine the activities of the subdivisions of IFC during the presentation of a task cue (rule retrieval) and during the performance of a stop-signal task (requiring response generation and inhibition) in comparison to a not-stop task (requiring response generation but not inhibition). We utilized a mixed event-related and block design to separate brain activity in correspondence to transient control processes from rule-related and sustained control processes. We found differentiation in control processes within the IFC. Our findings reveal that the bilateral ventral-posterior IFC/anterior insula are more active on both successful and unsuccessful stop trials relative to not-stop trials, suggesting their potential role in the early stage of stopping such as triggering the stop process. Direct countermanding seems to be outside of the IFC. In contrast, the dorsal-posterior IFC/inferior frontal junction (IFJ) showed transient activity in correspondence to the infrequent presentation of the stop signal in both tasks and the left anterior IFC showed differential activity in response to the task cues. The IFC subdivisions also exhibited similar but distinct patterns of functional connectivity during response control. Conclusions/Significance Our findings suggest that executive control processes are distributed across the IFC and that the different subdivisions of IFC may support different control operations through parallel cortico-cortical and cortico-striatal circuits. PMID:21673969

Utilizing time-frequency amplitude and phase synchrony measure to assess feedback processing in a gambling task.

PubMed

Watts, Adreanna T M; Tootell, Anne V; Fix, Spencer T; Aviyente, Selin; Bernat, Edward M

2018-04-29

The neurophysiological mechanisms involved in the evaluation of performance feedback have been widely studied in the ERP literature over the past twenty years, but understanding has been limited by the use of traditional time-domain amplitude analytic approaches. Gambling outcome valence has been identified as an important factor modulating event-related potential (ERP) components, most notably the feedback negativity (FN). Recent work employing time-frequency analysis has shown that processes indexed by the FN are confounded in the time-domain and can be better represented as separable feedback-related processes in the theta (3-7 Hz) and delta (0-3 Hz) frequency bands. In addition to time-frequency amplitude analysis, phase synchrony measures have begun to further our understanding of performance evaluation by revealing how feedback information is processed within and between various brain regions. The current study aimed to provide an integrative assessment of time-frequency amplitude, inter-trial phase synchrony, and inter-channel phase synchrony changes following monetary feedback in a gambling task. Results revealed that time-frequency amplitude activity explained separable loss and gain processes confounded in the time-domain. Furthermore, phase synchrony measures explained unique variance above and beyond amplitude measures and demonstrated enhanced functional integration between medial prefrontal and bilateral frontal, motor, and occipital regions for loss relative to gain feedback. These findings demonstrate the utility of assessing time-frequency amplitude, inter-trial phase synchrony, and inter-channel phase synchrony together to better elucidate the neurophysiology of feedback processing. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Birth order effects on the separation process in young adults: an evolutionary and dynamic approach.

PubMed

Ziv, Ido; Hermel, Orly

2011-01-01

The present study analyzes the differential contribution of a familial or social focus in imaginative ideation (the personal fable and imagined audience mental constructs) to the separation-individuation process of firstborn, middleborn, and lastborn children. A total of 160 young adults were divided into 3 groups by birth order. Participants' separation-individuation process was evaluated by the Psychological Separation Inventory, and results were cross-validated by the Pathology of Separation-Individuation Inventory. The Imaginative Ideation Inventory tested the relative dominance of the familial and social environments in participants' mental constructs. The findings showed that middleborn children had attained more advanced separation and were lower in family-focused ideation and higher in nonfamilial social ideation. However, the familial and not the social ideation explained the variance in the separation process in all the groups. The findings offer new insights into the effects of birth order on separation and individuation in adolescents and young adults.

Mechanistic simulation of batch acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation with in situ gas stripping using Aspen Plus™.

PubMed

Darkwah, Kwabena; Nokes, Sue E; Seay, Jeffrey R; Knutson, Barbara L

2018-05-22

Process simulations of batch fermentations with in situ product separation traditionally decouple these interdependent steps by simulating a separate "steady state" continuous fermentation and separation units. In this study, an integrated batch fermentation and separation process was simulated for a model system of acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation with in situ gas stripping, such that the fermentation kinetics are linked in real-time to the gas stripping process. A time-dependent cell growth, substrate utilization, and product production is translated to an Aspen Plus batch reactor. This approach capitalizes on the phase equilibria calculations of Aspen Plus to predict the effect of stripping on the ABE fermentation kinetics. The product profiles of the integrated fermentation and separation are shown to be sensitive to gas flow rate, unlike separate steady state fermentation and separation simulations. This study demonstrates the importance of coupled fermentation and separation simulation approaches for the systematic analyses of unsteady state processes.

Hydrogen isotope systematics of phase separation in submarine hydrothermal systems: Experimental calibration and theoretical models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Berndt, M.E.; Seal, R.R.; Shanks, Wayne C.; Seyfried, W.E.

1996-01-01

Hydrogen isotope fractionation factors were measured for coexisting brines and vapors formed by phase separation of NaCl/H2O fluids at temperatures ranging from 399-450??C and pressures from 277-397 bars. It was found that brines are depleted in D compared to coexisting vapors at all conditions studied. The magnitude of hydrogen isotope fractionation is dependent on the relative amounts of Cl in the two phases and can be empirically correlated to pressure using the following relationship: 1000 ln ??(vap-brine) = 2.54(??0.83) + 2.87(??0.69) x log (??P), where ??(vap-brine) is the fractionation factor and ??P is a pressure term representing distance from the critical curve in the NaCl/H2O system. The effect of phase separation on hydrogen isotope distribution in subseafloor hydrothermal systems depends on a number of factors, including whether phase separation is induced by heating at depth or by decompression of hydrothermal fluids ascending to the seafloor. Phase separation in most subseafloor systems appears to be a simple process driven by heating of seawater to conditions within the two-phase region, followed by segregation and entrainment of brine or vapor into a seawater dominated system. Resulting vent fluids exhibit large ranges in Cl concentration with no measurable effect on ??D. Possible exceptions to this include hydrothermal fluids venting at Axial and 9??N on the East Pacific Rise. High ??D values of low Cl fluids venting at Axial are consistent with phase separation taking place at relatively shallow levels in the oceanic crust while negative ??D values in some low Cl fluids venting at 9??N suggest involvement of a magmatic fluid component or phase separation of D-depleted brines derived during previous hydrothermal activity.

Preferential processing of self-relevant stimuli occurs mainly at the perceptual and conscious stages of information processing.

PubMed

Tacikowski, P; Ehrsson, H H

2016-04-01

Self-related stimuli, such as one's own name or face, are processed faster and more accurately than other types of stimuli. However, what remains unknown is at which stage of the information processing hierarchy this preferential processing occurs. Our first aim was to determine whether preferential self-processing involves mainly perceptual stages or also post-perceptual stages. We found that self-related priming was stronger than other-related priming only because of perceptual prime-target congruency. Our second aim was to dissociate the role of conscious and unconscious factors in preferential self-processing. To this end, we compared the "self" and "other" conditions in trials where primes were masked or unmasked. In two separate experiments, we found that self-related priming was stronger than other-related priming but only in the unmasked trials. Together, our results suggest that preferential access to the self-concept occurs mainly at the perceptual and conscious stages of the stimulus processing hierarchy. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neural Correlates of Metaphor Processing: The Roles of Figurativeness, Familiarity and Difficulty

PubMed Central

Schmidt, Gwenda L.; Seger, Carol A.

2009-01-01

There is currently much interest in investigating the neural substrates of metaphor processing. In particular, it has been suggested that the right hemisphere plays a special role in the comprehension of figurative (non-literal) language, and in particular metaphors. However, some studies find no evidence of right hemisphere involvement in metaphor comprehension (e.g. Lee & Dapretto, 2006; Rapp et al., 2004). We suggest that lateralization differences between literal and metaphorical language may be due to factors such as differences in familiarity (Schmidt et al., 2007), or difficulty (Bookheimer, 2002; Rapp et al., 2004) in addition to figurativeness. The purpose of this study was to separate the effects of figurativeness, familiarity, and difficulty on the recruitment of neural systems involved in language, in particular right hemisphere mechanisms. This was achieved by comparing neural activation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) between four conditions: literal sentences, familiar and easy to understand metaphors, unfamiliar and easy to understand metaphors, and unfamiliar and difficult to understand metaphors. Metaphors recruited the right insula, left temporal pole and right inferior frontal gyrus in comparison with literal sentences. Familiar metaphors recruited the right middle frontal gyrus when contrasted with unfamiliar metaphors. Easy metaphors showed higher activation in the left middle frontal gyrus as compared to difficult metaphors, while difficult metaphors showed selective activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus as compared to easy metaphors. We conclude that the right hemisphere is involved in metaphor processing and that the factors of figurativeness, familiarity and difficulty are important in determining neural recruitment of semantic processing. PMID:19586700

Functional localization of a "Time Keeper" function separate from attentional resources and task strategy.

PubMed

Tracy, J I; Faro, S H; Mohamed, F B; Pinsk, M; Pinus, A

2000-03-01

The functional neuroanatomy of time estimation has not been well-documented. This research investigated the fMRI measured brain response to an explicit, prospective time interval production (TIP) task. The study tested for the presence of brain activity reflecting a primary time keeper function, distinct from the brain systems involved either in conscious strategies to monitor time or attentional resource and other cognitive processes to accomplish the task. In the TIP task participants were given a time interval and asked to indicate when it elapsed. Two control tasks (counting forwards, backwards) were administered, in addition to a dual task format of the TIP task. Whole brain images were collected at 1.5 Tesla. Analyses (n = 6) yielded a statistical parametric map (SPM ¿z¿) reflecting time keeping and not strategy (counting, number manipulation) or attention resource utilization. Additional SPM ¿z¿s involving activation associated with the accuracy and magnitude the of time estimation response are presented. Results revealed lateral cerebellar and inferior temporal lobe activation were associated with primary time keeping. Behavioral data provided evidence that the procedures for the explicit time judgements did not occur automatically and utilized controlled processes. Activation sites associated with accuracy, magnitude, and the dual task provided indications of the other structures involved in time estimation that implemented task components related to controlled processing. The data are consistent with prior proposals that the cerebellum is a repository of codes for time processing, but also implicate temporal lobe structures for this type of time estimation task. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms and inflammation: whether to target the malignant clone or the inflammatory process or both.

PubMed

Koschmieder, S; Mughal, T I; Hasselbalch, H C; Barosi, G; Valent, P; Kiladjian, J-J; Jeryczynski, G; Gisslinger, H; Jutzi, J S; Pahl, H L; Hehlmann, R; Maria Vannucchi, A; Cervantes, F; Silver, R T; Barbui, T

2016-05-01

The Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are clonal disorders involving hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and are associated with myeloproliferation, splenomegaly and constitutional symptoms. Similar signs and symptoms can also be found in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases, and inflammatory processes have been found to play an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of MPNs. Signal transduction pathways involving JAK1, JAK2, STAT3 and STAT5 are causally involved in driving both the malignant cells and the inflammatory process. Moreover, anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating drugs have been used successfully in the treatment of MPNs. However, to date, many unresoved issues remain. These include the role of somatic mutations that are present in addition to JAK2V617F, CALR and MPL W515 mutations, the interdependency of malignant and nonmalignant cells and the means to eradicate MPN-initiating and -maintaining cells. It is imperative for successful therapeutic approaches to define whether the malignant clone or the inflammatory cells or both should be targeted. The present review will cover three aspects of the role of inflammation in MPNs: inflammatory states as important differential diagnoses in cases of suspected MPN (that is, in the absence of a clonal marker), the role of inflammation in MPN pathogenesis and progression and the use of anti-inflammatory drugs for MPNs. The findings emphasize the need to separate the inflammatory processes from the malignancy in order to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of patients with Philadelphia-negative MPNs.

Imaginary parts of coupled electron and phonon propagators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartzman, K.; Lawrence, W. E.

1988-01-01

Quasiparticle and phonon damping rates due to the electron-phonon and Coulomb interactions are obtained directly from the self-energy formalism of strong-coupling theory. This accounts for all processes involving phonon or quasiparticle decay into a single particle-hole pair, or quasiparticle decay by emission or absorption of a single real phonon. The two quasiparticle decay modes are treated on a common footing, without ad hoc separation, by accounting fully for the dynamics of the phonon propagator and the Coulomb vertex-the latter by expansion of the four-point Coulomb vertex function. The results are shown to be expressible in terms of only the physical (i.e., fully renormalized) energies and coupling constants, and are written in terms of spectral functions such as α2F(ω) and its generalizations. Expansion of these in powers of a phonon linewidth parameter distinguishes (in lowest orders) between quasiparticle decay modes involving real and virtual phonons. However, the simplest prescription for calculating decay rates involves an effective scattering amplitude in which this distinction is not made.

The SPOR Domain, a Widely Conserved Peptidoglycan Binding Domain That Targets Proteins to the Site of Cell Division.

PubMed

Yahashiri, Atsushi; Jorgenson, Matthew A; Weiss, David S

2017-07-15

Sporulation-related repeat (SPOR) domains are small peptidoglycan (PG) binding domains found in thousands of bacterial proteins. The name "SPOR domain" stems from the fact that several early examples came from proteins involved in sporulation, but SPOR domain proteins are quite diverse and contribute to a variety of processes that involve remodeling of the PG sacculus, especially with respect to cell division. SPOR domains target proteins to the division site by binding to regions of PG devoid of stem peptides ("denuded" glycans), which in turn are enriched in septal PG by the intense, localized activity of cell wall amidases involved in daughter cell separation. This targeting mechanism sets SPOR domain proteins apart from most other septal ring proteins, which localize via protein-protein interactions. In addition to SPOR domains, bacteria contain several other PG-binding domains that can exploit features of the cell wall to target proteins to specific subcellular sites. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

Psychopathology, temperament and unintentional injury: cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships.

PubMed

Rowe, Richard; Simonoff, Emily; Silberg, Judy L

2007-01-01

Growing evidence indicates a link between unintentional injury and both disruptive and emotional psychopathology. We present further evidence of these associations and address the underlying mechanisms. We also examine the genetic contribution to unintentional injury. The Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development provides genetically informative multi-wave and multi-informant data regarding common psychopathology using the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment interview. The EASI temperament scales and child injury involvement were measured in parent-report questionnaires. Unintentional injury showed significant genetic effects in girls and significant shared environmental effects in boys and girls. Symptoms of over-anxious disorder (OAD), and the EASI temperament scales were independently associated with injury. Longitudinal modeling showed impulsivity and OAD symptoms were related prospectively to injury involvement. Injuries did not increase risk for later impulsivity or OAD symptoms but were related prospectively to separation anxiety disorder symptoms. Impulsivity and OAD symptoms increased risk of later injury. We discuss the processes that may be involved in these relationships.

Application of membrane processes to alcohol-water separation: Improving the energy efficiency of biofuel production

EPA Science Inventory

Pervaporation • Membrane-based separation process • Not filtration Separation based on solution-diffusion transport through non-porous or “molecularly-porous” membrane Permeate is a vapor • Permeate contains only volatile compounds • Able to separate mixtures of mis...

SEPARATION OF PLUTONIUM IONS FROM SOLUTION BY ADSORPTION ON ZIRCONIUM PYROPHOSPHATE

DOEpatents

Stoughton, R.W.

1961-01-31

A method is given for separating plutonium in its reduced, phosphate- insoluble state from other substances. It involves contacting a solution containing the plutonium with granular zirconium pyrophosphate.

Basic processes in reading aloud and colour naming: towards a better understanding of the role of spatial attention.

PubMed

Robidoux, Serje; Rauwerda, Derek; Besner, Derek

2014-05-01

Whether or not lexical access from print requires spatial attention has been debated intensively for the last 30 years. Studies involving colour naming generally find evidence that "unattended" words are processed. In contrast, reading-based experiments do not find evidence of distractor processing. One theory ascribes the discrepancy to weaker attentional demands for colour identification. If colour naming does not capture all of a subject's attention, the remaining attentional resources can be deployed to process the distractor word. The present study combined exogenous spatial cueing with colour naming and reading aloud separately and found that colour naming is less sensitive to the validity of a spatial cue than is reading words aloud. Based on these results, we argue that colour naming studies do not effectively control attention so that no conclusions about unattended distractor processing can be drawn from them. Thus we reiterate the consistent conclusion drawn from reading aloud and lexical decision studies: There is no word identification without (spatial) attention.

The association between ruminative thinking and negative interpretation bias in social anxiety.

PubMed

Badra, Marcel; Schulze, Lars; Becker, Eni S; Vrijsen, Janna Nonja; Renneberg, Babette; Zetsche, Ulrike

2017-09-01

Cognitive models propose that both, negative interpretations of ambiguous social situations and ruminative thoughts about social events contribute to the maintenance of social anxiety disorder. It has further been postulated that ruminative thoughts fuel biased negative interpretations, however, evidence is rare. The present study used a multi-method approach to assess ruminative processing following a social interaction (post-event processing by self-report questionnaire and social rumination by experience sampling method) and negative interpretation bias (via two separate tasks) in a student sample (n = 51) screened for high (HSA) and low social anxiety (LSA). Results support the hypothesis that group differences in negative interpretations of ambiguous social situations in HSAs vs. LSAs are mediated by higher levels of post-event processing assessed in the questionnaire. Exploratory analyses highlight the potential role of comorbid depressive symptoms. The current findings help to advance the understanding of the association between two cognitive processes involved in social anxiety and stress the importance of ruminative post-event processing.

Discriminating cascading processes in nonlinear optics: A QED analysis based on their molecular and geometric origin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, Kochise; Chernyak, Vladimir Y.; Mukamel, Shaul

2017-03-01

The nonlinear optical response of a system of molecules often contains contributions whereby the products of lower-order processes in two separate molecules give signals that appear on top of a genuine direct higher-order process with a single molecule. These many-body contributions are known as cascading and complicate the interpretation of multidimensional stimulated Raman and other nonlinear signals. In a quantum electrodynamic treatment, these cascading processes arise from second-order expansion in the molecular coupling to vacuum modes of the radiation field, i.e., single-photon exchange between molecules, which also gives rise to other collective effects. We predict the relative phase of the direct and cascading nonlinear signals and its dependence on the microscopic dynamics as well as the sample geometry. This phase may be used to identify experimental conditions for distinguishing the direct and cascading signals by their phase. Higher-order cascading processes involving the exchange of several photons between more than two molecules are discussed.

Process for producing biodiesel, lubricants, and fuel and lubricant additives in a critical fluid medium

DOEpatents

Ginosar, Daniel M.; Fox, Robert V.

2005-05-03

A process for producing alkyl esters useful in biofuels and lubricants by transesterifying glyceride- or esterifying free fatty acid-containing substances in a single critical phase medium is disclosed. The critical phase medium provides increased reaction rates, decreases the loss of catalyst or catalyst activity and improves the overall yield of desired product. The process involves the steps of dissolving an input glyceride- or free fatty acid-containing substance with an alcohol or water into a critical fluid medium; reacting the glyceride- or free fatty acid-containing substance with the alcohol or water input over either a solid or liquid acidic or basic catalyst and sequentially separating the products from each other and from the critical fluid medium, which critical fluid medium can then be recycled back in the process. The process significantly reduces the cost of producing additives or alternatives to automotive fuels and lubricants utilizing inexpensive glyceride- or free fatty acid-containing substances, such as animal fats, vegetable oils, rendered fats, and restaurant grease.

The Earth's mantle in a microwave oven: thermal convection driven by a heterogeneous distribution of heat sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fourel, Loïc; Limare, Angela; Jaupart, Claude; Surducan, Emanoil; Farnetani, Cinzia G.; Kaminski, Edouard C.; Neamtu, Camelia; Surducan, Vasile

2017-08-01

Convective motions in silicate planets are largely driven by internal heat sources and secular cooling. The exact amount and distribution of heat sources in the Earth are poorly constrained and the latter is likely to change with time due to mixing and to the deformation of boundaries that separate different reservoirs. To improve our understanding of planetary-scale convection in these conditions, we have designed a new laboratory setup allowing a large range of heat source distributions. We illustrate the potential of our new technique with a study of an initially stratified fluid involving two layers with different physical properties and internal heat production rates. A modified microwave oven is used to generate a uniform radiation propagating through the fluids. Experimental fluids are solutions of hydroxyethyl cellulose and salt in water, such that salt increases both the density and the volumetric heating rate. We determine temperature and composition fields in 3D with non-invasive techniques. Two fluorescent dyes are used to determine temperature. A Nd:YAG planar laser beam excites fluorescence, and an optical system, involving a beam splitter and a set of colour filters, captures the fluorescence intensity distribution on two separate spectral bands. The ratio between the two intensities provides an instantaneous determination of temperature with an uncertainty of 5% (typically 1K). We quantify mixing processes by precisely tracking the interfaces separating the two fluids. These novel techniques allow new insights on the generation, morphology and evolution of large-scale heterogeneities in the Earth's lower mantle.

The professional perspective on patient involvement in the development of quality indicators: a qualitative analysis using the example of chronic heart failure in the German health care setting.

PubMed

Pohontsch, Nadine Janis; Herzberg, Heidrun; Joos, Stefanie; Welti, Felix; Scherer, Martin; Blozik, Eva

2015-01-01

There is an international consensus that quality indicators (QIs) of health care ought to represent patient-relevant aspects. Therefore, patient involvement in the development process is essential. However, there is no methodological gold standard for involving patients in QI development. The aim of this study is to explore experts' views on the representation of patient-relevant aspects in the QI development process using the QIs developed in the context of the German National Disease Management Guideline for Heart Failure as an example. Semi-structured, open telephone interviews were conducted with 15 German experts (patient representatives, physicians, researchers, and methodologists involved in guideline development or quality assessment). Interview themes were the relevance of the exemplary set of QIs for patients, as well as the legitimacy of, competence of, and collaboration with the patient representative who participated in the development process. Interviews were fully transcribed and content analyzed. Deductive categories derived from the research questions were supplemented by inductively formed categories during the review of the interview material. The qualitative analysis suggests a discrepancy between the guidelines' QIs and those relevant to patients from an expert's point of view, such as physician-patient communication and quality of counseling. Experts reported only minor communication and cooperation problems while working together in the guideline/QI development team. Concerns existed, for example, regarding the recruitment of patient representatives for diseases without self-help organizations, the financing of patient representation, and the training of patient representatives. Only few potential strategies for improving the process of patient involvement were mentioned. Integrating the patients' perspectives through the recruitment of a patient representative to participate in the development team was well established and broadly accepted. However, experts stated that the finally selected QIs represent only a small part of the patient-relevant aspects of medical care. According to the experts' perceptions, the current processes provide a very limited scope for integrating the patients' perspectives in a more extensive way. Supplementing the set of "conventional" QIs with additional, separately developed, "patient-side" QIs might help to include patient priorities in quality measurement.

Electrochemical CO2 and O2 separation for crew and plant environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, M. G.; Grigger, David J.; Foerg, Sandra L.

1992-01-01

The study describes a closed ecosystem concept that includes electrochemical CO2 and O2 separators and a moisture condenser/separator for maintaining CO2, O2, and humidity levels in the crew and plant habitats at their respective optimal conditions. The key processes of this concept are aqueous electrolyte-based electrochemical CO2 and O2 separations. The principles and cell characteristics of these electrochemical gas separation processes are described. Also presented are descriptions of test hardware and the test results of the Electrochemical CO2 Separator (ECS) and the Electrochemical O2 Separator (EOS), and the combination of the ECS and the EOS. The test results proved that the ECS and EOS processes for the combined concept are viable.

Children at Risk: Vulnerability/Resiliency to Psychopathology after Parental Separation/Divorce.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McPhee, Jeffrey Thomas

This study explored factors within a child's social, familial, and intrapsychic system that mediate the effects on the child of parental separation/divorce. Using a sample of 52 children and 28 parents involved in contested divorce cases, structured interviews lasting 1.5 to 3 hours were conducted. Information about the separation, parental…

Single-channel mixed signal blind source separation algorithm based on multiple ICA processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Xiefeng; Li, Ji

2017-01-01

Take separating the fetal heart sound signal from the mixed signal that get from the electronic stethoscope as the research background, the paper puts forward a single-channel mixed signal blind source separation algorithm based on multiple ICA processing. Firstly, according to the empirical mode decomposition (EMD), the single-channel mixed signal get multiple orthogonal signal components which are processed by ICA. The multiple independent signal components are called independent sub component of the mixed signal. Then by combining with the multiple independent sub component into single-channel mixed signal, the single-channel signal is expanded to multipath signals, which turns the under-determined blind source separation problem into a well-posed blind source separation problem. Further, the estimate signal of source signal is get by doing the ICA processing. Finally, if the separation effect is not very ideal, combined with the last time's separation effect to the single-channel mixed signal, and keep doing the ICA processing for more times until the desired estimated signal of source signal is get. The simulation results show that the algorithm has good separation effect for the single-channel mixed physiological signals.

Does linear separability really matter? Complex visual search is explained by simple search

PubMed Central

Vighneshvel, T.; Arun, S. P.

2013-01-01

Visual search in real life involves complex displays with a target among multiple types of distracters, but in the laboratory, it is often tested using simple displays with identical distracters. Can complex search be understood in terms of simple searches? This link may not be straightforward if complex search has emergent properties. One such property is linear separability, whereby search is hard when a target cannot be separated from its distracters using a single linear boundary. However, evidence in favor of linear separability is based on testing stimulus configurations in an external parametric space that need not be related to their true perceptual representation. We therefore set out to assess whether linear separability influences complex search at all. Our null hypothesis was that complex search performance depends only on classical factors such as target-distracter similarity and distracter homogeneity, which we measured using simple searches. Across three experiments involving a variety of artificial and natural objects, differences between linearly separable and nonseparable searches were explained using target-distracter similarity and distracter heterogeneity. Further, simple searches accurately predicted complex search regardless of linear separability (r = 0.91). Our results show that complex search is explained by simple search, refuting the widely held belief that linear separability influences visual search. PMID:24029822

Municipal solid waste processing and separation employing wet torrefaction for alternative fuel production and aluminum reclamation.

PubMed

Mu'min, Gea Fardias; Prawisudha, Pandji; Zaini, Ilman Nuran; Aziz, Muhammad; Pasek, Ari Darmawan

2017-09-01

This study employs wet torrefaction process (also known as hydrothermal) at low temperature. This process simultaneously acts as waste processing and separation of mixed waste, for subsequent utilization as an alternative fuel. The process is also applied for the delamination and separation of non-recyclable laminated aluminum waste into separable aluminum and plastic. A 2.5-L reactor was used to examine the wet torrefaction process at temperatures below 200°C. It was observed that the processed mixed waste was converted into two different products: a mushy organic part and a bulky plastic part. Using mechanical separation, the two products can be separated into a granular organic product and a plastic bulk for further treatment. TGA analysis showed that no changes in the plastic composition and no intrusion from plastic fraction to the organic fraction. It can be proclaimed that both fractions have been completely separated by wet torrefaction. The separated plastic fraction product obtained from the wet torrefaction treatment also contained relatively high calorific value (approximately 44MJ/kg), therefore, justifying its use as an alternative fuel. The non-recyclable plastic fraction of laminated aluminum was observed to be delaminated and separated from its aluminum counterpart at a temperature of 170°C using an additional acetic acid concentration of 3%, leaving less than 25% of the plastic content in the aluminum part. Plastic products from both samples had high calorific values of more than 30MJ/kg, which is sufficient to be converted and used as a fuel. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.