Automatic reactor control system for transient operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lipinski, Walter C.; Bhattacharyya, Samit K.; Hanan, Nelson A.

Various programmatic considerations have delayed the upgrading of the TREAT reactor and the performance of the control system is not yet experimentally verified. The current schedule calls for the upgrading activities to occur last in the calendar year 1987. Detailed simulation results, coupled with earlier validation of individual components of the control strategy in TREAT, verify the performance of the algorithms. The control system operates within the safety envelope provided by a protection system designed to ensure reactor safety under conditions of spurious reactivity additions. The approach should be directly applicable to MMW systems, with appropriate accounting of temperature rate limitations of key components and of the inertia of the secondary system components.

NUCLEAR REACTOR

DOEpatents

Grebe, J.J.

1959-12-15

A reactor which is particularly adapted tu serve as a heat source for a nuclear powered alrcraft or rocket is described. The core of this reactor consists of a porous refractory modera;or body which is impregnated with fissionable nuclei. The core is designed so that its surface forms tapered inlet and outlet ducts which are separated by the porous moderator body. In operation a gaseous working fluid is circulated through the inlet ducts to the surface of the moderator, enters and passes through the porous body, and is heated therein. The hot gas emerges into the outlet ducts and is available to provide thrust. The principle advantage is that tremendous quantities of gas can be quickly heated without suffering an excessive pressure drop.

A microprocessor tester for the treat upgrade reactor trip system

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

Lenkszus, F.R.; Bucher, R.G.

1985-02-01

The upgrading of the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility at ANL-Idaho has been designed to provide additional experimental capabilities for the study of core disruptive accident (CDA) phenomena. To improve the analytical extrapolation of test results to full-size assembly bundles, the facility upgrade will increase the maximum size of the test bundle from 7 to 37 fuel pins. By creating a core convertor zone around the test location, the neutron spectrum incident on the test assembly will be hardened and the maximum energy deposited in the sample will be increased. In addition, a programmable Automated Reactor Control System (ARCS) willmore » permit high-power transients up to 11,000 MW having a controlled reactor period of from 15 to 0.1 sec. These modifications to the core neutronics will improve simulation of LMFBR accident conditions. Finally, a sophisticated, multiply-redundant safety system, the Reactor Trip System (RTS), will provide safe operation for both steady state and transient production operating modes. To insure that this complex safety system is functioning properly, a Dedicated Microprocessor Tester (DMT) has been implemented to perform a thorough checkout of the RTS prior to all TREAT operations. A quantitative reliability analysis of the RTS shows that the unreliability, that is, the probability of failure, is acceptable for a 10 hour mission time or risk interval.« less

Laboratory instrumentation modernization at the WPI Nuclear Reactor Facility

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

Not Available

1995-01-01

With partial funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) University Reactor Instrumentation Program several laboratory instruments utilized by students and researchers at the WPI Nuclear Reactor Facility have been upgraded or replaced. Designed and built by General Electric in 1959, the open pool nuclear training reactor at WPI was one of the first such facilities in the nation located on a university campus. Devoted to undergraduate use, the reactor and its related facilities have been since used to train two generations of nuclear engineers and scientists for the nuclear industry. The low power output of the reactor and an ergonomicmore » facility design make it an ideal tool for undergraduate nuclear engineering education and other training. The reactor, its control system, and the associate laboratory equipment are all located in the same room. Over the years, several important milestones have taken place at the WPI reactor. In 1969, the reactor power level was upgraded from 1 kW to 10 kW. The reactor`s Nuclear Regulatory Commission operating license was renewed for 20 years in 1983. In 1988, under DOE Grant No. DE-FG07-86ER75271, the reactor was converted to low-enriched uranium fuel. In 1992, again with partial funding from DOE (Grant No. DE-FG02-90ER12982), the original control console was replaced.« less

Integrated biogas upgrading and hydrogen utilization in an anaerobic reactor containing enriched hydrogenotrophic methanogenic culture.

PubMed

Luo, Gang; Angelidaki, Irini

2012-11-01

Biogas produced by anaerobic digestion, is mainly used in a gas motor for heat and electricity production. However, after removal of CO(2) , biogas can be upgraded to natural gas quality, giving more utilization possibilities, such as utilization as autogas, or distant utilization by using the existing natural gas grid. The current study presents a new biological method for biogas upgrading in a separate biogas reactor, containing enriched hydrogenotrophic methanogens and fed with biogas and hydrogen. Both mesophilic- and thermophilic anaerobic cultures were enriched to convert CO(2) to CH(4) by addition of H(2) . Enrichment at thermophilic temperature (55°C) resulted in CO(2) and H(2) bioconversion rate of 320 mL CH(4) /(gVSS h), which was more than 60% higher than that under mesophilic temperature (37°C). Different dominant species were found at mesophilic- and thermophilic-enriched cultures, as revealed by PCR-DGGE. Nonetheless, they all belonged to the order Methanobacteriales, which can mediate hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Biogas upgrading was then tested in a thermophilic anaerobic reactor under various operation conditions. By continuous addition of hydrogen in the biogas reactor, high degree of biogas upgrading was achieved. The produced biogas had a CH(4) content, around 95% at steady-state, at gas (mixture of biogas and hydrogen) injection rate of 6 L/(L day). The increase of gas injection rate to 12 L/(L day) resulted in the decrease of CH(4) content to around 90%. Further study showed that by decreasing the gas-liquid mass transfer by increasing the stirring speed of the mixture the CH(4) content was increased to around 95%. Finally, the CH(4) content around 90% was achieved in this study with the gas injection rate as high as 24 L/(L day). Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Upgrade of Irradiation Test Capability of the Experimental Fast Reactor Joyo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sekine, Takashi; Aoyama, Takafumi; Suzuki, Soju; Yamashita, Yoshioki

2003-06-01

The JOYO MK-II core was operated from 1983 to 2000 as fast neutron irradiation bed. In order to meet various requirements for irradiation tests for development of FBRs, the JOYO upgrading project named MK-III program was initiated. The irradiation capability in the MK-III core will be about four times larger than that of the MK-II core. Advanced irradiation test subassemblies such as capsule type subassembly and on-line instrumentation rig are planned. As an innovative reactor safety system, the irradiation test of Self-Actuated Shutdown System (SASS) will be conducted. In order to improve the accuracy of neutron fluence, the core management code system was upgraded, and the Monte Carlo code and Helium Accumulation Fluence Monitor (HAFM) were applied. The MK-III core is planned to achieve initial criticality in July 2003.

TU-G-BRD-02: Automated Systematic Quality Assurance Program for Radiation Oncology Information System Upgrades

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

Zhang, B; Yi, B; Eley, J

Purpose: To: (1) describe an independent, automated, systematic software-based protocol for verifying clinical data accuracy/integrity for mitigation of data corruption/loss risks following radiation oncology information system (ROIS) upgrades; and (2) report on application of this approach in an academic/community practice environment. Methods: We propose a robust approach to perform quality assurance on the ROIS after an upgrade, targeting four data sources: (1) ROIS relational database; (2) ROIS DICOM interface; (3) ROIS treatment machine data configuration; and (4) ROIS-generated clinical reports. We investigated the database schema for differences between pre-/post-upgrade states. Paired DICOM data streams for the same object (such asmore » RT-Plan/Treatment Record) were compared between pre-/post-upgrade states for data corruption. We examined machine configuration and related commissioning data files for changes and corruption. ROIS-generated treatment appointment and treatment parameter reports were compared to ensure patient encounter and treatment plan accuracy. This protocol was supplemented by an end-to-end clinical workflow test to verify essential ROI functionality and integrity of components interfaced during patient care chain of activities. We describe the implementation of this protocol during a Varian ARIA system upgrade at our clinic. Results: We verified 1,638 data tables with 2.4 billion data records. For 222 under-treatment patients, 605 DICOM RT plans and 13,480 DICOM treatment records retrieved from the ROIS DICOM interface were compared, with no differences in fractions, doses delivered, or treatment parameters. We identified 82 new data tables and 78 amended/deleted tables consistent with the upgrade. Reports for 5,073 patient encounters over a 2-week horizon were compared and were identical to those before the upgrade. Content in 12,237 xml machine files was compared, with no differences identified. Conclusion: An independent QA/validation approach for ROIS upgrades was developed and implemented at our clinic. The success of this approach ensures a robust QA of ROIS upgrades without manual paper/electronic checks and associated intensive labor.« less

Pratt & Whitney ESCORT derivative for mars surface power

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feller, Gerald J.; Joyner, Russell

1999-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to address the applicability of a common reactor system design from the Pratt & Whitney ESCORT nuclear thermal rocket engine concept to support current NASA mars surface-based power requirements. The ESCORT is a bimodal engine capable of supporting a wide range of propulsive thermal and vehicle electrical power requirements. The ESCORT engine is powered by a fast-spectrum beryllium-reflected CERMET-fueled nuclear reactor. In addition to an expander cycle propulsive mode, the ESCORT is capable of operating in an electrical power mode. In this mode, the reactor is used to heat a mixture of helium and xenon to drive a closed-loop Brayton cycle in order to generate electrical energy. Recent Design Reference Mission requirements (DRM) from NASA Johnson Space Center and NASA Lewis Research Center studies in 1997 and 1998 have detailed upgraded requirements for potential mars transfer missions. The current NASA DRM requires a nuclear thermal propulsion system capable of delivering total mission requirements of 200170 N (45000 lbf) thrust and 50 kWe of spacecraft electrical power. Additionally, these requirements detailed a surface power system capable of providing approximately 160 kW of electrical energy over an approximate 10 year period within a given weight and volume envelope. Current NASA studies use a SP-100 reactor (0.8 MT) and a NERVA derivative (1.6 MT) as baseline systems. A mobile power cart of approximate dimensions 1.7 m×4.5 m×4.4 m has been conceptualized to transport the reactor power system on the Mars Surface. The 63.25 cm diameter and 80.25 cm height of the ESCORT and its 1.3 MT of weight fit well within the current weight and volume target range of the NASA DRM requirements. The modifications required to the ESCORT reactor system to support this upgraded electrical power requirements along with operation in the Martian atmospheric conditions are addressed in this paper. Sufficient excess reactivity and burnup capability were designed into the ESCORT reactor system to support these upgraded requirements. Only slight modifications to reactor hardware were required to address any environmental considerations. These modifications involved sealing any refractory metal alloy components from the CO2 in the Martian Atmosphere. Also, the Brayton cycle Power Conversion Unit (PCU) hardware was modified to support the upgraded requirements. This paper discusses the design analysis performed and provides information on the final common reactor concept to be used on the Mars surface to support manned missions.

Upgrading of a small overloaded activated sludge plant using a MBBR system.

PubMed

Andreottola, G; Foladori, P; Gatti, G; Nardelli, P; Pettena, M; Ragazzi, M

2003-01-01

The aim of this research was the application of a biofilm system for the upgrading of a full-scale overloaded activated sludge MWWTP using the MBBR (Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor) technology. The choice of this fixed biomass system appeared appropriate because it offers several advantages including good potential in nitrification process, easiness of management and above all, the possibility to use the existing tank with very few modifications. MBBR system counts only few full-scale plants in Italy at the moment, thus a pilot-scale experimentation was preliminarily carried out. The acquired parameters were used for the fullscale MWWTP upgrading. The upgrading of the activated sludge reactor in the MBBR system has given (1) a relevant increase in the flowrate treated up to 60%; (2) a good efficiency in organic carbon removal and nitrification, equal to 88% and 90% respectively, with HRTs of 5.5-7 h; (3) the overcoming of the hydraulic overload of the secondary settler, applying a lamellar settler. It was observed a good correlation between the results obtained at pilot-scale and those observed in the full-scale plant.

A Pilot Study Investigating the Effects of Advanced Nuclear Power Plant Control Room Technologies: Methods and Qualitative Results

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

BLanc, Katya Le; Powers, David; Joe, Jeffrey

2015-08-01

Control room modernization is an important part of life extension for the existing light water reactor fleet. None of the 99 currently operating commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. has completed a full-scale control room modernization to date. Nuclear power plant main control rooms for the existing commercial reactor fleet remain significantly analog, with only limited digital modernizations. Upgrades in the U.S. do not achieve the full potential of newer technologies that might otherwise enhance plant and operator performance. The goal of the control room upgrade benefits research is to identify previously overlooked benefits of modernization, identify candidate technologiesmore » that may facilitate such benefits, and demonstrate these technologies through human factors research. This report describes a pilot study to test upgrades to the Human Systems Simulation Laboratory at INL.« less

Simultaneous hydrogen utilization and in situ biogas upgrading in an anaerobic reactor.

PubMed

Luo, Gang; Johansson, Sara; Boe, Kanokwan; Xie, Li; Zhou, Qi; Angelidaki, Irini

2012-04-01

The possibility of converting hydrogen to methane and simultaneous upgrading of biogas was investigated in both batch tests and fully mixed biogas reactor, simultaneously fed with manure and hydrogen. Batch experiments showed that hydrogen could be converted to methane by hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis with conversion of more than 90% of the consumed hydrogen to methane. The hydrogen consumption rates were affected by both P(H₂) (hydrogen partial pressure) and mixing intensity. Inhibition of propionate and butyrate degradation by hydrogen (1 atm) was only observed under high mixing intensity (shaking speed 300 rpm). Continuous addition of hydrogen (flow rate of 28.6 mL/(L/h)) to an anaerobic reactor fed with manure, showed that more than 80% of the hydrogen was utilized. The propionate and butyrate level in the reactor was not significantly affected by the hydrogen addition. The methane production rate of the reactor with H₂ addition was 22% higher, compared to the control reactor only fed with manure. The CO₂ content in the produced biogas was only 15%, while it was 38% in the control reactor. However, the addition of hydrogen resulted in increase of pH (from 8.0 to 8.3) due to the consumption of bicarbonate, which subsequently caused slight inhibition of methanogenesis. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Shear compression testing of glass-fibre steel specimens after 4K reactor irradiation: Present status and facility upgrade

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

Gerstenberg, H.; Kraehling, E.; Katheder, H.

1997-06-01

The shear strengths of various fibre reinforced resins being promising candidate insulators for superconducting coils to be used tinder a strong radiation load, e.g. in future fusion reactors were investigated prior and subsequent to reactor in-core irradiation at liquid helium temperature. A large number of sandwich-like (steel-bonded insulation-steel) specimens representing a widespread variety of materials and preparation techniques was exposed to irradiation doses of up to 5 x 10{sup 7} Gy in form of fast neutrons and {gamma}-radiation. In a systematic study several experimental parameters including irradiation dose, postirradiation storage temperature and measuring temperature were varied before the determination ofmore » the ultimate shear strength. The results obtained from the different tested materials are compared. In addition an upgrade of the in-situ test rig installed at the Munich research reactor is presented, which allows combined shear/compression loading of low temperature irradiated specimens and provides a doubling of the testing rate.« less

A Research Framework for Demonstrating Benefits of Advanced Control Room Technologies

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

Le Blanc, Katya; Boring, Ronald; Joe, Jeffrey

Control Room modernization is an important part of life extension for the existing light water reactor fleet. None of the 99 currently operating commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. has completed a full-scale control room modernization to date. A full-scale modernization might, for example, entail replacement of all analog panels with digital workstations. Such modernizations have been undertaken successfully in upgrades in Europe and Asia, but the U.S. has yet to undertake a control room upgrade of this magnitude. Instead, nuclear power plant main control rooms for the existing commercial reactor fleet remain significantly analog, with only limited digitalmore » modernizations. Previous research under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program has helped establish a systematic process for control room upgrades that support the transition to a hybrid control. While the guidance developed to date helps streamline the process of modernization and reduce costs and uncertainty associated with introducing digital control technologies into an existing control room, these upgrades do not achieve the full potential of newer technologies that might otherwise enhance plant and operator performance. The aim of the control room benefits research presented here is to identify previously overlooked benefits of modernization, identify candidate technologies that may facilitate such benefits, and demonstrate these technologies through human factors research. This report serves as an outline for planned research on the benefits of greater modernization in the main control rooms of nuclear power plants.« less

Ex situ themo-catalytic upgrading of biomass pyrolysis vapors using a traveling wave microwave reactor

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Microwave heating offers a number of advantages over conventional heating methods, such as, rapid and volumetric heating, precise temperature control, energy efficiency and lower temperature gradient. In this article we demonstrate the use of 2450 MHz microwave traveling wave reactor to heat the cat...

Upgrading producer gas quality from rubber wood gasification in a radio frequency tar thermocatalytic treatment reactor.

PubMed

Anis, Samsudin; Zainal, Z A

2013-12-01

This study focused on improving the producer gas quality using radio frequency (RF) tar thermocatalytic treatment reactor. The producer gas containing tar, particles and water was directly passed at a particular flow rate into the RF reactor at various temperatures for catalytic and thermal treatments. Thermal treatment generates higher heating value of 5.76 MJ Nm(-3) at 1200°C. Catalytic treatments using both dolomite and Y-zeolite provide high tar and particles conversion efficiencies of about 97% on average. The result also showed that light poly-aromatic hydrocarbons especially naphthalene and aromatic compounds particularly benzene and toluene were still found even at higher reaction temperatures. Low energy intensive RF tar thermocatalytic treatment was found to be effective for upgrading the producer gas quality to meet the end user requirements and increasing its energy content. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The extraction of bitumen from western oil sands: Volume 2. Final report

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

Oblad, A.G.; Dahlstrom, D.A.; Deo, M.D.

1997-11-26

The program is composed of 20 projects, of which 17 are laboratory bench or laboratory pilot scale processes or computer process simulations that are performed in existing facilities on the University of Utah campus in north-east Salt Lake City. These tasks are: (1) coupled fluidized-bed bitumen recovery and coked sand combustion; (2) water-based recovery of bitumen; (3) oil sand pyrolysis in a continuous rotary kiln reactor; (4) oil sand pyrolysis in a large diameter fluidized bed reactor; (5) oil sand pyrolysis in a small diameter fluidized bed reactor; (6) combustion of spent sand in a transport reactor; (7) recovery andmore » upgrading of oil sand bitumen using solvent extraction methods; (8) fixed-bed hydrotreating of Uinta Basin bitumens and bitumen-derived hydrocarbon liquids; (9) ebullieted bed hydrotreating of bitumen and bitumen derived liquids; (10) bitumen upgrading by hydropyrolysis; (11) evaluation of Utah`s major oil sand deposits for the production of asphalt, high-energy jet fuels and other specialty products; (12) characterization of the bitumens and reservoir rocks from the Uinta Basin oil sand deposits; (13) bitumen upgrading pilot plant recommendations; (14) liquid-solid separation and fine tailings thickening; (15) in-situ production of heavy oil from Uinta Basin oil sand deposits; (16) oil sand research and development group analytical facility; and (17) process economics. This volume contains reports on nine of these projects, references, and a bibliography. 351 refs., 192 figs., 65 tabs.« less

Pyrolysis of waste tyres: a review.

PubMed

Williams, Paul T

2013-08-01

Approximately 1.5 billion tyres are produced each year which will eventually enter the waste stream representing a major potential waste and environmental problem. However, there is growing interest in pyrolysis as a technology to treat tyres to produce valuable oil, char and gas products. The most common reactors used are fixed-bed (batch), screw kiln, rotary kiln, vacuum and fluidised-bed. The key influence on the product yield, and gas and oil composition, is the type of reactor used which in turn determines the temperature and heating rate. Tyre pyrolysis oil is chemically very complex containing aliphatic, aromatic, hetero-atom and polar fractions. The fuel characteristics of the tyre oil shows that it is similar to a gas oil or light fuel oil and has been successfully combusted in test furnaces and engines. The main gases produced from the pyrolysis of waste tyres are H(2), C(1)-C(4) hydrocarbons, CO(2), CO and H(2)S. Upgrading tyre pyrolysis products to high value products has concentrated on char upgrading to higher quality carbon black and to activated carbon. The use of catalysts to upgrade the oil to a aromatic-rich chemical feedstock or the production of hydrogen from waste tyres has also been reported. Examples of commercial and semi-commercial scale tyre pyrolysis systems show that small scale batch reactors and continuous rotary kiln reactors have been developed to commercial scale. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Federal Logistics Information System (FLIS) Procedures Manual. Volume 13. Change 1.

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-01-01

BD 06 TA 67 BD BD TU BD TU BD FBDA DF BD 06 TA 96 BD BD TU BD TU BD FBDD DF BD 06 TD 96 BD BD TU BD TU BD FBDE DF BD 06 SE 96 BD BD TU BD TU BD FBDG...XN TD FAZD DF AZ 06 TD 96 AZ AZ TU AZ TU TD FAZ7 DF AZ 22 TD 97 AZ AZ TU AZ TU TD FBDD DF BD 06 TD 96 BD BD TU BD TU TD FBD7 DF BD 22 TD 97 BD BD TU...48 TU TU FBDA DF BD 06 TA 96 BD BD TU BD TU TU FBDD DF BD 06 TD 96 BD BD TU BD TU TU FBDE DF BD 06 SE 96 BD BD TU BD TU TU FBDG DF BD 06 TG 96 BD BD TU

FLIS Procedures Manual. Materiel Management Decision Rule Tables.

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-10-01

U5 C PA FAPA DF PA 06 TA 67 PA PA TU PA TU PA FEPA DF PA 06 SE 67 PA PA TU PA TU PA FGPA DF PA 06 TG 67 PA PA TU PA TU PA FJPA DF PA 06 SJ 67 PA PA SJ...AJ TU AJ TU TA FAJ4 DF AJ 22 TA 97 AJ AJ TU AJ TU TA FAKE DF KE 06 TA 67 KE KE TU KE TU TA FAKZ DF KZ 01 TA 5D KZ KZ TU KZ TU I TA FAPA DF PA 06 TA...AJ TU TU FAJ5 DF AJ 22 TG 97 AJ AJ TU AJ TU TU FAKE DF KE 06 TA 67 KE KE TU KE TU TU FAPA DF PA 01 TA 67 PA PA TU PA TU TU FATC DF AZ 22 TA 8D AZ AZ

Pyrolysis of waste tyres: A review

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

Williams, Paul T., E-mail: p.t.williams@leeds.ac.uk

2013-08-15

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Pyrolysis of waste tyres produces oil, gas and char, and recovered steel. • Batch, screw kiln, rotary kiln, vacuum and fluidised-bed are main reactor types. • Product yields are influenced by reactor type, temperature and heating rate. • Pyrolysis oils are complex and can be used as chemical feedstock or fuel. • Research into higher value products from the tyre pyrolysis process is reviewed. - Abstract: Approximately 1.5 billion tyres are produced each year which will eventually enter the waste stream representing a major potential waste and environmental problem. However, there is growing interest inmore » pyrolysis as a technology to treat tyres to produce valuable oil, char and gas products. The most common reactors used are fixed-bed (batch), screw kiln, rotary kiln, vacuum and fluidised-bed. The key influence on the product yield, and gas and oil composition, is the type of reactor used which in turn determines the temperature and heating rate. Tyre pyrolysis oil is chemically very complex containing aliphatic, aromatic, hetero-atom and polar fractions. The fuel characteristics of the tyre oil shows that it is similar to a gas oil or light fuel oil and has been successfully combusted in test furnaces and engines. The main gases produced from the pyrolysis of waste tyres are H{sub 2}, C{sub 1}–C{sub 4} hydrocarbons, CO{sub 2}, CO and H{sub 2}S. Upgrading tyre pyrolysis products to high value products has concentrated on char upgrading to higher quality carbon black and to activated carbon. The use of catalysts to upgrade the oil to a aromatic-rich chemical feedstock or the production of hydrogen from waste tyres has also been reported. Examples of commercial and semi-commercial scale tyre pyrolysis systems show that small scale batch reactors and continuous rotary kiln reactors have been developed to commercial scale.« less

Multiscale Evaluation of Catalytic Upgrading of Biomass Pyrolysis Vapors on Ni- and Ga-Modified ZSM-5

DOE PAGES

Yung, Matthew M.; Stanton, Alexander R.; Iisa, Kristiina; ...

2016-10-07

Metal-impregnated (Ni or Ga) ZSM-5 catalysts were studied for biomass pyrolysis vapor upgrading to produce hydrocarbons using three reactors constituting a 100 000x change in the amount of catalyst used in experiments. Catalysts were screened for pyrolysis vapor phase upgrading activity in two small-scale reactors: (i) a Pyroprobe with a 10 mg catalyst in a fixed bed and (ii) a fixed-bed reactor with 500 mg of catalyst. The best performing catalysts were then validated with a larger scale fluidized-bed reactor (using ~1 kg of catalyst) that produced measurable quantities of bio-oil for analysis and evaluation of mass balances. Despite somemore » inherent differences across the reactor systems (such as residence time, reactor type, analytical techniques, mode of catalyst and biomass feed) there was good agreement of reaction results for production of aromatic hydrocarbons, light gases, and coke deposition. Relative to ZSM-5, Ni or Ga addition to ZSM-5 increased production of fully deoxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons and light gases. In the fluidized bed reactor, Ga/ZSM-5 slightly enhanced carbon efficiency to condensed oil, which includes oxygenates in addition to aromatic hydrocarbons, and reduced oil oxygen content compared to ZSM-5. Ni/ZSM-5, while giving the highest yield of fully deoxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons, gave lower overall carbon efficiency to oil but with the lowest oxygen content. Reaction product analysis coupled with fresh and spent catalyst characterization indicated that the improved performance of Ni/ZSM-5 is related to decreasing deactivation by coking, which keeps the active acid sites accessible for the deoxygenation and aromatization reactions that produce fully deoxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons. The addition of Ga enhances the dehydrogenation activity of the catalyst, which leads to enhanced olefin formation and higher fully deoxygenated aromatic hydrocarbon yields compared to unmodified ZSM-5. Catalyst characterization by ammonia temperature programmed desorption, surface area measurements, and postreaction temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) also showed that the metal-modified zeolites retained a greater percentage of their initial acidity and surface area, which was consistent between the reactor scales. These results demonstrate that the trends observed with smaller (milligram to gram) catalyst reactors are applicable to larger, more industrially relevant (kg) scales to help guide catalyst research toward application.« less

Fission products detection in irradiated TRIGA fuel by means of gamma spectroscopy and MCNP calculation.

PubMed

Cagnazzo, M; Borio di Tigliole, A; Böck, H; Villa, M

2018-05-01

Aim of this work was the detection of fission products activity distribution along the axial dimension of irradiated fuel elements (FEs) at the TRIGA Mark II research reactor of the Technische Universität (TU) Wien. The activity distribution was measured by means of a customized fuel gamma scanning device, which includes a vertical lifting system to move the fuel rod along its vertical axis. For each investigated FE, a gamma spectrum measurement was performed along the vertical axis, with steps of 1 cm, in order to determine the axial distribution of the fission products. After the fuel elements underwent a relatively short cooling down period, different fission products were detected. The activity concentration was determined by calibrating the gamma detector with a standard calibration source of known activity and by MCNP6 simulations for the evaluation of self-absorption and geometric effects. Given the specific TRIGA fuel composition, a correction procedure is developed and used in this work for the measurement of the fission product Zr 95 . This measurement campaign is part of a more extended project aiming at the modelling of the TU Wien TRIGA reactor by means of different calculation codes (MCNP6, Serpent): the experimental results presented in this paper will be subsequently used for the benchmark of the models developed with the calculation codes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modularized Production of Value-Added Products and Fuels from Distributed Waste Carbon-Rich Feedstocks

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

Weber, Robert S.; Holladay, Johnathan E.

Here, we have adapted and characterized electrolysis reactors to complement the conversion of regional- and community-scale quantities of waste into fuel or chemicals. The overall process must be able to contend with a wide range of feedstocks, must be inherently safe, and should not rely on external facilities for co-reactants or heat rejection and supply. Our current approach is based on the upgrading of bio-oil produced by the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of carbon-containing waste feedstocks. HTL can convert a variety of feedstocks into a bio-oil that requires much less upgrading than the products of other ways of deconstructing biomass. Wemore » are now investigating the use of electrochemical processes for the further conversions needed to transform the bio-oil from HTL into fuel or higher value chemicals. We, and others, have shown that electrochemical reduction can offer adequate reaction rates and at least some of the necessary generality. In addition, an electrochemical reactor necessarily both oxidizes (removes electrons) on one side of the reactor and reduces (adds electrons) on the other side. Therefore, the two types of reactions could, in principle, be coupled to upgrade the bio-oil and simultaneously polish the water that is employed as a reactant and a carrier in the upstream HTL. Here, we overview a notional process, the possible conversion chemistry, and the economics of an HTL-electrochemical process.« less

Modularized Production of Value-Added Products and Fuels from Distributed Waste Carbon-Rich Feedstocks

DOE PAGES

Weber, Robert S.; Holladay, Johnathan E.

2018-05-22

Here, we have adapted and characterized electrolysis reactors to complement the conversion of regional- and community-scale quantities of waste into fuel or chemicals. The overall process must be able to contend with a wide range of feedstocks, must be inherently safe, and should not rely on external facilities for co-reactants or heat rejection and supply. Our current approach is based on the upgrading of bio-oil produced by the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of carbon-containing waste feedstocks. HTL can convert a variety of feedstocks into a bio-oil that requires much less upgrading than the products of other ways of deconstructing biomass. Wemore » are now investigating the use of electrochemical processes for the further conversions needed to transform the bio-oil from HTL into fuel or higher value chemicals. We, and others, have shown that electrochemical reduction can offer adequate reaction rates and at least some of the necessary generality. In addition, an electrochemical reactor necessarily both oxidizes (removes electrons) on one side of the reactor and reduces (adds electrons) on the other side. Therefore, the two types of reactions could, in principle, be coupled to upgrade the bio-oil and simultaneously polish the water that is employed as a reactant and a carrier in the upstream HTL. Here, we overview a notional process, the possible conversion chemistry, and the economics of an HTL-electrochemical process.« less

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

Bucholz, J.A.

The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is in the midst of a massive upgrade program to enhance experimental facilities. The reactor presently has four horizontal experimental beam tubes, all of which will be replaced or redesigned. The HB-2 beam tube will be enlarged to support more guide tubes, while the HB-4 beam tube will soon include a cold neutron source.

Optimization of hydrogen dispersion in thermophilic up-flow reactors for ex situ biogas upgrading.

PubMed

Bassani, Ilaria; Kougias, Panagiotis G; Treu, Laura; Porté, Hugo; Campanaro, Stefano; Angelidaki, Irini

2017-06-01

This study evaluates the efficiency of four novel up-flow reactors for ex situ biogas upgrading converting externally provided CO 2 and H 2 to CH 4 , via hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. The gases were injected through stainless steel diffusers combined with alumina ceramic sponge or through alumina ceramic membranes. Pore size, input gas loading and gas recirculation flow rate were modulated to optimize gas-liquid mass transfer, and thus methanation efficiency. Results showed that larger pore size diffusion devices achieved the best kinetics and output-gas quality converting all the injected H 2 and CO 2 , up to 3.6L/L REACTOR ·d H 2 loading rate. Specifically, reactors' CH 4 content increased from 23 to 96% and the CH 4 yield reached 0.25L CH4/ L H2 . High throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed predominance of bacteria belonging to Anaerobaculum genus and to uncultured order MBA08. Additionally, the massive increase of hydrogenotrophic methanogens, such as Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus, and syntrophic bacteria demonstrates the selection-effect of H 2 on community composition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Upgrade of the Neutron Induced Positron Source NEPOMUC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hugenschmidt, C.; Ceeh, H.; Gigl, T.; Lippert, F.; Piochacz, C.; Pikart, P.; Reiner, M.; Weber, J.; Zimnik, S.

2013-06-01

In summer 2012, the new NEutron induced POsitron Source MUniCh (NEPOMUC) was installed and put into operation at the research reactor FRM II. At NEPOMUC upgrade 80% 113Cd enriched Cd is used as neutron-gamma converter in order to ensure an operation time of 25 years. A structure of Pt foils inside the beam tube generates positrons by pair production. Moderated positrons leaving the Pt front foil are electrically extracted and magnetically guided to the outside of the reactor pool. The whole design, including Pt-foils, the electric lenses and the magnetic fields, has been improved in order to enhance both the intensity and the brightness of the positron beam. After adjusting the potentials and the magnetic guide and compensation fields an intensity of about 3·109 moderated positrons per second is expected. During the first start-up, the measured temperatures of about 90°C ensure a reliable operation of the positron source. Within this contribution the features and the status of NEPOMUC upgrade are elucidated. In addition, an overview of recent positron beam experiments and current developments at the spectrometers is given.

Katie Gaston | NREL

Science.gov Websites

gasification. The new catalytic riser reactor system can be used for ex situ vapor-phase upgrading or steam , and Wood: 1. Parametric Study and Comparison with Literature," Industrial & Engineering

Advanced Test Reactor Safety Basis Upgrade Lessons Learned Relative to Design Basis Verification and Safety Basis Management

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

G. L. Sharp; R. T. McCracken

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is a pressurized light-water reactor with a design thermal power of 250 MW. The principal function of the ATR is to provide a high neutron flux for testing reactor fuels and other materials. The reactor also provides other irradiation services such as radioisotope production. The ATR and its support facilities are located at the Test Reactor Area of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). An audit conducted by the Department of Energy's Office of Independent Oversight and Performance Assurance (DOE OA) raised concerns that design conditions at the ATR were not adequately analyzedmore » in the safety analysis and that legacy design basis management practices had the potential to further impact safe operation of the facility.1 The concerns identified by the audit team, and issues raised during additional reviews performed by ATR safety analysts, were evaluated through the unreviewed safety question process resulting in shutdown of the ATR for more than three months while these concerns were resolved. Past management of the ATR safety basis, relative to facility design basis management and change control, led to concerns that discrepancies in the safety basis may have developed. Although not required by DOE orders or regulations, not performing design basis verification in conjunction with development of the 10 CFR 830 Subpart B upgraded safety basis allowed these potential weaknesses to be carried forward. Configuration management and a clear definition of the existing facility design basis have a direct relation to developing and maintaining a high quality safety basis which properly identifies and mitigates all hazards and postulated accident conditions. These relations and the impact of past safety basis management practices have been reviewed in order to identify lessons learned from the safety basis upgrade process and appropriate actions to resolve possible concerns with respect to the current ATR safety basis. The need for a design basis reconstitution program for the ATR has been identified along with the use of sound configuration management principles in order to support safe and efficient facility operation.« less

Copper(I), silver(I) and gold(I) halide complexes with the dithioformamidinium dihalides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peyronel, Giorgio; Malavasi, Wanda; Pignedoli, Anna

Some copper(I), silver(I) and gold(I) halide complexes with the dithioformamidinium dihalides (Tu 2X 2) were prepared and studied by infrared spectroscopy and conductometry: 3CuX.2Tu 2X 2(XCl,I), CuBr.Tu 2Br 2, 4CuBr.3.5Tu 2Br 2.MeOH, 2CuBr.Tu 2Br 2.0.66EtOH, 3CuI.2Tu 2I 2, 2AgCl.2.5Tu 2Cl 2, 3AgCl.2Tu 2Cl 2.0.5EtOH, 3AgCl.Tu 2Cl 2, 2AgBr.2Tu 2Br 2.0.5Tu 2(NO 3) 2.H 2O, AgBr.Tu 2Br 2, 4AgBr.Tu 2Br 2, 4AgI.0.5Tu 2I 2.EtOH, AuCl.1.5Tu 2Cl 2, 4AuCl.3.5Tu 2Cl 2.2DMF, AuBr.4Tu 2Br 2, AuBr.2Tu 2Br 2.1.5DMF, AuI.5Tu 2I 2, AuI.Tu 2I 2. A decrease of the ν(NH), δ(NH 2) and ν(CN 2) frequencies and an increase of the ν(CS) frequencies indicate an N-coordination of the dithioformamidinium cation to the metal ions; ν(MN) and ν(MX) frequencies are tentatively assigned in the far-infrared spectra.

Acute toxicity and chemical evaluation of coking wastewater under biological and advanced physicochemical treatment processes.

PubMed

Dehua, Ma; Cong, Liu; Xiaobiao, Zhu; Rui, Liu; Lujun, Chen

2016-09-01

This study investigated the changes of toxic compounds in coking wastewater with biological treatment (anaerobic reactor, anoxic reactor and aerobic-membrane bioreactor, A1/A2/O-MBR) and advanced physicochemical treatment (Fenton oxidation and activated carbon adsorption) stages. As the biological treatment stages preceding, the inhibition effect of coking wastewater on the luminescence of Vibrio qinghaiensis sp. Nov. Q67 decreased. Toxic units (TU) of coking wastewater were removed by A1/A2/O-MBR treatment process, however approximately 30 % TU remained in the biologically treated effluent. There is a tendency that fewer and fewer residual organic compounds could exert equal acute toxicity during the biological treatment stages. Activated carbon adsorption further removed toxic pollutants of biologically treated effluent but the Fenton effluent increased acute toxicity. The composition of coking wastewater during the treatment was evaluated using the three-dimensional fluorescence spectra, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The organic compounds with high polarity were the main cause of acute toxicity in the coking wastewater. Aromatic protein-like matters in the coking wastewater with low biodegradability and high toxicity contributed mostly to the remaining acute toxicity of the biologically treated effluents. Chlorine generated from the oxidation process was responsible for the acute toxicity increase after Fenton oxidation. Therefore, the incorporation of appropriate advanced physicochemical treatment process, e.g., activated carbon adsorption, should be implemented following biological treatment processes to meet the stricter discharge standards and be safer to the environment.

Performance and microbial community analysis of the anaerobic reactor with coke oven gas biomethanation and in situ biogas upgrading.

PubMed

Wang, Wen; Xie, Li; Luo, Gang; Zhou, Qi; Angelidaki, Irini

2013-10-01

A new method for simultaneous coke oven gas (COG) biomethanation and in situ biogas upgrading in anaerobic reactor was developed in this study. The simulated coke oven gas (SCOG) (92% H2 and 8% CO) was injected directly into the anaerobic reactor treating sewage sludge through hollow fiber membrane (HFM). With pH control at 8.0, the added H2 and CO were fully consumed and no negative effects on the anaerobic degradation of sewage sludge were observed. The maximum CH4 content in the biogas was 99%. The addition of SCOG resulted in enrichment and dominance of homoacetogenetic genus Treponema and hydrogenotrophic genus Methanoculleus in the liquid, which indicated that H2 were converted to methane by both direct (hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis) and indirect (homoacetogenesis+aceticlastic methanogenesis) pathways in the liquid. However, the aceticlasitic genus Methanosaeta was dominant for archaea in the biofilm on the HFM, which indicated indirect (homoacetogenesis+aceticlastic methanogenesis) H2 conversion pathway on the biofilm. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bio-oil from fast pyrolysis of lignin: Effects of process and upgrading parameters.

PubMed

Fan, Liangliang; Zhang, Yaning; Liu, Shiyu; Zhou, Nan; Chen, Paul; Cheng, Yanling; Addy, Min; Lu, Qian; Omar, Muhammad Mubashar; Liu, Yuhuan; Wang, Yunpu; Dai, Leilei; Anderson, Erik; Peng, Peng; Lei, Hanwu; Ruan, Roger

2017-10-01

Effects of process parameters on the yield and chemical profile of bio-oil from fast pyrolysis of lignin and the processes for lignin-derived bio-oil upgrading were reviewed. Various process parameters including pyrolysis temperature, reactor types, lignin characteristics, residence time, and feeding rate were discussed and the optimal parameter conditions for improved bio-oil yield and quality were concluded. In terms of lignin-derived bio-oil upgrading, three routes including pretreatment of lignin, catalytic upgrading, and co-pyrolysis of hydrogen-rich materials have been investigated. Zeolite cracking and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) treatment are two main methods for catalytic upgrading of lignin-derived bio-oil. Factors affecting zeolite activity and the main zeolite catalytic mechanisms for lignin conversion were analyzed. Noble metal-based catalysts and metal sulfide catalysts are normally used as the HDO catalysts and the conversion mechanisms associated with a series of reactions have been proposed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Process for the liquefaction of solid carbonaceous materials wherein nitrogen is separated from hydrogen via ammonia synthesis

DOEpatents

Stetka, Steven S.; Nazario, Francisco N.

1982-01-01

In a process for the liquefaction of solid carbonaceous materials wherein bottoms residues are upgraded with a process wherein air is employed, the improvement wherein nitrogen buildup in the system is avoided by ammonia synthesis. In a preferred embodiment hydrogen from other portions of the liquefaction process will be combined with hydrogen produced as a result of the bottoms upgrading to increase the H.sub.2 :N.sub.2 ratio in the ammonia reactor.

Decommissioning the Romanian Water-Cooled Water-Moderated Research Reactor: New Environmental Perspective on the Management of Radioactive Waste

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

Barariu, G.; Giumanca, R.

2006-07-01

Pre-feasibility and feasibility studies were performed for decommissioning of the water-cooled water-moderated research reactor (WWER) located in Bucharest - Magurele, Romania. Using these studies as a starting point, the preferred safe management strategy for radioactive wastes produced by reactor decommissioning is outlined. The strategy must account for reactor decommissioning, as well as for the rehabilitation of the existing Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant and for the upgrade of the Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility at Baita-Bihor. Furthermore, the final rehabilitation of the laboratories and ecological reconstruction of the grounds need to be provided for, in accordance with national and international regulations. Inmore » accordance with IAEA recommendations at the time, the pre-feasibility study proposed three stages of decommissioning. However, since then new ideas have surfaced with regard to decommissioning. Thus, taking into account the current IAEA ideology, the feasibility study proposes that decommissioning of the WWER be done in one stage to an unrestricted clearance level of the reactor building in an Immediate Dismantling option. Different options and the corresponding derived preferred option for waste management are discussed taking into account safety measures, but also considering technical, logistical and economic factors. For this purpose, possible types of waste created during each decommissioning stage are reviewed. An approximate inventory of each type of radioactive waste is presented. The proposed waste management strategy is selected in accordance with the recommended international basic safety standards identified in the previous phase of the project. The existing Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant (RWTP) from the Horia Hulubei Institute for Nuclear Physics and Engineering (IFIN-HH), which has been in service with no significant upgrade since 1974, will need refurbishing due to deterioration, as well as upgrading in order to ensure the plant complies with current safety standards. This plant will also need to be adapted to treat wastes generated by WWER dismantling. The Baita-Bihor National Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility consists of two galleries in an abandoned uranium mine located in the central-western part of the Bihor Mountains in Transylvania. The galleries lie at a depth of 840 m. The facility requires a considerable overhaul. Several steps recommended for the upgrade of the facility are explored. Environmental concerns have lately become a crucial part of the radioactive waste management strategy. As such, all decisions must be made with great regard for land utilization around nuclear objectives. (authors)« less

Utilization of the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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

Selby, Douglas L; Bilheux, Hassina Z; Meilleur, Flora

2015-01-01

This paper addresses several aspects of the scientific utilization of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). Topics to be covered will include: 1) HFIR neutron scattering instruments and the formal instrument user program; 2) Recent upgrades to the neutron scattering instrument stations at the reactor, and 3) eMod a new tool for addressing instrument modifications and providing configuration control and design process for scientific instruments at HFIR and the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). There are 15 operating neutron instrument stations at HFIR with 12 of them organized into a formal user program. Since the last presentationmore » on HFIR instruments at IGORR we have installed a Single Crystal Quasi-Laue Diffractometer instrument called IMAGINE; and we have made significant upgrades to HFIR neutron scattering instruments including the Cold Triple Axis Instrument, the Wide Angle Neutron Diffractometer, the Powder Diffractometer, and the Neutron Imaging station. In addition, we have initiated upgrades to the Thermal Triple Axis Instrument and the Bio-SANS cold neutron instrument detector system. All of these upgrades are tied to a continuous effort to maintain a high level neutron scattering user program at the HFIR. For the purpose of tracking modifications such as those mentioned and configuration control we have been developing an electronic system for entering instrument modification requests that follows a modification or instrument project through concept development, design, fabrication, installation, and commissioning. This system, which we call eMod, electronically leads the task leader through a series of questions and checklists that then identifies such things as ES&H and radiological issues and then automatically designates specific individuals for the activity review process. The system has been in use for less than a year and we are still working out some of the inefficiencies, but we believe that this will become a very effective tool for achieving the configuration and process control believed to be necessary for scientific instrument systems.« less

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program A Reference Plan for Control Room Modernization: Planning and Analysis Phase

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

Jacques Hugo; Ronald Boring; Lew Hanes

2013-09-01

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program is collaborating with a U.S. nuclear utility to bring about a systematic fleet-wide control room modernization. To facilitate this upgrade, a new distributed control system (DCS) is being introduced into the control rooms of these plants. The DCS will upgrade the legacy plant process computer and emergency response facility information system. In addition, the DCS will replace an existing analog turbine control system with a display-based system. With technology upgrades comes the opportunity to improve the overall human-system interaction between the operators and the control room. To optimize operatormore » performance, the LWRS Control Room Modernization research team followed a human-centered approach published by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NUREG-0711, Rev. 3, Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model (O’Hara et al., 2012), prescribes four phases for human factors engineering. This report provides examples of the first phase, Planning and Analysis. The three elements of Planning and Analysis in NUREG-0711 that are most crucial to initiating control room upgrades are: • Operating Experience Review: Identifies opportunities for improvement in the existing system and provides lessons learned from implemented systems. • Function Analysis and Allocation: Identifies which functions at the plant may be optimally handled by the DCS vs. the operators. • Task Analysis: Identifies how tasks might be optimized for the operators. Each of these elements is covered in a separate chapter. Examples are drawn from workshops with reactor operators that were conducted at the LWRS Human System Simulation Laboratory HSSL and at the respective plants. The findings in this report represent generalized accounts of more detailed proprietary reports produced for the utility for each plant. The goal of this LWRS report is to disseminate the technique and provide examples sufficient to serve as a template for other utilities’ projects for control room modernization.« less

Separation of catalyst from Fischer-Tropsch slurry

DOEpatents

White, Curt M.; Quiring, Michael S.; Jensen, Karen L.; Hickey, Richard F.; Gillham, Larry D.

1998-10-27

In a catalytic process for converting synthesis gas including hydrogen and carbon monoxide to hydrocarbons and oxygenates by a slurry Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, the wax product along with dispersed catalyst is removed from the slurry and purified by removing substantially all of the catalyst prior to upgrading the wax and returning a portion to the Fischer-Tropsch reaction. Separation of the catalyst particles from the wax product is accomplished by dense gas and/or liquid extraction in which the organic compounds in the wax are dissolved and carried away from the insoluble inorganic catalyst particles that are primarily inorganic in nature. The purified catalyst free wax product can be subsequently upgraded by various methods such as hydrogenation, isomerization, hydrocracking, conversion to gasoline and other products over ZSM-5 aluminosilicate zeolite, etc. The catalyst particles are returned to the Fischer-Tropsch Reactor by slurring them with a wax fraction of appropriate molecular weight, boiling point and viscosity to avoid reactor gelation.

Methods for natural gas and heavy hydrocarbon co-conversion

DOEpatents

Kong, Peter C [Idaho Falls, ID; Nelson, Lee O [Idaho Falls, ID; Detering, Brent A [Idaho Falls, ID

2009-02-24

A reactor for reactive co-conversion of heavy hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon gases and includes a dielectric barrier discharge plasma cell having a pair of electrodes separated by a dielectric material and passageway therebetween. An inlet is provided for feeding heavy hydrocarbons and other reactive materials to the passageway of the discharge plasma cell, and an outlet is provided for discharging reaction products from the reactor. A packed bed catalyst may optionally be used in the reactor to increase efficiency of conversion. The reactor can be modified to allow use of a variety of light sources for providing ultraviolet light within the discharge plasma cell. Methods for upgrading heavy hydrocarbons are also disclosed.

Nonthermal plasma systems and methods for natural gas and heavy hydrocarbon co-conversion

DOEpatents

Kong, Peter C.; Nelson, Lee O.; Detering, Brent A.

2005-05-24

A reactor for reactive co-conversion of heavy hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon gases and includes a dielectric barrier discharge plasma cell having a pair of electrodes separated by a dielectric material and passageway therebetween. An inlet is provided for feeding heavy hydrocarbons and other reactive materials to the passageway of the discharge plasma cell, and an outlet is provided for discharging reaction products from the reactor. A packed bed catalyst may optionally be used in the reactor to increase efficiency of conversion. The reactor can be modified to allow use of a variety of light sources for providing ultraviolet light within the discharge plasma cell. Methods for upgrading heavy hydrocarbons are also disclosed.

Calculation and Experiment of Adding Top Beryllium Shims for Iran MNSR

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

Ebadati, Javad; Rezvanifard, Mehdi; Shahabi, Iraj

2006-07-01

Miniature Neutron Source Reactor which is called MNSR were put into operation on June 1994 in Esfahan Nuclear Technology Center (ENTC). At that time the excess reactivity at the cold condition was 3.85 mk. After 7 years of operation and fuel consumption the reactivity was reduced to 2.90 mk. To compensate this reduction and upgrade the reactor, Beryllium Shim were used at the top of the core. This paper discusses the steps for this accurate and sensitive task. Finally a layer of 1.5 mm Beryllium were added to restore the reactor life. (authors)

Application of Biotic Ligand and Toxic Unit modeling approaches to predict improvements in zooplankton species richness in smelter-damaged lakes near Sudbury, Ontario.

PubMed

Khan, Farhan R; Keller, W Bill; Yan, Norman D; Welsh, Paul G; Wood, Chris M; McGeer, James C

2012-02-07

Using a 30-year record of biological and water chemistry data collected from seven lakes near smelters in Sudbury (Ontario, Canada) we examined the link between reductions of Cu, Ni, and Zn concentrations and zooplankton species richness. The toxicity of the metal mixtures was assessed using an additive Toxic Unit (TU) approach. Four TU models were developed based on total metal concentrations (TM-TU); free ion concentrations (FI-TU); acute LC50s calculated from the Biotic Ligand Model (BLM-TU); and chronic LC50s (acute LC50s adjusted by metal-specific acute-to-chronic ratios, cBLM-TU). All models significantly correlated reductions in metal concentrations to increased zooplankton species richness over time (p < 0.01) with a rank based on r(2) values of cBLM-TU > BLM-TU = FI-TU > TM-TU. Lake-wise comparisons within each model showed that the BLM-TU and cBLM-TU models provided the best description of recovery across all seven lakes. These two models were used to calculate thresholds for chemical and biological recovery using data from reference lakes in the same region. A threshold value of TU = 1 derived from the cBLM-TU provided the most accurate description of recovery. Overall, BLM-based TU models that integrate site-specific water chemistry-derived estimates of toxicity offer a useful predictor of biological recovery.

Duplication of Drosophila melanogaster mitochondrial EF-Tu: pre-adaptation to T-arm truncation and exclusion of bulky aminoacyl residues.

PubMed

Sato, Aya; Suematsu, Takuma; Aihara, Koh-Ki; Kita, Kiyoshi; Suzuki, Tsutomu; Watanabe, Kimitsuna; Ohtsuki, Takashi; Watanabe, Yoh-Ichi

2017-03-07

Translation elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) delivers aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA) to ribosomes in protein synthesis. EF-Tu generally recognizes aminoacyl moieties and acceptor- and T-stems of aa-tRNAs. However, nematode mitochondrial (mt) tRNAs frequently lack all or part of the T-arm that is recognized by canonical EF-Tu. We previously reported that two distinct EF-Tu species, EF-Tu1 and EF-Tu2, respectively, recognize mt tRNAs lacking T-arms and D-arms in the mitochondria of the chromadorean nematode Caenorhabditis elegans C. elegans EF-Tu2 specifically recognizes the seryl moiety of serylated D-armless tRNAs. Mitochondria of the enoplean nematode Trichinella possess three structural types of tRNAs: T-armless tRNAs, D-armless tRNAs, and cloverleaf tRNAs with a short T-arm. Trichinella mt EF-Tu1 binds to all three types and EF-Tu2 binds only to D-armless Ser-tRNAs, showing an evolutionary intermediate state from canonical EF-Tu to chromadorean nematode (e.g. C. elegans ) EF-Tu species. We report here that two EF-Tu species also participate in Drosophila melanogaster mitochondria. Both D. melanogaster EF-Tu1 and EF-Tu2 bound to cloverleaf and D-armless tRNAs. D. melanogaster EF-Tu1 has the ability to recognize T-armless tRNAs that do not evidently exist in D. melanogaster mitochondria, but do exist in related arthropod species. In addition, D. melanogaster EF-Tu2 preferentially bound to aa-tRNAs carrying small amino acids, but not to aa-tRNAs carrying bulky amino acids. These results suggest that the Drosophila mt translation system could be another intermediate state between the canonical and nematode mitochondria-type translation systems. © 2017 The Author(s); published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Modernization of existing VVER-1000 surveillance programs

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

Kochkin, V.; Erak, D.; Makhotin, D.

2011-07-01

According to generally accepted world practice, evaluation of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) material behavior during operation is carried out using tests of surveillance specimens. The main objective of the surveillance program consists in insurance of safe RPV operation during the design lifetime and lifetime-extension period. At present, the approaches of pressure vessels residual life validation based on the test results of their surveillance specimens have been developed and introduced in Russia and are under consideration in other countries where vodo-vodyanoi energetichesky reactors- (VVER-) 1000 are in operation. In this case, it is necessary to ensure leading irradiation of surveillancemore » specimens (as compared to the pressure vessel wall) and to provide uniformly irradiated specimen groups for mechanical testing. Standard surveillance program of VVER-1000 has several significant shortcomings and does not meet these requirements. Taking into account program of lifetime extension of VVER-1000 operating in Russia, it is necessary to carry out upgrading of the VVER-1000 surveillance program. This paper studies the conditions of a surveillance specimen's irradiation and upgrading of existing sets to provide monitoring and prognosis of RPV material properties for extension of the reactor's lifetime up to 60 years or more. (authors)« less

Co-digestion of manure and whey for in situ biogas upgrading by the addition of H(2): process performance and microbial insights.

PubMed

Luo, Gang; Angelidaki, Irini

2013-02-01

In situ biogas upgrading was conducted by introducing H(2) directly to the anaerobic reactor. As H(2) addition is associated with consumption of the CO(2) in the biogas reactor, pH increased to higher than 8.0 when manure alone was used as substrate. By co-digestion of manure with acidic whey, the pH in the anaerobic reactor with the addition of hydrogen could be maintained below 8.0, which did not have inhibition to the anaerobic process. The H(2) distribution systems (diffusers with different pore sizes) and liquid mixing intensities were demonstrated to affect the gas-liquid mass transfer of H(2) and the biogas composition. The best biogas composition (75:6.6:18.4) was obtained at stirring speed 150 rpm and using ceramic diffuser, while the biogas in the control reactor consisted of CH(4) and CO(2) at a ratio of 55:45. The consumed hydrogen was almost completely converted to CH(4), and there was no significant accumulation of VFA in the effluent. The study showed that addition of hydrogen had positive effect on the methanogenesis, but had no obvious effect on the acetogenesis. Both hydrogenotrophic methanogenic activity and the concentration of coenzyme F(420) involved in methanogenesis were increased. The archaeal community was also altered with the addition of hydrogen, and a Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus related band appeared in a denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis gel from the sample of the reactor with hydrogen addition. Though the addition of hydrogen increased the dissolved hydrogen concentration, the degradation of propionate was still thermodynamically feasible at the reactor conditions.

One-Step Coal Liquefaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Qader, S. A.

1984-01-01

Steam injection improves yield and quality of product. Single step process for liquefying coal increases liquid yield and reduces hydrogen consumption. Principal difference between this and earlier processes includes injection of steam into reactor. Steam lowers viscosity of liquid product, so further upgrading unnecessary.

Purification, characterization, and sequencing of novel antimicrobial peptides, Tu-AMP 1 and Tu-AMP 2, from bulbs of tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.).

PubMed

Fujimura, Masatoshi; Ideguchi, Mineo; Minami, Yuji; Watanabe, Keiichi; Tadera, Kenjiro

2004-03-01

Novel antimicrobial peptides (AMP), designated Tu-AMP 1 and Tu-AMP 2, were purified from the bulbs of tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.) by chitin affinity chromatography and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). They bind to chitin in a reversible way. They were basic peptides having isoelectric points of over 12. Tu-AMP 1 and Tu-AMP 2 had molecular masses of 4,988 Da and 5,006 Da on MALDI-TOF MS analysis, and their extinction coefficients of 1% aqueous solutions at 280 nm were 3.3 and 3.4, respectively. Half of all amino acid residues of Tu-AMP 1 and Tu-AMP 2 were occupied by cysteine, arginine, lysine, and proline. The concentrations of peptides required for 50% inhibition (IC(50)) of the growth of plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi were 2 to 20 microg/ml. The structural characteristics of Tu-AMP 1 and Tu-AMP 2 indicated that they were novel thionin-like antimicrobial peptides, though Tu-AMP 2 was a heterodimer composes of two short peptides joined with disulfide bonds.

Catalytic Upgrading of Biomass Pyrolysis Oxygenates with Vacuum Gas Oil Using a Davison Circulating Riser Reactor

DOE PAGES

Jarvis, Mark W.; Olstad, Jessica; Parent, Yves; ...

2018-01-02

We investigate and quantitate the changes in hydrocarbon product composition while evaluating the performance and operability of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Davison Circulating Riser (DCR) reactor system when biomass model compounds are cofed with traditional fluid catalyst cracking (FCC) feeds and catalyst: vacuum gas oil (VGO) and equilibrium zeolite catalyst (E-Cat). Three compounds (acetic acid, guaiacol, and sorbitan monooleate) were selected to represent the major classes of oxygenates present in biomass pyrolysis vapors. These vapors can contain 30-50% oxygen as oxygenates, which create conversion complications (increased reactivity and coking) when integrating biomass vapors and liquids into fuel and chemicalmore » processes long dominated by petroleum feedstocks. We used these model compounds to determine the appropriate conditions for coprocessing with petroleum and ultimately pure pyrolysis vapors only as compared with standard baseline conditions obtained with VGO and E-Cat only in the DCR. Model compound addition decreased the DCR catalyst circulation rate, which controls reactor temperature and measures reaction heat demand, while increasing catalyst coking rates. Liquid product analyses included 2-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (2D GCxGC TOFS), simulated distillation (SIM DIST), 13C NMR, and carbonyl content. Aggregated results indicated that the model compounds were converted during reaction, and despite functional group differences, product distributions for each model compound were very similar. In addition, we determined that adding model compounds to the VGO feed did not significantly affect the DCR's operability or performance. Future work will assess catalytic upgrading of biomass pyrolysis vapor to fungible hydrocarbon products using upgrading catalysts currently being developed at NREL and at Johnson Matthey.« less

Catalytic Upgrading of Biomass Pyrolysis Oxygenates with Vacuum Gas Oil Using a Davison Circulating Riser Reactor

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

Jarvis, Mark W.; Olstad, Jessica; Parent, Yves

We investigate and quantitate the changes in hydrocarbon product composition while evaluating the performance and operability of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Davison Circulating Riser (DCR) reactor system when biomass model compounds are cofed with traditional fluid catalyst cracking (FCC) feeds and catalyst: vacuum gas oil (VGO) and equilibrium zeolite catalyst (E-Cat). Three compounds (acetic acid, guaiacol, and sorbitan monooleate) were selected to represent the major classes of oxygenates present in biomass pyrolysis vapors. These vapors can contain 30-50% oxygen as oxygenates, which create conversion complications (increased reactivity and coking) when integrating biomass vapors and liquids into fuel and chemicalmore » processes long dominated by petroleum feedstocks. We used these model compounds to determine the appropriate conditions for coprocessing with petroleum and ultimately pure pyrolysis vapors only as compared with standard baseline conditions obtained with VGO and E-Cat only in the DCR. Model compound addition decreased the DCR catalyst circulation rate, which controls reactor temperature and measures reaction heat demand, while increasing catalyst coking rates. Liquid product analyses included 2-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (2D GCxGC TOFS), simulated distillation (SIM DIST), 13C NMR, and carbonyl content. Aggregated results indicated that the model compounds were converted during reaction, and despite functional group differences, product distributions for each model compound were very similar. In addition, we determined that adding model compounds to the VGO feed did not significantly affect the DCR's operability or performance. Future work will assess catalytic upgrading of biomass pyrolysis vapor to fungible hydrocarbon products using upgrading catalysts currently being developed at NREL and at Johnson Matthey.« less

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

Yung, Matthew M.; Stanton, Alexander R.; Iisa, Kristiina

Metal-impregnated (Ni or Ga) ZSM-5 catalysts were studied for biomass pyrolysis vapor upgrading to produce hydrocarbons using three reactors constituting a 100 000x change in the amount of catalyst used in experiments. Catalysts were screened for pyrolysis vapor phase upgrading activity in two small-scale reactors: (i) a Pyroprobe with a 10 mg catalyst in a fixed bed and (ii) a fixed-bed reactor with 500 mg of catalyst. The best performing catalysts were then validated with a larger scale fluidized-bed reactor (using ~1 kg of catalyst) that produced measurable quantities of bio-oil for analysis and evaluation of mass balances. Despite somemore » inherent differences across the reactor systems (such as residence time, reactor type, analytical techniques, mode of catalyst and biomass feed) there was good agreement of reaction results for production of aromatic hydrocarbons, light gases, and coke deposition. Relative to ZSM-5, Ni or Ga addition to ZSM-5 increased production of fully deoxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons and light gases. In the fluidized bed reactor, Ga/ZSM-5 slightly enhanced carbon efficiency to condensed oil, which includes oxygenates in addition to aromatic hydrocarbons, and reduced oil oxygen content compared to ZSM-5. Ni/ZSM-5, while giving the highest yield of fully deoxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons, gave lower overall carbon efficiency to oil but with the lowest oxygen content. Reaction product analysis coupled with fresh and spent catalyst characterization indicated that the improved performance of Ni/ZSM-5 is related to decreasing deactivation by coking, which keeps the active acid sites accessible for the deoxygenation and aromatization reactions that produce fully deoxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons. The addition of Ga enhances the dehydrogenation activity of the catalyst, which leads to enhanced olefin formation and higher fully deoxygenated aromatic hydrocarbon yields compared to unmodified ZSM-5. Catalyst characterization by ammonia temperature programmed desorption, surface area measurements, and postreaction temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) also showed that the metal-modified zeolites retained a greater percentage of their initial acidity and surface area, which was consistent between the reactor scales. These results demonstrate that the trends observed with smaller (milligram to gram) catalyst reactors are applicable to larger, more industrially relevant (kg) scales to help guide catalyst research toward application.« less

X-ray Analysis of Defects and Anomalies in AGR-5/6/7 TRISO Particles

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

Helmreich, Grant W.; Hunn, John D.; Skitt, Darren J.

2017-06-01

Coated particle fuel batches J52O-16-93164, 93165, 93166, 93168, 93169, 93170, and 93172 were produced by Babcock and Wilcox Technologies (BWXT) for possible selection as fuel for the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification (AGR) Program’s AGR-5/6/7 irradiation test in the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), or may be used for other tests. Each batch was coated in a 150-mm-diameter production-scale fluidized-bed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) furnace. Tristructural isotropic (TRISO) coatings were deposited on 425-μm-nominal-diameter spherical kernels from BWXT lot J52R-16-69317 containing a mixture of 15.4%-enriched uranium carbide and uranium oxide (UCO), with the exception of Batchmore » 93164, which used similar kernels from BWXT lot J52L-16-69316. The TRISO-coatings consisted of a ~50% dense carbon buffer layer with 100-μmnominal thickness, a dense inner pyrolytic carbon (IPyC) layer with 40-μm-nominal thickness, a silicon carbide (SiC) layer with 35-μm-nominal thickness, and a dense outer pyrolytic carbon (OPyC) layer with 40-μm-nominal thickness. Each coated particle batch was sieved to upgrade the particles by removing over-sized and under-sized material, and the upgraded batch was designated by appending the letter A to the end of the batch number (e.g., 93164A). Secondary upgrading by sieving was performed on the upgraded batches to remove specific anomalies identified during analysis for Defective IPyC, and the upgraded batches were designated by appending the letter B to the end of the batch number (e.g., 93165B). Following this secondary upgrading, coated particle composite J52R-16-98005 was produced by BWXT as fuel for the AGR Program’s AGR-5/6/7 irradiation test in the INL ATR. This composite was comprised of coated particle fuel batches J52O-16-93165B, 93168B, 93169B, and 93170B.« less

Catalytic cracking of the top phase fraction of bio-oil into upgraded liquid oil

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

Sunarno; Chemical Engineering Department, Gadjah Mada University, Jalan Grafika No. 2 Bulaksumur,Yogyakarta 55281; Rochmadi,

The energy consumption is increasing, while oil reserves as a primary energy resource are decreasing, so that is the reason seeking alternative energy source is inevitable. Biomass especially oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) which is abundant in Indonesia can be processed into bio-oil by pyrolysis process. The potential for direct substitution of bio-oil for petroleum may be limited due to the high viscosity, high oxygen content, low heating value, and corrosiveness. Consequently, upgrading of the bio-oil before use is inevitable to give a wider variety of applications of its liquid product. Furthermore, upgrading process to improve the quality ofmore » bio-oil by reduction of oxygenates involves process such as catalytic cracking. The objective of this research is to study the effect of operation temperature on yield and composition of upgraded liquid oil and to determine physical properties. Bio-oil derived from EFB was upgraded through catalytic cracking using series tubular reactor under atmospheric pressure on a silica-alumina catalyst. Results show that increasing temperature from 450 to 600 °C, resulting in decreasing of upgraded liquid oil (ULO) yield, decreasing viscosity and density of ULO, but increasing in calorimetric value of ULO. The increasing temperature of cracking also will increase the concentration of gasoline and kerosene in ULO.« less

In-situ upgrading of biomass pyrolysis vapors: catalyst screening on a fixed bed reactor.

PubMed

Stefanidis, S D; Kalogiannis, K G; Iliopoulou, E F; Lappas, A A; Pilavachi, P A

2011-09-01

In-situ catalytic upgrading of biomass fast pyrolysis vapors was performed in a fixed bed bench-scale reactor at 500°C, for catalyst screening purposes. The catalytic materials tested include a commercial equilibrium FCC catalyst (E-cat), various commercial ZSM-5 formulations, magnesium oxide and alumina materials with varying specific surface areas, nickel monoxide, zirconia/titania, tetragonal zirconia, titania and silica alumina. The bio-oil was characterized measuring its water content, the carbon-hydrogen-oxygen (by difference) content and the chemical composition of its organic fraction. Each catalytic material displayed different catalytic effects. High surface area alumina catalysts displayed the highest selectivity towards hydrocarbons, yielding however low organic liquid products. Zirconia/titania exhibited good selectivity towards desired compounds, yielding higher organic liquid product than the alumina catalysts. The ZSM-5 formulation with the highest surface area displayed the most balanced performance having a moderate selectivity towards hydrocarbons, reducing undesirable compounds and producing organic liquid products at acceptable yields. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Separation of catalyst from Fischer-Tropsch slurry

DOEpatents

White, C.M.; Quiring, M.S.; Jensen, K.L.; Hickey, R.F.; Gillham, L.D.

1998-10-27

In a catalytic process for converting synthesis gas including hydrogen and carbon monoxide to hydrocarbons and oxygenates by a slurry Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, the wax product along with dispersed catalyst is removed from the slurry and purified by removing substantially all of the catalyst prior to upgrading the wax and returning a portion to the Fischer-Tropsch reaction. Separation of the catalyst particles from the wax product is accomplished by dense gas and/or liquid extraction in which the organic compounds in the wax are dissolved and carried away from the insoluble inorganic catalyst particles that are primarily inorganic in nature. The purified catalyst-free wax product can be subsequently upgraded by various methods such as hydrogenation, isomerization, hydrocracking, conversion to gasoline and other products over ZSM-5 aluminosilicate zeolite, etc. The catalyst particles are returned to the Fischer-Tropsch Reactor by mixing them with a wax fraction of appropriate molecular weight, boiling point and viscosity to avoid reactor gelation. 2 figs.

An evolutionary ‘intermediate state’ of mitochondrial translation systems found in Trichinella species of parasitic nematodes: co-evolution of tRNA and EF-Tu

PubMed Central

Arita, Masashi; Suematsu, Takuma; Osanai, Arihiro; Inaba, Takashi; Kamiya, Haruo; Kita, Kiyoshi; Sisido, Masahiko; Watanabe, Yoh-ichi; Ohtsuki, Takashi

2006-01-01

EF-Tu delivers aminoacyl-tRNAs to ribosomes in the translation system. However, unusual truncations found in some animal mitochondrial tRNAs seem to prevent recognition by a canonical EF-Tu. We showed previously that the chromadorean nematode has two distinct EF-Tus, one of which (EF-Tu1) binds only to T-armless aminoacyl-tRNAs and the other (EF-Tu2) binds to D-armless Ser-tRNAs. Neither of the EF-Tus can bind to canonical cloverleaf tRNAs. In this study, by analyzing the translation system of enoplean nematode Trichinella species, we address how EF-Tus and tRNAs have evolved from the canonical structures toward those of the chromadorean translation system. Trichinella mitochondria possess three types of tRNAs: cloverleaf tRNAs, which do not exist in chromadorean nematode mitochondria; T-armless tRNAs; and D-armless tRNAs. We found two mitochondrial EF-Tu species, EF-Tu1 and EF-Tu2, in Trichinella britovi. T.britovi EF-Tu2 could bind to only D-armless Ser-tRNA, as Caenorhabditis elegans EF-Tu2 does. In contrast to the case of C.elegans EF-Tu1, however, T.britovi EF-Tu1 bound to all three types of tRNA present in Trichinella mitochondria. These results suggest that Trichinella mitochondrial translation system, and particularly the tRNA-binding specificity of EF-Tu1, could be an intermediate state between the canonical system and the chromadorean nematode mitochondrial system. PMID:17012285

Bacterial translation elongation factor EF-Tu interacts and colocalizes with actin-like MreB protein.

PubMed

Defeu Soufo, Hervé Joël; Reimold, Christian; Linne, Uwe; Knust, Tobias; Gescher, Johannes; Graumann, Peter L

2010-02-16

We show that translation initiation factor EF-Tu plays a second important role in cell shape maintenance in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. EF-Tu localizes in a helical pattern underneath the cell membrane and colocalizes with MreB, an actin-like cytoskeletal element setting up rod cell shape. The localization of MreB and of EF-Tu is interdependent, but in contrast to the dynamic MreB filaments, EF-Tu structures are more static and may serve as tracks for MreB filaments. In agreement with this idea, EF-Tu and MreB interact in vivo and in vitro. Lowering of the EF-Tu levels had a minor effect on translation but a strong effect on cell shape and on the localization of MreB, and blocking of the function of EF-Tu in translation did not interfere with the localization of MreB, showing that, directly or indirectly, EF-Tu affects the cytoskeletal MreB structure and thus serves two important functions in a bacterium.

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

NONE

Digital instrumentation and controls system technique is being introduced in new constructed research reactor or life extension of older research reactor. Digital systems are easy to change and optimize but the validated process for them is required. Also, to reduce project risk or cost, we have to make it sure that configuration and control functions is right before the commissioning phase on research reactor. For this purpose, simulators have been widely used in developing control systems in automotive and aerospace industries. In these literatures, however, very few of these can be found regarding test on the control system of researchmore » reactor with simulator. Therefore, this paper proposes a simulation platform to verify the performance of RRS (Reactor Regulating System) for research reactor. This simulation platform consists of the reactor simulation model and the interface module. This simulation platform is applied to I and C upgrade project of TRIGA reactor, and many problems of RRS configuration were found and solved. And it proved that the dynamic performance testing based on simulator enables significant time saving and improves economics and quality for RRS in the system test phase. (authors)« less

SoLid Detector Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Labare, Mathieu

2017-09-01

SoLid is a reactor anti-neutrino experiment where a novel detector is deployed at a minimum distance of 5.5 m from a nuclear reactor core. The purpose of the experiment is three-fold: to search for neutrino oscillations at a very short baseline; to measure the pure 235U neutrino energy spectrum; and to demonstrate the feasibility of neutrino detectors for reactor monitoring. This report presents the unique features of the SoLid detector technology. The technology has been optimised for a high background environment resulting from low overburden and the vicinity of a nuclear reactor. The versatility of the detector technology is demonstrated with a 288 kg detector prototype which was deployed at the BR2 nuclear reactor in 2015. The data presented includes both reactor on, reactor off and calibration measurements. The measurement results are compared with Monte Carlo simulations. The 1.6t SoLid detector is currently under construction, with an optimised design and upgraded material technology to enhance the detector capabilities. Its deployement on site is planned for the begin of 2017 and offers the prospect to resolve the reactor anomaly within about two years.

Membrane bio-reactor for textile wastewater treatment plant upgrading.

PubMed

Lubello, C; Gori, R

2005-01-01

Textile industries carry out several fiber treatments using variable quantities of water, from five to forty times the fiber weight, and consequently generate large volumes of wastewater to be disposed of. Membrane Bio-reactors (MBRs) combine membrane technology with biological reactors for the treatment of wastewater: micro or ultrafiltration membranes are used for solid-liquid separation replacing the secondary settling of the traditional activated sludge system. This paper deals with the possibility of realizing a new section of one existing WWTP (activated sludge + clariflocculation + ozonation) for the treatment of treating textile wastewater to be recycled, equipped with an MBR (76 l/s as design capacity) and running in parallel with the existing one. During a 4-month experimental period, a pilot-scale MBR proved to be very effective for wastewater reclamation. On average, removal efficiency of the pilot plant (93% for COD, and over 99% for total suspended solids) was higher than the WWTP ones. Color was removed as in the WWTP. Anionic surfactants removal of pilot plant was lower than that of the WWTP (90.5 and 93.2% respectively), while the BiAS removal was higher in the pilot plant (98.2 vs. 97.1). At the end cost analysis of the proposed upgrade is reported.

Hollow fiber membrane based H₂ diffusion for efficient in situ biogas upgrading in an anaerobic reactor.

PubMed

Luo, Gang; Angelidaki, Irini

2013-04-01

Bubbleless gas transfer through a hollow fiber membrane (HFM) module was used to supply H2 to an anaerobic reactor for in situ biogas upgrading, and it creates a novel system that could achieve a CH4 content higher than 90 % in the biogas. The increase of CH4 content and pH, and the decrease of bicarbonate concentration were related with the increase of the H2 flow rate. The CH4 content increased from 78.4 % to 90.2 % with the increase of the H2 flow rate from 930 to 1,440 ml/(l  day), while the pH in the reactor remained below 8.0. An even higher CH4 content (96.1 %) was achieved when the H2 flow rate was increased to 1,760 ml/(l  day); however, the pH increased to around 8.3 due to bicarbonate consumption which hampered the anaerobic process. The biofilm formed on the HFM was found not to be beneficial for the process since it increased the resistance of H2 diffusion to the liquid. The study also demonstrated that the biofilm formed on the membrane only contributed 22-36 % to the H2 consumption, while most of the H2 was consumed by the microorganisms in the liquid phase.

Proteomic analysis of testis biopsies in men treated with injectable testosterone undecanoate alone or in combination with oral levonorgestrel as potential male contraceptive.

PubMed

Cui, Yugui; Zhu, Hui; Zhu, Yefei; Guo, Xuejiang; Huo, Ran; Wang, Xinghai; Tong, Jiansun; Qian, Lixin; Zhou, Zuomin; Jia, Yue; Lue, Yan-He; Hikim, Amiya Sinha; Wang, Christina; Swerdloff, Ronald S; Sha, Jiahao

2008-09-01

Treatment with injectable testosterone undecanoate (TU) alone or in combination with oral levonorgestrel (LNG) resulted in marked decreases in sperm concentrations. In this study, we used proteomic analyses to examine the cellular/molecular events occurring in the human testis after TU or TU + LNG treatment. We conducted a global proteomic analysis of the human testicular biopsies before and at 2 weeks after TU alone or TU + LNG treatment. Proteins showing significant changes in expression were identified and analyzed. As a result, 17 and 46 protein spots were found with significant differential expression after the treatment with TU alone and TU + LNG, respectively. TU treatment changed the expression of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNP K), proteasome inhibitor PI31 subunit (PSMF1), and superoxide dismutase [Mn] mitochondrial precursor (SOD2). These proteins inhibit "assembly", induce cell death, and promote compensatory "cell survival" in the testis. After TU + LNG treatment, "proliferation/cell survival" and "apoptosis/death" were the predominant responses in the testis. TU + LNG treatment inhibited the expression of Prolyl 4-hydroxylase beta subunit (P4HB) and Annexin A2 (Annexin II). These proteins are involved in apoptosis and cell proliferation, respectively. TU + LNG treatment also enhanced the expression of SOD2 and Parvalbumin alpha (Pvalb). These two proteins may protect testicular cells against apoptosis/death and promote cell survival. In conclusion, TU and TU + LNG treatments suppress spermatogenesis through different pathways by changing the expression of different proteins. hnRNP K, PSMF1, SOD2, P4HB, Annexin II, and Pvalb, are key proteins that may be early molecular targets responsible for spermatogenesis suppression induced by hormone treatment.

ON UPGRADING THE NUMERICS IN COMBUSTION CHEMISTRY CODES. (R824970)

EPA Science Inventory

A method of updating and reusing legacy FORTRAN codes for combustion simulations is presented using the DAEPACK software package. The procedure is demonstrated on two codes that come with the CHEMKIN-II package, CONP and SENKIN, for the constant-pressure batch reactor simulati...

In Situ and ex Situ Catalytic Pyrolysis of Pine in a Bench-Scale Fluidized Bed Reactor System

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

Iisa, Kristiina; French, Richard J.; Orton, Kellene A.

In situ and ex situ catalytic pyrolysis were compared in a system with two 2-in. bubbling fluidized bed reactors. Pine was pyrolyzed in the system with a catalyst, HZSM-5 with a silica-to-alumina ratio of 30, placed either in the first (pyrolysis) reactor or the second (upgrading) reactor. Both the pyrolysis and upgrading temperatures were 500 degrees C, and the weight hourly space velocity was 1.1 h -1. Five catalytic cycles were completed in each experiment. The catalytic cycles were continued until oxygenates in the vapors became dominant. The catalyst was then oxidized, after which a new catalytic cycle was begun.more » The in situ configuration gave slightly higher oil yield but also higher oxygen content than the ex situ configuration, which indicates that the catalyst deactivated faster in the in situ configuration than the ex situ configuration. Analysis of the spent catalysts confirmed higher accumulation of metals in the in situ experiment. In all experiments, the organic oil mass yields varied between 14 and 17% and the carbon efficiencies between 20 and 25%. The organic oxygen concentrations in the oils were 16-18%, which represented a 45% reduction compared to corresponding noncatalytic pyrolysis oils prepared in the same fluidized bed reactor system. GC/MS analysis showed the oils to contain one- to four-ring aromatic hydrocarbons and a variety of oxygenates (phenols, furans, benzofurans, methoxyphenols, naphthalenols, indenols). Lastly, high fractions of oxygen were rejected as water, CO, and CO 2, which indicates the importance of dehydration, decarbonylation, and decarboxylation reactions. Light gases were the major sources of carbon losses, followed by char and coke.« less

Safety system augmentation at Russian nuclear power plants

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

Scerbo, J.A.; Satpute, S.N.; Donkin, J.Y.

1996-12-31

This paper describes the design and procurement of a Class IE DC power supply system to upgrade plant safety at the Kola Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Kola NPP is located above the Arctic circle at Polyarnie Zorie, Murmansk, Russia. Kola NPP consists of four units. Units 1 and 2 have VVER-440/230 type reactors: Units 3 and 4 have VVER-440/213 type reactors. The VVER-440 reactor design is similar to the pressurized water reactor design used in the US. This project provided redundant, Class 1E DC station batteries and DC switchboards for Kola NPP, Units 1 and 2. The new DC powermore » supply system was designed and procured in compliance with current nuclear design practices and requirements. Technical issues that needed to be addressed included reconciling the requirements in both US and Russian codes and satisfying the requirements of the Russian nuclear regulatory authority. Close interface with ATOMENERGOPROEKT (AEP), the Russian design organization, KOLA NPP plant personnel, and GOSATOMNADZOR (GAN), the Russian version of US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was necessary to develop a design that would assure compliance with current Russian design requirements. Hence, this project was expected to serve as an example for plant upgrades at other similar VVER-440 nuclear plants. In addition to technical issues, the project needed to address language barriers and the logistics of shipping equipment to a remote section of the Former Soviet Union (FSU). This project was executed by Burns and Roe under the sponsorship of the US DOE as part of the International Safety Program (INSP). The INSP is a comprehensive effort, in cooperation with partners in other countries, to improve nuclear safety worldwide. A major element within the INSP is the improvement of the safety of Soviet-designed nuclear reactors.« less

In Situ and ex Situ Catalytic Pyrolysis of Pine in a Bench-Scale Fluidized Bed Reactor System

DOE PAGES

Iisa, Kristiina; French, Richard J.; Orton, Kellene A.; ...

2016-02-03

In situ and ex situ catalytic pyrolysis were compared in a system with two 2-in. bubbling fluidized bed reactors. Pine was pyrolyzed in the system with a catalyst, HZSM-5 with a silica-to-alumina ratio of 30, placed either in the first (pyrolysis) reactor or the second (upgrading) reactor. Both the pyrolysis and upgrading temperatures were 500 degrees C, and the weight hourly space velocity was 1.1 h -1. Five catalytic cycles were completed in each experiment. The catalytic cycles were continued until oxygenates in the vapors became dominant. The catalyst was then oxidized, after which a new catalytic cycle was begun.more » The in situ configuration gave slightly higher oil yield but also higher oxygen content than the ex situ configuration, which indicates that the catalyst deactivated faster in the in situ configuration than the ex situ configuration. Analysis of the spent catalysts confirmed higher accumulation of metals in the in situ experiment. In all experiments, the organic oil mass yields varied between 14 and 17% and the carbon efficiencies between 20 and 25%. The organic oxygen concentrations in the oils were 16-18%, which represented a 45% reduction compared to corresponding noncatalytic pyrolysis oils prepared in the same fluidized bed reactor system. GC/MS analysis showed the oils to contain one- to four-ring aromatic hydrocarbons and a variety of oxygenates (phenols, furans, benzofurans, methoxyphenols, naphthalenols, indenols). Lastly, high fractions of oxygen were rejected as water, CO, and CO 2, which indicates the importance of dehydration, decarbonylation, and decarboxylation reactions. Light gases were the major sources of carbon losses, followed by char and coke.« less

Problem-Centered Design and Personal Teaching Style: An Exploratory Study of Youguang Tu's Course on Philosophy of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lei, Hongde

2016-01-01

Youguang Tu is a contemporary Chinese philosopher of education. His course on philosophy of education had a significant impact on his students. This exploratory study examines how Tu designed and taught this course. Ultimately, there are two reasons why Tu's course had such a significant influence on his students. The first is that Tu used…

Need for Different Cutoff Values for Reading Mantoux Test with 2TU and 5TU PPD.

PubMed

Ramaraj, Savitha M; Nagendra, K; Gopal, Girish; Majgi, Sumanth Mallikarjuna

2017-09-01

To compare the tuberculin reaction of 2 tuberculin unit (TU) with 5TU purified protein derivative (PPD) (both calibrated against RT 23) in healthy children. This was a cross sectional study done in the pediatric outpatient department of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Seventy healthy siblings of the children attending pediatric outpatient department in the age group of 1 to 12 y were enrolled. The exclusion criteria included previously diagnosed tuberculosis patients, malnutrition diagnosed according to the WHO classification, history of drug intake like steroids, recent history of measles, any skin lesions over forearm, history of fever, contact with tuberculosis and previous mantoux testing. The study was conducted wherein each child was subjected to simultaneous testing with 2TU and 5TU by standard technique. The reactions to both the tests was read at 48-72 h. Children with induration ≥10 mm were evaluated for tuberculosis by taking chest x-ray, gastric lavage or sputum smear examination for acid fast bacilli (AFB). Considering ≥10 mm induration as positive, subjects positive with 5TU were 7 (10%) and 2TU was 1(p value = 0.031); thus, there is no agreement between the two methods (McNemar's test). Comparing the mean diameter of induration of 2TU and 5TU (p < 0.001, Wilcoxon test), signified no agreement between the two strengths. Bland-Altman plot and kappa statistic showed no agreement between the two strengths. Cutaneous hypersensitivity to 2TU PPD is not comparable to that of 5TU PPD.

Dynamic biogas upgrading based on the Sabatier process: thermodynamic and dynamic process simulation.

PubMed

Jürgensen, Lars; Ehimen, Ehiaze Augustine; Born, Jens; Holm-Nielsen, Jens Bo

2015-02-01

This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of substitute natural gas (SNG) generation using biogas from anaerobic digestion and hydrogen from renewable energy systems. Using thermodynamic equilibrium analysis, kinetic reactor modeling and transient simulation, an integrated approach for the operation of a biogas-based Sabatier process was put forward, which was then verified using a lab scale heterogenous methanation reactor. The process simulation using a kinetic reactor model demonstrated the feasibility of the production of SNG at gas grid standards using a single reactor setup. The Wobbe index, CO2 content and calorific value were found to be controllable by the H2/CO2 ratio fed the methanation reactor. An optimal H2/CO2 ratio of 3.45-3.7 was seen to result in a product gas with high calorific value and Wobbe index. The dynamic reactor simulation verified that the process start-up was feasible within several minutes to facilitate surplus electricity use from renewable energy systems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Critical analysis of world uranium resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hall, Susan; Coleman, Margaret

2013-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration (EIA) joined with the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to analyze the world uranium supply and demand balance. To evaluate short-term primary supply (0–15 years), the analysis focused on Reasonably Assured Resources (RAR), which are resources projected with a high degree of geologic assurance and considered to be economically feasible to mine. Such resources include uranium resources from mines currently in production as well as resources that are in the stages of feasibility or of being permitted. Sources of secondary supply for uranium, such as stockpiles and reprocessed fuel, were also examined. To evaluate long-term primary supply, estimates of uranium from unconventional and from undiscovered resources were analyzed. At 2010 rates of consumption, uranium resources identified in operating or developing mines would fuel the world nuclear fleet for about 30 years. However, projections currently predict an increase in uranium requirements tied to expansion of nuclear energy worldwide. Under a low-demand scenario, requirements through the period ending in 2035 are about 2.1 million tU. In the low demand case, uranium identified in existing and developing mines is adequate to supply requirements. However, whether or not these identified resources will be developed rapidly enough to provide an uninterrupted fuel supply to expanded nuclear facilities could not be determined. On the basis of a scenario of high demand through 2035, 2.6 million tU is required and identified resources in operating or developing mines is inadequate. Beyond 2035, when requirements could exceed resources in these developing properties, other sources will need to be developed from less well-assured resources, deposits not yet at the prefeasibility stage, resources that are currently subeconomic, secondary sources, undiscovered conventional resources, and unconventional uranium supplies. This report’s analysis of 141 mines that are operating or are being actively developed identifies 2.7 million tU of in-situ uranium resources worldwide, approximately 2.1 million tU recoverable after mining and milling losses were deducted. Sixty-four operating mines report a total of 1.4 million tU of in-situ RAR (about 1 million tU recoverable). Seventy-seven developing mines/production centers report 1.3 million tU in-situ Reasonably Assured Resources (RAR) (about 1.1 million tU recoverable), which have a reasonable chance of producing uranium within 5 years. Most of the production is projected to come from conventional underground or open pit mines as opposed to in-situ leach mines. Production capacity in operating mines is about 76,000 tU/yr, and in developing mines is estimated at greater than 52,000 tU/yr. Production capacity in operating mines should be considered a maximum as mines seldom produce up to licensed capacity due to operational difficulties. In 2010, worldwide mines operated at 70 percent of licensed capacity, and production has never exceeded 89 percent of capacity. The capacity in developing mines is not always reported. In this study 35 percent of developing mines did not report a target licensed capacity, so estimates of future capacity may be too low. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimate an additional 1.4 million tU economically recoverable resources, beyond that identified in operating or developing mines identified in this report. As well, 0.5 million tU in subeconomic resources, and 2.3 million tU in the geologically less certain inferred category are identified worldwide. These agencies estimate 2.2 million tU in secondary sources such as government and commercial stockpiles and re-enriched uranium tails. They also estimate that unconventional uranium supplies (uraniferous phosphate and black shale deposits) may contain up to 7.6 million tU. Although unconventional resources are currently subeconomic, the improvement of extraction techniques or the production of coproducts may make extraction of uranium from these types of deposits profitable. A large undiscovered resource base is reported by these agencies, however this class of resource should be considered speculative and will require intensive exploration programs to adequately define them as mineable. These resources may all contribute to uranium supply that would fuel the world nuclear fleet well beyond that calculated in this report. Production of resources in both operating and developing uranium mines is subject to uncertainties caused by technical, legal, regulatory, and financial challenges that combined to create long timelines between deposit discovery and mine production. This analysis indicates that mine development is proceeding too slowly to fully meet requirements for an expanded nuclear power reactor fleet in the near future (to 2035), and unless adequate secondary or unconventional resources can be identified, imbalances in supply and demand may occur.

Two Novel Vesicle-Inducing Proteins in Plastids 1 Genes Cloned and Characterized in Triticum urartu

PubMed Central

Chen, Bo; Jiao, Juan; Jia, Lijia; Liu, Cuimin

2017-01-01

Vesicle-inducing protein in plastids 1 (Vipp1) is thought to play an important role both in thylakoid biogenesis and chloroplast envelope maintenance during stress. Vipp1 is conserved in photosynthetic organisms and forms a high homo-oligomer complex structure that may help sustain the membrane integrity of chloroplasts. This study cloned two novel VIPP1 genes from Triticum urartu and named them TuVipp1 and TuVipp2. Both proteins shared high identity with the homologous proteins AtVipp1 and CrVipp1. TuVipp1 and TuVipp2 were expressed in various organs of common wheat, and both genes were induced by light and various stress treatments. Purified TuVipp1 and TuVipp2 proteins showed secondary and advanced structures similar to those of the homologous proteins. Similar to AtVipp1, TuVipp1 is a chloroplast target protein. Additionally, TuVipp1 was able to rescue the phenotypes of pale leaves, lethality, and disordered chloroplast structures of AtVipp1 (-/-) mutant lines. Collectively, our data demonstrate that TuVipp1 and TuVipp2 are functional proteins in chloroplasts in wheat and may be critical for maintaining the chloroplast envelope under stress and membrane biogenesis upon photosynthesis. PMID:28103282

Structural outline of the detailed mechanism for elongation factor Ts-mediated guanine nucleotide exchange on elongation factor Tu.

PubMed

Thirup, Søren S; Van, Lan Bich; Nielsen, Tine K; Knudsen, Charlotte R

2015-07-01

Translation elongation factor EF-Tu belongs to the superfamily of guanine-nucleotide binding proteins, which play key cellular roles as regulatory switches. All G-proteins require activation via exchange of GDP for GTP to carry out their respective tasks. Often, guanine-nucleotide exchange factors are essential to this process. During translation, EF-Tu:GTP transports aminoacylated tRNA to the ribosome. GTP is hydrolyzed during this process, and subsequent reactivation of EF-Tu is catalyzed by EF-Ts. The reaction path of guanine-nucleotide exchange is structurally poorly defined for EF-Tu and EF-Ts. We have determined the crystal structures of the following reaction intermediates: two structures of EF-Tu:GDP:EF-Ts (2.2 and 1.8Å resolution), EF-Tu:PO4:EF-Ts (1.9Å resolution), EF-Tu:GDPNP:EF-Ts (2.2Å resolution) and EF-Tu:GDPNP:pulvomycin:Mg(2+):EF-Ts (3.5Å resolution). These structures provide snapshots throughout the entire exchange reaction and suggest a mechanism for the release of EF-Tu in its GTP conformation. An inferred sequence of events during the exchange reaction is presented. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

77 FR 75451 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-20

... upgraded licenses or license renewals to operate the controls at a nuclear reactor facility. This... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. NRC-2012-0184] Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory...

Kirromycin, an Inhibitor of Protein Biosynthesis that Acts on Elongation Factor Tu

PubMed Central

Wolf, Heinz; Chinali, Gianni; Parmeggiani, Andrea

1974-01-01

Kirromycin, a new inhibitor of protein synthesis, is shown to interfere with the peptide transfer reaction by acting on elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu). All the reactions associated with this elongation factor are affected. Formation of the EF-Tu·GTP complex is strongly stimulated. Peptide bond formation is prevented only when Phe-tRNAPhe is bound enzymatically to ribosomes, presumably because GTP hydrolysis associated with enzymatic binding of Phe-tRNAPhe is not followed by release of EF-Tu·GDP from the ribosome. This antibiotic also enables EF-Tu to catalyze the binding of Phe-tRNAPhe to the poly(U)·ribosome complex even in the absence of GTP. EF-Tu activity in the GTPase reaction is dramatically affected by kirromycin: GTP hydrolysis, which normally requires ribosomes and aminoacyl-tRNA, takes place with the elongation factor alone. This GTPase shows the same Km for GTP as the one dependent on Phe-tRNAPhe and ribosomes in the absence of the antibiotic. Ribosomes and Phe-tRNAPhe, but not tRNAPhe or Ac-Phe-tRNAPhe, stimulate the kirromycin-induced EF-Tu GTPase. These results indicate that the catalytic center of EF-Tu GTPase that is dependent upon aminoacyl-tRNA and ribosomes is primarily located on the elongation factor. In conclusion, kirromycin can substitute for GTP, aminoacyl-tRNA, or ribosomes in various reactions involving EF-Tu, apparently by affecting the allosteric controls between the sites on the EF-Tu molecule interacting with these components. PMID:4373734

Interaction of apicoplast-encoded elongation factor (EF) EF-Tu with nuclear-encoded EF-Ts mediates translation in the Plasmodiumfalciparum plastid.

PubMed

Biswas, Subir; Lim, Erin E; Gupta, Ankit; Saqib, Uzma; Mir, Snober S; Siddiqi, Mohammad Imran; Ralph, Stuart A; Habib, Saman

2011-03-01

Protein translation in the plastid (apicoplast) of Plasmodium spp. is of immense interest as a target for potential anti-malarial drugs. However, the molecular data on apicoplast translation needed for optimisation and development of novel inhibitors is lacking. We report characterisation of two key translation elongation factors in Plasmodium falciparum, apicoplast-encoded elongation factor PfEF-Tu and nuclear-encoded PfEF-Ts. Recombinant PfEF-Tu hydrolysed GTP and interacted with its presumed nuclear-encoded partner PfEF-Ts. The EF-Tu inhibitor kirromycin affected PfEF-Tu activity in vitro, indicating that apicoplast EF-Tu is indeed the target of this drug. The predicted PfEF-Ts leader sequence targeted GFP to the apicoplast, confirming that PfEF-Ts functions in this organelle. Recombinant PfEF-Ts mediated nucleotide exchange on PfEF-Tu and homology modeling of the PfEF-Tu:PfEF-Ts complex revealed PfEF-Ts-induced structural alterations that would expedite GDP release from PfEF-Tu. Our results establish functional interaction between two apicoplast translation factors encoded by genes residing in different cellular compartments and highlight the significance of their sequence/structural differences from bacterial elongation factors in relation to inhibitor activity. These data provide an experimental system to study the effects of novel inhibitors targeting PfEF-Tu and PfEF-Tu.PfEF-Ts interaction. Our finding that apicoplast EF-Tu possesses chaperone-related disulphide reductase activity also provides a rationale for retention of the tufA gene on the plastid genome. Copyright © 2010 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. All rights reserved.

Advanced coal conversion process demonstration. Technical progress report for the period July 1, 1995--September 30, 1995

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

NONE

1997-05-01

This report describes the technical progress made on the Advanced Coal Conversion Process (ACCP) Demonstration Project from July 1, 1995 through September 30, 1995. The ACCP Demonstration Project is a US Department of Energy (DOE) Clean Coal Technology Project. This project demonstrates an advanced, thermal, coal upgrading process, coupled with physical cleaning techniques, that is designed to upgrade high-moisture, low-rank coals to a high-quality, low-sulfur fuel, registered as the SynCoal process. The coal is processed through three stages (two heating stages followed by an inert cooling stage) of vibrating fluidized bed reactors that remove chemically bound water, carboxyl groups, andmore » volatile sulfur compounds. After thermal upgrading, the cola is put through a deep-bed stratifier cleaning process to separate the pyrite-rich ash from the coal.« less

Characterization of Two Related Drosophila γ-tubulin Complexes that Differ in Their Ability to Nucleate Microtubules

PubMed Central

Oegema, Karen; Wiese, Christiane; Martin, Ona C.; Milligan, Ronald A.; Iwamatsu, Akihiro; Mitchison, Timothy J.; Zheng, Yixian

1999-01-01

γ-tubulin exists in two related complexes in Drosophila embryo extracts (Moritz, M., Y. Zheng, B.M. Alberts, and K. Oegema. 1998. J. Cell Biol. 142:1– 12). Here, we report the purification and characterization of both complexes that we name γ-tubulin small complex (γTuSC; ∼280,000 D) and Drosophila γTuRC (∼2,200,000 D). In addition to γ-tubulin, the γTuSC contains Dgrip84 and Dgrip91, two proteins homologous to the Spc97/98p protein family. The γTuSC is a structural subunit of the γTuRC, a larger complex containing about six additional polypeptides. Like the γTuRC isolated from Xenopus egg extracts (Zheng, Y., M.L. Wong, B. Alberts, and T. Mitchison. 1995. Nature. 378:578–583), the Drosophila γTuRC can nucleate microtubules in vitro and has an open ring structure with a diameter of 25 nm. Cryo-electron microscopy reveals a modular structure with ∼13 radially arranged structural repeats. The γTuSC also nucleates microtubules, but much less efficiently than the γTuRC, suggesting that assembly into a larger complex enhances nucleating activity. Analysis of the nucleotide content of the γTuSC reveals that γ-tubulin binds preferentially to GDP over GTP, rendering γ-tubulin an unusual member of the tubulin superfamily. PMID:10037793

Pyrolysis of Woody Residue Feedstocks: Upgrading of Bio-Oils from Mountain-Pine-Beetle-Killed Trees and Hog Fuel

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

Zacher, Alan H.; Elliott, Douglas C.; Olarte, Mariefel V.

Liquid transportation fuel blend-stocks were produced by pyrolysis and catalytic upgrading of woody residue biomass. Mountain pine beetle killed wood and hog fuel from a saw mill were pyrolyzed in a 1 kg/h fluidized bed reactor and subsequently upgraded to hydrocarbons in a continuous fixed bed hydrotreater. Upgrading was performed by catalytic hydrotreatment in a two-stage bed at 170°C and 405°C with a per bed LHSV between 0.17 and 0.19. The overall yields from biomass to upgraded fuel were similar for both feeds: 24-25% despite the differences in bio-oil (intermediate) mass yield. Pyrolysis bio-oil mass yield was 61% from MPBKmore » wood, and subsequent upgrading of the bio-oil gave an average mass yield of 41% to liquid fuel blend stocks. Hydrogen was consumed at an average of 0.042g/g of bio-oil fed, with final oxygen content in the product fuel ranging from 0.31% to 1.58% over the course of the test. Comparatively for hog fuel, pyrolysis bio-oil mass yield was lower at 54% due to inorganics in the biomass, but subsequent upgrading of that bio-oil had an average mass yield of 45% to liquid fuel, resulting in a similar final mass yield to fuel compared to the cleaner MPBK wood. Hydrogen consumption for the hog fuel upgrading averaged 0.041 g/g of bio-oil fed, and the final oxygen content of the product fuel ranged from 0.09% to 2.4% over the run. While it was confirmed that inorganic laded biomass yields less bio-oil, this work demonstrated that the resultant bio-oil can be upgraded to hydrocarbons at a higher yield than bio-oil from clean wood. Thus the final hydrocarbon yield from clean or residue biomass pyrolysis/upgrading was similar.« less

Recovery of useful chemicals from palm oil mill wastewater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratanaporn, Yuangsawad; Duangkamol, Na-Ranong; Teruoki, Tago; Takao, Masuda

2017-11-01

A two-step process consisting of pyrolysis of dried sludge and catalytic upgrading of pyrolysed liquid was proposed. Wastewater from a palm oil mill was separated to solid cake and liquid by filtration. The solid cake was dried and pyrolysed at 773 K. Liquid product obtained from the pyrolysis had two immiscible aqueous and oil phases (PL-A and PL-O). Identification of chemicals in PL-A and PL-O indicated that both phases contained various chemicals with unsaturated bonds, such as carboxylic acids and alcohols, however, most of the chemicals could not be identified. Catalytic upgrading of PL-A and PL-O over ZrO2·FeOx were separately performed using a fixed bed reactor at various conditions, T = 513-723 K and mass of catalyst to feed rate = 0.25-10 h. The main components in the liquid products of PL-A upgrading were methanol and acetone whereas they were acetone and phenol in the case of PL-O upgrading. More than 15% of carbon in raw material was deposited on the catalyst. To reduce the carbon deposition, the used catalyst was treated with air at 823 K. This simple treatment could reasonably regenerate the catalyst only for the case of PL-A catalytic upgrading.

Identification and cloning of two immunogenic C. perfringens proteins, elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFO) of Clostridium perfringens

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Clostridium related poultry diseases such as necrotic enteritis (NE) and gangrenous dermatitis (GD) cause substantial economic losses on a global scale. Two antigenic C. perfringens proteins, elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFO), were identified by reaction with...

In-situ biogas upgrading with pulse H2 additions: The relevance of methanogen adaption and inorganic carbon level.

PubMed

Agneessens, Laura Mia; Ottosen, Lars Ditlev Mørck; Voigt, Niels Vinther; Nielsen, Jeppe Lund; de Jonge, Nadieh; Fischer, Christian Holst; Kofoed, Michael Vedel Wegener

2017-06-01

Surplus electricity from fluctuating renewable power sources may be converted to CH 4 via biomethanisation in anaerobic digesters. The reactor performance and response of methanogen population of mixed-culture reactors was assessed during pulsed H 2 injections. Initial H 2 uptake rates increased immediately and linearly during consecutive pulse H 2 injections for all tested injection rates (0.3 to 1.7L H2 /L sludge /d), while novel high throughput mcrA sequencing revealed an increased abundance of specific hydrogenotrophic methanogens. These findings illustrate the adaptability of the methanogen population to H 2 injections and positively affects the implementation of biomethanisation. Acetate accumulated by a 10-fold following injections exceeding a 4:1 H 2 :CO 2 ratio and may act as temporary storage prior to biomethanisation. Daily methane production decreased for headspace CO 2 concentrations below 12% and may indicate a high sensitivity of hydrogenotrophic methanogens to CO 2 limitation. This may ultimately decide the biogas upgrading potential which can be achieved by biomethanisation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structure of a novel antibacterial toxin that exploits elongation factor Tu to cleave specific transfer RNAs

DOE PAGES

Michalska, Karolina; Gucinski, Grant C.; Garza-Sanchez, Fernando; ...

2017-08-11

Contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) is a mechanism of inter-cellular competition in which Gram-negative bacteria exchange polymorphic toxins using type V secretion systems. Here, we present structures of the CDI toxin from Escherichia coli NC101 in ternary complex with its cognate immunity protein and elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu). The toxin binds exclusively to domain 2 of EF-Tu, partially overlapping the site that interacts with the 3'-end of aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA). The toxin exerts a unique ribonuclease activity that cleaves the single-stranded 3'-end from tRNAs that contain guanine discriminator nucleotides. EF-Tu is required to support this tRNase activity in vitro, suggesting the toxinmore » specifically cleaves substrate in the context of GTP·EF-Tu·aa-tRNA complexes. However, superimposition of the toxin domain onto previously solved GTP·EF-Tu·aa-tRNA structures reveals potential steric clashes with both aa-tRNA and the switch I region of EF-Tu. Further, the toxin induces conformational changes in EF-Tu, displacing a β-hairpin loop that forms a critical salt-bridge contact with the 3'-terminal adenylate of aa-tRNA. Altogether, these observations suggest that the toxin remodels GTP·EF-Tu·aa-tRNA complexes to free the 3'-end of aa-tRNA for entry into the nuclease active site.« less

Structure of a novel antibacterial toxin that exploits elongation factor Tu to cleave specific transfer RNAs

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

Michalska, Karolina; Gucinski, Grant C.; Garza-Sanchez, Fernando

Contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) is a mechanism of inter-cellular competition in which Gram-negative bacteria exchange polymorphic toxins using type V secretion systems. Here, we present structures of the CDI toxin from Escherichia coli NC101 in ternary complex with its cognate immunity protein and elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu). The toxin binds exclusively to domain 2 of EF-Tu, partially overlapping the site that interacts with the 3'-end of aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA). The toxin exerts a unique ribonuclease activity that cleaves the single-stranded 3'-end from tRNAs that contain guanine discriminator nucleotides. EF-Tu is required to support this tRNase activity in vitro, suggesting the toxinmore » specifically cleaves substrate in the context of GTP·EF-Tu·aa-tRNA complexes. However, superimposition of the toxin domain onto previously solved GTP·EF-Tu·aa-tRNA structures reveals potential steric clashes with both aa-tRNA and the switch I region of EF-Tu. Further, the toxin induces conformational changes in EF-Tu, displacing a β-hairpin loop that forms a critical salt-bridge contact with the 3'-terminal adenylate of aa-tRNA. Altogether, these observations suggest that the toxin remodels GTP·EF-Tu·aa-tRNA complexes to free the 3'-end of aa-tRNA for entry into the nuclease active site.« less

[Expression and significance of c-fos in resistant cell line TU177/VCR of larynx squamous cell carcinoma].

PubMed

Li, G D; Hu, X L; Xing, J F; Shi, R Y; Li, X; Li, J F; Li, T L

2018-04-07

Objective: To explore the effect of c-fos on multidrug resistance of laryngeal cancer TU177 cells. Method: Increasing drug concentration gradient is adopted to establish the stability of the laryngeal cancer drug resistance in cell line; RT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect difference of the c-fos between TU177 and TU177/VCR cells; plasmids with human c-fos knockdown or over expression were transfected into TU177/VCR and TU177 cells respectively, and the effects of different treatment on cell proliferation were investigated with MTT. Results: The drug resistance of TU177/VCR cells was 26.25-fold in vincristine (VCR), 7.33-fold in Paclitaxel (TAX), 2.41 in cisplatin (DDP), and 5.50 in 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), comparing with TU177( P <0.05). The TU177/VCR cells had significantly higher c-fos expression compared to TU177 cells( P <0.05). The results showed that the IC(50) values of 5-FU for the NC group and c-fos shRNA group were (306.2±6.3)μmol/L and (81.3±3.9)μmol/L, respectively, which was decreased by 73% in the c-fos shRNA group compared to that in the NC group ( P <0.05). Similarly, the results showed that the IC(50) values for 5-FU were (55.3±9.4) μmol/L in NC group and (288.1±7.3)μmol/L in c-fos WT group, which was increased 5.21-fold in c-fos WT cells. Conclusion: C-fos plays important role in multidrug resistance of larynx cancer cell TU177/VCR, and might become a new molecular target for laryngeal cancer treatment.

Feedback controlled, reactor relevant, high-density, high-confinement scenarios at ASDEX Upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lang, P. T.; Blanken, T. C.; Dunne, M.; McDermott, R. M.; Wolfrum, E.; Bobkov, V.; Felici, F.; Fischer, R.; Janky, F.; Kallenbach, A.; Kardaun, O.; Kudlacek, O.; Mertens, V.; Mlynek, A.; Ploeckl, B.; Stober, J. K.; Treutterer, W.; Zohm, H.; ASDEX Upgrade Team

2018-03-01

One main programme topic at the ASDEX Upgrade all-metal-wall tokamak is development of a high-density regime with central densities at reactor grade level while retaining high-confinement properties. This required development of appropriate control techniques capable of coping with the pellet tool, a powerful means of fuelling but one which presented challenges to the control system for handling of related perturbations. Real-time density profile control was demonstrated, raising the core density well above the Greenwald density while retaining the edge density in order to avoid confinement losses. Recently, a new model-based approach was implemented that allows direct control of the central density. Investigations focussed first on the N-seeding scenario owing to its proven potential to yield confinement enhancements. Combining pellets and N seeding was found to improve the divertor buffering further and enhance the operational range accessible. For core densities up to about the Greenwald density, a clear improvement with respect to the non-seeding reference was achieved; however, at higher densities this benefit is reduced. This behaviour is attributed to recurrence of an outward shift of the edge density profile, resulting in a reduced peeling-ballooning stability. This is similar to the shift seen during strong gas puffing, which is required to prevent impurity influx in ASDEX Upgrade. First tests indicate that highly-shaped plasma configurations like the ITER base-line scenario, respond very well to pellet injection, showing efficient fuelling with no measurable impact on the edge density profile.

A Grammar of Bao'an Tu, a Mongolic Language of Northwest China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fried, Robert Wayne

2010-01-01

The present study is a grammatical overview of the Bao'an Tu language (one of the varieties included in the designation "ISO6393-3:PEH", also known as "Tongren Monguor", "Southwestern Monguor", or "Tongren Tu"). Bao'an Tu is spoken by approximately 4,000 people who live on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in…

Global Uranium And Thorium Resources: Are They Adequate To Satisfy Demand Over The Next Half Century?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lambert, I. B.

2012-04-01

This presentation will consider the adequacy of global uranium and thorium resources to meet realistic nuclear power demand scenarios over the next half century. It is presented on behalf of, and based on evaluations by, the Uranium Group - a joint initiative of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency, of which the author is a Vice Chair. The Uranium Group produces a biennial report on Uranium Resources, Production and Demand based on information from some 40 countries involved in the nuclear fuel cycle, which also briefly reviews thorium resources. Uranium: In 2008, world production of uranium amounted to almost 44,000 tonnes (tU). This supplied approximately three-quarters of world reactor requirements (approx. 59,000 tU), the remainder being met by previously mined uranium (so-called secondary sources). Information on availability of secondary sources - which include uranium from excess inventories, dismantling nuclear warheads, tails and spent fuel reprocessing - is incomplete, but such sources are expected to decrease in market importance after 2013. In 2008, the total world Reasonably Assured plus Inferred Resources of uranium (recoverable at less than 130/kgU) amounted to 5.4 million tonnes. In addition, it is clear that there are vast amounts of uranium recoverable at higher costs in known deposits, plus many as yet undiscovered deposits. The Uranium Group has concluded that the uranium resource base is more than adequate to meet projected high-case requirements for nuclear power for at least half a century. This conclusion does not assume increasing replacement of uranium by fuels from reprocessing current reactor wastes, or by thorium, nor greater reactor efficiencies, which are likely to ameliorate future uranium demand. However, progressively increasing quantities of uranium will need to be mined, against a backdrop of the relatively small number of producing facilities around the world, geopolitical uncertainties and strong opposition to growth of nuclear power in a number of quarters - it is vital that the market provides incentives for exploration and development of environmentally sustainable mining operations. Thorium: World Reasonably Assured plus Inferred Resources of thorium are estimated at over 2.2 million tonnes, in hard rock and heavy mineral sand deposits. At least double this amount is considered to occur in as yet undiscovered thorium deposits. Currently, demand for thorium is insignificant, but even a major shift to thorium-fueled reactors would not make significant inroads into the huge resource base over the next half century.

Elongation factor Tu resistant to kirromycin in an Esherichia coli mutant altered in both tuf genes

PubMed Central

Fischer, Eckhard; Wolf, Heinz; Hantke, Klaus; Parmeggiani, Andrea

1977-01-01

A mutant of Escherichia coli is described that displays kirromycin resistance in a cell-free system by virtue of an altered elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu). In poly(U)-directed poly(Phe) synthesis the kirromycin resistance of the crystallized enzyme ranged between a factor of 80 and 700, depending on temperature. Similarly, kirromycin-induced EF-Tu GTPase activity uncoupled from ribosomes and aminoacyl-tRNA required correspondingly higher concentrations of the antibiotic. Resistance of EF-Tu to kirromycin is a consequence of a modified enzyme structure as indicated by its altered fingerprint pattern. P1 transduction experiments showed that the kirromycin-resistant EF-Tu is coded by an altered tufB gene (tufB1). The known existence of two genes coding for EF-Tu would interfere with the recognition of a mutant altered in only one of those genes, if the mutation were recessive. Because kirromycin blocks EF-Tu release from the ribosome, kirromycin sensitivity is dominant, as shown by the failure of a mixed EF-Tu population to express resistance in vitro. Therefore, phenotypic expression of kirromycin resistance in vivo appears to be only possible if the EF-Tu mutant lacks an active tufA gene, a property likely to be inherited from the parental D22 strain. The observations that introduction of a tufA+ region makes the resistant strain sensitive to the antibiotic and that transduction of tufB1 into a recipient other than E. coli D22 yields kirromycin-sensitive progeny support these conclusions. Images PMID:337296

Elongation factor Ts directly facilitates the formation and disassembly of the Escherichia coli elongation factor Tu·GTP·aminoacyl-tRNA ternary complex.

PubMed

Burnett, Benjamin J; Altman, Roger B; Ferrao, Ryan; Alejo, Jose L; Kaur, Navdep; Kanji, Joshua; Blanchard, Scott C

2013-05-10

Aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA) enters the ribosome in a ternary complex with the G-protein elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and GTP. EF-Tu·GTP·aa-tRNA ternary complex formation and decay rates are accelerated in the presence of the nucleotide exchange factor elongation factor Ts (EF-Ts). EF-Ts directly facilitates the formation and disassociation of ternary complex. This system demonstrates a novel function of EF-Ts. Aminoacyl-tRNA enters the translating ribosome in a ternary complex with elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and GTP. Here, we describe bulk steady state and pre-steady state fluorescence methods that enabled us to quantitatively explore the kinetic features of Escherichia coli ternary complex formation and decay. The data obtained suggest that both processes are controlled by a nucleotide-dependent, rate-determining conformational change in EF-Tu. Unexpectedly, we found that this conformational change is accelerated by elongation factor Ts (EF-Ts), the guanosine nucleotide exchange factor for EF-Tu. Notably, EF-Ts attenuates the affinity of EF-Tu for GTP and destabilizes ternary complex in the presence of non-hydrolyzable GTP analogs. These results suggest that EF-Ts serves an unanticipated role in the cell of actively regulating the abundance and stability of ternary complex in a manner that contributes to rapid and faithful protein synthesis.

A clinical trial of injectable testosterone undecanoate as a potential male contraceptive in normal Chinese men.

PubMed

Zhang, G Y; Gu, Y Q; Wang, X H; Cui, Y G; Bremner, W J

1999-10-01

This is a pilot dose-finding study of spermatogenic suppression using testosterone undecanoate (TU) injections alone in normal Chinese men. Thirty-two healthy men were recruited. Volunteers underwent pretreatment evaluation, then a treatment period in which group I (n = 13) received 500 mg TU, group II (n = 12) received 1000 mg TU, and group III (n = 7) received placebo, respectively, at monthly intervals during the treatment period (or until azoospermia was achieved). Thereafter, they underwent a recovery period until all parameters returned to pretreatment levels. Eleven of 12 volunteers in the 500-mg TU group, and all volunteers in the 1000-mg TU group became azoospermic. Faster suppression of spermatogenesis was achieved in the 1000-mg TU group. Serum testosterone increased significantly in the higher dose group at weeks 8 and 12, but remained within the normal range. Mean serum LH and FSH were profoundly suppressed by both doses to undetectable levels at week 16. TU injections did not cause a significant change in high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. No serious side-effects were found. We conclude that both dosages of TU can effectively, safely, and reversibly suppress spermatogenesis in normal Chinese men.

Upgrading the fuel-handling machine of the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant unit no. 5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terekhov, D. V.; Dunaev, V. I.

2014-02-01

The calculation of safety parameters was carried out in the process of upgrading the fuel-handling machine (FHM) of the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant (NPP) unit no. 5 based on the results of quantitative safety analysis of nuclear fuel transfer operations using a dynamic logical-and-probabilistic model of the processing procedure. Specific engineering and design concepts that made it possible to reduce the probability of damaging the fuel assemblies (FAs) when performing various technological operations by an order of magnitude and introduce more flexible algorithms into the modernized FHM control system were developed. The results of pilot operation during two refueling campaigns prove that the total reactor shutdown time is lowered.

The DIAN-TU Next Generation Alzheimer’s prevention trial: adaptive design and disease progression model

PubMed Central

Bateman, Randall J.; Benzinger, Tammie L.; Berry, Scott; Clifford, David B.; Duggan, Cynthia; Fagan, Anne M.; Fanning, Kathleen; Farlow, Martin R.; Hassenstab, Jason; McDade, Eric M.; Mills, Susan; Paumier, Katrina; Quintana, Melanie; Salloway, Stephen P.; Santacruz, Anna; Schneider, Lon S.; Wang, Guoqiao; Xiong, Chengjie

2016-01-01

INTRODUCTION The Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit (DIAN-TU) trial is an adaptive platform trial testing multiple drugs to slow or prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease (ADAD) families. With completion of enrollment of the first two drug arms, the DIAN-TU now plans to add new drugs to the platform, designated as the Next Generation Prevention Trial (NexGen). METHODS In collaboration with ADAD families, philanthropic organizations, academic leaders, the DIAN-TU Pharma Consortium, the NIH, and regulatory colleagues, the DIAN-TU developed innovative clinical study designs for the DIAN-TU NexGen trial. RESULTS Our expanded trials toolbox consists of a Disease Progression Model for ADAD, primary endpoint DIAN-TU cognitive performance composite, biomarker development, self-administered cognitive assessments, adaptive dose adjustments, and blinded data collection through the last participant completion. CONCLUSION These steps represent elements to improve efficacy of the adaptive platform trial and a continued effort to optimize prevention and treatment trials in ADAD. PMID:27583651

Flow reversal power limit for the HFBR

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

Cheng, L.Y.; Tichler, P.R.

The High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) is a pressurized heavy water moderated and cooled research reactor that began operation at 40 MW. The reactor was subsequently upgraded to 60 MW and operated at that level for several years. The reactor undergoes a buoyancy-driven reversal of flow in the reactor core following certain postulated accidents. Questions which were raised about the afterheat removal capability during the flow reversal transition led to a reactor shutdown and subsequent resumption of operation at a reduced power of 30 MW. An experimental and analytical program to address these questions is described in this report. Themore » experiments were single channel flow reversal tests under a range of conditions. The analytical phase involved simulations of the tests to benchmark the physical models and development of a criterion for dryout. The criterion is then used in simulations of reactor accidents to determine a safe operating power level. It is concluded that the limit on the HFBR operating power with respect to the issue of flow reversal is in excess of 60 MW. Direct use of the experimental results and an understanding of the governing phenomenology supports this conclusion.« less

Thermochemical Process Integration, Scale-Up, and Piloting Publications |

Science.gov Websites

-Economic Assessment of Ex Situ Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Biomass: A Fixed Bed Reactor Implementation Scenario for Future Feasibility, Topics in Catalysis Image of a schematic of hot gas filter and ex situ Research Pathways with In Situ and Ex Situ Upgrading of Fast Pyrolysis Vapors, NREL Technical Report Image

Packed-bed catalytic cracking of oak derived pyrolytic vapors

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Catalytic upgrading of pyrolysis vapors derived from oak was carried out using a fixed-bed catalytic column at 425 deg C. The vapors were drawn by splitting a fraction from the full stream of vapors produced at 500 deg C in a 5 kg/hr bench-scale fast pyrolysis reactor system downstream the cyclone s...

Tuberculate fruit gene Tu encodes a C2 H2 zinc finger protein that is required for the warty fruit phenotype in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.).

PubMed

Yang, Xuqin; Zhang, Weiwei; He, Huanle; Nie, Jingtao; Bie, Beibei; Zhao, Junlong; Ren, Guoliang; Li, Yue; Zhang, Dabing; Pan, Junsong; Cai, Run

2014-06-01

Cucumber fruits that have tubercules and spines (trichomes) are known to possess a warty (Wty) phenotype. In this study, the tuberculate fruit gene Tu was identified by map-based cloning, and was found to encode a transcription factor (TF) with a single C2 H2 zinc finger domain. Tu was identified in all 38 Wty lines examined, and was completely absent from all 56 non-warty (nWty) lines. Cucumber plants transgenic for Tu (TCP) revealed that Tu was required for the Wty fruit phenotype. Subcellular localization showed that the fusion protein GFP-Tu was localized mainly to the nucleus. Based on analyses of semi-quantitative and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and mRNA in situ hybridization, we found that Tu was expressed specifically in fruit spine cells during development of fruit tubercules. Moreover, cytokinin (CTK) content measurements and cytological observations in Wty and nWty fruits revealed that the Wty fruit phenotype correlated with high endogenous CTK concentrations. As a result of further analyses on the transcriptomic profile of the nWty fruit epidermis and TCP fruit warts, expression of CTK-associated genes, and hormone content in nWty fruit epidermis, Wty fruit warts and epidermis, and TCP fruit warts and epidermis, we found that Tu probably promoted CTK biosynthesis in fruit warts. Here we show that Tu could not be expressed in the glabrous and tubercule-free mutant line gl that contained Tu, this result that futher confirmed the epistatic effect of the trichome (spine) gene Gl over Tu. Taken together, these data led us to propose a genetic pathway for the Wty fruit trait that could guide future mechanistic studies. © 2014 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A paired comparison of tuberculin skin test results in health care workers using 5 TU and 10 TU tuberculin

PubMed Central

Stuart, R.; Bennett, N.; Forbes, A.; Grayson, M

2000-01-01

BACKGROUND—Historically, 10 TU has been employed in Australia and the United Kingdom to perform the tuberculin skin test (TST). However, this makes it difficult to compare the rates of TST positivity with other countries such as the USA who use 5 TU. To assess the impact of the dose of tuberculin on the TST a comparison was made of TST responses in health care workers given a TST with both 5 and 10 TU.
METHODS—Two TSTs were performed simultaneously in each health care worker using 5 and 10 TU. Each dose was randomly assigned in a blinded manner to the right or left forearm and read at 48-72 hours by a single nurse who was blinded to the assignment of the 5 and 10 TU doses.
RESULTS—A total of 128 health care workers were enrolled, 119 (93%) of whom had a past history of BCG vaccination. The overall mean difference in paired reaction sizes for the two doses was 1.5 mm with 95% limits of agreement of -3.6 to 6.5 mm.
CONCLUSION—A slightly larger TST reading was seen with 10 TU than with 5 TU. The mean difference of 1.5 mm between the two doses should be considered when comparing rates of TST positivity between countries who use different doses of tuberculin to perform the tuberculin skin test.

 PMID:10899248

Acceptance Test Data for BWXT Coated Particle Batches 93172B and 93173B—Defective IPyC and Pyrocarbon Anisotropy

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

Hunn, John D.; Helmreich, Grant W.; Dyer, John A.

Coated particle batches J52O-16-93172B and J52O-16-93173B were produced by Babcock and Wilcox Technologies (BWXT) as part of the production campaign for the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification (AGR) Program’s AGR-5/6/7 irradiation test in the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), but were not used in the final fuel composite. However, these batches may be used as demonstration production-scale coated particle fuel for other experiments. Each batch was coated in a 150-mm-diameter production-scale fluidized-bed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) furnace. Tristructural isotropic (TRISO) coatings were deposited on 425-μm-nominal-diameter spherical kernels from BWXT lot J52R-16-69317 containing a mixture ofmore » 15.5%-enriched uranium carbide and uranium oxide (UCO). The TRISO coatings consisted of four consecutive CVD layers: a ~50% dense carbon buffer layer with 100-μm-nominal thickness, a dense inner pyrolytic carbon (IPyC) layer with 40-μm-nominal thickness, a silicon carbide (SiC) layer with 35-μm-nominal thickness, and a dense outer pyrolytic carbon (OPyC) layer with 40-μm-nominal thickness. The TRISO-coated particle batches were sieved to upgrade the particles by removing over-sized and under-sized material, and the upgraded batches were designated by appending the letter A to the end of the batch number (e.g., 93172A). Secondary upgrading by sieving was performed on the A-designated batches to remove particles with missing or very-thin buffer layers that were identified during previous analysis of the individual batches for defective IPyC, as reported in the acceptance test data report for the AGR-5/6/7 production batches [Hunn et al. 2017b]. The additionally-upgraded batches were designated by appending the letter B to the end of the batch number (e.g., 93172B).« less

The DIAN-TU Next Generation Alzheimer's prevention trial: Adaptive design and disease progression model.

PubMed

Bateman, Randall J; Benzinger, Tammie L; Berry, Scott; Clifford, David B; Duggan, Cynthia; Fagan, Anne M; Fanning, Kathleen; Farlow, Martin R; Hassenstab, Jason; McDade, Eric M; Mills, Susan; Paumier, Katrina; Quintana, Melanie; Salloway, Stephen P; Santacruz, Anna; Schneider, Lon S; Wang, Guoqiao; Xiong, Chengjie

2017-01-01

The Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit (DIAN-TU) trial is an adaptive platform trial testing multiple drugs to slow or prevent the progression of Alzheimer's disease in autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease (ADAD) families. With completion of enrollment of the first two drug arms, the DIAN-TU now plans to add new drugs to the platform, designated as the Next Generation (NexGen) prevention trial. In collaboration with ADAD families, philanthropic organizations, academic leaders, the DIAN-TU Pharma Consortium, the National Institutes of Health, and regulatory colleagues, the DIAN-TU developed innovative clinical study designs for the DIAN-TU NexGen prevention trial. Our expanded trial toolbox consists of a disease progression model for ADAD, primary end point DIAN-TU cognitive performance composite, biomarker development, self-administered cognitive assessments, adaptive dose adjustments, and blinded data collection through the last participant completion. These steps represent elements to improve efficacy of the adaptive platform trial and a continued effort to optimize prevention and treatment trials in ADAD. Copyright © 2016 the Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integrated modeling of high βN steady state scenario on DIII-D

DOE PAGES

Park, Jin Myung; Ferron, J. R.; Holcomb, Christopher T.; ...

2018-01-10

Theory-based integrated modeling validated against DIII-D experiments predicts that fully non-inductive DIII-D operation with β N > 4.5 is possible with certain upgrades. IPS-FASTRAN is a new iterative numerical procedure that integrates models of core transport, edge pedestal, equilibrium, stability, heating, and current drive self-consistently to find steady-state ( d/dt = 0) solutions and reproduces most features of DIII-D high β N discharges with a stationary current profile. Projecting forward to scenarios possible on DIII-D with future upgrades, the high q min > 2 scenario achieves stable operation at β N as high as 5 by using a very broadmore » current density profile to improve the ideal-wall stabilization of low- n instabilities along with confinement enhancement from low magnetic shear. This modeling guides the necessary upgrades of the heating and current drive system to realize reactor-relevant high β N steady-state scenarios on DIII-D by simultaneous optimization of the current and pressure profiles.« less

Post Retort, Pre Hydro-treat Upgrading of Shale Oil

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

Gordon, John

Various oil feedstocks, including oil from oil shale, bitumen from tar sands, heavy oil, and refin- ery streams were reacted with the alkali metals lithium or sodium in the presence of hydrogen or methane at elevated temperature and pressure in a reactor. The products were liquids with sub- stantially reduced metals, sulfur and nitrogen content. The API gravity typically increased. Sodi- um was found to be more effective than lithium in effectiveness. The solids formed when sodium was utilized contained sodium sulfide which could be regenerated electrochemically back to so- dium and a sulfur product using a "Nasicon", sodium ionmore » conducting membrane. In addition, the process was found to be effective reducing total acid number (TAN) to zero, dramatically reduc- ing the asphaltene content and vacuum residual fraction in the product liquid. The process has promise as a means of eliminating sulfur oxide and carbon monoxide emissions. The process al- so opens the possibility of eliminating the coking process from upgrading schemes and upgrad- ing without using hydrogen.« less

Microbial electrochemical separation of CO2 for biogas upgrading.

PubMed

Kokkoli, Argyro; Zhang, Yifeng; Angelidaki, Irini

2018-01-01

Biogas upgrading to natural gas quality has been under focus the recent years for increasing the utilization potential of biogas. Conventional methods for CO 2 removal are expensive and have environmental challenges, such as increased emissions of methane in the atmosphere with serious greenhouse impact. In this study, an innovative microbial electrochemical separation cell (MESC) was developed to in-situ separate and regenerate CO 2 via alkali and acid regeneration. The MESC was tested under different applied voltages, inlet biogas rates and electrolyte concentrations. Pure biomethane was obtained at 1.2V, inlet biogas rate of 0.088mL/h/mL reactor and NaCl concentration of 100mM at a 5-day operation. Meanwhile, the organic matter of the domestic wastewater in the anode was almost completely removed at the end. The study demonstrated a new sustainable way to simultaneously upgrade biogas and treat wastewater which can be used as proof of concept for further investigation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated modeling of high βN steady state scenario on DIII-D

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

Park, Jin Myung; Ferron, J. R.; Holcomb, Christopher T.

Theory-based integrated modeling validated against DIII-D experiments predicts that fully non-inductive DIII-D operation with β N > 4.5 is possible with certain upgrades. IPS-FASTRAN is a new iterative numerical procedure that integrates models of core transport, edge pedestal, equilibrium, stability, heating, and current drive self-consistently to find steady-state ( d/dt = 0) solutions and reproduces most features of DIII-D high β N discharges with a stationary current profile. Projecting forward to scenarios possible on DIII-D with future upgrades, the high q min > 2 scenario achieves stable operation at β N as high as 5 by using a very broadmore » current density profile to improve the ideal-wall stabilization of low- n instabilities along with confinement enhancement from low magnetic shear. This modeling guides the necessary upgrades of the heating and current drive system to realize reactor-relevant high β N steady-state scenarios on DIII-D by simultaneous optimization of the current and pressure profiles.« less

Integrated modeling of high βN steady state scenario on DIII-D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, J. M.; Ferron, J. R.; Holcomb, C. T.; Buttery, R. J.; Solomon, W. M.; Batchelor, D. B.; Elwasif, W.; Green, D. L.; Kim, K.; Meneghini, O.; Murakami, M.; Snyder, P. B.

2018-01-01

Theory-based integrated modeling validated against DIII-D experiments predicts that fully non-inductive DIII-D operation with βN > 4.5 is possible with certain upgrades. IPS-FASTRAN is a new iterative numerical procedure that integrates models of core transport, edge pedestal, equilibrium, stability, heating, and current drive self-consistently to find steady-state (d/dt = 0) solutions and reproduces most features of DIII-D high βN discharges with a stationary current profile. Projecting forward to scenarios possible on DIII-D with future upgrades, the high qmin > 2 scenario achieves stable operation at βN as high as 5 by using a very broad current density profile to improve the ideal-wall stabilization of low-n instabilities along with confinement enhancement from low magnetic shear. This modeling guides the necessary upgrades of the heating and current drive system to realize reactor-relevant high βN steady-state scenarios on DIII-D by simultaneous optimization of the current and pressure profiles.

Super-resolution imaging and tracking of protein-protein interactions in sub-diffraction cellular space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhen; Xing, Dong; Su, Qian Peter; Zhu, Yun; Zhang, Jiamei; Kong, Xinyu; Xue, Boxin; Wang, Sheng; Sun, Hao; Tao, Yile; Sun, Yujie

2014-07-01

Imaging the location and dynamics of individual interacting protein pairs is essential but often difficult because of the fluorescent background from other paired and non-paired molecules, particularly in the sub-diffraction cellular space. Here we develop a new method combining bimolecular fluorescence complementation and photoactivated localization microscopy for super-resolution imaging and single-molecule tracking of specific protein-protein interactions. The method is used to study the interaction of two abundant proteins, MreB and EF-Tu, in Escherichia coli cells. The super-resolution imaging shows interesting distribution and domain sizes of interacting MreB-EF-Tu pairs as a subpopulation of total EF-Tu. The single-molecule tracking of MreB, EF-Tu and MreB-EF-Tu pairs reveals intriguing localization-dependent heterogonous dynamics and provides valuable insights to understanding the roles of MreB-EF-Tu interactions.

Super-resolution imaging and tracking of protein–protein interactions in sub-diffraction cellular space

PubMed Central

Liu, Zhen; Xing, Dong; Su, Qian Peter; Zhu, Yun; Zhang, Jiamei; Kong, Xinyu; Xue, Boxin; Wang, Sheng; Sun, Hao; Tao, Yile; Sun, Yujie

2014-01-01

Imaging the location and dynamics of individual interacting protein pairs is essential but often difficult because of the fluorescent background from other paired and non-paired molecules, particularly in the sub-diffraction cellular space. Here we develop a new method combining bimolecular fluorescence complementation and photoactivated localization microscopy for super-resolution imaging and single-molecule tracking of specific protein–protein interactions. The method is used to study the interaction of two abundant proteins, MreB and EF-Tu, in Escherichia coli cells. The super-resolution imaging shows interesting distribution and domain sizes of interacting MreB–EF-Tu pairs as a subpopulation of total EF-Tu. The single-molecule tracking of MreB, EF-Tu and MreB–EF-Tu pairs reveals intriguing localization-dependent heterogonous dynamics and provides valuable insights to understanding the roles of MreB–EF-Tu interactions. PMID:25030837

Radioiodination and biodistribution of the monoclonal antibody TU-20 and its scFv fragment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubaštová, H.; Kleinova, V.; Seifert, D.; Fišer, M.; Kranda, K.

2006-01-01

The ability of the monoclonal antibody TU-20 and its scFv fragment to specifically bind to the C-end of the class III beta-tubulin makes these preparations useful as potential diagnostics for in vivo determination of neurodegenerative diseases that entail degradation of neuronal cytoskeleton. To examine this hypothesis, TU-20 and its scFv were labelled with 125I and their properties were extensively investigated. TU-20 and its scFv were labelled via chloramine-T with the yield 90 95% and 64 78%, respectively. Their quality control, performed by an ELISA and gel electrophoresis, determined adequate properties for further studies. The in vitro experiment, involving autoradiography and immunohistochemistry of mice’ brain slices, enabled confirmation of preserved immunospecificity of the radiolabelled substances. Finally, the in vivo biodistribution proved differences in elimination of either TU-20, scFv TU-20, or iodide from the mice.

Development of imaging bolometers for magnetic fusion reactors (invited)

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

Peterson, Byron J.; Parchamy, Homaira; Ashikawa, Naoko

2008-10-15

Imaging bolometers utilize an infrared (IR) video camera to measure the change in temperature of a thin foil exposed to the plasma radiation, thereby avoiding the risks of conventional resistive bolometers related to electric cabling and vacuum feedthroughs in a reactor environment. A prototype of the IR imaging video bolometer (IRVB) has been installed and operated on the JT-60U tokamak demonstrating its applicability to a reactor environment and its ability to provide two-dimensional measurements of the radiation emissivity in a poloidal cross section. In this paper we review this development and present the first results of an upgraded version ofmore » this IRVB on JT-60U. This upgrade utilizes a state-of-the-art IR camera (FLIR/Indigo Phoenix-InSb) (3-5 {mu}m, 256x360 pixels, 345 Hz, 11 mK) mounted in a neutron/gamma/magnetic shield behind a 3.6 m IR periscope consisting of CaF{sub 2} optics and an aluminum mirror. The IRVB foil is 7 cmx9 cmx5 {mu}m tantalum. A noise equivalent power density of 300 {mu}W/cm{sup 2} is achieved with 40x24 channels and a time response of 10 ms or 23 {mu}W/cm{sup 2} for 16x12 channels and a time response of 33 ms, which is 30 times better than the previous version of the IRVB on JT-60U.« less

Cloning and characterization of EF-Tu and EF-Ts from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

PubMed

Palmer, Stephanie O; Rangel, Edna Y; Montalvo, Alberto E; Tran, Alexis T; Ferguson, Kate C; Bullard, James M

2013-01-01

We have cloned genes encoding elongation factors EF-Tu and EF-Ts from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and expressed and purified the proteins to greater than 95% homogeneity. Sequence analysis indicated that P. aeruginosa EF-Tu and EF-Ts are 84% and 55% identical to E. coli counterparts, respectively. P. aeruginosa EF-Tu was active when assayed in GDP exchange assays. Kinetic parameters for the interaction of EF-Tu with GDP in the absence of EF-Ts were observed to be K M = 33 μM, k cat (obs) = 0.003 s(-1), and the specificity constant k cat (obs)/K M was 0.1 × 10(-3) s(-1) μM(-1). In the presence of EF-Ts, these values were shifted to K M = 2 μM, k cat (obs) = 0.005 s(-1), and the specificity constant k(cat)(obs)/K M was 2.5 × 10(-3) s(-1) μM(-1). The equilibrium dissociation constants governing the binding of EF-Tu to GDP (K GDP) were 30-75 nM and to GTP (K GTP) were 125-200 nM. EF-Ts stimulated the exchange of GDP by EF-Tu 10-fold. P. aeruginosa EF-Tu was active in forming a ternary complex with GTP and aminoacylated tRNA and was functional in poly(U)-dependent binding of Phe-tRNA(Phe) at the A-site of P. aeruginosa ribosomes. P. aeruginosa EF-Tu was active in poly(U)-programmed polyphenylalanine protein synthesis system composed of all P. aeruginosa components.

Translation elongation factor EF-Tu modulates filament formation of actin-like MreB protein in vitro.

PubMed

Defeu Soufo, Hervé Joël; Reimold, Christian; Breddermann, Hannes; Mannherz, Hans G; Graumann, Peter L

2015-04-24

EF-Tu has been shown to interact with actin-like protein MreB and to affect its localization in Escherichia coli and in Bacillus subtilis cells. We have purified YFP-MreB in an active form, which forms filaments on glass slides in vitro and was active in dynamic light-scattering assays, polymerizing in milliseconds after addition of magnesium. Purified EF-Tu enhanced the amount of MreB filaments, as seen by sedimentation assays, the speed of filament formation and the length of MreB filaments in vitro. EF-Tu had the strongest impact on MreB filaments in a 1:1 ratio, and EF-Tu co-sedimented with MreB filaments, revealing a stoichiometric interaction between both proteins. This was supported by cross-linking assays where 1:1 species were well detectable. When expressed in E. coli cells, B. subtilis MreB formed filaments and induced the formation of co-localizing B. subtilis EF-Tu structures, indicating that MreB can direct the positioning of EF-Tu structures in a heterologous cell system. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching analysis showed that MreB filaments have a higher turnover in B. subtilis cells than in E. coli cells, indicating different filament kinetics in homologous or heterologous cell systems. The data show that MreB can direct the localization of EF-Tu in vivo, which in turn positively affects the formation and dynamics of MreB filaments. Thus, EF-Tu is a modulator of the activity of a bacterial actin-like protein. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Ketonization of Model Pyrolysis Oil Solutions in a Plug Flow Reactor over a Composite Oxide of Fe, Ce, and Al

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The stabilization and upgrading of pyrolysis oil requires the neutralization of the acidic components of the oil. The conversion of small organic acids, particularly acetic acid, to ketones is one approach to addressing the instability of the oils caused by low pH. In the ketonization reaction, acet...

Scientific Design of the New Neutron Radiography Facility (SANRAD) at SAFARI-1 for South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Beer, F. C.; Gruenauer, F.; Radebe, J. M.; Modise, T.; Schillinger, B.

The final scientific design for an upgraded neutron radiography/tomography facility at beam port no.2 of the SAFARI-1 nuclear research reactor has been performed through expert advice from Physics Consulting, FRMII in Germany and IPEN, Brazil. A need to upgrade the facility became apparent due to the identification of various deficiencies of the current SANRAD facility during an IAEA-sponsored expert mission of international scientists to Necsa, South Africa. A lack of adequate shielding that results in high neutron background on the beam port floor, a mismatch in the collimator aperture to the core that results in a high gradient in neutron flux on the imaging plane and due to a relative low L/D the quality of the radiographs are poor, are a number of deficiencies to name a few.The new design, based on results of Monte Carlo (MCNP-X) simulations of neutron- and gamma transport from the reactor core and through the new facility, is being outlined. The scientific design philosophy, neutron optics and imaging capabilities that include the utilization of fission neutrons, thermal neutrons, and gamma-rays emerging from the core of SAFARI-1 are discussed.

Novel Fast Pyrolysis/Catalytic Technology for the Production of Stable Upgraded Liquids

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

Oyama, Ted; Agblevor, Foster; Battaglia, Francine

The objective of the proposed research is the demonstration and development of a novel biomass pyrolysis technology for the production of a stable bio-oil. The approach is to carry out catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and upgrading together with pyrolysis in a single fluidized bed reactor with a unique two-level design that permits the physical separation of the two processes. The hydrogen required for the HDO will be generated in the catalytic section by the water-gas shift reaction employing recycled CO produced from the pyrolysis reaction itself. Thus, the use of a reactive recycle stream is another innovation in this technology. Themore » catalysts will be designed in collaboration with BASF Catalysts LLC (formerly Engelhard Corporation), a leader in the manufacture of attrition-resistant cracking catalysts. The proposed work will include reactor modeling with state-of-the-art computational fluid dynamics in a supercomputer, and advanced kinetic analysis for optimization of bio-oil production. The stability of the bio-oil will be determined by viscosity, oxygen content, and acidity determinations in real and accelerated measurements. A multi-faceted team has been assembled to handle laboratory demonstration studies and computational analysis for optimization and scaleup.« less

Decommissioning of the High Flux Beam Reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

PubMed

Hu, Jih-Perng; Reciniello, Richard N; Holden, Norman E

2012-08-01

The High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) at the Brookhaven National Laboratory was a heavy-water cooled and moderated reactor that achieved criticality on 31 October 1965. It operated at a power level of 40 mega-watts. An equipment upgrade in 1982 allowed operations at 60 mega-watts. After a 1989 reactor shutdown to reanalyze safety impact of a hypothetical loss of coolant accident, the reactor was restarted in 1991 at 30 mega-watts. The HFBR was shut down in December 1996 for routine maintenance and refueling. At that time, a leak of tritiated water was identified by routine sampling of ground water from wells located adjacent to the reactor's spent fuel pool. The reactor remained shut down for almost 3 y for safety and environmental reviews. In November 1999, the United States Department of Energy decided to permanently shut down the HFBR. The decontamination and decommissioning of the HFBR complex, consisting of multiple structures and systems to operate and maintain the reactor, were complete in 2009 after removing and shipping off all the control rod blades. The emptied and cleaned HFBR dome, which still contains the irradiated reactor vessel is presently under 24/7 surveillance for safety. Details of the HFBR's cleanup performed during 1999-2009, to allow the BNL facilities to be re-accessed by the public, will be described in the paper.

Hydrodeoxygenation of Pyrolysis Bio-Oil Over Ni Impregnated Mesoporous Materials.

PubMed

Lee, In-Gu; Lee, Heejin; Kang, Bo Sung; Kim, Young-Min; Kim, Sang Chai; Jung, Sang-Chul; Ko, Chang Hyun; Park, Young-Kwon

2018-02-01

The catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of bio-oil over Ni-supported mesoporous materials was performed using a high pressure autoclave reactor. The actual pyrolysis oil of cork oak wood was used as a sample, and Ni/Al-SBA-15 and Ni/Al-MSU-F were used as catalysts. In addition, supercritical ethanol was added as solvent. Both Ni-supported mesoporous catalysts showed efficient HDO reaction ability. A higher heating value and pH of bio-oil were achieved by the HDO reaction over both catalysts and upgraded bio-oil had a lower viscosity. Compared to Ni/Al-MSU-F, Ni/Al- SBA-15 produced more upgraded bio-oil with a lower oxygen content and higher heating value via a catalytic HDO process.

Game theoretic analysis of physical protection system design

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

Canion, B.; Schneider, E.; Bickel, E.

The physical protection system (PPS) of a fictional small modular reactor (SMR) facility have been modeled as a platform for a game theoretic approach to security decision analysis. To demonstrate the game theoretic approach, a rational adversary with complete knowledge of the facility has been modeled attempting a sabotage attack. The adversary adjusts his decisions in response to investments made by the defender to enhance the security measures. This can lead to a conservative physical protection system design. Since defender upgrades were limited by a budget, cost benefit analysis may be conducted upon security upgrades. One approach to cost benefitmore » analysis is the efficient frontier, which depicts the reduction in expected consequence per incremental increase in the security budget.« less

The Conformational Change in Elongation Factor Tu Involves Separation of Its Domains

DOE PAGES

Lai, Jonathan; Ghaemi, Zhaleh; Luthey-Schulten, Zaida

2017-10-18

Elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) is a highly conserved GTPase that is responsible for supplying the aminoacylated tRNA to the ribosome. Upon binding to the ribosome, EF-Tu undergoes GTP hydrolysis, which drives a major conformational change, triggering the release of aminoacylated tRNA to the ribosome. Using a combination of molecular simulation techniques, we studied the transition between the pre- and post-hydrolysis structures through two distinct pathways. Here, we show that the transition free energy is minimal along a non-intuitive pathway that involves “separation” of the GTP binding domain (domain 1) from the OB folds (domains 2 and 3), followed by domainmore » 1 rotation, and, eventually, locking the EF-Tu conformation in the post-hydrolysis state. The domain separation also leads to a slight extension of the linker connecting domain 1 to domain 2. Using docking tools and correlation-based analysis, we identified and characterized the EF-Tu conformations that release the tRNA. These calculations suggest that EF-Tu can release the tRNA before the domains separate and after domain 1 rotates by 25°. Lastly, we also examined the EF-Tu conformations in the context of the ribosome. Given the high degrees of sequence similarity with other translational GTPases, we predict a similar separation mechanism is followed.« less

Assembly of Q{beta} viral RNA polymerase with host translational elongation factors EF-Tu and -Ts.

PubMed

Takeshita, Daijiro; Tomita, Kozo

2010-09-07

Replication and transcription of viral RNA genomes rely on host-donated proteins. Qbeta virus infects Escherichia coli and replicates and transcribes its own genomic RNA by Qbeta replicase. Qbeta replicase requires the virus-encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (beta-subunit), and the host-donated translational elongation factors EF-Tu and -Ts, as active core subunits for its RNA polymerization activity. Here, we present the crystal structure of the core Qbeta replicase, comprising the beta-subunit, EF-Tu and -Ts. The beta-subunit has a right-handed structure, and the EF-Tu:Ts binary complex maintains the structure of the catalytic core crevasse of the beta-subunit through hydrophobic interactions, between the finger and thumb domains of the beta-subunit and domain-2 of EF-Tu and the coiled-coil motif of EF-Ts, respectively. These hydrophobic interactions are required for the expression and assembly of the Qbeta replicase complex. Thus, EF-Tu and -Ts have chaperone-like functions in the maintenance of the structure of the active Qbeta replicase. Modeling of the template RNA and the growing RNA in the catalytic site of the Qbeta replicase structure also suggests that structural changes of the RNAs and EF-Tu:Ts should accompany processive RNA polymerization and that EF-Tu:Ts in the Qbeta replicase could function to modulate the RNA folding and structure.

The Conformational Change in Elongation Factor Tu Involves Separation of Its Domains

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

Lai, Jonathan; Ghaemi, Zhaleh; Luthey-Schulten, Zaida

Elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) is a highly conserved GTPase that is responsible for supplying the aminoacylated tRNA to the ribosome. Upon binding to the ribosome, EF-Tu undergoes GTP hydrolysis, which drives a major conformational change, triggering the release of aminoacylated tRNA to the ribosome. Using a combination of molecular simulation techniques, we studied the transition between the pre- and post-hydrolysis structures through two distinct pathways. Here, we show that the transition free energy is minimal along a non-intuitive pathway that involves “separation” of the GTP binding domain (domain 1) from the OB folds (domains 2 and 3), followed by domainmore » 1 rotation, and, eventually, locking the EF-Tu conformation in the post-hydrolysis state. The domain separation also leads to a slight extension of the linker connecting domain 1 to domain 2. Using docking tools and correlation-based analysis, we identified and characterized the EF-Tu conformations that release the tRNA. These calculations suggest that EF-Tu can release the tRNA before the domains separate and after domain 1 rotates by 25°. Lastly, we also examined the EF-Tu conformations in the context of the ribosome. Given the high degrees of sequence similarity with other translational GTPases, we predict a similar separation mechanism is followed.« less

Blood flow velocity in monocular retinoblastoma assessed by color doppler

PubMed Central

Bonanomi, Maria Teresa B C; Saito, Osmar C; de Lima, Patricia Picciarelli; Bonanomi, Roberta Chizzotti; Chammas, Maria Cristina

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the flow of retrobulbar vessels in retinoblastoma by color Doppler imaging. METHODS: A prospective study of monocular retinoblastoma treated by enucleation between 2010 and 2014. The examination comprised fundoscopy, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography and color Doppler imaging. The peak blood velocities in the central retinal artery and central retinal vein of tumor-containing eyes (tuCRAv and tuCRVv, respectively) were assessed. The velocities were compared with those for normal eyes (nlCRAv and nlCRVv) and correlated with clinical and pathological findings. Tumor dimensions in the pathological sections were compared with those in magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography and were correlated with tuCRAv and tuCRVv. In tumor-containing eyes, the resistivity index in the central retinal artery and the pulse index in the central retinal vein were studied in relation to all variables. RESULTS: Eighteen patients were included. Comparisons between tuCRAv and nlCRAv and between tuCRVv and nlCRVv revealed higher velocities in tumor-containing eyes (p<0.001 for both), with a greater effect in the central retinal artery than in the central retinal vein (p=0.024). Magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography measurements were as reliable as pathology assessments (p=0.675 and p=0.375, respectively). A positive relationship was found between tuCRAv and the tumor volume (p=0.027). The pulse index in the central retinal vein was lower in male patients (p=0.017) and in eyes with optic nerve invasion (p=0.0088). CONCLUSIONS: TuCRAv and tuCRVv are higher in tumor-containing eyes than in normal eyes. Magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography measurements are reliable. The tumor volume is correlated with a higher tuCRAv and a reduced pulse in the central retinal vein is correlated with male sex and optic nerve invasion. PMID:26735219

Interaction of Leptospira Elongation Factor Tu with Plasminogen and Complement Factor H: A Metabolic Leptospiral Protein with Moonlighting Activities

PubMed Central

Abe, Cecília M.; Monaris, Denize; Morais, Zenaide M.; Souza, Gisele O.; Vasconcellos, Sílvio A.; Isaac, Lourdes; Abreu, Patrícia A. E.; Barbosa, Angela S.

2013-01-01

The elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu), an abundant bacterial protein involved in protein synthesis, has been shown to display moonlighting activities. Known to perform more than one function at different times or in different places, it is found in several subcellular locations in a single organism, and may serve as a virulence factor in a range of important human pathogens. Here we demonstrate that Leptospira EF-Tu is surface-exposed and performs additional roles as a cell-surface receptor for host plasma proteins. It binds plasminogen in a dose-dependent manner, and lysine residues are critical for this interaction. Bound plasminogen is converted to active plasmin, which, in turn, is able to cleave the natural substrates C3b and fibrinogen. Leptospira EF-Tu also acquires the complement regulator Factor H (FH). FH bound to immobilized EF-Tu displays cofactor activity, mediating C3b degradation by Factor I (FI). In this manner, EF-Tu may contribute to leptospiral tissue invasion and complement inactivation. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a leptospiral protein exhibiting moonlighting activities. PMID:24312361

A protein kinase binds the C-terminal domain of the readthrough protein of Turnip yellows virus and regulates virus accumulation.

PubMed

Rodriguez-Medina, Caren; Boissinot, Sylvaine; Chapuis, Sophie; Gereige, Dalya; Rastegar, Maryam; Erdinger, Monique; Revers, Frédéric; Ziegler-Graff, Véronique; Brault, Véronique

2015-12-01

Turnip yellows virus (TuYV), a phloem-limited virus, encodes a 74kDa protein known as the readthrough protein (RT) involved in virus movement. We show here that a TuYV mutant deleted of the C-terminal part of the RT protein (TuYV-∆RTCter) was affected in long-distance trafficking in a host-specific manner. By using the C-terminal domain of the RT protein as a bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen of a phloem cDNA library from Arabidopsis thaliana we identified the calcineurin B-like protein-interacting protein kinase-7 (AtCIPK7). Transient expression of a GFP:CIPK7 fusion protein in virus-inoculated Nicotiana benthamiana leaves led to local increase of wild-type TuYV accumulation, but not that of TuYV-∆RTCter. Surprisingly, elevated virus titer in inoculated leaves did not result in higher TuYV accumulation in systemic leaves, which indicates that virus long-distance movement was not affected. Since GFP:CIPK7 was localized in or near plasmodesmata, CIPK7 could negatively regulate TuYV export from infected cells. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Phosphorylation decelerates conformational dynamics in bacterial translation elongation factors

PubMed Central

Talavera, Ariel; Hendrix, Jelle; Versées, Wim; Jurėnas, Dukas; Van Nerom, Katleen; Vandenberk, Niels; Singh, Ranjan Kumar; Konijnenberg, Albert; De Gieter, Steven; Castro-Roa, Daniel; Barth, Anders; De Greve, Henri; Sobott, Frank; Hofkens, Johan; Zenkin, Nikolay; Loris, Remy; Garcia-Pino, Abel

2018-01-01

Bacterial protein synthesis is intricately connected to metabolic rate. One of the ways in which bacteria respond to environmental stress is through posttranslational modifications of translation factors. Translation elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) is methylated and phosphorylated in response to nutrient starvation upon entering stationary phase, and its phosphorylation is a crucial step in the pathway toward sporulation. We analyze how phosphorylation leads to inactivation of Escherichia coli EF-Tu. We provide structural and biophysical evidence that phosphorylation of EF-Tu at T382 acts as an efficient switch that turns off protein synthesis by decoupling nucleotide binding from the EF-Tu conformational cycle. Direct modifications of the EF-Tu switch I region or modifications in other regions stabilizing the β-hairpin state of switch I result in an effective allosteric trap that restricts the normal dynamics of EF-Tu and enables the evasion of the control exerted by nucleotides on G proteins. These results highlight stabilization of a phosphorylation-induced conformational trap as an essential mechanism for phosphoregulation of bacterial translation and metabolism. We propose that this mechanism may lead to the multisite phosphorylation state observed during dormancy and stationary phase. PMID:29546243

Thiouracil-Forming Bacteria Identified and Characterized upon Porcine In Vitro Digestion of Brassicaceae Feed

PubMed Central

Kiebooms, Julie A. L.; Wauters, Jella; Vanden Bussche, Julie; Houf, Kurt; De Vos, Paul; Van Trappen, Stefanie; Cleenwerck, Ilse

2014-01-01

In recent years, the frequent detection of the banned thyreostat thiouracil (TU) in livestock urine has been related to endogenous TU formation following digestion of glucosinolate-rich Brassicaceae crops. Recently, it was demonstrated that, upon in vitro digestion of Brassicaceae, fecal bacteria induce TU detection in livestock (porcine livestock > bovines). Therefore, the present study was intended to isolate and identify bacteria involved in this intestinal TU formation upon Brassicaceae digestion and to gain more insight into the underlying mechanism in porcine livestock. Twenty porcine fecal inocula (gilts and multiparous sows) were assessed through static in vitro colonic-digestion simulations with rapeseed. After derivatization and extraction of the fecal suspensions, TU was analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS2). On average, lower TU concentrations were observed in fecal colonic simulations in gilts (8.35 ng g−1 rapeseed ± 3.42 [mean ± standard deviation]) than in multiparous sows (52.63 ng g−1 ± 16.17), which correlates with maturation of the gut microbial population with age. Further exploration of the mechanism showed cell-dependent activity of the microbial conversion and sustained TU-forming activity after subjection of the fecal inoculum to moderate heat over a time span of up to 30 min. Finally, nine TU-producing bacterial species were successfully isolated and identified by a combination of biochemical and molecular techniques as Escherichia coli (n = 5), Lactobacillus reuteri (n = 2), Enterococcus faecium (n = 1), and Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae (n = 1). This report demonstrates that endogenous formation of TU is Brassicaceae induced and occurs under colonic conditions most likely through myrosinase-like enzyme activity expressed by different common intestinal bacterial species. PMID:25261511

A molecular phylogenetic study on South Korean Tettigonia species (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) using five genetic loci: The possibility of multiple allopatric speciation.

PubMed

Kim, Tae-Kyu; Han, Taeman; Kim, Tae-Woo; Park, In Gyun; Kim, Seonghyun; Park, Haechul

2016-03-15

In Korea, members of the genus Tettigonia have been known as two species, T. ussuriana and T. dolichoptera dolichoptera. However, the taxonomic status of the Jeju Island population of T. ussuriana (JJ-TU) is in question, relative to the mainland population (ML-TU), because of their different body sizes and ratios of wing length. To clarify the relatedness of JJ-TU and ML-TU, we examined the genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships within and between T. ussuriana and related species collected in South Korea, using five genetic loci: three mitochondrial genes (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 [CO1], cytochrome c oxidase subunit 2 [CO2], NADH dehydrogenase 1 [ND1]) and two nuclear loci (second internal transcribed spacer [ITS2], and tubulin alpha-1 [TA1]). Unexpectedly, the JJ-TU population is explicitly sister to T. d. dolichoptera, with low genetic distance (0.76-1.22% in CO1), indicating no direct connection with the ML-TU population; this finding suggests a recent divergence involving rapid morphological change without gene flow between JJ-TU and mainland T. d. dolichoptera. The separation of these populations from their common ancestor was caused by geographical isolation during last glacial age. This finding indicates that the JJ-TU population should be elevated to the rank of subspecies, at the very least. Furthermore, the ML-TU population was also revealed to have four genetically divided groups (group A-D) from four localized populations, but no significant morphological differences exist among them. The genetic difference (range 3.19-4.10% in CO1) between group A + B and C + D was especially large, suggesting that cryptic speciation has widely occurred within the mainland areas, caused by allopatric isolations resulting from mountain barriers.

Observations on the TU/VOS Option in Guatemalan Ladino Spanish.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinkerton, Anne

1986-01-01

Examines the usage of the "voseo" in Guatemalan Ladino Spanish. It is concluded that "vos" has not replaced "tu" in Guatemalan Ladino Spanish but rather has joined with "tu" and "usted" to form a tri-level second person singular address system. (SED)

Elongation Factor Ts Directly Facilitates the Formation and Disassembly of the Escherichia coli Elongation Factor Tu·GTP·Aminoacyl-tRNA Ternary Complex*

PubMed Central

Burnett, Benjamin J.; Altman, Roger B.; Ferrao, Ryan; Alejo, Jose L.; Kaur, Navdep; Kanji, Joshua; Blanchard, Scott C.

2013-01-01

Aminoacyl-tRNA enters the translating ribosome in a ternary complex with elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and GTP. Here, we describe bulk steady state and pre-steady state fluorescence methods that enabled us to quantitatively explore the kinetic features of Escherichia coli ternary complex formation and decay. The data obtained suggest that both processes are controlled by a nucleotide-dependent, rate-determining conformational change in EF-Tu. Unexpectedly, we found that this conformational change is accelerated by elongation factor Ts (EF-Ts), the guanosine nucleotide exchange factor for EF-Tu. Notably, EF-Ts attenuates the affinity of EF-Tu for GTP and destabilizes ternary complex in the presence of non-hydrolyzable GTP analogs. These results suggest that EF-Ts serves an unanticipated role in the cell of actively regulating the abundance and stability of ternary complex in a manner that contributes to rapid and faithful protein synthesis. PMID:23539628

Application of ATHLET/DYN3D coupled codes system for fast liquid metal cooled reactor steady state simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, V.; Samokhin, A.; Danicheva, I.; Khrennikov, N.; Bouscuet, J.; Velkov, K.; Pasichnyk, I.

2017-01-01

In this paper the approaches used for developing of the BN-800 reactor test model and for validation of coupled neutron-physic and thermohydraulic calculations are described. Coupled codes ATHLET 3.0 (code for thermohydraulic calculations of reactor transients) and DYN3D (3-dimensional code of neutron kinetics) are used for calculations. The main calculation results of reactor steady state condition are provided. 3-D model used for neutron calculations was developed for start reactor BN-800 load. The homogeneous approach is used for description of reactor assemblies. Along with main simplifications, the main reactor BN-800 core zones are described (LEZ, MEZ, HEZ, MOX, blankets). The 3D neutron physics calculations were provided with 28-group library, which is based on estimated nuclear data ENDF/B-7.0. Neutron SCALE code was used for preparation of group constants. Nodalization hydraulic model has boundary conditions by coolant mass-flow rate for core inlet part, by pressure and enthalpy for core outlet part, which can be chosen depending on reactor state. Core inlet and outlet temperatures were chosen according to reactor nominal state. The coolant mass flow rate profiling through the core is based on reactor power distribution. The test thermohydraulic calculations made with using of developed model showed acceptable results in coolant mass flow rate distribution through the reactor core and in axial temperature and pressure distribution. The developed model will be upgraded in future for different transient analysis in metal-cooled fast reactors of BN type including reactivity transients (control rods withdrawal, stop of the main circulation pump, etc.).

Estimation of spline function in nonparametric path analysis based on penalized weighted least square (PWLS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandes, Adji Achmad Rinaldo; Solimun, Arisoesilaningsih, Endang

2017-12-01

The aim of this research is to estimate the spline in Path Analysis-based on Nonparametric Regression using Penalized Weighted Least Square (PWLS) approach. Approach used is Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space at sobolev space. Nonparametric path analysis model on the equation y1 i=f1.1(x1 i)+ε1 i; y2 i=f1.2(x1 i)+f2.2(y1 i)+ε2 i; i =1 ,2 ,…,n Nonparametric Path Analysis which meet the criteria of minimizing PWLS min fw .k∈W2m[aw .k,bw .k], k =1 ,2 { (2n ) -1(y˜-f ˜ ) TΣ-1(y ˜-f ˜ ) + ∑k =1 2 ∑w =1 2 λw .k ∫aw .k bw .k [fw.k (m )(xi) ] 2d xi } is f ˜^=Ay ˜ with A=T1(T1TU1-1∑-1T1)-1T1TU1-1∑-1+V1U1-1∑-1[I-T1(T1TU1-1∑-1T1)-1T1TU1-1∑-1] columnalign="left">+T2(T2TU2-1∑-1T2)-1T2TU2-1∑-1+V2U2-1∑-1[I1-T2(T2TU2-1∑-1T2) -1T2TU2-1∑-1

40 CFR Appendixes T-U to Part 51 - [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false [Reserved] T Appendixes T-U to Part 51 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS REQUIREMENTS FOR PREPARATION, ADOPTION, AND SUBMITTAL OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Appendixes T-U to Part 51 [Reserved] ...

40 CFR Appendixes T-U to Part 51 - [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false [Reserved] T Appendixes T-U to Part 51 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS REQUIREMENTS FOR PREPARATION, ADOPTION, AND SUBMITTAL OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Appendixes T-U to Part 51 [Reserved] ...

40 CFR 264.553 - Temporary Units (TU).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Temporary Units (TU). 264.553 Section 264.553 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED... Provisions for Cleanup § 264.553 Temporary Units (TU). (a) For temporary tanks and container storage areas...

40 CFR 264.553 - Temporary Units (TU).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Temporary Units (TU). 264.553 Section 264.553 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED... Provisions for Cleanup § 264.553 Temporary Units (TU). (a) For temporary tanks and container storage areas...

University of Wisconsin Ion Beam Laboratory: A facility for irradiated materials and ion beam analysis

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

Field, K. G.; Wetteland, C. J.; Cao, G.

2013-04-19

The University of Wisconsin Ion Beam Laboratory (UW-IBL) has recently undergone significant infrastructure upgrades to facilitate graduate level research in irradiated materials phenomena and ion beam analysis. A National Electrostatics Corp. (NEC) Torodial Volume Ion Source (TORVIS), the keystone upgrade for the facility, can produce currents of hydrogen ions and helium ions up to {approx}200 {mu}A and {approx}5 {mu}A, respectively. Recent upgrades also include RBS analysis packages, end station developments for irradiation of relevant material systems, and the development of an in-house touch screen based graphical user interface for ion beam monitoring. Key research facilitated by these upgrades includes irradiationmore » of nuclear fuels, studies of interfacial phenomena under irradiation, and clustering dynamics of irradiated oxide dispersion strengthened steels. The UW-IBL has also partnered with the Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility (ATR-NSUF) to provide access to the irradiation facilities housed at the UW-IBL as well as access to post irradiation facilities housed at the UW Characterization Laboratory for Irradiated Materials (CLIM) and other ATR-NSUF partner facilities. Partnering allows for rapid turnaround from proposed research to finalized results through the ATR-NSUF rapid turnaround proposal system. An overview of the UW-IBL including CLIM and relevant research is summarized.« less

Identification and cloning of two immunogenic Clostridium perfringens proteins, elongation factor Tu and pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase of C. perfringens

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Clostridium-related poultry diseases such as necrotic enteritis (NE) and gangrenous dermatitis (GD) cause substantial economic losses on a global scale. Two antigenic Clostridium perfringens proteins, elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFO), were identified by react...

Technology transfer and the NASA Technology Utilization Program - An overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clarks, Henry J.; Rose, James T.; Mangum, Stephen D.

1989-01-01

The goal of the NASA Technology Utilization (TU) Program is to broaden and accelerate the transfer of aerospace technology and to develop new commercial products and processes that represent additional return on the national investment in the U.S. space programs. The mechanisms established by the TU Program includes TU offices, publications, the information retrieval, software dissemination, and the NASA Applications Engineering Program. These mechanisms are implemented through a nationwide NASA TU Network, working closely with industry and public sector organizations to encourage and facilitate their access and utilization of the results of the U.S space programs. Examples of TU are described, including a method for the reduction of metal fatigue in textile equipment and a method for the management of wandering behavior in Alzheimer's patients.

Direct evidence of an elongation factor-Tu/Ts·GTP·Aminoacyl-tRNA quaternary complex.

PubMed

Burnett, Benjamin J; Altman, Roger B; Ferguson, Angelica; Wasserman, Michael R; Zhou, Zhou; Blanchard, Scott C

2014-08-22

During protein synthesis, elongation factor-Tu (EF-Tu) bound to GTP chaperones the entry of aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA) into actively translating ribosomes. In so doing, EF-Tu increases the rate and fidelity of the translation mechanism. Recent evidence suggests that EF-Ts, the guanosine nucleotide exchange factor for EF-Tu, directly accelerates both the formation and dissociation of the EF-Tu-GTP-Phe-tRNA(Phe) ternary complex (Burnett, B. J., Altman, R. B., Ferrao, R., Alejo, J. L., Kaur, N., Kanji, J., and Blanchard, S. C. (2013) J. Biol. Chem. 288, 13917-13928). A central feature of this model is the existence of a quaternary complex of EF-Tu/Ts·GTP·aa-tRNA(aa). Here, through comparative investigations of phenylalanyl, methionyl, and arginyl ternary complexes, and the development of a strategy to monitor their formation and decay using fluorescence resonance energy transfer, we reveal the generality of this newly described EF-Ts function and the first direct evidence of the transient quaternary complex species. These findings suggest that EF-Ts may regulate ternary complex abundance in the cell through mechanisms that are distinct from its guanosine nucleotide exchange factor functions. © 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

The moving-ring field-reversed mirror prototype reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, A. C., Jr.; Carlson, G. A.; Fleischmann, H. H.; Grossman, W., Jr.; Kammash, T.; Schultz, K. R.; Woodall, D. M.

1981-03-01

A prototype fusion reactor was designed based on magnetic field reversed plasma confinement. A set of physics, technology, and mechanical design criteria were developed in order to make this concept attractive. Six major criteria guide the commercial prototype design. The prototype must: (1) produce net electricity decisively P sub net 70% of P sub gross; (2) scale to an economical commercial plant and have small physical size; (3) have all features required of a correcial upgrade plant (H-3 breeding, etc.); (4) minimize exotic technology and maintenance complexity; (5) promise significantly lower safety hazards than fission plants (environmentally and socially acceptable); and (6) be modular in design to permit repetitive production of components.

Microwave-Assisted Selective Hydrogenation of Furfural to Furfuryl Alcohol Employing a Green and Noble Metal-Free Copper Catalyst.

PubMed

Romano, Pedro N; de Almeida, João M A R; Carvalho, Yuri; Priecel, Peter; Falabella Sousa-Aguiar, Eduardo; Lopez-Sanchez, Jose A

2016-12-20

Green, inexpensive, and robust copper-based heterogeneous catalysts achieve 100 % conversion and 99 % selectivity in the conversion of furfural to furfuryl alcohol when using cyclopentyl-methyl ether as green solvent and microwave reactors at low H 2 pressures and mild temperatures. The utilization of pressurized microwave reactors produces a 3-4 fold increase in conversion and an unexpected enhancement in selectivity as compared to the reaction carried out at the same conditions using conventional autoclave reactors. The enhancement in catalytic rate produced by microwave irradiation is temperature dependent. This work highlights that using microwave irradiation in the catalytic hydrogenation of biomass-derived compounds is a very strong tool for biomass upgrade that offers immense potential in a large number of transformations where it could be a determining factor for commercial exploitation. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A 735 kV shunt reactors automatic switching system for Hydro-Quebec network

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

Bernard, S.; Trudel, G.; Scott, G.

1996-11-01

In recent years, Hydro-Quebec has undertaken a major program to upgrade the reliability of its transmission system. Much efforts have been directed toward increasing the system`s capacity to withstand extreme contingencies, usually caused by multiple incidents or the successive tripping of transmission lines. In order to counter such events, Hydro-Quebec has adopted a defensive scheme. Based entirely on automatic action, this scheme will mainly rely on: a 735 kV shunt reactor switching system (called MAIS); a generation rejection and/or remote load-shedding system (called RPTC); an underfrequency load-shedding system. The MAIS system, which is the subject of this paper, will bemore » implemented in 22 substations and is required to control voltage on the system after a severe event. Each MAIS system, acting locally, is entirely independent and will close or trip shunt reactors in response to local conditions.« less

Tumor type M2 pyruvate kinase expression in advanced breast cancer.

PubMed

Lüftner, D; Mesterharm, J; Akrivakis, C; Geppert, R; Petrides, P E; Wernecke, K D; Possinger, K

2000-01-01

Recently, a high validity correlation of the tumor M2 pyruvate kinase (Tu M2-PK) isoenzyme in comparison to standard tumor markers has been demonstrated in solid tumors. We investigated this marker in 67 patients with advanced breast cancer (ABC) in comparison to healthy controls. Plasma Tu M2-PK was measured using an ELISA assay (ScheBo Tech, Giessen, Germany) while serum CA27.29 was determined using a chemiluminescent immunoassay (Bayer Diagnostics, Tarrytown, USA). In a ROC analysis, the cut-off to discriminate patients from controls was established at 15 U/ml for Tu M2-PK (specificity 85%; positive predictive value 81%) and 30 U/ml for CA27.29 (specificity 91%; positive predictive value 92%). Median ABC baseline levels (ranges) in patients with ABC for Tu M2-PK and CA27.29 were 12.8 U/ml (4.8-252,495) and 130 U/ml (13.3-8130), respectively. Response assessment was done in 45 chemotherapy courses of 38 pts. In 13 out of 19 blocks (68.4%) with PD (progressive disease), an elevated level of Tu M2-PK at baseline or in the follow-up was found. In 17 out of 20 blocks (85%) with SD (stable disease), the Tu M2-PK level was normal at baseline or normalised within 4 weeks of treatment. All 6 patients with disease remission had a normal baseline Tu M2-PK level or the levels decreased promptly. Tu M2-PK gives additional information about ABC, indicating disease activity and sensitivity to chemotherapy while CA27.29 reflects tumor burden.

Studies of elongation factor Tu in Streptococcus faecium (ATCC 9790)

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

Bourbeau, P.P.

1986-01-01

It has been known for over twenty years that elongation factor Tu (Ef-Tu) is one of the proteins involved in protein synthesis in bacteria. Several years ago, it was proposed that Ef-Tu may, in addition, have other structural functions in bacterial. The author's research has examined the function of Ef-Tu in Streptococcus faecium. Using an antibiotic kirromycin, which specifically inhibits Ef-Tu function, the effects upon a number of cellular parameters were determined. Inhibition of both protein and RNA synthesis was found to be similar to the effect of chloramphenicol. Using the residual division technique for the determination of cell cyclemore » events with both heterogeneous and sucrose gradient fractionated cell populations, a kirromycin sensitive event was detected between 8 min. (Td = 30 min.) and 19 min. (Td = 175 min.) later in the cell cycle than the chloramphenical sensitive event. This suggests that kirromycin is inhibiting a terminal cell cycle event which is in addition to the inhibition of protein synthesis. Purification of Ef-Tu was performed using two different methods: ion exchange and molecular exclusion chromatography; and GDP affinity chromatography. Various schemes were employed to try and obtain optimum cellular fractionation, allowing for both proper separation of ribosomes from the other cellular fractions and retention of enzymatic activity by Ef-Tu as determined by a /sup 3/H-GDP binding assay. Analysis of the cell cycle of S. faecium using the residual division technique was also performed. In addition, certain cell wall antibiotics were used to determine if other cell cycle events could be determined using the residual division technique.« less

A protein kinase binds the C-terminal domain of the readthrough protein of Turnip yellows virus and regulates virus accumulation

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

Rodriguez-Medina, Caren; Boissinot, Sylvaine; Chapuis, Sophie

Turnip yellows virus (TuYV), a phloem-limited virus, encodes a 74 kDa protein known as the readthrough protein (RT) involved in virus movement. We show here that a TuYV mutant deleted of the C-terminal part of the RT protein (TuYV-∆RT{sub Cter}) was affected in long-distance trafficking in a host-specific manner. By using the C-terminal domain of the RT protein as a bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen of a phloem cDNA library from Arabidopsis thaliana we identified the calcineurin B-like protein-interacting protein kinase-7 (AtCIPK7). Transient expression of a GFP:CIPK7 fusion protein in virus-inoculated Nicotiana benthamiana leaves led to local increase ofmore » wild-type TuYV accumulation, but not that of TuYV-∆RT{sub Cter}. Surprisingly, elevated virus titer in inoculated leaves did not result in higher TuYV accumulation in systemic leaves, which indicates that virus long-distance movement was not affected. Since GFP:CIPK7 was localized in or near plasmodesmata, CIPK7 could negatively regulate TuYV export from infected cells. - Highlights: • The C-terminal domain of TuYV-RT is required for long-distance movement. • CIPK7 from Arabidopsis interacts with RT{sub Cter} in yeast and in plants. • CIPK7 overexpression increases virus titer locally but not virus systemic movement. • CIPK7 localizes to plasmodesmata. • CIPK7 could be a defense protein regulating virus export.« less

Tutoiement et Vouvoiement chez les Lyceens Francais (French Pupils' Use of the Personal Pronouns "Tu" and "Vous")

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bustin-Lekeu, Francine

1973-01-01

Surveys conducted among secondary school students in Toulon, France in choice of personal pronouns indicate more prevalent use of tu''. Students consider widespread use of tu'' to be more democratic and thought employment of vous'' on certain occasions is a hypocritical and bourgeois habit. (DS)

Pod Corn Is Caused by Rearrangement at the Tunicate1 Locus[W][OA

PubMed Central

Han, Jong-Jin; Jackson, David; Martienssen, Robert

2012-01-01

Pod corn (Zea mays var tunicata) was once regarded as ancestral to cultivated maize, and was prized by pre-Columbian cultures for its magical properties. Tunicate1 (Tu1) is a dominant pod corn mutation in which kernels are completely enclosed in leaflike glumes. Here we show that Tu1 encodes a MADS box transcription factor expressed in leaves whose 5′ regulatory region is fused by a 1.8-Mb chromosomal inversion to the 3′ region of a gene expressed in the inflorescence. Both genes are further duplicated, accounting for classical derivative alleles isolated by recombination, and Tu1 transgenes interact with these derivative alleles in a dose-dependent manner. In young ear primordia, TU1 proteins are nuclearly localized in specific cells at the base of spikelet pair meristems. Tu1 branch determination defects resemble those in ramosa mutants, which encode regulatory proteins expressed in these same cells, accounting for synergism in double mutants discovered almost 100 years ago. The Tu1 rearrangement is not found in ancestral teosinte and arose after domestication of maize. PMID:22829149

The effects of EF-Ts and bismuth on EF-Tu in Helicobacter pylori: implications for an elegant timing for the introduction of EF-Ts in the elongation and EF-Tu as a potential drug target.

PubMed

Wang, Dongxian; Luo, Benping; Shan, Weiran; Hao, Mingcong; Sun, Xuesong; Ge, Ruiguang

2013-06-01

Helicobacter pylori is a common human pathogen responsible for various gastric diseases. Bismuth can effectively inhibit the growth of this bacterium and is commonly recommended for the treatment of the related diseases. Translation elongation factors EF-Tu and EF-Ts are two important components of the protein translation system. EF-Ts has inhibitory effects on the GTPase activity of EF-Tu and enhances GDP release, a hint that careful timing for the introduction of EF-Ts in the elongation should be accomplished to prevent the complete inhibition of the elongation process. Bismuth inhibits the chaperone activity of EF-Tu, and has opposite effects on the elongation activity: inhibitory effects on the intrinsic GTPase activity and stimulation of GDP release. The present work deepens our understanding of the bacterial elongation process as mediated by EF-Tu and EF-Ts and extends our knowledge about the inhibitory effects of bismuth-based drugs against Helicobacter pylori.

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of injectable testosterone undecanoate in castrated cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) are independent of different oil vehicles.

PubMed

Wistuba, Joachim; Marc Luetjens, C; Kamischke, Axel; Gu, Yi-Qun; Schlatt, Stefan; Simoni, Manuela; Nieschlag, Eberhard

2005-08-01

Testosterone undecanoate (TU) dissolved in soybean oil was developed in China to improve the pharmacokinetics of this testosterone ester in comparison with TU in castor or tea seed oil. As a pre-clinical primate model, three groups of five castrated cynomolgus macaques received either a single intramuscular injection of 10 mg/kg body weight TU in soybean oil, in tea seed oil, or in castor oil (equals 6.3 mg pure T/kg body weight for all preparations). Testosterone, estradiol, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone as well as prostate volume, body weight and ejaculate weight were evaluated. After injection supraphysiological testosterone levels were induced. There were no significant differences in the pharmacokinetics of the three TU preparations for testosterone and estradiol. The gonadotropin levels showed a high individual variation. Prostate volumes increased equally in all groups after administration and declined to castrate level afterwards. The results suggest that TU in soybean oil produces similar effects as TU in the other vehicles. This study in non-human primates provides no objection to testing of this new preparation in humans.

Ensemble cryo-EM elucidates the mechanism of translation fidelity

PubMed Central

Loveland, Anna B.; Demo, Gabriel; Grigorieff, Nikolaus; Korostelev, Andrei A.

2017-01-01

SUMMARY Faithful gene translation depends on accurate decoding, whose structural mechanism remains a matter of debate. Ribosomes decode mRNA codons by selecting cognate aminoacyl-tRNAs delivered by EF-Tu. We present high-resolution structural ensembles of ribosomes with cognate or near-cognate aminoacyl-tRNAs delivered by EF-Tu. Both cognate and near-cognate tRNA anticodons explore the A site of an open 30S subunit, while inactive EF-Tu is separated from the 50S subunit. A transient conformation of decoding-center nucleotide G530 stabilizes the cognate codon-anticodon helix, initiating step-wise “latching” of the decoding center. The resulting 30S domain closure docks EF-Tu at the sarcin-ricin loop of the 50S subunit, activating EF-Tu for GTP hydrolysis and ensuing aminoacyl-tRNA accommodation. By contrast, near-cognate complexes fail to induce the G530 latch, thus favoring open 30S pre-accommodation intermediates with inactive EF-Tu. This work unveils long-sought structural differences between the pre-accommodation of cognate and near-cognate tRNA that elucidate the mechanism of accurate decoding. PMID:28538735

U.S. Department of Energy physical protection upgrades at the Latvian Academy of Sciences Nuclear Research Center, Latvia

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

Haase, M.; Hine, C.; Robertson, C.

1996-12-31

Approximately five years ago, the Safe, Secure Dismantlement program was started between the US and countries of the Former Soviet Union (FSU). The purpose of the program is to accelerate progress toward reducing the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation, including such threats as theft, diversion, and unauthorized possession of nuclear materials. This would be accomplished by strengthening the material protection, control, and accounting systems within the FSU countries. Under the US Department of Energy`s program of providing cooperative assistance to the FSU countries in the areas of Material Protection, Control, and Accounting (MPC and A), the Latvian Academy of Sciencesmore » Nuclear Research Center (LNRC) near Riga, Latvia, was identified as a candidate site for a cooperative MPC and A project. The LNRC is the site of a 5-megawatt IRT-C pool-type research reactor. This paper describes: the process involved, from initial contracting to project completion, for the physical protection upgrades now in place at the LNRC; the intervening activities; and a brief overview of the technical aspects of the upgrades.« less

Pyrolysis of marine biomass to produce bio-oil and its upgrading using a novel multi-metal catalyst prepared from the spent car catalytic converter.

PubMed

Sabegh, Mahzad Yaghmaei; Norouzi, Omid; Jafarian, Sajedeh; Khosh, Akram Ghanbari; Tavasoli, Ahmad

2018-02-01

In order to reduce the economic and environmental consequences caused by spent car catalyst, we herein report for the first time a novel promising multi-metal catalyst prepared from spent car catalytic converters to upgrade the pyrolysis bio-oils. The physico-chemical properties of prepared catalyst were characterized by XRD, EDS, FESEM, and FT-IR analyses. The thermal stability of the multi-metal catalyst was studied with TGA. To investigate the activity of the catalyst, Conversion of Cladophora glomerata (C. glomerata) into bio-products was carried out via a fixed bed reactor with and without catalyst at the temperature of 500°C. Although the catalyst didn't catalyze the gasification reaction, bio-oil was upgraded over the catalyst. The main effect of the catalyst on the bio-oil components is deoxygenating of nitrogen compounds and promotion the ketonization reaction, which converts acid to ketone and declines the corrosive nature of bio-oil. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

High-Performance Biogas Upgrading Using a Biotrickling Filter and Hydrogenotrophic Methanogens.

PubMed

Dupnock, Trisha L; Deshusses, Marc A

2017-10-01

This research reports the development of a biotrickling filter (BTF) to upgrade biogas, which is achieved by adding H 2 to reduce CO 2 . H 2 and CO 2 (80:20% vol.) were fed to a bench-scale BTF packed with polyurethane foam (PUF) and inoculated with hydrogenotrophic methanogens. Maximum CH 4 production rates recorded were as high as 38 m 3 CH4  m -3 reactor  day -1 , which is 5-30 times faster than earlier reports with other kinds of bioreactors. The high rates were attributed to the efficient mass transfer and high density of methanogens in the BTF. The removal efficiencies for H 2 and CO 2 were 83 and 96%, respectively. 5-Cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride/DAPI staining revealed that 67% of cells were alive near the gas entrance port, while only 8.3% were alive at the exit. Furthermore, DNA sequencing showed that only 27% of the biomass was composed of Euryarchaeota, the phylum which includes methanogens. These two observations suggest that optimizing the methanogen density and activity could possibly reach even higher biogas upgrading rates.

Comparison of the Growth of Lactobacillus delbrueckii, L. paracasei and L. plantarum on Inulin in Co-culture Systems

PubMed Central

TAKAGI, Risa; TSUJIKAWA, Yuji; NOMOTO, Ryohei; OSAWA, Ro

2014-01-01

Lactobacillus delbrueckii TU-1, which apparently takes intact inulin into its cells and then degrades it intracellularly, was co-cultured in vitro with L. paracasei KTN-5, an extracellular inulin degrader; or L. plantarum 22A-3, a strain that is able to utilize fructose but not inulin; or both in order to prequalify inulin as a prebiotic agent in vivo. When L. delbrueckii TU-1 was co-cultured with L. paracasei KTN-5 on fructose or inulin, the growth of L. delbrueckii TU-1 on inulin was markedly higher than that of L. paracasei KTN-5, whereas the growth of L. delbrueckii TU-1 on fructose was much lower than that of L. paracasei KTN-5. These results suggest that L. delbrueckii TU-1 and L. paracasei KTN-5 were efficient at utilizing inulin and fructose, respectively. When L. plantarum 22A-3 was co-cultured with L. delbrueckii TU-1 on inulin, the growth of L. plantarum 22A-3 was enhanced by L. paracasei KTN-5 but not by L. delbrueckii TU-1, suggesting that the fructose moiety that L. paracasei KTN-5 released temporarily into the medium was “scavenged” by L. plantarum 22A-3. Thus, L. delbrueckii TU-1, L. paracasei KTN-5, and L. plantarum 22A-3 were then cultured altogether on inulin. The growth of L. delbrueckii TU-1 was unaffected but that of L. paracasei KTN-5 was markedly suppressed. This evidence suggests that prebiotic use of inulin supported the selective growth of intracellular inulin degraders such as L. delbrueckii rather than extracellular inulin degraders such as L. paracasei in the host microbiota. PMID:25379361

Comparison of the Growth of Lactobacillus delbrueckii, L. paracasei and L. plantarum on Inulin in Co-culture Systems.

PubMed

Takagi, Risa; Tsujikawa, Yuji; Nomoto, Ryohei; Osawa, Ro

2014-01-01

Lactobacillus delbrueckii TU-1, which apparently takes intact inulin into its cells and then degrades it intracellularly, was co-cultured in vitro with L. paracasei KTN-5, an extracellular inulin degrader; or L. plantarum 22A-3, a strain that is able to utilize fructose but not inulin; or both in order to prequalify inulin as a prebiotic agent in vivo. When L. delbrueckii TU-1 was co-cultured with L. paracasei KTN-5 on fructose or inulin, the growth of L. delbrueckii TU-1 on inulin was markedly higher than that of L. paracasei KTN-5, whereas the growth of L. delbrueckii TU-1 on fructose was much lower than that of L. paracasei KTN-5. These results suggest that L. delbrueckii TU-1 and L. paracasei KTN-5 were efficient at utilizing inulin and fructose, respectively. When L. plantarum 22A-3 was co-cultured with L. delbrueckii TU-1 on inulin, the growth of L. plantarum 22A-3 was enhanced by L. paracasei KTN-5 but not by L. delbrueckii TU-1, suggesting that the fructose moiety that L. paracasei KTN-5 released temporarily into the medium was "scavenged" by L. plantarum 22A-3. Thus, L. delbrueckii TU-1, L. paracasei KTN-5, and L. plantarum 22A-3 were then cultured altogether on inulin. The growth of L. delbrueckii TU-1 was unaffected but that of L. paracasei KTN-5 was markedly suppressed. This evidence suggests that prebiotic use of inulin supported the selective growth of intracellular inulin degraders such as L. delbrueckii rather than extracellular inulin degraders such as L. paracasei in the host microbiota.

Analysis of Accidents at the Pakistan Research Reactor-1 Using Proposed Mixed-Fuel (HEU and LEU) Core

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

Bokhari, Ishtiaq H.

2004-12-15

The Pakistan Research Reactor-1 (PARR-1) was converted from highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel in 1991. The reactor is running successfully, with an upgraded power level of 10 MW. To save money on the purchase of costly fresh LEU fuel elements, the use of less burnt HEU spent fuel elements along with the present LEU fuel elements is being considered. The proposal calls for the HEU fuel elements to be placed near the thermal column to gain the required excess reactivity. In the present study the safety analysis of a proposed mixed-fuel core has been carried outmore » at a calculated steady-state power level of 9.8 MW. Standard computer codes and correlations were employed to compute various parameters. Initiating events in reactivity-induced accidents involve various modes of reactivity insertion, namely, start-up accident, accidental drop of a fuel element on the core, flooding of a beam tube with water, and removal of an in-pile experiment during reactor operation. For each of these transients, time histories of reactor power, energy released, temperature, and reactivity were determined.« less

Suppression of Alfven Modes on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade with Outboard Beam Injection [Suppression of Alfven Modes on the NSTX-U with Outboard Beam Injection

DOE PAGES

Fredrickson, E. D.; Belova, E. V.; Battaglia, D. J.; ...

2017-06-29

In this paper we present data from experiments on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade, where it is shown for the first time that small amounts of high pitch-angle beam ions can strongly suppress the counterpropagating global Alfven eigenmodes (GAE). GAE have been implicated in the redistribution of fast ions and modification of the electron power balance in previous experiments on NSTX. The ability to predict the stability of Alfven modes, and developing methods to control them, is important for fusion reactors like the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor, which are heated by a large population of nonthermal, super-Alfvenic ions consistingmore » of fusion generated alpha's and beam ions injected for current profile control. We present a qualitative interpretation of these observations using an analytic model of the Doppler-shifted ion-cyclotron resonance drive responsible for GAE instability which has an important dependence on k(perpendicular to rho L). A quantitative analysis of this data with the HYM stability code predicts both the frequencies and instability of the GAE prior to, and suppression of the GAE after the injection of high pitch-angle beam ions.« less

Co-ordination of Mobile Information Agents in TuCSoN.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Omicini, Andrea; Zambonelli, Franco

1998-01-01

Examines mobile agent coordination and presents TuCSoN, a coordination model for Internet applications based on mobile information agents that uses a tuple centre, a tuple space enhanced with the capability of programming its behavior in response to communication events. Discusses the effectiveness of the TuCSoN model in the contexts of Internet…

Heat tolerance and expression of protein synthesis elongation factors, EF-Tu and EF-1a, in spring wheat

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Protein elongation factors, EF-Tu and EF-1a, have been implicated in cell response to heat stress. In spring wheat, EF-Tu displays chaperone activity and reduces thermal aggregation of Rubisco activase. Similarly, in mammalian cells, EF-1a displays chaperone-like activity and regulates the expressio...

Comparison of helper component-protease RNA silencing suppression activity, subcellular localization, and aggregation of three Korean isolates of Turnip mosaic virus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In 2014, we performed a nationwide survey in Korean radish fields to investigate the distribution of Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV). Brassica chinensis sap-inoculated with TuMV-infected radish tissue showed different symptom severity with three isolates. In order to investigate variation among Korean Tu...

Technical Aspects Regarding the Management of Radioactive Waste from Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities

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

Dragolici, F.; Turcanu, C. N.; Rotarescu, G.

2003-02-25

The proper application of the nuclear techniques and technologies in Romania started in 1957, once with the commissioning of the Research Reactor VVR-S from IFIN-HH-Magurele. During the last 45 years, appear thousands of nuclear application units with extremely diverse profiles (research, biology, medicine, education, agriculture, transport, all types of industry) which used different nuclear facilities containing radioactive sources and generating a great variety of radioactive waste during the decommissioning after the operation lifetime is accomplished. A new aspect appears by the planning of VVR-S Research Reactor decommissioning which will be a new source of radioactive waste generated by decontamination, disassemblingmore » and demolition activities. By construction and exploitation of the Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant (STDR)--Magurele and the National Repository for Low and Intermediate Radioactive Waste (DNDR)--Baita, Bihor county, in Romania was solved the management of radioactive wastes arising from operation and decommissioning of small nuclear facilities, being assured the protection of the people and environment. The present paper makes a review of the present technical status of the Romanian waste management facilities, especially raising on treatment capabilities of ''problem'' wastes such as Ra-266, Pu-238, Am-241 Co-60, Co-57, Sr-90, Cs-137 sealed sources from industrial, research and medical applications. Also, contain a preliminary estimation of quantities and types of wastes, which would result during the decommissioning project of the VVR-S Research Reactor from IFIN-HH giving attention to some special category of wastes like aluminum, graphite and equipment, components and structures that became radioactive through neutron activation. After analyzing the technical and scientific potential of STDR and DNDR to handle big amounts of wastes resulting from the decommissioning of VVR-S Research Reactor and small nuclear facilities, the necessity of up-gradation of these nuclear objectives before starting the decommissioning plan is revealed. A short presentation of the up-grading needs is also presented.« less

Conceptual process design and techno-economic assessment of ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass: A fixed bed reactor implementation scenario for future feasibility

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

Dutta, Abhijit; Schaidle, Joshua A.; Humbird, David

Ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass is a promising route for the production of fungible liquid biofuels. There is significant ongoing research on the design and development of catalysts for this process. However, there are a limited number of studies investigating process configurations and their effects on biorefinery economics. Herein we present a conceptual process design with techno-economic assessment; it includes the production of upgraded bio-oil via fixed bed ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis followed by final hydroprocessing to hydrocarbon fuel blendstocks. This study builds upon previous work using fluidized bed systems, as detailed in a recent design reportmore » led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL/TP-5100-62455); overall yields are assumed to be similar, and are based on enabling future feasibility. Assuming similar yields provides a basis for easy comparison and for studying the impacts of areas of focus in this study, namely, fixed bed reactor configurations and their catalyst development requirements, and the impacts of an inline hot gas filter. A comparison with the fluidized bed system shows that there is potential for higher capital costs and lower catalyst costs in the fixed bed system, leading to comparable overall costs. The key catalyst requirement is to enable the effective transformation of highly oxygenated biomass into hydrocarbons products with properties suitable for blending into current fuels. Potential catalyst materials are discussed, along with their suitability for deoxygenation, hydrogenation and C–C coupling chemistry. This chemistry is necessary during pyrolysis vapor upgrading for improved bio-oil quality, which enables efficient downstream hydroprocessing; C–C coupling helps increase the proportion of diesel/jet fuel range product. One potential benefit of fixed bed upgrading over fluidized bed upgrading is catalyst flexibility, providing greater control over chemistry and product composition. Since this study is based on future projections, the impacts of uncertainties in the underlying assumptions are quantified via sensitivity analysis. As a result, this analysis indicates that catalyst researchers should prioritize by: carbon efficiency > catalyst cost > catalyst lifetime, after initially testing for basic operational feasibility.« less

Conceptual process design and techno-economic assessment of ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass: A fixed bed reactor implementation scenario for future feasibility

DOE PAGES

Dutta, Abhijit; Schaidle, Joshua A.; Humbird, David; ...

2015-10-06

Ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass is a promising route for the production of fungible liquid biofuels. There is significant ongoing research on the design and development of catalysts for this process. However, there are a limited number of studies investigating process configurations and their effects on biorefinery economics. Herein we present a conceptual process design with techno-economic assessment; it includes the production of upgraded bio-oil via fixed bed ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis followed by final hydroprocessing to hydrocarbon fuel blendstocks. This study builds upon previous work using fluidized bed systems, as detailed in a recent design reportmore » led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL/TP-5100-62455); overall yields are assumed to be similar, and are based on enabling future feasibility. Assuming similar yields provides a basis for easy comparison and for studying the impacts of areas of focus in this study, namely, fixed bed reactor configurations and their catalyst development requirements, and the impacts of an inline hot gas filter. A comparison with the fluidized bed system shows that there is potential for higher capital costs and lower catalyst costs in the fixed bed system, leading to comparable overall costs. The key catalyst requirement is to enable the effective transformation of highly oxygenated biomass into hydrocarbons products with properties suitable for blending into current fuels. Potential catalyst materials are discussed, along with their suitability for deoxygenation, hydrogenation and C–C coupling chemistry. This chemistry is necessary during pyrolysis vapor upgrading for improved bio-oil quality, which enables efficient downstream hydroprocessing; C–C coupling helps increase the proportion of diesel/jet fuel range product. One potential benefit of fixed bed upgrading over fluidized bed upgrading is catalyst flexibility, providing greater control over chemistry and product composition. Since this study is based on future projections, the impacts of uncertainties in the underlying assumptions are quantified via sensitivity analysis. As a result, this analysis indicates that catalyst researchers should prioritize by: carbon efficiency > catalyst cost > catalyst lifetime, after initially testing for basic operational feasibility.« less

Acceptance Test Data for the AGR-5/6/7 Irradiation Test Fuel Composite Defective IPyC Fraction and Pyrocarbon Anisotropy

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

Helmreich, Grant W.; Hunn, John D.; Skitt, Darren J.

Coated particle composite J52R-16-98005 was produced by Babcock and Wilcox Technologies (BWXT) as fuel for the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification (AGR) Program’s AGR-5/6/7 irradiation test in the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). This composite was comprised of four coated particle fuel batches J52O-16-93165B (26%), 93168B (26%), 93169B (24%), and 93170B (24%), chosen based on the Quality Control (QC) data acquired for each individual candidate AGR-5/6/7 batch. Each batch was coated in a 150-mm-diameter production-scale fluidized-bed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) furnace. Tristructural isotropic (TRISO) coatings were deposited on 425-μm-nominal-diameter spherical kernels from BWXT Lot J52R-16-69317more » containing a mixture of 15.5%-enriched uranium carbide and uranium oxide (UCO). The TRISO coatings consisted of four consecutive CVD layers: a ~50% dense carbon buffer layer with 100-μm-nominal thickness, a dense inner pyrolytic carbon (IPyC) layer with 40-μm-nominal thickness, a silicon carbide (SiC) layer with 35-μm-nominal thickness, and a dense outer pyrolytic carbon (OPyC) layer with 40-μm-nominal thickness. The TRISO-coated particle batches were sieved to upgrade the particles by removing over-sized and under-sized material, and the upgraded batches were designated by appending the letter A to the end of the batch number (e.g., 93165A). Secondary upgrading by sieving was performed on the A-designated batches to remove particles with missing or very-thin buffer layers that were identified during previous analysis of the individual batches for defective IPyC, as reported in the acceptance test data report for the AGR-5/6/7 production batches [Hunn et al. 2017]. The additionally-upgraded batches were designated by appending the letter B to the end of the batch number (e.g., 93165B).« less

The CABRI fast neutron Hodoscope: Renovation, qualification program and first results following the experimental reactor restart

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chevalier, V.; Mirotta, S.; Guillot, J.; Biard, B.

2018-01-01

The CABRI experimental pulse reactor, located at the Cadarache nuclear research center, southern France, is devoted to the study of Reactivity Initiated Accidents (RIA). For the purpose of the CABRI International Program (CIP), managed and funded by IRSN, in the framework of an OECD/NEA agreement, a huge renovation of the facility has been conducted since 2003. The Cabri Water Loop was then installed to ensure prototypical Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) conditions for testing irradiated fuel rods. The hodoscope installed in the CABRI reactor is a unique online fuel motion monitoring system, operated by IRSN and dedicated to the measurement of the fast neutrons emitted by the tested rod during the power pulse. It is one of the distinctive features of the CABRI reactor facility, which is operated by CEA. The system is able to determine the fuel motion, if any, with a time resolution of 1 ms and a spatial resolution of 3 mm. The hodoscope equipment has been upgraded as well during the CABRI facility renovation. This paper presents the main outcomes achieved with the hodoscope since October 2015, date of the first criticality of the CABRI reactor in its new Cabri Water Loop configuration. Results obtained during reactor commissioning phase functioning, either in steady-state mode (at low and high power, up to 23 MW) or in transient mode (start-up, possibly beyond 20 GW), are discussed.

Effects of testosterone undecanoate as a male contraceptive candidate on rat immunological features.

PubMed

Yu, Mingcan; Cao, Xiaomei; Xu, Jinju; Wang, Xiaolei; Yang, Jing; Wang, Xinghai; Ben, Kunlong

2003-11-01

Testosterone undecanoate (TU) is under phase III clinical trial as a hormonal male contraceptive in China. Sex hormones can modulate the immune system. Female hormonal contraceptives may affect SIV/HIV-1 transmission. To evaluate the safety of TU and to understand whether long-term use of TU for a male contraceptive affects users' immunological features, adult male rats were treated for a 32-week TU-treated phase at the dose of 20 mg TU/kg body weight and a 24-week recovery phase. The reproductive and immunological parameters of 4-6 rats in each subgroup were examined at the stated time point. The mean sperm count and viability in the treated rats were significantly suppressed (p < 0.01). In the TU-treated group: the mean blood leukocyte and lymphocyte counts; the proliferation indexes of T cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and spleen; and, of B cells from spleen, as well as the mean counts of blood T, NK, and B cells decreased in comparison with those of control group. These decreases were not significant (p > 0.01). Similarly, the mean serum IgM, IgG, and IgA levels and complement activity in TU-treated rats were lower than those in control group (p > 0.01), and the changes in the antibody levels of the examined genital secretions were not significant (p > 0.01). The changes in the thickness of urethra epithelium, and in secretory component (SC) expression in genitals were not observed in the treated group. These results demonstrated that long-term supraphysiological TU injection did not obviously affect the examined rat immunological parameters.

Tritium as tracer of groundwater pollution extension: case study of Andralanitra landfill site, Antananarivo-Madagascar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramaroson, Voahirana; Rakotomalala, Christian Ulrich; Rajaobelison, Joel; Fareze, Lahimamy Paul; Razafitsalama, Falintsoa A.; Rasolofonirina, Mamiseheno

2018-05-01

This study aims to understand the extension of groundwater pollution downstream of a landfill, Andralanitra-Antananarivo-Madagascar. Twenty-one samples, composed of dug well waters, spring waters, river, and lake, were measured in stable isotopes ( δ 2H, δ 18O) and tritium. Results showed that only two dug well waters, collected at the immediate vicinity of the landfill, have high tritium activities (22.82 TU and 10.43 TU), probably of artificial origin. Both upstream and further downstream of the landfill, tritium activities represent natural source, with values varying from 0.17 TU to 1.46 TU upstream and from 0.88 TU to 1.88 TU further downstream. Stable isotope data suggest that recharge occurs through infiltration of slightly evaporated rainfall. Using the radioactive decay equation, the calculated tracer ages related to two recent ground water samples collected down gradient of the landfill lay between [8-15] years and [4-7] years, taking into account the uncertainty of tritium measurements. For the calculation, a value of 2.36 TU was taken as A o. The latter was estimated based on similarity between stable isotope compositions of nearby spring and dug well waters as well as tritium activities of the local precipitation. Calculation of the tritium activities from the contaminated water point having 22.82 TU to further downstream using the calculated tracer ages showed values of one order of magnitude higher than the measured values. The absence of hydrological connection from the contaminated water point to further downstream the landfill would explain the lower tritium activities measured. Groundwater pollution seems to be limited to the closest proximity of the landfill.

Crystal structures and vibrational spectroscopy of copper(I) thiourea complexes.

PubMed

Bowmaker, Graham A; Hanna, John V; Pakawatchai, Chaveng; Skelton, Brian W; Thanyasirikul, Yupa; White, Allan H

2009-01-05

Several synthetic strategies using copper(I) starting materials or copper(II) compounds and an in situ sulfite reductant have been used to systematically explore the chemistry of copper(I) complexes with thiourea and substituted thiourea ligands. This has resulted in the discovery of several new complexes and methods for the bulk synthesis of some previously reported complexes that had been prepared adventitiously in small quantity. The new complexes are (tu = thiourea, dmtu = N,N'-dimethylthiourea, etu = ethylenethiourea): [I(4)Cu(4)(tu)(6)].H(2)O, [Cu(4)(tu)(10)](NO(3)).tu.3H(2)O, [BrCu(dmtu)(3)], [ICu(dmtu)(3)](2), [BrCu(etu)(2)](2), [ICu(etu)(2)], [ICu(etu)(2)](3). [I(4)Cu(4)(tu)(6)].H(2)O has an adamantanoid structure, with four terminal iodide ligands and six doubly bridging tu ligands. In contrast to this, [Cu(4)(tu)(10)](NO(3)).tu.3H(2)O contains a tetranuclear cluster in which four of the tu ligands are terminal and the other six are doubly bridging. [BrCu(dmtu)(3)] is a mononuclear complex with tetrahedral coordination of copper by one bromide and three dmtu ligands, whereas [Cu(dmtu)(3)](2)I(2) has a centrosymmetric dimeric cation with two uncoordinated iodides, four terminal dmtu and two doubly bridging dmtu ligands, [(dmtu)(2)Cu(mu-S-dmtu)(2)Cu(dmtu)(2)]I(2). A reversal of this monomer to dimer trend from bromide to iodide is seen for the etu counterparts: [BrCu(etu)(2)](2) is a centrosymmetric dimer with two doubly bridging etu ligands, [(etu)BrCu(mu-S-etu)(2)CuBr(etu)], whereas [ICu(etu)(2)] is a trigonal planar monomer, although the novel [I(3)Cu(3)(etu)(6)] is also defined. Infrared and Raman spectra of the synthesized complexes were recorded and the metal-ligand vibrational frequencies have been assigned in many cases. The results confirm previously observed correlations between the vibrational frequencies and the corresponding bond lengths for complexes of the unsubstituted tu ligand. A mechanochemical/infrared method was used to synthesize [I(3)Cu(3)(etu)(6)] from CuI and etu, and to demonstrate the polymorphic transition from [ICu(etu)(2)] to [I(3)Cu(3)(etu)(6)].

Interleukin-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor release by renal cell carcinoma cells impedes lymphocyte-dendritic cell cross-talk.

PubMed

Cabillic, F; Bouet-Toussaint, F; Toutirais, O; Rioux-Leclercq, N; Fergelot, P; de la Pintière, C Thomas; Genetet, N; Patard, J-J; Catros-Quemener, V

2006-12-01

Anti-tumour T cell response requires antigen presentation via efficient immunological synapse between antigen presenting cells, e.g. dendritic cells (DC), and specific T cells in an adapted Th1 cytokine context. Nine renal cell carcinoma (RCC) primary culture cells were used as sources of tumour antigens which were loaded on DC (DC-Tu) for autologous T cell activation assays. Cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes stimulated with DC-Tu was evaluated against autologous tumour cells. Assays were performed with 75 grays irradiated tumour cells (Tu irr) and with hydrogen peroxide +/- heat shock (Tu H(2)O(2) +/- HS) treated cells. DC-Tu irr failed to enhance cytotoxic activity of autologous lymphocytes in seven of 13 assays. In all these defective assays, irradiated tumour cells displayed high interleukin (IL)-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) release. Conversely, when tumour cells released low IL-6 levels (n = 4), DC-Tu irr efficiently enhanced CTL activity. When assays were performed with the same RCC cells treated with H(2)O(2) + HS, DC-Tu stimulation resulted in improved CTL activity. H(2)O(2) + HS treatment induced post-apoptotic cell necrosis of tumour cells, totally abrogated their cytokine release [IL-6, VEGF, transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1] and induced HSP70 expression. Taken together, data show that reduction in IL-6 and VEGF release in the environment of the tumour concomitantly to tumour cell HSP expression favours induction of a stronger anti-tumour CTL response.

γ-Tubulin complex in Trypanosoma brucei: molecular composition, subunit interdependence and requirement for axonemal central pair protein assembly.

PubMed

Zhou, Qing; Li, Ziyin

2015-11-01

γ-Tubulin complex constitutes a key component of the microtubule-organizing center and nucleates microtubule assembly. This complex differs in complexity in different organisms: the budding yeast contains the γ-tubulin small complex (γTuSC) composed of γ-tubulin, gamma-tubulin complex protein (GCP)2 and GCP3, whereas animals contain the γ-tubulin ring complex (γTuRC) composed of γTuSC and three additional proteins, GCP4, GCP5 and GCP6. In Trypanosoma brucei, the composition of the γ-tubulin complex remains elusive, and it is not known whether it also regulates assembly of the subpellicular microtubules and the spindle microtubules. Here we report that the γ-tubulin complex in T. brucei is composed of γ-tubulin and three GCP proteins, GCP2-GCP4, and is primarily localized in the basal body throughout the cell cycle. Depletion of GCP2 and GCP3, but not GCP4, disrupted the axonemal central pair microtubules, but not the subpellicular microtubules and the spindle microtubules. Furthermore, we showed that the γTuSC is required for assembly of two central pair proteins and that γTuSC subunits are mutually required for stability. Together, these results identified an unusual γ-tubulin complex in T. brucei, uncovered an essential role of γTuSC in central pair protein assembly, and demonstrated the interdependence of individual γTuSC components for maintaining a stable complex. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The γ-tubulin complex in Trypanosoma brucei: molecular composition, subunit interdependence and requirement for axonemal central pair protein assembly

PubMed Central

Zhou, Qing; Li, Ziyin

2015-01-01

The γ-tubulin complex constitutes a key component of the microtubule-organizing center and nucleates microtubule assembly. This complex differs in complexity in different organisms: the budding yeast contains the γ-tubulin small complex (γTuSC) composed of γ-tubulin, GCP2 and GCP3, whereas animals contain the γ-tubulin ring complex (γTuRC) composed of γTuSC and three additional proteins, GCP4, GCP5 and GCP6. In Trypanosoma brucei, the composition of the γ-tubulin complex remains elusive, and it is not known whether it also regulates assembly of the subpellicular microtubules and the spindle microtubules. Here we report that the γ-tubulin complex in T. brucei is composed of γ-tubulin and three GCP proteins, GCP2-GCP4, and is primarily localized in the basal body throughout the cell cycle. Depletion of GCP2 and GCP3, but not GCP4, disrupted the axonemal central pair microtubules, but not the subpellicular microtubules and the spindle microtubules. Furthermore, we showed that the γTuSC is required for assembly of two central pair proteins and that γTuSC subunits are mutually required for stability. Together, these results identified an unusual γ-tubulin complex in T. brucei, uncovered an essential role of γTuSC in central pair protein assembly, and demonstrated the interdependence of individual γTuSC components for maintaining a stable complex. PMID:26224545

Structure of the Acinetobacter baumannii Dithiol Oxidase DsbA Bound to Elongation Factor EF-Tu Reveals a Novel Protein Interaction Site

PubMed Central

Premkumar, Lakshmanane; Kurth, Fabian; Duprez, Wilko; Grøftehauge, Morten K.; King, Gordon J.; Halili, Maria A.; Heras, Begoña; Martin, Jennifer L.

2014-01-01

The multidrug resistant bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii is a significant cause of nosocomial infection. Biofilm formation, that requires both disulfide bond forming and chaperone-usher pathways, is a major virulence trait in this bacterium. Our biochemical characterizations show that the periplasmic A. baumannii DsbA (AbDsbA) enzyme has an oxidizing redox potential and dithiol oxidase activity. We found an unexpected non-covalent interaction between AbDsbA and the highly conserved prokaryotic elongation factor, EF-Tu. EF-Tu is a cytoplasmic protein but has been localized extracellularly in many bacterial pathogens. The crystal structure of this complex revealed that the EF-Tu switch I region binds to the non-catalytic surface of AbDsbA. Although the physiological and pathological significance of a DsbA/EF-Tu association is unknown, peptides derived from the EF-Tu switch I region bound to AbDsbA with submicromolar affinity. We also identified a seven-residue DsbB-derived peptide that bound to AbDsbA with low micromolar affinity. Further characterization confirmed that the EF-Tu- and DsbB-derived peptides bind at two distinct sites. These data point to the possibility that the non-catalytic surface of DsbA is a potential substrate or regulatory protein interaction site. The two peptides identified in this work together with the newly characterized interaction site provide a novel starting point for inhibitor design targeting AbDsbA. PMID:24860094

High prevalence of turkey parvovirus in turkey flocks from Hungary experiencing enteric disease syndromes.

PubMed

Palade, Elena Alina; Demeter, Zoltán; Hornyák, Akos; Nemes, Csaba; Kisary, János; Rusvai, Miklós

2011-09-01

Samples collected in 2008 and 2009, from 49 turkey flocks of 6 to 43 days in age and presenting clinical signs of enteric disease and high mortality, were tested by polymerase chain reaction and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for the presence of viruses currently associated with enteric disease (ED) syndromes: astrovirus, reovirus, rotavirus, coronavirus, adenovirus, and parvovirus. Turkey astroviruses were found in 83.67% of the cases and turkey astrovirus 2 (TAst-2) in 26.53%. The investigations directly demonstrated the high prevalence of turkey parvovirus (TuPV) in 23 flocks (46.9%) experiencing signs of ED, making this pathogen the second most identified after astroviruses. Phylogenetic analysis on a 527 base pair-long region from the NS1 gene revealed two main clusters, a chicken parvovirus (ChPV) and a TuPV group, but also the presence of a divergent branch of tentatively named "TuPV-like ChPV" strains. The 23 Hungarian TuPV strains were separately positioned in two groups from the American origin sequences in the TuPV cluster. An Avail-based restriction fragment length polymorphism assay has also been developed for the quick differentiation of TuPV, ChPV, and divergent TuPV-like ChPV strains. As most detected enteric viruses have been directly demonstrated in healthy turkey flocks as well, the epidemiology of this disease complex remains unclear, suggesting that a certain combination of pathogens, environmental factors, or both are necessary for the development of clinical signs.

Calculation of the temperature in the container unit with a modified design for the production of {sup 99}Mo at the VVR-Ts research reactor facility (IVV.10M)

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

Kazantsev, A. A., E-mail: kazantsevanatoly@gmail.com; Sergeev, V. V.; Kochnov, O. Yu.

The temperature regime is calculated for two different designs of containers with uranium-bearing material for the upgraded VVR-Ts research reactor facility (IVV.10M). The containers are to be used in the production of {sup 99}Mo. It is demonstrated that the modification of the container design leads to a considerable temperature reduction and an increase in the near-wall boiling margin and allows one to raise the amount of material loaded into the container. The calculations were conducted using the international thermohydraulic contour code TRAC intended to analyze the technical safety of water-cooled nuclear power units.

"Anything "You" Can Do, "Tu" Can Do Better": "Tu" and "Vous" as Substitutes for Indefinite "On" in French.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coveney, Aidan

2003-01-01

Presents a survey of the French indefinite "tu/vous" in in earlier periods and in a range of varieties. Draws on a corpus of French spoken in Picardy in Northern France to investigate the extent to which this use of second person pronouns helps to avoid ambiguity and co-occurs with another grammatical variable. (Author/VWL)

A combined evaluation of the characteristics and acute toxicity of antibiotic wastewater.

PubMed

Yu, Xin; Zuo, Jiane; Li, Ruixia; Gan, Lili; Li, Zaixing; Zhang, Fei

2014-08-01

The conventional parameters and acute toxicities of antibiotic wastewater collected from each treatment unit of an antibiotic wastewater treatment plant have been investigated. The investigation of the conventional parameters indicated that the antibiotic wastewater treatment plant performed well under the significant fluctuation in influent water quality. The results of acute toxicity indicated that the toxicity of antibiotic wastewater could be reduced by 94.3 percent on average after treatment. However, treated antibiotic effluents were still toxic to Vibrio fischeri. The toxicity of antibiotic production wastewater could be attributed to the joint effects of toxic compound mixtures in wastewater. Moreover, aerobic biological treatment processes, including sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and aerobic biofilm reactor, played the most important role in reducing toxicity by 92.4 percent. Pearson׳s correlation coefficients revealed that toxicity had a strong and positive linear correlation with organic substances, nitrogenous compounds, S(2-), volatile phenol, cyanide, As, Zn, Cd, Ni and Fe. Ammonia nitrogen (NH4(+)) was the greatest contributor to toxicity according to the stepwise regression method. The multiple regression model was a good fit for [TU50-15 min] as a function of [NH₄(+)] with the determination coefficient of 0.981. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of a Korean reference HLW disposal system under the Korean representative geologic conditions

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

Choi, Heui-Joo; Lee, Jong Youl; Choi, Jongwon

2007-07-01

The development of a Korean Reference disposal System for the spent fuels from PWR and CANDU reactors is outlined in this paper. Around 36,000 tU of spent fuels are being projected based on the lifetimes of 28 nuclear power reactors in Korea. Since the site for the geological disposal has not yet been decided, a hypothetical site with representative Korean geologic conditions is proposed for the conceptual design of the repository. The disposal rates of the spent fuels are determined according to the total operation time of 55 years. The canisters are optimized by considering natural Korean conditions, and themore » buffer is designed with domestic Ca-bentonite. The depth of the repository is determined to be 500 m below the ground's surface. The canister separation distances are determined through a thermal analysis. The main features of the repository are presented from the layout to the closure. A computer program has been developed to calculate and analyze the volume and the area of the disposal system to help in the cost analysis. The final output of the design is presented as a unit disposal cost, US $315 /kgU. (authors)« less

Aquatic ecosystems in Central Colorado are influenced by mineral forming processes and historical mining

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmidt, T.S.; Church, S.E.; Clements, W.H.; Mitchell, K.A.; Fey, D. L.; Wanty, R.B.; Verplanck, P.L.; San, Juan C.A.; Klein, T.L.; deWitt, E.H.; Rockwell, B.W.

2009-01-01

Stream water and sediment toxicity to aquatic insects were quantified from central Colorado catchments to distinguish the effect of geologic processes which result in high background metals concentrations from historical mining. Our sampling design targeted small catchments underlain by rocks of a single lithology, which allowed the development of biological and geochemical baselines without the complication of multiple rock types exposed in the catchment. By accounting for geologic sources of metals to the environment, we were able to distinguish between the environmental effects caused by mining and the weathering of different mineralized areas. Elevated metal concentrations in water and sediment were not restricted to mined catchments. Impairment of aquatic communities also occurred in unmined catchments influenced by hydrothermal alteration. Hydrothermal alteration style, deposit type, and mining were important determinants of water and sediment quality and aquatic community structure. Weathering of unmined porphyry Cu-Mo occurrences resulted in water (median toxic unit (TU) = 108) and sediment quality (TU = 1.9) that exceeded concentrations thought to be safe for aquatic ecosystems (TU = 1). Metalsensitive aquatic insects were virtually absent from streams draining catchments with porphyry Cu-Mo occurrences (1.1 individuals/0.1 m2 ). However, water and sediment quality (TU = 0.1, 0.5 water and sediment, respectively) and presence of metalsensitive aquatic insects (204 individuals/0.1 m2 ) for unmined polymetallic vein occurrences were indistinguishable from that for unmined and unaltered streams (TU = 0.1, 0.5 water and sediment, respectively; 201 individuals/0.1 m2 ). In catchments with mined quartz-sericite-pyrite altered polymetallic vein deposits, water (TU = 8.4) and sediment quality (TU = 3.1) were degraded and more toxic to aquatic insects (36 individuals/0.1 m2 ) than water (TU = 0.4) and sediment quality (TU = 1.7) from mined propylitically altered polymetallic vein deposits. The sampling approach taken in this study distinguishes the effects of different mineral deposits on ecosystems and can be used to more accurately quantify the effect of mining on the environment. 

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

Gonzalez-Sprinberg, G; Piriz, G

Purpose: To optimize the dose in bladder and rectum and show the different shapes of the isodose volumes in Co60-HDR brachytherapy, considering different utero and vaginal sources dwell ratio times (TU:TV). Methods: Besides Ir192-HDR, new Co60-HDR sources are being incorporated. We considered different TU:TV times and computed the dosis in bladder, rectum and at the reference points of the Manchester system. Also, we calculated the isodose volume and shape in each case. We used a EZAG-BEBIG Co0.A86 model with TPS HDRplus3.0.4. and LCT42-7, LCT42-2(R,L) applicators. A reference dose RA= 1.00 Gy was given to the A-right point. We considered themore » TU:TV dwell time ratios 1:0.25, 1:0.33, 1:0.5, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, and 1:4. Given TU:TV, the stop time at each dwell position is fixed for each applicator. Results: Increasing TU:TV systematically results in a decreasing of the dose in bladder and rectum, e.g. 9% and 27% reduction were found in 1:0.25 with respect to 1:1, while 12% and 34% increase were found in 1:4 with respect to 1:1. Also, the isodose volume parameters height (h), width (w), thickness (t) and volume (hwt) increased from the 1:0.25 case to the 1:4 value: hwt is 25% lower and 31% higher than the 1:1 reference volume in these cases. Also w decreased for higher TU:TV and may compromise the tumoral volume coverage, decreasing 17% in the 1:0.25 case compared to the 1:1 case. The shape of the isodose volume was obtained for the different TU:TV considered. Conclusion: We obtained the shape of isodose volumes for different TU:TV values in gynecological Co60-HDR. We studied the dose reduction in bladder and rectum for different TU:TV ratios. The volume parameters and hwt are strongly dependent on this ratio. This information is useful for a quantitative check of the TPS and as a starting point towards optimization.« less

The CONNIE experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguilar-Arevalo, A.; Bertou, X.; Bonifazi, C.; Butner, M.; Cancelo, G.; Castaneda Vazquez, A.; Cervantes Vergara, B.; Chavez, C. R.; Da Motta, H.; D'Olivo, J. C.; Dos Anjos, J.; Estrada, J.; Fernandez Moroni, G.; Ford, R.; Foguel, A.; Hernandez Torres, K. P.; Izraelevitch, F.; Kavner, A.; Kilminster, B.; Kuk, K.; Lima, H. P., Jr.; Makler, M.; Molina, J.; Moreno-Granados, G.; Moro, J. M.; Paolini, E. E.; Sofo Haro, M.; Tiffenberg, J.; Trillaud, F.; Wagner, S.

2016-10-01

The CONNIE experiment uses fully depleted, high resistivity CCDs as particle detectors in an attempt to measure for the first time the Coherent Neutrino-Nucleus Elastic Scattering of antineutrinos from a nuclear reactor with silicon nuclei. This talk, given at the XV Mexican Workshop on Particles and Fields (MWPF), discussed the potential of CONNIE to perform this measurement, the installation progress at the Angra dos Reis nuclear power plant, as well as the plans for future upgrades.

Supercritical solvent extraction of oil sand bitumen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imanbayev, Ye. I.; Ongarbayev, Ye. K.; Tileuberdi, Ye.; Mansurov, Z. A.; Golovko, A. K.; Rudyk, S.

2017-08-01

The supercritical solvent extraction of bitumen from oil sand studied with organic solvents. The experiments were performed in autoclave reactor at temperature above 255 °C and pressure 29 atm with stirring for 6 h. The reaction resulted in the formation of coke products with mineral part of oil sands. The remaining products separated into SARA fractions. The properties of the obtained products were studied. The supercritical solvent extraction significantly upgraded extracted natural bitumen.

The CONNIE experiment

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

Aguilar-Arevalo, A.; et al.

2016-10-19

The CONNIE experiment uses fully depleted, high resistivity CCDs as particle detectors in an attempt to measure for the first time the Coherent Neutrino-Nucleus Elastic Scattering of antineutrinos from a nuclear reactor with silicon nuclei.This talk, given at the XV Mexican Workshop on Particles and Fields (MWPF), discussed the potential of CONNIE to perform this measurement, the installation progress at the Angra dos Reis nuclear power plant, as well as the plans for future upgrades.

Direct liquefaction Proof-of-Concept facility. Final technical progress report

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

Comolli, A.G.; Lee, L.K.; Pradhan, V.R.

1995-08-01

This report presents the results of work which included extensive modifications to HRI`s existing 3 ton per day Process Development Unit (PDU) and completion of the first PDU run. The 58-day Run 1 demonstrated scale-up of the Catalytic Two-Stage Liquefaction (CTSL Process) on Illinois No. 6 coal to produce distillate liquid products at a rate of up to 5 barrels per to of moisture-ash-free coal. The Kerr McGee Rose-SR unit from Wilsonville was redesigned and installed next to the US Filter installation to allow a comparison of the two solids removal systems. Also included was a new enclosed reactor tower,more » upgraded computer controls and a data acquisition system, an alternate power supply, a newly refurbished reactor, an in-line hydrotreater, interstage sampling system, coal handling unit, a new ebullating pump, load cells and improved controls and remodeled preheaters. Distillate liquid yields of 5 barrels/ton of moisture ash free coal were achieved. Coal slurry recycle rates were reduced from the 2--2.5 to 1 ratio demonstrated at Wilsonville to as low as 0.9 to 1. Coal feed rates were increased during the test by 50% while maintaining process performance at a marginally higher reactor severity. Sulfur in the coal was reduced from 4 wt% to ca. 0.02 wt% sulfur in the clean distillate fuel product. More than 3,500 gallons of distillate fuels were collected for evaluation and upgrading studies. The ROSE-SR Process was operated for the first time with a pentane solvent in a steady-state model. The energy rejection of the ash concentrate was consistently below prior data, being as low as 12%, allowing improved liquid yields and recovery.« less

Simple and Rapid Quantitative Determination of Thiol-Containing Toxicants Using Silver Nanoparticles as an Affinity Probe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, A.; Tapadia, K.

2017-01-01

A rapid and low-cost nano-drop spectrophotometric method using citrate-modified silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) for the determination of thiol-containing toxicants was developed. The introduction of thioglycolic acid (TGA) and thiourea (TU) reduced the overall surface charge of Ag NPs, resulting in aggregation of Ag NPs, and a colorimetric response that was individually correlated with the concentration of TGA and TU. Under optimum experimental conditions, the maximum molar absorptivity values for TGA and TU were 1.04 × 105 and 2.13 × 105 L × mol-1 × cm-1, respectively, at λmax of 415 nm. The linear range used was 0.5-2.5 mg/L for TGA, and 0.3-1.5 mg/L for TU. The detection limits (3S) and % relative standard deviation (RSD) for the method were found to be 3 ppb, 2 ppb, and ±1.13%, ±0.96% for TGA and TU, respectively. This new chromogenic method provided a facile and sensitive scheme for the determination of TGA and TU, and could be applied for the determination of thiol-containing biomolecules. This scheme was tested for the analysis of real samples such as urine, blood, and environmental samples.

Spectral properties of identified polarized-light sensitive interneurons in the brain of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria.

PubMed

Kinoshita, Michiyo; Pfeiffer, Keram; Homberg, Uwe

2007-04-01

Many migrating animals employ a celestial compass mechanism for spatial navigation. Behavioral experiments in bees and ants have shown that sun compass navigation may rely on the spectral gradient in the sky as well as on the pattern of sky polarization. While polarized-light sensitive interneurons (POL neurons) have been identified in the brain of several insect species, there are at present no data on the neural basis of coding the spectral gradient of the sky. In the present study we have analyzed the chromatic properties of two identified POL neurons in the brain of the desert locust. Both neurons, termed TuTu1 and LoTu1, arborize in the anterior optic tubercle and respond to unpolarized light as well as to polarized light. We show here that the polarized-light response of both types of neuron relies on blue-sensitive photoreceptors. Responses to unpolarized light depended on stimulus position and wavelength. Dorsal unpolarized blue light inhibited the neurons, while stimulation from the ipsilateral side resulted in opponent responses to UV light and green light. While LoTu1 was inhibited by UV light and was excited by green light, one subtype of TuTu1 was excited by UV and inhibited by green light. In LoTu1 the sensitivity to polarized light was at least 2 log units higher than the response to unpolarized light stimuli. Taken together, the spatial and chromatic properties of the neurons may be suited to signal azimuthal directions based on a combination of the spectral gradient and the polarization pattern of the sky.

Structure of the Acinetobacter baumannii dithiol oxidase DsbA bound to elongation factor EF-Tu reveals a novel protein interaction site.

PubMed

Premkumar, Lakshmanane; Kurth, Fabian; Duprez, Wilko; Grøftehauge, Morten K; King, Gordon J; Halili, Maria A; Heras, Begoña; Martin, Jennifer L

2014-07-18

The multidrug resistant bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii is a significant cause of nosocomial infection. Biofilm formation, that requires both disulfide bond forming and chaperone-usher pathways, is a major virulence trait in this bacterium. Our biochemical characterizations show that the periplasmic A. baumannii DsbA (AbDsbA) enzyme has an oxidizing redox potential and dithiol oxidase activity. We found an unexpected non-covalent interaction between AbDsbA and the highly conserved prokaryotic elongation factor, EF-Tu. EF-Tu is a cytoplasmic protein but has been localized extracellularly in many bacterial pathogens. The crystal structure of this complex revealed that the EF-Tu switch I region binds to the non-catalytic surface of AbDsbA. Although the physiological and pathological significance of a DsbA/EF-Tu association is unknown, peptides derived from the EF-Tu switch I region bound to AbDsbA with submicromolar affinity. We also identified a seven-residue DsbB-derived peptide that bound to AbDsbA with low micromolar affinity. Further characterization confirmed that the EF-Tu- and DsbB-derived peptides bind at two distinct sites. These data point to the possibility that the non-catalytic surface of DsbA is a potential substrate or regulatory protein interaction site. The two peptides identified in this work together with the newly characterized interaction site provide a novel starting point for inhibitor design targeting AbDsbA. © 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Thiourea modulates the expression and activity profile of mtATPase under salinity stress in seeds of Brassica juncea

PubMed Central

Srivastava, A. K.; Ramaswamy, N. K.; Mukopadhyaya, R.; Jincy, M. G. Chiramal; D'Souza, S. F.

2009-01-01

Background and Aims Large areas of the globe are becoming saline due to evapotranspiration and poor irrigation practices, and sustainability of agriculture is being seriously affected. Thiourea (TU) has been identified as an effective bioregulator imparting stress tolerance to crops. The molecular mechanisms involved in the TU-mediated response are considered in this study. Methods Differential display was performed in order to identify TU-modulated transcripts in Brassica juncea seeds exposed to various treatments (distilled water; 1 m NaCl; 1 m NaCl + 500 p.p.m. TU). The differential regulation of these transcripts was validated by quantitative real-time PCR. Key Results Thiourea treatment maintained the viability of seeds exposed to NaCl for 6 h. Expression analysis showed that the transcript level of alpha, beta, gamma, delta and epsilon subunits of mitochondrial ATPase (mtATPase) varied in seeds subjected to the different treatments for 1 h: expression level was significantly altered by 1 m NaCl relative to controls; however, in the NaCl + TU treatment it reverted back in an integrated manner. Similar results were obtained from time-kinetics studies of beta and delta subunits in roots of 8-d-old seedlings. These observations were also confirmed by the mtATPase activity from isolated mitochondria. The reversal in the expression and activity profile of mtATPase through the application of a bioregulator such as TU is a novel finding for any plant system. Conclusions The results suggest that TU treatment maintains the integrity and functioning of mitochondria in seeds as well as seedlings exposed to salinity. Thus, TU has the potential to be used as an effective bioregulator to impart salinity tolerance under field conditions, and might prove to be of high economic importance by opening new avenues for both basic and applied research. PMID:19033283

An effective hormonal male contraceptive using testosterone undecanoate with oral or injectable norethisterone preparations.

PubMed

Kamischke, Axel; Heuermann, Tanja; Krüger, Kathrin; von Eckardstein, Sigrid; Schellschmidt, Ilka; Rübig, Alexander; Nieschlag, Eberhard

2002-02-01

Suppression of spermatogenesis to azoospermia is the goal of hormonal male contraception based on T combined with gestagens. The combination of the long-acting T, ester testosterone undecanoate (TU), with norethisterone (NET) enanthate (E) showed high efficacy. In the present study, we tested the validity of this approach by varying the NET dose and mode of application. The aim of the study was to achieve high rates of suppression of spermatogenesis as reflected by sperm counts, monitor gonadotropins as well as other hormones, and evaluate any possible side effects. In a phase II clinical trial, groups of normal volunteers received: 1000 mg TU im at wk 2, 6, 12, and 18 combined with 200 mg NETE im at wk 0, 6, 12, and 18 (group I); 1000 mg TU im and 400 mg NETE im at wk 0, 6, 12, and 18 (group II); and 1000 mg TU im at wk 0, 6, 12, and 18 with daily oral NET acetate (NETA) from wk 0 to 24 (group III). In all groups marked suppression of gonadotropins resulted in a significant decrease of spermatogenesis and azoospermia in 13/14, 11/12, and 12/14 men in groups I to III, respectively. The remaining men all had less than 1 million sperm/ml. Reversible side effects included increase in body weight, erythrocytes, hemoglobin, and hematocrit and decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and alkaline phosphatase in all groups and increase in liver enzymes in the oral NETA group. This study documents the high efficacy of TU in combination with NET and confirms that this dose and mode of application (1000 mg TU im every 6 wk plus 400 mg NETE im every 6 wk or plus 10 mg daily oral NETA) is as effective as the previously reported regimen containing 1000 mg TU + 200 mg NETE im every 6 wk. The contraceptive efficacy of this combination of TU and NETE should be evaluated in further clinical trials.

Catalytic multi-stage process for hydroconversion and refining hydrocarbon feeds

DOEpatents

Comolli, Alfred G.; Lee, Lap-Keung

2001-01-01

A multi-stage catalytic hydrogenation and hydroconversion process for heavy hydrocarbon feed materials such as coal, heavy petroleum fractions, and plastic waste materials. In the process, the feedstock is reacted in a first-stage, back-mixed catalytic reactor with a highly dispersed iron-based catalyst having a powder, gel or liquid form. The reactor effluent is pressure-reduced, vapors and light distillate fractions are removed overhead, and the heavier liquid fraction is fed to a second stage back-mixed catalytic reactor. The first and second stage catalytic reactors are operated at 700-850.degree. F. temperature, 1000-3500 psig hydrogen partial pressure and 20-80 lb./hr per ft.sup.3 reactor space velocity. The vapor and light distillates liquid fractions removed from both the first and second stage reactor effluent streams are combined and passed to an in-line, fixed-bed catalytic hydrotreater for heteroatom removal and for producing high quality naphtha and mid-distillate or a full-range distillate product. The remaining separator bottoms liquid fractions are distilled at successive atmospheric and vacuum pressures, low and intermediate-boiling hydrocarbon liquid products are withdrawn, and heavier distillate fractions are recycled and further upgraded to provide additional low-boiling hydrocarbon liquid products. This catalytic multistage hydrogenation process provides improved flexibility for hydroprocessing the various carbonaceous feedstocks and adjusting to desired product structures and for improved economy of operations.

Assessment of quasi-linear effect of RF power spectrum for enabling lower hybrid current drive in reactor plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cesario, Roberto; Cardinali, Alessandro; Castaldo, Carmine; Amicucci, Luca; Ceccuzzi, Silvio; Galli, Alessandro; Napoli, Francesco; Panaccione, Luigi; Santini, Franco; Schettini, Giuseppe; Tuccillo, Angelo Antonio

2017-10-01

The main research on the energy from thermonuclear fusion uses deuterium plasmas magnetically trapped in toroidal devices. To suppress the turbulent eddies that impair thermal insulation and pressure tight of the plasma, current drive (CD) is necessary, but tools envisaged so far are unable accomplishing this task while efficiently and flexibly matching the natural current profiles self-generated at large radii of the plasma column [1-5]. The lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) [6] can satisfy this important need of a reactor [1], but the LHCD system has been unexpectedly mothballed on JET. The problematic extrapolation of the LHCD tool at reactor graded high values of, respectively, density and temperatures of plasma has been now solved. The high density problem is solved by the FTU (Frascati Tokamak Upgrade) method [7], and solution of the high temperature one is presented here. Model results based on quasi-linear (QL) theory evidence the capability, w.r.t linear theory, of suitable operating parameters of reducing the wave damping in hot reactor plasmas. Namely, using higher RF power densities [8], or a narrower antenna power spectrum in refractive index [9,10], the obstacle for LHCD represented by too high temperature of reactor plasmas should be overcome. The former method cannot be used for routinely, safe antenna operations, Thus, only the latter key is really exploitable in a reactor. The proposed solutions are ultimately necessary for viability of an economic reactor.

ESCORT: A Pratt & Whitney nuclear thermal propulsion and power system for manned mars missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feller, Gerald J.; Joyner, Russell

1999-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe the conceptual design of an upgrade to the Pratt & Whitney ESCORT nuclear thermal rocket engine. The ESCORT is a bimodal engine capable of supporting a wide range of vehicle propulsive and electrical power requirements. The ESCORT engine is powered by a fast-spectrum beryllium-reflected CERMET-fueled nuclear reactor. In propulsive mode, the reactor is used to heat hot hydrogen to approximately 2700 K which is expanded through a converging/diverging nozzle to generate thrust. Heat pickup in the nozzle and the radial beryllium reflectors is used to drive the turbomachinery in the ESCORT expander cycle. In electrical mode, the reactor is used to heat a mixture of helium and xenon to drive a closed-loop Brayton cycle in order to generate electrical energy. This closed loop system has the additional function of a decay heat removal system after the propulsive mode operation is discontinued. The original ESCORT design was capable of delivering 4448.2 N (1000 lbf) of thrust at a vacuum impulse level of approximately 900 s. Design Reference Mission requirements (DRM) from NASA Johnson Space Center and NASA Lewis Research Center studies in 1997 and 1998 have detailed upgraded requirements for potential manned Mars missions. The current NASA DRM requires a nuclear thermal propulsion system capable of delivering total mission requirements of 200170 N (45000 lbf) thrust and 50 kWe of spacecraft electrical power. This is met assuming three engines capable of each delivering 66723 N (15000 lbf) of vacuum thrust and 25 kWe of electrical power. The individual engine requirements were developed assuming three out of three engine reliability for propulsion and two out of three engine reliability for spacecraft electrical power. The approximate target vacuum impulse is 925 s. The Pratt & Whitney ESCORT concept was upgraded to meet these requirements. The hexagonal prismatic fuel elements were modified to address the uprated power requirements while maintaining the peak fuel temperature below the 2880 K limit for W-UO2 CERMET fuels. A system integrated performance methodology was developed to assess the sensitivity to weight, thrust and impulse to the DRM requirements. Propellant tanks, shielding, and Brayton cycle power conversion unit requirements were included in this evaluation.

Upgrading of Sergiev Posad department of Moscow NPO Radon

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

Debieve, Pierre; Delecaut, Gregory; Vanleeuw, Daniel

Available in abstract form only. Full text of publication follows: BELGATOM and IRE Consortium has been awarded by the European Commission end of 2005 to conduct a project entitled 'Upgrading of Sergiev Posad Department of Moscow NPO Radon and the assessment of the radiological impact in the area nearby'. The main aims to achieve in the frame of this Europe-aid Project are: - Improvement of the performance and the safety level of the present radwaste management system, taking into account the additional waste expected from the Kurchatov Institute rehabilitation and from the forecast decommissioning of Research Reactors on the territorymore » of Moscow. - Basic design and assistance for the procurement of upgrading equipment related to: - radwaste sorting and pretreatment - replacement of the hydraulic system of the existing super-compactor - characterisation system for radwaste 'Support for preparing the PSAR and PEIAR for new licensing' Assessment of the radiological impact in an area of 50 km radius around Sergiev Posad Department. - The initial duration of this Project is 3 years, starting beginning of 2006. This paper describes the difficulties encountered to start and implement the Project and its status at the half of the planned time schedule. (authors)« less

CFD Analysis of Coolant Flow in VVER-440 Fuel Assemblies with the Code ANSYS CFX 10.0

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

Toth, Sandor; Legradi, Gabor; Aszodi, Attila

2006-07-01

From the aspect of planning the power upgrading of nuclear reactors - including the VVER-440 type reactor - it is essential to get to know the flow field in the fuel assembly. For this purpose we have developed models of the fuel assembly of the VVER-440 reactor using the ANSYS CFX 10.0 CFD code. At first a 240 mm long part of a 60 degrees segment of the fuel pin bundle was modelled. Implementing this model a sensitivity study on the appropriate meshing was performed. Based on the development of the above described model, further models were developed: a 960more » mm long part of a 60-degree-segment and a full length part (2420 mm) of the fuel pin bundle segment. The calculations were run using constant coolant properties and several turbulence models. The impacts of choosing different turbulence models were investigated. The results of the above-mentioned investigations are presented in this paper. (authors)« less

Upgrading agricultural wastes using three different carbonization methods: Thermal, hydrothermal and vapothermal.

PubMed

Yeoh, Keat-Hor; Shafie, S A; Al-Attab, K A; Zainal, Z A

2018-06-15

In this study, three different methods for high quality solid fuel production were tested and compared experimentally. Oil palm empty fruit bunches, mesocarp fibers, palm kernel shells and rubber seeds shells were treated using thermal (TC), hydrothermal (HTC) and vapothermal (VTC) carbonization. All thermochemical methods were accomplished by using a custom made batch-type reactor. Utilization of novel single reactor equipped with suspended internal container provided efficient operation since both steam generator and raw materials were placed inside the same reactor. Highest energy densification was achieved by VTC process followed by TC and HTC processes. The heating value enhancement in VTC and TC was achieved by the increase in fixed carbon content and reduction in volatile matter. The formation of the spherical components in HTC hydrochar which gave a sharp peak at 340 °C in the DTG curves was suggested as the reason that led to the increment in energy content. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Combined Ceria Reduction and Methane Reforming in a Solar-Driven Particle-Transport Reactor.

PubMed

Welte, Michael; Warren, Kent; Scheffe, Jonathan R; Steinfeld, Aldo

2017-09-20

We report on the experimental performance of a solar aerosol reactor for carrying out the combined thermochemical reduction of CeO 2 and reforming of CH 4 using concentrated radiation as the source of process heat. The 2 kW th solar reactor prototype utilizes a cavity receiver enclosing a vertical Al 2 O 3 tube which contains a downward gravity-driven particle flow of ceria particles, either co-current or counter-current to a CH 4 flow. Experimentation under a peak radiative flux of 2264 suns yielded methane conversions up to 89% at 1300 °C for residence times under 1 s. The maximum extent of ceria reduction, given by the nonstoichiometry δ (CeO 2-δ ), was 0.25. The solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency reached 12%. The syngas produced had a H 2 :CO molar ratio of 2, and its calorific value was solar-upgraded by 24% over that of the CH 4 reformed.

Combined Ceria Reduction and Methane Reforming in a Solar-Driven Particle-Transport Reactor

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

We report on the experimental performance of a solar aerosol reactor for carrying out the combined thermochemical reduction of CeO2 and reforming of CH4 using concentrated radiation as the source of process heat. The 2 kWth solar reactor prototype utilizes a cavity receiver enclosing a vertical Al2O3 tube which contains a downward gravity-driven particle flow of ceria particles, either co-current or counter-current to a CH4 flow. Experimentation under a peak radiative flux of 2264 suns yielded methane conversions up to 89% at 1300 °C for residence times under 1 s. The maximum extent of ceria reduction, given by the nonstoichiometry δ (CeO2−δ), was 0.25. The solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency reached 12%. The syngas produced had a H2:CO molar ratio of 2, and its calorific value was solar-upgraded by 24% over that of the CH4 reformed. PMID:28966440

An experimental design method leading to chemical Turing patterns.

PubMed

Horváth, Judit; Szalai, István; De Kepper, Patrick

2009-05-08

Chemical reaction-diffusion patterns often serve as prototypes for pattern formation in living systems, but only two isothermal single-phase reaction systems have produced sustained stationary reaction-diffusion patterns so far. We designed an experimental method to search for additional systems on the basis of three steps: (i) generate spatial bistability by operating autoactivated reactions in open spatial reactors; (ii) use an independent negative-feedback species to produce spatiotemporal oscillations; and (iii) induce a space-scale separation of the activatory and inhibitory processes with a low-mobility complexing agent. We successfully applied this method to a hydrogen-ion autoactivated reaction, the thiourea-iodate-sulfite (TuIS) reaction, and noticeably produced stationary hexagonal arrays of spots and parallel stripes of pH patterns attributed to a Turing bifurcation. This method could be extended to biochemical reactions.

Acceptance Test Data for BWXT Coated Particle Batch 93164A Defective IPyC Fraction and Pyrocarbon Anisotropy

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

Helmreich, Grant W.; Hunn, John D.; Skitt, Darren J.

2017-02-01

Coated particle fuel batch J52O-16-93164 was produced by Babcock and Wilcox Technologies (BWXT) for possible selection as fuel for the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification (AGR) Program’s AGR-5/6/7 irradiation test in the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), or may be used as demonstration production-scale coated particle fuel for other experiments. The tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) coatings were deposited in a 150-mm-diameter production-scale fluidizedbed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) furnace onto 425-μm-nominal-diameter spherical kernels from BWXT lot J52L-16-69316. Each kernel contained a mixture of 15.5%-enriched uranium carbide and uranium oxide (UCO) and was coated with four consecutive CVD layers:more » a ~50% dense carbon buffer layer with 100-μm-nominal thickness, a dense inner pyrolytic carbon (IPyC) layer with 40-μm-nominal thickness, a silicon carbide (SiC) layer with 35-μm-nominal thickness, and a dense outer pyrolytic carbon (OPyC) layer with 40-μm-nominal thickness. The TRISO-coated particle batch was sieved to upgrade the particles by removing over-sized and under-sized material, and the upgraded batch was designated by appending the letter A to the end of the batch number (i.e., 93164A).« less

Surface-Enhanced Separation of Water from Hydrocarbons: Potential Dewatering Membranes for the Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Pine Biomass

DOE PAGES

Engtrakul, Dr. Chaiwat; Hu, Michael Z.; Bischoff, Brian L; ...

2016-01-01

The impact of surface-selective coatings on water permeation through a membrane when exposed to catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) vapor products was studied by tailoring the surface properties of the membrane coating from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic. Our approach utilized high-performance architectured surface-selective (HiPAS) membranes that were inserted after a CFP reactor. At this insertion point, the inner wall surface of a tubular membrane was exposed to a mixture of water and upgraded product vapors, including light gases and deoxygenated hydrocarbons. Under proper membrane operating conditions, a high selectivity for water over 1-ring upgraded biomass pyrolysis hydrocarbons was observed due to amore » surface-enhanced capillary condensation process. Owing to this surface-enhanced effect, HiPAS membranes have the potential to enable high flux separations suggesting that water can be selectively removed from the CFP product vapors.« less

Simultaneous organic matter removal and nitrification of an inert self-supporting immersed media to upgrade aerated lagoons.

PubMed

Boutet, E; Baillargeon, S; Patry, B; Lessard, P

2018-01-01

A pilot study was performed to evaluate the potential of an inert self-supported immersed fixed film media to upgrade aerated lagoons. Simultaneous organic matter removal and nitrification was assessed under different loading rates and temperatures (near 0 °C) using 12 laboratory-scale reactors operated in parallel. Test results showed that both the temperature and the load have an influence on organic matter effluent concentrations. Effluent quality seemed related to the observed biofilm thickness. Thicker biofilm is believed to have contributed to biomass detachment and increased particulate organic matter concentrations in the effluent. Simultaneous organic removal and nitrification was obtained at loads above 5 g CBOD 5 /m 2 ·d. The highest nitrification rate at 0.4 °C was obtained for the smallest load, which showed a nitrification limitation close to freezing point.

Turbulence in high-beta ASDEX upgrade advanced scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doerk, H.; Bock, A.; Di Siena, A.; Fable, E.; Görler, T.; Jenko, F.; Stober, J.; The ASDEX Upgrade Team

2018-01-01

Recent experiments at ASDEX Upgrade achieve non-inductive operation in full tungsten wall conditions by applying electron cyclotron and neutral beam current drive. These discharges are characterised by a well-measured safety factor profile, which does not drop below one, and a good energy confinement. By reproducing the experimental heat fluxes, nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations suggest that the observed strong peaking of the ion temperature in the core is caused by the stabilising impact of a significant beam ion content, as well as strong electromagnetic effects on turbulent transport. Quasilinear transport models are not yet applicable in this interesting and reactor relevant parameter regime, but available simulation data may serve as a testbed for improvements. As the present plasma is close to the kinetic ballooning (KBM) threshold, elevating the safety factor profile under otherwise identical conditions is proposed to clarify, whether profiles are ultimately limited by KBM turbulence, or by global stability constraints.

Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES) Upgrade Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Emrich, William J. Jr.; Moran, Robert P.; Pearson, J. Boise

2012-01-01

To support the on-going nuclear thermal propulsion effort, a state-of-the-art non nuclear experimental test setup has been constructed to evaluate the performance characteristics of candidate fuel element materials and geometries in representative environments. The facility to perform this testing is referred to as the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environment Simulator (NTREES). This device can simulate the environmental conditions (minus the radiation) to which nuclear rocket fuel components will be subjected during reactor operation. Test articles mounted in the simulator are inductively heated in such a manner so as to accurately reproduce the temperatures and heat fluxes which would normally occur as a result of nuclear fission and would be exposed to flowing hydrogen. Initial testing of a somewhat prototypical fuel element has been successfully performed in NTREES and the facility has now been shutdown to allow for an extensive reconfiguration of the facility which will result in a significant upgrade in its capabilities

Torrefaction reduction of coke formation on catalysts used in esterification and cracking of biofuels from pyrolysed lignocellulosic feedstocks

DOEpatents

Kastner, James R; Mani, Sudhagar; Hilten, Roger; Das, Keshav C

2015-11-04

A bio-oil production process involving torrefaction pretreatment, catalytic esterification, pyrolysis, and secondary catalytic processing significantly reduces yields of reactor char, catalyst coke, and catalyst tar relative to the best-case conditions using non-torrefied feedstock. The reduction in coke as a result of torrefaction was 28.5% relative to the respective control for slow pyrolysis bio-oil upgrading. In fast pyrolysis bio-oil processing, the greatest reduction in coke was 34.9%. Torrefaction at 275.degree. C. reduced levels of acid products including acetic acid and formic acid in the bio-oil, which reduced catalyst coking and increased catalyst effectiveness and aromatic hydrocarbon yields in the upgraded oils. The process of bio-oil generation further comprises a catalytic esterification of acids and aldehydes to generate such as ethyl levulinate from lignified biomass feedstock.

Surface-Enhanced Separation of Water from Hydrocarbons: Potential Dewatering Membranes for the Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Pine Biomass

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

Engtrakul, Chaiwat; Hu, Michael Z.; Bischoff, Brian L.

2016-10-20

The impact of surface-selective coatings on water permeation through a membrane when exposed to catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) vapor products was studied by tailoring the surface properties of the membrane coating from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic. Our approach used high-performance architectured surface-selective (HiPAS) membranes that were inserted after a CFP reactor. At this insertion point, the inner wall surface of a tubular membrane was exposed to a mixture of water and upgraded product vapors, including light gases and deoxygenated hydrocarbons. Under proper membrane operating conditions, a high selectivity for water over one-ring upgraded biomass pyrolysis hydrocarbons was observed as a resultmore » of a surface-enhanced capillary condensation process. Owing to this surface-enhanced effect, HiPAS membranes have the potential to enable high flux separations, suggesting that water can be selectively removed from the CFP product vapors.« less

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

Sattison, M.B.; Thatcher, T.A.; Knudsen, J.K.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has been using full-power. Level 1, limited-scope risk models for the Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) program for over fifteen years. These models have evolved and matured over the years, as have probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) and computer technologies. Significant upgrading activities have been undertaken over the past three years, with involvement from the Offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data (AEOD), and Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES), and several national laboratories. Part of these activities was an RES-sponsored feasibility study investigating the ability to extend the ASP models to includemore » contributors to core damage from events initiated with the reactor at low power or shutdown (LP/SD), both internal events and external events. This paper presents only the LP/SD internal event modeling efforts.« less

Safety evaluation for packaging (onsite) plutonium recycle test reactor graphite cask

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

Romano, T.

This safety evaluation for packaging (SEP) provides the evaluation necessary to demonstrate that the Plutonium Recycle Test Reactor (PRTR) Graphite Cask meets the requirements of WHC-CM-2-14, Hazardous Material Packaging and Shipping, for transfer of Type B, fissile, non-highway route controlled quantities of radioactive material within the 300 Area of the Hanford Site. The scope of this SEP includes risk, shieldling, criticality, and.tiedown analyses to demonstrate that onsite transportation safety requirements are satisfied. This SEP also establishes operational and maintenance guidelines to ensure that transport of the PRTR Graphite Cask is performed safely in accordance with WHC-CM-2-14. This SEP is validmore » until October 1, 1999. After this date, an update or upgrade to this document is required.« less

Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, an inhibitor of histone deacetylase, suppresses vasculogenic mimicry and proliferation of highly aggressive pancreatic cancer PaTu8988 cells

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive human malignancies with a extremely low 5-year survival rate. Hence, the search for more effective anti-pancreatic cancer agents is urgent. Methods PaTu8988 pancreatic cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), cell survival, proliferation, migration and vasculogenic mimicry (VM) were analyzed. Associated signaling changes were also analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blots. Results Here, we reported that SAHA, a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), exerted significant inhibitory efficiency against pancreatic cancer cell survival, proliferation, migration and VM. SAHA dose-dependently inhibited PaTu8988 pancreatic cancer cell growth with the IC-50 of 3.4 ± 0. 7 μM. Meanwhile, SAHA suppressed PaTu8988 cell cycle progression through inducing G2/M arrest, which was associated with cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK-1)/cyclin-B1 degradation and p21/p27 upregulation. Further, SAHA induced both apoptotic and non-apoptotic death of PaTu8988 cells. Significantly, SAHA suppressed PaTu8988 cell in vitro migration and cell-dominant tube formation or VM, which was accompanied by semaphorin-4D (Sema-4D) and integrin-β5 down-regulation. Our evidences showed that Akt activation might be important for Sema-4D expression in PaTu8988 cells, and SAHA-induced Sema-4D down-regulation might be associated with Akt inhibition. Conclusions This study is among the first to report the VM formation in cultured human pancreatic cancer cells. And we provided strong evidence to suggest that SAHA executes significant anti-VM efficiency in the progressive pancreatic cancer cells. Thus, SAHA could be further investigated as a promising anti-pancreatic cancer agent. PMID:24886166

Molecular Characterization of the Complete Genome of Three Basal-BR Isolates of Turnip mosaic virus Infecting Raphanus sativus in China.

PubMed

Zhu, Fuxiang; Sun, Ying; Wang, Yan; Pan, Hongyu; Wang, Fengting; Zhang, Xianghui; Zhang, Yanhua; Liu, Jinliang

2016-06-04

Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) infects crops of plant species in the family Brassicaceae worldwide. TuMV isolates were clustered to five lineages corresponding to basal-B, basal-BR, Asian-BR, world-B and OMs. Here, we determined the complete genome sequences of three TuMV basal-BR isolates infecting radish from Shandong and Jilin Provinces in China. Their genomes were all composed of 9833 nucleotides, excluding the 3'-terminal poly(A) tail. They contained two open reading frames (ORFs), with the large one encoding a polyprotein of 3164 amino acids and the small overlapping ORF encoding a PIPO protein of 61 amino acids, which contained the typically conserved motifs found in members of the genus Potyvirus. In pairwise comparison with 30 other TuMV genome sequences, these three isolates shared their highest identities with isolates from Eurasian countries (Germany, Italy, Turkey and China). Recombination analysis showed that the three isolates in this study had no "clear" recombination. The analyses of conserved amino acids changed between groups showed that the codons in the TuMV out group (OGp) and OMs group were the same at three codon sites (852, 1006, 1548), and the other TuMV groups (basal-B, basal-BR, Asian-BR, world-B) were different. This pattern suggests that the codon in the OMs progenitor did not change but that in the other TuMV groups the progenitor sequence did change at divergence. Genetic diversity analyses indicate that the PIPO gene was under the highest selection pressure and the selection pressure on P3N-PIPO and P3 was almost the same. It suggests that most of the selection pressure on P3 was probably imposed through P3N-PIPO.

Thiourea, a ROS scavenger, regulates source-to-sink relationship to enhance crop yield and oil content in Brassica juncea (L.).

PubMed

Pandey, Manish; Srivastava, Ashish Kumar; D'Souza, Stanislaus Francis; Penna, Suprasanna

2013-01-01

In the present agricultural scenario, the major thrust is to increase crop productivity so as to ensure sustainability. In an earlier study, foliar application of thiourea (TU; a non physiological thiol based ROS scavenger) has been demonstrated to enhance the stress tolerance and yield of different crops under field condition. Towards this endeavor, present work deals with the effect of TU on photosynthetic efficiency and source-to-sink relationship of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) for understanding its mode of action. The application of TU increased the efficiency of both PSI and PSII photosystems and vegetative growth of plant. The comparative analysis of sucrose to starch ratio and expression level of sugar transporters confirmed the higher source and sink strength in response to TU treatment. The biochemical evidence in support of this was derived from higher activities of sucrose phosphate synthase and fructose-1,6-bis-phosphatase at source; and sucrose synthase and different classes of invertases at both source and sink. This indicated an overall increase in photoassimilate level at sink. An additional contribution through pod photosynthesis was confirmed through the analysis of phosphoenol pyruvate carboxylase enzyme activity and level of organic acids. The increased photoassimilate level was also co-ordinated with acetyl coA carboxylase mediated oil biosynthesis. All these changes were ultimately reflected in the form of 10 and 20% increase in total yield and oil content, respectively under TU treatment as compared to control. Additionally, no change was observed in oil composition of seeds derived from TU treated plants. The study thus signifies the co-ordinated regulation of key steps of photosynthesis and source-to-sink relationship through the external application of TU resulting in increased crop yield and oil content.

Treatment of Early Stage Endometrial Cancer by Transumbilical Laparoendoscopic Single-Site Surgery Versus Traditional Laparoscopic Surgery

PubMed Central

Cai, Hui-hua; Liu, Mu-biao; He, Yuan-li

2016-01-01

Abstract To compare the outcomes of transumbilical laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (TU-LESS) versus traditional laparoscopic surgery (TLS) for early stage endometrial cancer (EC). We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with early stage EC who were surgically treated by TU-LESS or TLS between 2011 and 2014 in a tertiary care teaching hospital. We identified 18 EC patients who underwent TU-LESS. Propensity score matching was used to match this group with 18 EC patients who underwent TLS. All patients underwent laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and systematic pelvic lymphadenectomy by TU-LESS or TLS without conversion to laparoscopy or laparotomy. Number of pelvic lymph nodes retrieved, operative time and estimated blood loss were comparable between 2 groups. Satisfaction values of the cosmetic outcome evaluated by the patient at day 30 after surgery were significantly higher in TU-LESS group than that in TLS group (9.6 ± 0.8 vs 7.5 ± 0.7, P < 0.001), while there was no statistical difference in postoperative complications within 30 days after surgery, postoperative hospital stay, and hospital cost. For the surgical management of early stage EC, TU-LESS may be a feasible alternative approach to TLS, with comparable short-term surgical outcomes and superior cosmetic outcome. Future large-scale prospective studies are needed to identify these benefits. PMID:27057851

Energetic stabilities of thiolated pyrimidines on gold nanoparticles investigated by Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations.

PubMed

Ganbold, Erdene-Ochir; Yoon, Jinha; Cho, Kwang-Hwi; Joo, Sang-Woo

2015-01-01

The adsorption structures of 2-thiocytosine (2TC) on gold surfaces were examined by means of vibrational Raman spectroscopy and quantum mechanical density functional theory calculations. The 1H-thione-amino form was calculated to be most stable among the six examined tautomers. The three plausible binding geometries of sulfur, pyrimidine nitrogen, and amino group binding modes were calculated to estimate the binding energies of the 1H-thione-amino form with six gold cluster atoms. Thiouracils including 2-thiouracil (2TU), 4-thiouracil (4TU), and 6-methyl-2-thiouracil (6M2TU) were also studied to compare their relative binding energies on gold atoms. The intracellular localization of a DNA base analog of 2TC on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in HeLa cells was identified by means of surface-enhanced Raman scattering. AuNPs were modified with 2TC by self-assembly. Our dark-field microscopy and z-depth-dependent confocal Raman spectroscopy indicated that 2TC-assembled AuNPs could be found inside cancer cells. On the other hand, we did not observe noticeably strong Raman peaks in the cases of thiouracils including 2TU, 4TU, and 6M2TU. This may be due to the additional amino group of 2TC, which can lead to a stronger binding of adsorbates on AuNPs. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Nonrandom γ-TuNA-dependent spatial pattern of microtubule nucleation at the Golgi

PubMed Central

Sanders, Anna A. W. M.; Chang, Kevin; Zhu, Xiaodong; Thoppil, Roslin J.; Holmes, William R.; Kaverina, Irina

2017-01-01

Noncentrosomal microtubule (MT) nucleation at the Golgi generates MT network asymmetry in motile vertebrate cells. Investigating the Golgi-derived MT (GDMT) distribution, we find that MT asymmetry arises from nonrandom nucleation sites at the Golgi (hotspots). Using computational simulations, we propose two plausible mechanistic models of GDMT nucleation leading to this phenotype. In the “cooperativity” model, formation of a single GDMT promotes further nucleation at the same site. In the “heterogeneous Golgi” model, MT nucleation is dramatically up-regulated at discrete and sparse locations within the Golgi. While MT clustering in hotspots is equally well described by both models, simulating MT length distributions within the cooperativity model fits the data better. Investigating the molecular mechanism underlying hotspot formation, we have found that hotspots are significantly smaller than a Golgi subdomain positive for scaffolding protein AKAP450, which is thought to recruit GDMT nucleation factors. We have further probed potential roles of known GDMT-promoting molecules, including γ-TuRC-mediated nucleation activator (γ-TuNA) domain-containing proteins and MT stabilizer CLASPs. While both γ-TuNA inhibition and lack of CLASPs resulted in drastically decreased GDMT nucleation, computational modeling revealed that only γ-TuNA inhibition suppressed hotspot formation. We conclude that hotspots require γ-TuNA activity, which facilitates clustered GDMT nucleation at distinct Golgi sites. PMID:28931596

Sister Lab Program Prospective Partner Nuclear Profile: Indonesia

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

Bissani, M; Tyson, S

2006-12-14

Indonesia has participated in cooperative technical programs with the IAEA since 1957, and has cooperated with regional partners in all of the traditional areas where nuclear science is employed: in medicine, public health (such as insect control and eradication programs), agriculture (e.g. development of improved varieties of rice), and the gas and oil industries. Recently, Indonesia has contributed significantly to the Reduced Enrichment Research and Training Reactor (RERTR) Program by conducting experiments to confirm the feasibility of Mo-99 production using high-density low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel, a primary goal of the RERTR Program. Indonesia's first research reactor, the TRIGA Markmore » II at Bandung, began operation in 1964 at 250 kW and was subsequently upgraded in 1971 to 1 MW and further upgraded in 2000 to 2 MW. This reactor was joined by another TRIGA Mark II, the 100-kW Kartini-PPNY at Yogyakarta, in 1979, and by the 30-MW G.A. Siwabessy multipurpose reactor in Serpong, which achieved criticality in July 1983. A 10-MW radioisotope production reactor, to be called the RPI-10, also was proposed for construction at Serpong in the late 1990s, but the project apparently was not carried out. In the five decades since its nuclear research program began, Indonesia has trained a cadre of scientific and technical staff who not only operate and conduct research with the current facilities, but also represent the nucleus of a skilled labor pool to support development of a nuclear power program. Although Indonesia's previous on-again, off-again consideration of nuclear power has not gotten very far in the past, it now appears that Indonesia again is giving serious consideration to beginning a national nuclear energy program. In June 2006, Research and Technology Minister Kusmayanto Kadiman said that his ministry was currently putting the necessary procedures in place to speed up the project to acquire a nuclear power plant, indicating that, ''We will need around five years to complete the project. If we can start the study, go to tender, and sign the contract for the project this year, the power plant could be on stream by 2011''. While this ambitious schedule may be a bit unrealistic, it suggests new momentum to move forward on the project. The favored site for the proposed plant is the Muria Peninsula, located on Java's north central coast.« less

Tritium Plasma Experiment Upgrade and Improvement of Surface Diagnostic Capabilities at STAR Facility for Enhancing Tritium and Nuclear PMI Sciences

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

Shimada, M.; Taylor, C. N.; Pawelko, R. J.

2016-04-01

The Tritium Plasma Experiment (TPE) is a unique high-flux linear plasma device that can handle beryllium, tritium, and neutron-irradiated plasma facing materials, and is the only existing device dedicated to directly study tritium retention and permeation in neutron-irradiated materials with tritium [M. Shimada et.al., Rev. Sci. Instru. 82 (2011) 083503 and and M. Shimada, et.al., Nucl. Fusion 55 (2015) 013008]. The plasma-material-interaction (PMI) determines a boundary condition for diffusing tritium into bulk PFCs, and the tritium PMI is crucial for enhancing fundamental sciences that dictate tritium fuel cycles and safety and are high importance to an FNSF and DEMO. Recentlymore » the TPE has undergone major upgrades in its electrical and control systems. New DC power supplies and a new control center enable remote plasma operations from outside of the contamination area for tritium, minimizing the possible exposure risk with tritium and beryllium. We discuss the electrical upgrade, enhanced operational safety, improved plasma performance, and development of optical spectrometer system. This upgrade not only improves operational safety of the worker, but also enhances plasma performance to better simulate extreme plasma-material conditions expected in ITER, Fusion Nuclear Science Facility (FNSF), and Demonstration reactor (DEMO). This work was prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, under the DOE Idaho Field Office contract number DE-AC07-05ID14517.« less

Structural analysis of the role of TPX2 in branching microtubule nucleation

PubMed Central

Thawani, Akanksha

2017-01-01

The mitotic spindle consists of microtubules (MTs), which are nucleated by the γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC). How the γ-TuRC gets activated at the right time and location remains elusive. Recently, it was uncovered that MTs nucleate from preexisting MTs within the mitotic spindle, which requires the protein TPX2, but the mechanism basis for TPX2 action is unknown. Here, we investigate the role of TPX2 in branching MT nucleation. We establish the domain organization of Xenopus laevis TPX2 and define the minimal TPX2 version that stimulates branching MT nucleation, which we find is unrelated to TPX2’s ability to nucleate MTs in vitro. Several domains of TPX2 contribute to its MT-binding and bundling activities. However, the property necessary for TPX2 to induce branching MT nucleation is contained within newly identified γ-TuRC nucleation activator motifs. Separation-of-function mutations leave the binding of TPX2 to γ-TuRC intact, whereas branching MT nucleation is abolished, suggesting that TPX2 may activate γ-TuRC to promote branching MT nucleation. PMID:28264915

Process Design and Economics for the Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Hydrocarbon Fuels: Thermochemical Research Pathways with In Situ and Ex Situ Upgrading of Fast Pyrolysis Vapors

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

Dutta, Abhijit; Sahir, A. H.; Tan, Eric

This report was developed as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office’s efforts to enable the development of technologies for the production of infrastructure-compatible, cost-competitive liquid hydrocarbon fuels from biomass. Specifically, this report details two conceptual designs based on projected product yields and quality improvements via catalyst development and process integration. It is expected that these research improvements will be made within the 2022 timeframe. The two conversion pathways detailed are (1) in situ and (2) ex situ upgrading of vapors produced from the fast pyrolysis of biomass. While the base case conceptual designs and underlying assumptionsmore » outline performance metrics for feasibility, it should be noted that these are only two of many other possibilities in this area of research. Other promising process design options emerging from the research will be considered for future techno-economic analysis. Both the in situ and ex situ conceptual designs, using the underlying assumptions, project MFSPs of approximately $3.5/gallon gasoline equivalent (GGE). The performance assumptions for the ex situ process were more aggressive with higher distillate (diesel-range) products. This was based on an assumption that more favorable reaction chemistry (such as coupling) can be made possible in a separate reactor where, unlike in an in situ upgrading reactor, one does not have to deal with catalyst mixing with biomass char and ash, which pose challenges to catalyst performance and maintenance. Natural gas was used for hydrogen production, but only when off gases from the process was not sufficient to meet the needs; natural gas consumption is insignificant in both the in situ and ex situ base cases. Heat produced from the burning of char, coke, and off-gases allows for the production of surplus electricity which is sold to the grid allowing a reduction of approximately 5¢/GGE in the MFSP.« less

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

McCormick, Robert L.; Baldwin, Robert M.; Arbogast, Stephen

Fast pyrolysis is heating on the order of 1000 degrees C/s in the absence of oxygen to 40-600 degrees C, which causes decomposition of the biomass. Liquid product yield from biomass can be as much as 80% of starting dry weight and contains up to 75% of the biomass energy content. Other products are gases, primarily carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane, as well as solid char and ash. Residence time in the reactor is only 0.5-2 s so that relatively small, low-capital-cost reactors can be used. The low capital cost combined with greenhouse gas emission reductions relative to petroleummore » fuels of 50-95% makes pyrolysis an attractive process. The pyrolysis liquids have been investigated as a refinery feedstock and as stand-alone fuels. Utilization of raw pyrolysis oil has proven challenging. The organic fraction is highly corrosive because of its high organic acid content. High water content lowers the net heating value and can increase corrosivity. It can be poorly soluble in petroleum or petroleum products and can readily absorb water. Distillation residues can be as high as 50%, viscosity can be high, oils can exhibit poor stability in storage, and they can contain suspended solids. The ignition quality of raw pyrolysis oils is poor, with cetane number estimates ranging from 0 to 35, but more likely to be in the lower end of that range. While the use of raw pyrolysis oils in certain specific applications with specialized combustion equipment may be possible, raw oils must be significantly upgraded for use in on-highway spark-ignition (SI) and compression-ignition (CI) engines. Upgrading approaches most often involve catalytic hydrodeoxygenation, one of a class of reactions known as hydrotreating or hydroprocessing. This chapter discusses the properties of raw and upgraded pyrolysis oils, as well as the potential for integrating biomass pyrolysis with a petroleum refinery to significantly reduce the hydroprocessing cost.« less

Effects of 8-Year Treatment of Long-Acting Testosterone Undecanoate on Metabolic Parameters, Urinary Symptoms, Bone Mineral Density, and Sexual Function in Men With Late-Onset Hypogonadism.

PubMed

Permpongkosol, Sompol; Khupulsup, Kalayanee; Leelaphiwat, Supatra; Pavavattananusorn, Sarawan; Thongpradit, Supranee; Petchthong, Thanom

2016-08-01

The long-term effects of long-acting testosterone undecanoate (TU) and androgen receptor CAG repeat lengths in Thai men with late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) have not been reported. To analyze the 8-year follow-up effects of intramuscular TU therapy on metabolic parameters, urinary symptoms, bone mineral density, and sexual function and investigate CAG repeat lengths in men with LOH. We reviewed the medical records of 428 men with LOH who had been treated with TU and 5 patients were diagnosed with prostate cancer during TU therapy. There were 120 patients (mean age = 65.6 ± 8.9 years) who had 5 to 8 years of continuous TU supplementation and sufficiently completed records for analysis. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood and the CAG repeat region was amplified by polymerase chain reaction. Fragment analysis, sequencing, electropherography, and chromatography were performed. The main outcome measure was dynamic parameter changes during testosterone supplementation. TU did not improve all obesity parameters. A statistically significant decrease was found in waist circumference, percentage of body fat, glycated hemoglobin, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and International Prostate Symptom Score (P < .05). TU did not produce differences in body mass index, high-density lipoprotein, triglyceride, or the Aging Male Symptoms score from baseline. However, a statistically significant increase was found in the level of testosterone, prostate-specific antigen, hematocrit, International Index of Erectile Function score, and vertebral and femoral bone mineral density (P < .05). No major adverse cardiovascular events or prostate cancer occurred during this study. The CAG repeat length was 14 to 28 and the median CAG length was 22. There was no association between CAG repeat length and any of the anthropometric measurements. Long-term TU treatment in men with LOH for up to 8 years appears to be safe, tolerable, and effective in correcting obesity parameters. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biotoxicity assessment and toxicity mechanism on coal gasification wastewater (CGW): A comparative analysis of effluent from different treatment processes.

PubMed

Ma, Weiwei; Han, Yuxing; Xu, Chunyan; Han, Hongjun; Zhu, Hao; Li, Kun; Zheng, Mengqi

2018-05-04

Even though coal gasification wastewater (CGW) treated by various biochemical treatment processes generally met the national discharge standard, its potential biotoxicity was still unknown. Therefore, in this study, bioassay with Tetrahymena thermophila (T. thermophila) was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the variation of biotoxicity in raw CGW and the treated effluent from lab-scale micro-electrolysis integrated with biological reactor (MEBR), single iron-carbon micro-electrolysis (ICME) and conventional activated sludge (CAS) processes. The results illustrated that raw CGW presented intensive acute toxicity with 24 h EC 50 value of 8.401% and toxic unit (TU) value of 11.90. Moreover, it performed significant cell membrane destruction and DNA damage even at 10% dilution concentration. The toxicant identification results revealed that multiple toxic polar compounds such as phenolic, heterocyclic and polycyclic aromatic compounds were the main contributors for biotoxicity. Furthermore, these compounds could accelerate oxidative stress, thereby inducing oxidative damage of cell membrane and DNA. As for treated effluent, TU value was decreased by 90.58% in MEBR process. An effective biotoxicity reduction was achieved in MEBR process owing to high removal efficiency in polar organic toxicants. In contrast, effluent from ICME and CAS processes presented relatively high acute toxicity and genotoxicity, because various heterocyclic and polycyclic aromatic compounds were difficult to be degraded in these processes. Therefore, it was suggested that MEBR was a potential and feasible process for improving CGW treatment and minimizing ecological risk. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Historically Speaking, "Tu" or "Vocus"?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maley, Catherine A.

1972-01-01

Comments on the usage of the second person pronouns of address ( tu" and vous") in French, and traces the usage from the fifteenth century to present day, reflecting social, religious, and political attitudes. (DS)

Engine System Model Development for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, Karl W.; Simpson, Steven P.

2006-01-01

In order to design, analyze, and evaluate conceptual Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) engine systems, an improved NTP design and analysis tool has been developed. The NTP tool utilizes the Rocket Engine Transient Simulation (ROCETS) system tool and many of the routines from the Enabler reactor model found in Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS). Improved non-nuclear component models and an external shield model were added to the tool. With the addition of a nearly complete system reliability model, the tool will provide performance, sizing, and reliability data for NERVA-Derived NTP engine systems. A new detailed reactor model is also being developed and will replace Enabler. The new model will allow more flexibility in reactor geometry and include detailed thermal hydraulics and neutronics models. A description of the reactor, component, and reliability models is provided. Another key feature of the modeling process is the use of comprehensive spreadsheets for each engine case. The spreadsheets include individual worksheets for each subsystem with data, plots, and scaled figures, making the output very useful to each engineering discipline. Sample performance and sizing results with the Enabler reactor model are provided including sensitivities. Before selecting an engine design, all figures of merit must be considered including the overall impacts on the vehicle and mission. Evaluations based on key figures of merit of these results and results with the new reactor model will be performed. The impacts of clustering and external shielding will also be addressed. Over time, the reactor model will be upgraded to design and analyze other NTP concepts with CERMET and carbide fuel cores.

Tritium in water vapor in the shallow unsaturated zone at the Amargosa Desert Research Site

USGS Publications Warehouse

Healy, Richard W.; Striegl, Robert G.; Michel, Robert L.; Prudic, David E.; Andraski, Brian J.; Morganwalp, David W.; Buxton, Herbert T.

1999-01-01

Samples of water vapor in soil gas were obtained at the U.S. Geological Survey's Amargosa Desert Research Site in 1997 and 1998 from a depth of 1.5 m (meters) within a 300 m by 300 m grid that lies immediately to the south and west of a low-level radioactive-waste disposal site. The gas samples were analyzed for tritium. Fifty-eight samples were collected in May 1997; 61 samples were collected in June 1998. Measured tritium concentrations ranged from 16 ± 9 TU (tritium units) to 36,900 ± 300 TU in 1997, and from 6 ± 6 TU to 37,360 ± 450 TU in 1998. Concentrations decreased from northeast to southwest across the grid. In general, there was very little difference in tritium concentrations between the two sampling periods.

Establishment and characterization of a novel uterine carcinosarcoma cell line, TU-ECS-1, with mutations of TP53 and KRAS.

PubMed

Chiba, Yohei; Sato, Seiya; Itamochi, Hiroaki; Suga, Yasuko; Fukagawa, Tomoyuki; Oumi, Nao; Oishi, Tetsuro; Harada, Tasuku; Sugai, Tamotsu; Sugiyama, Toru

2017-04-01

A new human uterine carcinosarcoma (UCS) cell line, TU-ECS-1, was established and characterized. The morphological appearance of the cultured cells was an insular of epithelial-like cells arranged in the form of a jigsaw puzzle and mesenchymal-like cells with a spindle-shaped or fibroblast-like morphology. A relatively high proliferation rate was observed with a doubling time of 18.2 h. The chromosome number ranged from 44 to 49 and had an extra chromosome 12 (trisomy 12). The respective half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of cisplatin, paclitaxel, and doxorubicin were 2.9 µM, 154 nM, and 219 ng/mL, respectively. Mutational analysis revealed that TU-ECS-1 cells have mutations of TP53 in exons 4, 6, and 8 and of KRAS at codon 12 (G12D) in exon 2, which is a mutation hot spot on this gene. Western blot analysis showed that p53 protein was overexpressed in TU-ECS-1 cells. Immunostaining of the cultured cells and in vivo tumors showed that the TU-ECS-1 cells and xenografts were positive for epithelial marker cytokeratin AE1/3 and mesenchymal marker vimentin. These results suggested that TU-ECS-1 cells might have both epithelial and mesenchymal characteristics. This cell line may be useful to study the carcinogenesis of UCS and contribute to the development of novel treatment strategies.

Fission yeast MOZART1/Mzt1 is an essential γ-tubulin complex component required for complex recruitment to the microtubule organizing center, but not its assembly

PubMed Central

Masuda, Hirohisa; Mori, Risa; Yukawa, Masashi; Toda, Takashi

2013-01-01

γ-Tubulin plays a universal role in microtubule nucleation from microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs) such as the animal centrosome and fungal spindle pole body (SPB). γ-Tubulin functions as a multiprotein complex called the γ-tubulin complex (γ-TuC), consisting of GCP1–6 (GCP1 is γ-tubulin). In fungi and flies, it has been shown that GCP1–3 are core components, as they are indispensable for γ-TuC complex assembly and cell division, whereas the other three GCPs are not. Recently a novel conserved component, MOZART1, was identified in humans and plants, but its precise functions remain to be determined. In this paper, we characterize the fission yeast homologue Mzt1, showing that it is essential for cell viability. Mzt1 is present in approximately equal stoichiometry with Alp4/GCP2 and localizes to all the MTOCs, including the SPB and interphase and equatorial MTOCs. Temperature-sensitive mzt1 mutants display varying degrees of compromised microtubule organization, exhibiting multiple defects during both interphase and mitosis. Mzt1 is required for γ-TuC recruitment, but not sufficient to localize to the SPB, which depends on γ-TuC integrity. Intriguingly, the core γ-TuC assembles in the absence of Mzt1. Mzt1 therefore plays a unique role within the γ-TuC components in attachment of this complex to the major MTOC site. PMID:23885124

An analytical method to screen for six thyreostatic drug residues in the thyroid gland and muscle tissues of food producing animals by liquid chromatography with ultraviolet absorption detection and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Asea, Philip E; MacNeil, James D; Boison, Joe O

2006-01-01

A method was developed and validated to screen for residues of the thyreostatic drugs, tapazole (TAP), mercaptobenzimidazole (MBI), thiouracil (TU), methylthiouracil (MTU), propylthiouracil (PrTU), and phenylthiouracil (PhTU) in bovine, equine, ovine, and porcine thyroid and muscle tissues at concentrations > or = 5 ng/g using 2-methoxy-mercaptobenzimidazole (MeMBI) and dimethylthiouracil (DMTU) as internal standards. In this method, the drugs were solvent extracted from thyroid and muscle tissue and cleaned up on an amino-propyl solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. The unretained fraction containing TAP and MBI and the internal standard, MeMBI, was collected as Fraction 1. The retained fraction containing TU, MTU, PrTU, PhTU, and the internal standard, DMTU, was eluted with 3% acetic acid-isopropanol as Fraction 2. Fraction 1 was further cleaned up on an alumina B SPE cartridge and analyzed by gradient elution on a C18 high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column with ultraviolet detection at wavelengths of 255 and 300 nm. Fraction 2 was taken to dryness, derivatized with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzo-2-furazan at pH 8, and analyzed by gradient elution on a C18 LC column with mass spectrometry (MS) detection. Any "presumptive positive" test results were submitted for further analysis by LC/MS/MS. The validated method was applied to the analysis of over 300 thyroid tissue samples.

Trim25 Is an RNA-Specific Activator of Lin28a/TuT4-Mediated Uridylation.

PubMed

Choudhury, Nila Roy; Nowak, Jakub S; Zuo, Juan; Rappsilber, Juri; Spoel, Steven H; Michlewski, Gracjan

2014-11-20

RNA binding proteins have thousands of cellular RNA targets and often exhibit opposite or passive molecular functions. Lin28a is a conserved RNA binding protein involved in pluripotency and tumorigenesis that was previously shown to trigger TuT4-mediated pre-let-7 uridylation, inhibiting its processing and targeting it for degradation. Surprisingly, despite binding to other pre-microRNAs (pre-miRNAs), only pre-let-7 is efficiently uridylated by TuT4. Thus, we hypothesized the existence of substrate-specific cofactors that stimulate Lin28a-mediated pre-let-7 uridylation or restrict its functionality on non-let-7 pre-miRNAs. Through RNA pull-downs coupled with quantitative mass spectrometry, we identified the E3 ligase Trim25 as an RNA-specific cofactor for Lin28a/TuT4-mediated uridylation. We show that Trim25 binds to the conserved terminal loop (CTL) of pre-let-7 and activates TuT4, allowing for more efficient Lin28a-mediated uridylation. These findings reveal that protein-modifying enzymes, only recently shown to bind RNA, can guide the function of canonical ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes in cis, thereby providing an additional level of specificity.

Artemisinin and Chinese Medicine as Tu Science.

PubMed

Fu, Jia-Chen

2017-09-01

The story of discovery of artemisinin highlights the diversity of scientific values across time and space. Resituating artemisinin research within a broader temporal framework allows us to understand how Chinese drugs like qinghao came to articulate a space for scientific experimentation and innovation through its embodiment of alternating clusters of meanings associated with tu and yang within scientific discourse. Tu science, which was associated with terms like native, Chinese, local, rustic, mass, and crude, articulated a radical vision of science in the service of socialist revolutionary ideals. Yang science, which signified foreign, Western, elite, and professional, tended to bear the hallmarks of professionalism, transnational networks in education and training, and an emphasis on basic or foundational research. With respect to medical research, the case of artemisinin highlights how the constitution of socialist science as an interplay of tu and yang engendered different scientific values and parameters for scientific endeavor. Modern medical research in Maoist China could harness the productive energies of mass participation to technical expertise in its investigations of Chinese drugs, and under the banner of tu science, it became possible and scientifically legitimate to research Chinese drugs in ways that had previously provoked resistance and controversy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

RNA-Seq reveals virus–virus and virus–plant interactions in nature

PubMed Central

Kamitani, Mari; Nagano, Atsushi J.; Honjo, Mie N.; Kudoh, Hiroshi

2016-01-01

Abstract As research on plant viruses has focused mainly on crop diseases, little is known about these viruses in natural environments. To understand the ecology of viruses in natural systems, comprehensive information on virus–virus and virus–host interactions is required. We applied RNA-Seq to plants from a natural population of Arabidopsis halleri subsp. gemmifera to simultaneously determine the presence/absence of all sequence-reported viruses, identify novel viruses and quantify the host transcriptome. By introducing the criteria of read number and genome coverage, we detected infections by Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV), Cucumber mosaic virus and Brassica yellows virus. Active TuMV replication was observed by ultramicroscopy. De novo assembly further identified a novel partitivirus, Arabidopsis halleri partitivirus 1. Interestingly, virus reads reached a maximum level that was equivalent to that of the host's total mRNA, although asymptomatic infection was common. AhgAGO2, a key gene in host defence systems, was upregulated in TuMV-infected plants. Multiple infection was frequent in TuMV-infected leaves, suggesting that TuMV facilitates multiple infection, probably by suppressing host RNA silencing. Revealing hidden plant–virus interactions in nature can enhance our understanding of biological interactions and may have agricultural applications. PMID:27549115

Therapeutic ultrasound suppresses neuropathic pain and upregulation of substance P and neurokinin-1 receptor in rats after peripheral nerve injury.

PubMed

Chen, Yu-Wen; Tzeng, Jann-Inn; Huang, Po-Ching; Hung, Ching-Hsia; Shao, Dong-Zi; Wang, Jhi-Joung

2015-01-01

We studied the mechanisms and impact of therapeutic ultrasound (TU) for pain caused by nerve injury. TU began on post-operative day 5 (POD5) and then continued daily for the next 22 d. Sensitivity to thermal and mechanical stimuli and levels of neurokinin-1 receptor, substance P, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 in the sciatic nerve were examined. On POD7, chronic constriction injury rats undergoing TU at an intensity of 1 W/cm(2), but not 0.25 or 0.5 W/cm(2), had increases in both the mechanical withdrawal threshold and the thermal withdrawal latency compared with the chronic constriction injury group. Moreover, chronic constriction injury rats exhibited upregulation of neurokinin-1 receptor, substance P, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 in the sciatic nerve on PODs 14 and 28, whereas TU inhibited their increased expression. We suggest that the efficacy of TU is dependent on its ability to limit the upregulation of neurokinin-1 receptor, substance P, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 around the injured sciatic nerve. Copyright © 2015 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Update on Development of Mesh Generation Algorithms in MeshKit

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

Jain, Rajeev; Vanderzee, Evan; Mahadevan, Vijay

2015-09-30

MeshKit uses a graph-based design for coding all its meshing algorithms, which includes the Reactor Geometry (and mesh) Generation (RGG) algorithms. This report highlights the developmental updates of all the algorithms, results and future work. Parallel versions of algorithms, documentation and performance results are reported. RGG GUI design was updated to incorporate new features requested by the users; boundary layer generation and parallel RGG support were added to the GUI. Key contributions to the release, upgrade and maintenance of other SIGMA1 libraries (CGM and MOAB) were made. Several fundamental meshing algorithms for creating a robust parallel meshing pipeline in MeshKitmore » are under development. Results and current status of automated, open-source and high quality nuclear reactor assembly mesh generation algorithms such as trimesher, quadmesher, interval matching and multi-sweeper are reported.« less

Testbeam results of irradiated ams H18 HV-CMOS pixel sensor prototypes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benoit, M.; Braccini, S.; Casse, G.; Chen, H.; Chen, K.; Di Bello, F. A.; Ferrere, D.; Golling, T.; Gonzalez-Sevilla, S.; Iacobucci, G.; Kiehn, M.; Lanni, F.; Liu, H.; Meng, L.; Merlassino, C.; Miucci, A.; Muenstermann, D.; Nessi, M.; Okawa, H.; Perić, I.; Rimoldi, M.; Ristić, B.; Barrero Pinto, M. Vicente; Vossebeld, J.; Weber, M.; Weston, T.; Wu, W.; Xu, L.; Zaffaroni, E.

2018-02-01

HV-CMOS pixel sensors are a promising option for the tracker upgrade of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, as well as for other future tracking applications in which large areas are to be instrumented with radiation-tolerant silicon pixel sensors. We present results of testbeam characterisations of the 4th generation of Capacitively Coupled Pixel Detectors (CCPDv4) produced with the ams H18 HV-CMOS process that have been irradiated with different particles (reactor neutrons and 18 MeV protons) to fluences between 1× 1014 and 5× 1015 1-MeV- neq. The sensors were glued to ATLAS FE-I4 pixel readout chips and measured at the CERN SPS H8 beamline using the FE-I4 beam telescope. Results for all fluences are very encouraging with all hit efficiencies being better than 97% for bias voltages of 85 V. The sample irradiated to a fluence of 1× 1015 neq—a relevant value for a large volume of the upgraded tracker—exhibited 99.7% average hit efficiency. The results give strong evidence for the radiation tolerance of HV-CMOS sensors and their suitability as sensors for the experimental HL-LHC upgrades and future large-area silicon-based tracking detectors in high-radiation environments.

Upgrade of Long-chain Hydrocarbons by Low Pressure Oxygen Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patiño, Pedro; Méndez, Bernardo; Gambús, Gloria

1998-10-01

Huge known heavy oil deposits in many countries remain largely untapped. The API gravity of crude oils has been decreasing by about 0.17% per year, this meaning that there will be an urgent need for economically viable new technologies to upgrade the heavy oil for the refineries. The same applies to the residues of several refineries processes. This work will present the results of the application of a plasma process to upgrade long-chain hydrocarbons, namely, tridecane, tetradecane, and squalane (shark oil). They are high boiling point alkanes, the latter being a C_30H_62 with six methyl groups attached to various carbon positions on the chain. An oxygen plasma, created by a high voltage glow discharge, reached the low vapor pressure surface of each liquid hydrocarbon. This (2 mL) was cooled down to temperatures close to its freezing point in a glass reactor. Applied power was 24 W for times of reaction between 30 and 60 minutes and oxygen pressures from 0.1 to 0.4 mbar. Products were analyzed by IR and NMR spectroscopies. The ^1H and ^13C NMR spectra showed that the most important products were secondary alcohols and the corresponding ketones, for tridecane and tetradecane. For squalane, tertiary alcohols were first. Total conversions are tipically 90 to 100%

Molecular insight into γ-γ tubulin lateral interactions within the γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suri, Charu; Hendrickson, Triscia W.; Joshi, Harish C.; Naik, Pradeep Kumar

2014-09-01

γ-tubulin is essential for the nucleation and organization of mitotic microtubules in dividing cells. It is localized at the microtubule organizing centers and mitotic spindle fibres. The most well accepted hypothesis for the initiation of microtubule polymerization is that α/β-tubulin dimers add onto a γ-tubulin ring complex (γTuRC), in which adjacent γ-tubulin subunits bind to the underlying non-tubulin components of the γTuRC. This template thus determines the resulting microtubule lattice. In this study we use molecular modelling and molecular dynamics simulations, combined with computational MM-PBSA/MM-GBSA methods, to determine the extent of the lateral atomic interaction between two adjacent γ-tubulins within the γTuRC. To do this we simulated a γ-γ homodimer for 10 ns and calculated the ensemble average of binding free energies of -107.76 kcal/mol by the MM-PBSA method and of -87.12 kcal/mol by the MM-GBSA method. These highly favourable binding free energy values imply robust lateral interactions between adjacent γ-tubulin subunits in addition to their end-interactions longitudinally with other proteins of γTuRC. Although the functional reconstitution of γ-TuRC subunits and their stepwise in vitro assembly from purified components is not yet feasible, we nevertheless wanted to recognize hotspot amino acids responsible for key γ-γ interactions. Our free energy decomposition data from converting a compendium of amino acid residues identified an array of hotspot amino acids. A subset of such mutants can be expressed in vivo in living yeast. Because γTuRC is important for the growth of yeast, we could test whether this subset of the hotspot mutations support growth of yeast. Consistent with our model, γ-tubulin mutants that fall into our identified hotspot do not support yeast growth.

Effector region of the translation elongation factor EF-Tu.GTP complex stabilizes an orthoester acid intermediate structure of aminoacyl-tRNA in a ternary complex.

PubMed Central

Förster, C; Limmer, S; Zeidler, W; Sprinzl, M

1994-01-01

tRNA(Val) from Escherichia coli was aminoacylated with [1-13C]valine and its complex with Thermus thermophilus elongation factor EF-Tu.GTP was analyzed by 13C NMR spectroscopy. The results suggest that the aminoacyl residue of the valyl-tRNA in ternary complex with bacterial EF-Tu and GTP is not attached to tRNA by a regular ester bond to either a 2'- or 3'-hydroxyl group; instead, an intermediate orthoester acid structure with covalent linkage to both vicinal hydroxyls of the terminal adenosine-76 is formed. Mutation of arginine-59 located in the effector region of EF-Tu, a conserved residue in protein elongation factors and the alpha subunits of heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins (G proteins), abolishes the stabilization of the orthoester acid structure of aminoacyl-tRNA. PMID:8183898

Acceptance Test Data for Candidate AGR-5/6/7 TRISO Particle Batches BWXT Coater Batches 93165 93172 Defective IPyC Fraction and Pyrocarbon Anisotropy

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

Helmreich, Grant W.; Hunn, John D.; Skitt, Darren J.

2017-03-01

Coated particle fuel batches J52O-16-93165, 93166, 93168, 93169, 93170, and 93172 were produced by Babcock and Wilcox Technologies (BWXT) for possible selection as fuel for the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification (AGR) Program’s AGR-5/6/7 irradiation test in the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). Some of these batches may alternately be used as demonstration coated particle fuel for other experiments. Each batch was coated in a 150-mm-diameter production-scale fluidized-bed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) furnace. Tristructural isotropic (TRISO) coatings were deposited on 425-μm-nominal-diameter spherical kernels from BWXT lot J52R-16-69317 containing a mixture of 15.5%-enriched uranium carbide andmore » uranium oxide (UCO). The TRISO coatings consisted of four consecutive CVD layers: a ~50% dense carbon buffer layer with 100-μm-nominal thickness, a dense inner pyrolytic carbon (IPyC) layer with 40-μm-nominal thickness, a silicon carbide (SiC) layer with 35-μm-nominal thickness, and a dense outer pyrolytic carbon (OPyC) layer with 40-μmnominal thickness. The TRISO-coated particle batches were sieved to upgrade the particles by removing over-sized and under-sized material, and the upgraded batches were designated by appending the letter A to the end of the batch number (e.g., 93165A).« less

The direct liquefaction proof of concept program

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

Comolli, A.G.; Lee, L.K.; Pradhan, V.R.

1995-12-31

The goal of the Proof of Concept (POC) Program is to develop Direct Coal Liquefaction and associated transitional technologies towards commercial readiness for economically producing premium liquid fuels from coal in an environmentally acceptable manner. The program focuses on developing the two-stage liquefaction (TSL) process by utilizing geographically strategic feedstocks, commercially feasible catalysts, new prototype equipment, and testing co-processing or alternate feedstocks and improved process configurations. Other high priority objectives include dispersed catalyst studies, demonstrating low rank coal liquefaction without solids deposition, improving distillate yields on a unit reactor volume basis, demonstrating ebullated bed operations while obtaining scale-up data, demonstratingmore » optimum catalyst consumption using new concepts (e.g. regeneration, cascading), producing premium products through on-line hydrotreating, demonstrating improved hydrogen utilization for low rank coals using novel heteroatom removal methods, defining and demonstrating two-stage product properties for upgrading; demonstrating efficient and economic solid separation methods, examining the merits of integrated coal cleaning, demonstrating co-processing, studying interactions between the preheater and first and second-stage reactors, improving process operability by testing and incorporating advanced equipment and instrumentation, and demonstrating operation with alternate coal feedstocks. During the past two years major PDU Proof of Concept runs were completed. POC-1 with Illinois No. 6 coal and POC-2 with Black Thunder sub-bituminous coal. Results from these operations are continuing under review and the products are being further refined and upgraded. This paper will update the results from these operations and discuss future plans for the POC program.« less

Thermodynamic modelling of an onsite methanation reactor for upgrading producer gas from commercial small scale biomass gasifiers.

PubMed

Vakalis, S; Malamis, D; Moustakas, K

2018-06-15

Small scale biomass gasifiers have the advantage of having higher electrical efficiency in comparison to other conventional small scale energy systems. Nonetheless, a major drawback of small scale biomass gasifiers is the relatively poor quality of the producer gas. In addition, several EU Member States are seeking ways to store the excess energy that is produced from renewables like wind power and hydropower. A recent development is the storage of energy by electrolysis of water and the production of hydrogen in a process that is commonly known as "power-to-gas". The present manuscript proposes an onsite secondary reactor for upgrading producer gas by mixing it with hydrogen in order to initiate methanation reactions. A thermodynamic model has been developed for assessing the potential of the proposed methanation process. The model utilized input parameters from a representative small scale biomass gasifier and molar ratios of hydrogen from 1:0 to 1:4.1. The Villar-Cruise-Smith algorithm was used for minimizing the Gibbs free energy. The model returned the molar fractions of the permanent gases, the heating values and the Wobbe Index. For mixtures of hydrogen and producer gas on a 1:0.9 ratio the increase of the heating value is maximized with an increase of 78%. For ratios higher than 1:3, the Wobbe index increases significantly and surpasses the value of 30 MJ/Nm 3 . Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preliminary Energy Deposition Calculations for GRIST-2 Tests in the TREAT Upgrade

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

Olson, W. O.

1978-03-01

Preliminary studies have been made to estimate the energy deposition in GRIST-2 tests irradiated in the proposed TREAT Upgrade reactor. The objective of the GRIST-2 project is to test GCFR (gas cooled fast reactor) fuel under conditions of hypothetical core disruptive accidents (HCDA). Test requirements are (1) an energy deposition in the test of approximately 2500 J/g or higher, (2) a pin-to-pin variation in energy deposition of less than 10% and (3) the variation in the energy deposition across any pin (at a given axial position) should be less than 10%. Calculations performed by EG&G Idaho were made for 7more » and 37-pin tests using one-dimensional transport theory. These yield average energy deposition rates in the test at the axial peak which are in the 5000-5500 J/g range for the 37-pin test and are in the 8500-9000 J/g range for the 7-pin test. These values are obtained with a cadmium thermal neutron filter (TNF) surrounding the test. This hardens the flux to meet the third requirement. The central test pin is fully enriched UO{sub 2}, with the outer pins having lower enrichments to satisfy requirement 2. Addition of the TNF reduces the energy deposition by about 10%. The results in the above calculations are also compared with the Monte Carlo results computed by ANL-West personnel.« less

Influence of biomass pretreatment on upgrading of bio-oil: Comparison of dry and hydrothermal torrefaction.

PubMed

Xu, Xiwei; Tu, Ren; Sun, Yan; Li, Zhiyu; Jiang, Enchen

2018-08-01

The dry and hydrothermal torrefacation of on Camellia Shell (CS) was carried on three different devices- batch autoclave, quartz tube, and auger reactor. The torrefied bio-char products were investigated via TGA, elemental analysis and industrial analysis. Moreover, the pyrolysis and catalytic pyrolysis properties of torrefied bio-char were investigated. The results showed torrefaction significantly influenced the content of hemicellulose in CS. And hydrothermal torrefaction via batch autoclave and dry torrefaction via auger reactors promoted the hemicellulose to strip from the CS. Quartz tube and auger reactor were beneficial for devolatilization and improving heat value of torrefied bio-char. The result showed that the main products were phenols and acids. And hydrothermal torrefaction pretreatment effectively reduced the acids content from 34.5% to 13.2% and enriched the content of phenols (from 27.23% to 60.05%) in bio-oil due to the decreasing of hemicellulos in torrefied bio-char. And the catalyst had slight influence on the bio-oil distribution. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Immunocytochemistry suggests that the prevalence of a sub-type of beta-proteins determines the hardness in the epidermis of the hard-shelled turtle.

PubMed

Alibardi, Lorenzo

2014-01-01

The corneous layer of the epidermis in hard-shelled turtles largely derives from the accumulation of beta-proteins as indicated by microscopic, in situ hybridization, and immunocytochemical and Western blotting analysis. The expression of mRNAs of one of the most common type of beta-proteins shows higher expression in upper spinosus and pre-corneous keratinocytes of growing scutes. Two beta-proteins of 14-16 kDa, indicated as Tu2 and Tu17 and representing two subtypes of beta-proteins co-accumulate in the thick corneous layer of the epidermis in hard-shelled turtle. The two beta-proteins apparently mix in differentiating and mature corneocytes although Tu2 appears more prevalent than Tu17. The specific role of the different subtypes in the formation of the hard corneous material of the carapace and plastron is not clear. It is hypothesized that the relative amount of beta-proteins belonging to the two subclasses in relation to the alpha-keratin meshwork present in keratinocytes contributes to the formation of a variably resistant and inflexible corneous layer. Tu17 may have a more globular structure than Tu2 and is likely present in denser areas of the corneous layer containing also alpha-keratin. The increase of cysteine-glycine-rich beta-proteins in the matrix located among alpha-keratin filaments may allow the formation of a hard corneous material, probably through increase of cross-bridge formation and hydrophobicity. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

Aranda, J. I.; Ramirez-Zavaleta, F.; Tututi, E. S.

The rare top quark couplings tu{sub i{gamma}} and tu{sub i{gamma}{gamma}} (u{sub i}=u, c) induced at the one-loop level by a flavor violating tu{sub i}H vertex are studied within the context of an effective Yukawa sector that incorporates SU{sub L}(2)xU{sub Y}(1)-invariant operators of up to dimension six. Data on the recently observed D{sup 0}-D{sup 0} mixing are employed to constrain the tu{sub i}H vertex, which is then used to predict the t{yields}u{sub i}H, t{yields}u{sub i{gamma}}, and t{yields}u{sub i{gamma}{gamma}} decays, as well as the {gamma}{gamma}{yields}tu{sub i}+tu{sub i} reaction in the context of the ILC. It is found that the t{yields}cH and t{yields}c{gamma}{gamma}more » decays can reach sizable branching ratios as high as 5x10{sup -3} and 10{sup -4}, respectively. As for the t{yields}c{gamma} decay, it can have a branching ratio of 5x10{sup -8} that is about 6 orders of magnitude larger than the standard model prediction, which, however, is still very small to be detected. As for tc production, it is found that, due to the presence of a resonant effect in the convoluted cross section {sigma}(e{sup +}e{sup -{yields}{gamma}{gamma}{yields}}tc+tc), about (0.5-2.7)x10{sup 3} tc events may be produced at the ILC for a value of the Higgs mass near to the top mass.« less

Tunable Light-Guide Image Processing Snapshot Spectrometer (TuLIPSS) for Earth and Moon Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tkaczyk, T. S.; Alexander, D.; Luvall, J. C.; Wang, Y.; Dwight, J. G.; Pawlowsk, M. E.; Howell, B.; Tatum, P. F.; Stoian, R.-I.; Cheng, S.; Daou, A.

2018-02-01

A tunable light-guide image processing snapshot spectrometer (TuLIPSS) for Earth science research and observation is being developed through a NASA instrument incubator project with Rice University and Marshall Space Flight Center.

TU Berlin Rover Family for Terrestrial Testing of Complex Planetary Mission Scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kryza, L.; Brieß, K.

2018-04-01

The TU Berlin has developed a family of planetary rovers for educational use and research activities. The paper will introduce these cost-effective systems, which can be used for analogue mission demonstration on Earth.

Implementation of ALARA at the design stage of Nuclear Power Plants

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

Brissaud, A.; Ridoux, P.

1995-03-01

In the 1970s, Electricite de France (EdF) had limited knowledge and experience of pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Electricity generation by nuclear units was oriented towards gas-graphite reactors, even though EdF had a share in the PWR unit of CHOOZ A-1 (250 MWe, later upgraded to 320 MWe). Some facts about the origin of doses in that king of reactor were known to the research and development (R&D) support staff of EdF, which mainly comprises the French Atomic Commission (CEA), but only a few of EdF`s engineers were aware of these facts. One has to bear in mind that CHOOZ A-1more » only went critical in April 1967 and was officially connected to the grid in May 1970 after some important problems had been solved. Meanwhile, the nuclear program was launched at full speed, beginning with the order for FESSENHEIM 1 in 1970, FESSENHEIM 2 and BUGEY 2 and 3 in 1971. TIHANGE 1, in which EdF had a share, went on-line in September 1975. Also, supposing that EdF had had such knowledge and experience, it is quite evident that it would have been very difficult to modify the lay-out inside the reactor building.« less

New PANDA Tests to Investigate Effects of Light Gases on Passive Safety Systems

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

Paladino, D.; Auban, O.; Candreia, P.

The large- scale thermal-hydraulic PANDA facility (located at PSI in Switzerland), has been used over the last few years for investigating different passive decay- heat removal systems and containment phenomena for the next generation of light water reactors (Simplified Boiling Water Reactor: SBWR; European Simplified Boiling Water Reactor: ESBWR; Siedewasserreaktor: SWR-1000). Currently, as part of the European Commission 5. EURATOM Framework Programme project 'Testing and Enhanced Modelling of Passive Evolutionary Systems Technology for Containment Cooling' (TEMPEST), a new series of tests is being planned in the PANDA facility to experimentally investigate the distribution of non-condensable gases inside the containment andmore » their effect on the performance of the 'Passive Containment Cooling System' (PCCS). Hydrogen release caused by the metal-water reaction in the case of a postulated severe accident will be simulated in PANDA by injecting helium into the reactor pressure vessel. In order to provide suitable data for Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) code assessment and improvement, the instrumentation in PANDA has been upgraded for the new tests. In the present paper, a detailed discussion is given of the new PANDA tests to be performed to investigate the effects of light gas on passive safety systems. The tests are scheduled for the first half of the year 2002. (authors)« less

Radiogenic lead as coolant, reflector and moderator in advanced fast reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulikov, E. G.

2017-01-01

Main purpose of the study is assessing reasonability for recovery, production and application of radiogenic lead as a coolant, neutron moderator and neutron reflector in advanced fast reactors. When performing the study, thermal, physical and neutron-physical properties of natural and radiogenic lead were analyzed. The following results were obtained: 1. Radiogenic lead with high content of isotope 208Pb can be extracted from thorium or mixed thorium-uranium ores because 208Pb is a final product of 232Th natural decay chain. 2. The use of radiogenic lead with high 208Pb content in advanced fast reactors and accelerator-driven systems (ADS) makes it possible to improve significantly their neutron-physical and thermal-hydraulic parameters. 3. The use of radiogenic lead with high 208Pb content in advanced fast reactors as a coolant opens the possibilities for more intense fuel breeding and for application of well-known oxide fuel instead of the promising but not tested enough nitride fuel under the same safety parameters. 4. The use of radiogenic lead with high 208Pb content in ADS as a coolant can upgrade substantially the level of neutron flux in the ADS blanket, which enables effective transmutation of radioactive wastes with low cross-sections of radiative neutron capture.

Understanding and Assessing Risk of Intrastate Conflict: Human Development Theory and Practice

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-04-01

R es ou rc es O pp or tu ni ty S ec ur ity V io le nc e Le ve l To ta l R is k R es...ou rc es O pp or tu ni ty S ec ur ity V io le nc e Le ve l To ta l R is k R es ou rc es O pp or tu ni ty S ec ur ity V io le nc e Le ve...l To ta l R is k R es ou rc es O pp or

Summaries of Papers Presented at the Short Wavelength Coherent Radiation: Generation and Applications Topical Meeting Held in Cape Cod, Massachusetts on September 26-29, 1988

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-01

characteristics of the plasma. (p. 75) xi Hx transition at 54.19 A is reported. (p. 86) TuC20 Quantum Mechanical Interference in Four-Wave TuC28 Gain Measurement...E.MixingtK.ctivH.iBaldwinenAustralean Ntwoiofenal untue Miura. Y. Kitagawa, K. Nishihara, Y. Kato. H. Nishimura. C. and destructive interference between...Incidence Optics for Synchrotron TuC25 Spectra of Lead, Bismuth, Thorium, and Uranium X-Ray Lithography , R. J. Rosser, P. M. J. H. Wormell, R

Trim25 Is an RNA-Specific Activator of Lin28a/TuT4-Mediated Uridylation

PubMed Central

Choudhury, Nila Roy; Nowak, Jakub S.; Zuo, Juan; Rappsilber, Juri; Spoel, Steven H.; Michlewski, Gracjan

2014-01-01

Summary RNA binding proteins have thousands of cellular RNA targets and often exhibit opposite or passive molecular functions. Lin28a is a conserved RNA binding protein involved in pluripotency and tumorigenesis that was previously shown to trigger TuT4-mediated pre-let-7 uridylation, inhibiting its processing and targeting it for degradation. Surprisingly, despite binding to other pre-microRNAs (pre-miRNAs), only pre-let-7 is efficiently uridylated by TuT4. Thus, we hypothesized the existence of substrate-specific cofactors that stimulate Lin28a-mediated pre-let-7 uridylation or restrict its functionality on non-let-7 pre-miRNAs. Through RNA pull-downs coupled with quantitative mass spectrometry, we identified the E3 ligase Trim25 as an RNA-specific cofactor for Lin28a/TuT4-mediated uridylation. We show that Trim25 binds to the conserved terminal loop (CTL) of pre-let-7 and activates TuT4, allowing for more efficient Lin28a-mediated uridylation. These findings reveal that protein-modifying enzymes, only recently shown to bind RNA, can guide the function of canonical ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes in cis, thereby providing an additional level of specificity. PMID:25457611

SeqTU: A web server for identification of bacterial transcription units

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

Chen, Xin; Chou, Wen -Chi; Ma, Qin

A transcription unit (TU) consists of K ≥ 1 consecutive genes on the same strand of a bacterial genome that are transcribed into a single mRNA molecule under certain conditions. Their identification is an essential step in elucidation of transcriptional regulatory networks. We have recently developed a machine-learning method to accurately identify TUs from RNA-seq data, based on two features of the assembled RNA reads: the continuity and stability of RNA-seq coverage across a genomic region. While good performance was achieved by the method on Escherichia coli and Clostridium thermocellum, substantial work is needed to make the program generally applicablemore » to all bacteria, knowing that the program requires organism specific information. A web server, named SeqTU, was developed to automatically identify TUs with given RNA-seq data of any bacterium using a machine-learning approach. The server consists of a number of utility tools, in addition to TU identification, such as data preparation, data quality check and RNA-read mapping. SeqTU provides a user-friendly interface and automated prediction of TUs from given RNA-seq data. Furthermore, the predicted TUs are displayed intuitively using HTML format along with a graphic visualization of the prediction.« less

Expression of the mucus adhesion genes Mub and MapA, adhesion-like factor EF-Tu and bacteriocin gene plaA of Lactobacillus plantarum 423, monitored with real-time PCR.

PubMed

Ramiah, K; van Reenen, C A; Dicks, L M T

2007-05-30

Expression of the mucus adhesion genes Mub and MapA, adhesion-like factor EF-Tu and bacteriocin gene plaA by Lactobacillus plantarum 423, grown in the presence of bile, pancreatin and at low pH, was studied by real-time PCR. Mub, MapA and EF-Tu were up-regulated in the presence of mucus, proportional to increasing concentrations. Expression of MapA was up-regulated in the presence of 3.0 g/l bile and 3.0 g/l pancreatin at pH 6.5. Similar results were recorded in the presence of 10.0 g/l bile and 10.0 g/l pancreatin at pH 6.5. Expression of Mub was down-regulated in the presence of bile and pancreatin, whilst the expression of EF-Tu and plaA remained unchanged. Expression of Mub and MapA remained unchanged at pH 4.0, whilst expression of EF-Tu and plaA were up-regulated. Expression of MapA was down-regulated in the presence of 1.0 g/l l-cysteine HCl, suggesting that the gene is regulated by transcription attenuation that involves cysteine.

SeqTU: A web server for identification of bacterial transcription units

DOE PAGES

Chen, Xin; Chou, Wen -Chi; Ma, Qin; ...

2017-03-07

A transcription unit (TU) consists of K ≥ 1 consecutive genes on the same strand of a bacterial genome that are transcribed into a single mRNA molecule under certain conditions. Their identification is an essential step in elucidation of transcriptional regulatory networks. We have recently developed a machine-learning method to accurately identify TUs from RNA-seq data, based on two features of the assembled RNA reads: the continuity and stability of RNA-seq coverage across a genomic region. While good performance was achieved by the method on Escherichia coli and Clostridium thermocellum, substantial work is needed to make the program generally applicablemore » to all bacteria, knowing that the program requires organism specific information. A web server, named SeqTU, was developed to automatically identify TUs with given RNA-seq data of any bacterium using a machine-learning approach. The server consists of a number of utility tools, in addition to TU identification, such as data preparation, data quality check and RNA-read mapping. SeqTU provides a user-friendly interface and automated prediction of TUs from given RNA-seq data. Furthermore, the predicted TUs are displayed intuitively using HTML format along with a graphic visualization of the prediction.« less

The mitochondrial plasmid of the true slime mold Physarum polycephalum bypasses uniparental inheritance by promoting mitochondrial fusion.

PubMed

Sakurai, Rakusa; Nomura, Hideo; Moriyam, Yohsuke; Kawano, Shigeyuki

2004-08-01

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is inherited maternally in most eukaryotes. Linear mitochondrial plasmids in higher plants and fungi are also transmitted from the maternal parent to the progeny. However, mF, which is a mitochondrial linear plasmid of Physarum polycephalum, evades uniparental mitochondrial inheritance. We examined 36 myxamoebal strains of Physarum and isolated three novel mF+ strains (JE8, TU111, NG111) that harbored free mF plasmids. These strains were mated with the mF- strain KM88. Of the three mF- x mF+ crosses, only KM88 x JE8 displayed complete uniparental inheritance. However, in KM88 x TU111 and KM88 x NG111, the mtDNA of KM88 and mF of TU111 and NG111 were inherited by the plasmodia and showed recombination. For example, although the mtDNA of TU111 was eliminated, the mF of TU111 persisted and became inserted into the mtDNA of KM88, such that recombinant mtDNA represented 80% of the total mtDNA. The parental mitochondria fused to yield giant mitochondria with two or more mitochondrial nucleoids. The mF appears to exchange mitochondria from the recipient (paternal) to the donor (maternal) by promoting mitochondrial fusion.

Tritium resources available for fusion reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovari, M.; Coleman, M.; Cristescu, I.; Smith, R.

2018-02-01

The tritium required for ITER will be supplied from the CANDU production in Ontario, but while Ontario may be able to supply 8 kg for a DEMO fusion reactor in the mid-2050s, it will not be able to provide 10 kg at any realistic starting time. The tritium required to start DEMO will depend on advances in plasma fuelling efficiency, burnup fraction, and tritium processing technology. It is in theory possible to start up a fusion reactor with little or no tritium, but at an estimated cost of 2 billion per kilogram of tritium saved, it is not economically sensible. Some heavy water reactor tritium production scenarios with varying degrees of optimism are presented, with the assumption that only Canada, the Republic of Korea, and Romania make tritium available to the fusion community. Results for the tritium available for DEMO in 2055 range from zero to 30 kg. CANDU and similar heavy water reactors could in theory generate additional tritium in a number of ways: (a) adjuster rods containing lithium could be used, giving 0.13 kg per year per reactor; (b) a fuel bundle with a burnable absorber has been designed for CANDU reactors, which might be adapted for tritium production; (c) tritium production could be increased by 0.05 kg per year per reactor by doping the moderator with lithium-6. If a fusion reactor is started up around 2055, governments in Canada, Argentina, China, India, South Korea and Romania will have the opportunity in the years leading up to that to take appropriate steps: (a) build, refurbish or upgrade tritium extraction facilities; (b) extend the lives of heavy water reactors, or build new ones; (c) reduce tritium sales; (d) boost tritium production in the remaining heavy water reactors. All of the alternative production methods considered have serious economic and regulatory drawbacks, and the risk of diversion of tritium or lithium-6 would also be a major concern. There are likely to be serious problems with supplying tritium for future fusion reactors.

The AGHS at JET and preparations for a future DT campaign

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

Smith, R.; JET-EFDA, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon

2015-03-15

The Active Gas Handling System (AGHS) at JET is a unique facility enabling JET to perform reactor like, DT operations. As a future DT experimental campaign (DTE2) is scheduled for 2017 this paper provides a brief overview of the AGHS and a summary of ongoing work supporting the currently JET experimental campaign. In order to improve tritium accountancy a solid state based detector for tritium is being developed. Another important upgrade concerns tritium injection, 4 existing GIMs (Tritium Gas Introduction Module) will inject a mix of D and T rather than T{sub 2} in the divertor region rather than inmore » the torus mid plane enabling a far better control and variability of the introduction of tritium into the plasma. An overview of the scale of DTE2 is included as well as an example of some of the upgrades currently being undertaken to fully exploit the learning opportunities for ITER and DEMO DTE2 provides. (authors)« less

FOST 2 Upgrade with Hollow-Fiber CTA FO Module and Generation of Osmotic Agent for Microorganism Growth Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parodi, Jurek; Mangado, Jaione Romero; Stefanson, Ofir; Flynn, Michael; Shaw, Hali; Beeler, David

2016-01-01

FOST 2 is an integrated membrane system that incorporates a forward osmosis subsystem and a reverse osmosis subsystem working in series. It has been designed as a post treatment system to process the effluent from the Membrane Aerated Biological Reactor developed at NASA Johnson Space Center and Texas Tech University. Its function is to remove dissolved solids residual such as ammonia and suspended solids, as well as to provide a physical barrier to microbial and viral contamination. A tubular CTA membrane module from HTI and a flat-sheet lipid-base membrane module from Porifera were integrated and tested on FOST 2 in the past, using both a bioreactor's effluent and greywater as the feed solution. This paper documents the performance of FOST 2 after its upgrade with a hollow-fiber CTA membrane module from Toyobo, treating real black-water to generate the osmotic agent solution necessary to conduct growth studies of genetically engineered microorganism for the Synthetic Biological Membrane project.

Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES) Phase II Upgrade Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Emrich, William J.; Moran, Robert P.; Pearson, J. Bose

2013-01-01

To support the on-going nuclear thermal propulsion effort, a state-of-the-art non nuclear experimental test setup has been constructed to evaluate the performance characteristics of candidate fuel element materials and geometries in representative environments. The facility to perform this testing is referred to as the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environment Simulator (NTREES). This device can simulate the environmental conditions (minus the radiation) to which nuclear rocket fuel components will be subjected during reactor operation. Test articles mounted in the simulator are inductively heated in such a manner so as to accurately reproduce the temperatures and heat fluxes which would normally occur as a result of nuclear fission and would be exposed to flowing hydrogen. Initial testing of a somewhat prototypical fuel element has been successfully performed in NTREES and the facility has now been shutdown to allow for an extensive reconfiguration of the facility which will result in a significant upgrade in its capabilities. Keywords: Nuclear Thermal Propulsion, Simulator

Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS). Version 2.0: Program user's guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pelaccio, Dennis G.; Scheil, Christine M.; Petrosky, Lyman

1993-01-01

This Program User's Guide discusses the Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) engine system design features and capabilities modeled in the Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS): Version 2.0 program (referred to as NESS throughout the remainder of this document), as well as its operation. NESS was upgraded to include many new modeling capabilities not available in the original version delivered to NASA LeRC in Dec. 1991, NESS's new features include the following: (1) an improved input format; (2) an advanced solid-core NERVA-type reactor system model (ENABLER 2); (3) a bleed-cycle engine system option; (4) an axial-turbopump design option; (5) an automated pump-out turbopump assembly sizing option; (6) an off-design gas generator engine cycle design option; (7) updated hydrogen properties; (8) an improved output format; and (9) personal computer operation capability. Sample design cases are presented in the user's guide that demonstrate many of the new features associated with this upgraded version of NESS, as well as design modeling features associated with the original version of NESS.

Nuclear Fuel Traces Definition in Storage Ponds of Research VVR-2 and OR Reactors in NRC 'Kurchatov Institute'

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

Stepanov, Alexey; Simirskii, Iurii; Stepanov, Vyacheslav

2015-07-01

The Gas Plant complex is the experimental base of the Institute of Nuclear Reactors, which is part of the Kurchatov Institute. In 1954 the commissioning of the first Soviet water-cooled water-moderated research reactor VVR-2 on enriched uranium, and until 1983 the complex operated two research water-cooled water-moderated reactors 3 MW (VVR-2) and 300 kW (OR) capacity, which were dismantled in connection with the overall upgrades of the complex. The complex has three storage ponds in the reactor building. They are sub-surface vessels filled with water (the volume of water in each is about 6 m{sup 3}). In 2007-2013 the spentmore » nuclear fuel from storages was removed for processing to 'Mayk'. Survey of Storage Ponds by Underwater Collimated Spectrometric System shows a considerable layer of slime on the bottom of ponds and traces of spent nuclear fuel in one of the storage. For determination qualitative and the quantitative composition of radionuclide we made complex α-, β-, γ- spectrometric research of water and bottom slimes from Gas Plant complex storage ponds. We found the spent nuclear fuel in water and bottom slime in all storage ponds. Specific activity of radionuclides in the bottom slime exceeded specific activity of radionuclides in the ponds water and was closed to levels of high radioactive waste. Analysis of the obtained data and data from earlier investigation of reactor MR storage ponds showed distinctions of specific activity of uranium and plutonium radionuclides. (authors)« less

A Whitham-Theory Sonic-Boom Analysis of the TU-144 Aircraft at a Mach Number of 2.2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mack, Robert J.

1999-01-01

Officially, the Tu-144 was the first supersonic-cruise, passenger-carrying aircraft to enter commercial service. Design, construction, and testing were carried out by the Soviet Union, flight certification was by the Soviet Union, and the only regular passenger flights were scheduled and flown across the territory of the Soviet Union. Although it was not introduced to international passenger service, there were many significant engineering accomplishments achieved in the design, production, and flight of this aircraft. Development of the aircraft began with a prototype stage. Systematic testing and redesign led to a production aircraft in discrete stages that measurably improved the performance of the aircraft from the starting concept to final aircraft certification. It flew in competition with the English-French Concorde for a short time, but was withdrawn from national commercial service due to a lack of interest by airlines outside the Soviet Union. NASA became interested in the Tu- 144 aircraft when it was offered for use as a flying "testbed" in the study of operating characteristics of a supersonic-cruise commercial airplane. Since it had been in supersonic-cruise service, the Tu- 144 had operational characteris'tics similar to those anticipated in the conceptual aircraft designs being studied by the United States aircraft companies. In addition to the other operational tests being conducted on the Tu-144 aircraft, it was proposed that two sets of sonic-boom pressure signature measurements be made. The first set would be made on the ground, using techniques and devices similar to those in reference I and many other subsequent studies. A second set would be made in the air with an instrumented aircraft flying close under the Tu-144 in supersonic flight. Such in-flight measurements would require pressure gages that were capable of accurately recording the flow-field overpressures generated by the Tu- 144 at relatively close distances under the vehicle. Therefore, an analysis of the Tu-144 was made to obtain predictions of pressure signature shape and shock strengths at cruise conditions so that the range and characteristics of the required pressure gages could be determined well in advance of the tests. Cancellation of the sonic-boom signature measurement part of the tests removed the need for these pressure gages. Since CFD methods would be used to analyze the aerodynamic performance of the Tu-144 and make similar pressure signature predictions, the relatively quick and simple Whitham-theory pressure signature predictions presented in this paper could be used for comparisons. Pressure signature predictions of sonic-boom disturbances from the Tu- 144 aircraft were obtained from geometry derived from a three-view description of the production aircraft. The geometry was used to calculate aerodynamic performance characteristics at supersonic-cruise conditions. These characteristics and Whitham/Walkden sonic-boom theory were employed to obtain F-functions and flow-field pressure signature predictions at a Mach number of 2.2, at a cruise altitude of 61000 feet, and at a cruise weight of 350000 pounds.

Heat Pipe Space Nuclear Reactor Design Assessment. Volume 2. Feasibility Study of Upgrading the SP-100 Heat Pipe Space Nuclear Power System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-08-01

system thermal -to-electric energy conversion efficiency quite high (-20-25 percent). c. Fuel system--Figure 6 compares the fuel swelling of U02 , UN... high temperature reservoir. Figure 28 shows a schematic of an AMTEC operation. The efficiency of ANTEC is calculated by: IV IV + 1 (L + C AT) + Qloss... thermal energy to electrical energy. The high efficiency and low specific mass (for large systems) are the common advantages of these active systems. In

Transient plasma estimation: a noise cancelling/identification approach

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

Candy, J.V.; Casper, T.; Kane, R.

1985-03-01

The application of a noise cancelling technique to extract energy storage information from sensors occurring during fusion reactor experiments on the Tandem Mirror Experiment-Upgrade (TMX-U) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is examined. We show how this technique can be used to decrease the uncertainty in the corresponding sensor measurements used for diagnostics in both real-time and post-experimental environments. We analyze the performance of algorithm on the sensor data and discuss the various tradeoffs. The algorithm suggested is designed using SIG, an interactive signal processing package developed at LLNL.

Production of Titanium Metal by an Electrochemical Molten Salt Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fatollahi-Fard, Farzin

Titanium production is a long and complicated process. What we often consider to be the standard method of primary titanium production (the Kroll process), involves many complex steps both before and after to make a useful product from titanium ore. Thus new methods of titanium production, especially electrochemical processes, which can utilize less-processed feedstocks have the potential to be both cheaper and less energy intensive than current titanium production processes. This project is investigating the use of lower-grade titanium ores with the electrochemical MER process for making titanium via a molten salt process. The experimental work carried out has investigated making the MER process feedstock (titanium oxycarbide) with natural titanium ores--such as rutile and ilmenite--and new ways of using the MER electrochemical reactor to "upgrade" titanium ores or the titanium oxycarbide feedstock. It is feasible to use the existing MER electrochemical reactor to both purify the titanium oxycarbide feedstock and produce titanium metal.

Current drive at plasma densities required for thermonuclear reactors.

PubMed

Cesario, R; Amicucci, L; Cardinali, A; Castaldo, C; Marinucci, M; Panaccione, L; Santini, F; Tudisco, O; Apicella, M L; Calabrò, G; Cianfarani, C; Frigione, D; Galli, A; Mazzitelli, G; Mazzotta, C; Pericoli, V; Schettini, G; Tuccillo, A A

2010-08-10

Progress in thermonuclear fusion energy research based on deuterium plasmas magnetically confined in toroidal tokamak devices requires the development of efficient current drive methods. Previous experiments have shown that plasma current can be driven effectively by externally launched radio frequency power coupled to lower hybrid plasma waves. However, at the high plasma densities required for fusion power plants, the coupled radio frequency power does not penetrate into the plasma core, possibly because of strong wave interactions with the plasma edge. Here we show experiments performed on FTU (Frascati Tokamak Upgrade) based on theoretical predictions that nonlinear interactions diminish when the peripheral plasma electron temperature is high, allowing significant wave penetration at high density. The results show that the coupled radio frequency power can penetrate into high-density plasmas due to weaker plasma edge effects, thus extending the effective range of lower hybrid current drive towards the domain relevant for fusion reactors.

An approach to functionally relevant clustering of the protein universe: Active site profile‐based clustering of protein structures and sequences

PubMed Central

Knutson, Stacy T.; Westwood, Brian M.; Leuthaeuser, Janelle B.; Turner, Brandon E.; Nguyendac, Don; Shea, Gabrielle; Kumar, Kiran; Hayden, Julia D.; Harper, Angela F.; Brown, Shoshana D.; Morris, John H.; Ferrin, Thomas E.; Babbitt, Patricia C.

2017-01-01

Abstract Protein function identification remains a significant problem. Solving this problem at the molecular functional level would allow mechanistic determinant identification—amino acids that distinguish details between functional families within a superfamily. Active site profiling was developed to identify mechanistic determinants. DASP and DASP2 were developed as tools to search sequence databases using active site profiling. Here, TuLIP (Two‐Level Iterative clustering Process) is introduced as an iterative, divisive clustering process that utilizes active site profiling to separate structurally characterized superfamily members into functionally relevant clusters. Underlying TuLIP is the observation that functionally relevant families (curated by Structure‐Function Linkage Database, SFLD) self‐identify in DASP2 searches; clusters containing multiple functional families do not. Each TuLIP iteration produces candidate clusters, each evaluated to determine if it self‐identifies using DASP2. If so, it is deemed a functionally relevant group. Divisive clustering continues until each structure is either a functionally relevant group member or a singlet. TuLIP is validated on enolase and glutathione transferase structures, superfamilies well‐curated by SFLD. Correlation is strong; small numbers of structures prevent statistically significant analysis. TuLIP‐identified enolase clusters are used in DASP2 GenBank searches to identify sequences sharing functional site features. Analysis shows a true positive rate of 96%, false negative rate of 4%, and maximum false positive rate of 4%. F‐measure and performance analysis on the enolase search results and comparison to GEMMA and SCI‐PHY demonstrate that TuLIP avoids the over‐division problem of these methods. Mechanistic determinants for enolase families are evaluated and shown to correlate well with literature results. PMID:28054422

An approach to functionally relevant clustering of the protein universe: Active site profile-based clustering of protein structures and sequences.

PubMed

Knutson, Stacy T; Westwood, Brian M; Leuthaeuser, Janelle B; Turner, Brandon E; Nguyendac, Don; Shea, Gabrielle; Kumar, Kiran; Hayden, Julia D; Harper, Angela F; Brown, Shoshana D; Morris, John H; Ferrin, Thomas E; Babbitt, Patricia C; Fetrow, Jacquelyn S

2017-04-01

Protein function identification remains a significant problem. Solving this problem at the molecular functional level would allow mechanistic determinant identification-amino acids that distinguish details between functional families within a superfamily. Active site profiling was developed to identify mechanistic determinants. DASP and DASP2 were developed as tools to search sequence databases using active site profiling. Here, TuLIP (Two-Level Iterative clustering Process) is introduced as an iterative, divisive clustering process that utilizes active site profiling to separate structurally characterized superfamily members into functionally relevant clusters. Underlying TuLIP is the observation that functionally relevant families (curated by Structure-Function Linkage Database, SFLD) self-identify in DASP2 searches; clusters containing multiple functional families do not. Each TuLIP iteration produces candidate clusters, each evaluated to determine if it self-identifies using DASP2. If so, it is deemed a functionally relevant group. Divisive clustering continues until each structure is either a functionally relevant group member or a singlet. TuLIP is validated on enolase and glutathione transferase structures, superfamilies well-curated by SFLD. Correlation is strong; small numbers of structures prevent statistically significant analysis. TuLIP-identified enolase clusters are used in DASP2 GenBank searches to identify sequences sharing functional site features. Analysis shows a true positive rate of 96%, false negative rate of 4%, and maximum false positive rate of 4%. F-measure and performance analysis on the enolase search results and comparison to GEMMA and SCI-PHY demonstrate that TuLIP avoids the over-division problem of these methods. Mechanistic determinants for enolase families are evaluated and shown to correlate well with literature results. © 2017 The Authors Protein Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Protein Society.

Analysis of transgenic wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) harboring a maize (Zea mays L.) gene for plastid EF-Tu: segregation pattern, expression and effects of the transgene.

PubMed

Fu, Jianming; Ristic, Zoran

2010-06-01

We previously reported that transgenic wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) carrying a maize (Zea mays L.) gene (Zmeftu1) for chloroplast protein synthesis elongation factor, EF-Tu, displays reduced thermal aggregation of leaf proteins, reduced injury to photosynthetic membranes (thylakoids), and enhanced rate of CO(2) fixation following exposure to heat stress (18 h at 45 degrees C) [Fu et al. in Plant Mol Biol 68:277-288, 2008]. In the current study, we investigated the segregation pattern and expression of the transgene Zmeftu1 and determined the grain yield of transgenic plants after exposure to a brief heat stress (18 h at 45 degrees C). We also assessed thermal aggregation of soluble leaf proteins in transgenic plants, testing the hypothesis that increased levels of EF-Tu will lead to a non-specific protection of leaf proteins against thermal aggregation. The transgenic wheat displayed a single-gene pattern of segregation of Zmeftu1. Zmeftu1 was expressed, and the transgenic plants synthesized and accumulated three anti-EF-Tu cross-reacting polypeptides of similar molecular mass but different pI, suggesting the possibility of posttranslational modification of this protein. The transgenic plants also showed better grain yield after exposure to heat stress compared with their non-transgenic counterparts. Soluble leaf proteins of various molecular masses displayed lower thermal aggregation in transgenic than in non-transgenic wheat. The results suggest that overexpression of chloroplast EF-Tu can be beneficial to wheat tolerance to heat stress. Moreover, the results also support the hypothesis that EF-Tu contributes to heat tolerance by acting as a molecular chaperone and protecting heat-labile proteins from thermal aggregation in a non-specific manner.

Nonrandom γ-TuNA-dependent spatial pattern of microtubule nucleation at the Golgi.

PubMed

Sanders, Anna A W M; Chang, Kevin; Zhu, Xiaodong; Thoppil, Roslin J; Holmes, William R; Kaverina, Irina

2017-11-07

Noncentrosomal microtubule (MT) nucleation at the Golgi generates MT network asymmetry in motile vertebrate cells. Investigating the Golgi-derived MT (GDMT) distribution, we find that MT asymmetry arises from nonrandom nucleation sites at the Golgi (hotspots). Using computational simulations, we propose two plausible mechanistic models of GDMT nucleation leading to this phenotype. In the "cooperativity" model, formation of a single GDMT promotes further nucleation at the same site. In the "heterogeneous Golgi" model, MT nucleation is dramatically up-regulated at discrete and sparse locations within the Golgi. While MT clustering in hotspots is equally well described by both models, simulating MT length distributions within the cooperativity model fits the data better. Investigating the molecular mechanism underlying hotspot formation, we have found that hotspots are significantly smaller than a Golgi subdomain positive for scaffolding protein AKAP450, which is thought to recruit GDMT nucleation factors. We have further probed potential roles of known GDMT-promoting molecules, including γ-TuRC-mediated nucleation activator (γ-TuNA) domain-containing proteins and MT stabilizer CLASPs. While both γ-TuNA inhibition and lack of CLASPs resulted in drastically decreased GDMT nucleation, computational modeling revealed that only γ-TuNA inhibition suppressed hotspot formation. We conclude that hotspots require γ-TuNA activity, which facilitates clustered GDMT nucleation at distinct Golgi sites. © 2017 Sanders et al. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). Two months after publication it is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

The effect of food composition on serum testosterone levels after oral administration of Andriol® Testocaps®

PubMed Central

Schnabel, Peter G; Bagchus, Wilma; Lass, Holger; Thomsen, Torben; Geurts, T B Paul

2007-01-01

Objective Andriol® Testocaps® is a new oral formulation of testosterone undecanoate (TU) for treatment of hypogonadism. As TU is taken up by the intestinal lymphatic system, both the presence and the composition of food influence the absorption. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of food composition on the pharmacokinetics of oral TU. Design An open-label, single-centre, four-way crossover study. With a washout period of 6–7 days, 80 mg TU was administered in the morning 5 min after consuming each of four different meals in a randomized order (A: 230 kcal, 0·6 g lipid; B: 220 kcal, 5 g lipid; C: 474 kcal, 19 g lipid; D: 837 kcal, 44 g lipid). Patients Twenty-four postmenopausal volunteers. Measurements Serial blood samples were collected until 24 h after dosing to determine testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Results The bioavailability of testosterone after a low-calorie meal containing 0·6 g lipid or 5 g lipid was relatively low, the area under the concentration–time curve (AUC0–tlast) for testosterone being 30·7 and 43·5 nmol h/l, respectively. The bioavailability of testosterone after a meal containing 19 g lipid was considerably higher (AUC0–tlast = 146 nmol h/l), whereas increasing the lipid content to 44 g lipid did not further increase the bioavailability of testosterone (AUC0–tlast = 154 nmol h/l). Conclusion Approximately 19 g of lipid per meal efficiently increases absorption of testosterone from oral TU. Therefore, coadministration with a normal rather than a fatty meal is sufficient to increase serum testosterone levels when using oral TU. PMID:17371478

The Dual Function of "usted:" Forms of Address in Bogota, Colombia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uber, Diane Ringer

1985-01-01

Shows that "usted" has two functions: showing lack of solidarity and showing extreme solidarity, with "tu" falling somewhere in between on the continuum. Discusses the increasing use of "tu," especially among younger people, and presents some possible reasons for this. (SED)

Determination of the kinetics of guanine nucleotide exchange on EF-Tu and EF-Ts: continuing uncertainties.

PubMed

Manchester, Keith L

2004-01-30

An analysis is made of the rate constants for the reactions involving the interactions of EF-Tu, EF-Ts, GDP, and GTP recently derived by Gromadski et al. [Biochemistry 41 (2002) 162]. Though their measured values appear to allow a reasonable rate of nucleotide exchange sufficient to support rates of protein synthesis in vivo, their data underestimate the thermodynamic barrier involved in nucleotide exchange and therefore cannot be considered definitive. A kinetic scheme consistent with the thermodynamic barrier can be achieved by modification of various rate constants, particularly of those involving the release of EF-Ts from EF-Tu.GTP.EF-Ts, but such constants are markedly different from what are experimentally observed. It thus remains impossible at present satisfactorily to model guanine nucleotide exchange on EF-Tu, catalysed by EF-Ts by a double displacement mechanism, with experimentally derived rate constants. Metabolic control analysis has been applied to determine the degree of flux control of the different steps in the pathway.

A high temperature drop-tube and packed-bed solar reactor for continuous biomass gasification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellouard, Quentin; Abanades, Stéphane; Rodat, Sylvain; Dupassieux, Nathalie

2017-06-01

Biomass gasification is an attractive process to produce high-value syngas. Utilization of concentrated solar energy as the heat source for driving reactions increases the energy conversion efficiency, saves biomass resource, and eliminates the needs for gas cleaning and separation. A high-temperature tubular solar reactor combining drop tube and packed bed concepts was used for continuous solar-driven gasification of biomass. This 1 kW reactor was experimentally tested with biomass feeding under real solar irradiation conditions at the focus of a 2 m-diameter parabolic solar concentrator. Experiments were conducted at temperatures ranging from 1000°C to 1400°C using wood composed of a mix of pine and spruce (bark included) as biomass feedstock. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of syngas production in this reactor concept and to prove the reliability of continuous biomass gasification processing using solar energy. The study first consisted of a parametric study of the gasification conditions to obtain an optimal gas yield. The influence of temperature and oxidizing agent (H2O or CO2) on the product gas composition was investigated. The study then focused on solar gasification during continuous biomass particle injection for demonstrating the feasibility of a continuous process. Regarding the energy conversion efficiency of the lab scale reactor, energy upgrade factor of 1.21 and solar-to-fuel thermochemical efficiency up to 28% were achieved using wood heated up to 1400°C.

Youyou Tu: significance of winning the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

PubMed

Liu, Wenxiu; Liu, Yue

2016-02-01

Youyou Tu, a female scientist at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing, is the first Chinese winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Based on the study of recipes which had been used for thousands of years to treat fever, Tu's group discovered that the plant artemesia annua, sweet wormwood, showed substantial inhibition of rodent malaria parasites. Her achievement and experience have inspired other researchers and emphasized the development of traditional Chinese medicine. Her award has led to a heated discussion about scientific research investment, fair treatment of research staff, and intellectual property right (IPR) protection in China.

Development of the Write Process for Pipeline-Ready Heavy Oil

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

Lee Brecher; Charles Mones; Frank Guffey

Work completed under this program advances the goal of demonstrating Western Research Institute's (WRI's) WRITE{trademark} process for upgrading heavy oil at field scale. MEG Energy Corporation (MEG) located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada supported efforts at WRI to develop the WRITE{trademark} process as an oil sands, field-upgrading technology through this Task 51 Jointly Sponsored Research project. The project consisted of 6 tasks: (1) optimization of the distillate recovery unit (DRU), (2) demonstration and design of a continuous coker, (3) conceptual design and cost estimate for a commercial facility, (4) design of a WRITE{trademark} pilot plant, (5) hydrotreating studies, and (6) establishmore » a petroleum analysis laboratory. WRITE{trademark} is a heavy oil and bitumen upgrading process that produces residuum-free, pipeline ready oil from heavy material with undiluted density and viscosity that exceed prevailing pipeline specifications. WRITE{trademark} uses two processing stages to achieve low and high temperature conversion of heavy oil or bitumen. The first stage DRU operates at mild thermal cracking conditions, yielding a light overhead product and a heavy residuum or bottoms material. These bottoms flow to the second stage continuous coker that operates at severe pyrolysis conditions, yielding light pyrolyzate and coke. The combined pyrolyzate and mildly cracked overhead streams form WRITE{trademark}'s synthetic crude oil (SCO) production. The main objectives of this project were to (1) complete testing and analysis at bench scale with the DRU and continuous coker reactors and provide results to MEG for process evaluation and scale-up determinations and (2) complete a technical and economic assessment of WRITE{trademark} technology to determine its viability. The DRU test program was completed and a processing envelope developed. These results were used for process assessment and for scaleup. Tests in the continuous coker were intended to determine the throughput capability of the coker so a scaled design could be developed that maximized feed rate for a given size of reactor. These tests were only partially successful because of equipment problems. A redesigned coker, which addressed the problems, has been build but not operated. A preliminary economic analysis conducted by MEG and an their engineering consultant concluded that the WRITE{trademark} process is a technically feasible method for upgrading bitumen and that it produces SCO that meets pipeline specifications for density. When compared to delayed coking, the industry benchmark for thermal upgrading of bitumen, WRITE{trademark} produced more SCO, less coke, less CO{sub 2} per barrel of bitumen fed, and had lower capital and operating costs. On the other hand, WRITE{trademark}'s lower processing severity yielded crude with higher density and a different product distribution for naphtha, light gas oil and vacuum oil that, taken together, might reduce the value of the SCO. These issues plus the completion of more detailed process evaluation and economics need to be resolved before WRITE{trademark} is deployed as a field-scale pilot.« less

Gallibacterium elongation factor-Tu possesses amyloid-like protein characteristics, participates in cell adhesion, and is present in biofilms.

PubMed

López-Ochoa, Jaqueline; Montes-García, J Fernando; Vázquez, Candelario; Sánchez-Alonso, Patricia; Pérez-Márquez, Victor M; Blackall, Patrick J; Vaca, Sergio; Negrete-Abascal, Erasmo

2017-09-01

Gallibacterium, which is a bacterial pathogen in chickens, can form biofilms. Amyloid proteins present in biofilms bind Congo red dye. The aim of this study was to characterize the cell-surface amyloid-like protein expressed in biofilms formed by Gallibacterium strains and determine the relationship between this protein and curli, which is an amyloid protein that is commonly expressed by members of the Enterobacteriaceae family. The presence of amyloid-like proteins in outer membrane protein samples from three strains of G. anatis and one strain of Gallibacterium genomospecies 2 was evaluated. A protein identified as elongation factor-Tu (EF-Tu) by mass spectrometric analysis and in silico analysis was obtained from the G. anatis strain F149 T . This protein bound Congo red dye, cross-reacted with anti-curli polyclonal serum, exhibited polymerizing properties and was present in biofilms. This protein also reacted with pooled serum from chickens that were experimentally infected with G. anatis, indicating the in vivo immunogenicity of this protein. The recombinant EF-Tu purified protein, which was prepared from G. anatis 12656-12, polymerizes under in vitro conditions, forms filaments and interacts with fibronectin and fibrinogen, all of which suggest that this protein functions as an adhesin. In summary, EF-Tu from G. anatis presents amyloid characteristics, is present in biofilms and could be relevant for the pathogenesis of G. anatis.

[Evaluation of left ventricular perfusion and regional wall motion in myocardial infarction: using 201Tl myocardial SPECT and 99mTc-HSAD multigated cardiac blood pool emission computed tomography].

PubMed

Nanjyo, S

1994-09-01

In order to evaluate left ventricular regional wall motion and regional myocardial perfusion, 99mTc-HSAD multigated cardiac blood pool emission computed tomography (cardiac pool SPECT) and 201Tl myocardial SPECT (Tl) were performed on 12 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 6 patients had treated with only thrombolysis in group I and 6 patients had treated with thrombolysis and selective PTCA in group II, 17 patients with old myocardial infarction (OMI) in group III and 5 normal volunteers (controls). The relationship between left ventricular regional wall motion and regional myocardial perfusion was estimated. The relationship between % length shortening (%LS) by cardiac pool SPECT and %Tl uptake (%TU) was good (r = 0.820) in group III. The value for %TU in the segments of akinesia was low (35%) and in the those of severe hypokinesia was higher (48%). In all phases, two groups showed significant relationships between %LS and %TU in group I and II. The %TU was unchanged in the akinetic segment, the %LS changed 30% in group I and the %LS changed to 49% in group II. If the %TU is more than 50% (AMI) or 40% (OMI), we would observe viable muscle. The combination of Tl and cardiac pool SPECT are useful for evaluating myocardial viability in the patients with AMI.

Steady-state pharmacokinetics of oral testosterone undecanoate with concomitant inhibition of 5α-reductase by finasteride

PubMed Central

Roth, M. Y.; Dudley, R. E.; Hull, L.; Leung, A.; Christenson, P.; Wang, C.; Swerdloff, R.; Amory, J. K.

2014-01-01

Summary Oral testosterone undecanoate (TU) is used to treat testosterone deficiency; however, oral TU treatment elevates dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which may be associated with an increased risk of acne, male pattern baldness and prostate hyperplasia. Co-administration of 5α-reductase inhibitors with other formulations of oral testosterone suppresses DHT production and increases serum testosterone. We hypothesized that finasteride would increase serum testosterone and lower DHT during treatment with oral TU. Therefore, we studied the steady-state pharmacokinetics of oral TU, 200 mg equivalents of testosterone twice daily for 7 days, alone and with finasteride 0.5 and 1.0 mg po twice daily in an open-label, three-way crossover study in 11 young men with experimentally induced hypogonadism. On the seventh day of each dosing period, serum testosterone, DHT and oestradiol were measured at baseline and 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 13, 14, 16, 20 and 24 h after the morning dose. Serum testosterone and DHT were significantly increased into and above their normal ranges similarly by all three treatments. Co-administration of finasteride at 0.5 and 1.0 mg po twice daily had no significant effect on either serum testosterone or DHT. Oral TU differs from other formulations of oral testosterone in its response to concomitant inhibition of 5α-reductase, perhaps because of its unique lymphatic route of absorption. PMID:20969601

Chronic ethanol feeding causes depression of mitochondrial elongation factor Tu in the rat liver: implications for the mitochondrial ribosome.

PubMed

Weiser, Brian; Gonye, Gregory; Sykora, Peter; Crumm, Sara; Cahill, Alan

2011-05-01

Chronic ethanol feeding is known to negatively impact hepatic energy metabolism. Previous studies have indicated that the underlying lesion responsible for this may lie at the level of the mitoribosome. The aim of this study was to characterize the structure of the hepatic mitoribosome in alcoholic male rats and their isocalorically paired controls. Our experiments revealed that chronic ethanol feeding resulted in a significant depletion of both structural (death-associated protein 3) and functional [elongation factor thermo unstable (EF-Tu)] mitoribosomal proteins. In addition, significant increases were found in nucleotide elongation factor thermo stable (EF-Ts) and structural mitochondrial ribosomal protein L12 (MRPL12). The increase in MRPL12 was found to correlate with an increase in the levels of the 39S large mitoribosomal subunit. These changes were accompanied by decreased levels of nuclear- and mitochondrially encoded respiratory subunits, decreased amounts of intact respiratory complexes, decreased hepatic ATP levels, and depressed mitochondrial translation. Mathematical modeling of ethanol-mediated changes in EF-Tu and EF-Ts using prederived kinetic data predicted that the ethanol-mediated decrease in EF-Tu levels could completely account for the impaired mitochondrial protein synthesis. In conclusion, chronic ethanol feeding results in a depletion of mitochondrial EF-Tu levels within the liver that is mathematically predicted to be responsible for the impaired mitochondrial protein synthesis seen in alcoholic animals.

Testbeam results of irradiated ams H18 HV-CMOS pixel sensor prototypes

DOE PAGES

Benoit, M.; Braccini, S.; Casse, G.; ...

2018-02-08

HV-CMOS pixel sensors are a promising option for the tracker upgrade of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, as well as for other future tracking applications in which large areas are to be instrumented with radiation-tolerant silicon pixel sensors. We present results of testbeam characterisations of the 4 th generation of Capacitively Coupled Pixel Detectors (CCPDv4) produced with the ams H18 HV-CMOS process that have been irradiated with different particles (reactor neutrons and 18 MeV protons) to fluences between 1×10 14 and 5×10 15 1–MeV– n eq. The sensors were glued to ATLAS FE-I4 pixel readout chips and measured atmore » the CERN SPS H8 beamline using the FE-I4 beam telescope. Results for all fluences are very encouraging with all hit efficiencies being better than 97% for bias voltages of 85 V. The sample irradiated to a fluence of 1×10 15 neq—a relevant value for a large volume of the upgraded tracker—exhibited 99.7% average hit efficiency. Furthermore, the results give strong evidence for the radiation tolerance of HV-CMOS sensors and their suitability as sensors for the experimental HL-LHC upgrades and future large-area silicon-based tracking detectors in high-radiation environments.« less

Testbeam results of irradiated ams H18 HV-CMOS pixel sensor prototypes

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

Benoit, M.; Braccini, S.; Casse, G.

HV-CMOS pixel sensors are a promising option for the tracker upgrade of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, as well as for other future tracking applications in which large areas are to be instrumented with radiation-tolerant silicon pixel sensors. We present results of testbeam characterisations of the 4 th generation of Capacitively Coupled Pixel Detectors (CCPDv4) produced with the ams H18 HV-CMOS process that have been irradiated with different particles (reactor neutrons and 18 MeV protons) to fluences between 1×10 14 and 5×10 15 1–MeV– n eq. The sensors were glued to ATLAS FE-I4 pixel readout chips and measured atmore » the CERN SPS H8 beamline using the FE-I4 beam telescope. Results for all fluences are very encouraging with all hit efficiencies being better than 97% for bias voltages of 85 V. The sample irradiated to a fluence of 1×10 15 neq—a relevant value for a large volume of the upgraded tracker—exhibited 99.7% average hit efficiency. Furthermore, the results give strong evidence for the radiation tolerance of HV-CMOS sensors and their suitability as sensors for the experimental HL-LHC upgrades and future large-area silicon-based tracking detectors in high-radiation environments.« less

A comparison of atmospheric composition using the Carbon Bond and Regional Atmospheric Chemistry MechanismsChemistry Mechanisms

EPA Science Inventory

We incorporate the recently developed Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (version 2, RACM2) into the Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system for comparison with the existing 2005 Carbon Bond mechanism with updated toluene chemistry (CB05TU). Compared to CB05TU, RAC...

Faced with Returnees, I Am Very Confident

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Song, Xiao; Yan, Long

2004-01-01

This article is an interview with Tu Hui regarding the relative merits of "returnees" and "indigens". Tu Hui is currently chief products inspector at the Anyi Software company and one of the many indigens engaged in Information Technology. In this article, he states that, "the weakness of the indigens sometimes lies in…

CCD Photometry of 967 Helionape, 3415 Danby, (85275) 1994 LY, 2007 DT103, and 2007 TU24

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apostolovska, Gordana; Ivanova, Violeta; Kostov, Andon

2009-01-01

The R-band lightcurves of asteroids 967 Helionape, 3415 Danby, (85275) 1994 LY, 2007 DT103 and 2007 TU24 are presented. The observations were obtained at the Bulgarian National Astronomical Observatory Rozhen (MPC Code 071) from 2007 August through 2008 February.

IEA-R1 Nuclear Research Reactor: 58 Years of Operating Experience and Utilization for Research, Teaching and Radioisotopes Production

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

Cardenas, Jose Patricio Nahuel; Filho, Tufic Madi; Saxena, Rajendra

IEA-R1 research reactor at the Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (Nuclear and Energy Research Institute) IPEN, Sao Paulo, Brazil is the largest power research reactor in Brazil, with a maximum power rating of 5 MWth. It is being used for basic and applied research in the nuclear and neutron related sciences, for the production of radioisotopes for medical and industrial applications, and for providing services of neutron activation analysis, real time neutron radiography, and neutron transmutation doping of silicon. IEA-R1 is a swimming pool reactor, with light water as the coolant and moderator, and graphite and beryllium as reflectors.more » The reactor was commissioned on September 16, 1957 and achieved its first criticality. It is currently operating at 4.5 MWth with a 60-hour cycle per week. In the early sixties, IPEN produced {sup 131}I, {sup 32}P, {sup 198}Au, {sup 24}Na, {sup 35}S, {sup 51}Cr and labeled compounds for medical use. During the past several years, a concerted effort has been made in order to upgrade the reactor power to 5 MWth through refurbishment and modernization programs. One of the reasons for this decision was to produce {sup 99}Mo at IPEN. The reactor cycle will be gradually increased to 120 hours per week continuous operation. It is anticipated that these programs will assure the safe and sustainable operation of the IEA-R1 reactor for several more years, to produce important primary radioisotopes {sup 99}Mo, {sup 125}I, {sup 131}I, {sup 153}Sm and {sup 192}Ir. Currently, all aspects of dealing with fuel element fabrication, fuel transportation, isotope processing, and spent fuel storage are handled by IPEN at the site. The reactor modernization program is slated for completion by 2015. This paper describes 58 years of operating experience and utilization of the IEA-R1 research reactor for research, teaching and radioisotopes production. (authors)« less

Biomass Conversion to Produce Hydrocarbon Liquid Fuel Via Hot-vapor Filtered Fast Pyrolysis and Catalytic Hydrotreating.

PubMed

Wang, Huamin; Elliott, Douglas C; French, Richard J; Deutch, Steve; Iisa, Kristiina

2016-12-25

Lignocellulosic biomass conversion to produce biofuels has received significant attention because of the quest for a replacement for fossil fuels. Among the various thermochemical and biochemical routes, fast pyrolysis followed by catalytic hydrotreating is considered to be a promising near-term opportunity. This paper reports on experimental methods used 1) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass to produce bio-oils in a fluidized-bed reactor and 2) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for catalytic hydrotreating of bio-oils in a two-stage, fixed-bed, continuous-flow catalytic reactor. The configurations of the reactor systems, the operating procedures, and the processing and analysis of feedstocks, bio-oils, and biofuels are described in detail in this paper. We also demonstrate hot-vapor filtration during fast pyrolysis to remove fine char particles and inorganic contaminants from bio-oil. Representative results showed successful conversion of biomass feedstocks to fuel-range hydrocarbon biofuels and, specifically, the effect of hot-vapor filtration on bio-oil production and upgrading. The protocols provided in this report could help to generate rigorous and reliable data for biomass pyrolysis and bio-oil hydrotreating research.

Biomass Conversion to Produce Hydrocarbon Liquid Fuel Via Hot-vapor Filtered Fast Pyrolysis and Catalytic Hydrotreating

PubMed Central

Wang, Huamin; Elliott, Douglas C.; French, Richard J.; Deutch, Steve; Iisa, Kristiina

2016-01-01

Lignocellulosic biomass conversion to produce biofuels has received significant attention because of the quest for a replacement for fossil fuels. Among the various thermochemical and biochemical routes, fast pyrolysis followed by catalytic hydrotreating is considered to be a promising near-term opportunity. This paper reports on experimental methods used 1) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass to produce bio-oils in a fluidized-bed reactor and 2) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for catalytic hydrotreating of bio-oils in a two-stage, fixed-bed, continuous-flow catalytic reactor. The configurations of the reactor systems, the operating procedures, and the processing and analysis of feedstocks, bio-oils, and biofuels are described in detail in this paper. We also demonstrate hot-vapor filtration during fast pyrolysis to remove fine char particles and inorganic contaminants from bio-oil. Representative results showed successful conversion of biomass feedstocks to fuel-range hydrocarbon biofuels and, specifically, the effect of hot-vapor filtration on bio-oil production and upgrading. The protocols provided in this report could help to generate rigorous and reliable data for biomass pyrolysis and bio-oil hydrotreating research. PMID:28060311

Process simulation and comparison of biological conversion of syngas and hydrogen in biogas plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Awais Salman, Chaudhary; Schwede, Sebastian; Thorin, Eva; Yan, Jinyue

2017-11-01

Organic waste is a good source of clean energy. However, different fractions of waste have to be utilized efficiently. One way is to find pathways to convert waste into useful products via various available processes (gasification, pyrolysis anaerobic digestion, etc.) and integrate them to increase the combined efficiency of the process. The syngas and hydrogen produced from the thermal conversion of biomass can be upgraded to biomethane via biological methanation. The current study presents the simulation model to predict the amount of biomethane produced by injecting the hydrogen and syngas. Hydrogen injection is modelled both in-situ and ex-situ while for syngas solely the ex-situ case has been studied. The results showed that 85% of the hydrogen conversion was achieved for the ex-situ reactor while 81% conversion rate was achieved for the in-situ reactor. The syngas could be converted completely in the bio-reactor. However, the addition of syngas resulted in an increase of carbon dioxide. Simulation of biomethanation of gas addition showed a biomethane concentration of 87% while for hydrogen addition an increase of 74% and 80% for in-situ and ex-situ addition respectively.

High-calorific biogas production from anaerobic digestion of food waste using a two-phase pressurized biofilm (TPPB) system.

PubMed

Li, Yeqing; Liu, Hong; Yan, Fang; Su, Dongfang; Wang, Yafei; Zhou, Hongjun

2017-01-01

To obtain high calorific biogas via anaerobic digestion without additional upgrading equipment, a two-phase pressurized biofilm system was built up, including a conventional continuously stirred tank reactor and a pressurized biofilm anaerobic reactor (PBAR). Four different pressure levels (0.3, 0.6, 1.0 and 1.7MPa) were applied to the PBAR in sequence, with the organic loading rate maintained at 3.1g-COD/L/d. Biogas production, gas composition, process stability parameters were measured. Results showed that with the pressure increasing from 0.3MPa to 1.7MPa, the pH value decreased from 7.22±0.19 to 6.98±0.05, the COD removal decreased from 93.0±0.9% to 79.7±1.2% and the methane content increased from 80.5±1.5% to 90.8±0.8%. Biogas with higher calorific value of 36.2MJ/m 3 was obtained at a pressure of 1.7MPa. Pressure showed a significant effect on biogas production and gas quality in methanogenesis reactor. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-strength wastewater treatment in a pure oxygen thermophilic process: 11-year operation and monitoring of different plant configurations.

PubMed

Collivignarelli, M C; Bertanza, G; Sordi, M; Pedrazzani, R

2015-01-01

This research was carried out on a full-scale pure oxygen thermophilic plant, operated and monitored throughout a period of 11 years. The plant treats 60,000 t y⁻¹ (year 2013) of high-strength industrial wastewaters deriving mainly from pharmaceuticals and detergents production and landfill leachate. Three different plant configurations were consecutively adopted: (1) biological reactor + final clarifier and sludge recirculation (2002-2005); (2) biological reactor + ultrafiltration: membrane biological reactor (MBR) (2006); and (3) MBR + nanofiltration (since 2007). Progressive plant upgrading yielded a performance improvement chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency was enhanced by 17% and 12% after the first and second plant modification, respectively. Moreover, COD abatement efficiency exhibited a greater stability, notwithstanding high variability of the influent load. In addition, the following relevant outcomes appeared from the plant monitoring (present configuration): up to 96% removal of nitrate and nitrite, due to denitrification; low-specific biomass production (0.092 kgVSS kgCODremoved⁻¹), and biological treatability of residual COD under mesophilic conditions (BOD5/COD ratio = 0.25-0.50), thus showing the complementarity of the two biological processes.

Digitized neutron imaging with high spatial resolution at a low power research reactor: I. Analysis of detector performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zawisky, M.; Hameed, F.; Dyrnjaja, E.; Springer, J.

2008-03-01

Imaging techniques provide an indispensable tool for investigation of materials. Neutrons, due to their specific properties, offer a unique probe for many aspects of condensed matter. Neutron imaging techniques present a challenging experimental task, especially at a low power research reactor. The Atomic Institute with a 250 kW TRIGA MARK II reactor looks back at a long tradition in neutron imaging. Here we report on the advantages gained in a recent upgrade of the imaging instrument including the acquisition of a thin-plate scintillation detector, a single counting micro-channel plate detector, and an imaging plate detector in combination with a high resolution scanner. We analyze the strengths and limitations of each detector in the field of neutron radiography and tomography, and demonstrate that high resolution digitized imaging down to the 50 μm scale can be accomplished with weak beam intensities of 1.3×10 5 n/cm 2 s, if appropriate measures are taken for the inevitable extension of measurement times. In a separate paper we will present some promising first results from the fields of engineering and geology.

Comparison and Concordance of Academic Air Force Officer Qualifying Test, SAT, and ACT Scores among Air Force ROTC Cadets

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

N A E P -Q A S co rin g S p ecial S tu d y F Y 0 5 — D R A F T REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form...Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18 iv N A E P -Q A S co rin g S p ecial S tu d y F Y 0 5 — D R A F T...admissions. 3 N A E P -Q A S co rin g S p ecial S tu d y F Y 0 5 — D R A F T Method

Stability, Higgs boson mass, and new physics.

PubMed

Branchina, Vincenzo; Messina, Emanuele

2013-12-13

Assuming that the particle with mass ∼126  GeV discovered at LHC is the standard model Higgs boson, we find that the stability of the electroweak (EW) vacuum strongly depends on new physics interaction at the Planck scale MP, despite of the fact that they are higher-dimensional interactions, apparently suppressed by inverse powers of MP. In particular, for the present experimental values of the top and Higgs boson masses, if τ is the lifetime of the EW vacuum, new physics can turn τ from τ≫TU to τ≪TU, where TU is the age of the Universe, thus, weakening the conclusions of the so called metastability scenario.

Synthesis of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes from Plastic Waste Using a Stainless-Steel CVD Reactor as Catalyst.

PubMed

Tripathi, Pranav K; Durbach, Shane; Coville, Neil J

2017-09-22

The disposal of non-biodegradable plastic waste without further upgrading/downgrading is not environmentally acceptable and many methods to overcome the problem have been proposed. Herein we indicate a simple method to make high-value nanomaterials from plastic waste as a partial solution to the environmental problem. Laboratory-based waste centrifuge tubes made of polypropylene were chosen as a carbon source to show the process principle. In the process, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized from plastic waste in a two-stage stainless steel 316 (SS 316) metal tube that acted as both reactor vessel and catalyst. The steel reactor contains Fe (and Ni, and various alloys), which act as the catalyst for the carbon conversion process. The reaction and products were studied using electron probe microanalysis, thermogravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Optimization studies to determine the effect of different parameters on the process showed that the highest yield and most graphitized MWCNTs were formed at 900 °C under the reaction conditions used (yield 42%; Raman I D / I G ratio = 0.48). The high quality and high yield of the MWCNTs that were produced in a flow reactor from plastic waste using a two stage SS 316 chemical vapor deposition (CVD) furnace did not require the use of an added catalyst.

Synthesis of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes from Plastic Waste Using a Stainless-Steel CVD Reactor as Catalyst

PubMed Central

Durbach, Shane

2017-01-01

The disposal of non-biodegradable plastic waste without further upgrading/downgrading is not environmentally acceptable and many methods to overcome the problem have been proposed. Herein we indicate a simple method to make high-value nanomaterials from plastic waste as a partial solution to the environmental problem. Laboratory-based waste centrifuge tubes made of polypropylene were chosen as a carbon source to show the process principle. In the process, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized from plastic waste in a two-stage stainless steel 316 (SS 316) metal tube that acted as both reactor vessel and catalyst. The steel reactor contains Fe (and Ni, and various alloys), which act as the catalyst for the carbon conversion process. The reaction and products were studied using electron probe microanalysis, thermogravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Optimization studies to determine the effect of different parameters on the process showed that the highest yield and most graphitized MWCNTs were formed at 900 °C under the reaction conditions used (yield 42%; Raman ID/IG ratio = 0.48). The high quality and high yield of the MWCNTs that were produced in a flow reactor from plastic waste using a two stage SS 316 chemical vapor deposition (CVD) furnace did not require the use of an added catalyst. PMID:28937596

Correlation between Question Intonation and Focus of Interrogation--Evidence from French Dislocated Questions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shen, Xiao-nan

This study explores the relationship between question intonation patterns in French using dislocated questions and question-focus (Q- focus). A dislocated question is defined as an interrogative sentence whose sequence is interrupted by the topicalization of a constituent at the left ("Toi, tu viens?"), at the right (Tu viens,…

Evaluation of the Sustainable Development Graduation Track at Delft University of Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Werk, G.; Kamp, L. M.

2008-01-01

This paper evaluates the sustainable development graduation track at TU Delft. This track can be followed by all students of TU Delft. It consists of an interdisciplinary colloquium "Technology in Sustainable Development", 300 h of self-chosen courses on sustainable development and a graduation project in which sustainable development is…

Teaching Tu Fu on the Night Shift.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brady, Philip

1995-01-01

Describes a teacher's unsuccessful attempt to introduce the poetry of Tu Fu, a wayward bureaucrat of the T'ang dynasty, to a class of part-time students. Uses his students' resistance to this poetry as an occasion to discuss the importance of personal responses to poetry, as opposed to "correct" academic responses. (TB)

The Impending Demise of "tu" in Montevideo, Uruguay

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weyers, Joseph R.

2009-01-01

Since the early 1960s, the "tuteo" (T-T), and particularly the use of tonic "tu" with the "vos" verbal morphology (T-V) has been accepted as typical of the speech of Montevideo, Uruguay, a region generally classified as "voseante". This paper reports on the results of 117 rapid anonymous interviews conducted…

The Effects of a Multiple-Talent Teaching Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, H. James; Shaver, James P.

1985-01-01

A study of 450 elementary students was made to examine the effects of Talents Unlimited (TU) teaching on students' productive and creative thinking scores. Results were not consistent across grade levels, nor from class to class. There seemed to be small to moderate associations between TU teaching and test scores. (Author/MT)

:Examination of Sulfate production by CB05TU, RACM2 & RACM2 with SCI initiated SO2,oxidation in the Northern Hemisphere"

EPA Science Inventory

We employ the Community Multiscale Air Quality model to examine tropospheric sulfateproduction in the northern hemisphere using the Carbon Bond 2005 chemical mechanism withupdated toluene chemistry (CB05TU) and the Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism(RACM2) without and with ...

How EF-Tu can contribute to efficient proofreading of aa-tRNA by the ribosome

PubMed Central

Noel, Jeffrey K.; Whitford, Paul C.

2016-01-01

It has long been recognized that the thermodynamics of mRNA–tRNA base pairing is insufficient to explain the high fidelity and efficiency of aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA) selection by the ribosome. To rationalize this apparent inconsistency, Hopfield proposed that the ribosome may improve accuracy by utilizing a multi-step kinetic proofreading mechanism. While biochemical, structural and single-molecule studies have provided a detailed characterization of aa-tRNA selection, there is a limited understanding of how the physical–chemical properties of the ribosome enable proofreading. To this end, we probe the role of EF-Tu during aa-tRNA accommodation (the proofreading step) through the use of energy landscape principles, molecular dynamics simulations and kinetic models. We find that the steric composition of EF-Tu can reduce the free-energy barrier associated with the first step of accommodation: elbow accommodation. We interpret this effect within an extended kinetic model of accommodation and show how EF-Tu can contribute to efficient and accurate proofreading. PMID:27796304

Systemic Propagation of a Fluorescent Infectious Clone of a Polerovirus Following Inoculation by Agrobacteria and Aphids

PubMed Central

Boissinot, Sylvaine; Pichon, Elodie; Sorin, Céline; Piccini, Céline; Scheidecker, Danièle; Ziegler-Graff, Véronique; Brault, Véronique

2017-01-01

A fluorescent viral clone of the polerovirus Turnip yellows virus (TuYV) was engineered by introducing the Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP) sequence into the non-structural domain sequence of the readthrough protein, a minor capsid protein. The resulting recombinant virus, referred to as TuYV-RTGFP, was infectious in several plant species when delivered by agroinoculation and invaded efficiently non-inoculated leaves. As expected for poleroviruses, which infect only phloem cells, the fluorescence emitted by TuYV-RTGFP was restricted to the vasculature of infected plants. In addition, TuYV-RTGFP was aphid transmissible and enabled the observation of the initial sites of infection in the phloem after aphid probing in epidermal cells. The aphid-transmitted virus moved efficiently to leaves distant from the inoculation sites and importantly retained the EGFP sequence in the viral genome. This work reports on the first engineered member in the Luteoviridae family that can be visualized by fluorescence emission in systemic leaves of different plant species after agroinoculation or aphid transmission. PMID:28661469

Systemic Propagation of a Fluorescent Infectious Clone of a Polerovirus Following Inoculation by Agrobacteria and Aphids.

PubMed

Boissinot, Sylvaine; Pichon, Elodie; Sorin, Céline; Piccini, Céline; Scheidecker, Danièle; Ziegler-Graff, Véronique; Brault, Véronique

2017-06-29

A fluorescent viral clone of the polerovirus Turnip yellows virus (TuYV) was engineered by introducing the Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP) sequence into the non-structural domain sequence of the readthrough protein, a minor capsid protein. The resulting recombinant virus, referred to as TuYV-RT GFP , was infectious in several plant species when delivered by agroinoculation and invaded efficiently non-inoculated leaves. As expected for poleroviruses, which infect only phloem cells, the fluorescence emitted by TuYV-RT GFP was restricted to the vasculature of infected plants. In addition, TuYV-RT GFP was aphid transmissible and enabled the observation of the initial sites of infection in the phloem after aphid probing in epidermal cells. The aphid-transmitted virus moved efficiently to leaves distant from the inoculation sites and importantly retained the EGFP sequence in the viral genome. This work reports on the first engineered member in the Luteoviridae family that can be visualized by fluorescence emission in systemic leaves of different plant species after agroinoculation or aphid transmission.

Effect of cadmium, chromium, lead and metal mixtures on survival and growth of juveniles of the scallop Argopecten ventricosus (Sowerby II, 1842).

PubMed

Sobrino-Figueroa, Alma S; Cáceres-Martínez, Carlos; Botello, Alfonso V; Nunez-Nogueira, G

2007-08-01

The effects of Cd, Cr, Pb and their mixtures on the growth and sensitivity of the scallop Argopecten ventricosus were analyzed in this study. Cadmium showed to be more toxic metal to juveniles (96 hour median lethal concentration (LC(50)) = 0.396 mg Cd/L), followed by lead (LC(50) = 0.830 mg Pb/L) and chromium (LC(50) = 3.430 mg Cr/L). Cadmium toxicity was 8 times higher than chromium and 2 times than lead. The most toxic combination was Cd + Cr + Pb. (LC(50) = 0.302 mg/L). Based on toxic units analyses (T.U.), a synergistic effect was observed for Cr + Pb and Cd + Cr + Pb. (T.U. = 0.374; T.U. = 0.403), and antagonic effects for Cd + Cr and Cd + Pb (T.U. = 1.26; T.U. = 1.43) respectively. The level of effect (from high to low) on the growth of A. ventricosus juveniles was: Cd > Cd + Cr + Pb > Cr > Pb. The EC(50) (metal concentration where a reduction of 50% growing rate is observed) obtained were: Cd = 0.018 mg/L, Cd + Cr + Pb = 0.104 mg/L, Cr = 0.51 mg/L and Pb = 4.21 mg/L. These results suggest that A. ventricosus juveniles are more sensitive to these metals in comparison to other juveniles from other bivalve species (e.g., A. irradians, Mytillus edulis, Crassostrea virginica).

BnSGS3 Has Differential Effects on the Accumulation of CMV, ORMV and TuMV in Oilseed Rape

PubMed Central

Chen, Quan; Wang, Jie; Hou, Mingsheng; Liu, Shengyi; Huang, Junyan; Cai, Li

2015-01-01

Virus diseases greatly affect oilseed rape (Brassica napus) production. Investigating antiviral genes may lead to the development of disease-resistant varieties of oilseed rape. In this study, we examined the effects of the suppressor of gene silencing 3 in Brassica napus (BnSGS3, a putative antiviral gene) with different genus viruses by constructing BnSGS3-overexpressing (BnSGS3-Ov) and BnSGS3-silenced (BnSGS3-Si) oilseed rape (cv. Zhongshuang No. 6) plants. These three viruses are Oilseed rape mosaic virus (ORMV), Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) and Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). The native BnSGS3 expressed in all examined tissues with the highest expression in siliques. All three viruses induced BnSGS3 expression, but ORMV induced a dramatic increase in the BnSGS3-Ov plants, followed by TuMV and CMV. Upon inoculation with three different viruses, transcript abundance of BnSGS3 gene follows: BnSGS3-Ov > non-transgenic plants > BnSGS3-Si. The accumulation quantities of ORMV and TuMV exhibited a similar trend. However, CMV accumulation showed an opposite trend where virus accumulations were negatively correlated with BnSGS3 expression. The results suggest that BnSGS3 selectively inhibits CMV accumulation but promotes ORMV and TuMV accumulation. BnSGS3 should be used in different ways (up- and down-regulation) for breeding virus-resistant oilseed rape varieties. PMID:26225990

Trials for development of once-a-month injectable, hormonal male contraceptive using dienogest plus testosterone undecanoate: dose standardization, efficacy and reversibility studies in rats.

PubMed

Misro, Man M; Chaki, Shankar P; Kaushik, Mahesh C; Nandan, Deoki

2009-06-01

The study was conducted to test the potential of using dienogest (DNG) plus testosterone undecanoate (TU) in rats for development of a once-a-month injectable male hormonal contraceptive. Dose selection studies were initiated with administration of DNG in three different doses of 20, 30 and 40 mg/kg body weight (bw) per week plus TU 25 mg/kg bw once in every 6 weeks. Status of spermatogenesis and sperm count in epididymis was evaluated. The frequency of DNG intervention was later extended to every 2- and 4-week intervals. Mating studies, toxicity and reversibility of spermatogenesis following stoppage of treatment were carried out with DNG 40 mg/kg bw at 4-week intervals. Complete arrest of spermatogenesis was observed after 60 days of treatment at all doses of DNG (20, 30 and 40 mg/kg bw per week)+TU. However, weights of testis and accessory sex organs (epididymis, prostate and seminal vesicle) declined significantly 60 days post treatment compared to vehicle-treated controls. Epididymis in the treated animals was completely devoid of sperm. When the frequency of DNG injection (20 mg/kg bw) was extended to once every 15 days, a few immotile and decapitated sperm were observed in the epididymis. With TU treatment unchanged, animals receiving DNG (40 mg/kg bw) once either every 2- or 4-week intervals demonstrated good and uniform arrest of spermatogenesis. DNG 40 mg/kg per 4 weeks+TU also demonstrated a significant rise in germ cell apoptosis in the seminiferous epithelium. There was no significant increase in the serum high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein levels at the end of 120 days of treatment. Following withdrawal of treatment after 60 or 120 days, qualitative restoration of spermatogenesis was rapid in the former compared to the latter. Dienogest plus TU has the potential for development as a monthly injectable showing reversible hormonal male contraception with good efficacy.

EVALUATION OF QUANTITATIVE THYROID SCINTIGRAPHY FOR DIAGNOSIS AND STAGING OF DISEASE SEVERITY IN CATS WITH HYPERTHYROIDISM: COMPARISON OF THE PERCENT THYROIDAL UPTAKE OF PERTECHNETATE TO THYROID-TO-SALIVARY RATIO AND THYROID-TO-BACKGROUND RATIOS.

PubMed

Peterson, Mark E; Guterl, Jade N; Rishniw, Mark; Broome, Michael R

2016-07-01

Thyroid scintigraphy is commonly used for evaluation of cats with hyperthyroidism, with the thyroid-to-salivary ratio (T/S) being the most common method to quantify the degree of thyroid activity and disease. Calculation of thyroid-to-background ratios (T/B) or percent thyroidal uptake of (99m) TcO(-) 4 (TcTU) has only been reported in a few studies. The purpose of this prospective, cross-sectional study was to evaluate a number of quantitative scintigraphic indices as diagnostic tests for hyperthyroidism, including the T/S, three different T/B, TcTU, and estimated thyroid volume. Of 524 cats referred to our clinic for evaluation of suspected hyperthyroidism, the diagnosis was confirmed (n = 504) or excluded (n = 20) based on results of a serum thyroid panel consisting of thyroxine (T4 ), triiodothyronine (T3 ), free T4 (fT4 ), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations. In the hyperthyroid cats, median values for TcTU, T/S, and three T/B ratios were all significantly higher (P < 0.001) than values in euthyroid suspect cats or clinically normal cats. All scintigraphic parameters were relatively sensitive and specific as diagnostic tests for hyperthyroidism, but the T/S ratio had the highest test accuracy. The T/S ratio correlated strongly with the TcTU (r = 0.85). However, the TcTU had a higher and more significant correlation (P < 0.01) with serum T4 (r = 0.76 vs. 0.64), T3 (r = 0.77 vs. 0.64), and estimated thyroid volume (r = 0.62 vs. 0.38). Overall, calculation of TcTU is an accurate diagnostic test, but also appears to be the best parameter to predict the functional volume and metabolic activity of the feline adenomatous thyroid gland. © 2016 American College of Veterinary Radiology.

Transgenic Brassica rapa plants over-expressing eIF(iso)4E variants show broad-spectrum Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) resistance.

PubMed

Kim, Jinhee; Kang, Won-Hee; Hwang, Jeena; Yang, Hee-Bum; Dosun, Kim; Oh, Chang-Sik; Kang, Byoung-Cheorl

2014-08-01

The protein-protein interaction between VPg (viral protein genome-linked) of potyviruses and eIF4E (eukaryotic initiation factor 4E) or eIF(iso)4E of their host plants is a critical step in determining viral virulence. In this study, we evaluated the approach of engineering broad-spectrum resistance in Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) to Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV), which is one of the most important potyviruses, by a systematic knowledge-based approach to interrupt the interaction between TuMV VPg and B. rapa eIF(iso)4E. The seven amino acids in the cap-binding pocket of eIF(iso)4E were selected on the basis of other previous results and comparison of protein models of cap-binding pockets, and mutated. Yeast two-hybrid assay and co-immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated that W95L, K150L and W95L/K150E amino acid mutations of B. rapa eIF(iso)4E interrupted its interaction with TuMV VPg. All eIF(iso)4E mutants were able to complement an eIF4E-knockout yeast strain, indicating that the mutated eIF(iso)4E proteins retained their function as a translational initiation factor. To determine whether these mutations could confer resistance, eIF(iso)4E W95L, W95L/K150E and eIF(iso)4E wild-type were over-expressed in a susceptible Chinese cabbage cultivar. Evaluation of the TuMV resistance of T1 and T2 transformants demonstrated that the over-expression of the eIF(iso)4E mutant forms can confer resistance to multiple TuMV strains. These data demonstrate the utility of knowledge-based approaches for the engineering of broad-spectrum resistance in Chinese cabbage. © 2014 BSPP AND JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD.

The use of growth and behavioral endpoints to assess the effects of pesticide mixtures upon aquatic organisms.

PubMed

Hasenbein, Simone; Lawler, Sharon P; Geist, Juergen; Connon, Richard E

2015-05-01

Aquatic communities are often subject to complex contaminant mixtures, usually at sublethal concentrations, that can cause long-term detrimental effects. Chemicals within mixtures can effectively interact, resulting in synergism, antagonism or additivity. We investigated the tertiary mixture effects of two pyrethroids, lambda-cyhalothrin and permethrin, and the organophosphate chlorpyrifos, evaluating sublethal endpoints; immobility and growth, on Chironomus dilutus in 10-day exposures. We utilized a toxic units (TU) approach, based on median lethal concentrations (LC50) for each compound. The concepts of independent action and concentration addition were used to compare predicted mixture toxicity to observed mixture toxicity. Increased immobility resulted from mixture concentrations ≥1 TU (7.45 ng/L lambda-cyhalothrin × 24.90 ng/L permethrin × 129.70 ng/L chlorpyrifos), and single pesticides concentrations ≥0.25 TU (5.50 ng/L lambda-cyhalothrin, 24.23 ng/L permethrin, 90.92 ng/L chlorpyrifos, respectively). Growth was inhibited by pesticide mixtures ≥0.125 TU (1.04 ng/L lambda-cyhalothrin × 3.15 ng/L permethrin × 15.47 ng/L chlorpyrifos), and singly by lambda-cyhalothrin ≥0.25 TU (5.50 ng/L), and permethrin ≥0.167 TU (18.21 ng/L). The no observed effect concentrations (NOEC) for immobility and growth, for both mixture and single-pyrethroid exposure, were up to 8.0 and 12.0 times respectively lower than the corresponding NOEC for survival. The median effective concentrations (EC50) for growth (mixture and single-pyrethroid exposure) were up to 7.0 times lower than the respective LC50. This study reinforces that the integration of sublethal endpoints in monitoring efforts is powerful in discerning toxic effects that would otherwise be missed by solely utilizing traditional toxicity assessments.

Indirect Liquefaction of Coal-Biomass Mixture for Production of Jet Fuel with High Productivity and Selectivity

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

Gangwal, Santosh K; McCabe, Kevin

Coal to liquids (CTL) and coal-biomass to liquids (CBTL) processes were advanced by testing and demonstrating Southern Research’s sulfur tolerant nickel-based reforming catalyst and Chevron’s highly selective and active cobalt-zeolite hybrid Fischer-Tropsch (FT) catalyst to clean, upgrade and convert syngas predominantly to jet fuel range hydrocarbon liquids, thereby minimizing expensive cleanup and wax upgrading operations. The National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) operated by Southern Company (SC) at Wilsonville, Alabama served as the host site for the gasifier slip-stream and simulated syngas testing/demonstration. Reformer testing was performed to (1) reform tar and light hydrocarbons, (2) decompose ammonia in the presence H2S,more » and (3) deliver the required H2 to CO ratio for FT synthesis. FT Testing was performed to produce a product primarily containing C5-C20 liquid hydrocarbons and no C21+ waxy hydrocarbons with productivity greater than 0.7 gC5+/g catalyst/h, and at least 70% diesel and jet fuel range (C8-C20) hydrocarbon selectivity in the liquid product. A novel heat-exchange reactor system was employed to enable the use of the highly active FT catalyst and larger diameter reactors that results in cost reduction for commercial systems. Following laboratory development and testing, SR’s laboratory reformer was modified to operate in a Class 1 Div. 2 environment, installed at NCCC, and successfully tested for 125 hours using raw syngas. The catalyst demonstrated near equilibrium reforming (~90%) of methane and complete reforming/decomposition of tar and ammonia in the presence of up to 380 ppm H2S. For FT synthesis, SR modified and utilized a bench scale skid mounted FT reactor system (SR-CBTL test rig) that was fully integrated with a slip stream from SC/NCCC’s transport gasifier (TRIG). The test-rig developed in a previous project (DE-FE0010231) was modified to receive up to 7.5 lb/h raw syngas augmented with bottled syngas to adjust the H2/CO molar ratio to 2, clean it to cobalt FT catalyst specifications, and produce liquid FT products at the design capacity of up to 6 L/day. Promising Chevron catalyst candidates in the size range from 70-200 μm were loaded onto SR’s 2-inch ID and 4-inch ID bench-scale reactors utilizing IntraMicron’s micro-fiber entrapped catalyst (MFEC) heat exchange reactor technology. During 2 test campaigns, the FT reactors were successfully demonstrated at NCCC using syngas for ~420 hours. The catalyst did not experience deactivation during the tests. SR’s thermo-syphon heat removal system maintained reactor operating temperature along the axis to within ±4 °C. The experiments gave a steady catalyst productivity of 0.7-0.8 g/g catalyst/h, liquid hydrocarbon selectivity of ~75%, and diesel and jet fuel range hydrocarbon selectivity in the liquid product as high as 85% depending on process conditions. A preliminary techno-economic evaluation showed that the SR technology-based 50,000 bpd plant had a 10 % lower total plant cost compared to a conventional slurry reactor based plant. Furthermore, because of the modular nature of the SR technology, it was shown that the total plant cost advantage increases to >35 % as the plant is scaled down to 1000 bpd.« less

A Combined Adaptive Neural Network and Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Multirate Networked Industrial Process Control.

PubMed

Wang, Tong; Gao, Huijun; Qiu, Jianbin

2016-02-01

This paper investigates the multirate networked industrial process control problem in double-layer architecture. First, the output tracking problem for sampled-data nonlinear plant at device layer with sampling period T(d) is investigated using adaptive neural network (NN) control, and it is shown that the outputs of subsystems at device layer can track the decomposed setpoints. Then, the outputs and inputs of the device layer subsystems are sampled with sampling period T(u) at operation layer to form the index prediction, which is used to predict the overall performance index at lower frequency. Radial basis function NN is utilized as the prediction function due to its approximation ability. Then, considering the dynamics of the overall closed-loop system, nonlinear model predictive control method is proposed to guarantee the system stability and compensate the network-induced delays and packet dropouts. Finally, a continuous stirred tank reactor system is given in the simulation part to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

78 FR 57253 - Airworthiness Directives; Honeywell ASCa Inc. Emergency Locator Transmitters Installed on Various...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-18

... detect and correct discrepancies of the battery wiring installation inside the TU, which could result in... TUs revealed battery wiring installation discrepancies inside the TU that may result in an electrical short. The AAIB noted that in case of an electrical short, the ELT battery could provide the energy for...

"The Et Tu Brute Complex" Compulsive Self Betrayal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antus, Robert Lawrence

2006-01-01

In this article, the author discusses "The Et Tu Brute Complex." More specifically, this phenomenon occurs when a person, instead of supporting and befriending himself, orally condemns himself in front of other people and becomes his own worst enemy. This is a form of compulsive self-hatred. Most often, the victim of this complex is unaware of the…

Identification and cloning of two immunogenic Clostridium perfringens proteins, elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFO) of C. perfringens

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Clostridium-related diseases such as gangrenous dermatitis (GD) and necrotic enteritis (NE) are increasingly emerging as major diseases in recent years with high economic loss around the world. In this report, we characterized two immunogenic Clostridium perfringens (CP) proteins (e.g., elongation f...

“Impact of CB6 and CB05TU chemical mechanisms on air quality”

EPA Science Inventory

“Impacts of CB6 and CB05TU chemical mechanisms on air quality”In this study, we incorporate the newly developed Carbon Bond chemical mechanism (CB6) into the Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system (CMAQv5.0.1) and perform air quality model simulations with the CB6 and t...

Upgrades to the ISS Water Recovery System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kayatin, Matthew; Takada, Kevin; Carter, Layne

2017-01-01

The ISS Water Recovery System (WRS) includes the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). The WRS produces potable water from a combination of crew urine (first processed through the UPA), crew latent, and Sabatier product water. Though the WRS has performed well since operations began in November 2008, several modifications have been identified to improve the overall system performance. These modifications can reduce resupply and improve overall system reliability, which is beneficial for the ongoing ISS mission as well as for future NASA manned missions. The following paper details efforts to improve the WPA through the use of Reverse Osmosis technology to reduce the resupply mass of the WPA Multifiltration Bed and improved catalyst for the WPA Catalytic Reactor to reduce the operational temperature and pressure. For the UPA, this paper discusses progress on various concepts for improving the reliability of the UPA, including the implementation of a more reliable drive belt, improved methods for managing condensate in the stationary bowl of the Distillation Assembly, deleting the Separator Plumbing Assembly, and evaluating upgrades to the UPA vacuum pump.

Excess sludge disruption and pollutant removal from tannery effluent by upgraded activated sludge system.

PubMed

Sodhi, Vijay; Bansal, Ajay; Jha, Mithilesh Kumar

2018-04-30

This study proposed a maintenance metabolism based upgraded activated sludge as MANODOX system that restricts excess biosludge generation from high strength real tannery effluent. The MANODOX experimental demonstration has been done using a sequenced operational arrangement of a MBBR, anaerobic digester, and oxidation ditch connected to CAS reactor, discussed in detail manner. Experimental trends revealed a prominently lower sludge yield upto 0.271 gVSS/gCOD (72% overall sludge reduction) that corresponds to parallel run CAS (0.92 gVSS/gCOD). MANODOX implementation confirmed high quality treated effluent with prominent COD and suspended solids reduction upto 97.1% and 96% respectively. The biodegradability observation was further supported by anaerobic and aerobic batch digestion analysis. The variation of soluble component turbidity analysis reflects the enriched non-flocculating predatory microbial population appears to may have been responsible for sludge reduction. MANODOX system provided a sustainable practical alternative for under capacity activated sludge based treatment facilities for a variety of wastewater types. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Upgrades to the International Space Station Water Recovery System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kayatin, Matthew J.; Pruitt, Jennifer M.; Nur, Mononita; Takada, Kevin C.; Carter, Layne

2017-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) Water Recovery System (WRS) includes the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). The WRS produces potable water from a combination of crew urine (first processed through the UPA), crew latent, and Sabatier product water. Though the WRS has performed well since operations began in November 2008, several modifications have been identified to improve the overall system performance. These modifications aim to reduce resupply and improve overall system reliability, which is beneficial for the ongoing ISS mission as well as for future NASA manned missions. The following paper details efforts to improve the WPA through the use of reverse osmosis membrane technology to reduce the resupply mass of the WPA Multi-filtration Bed and improved catalyst for the WPA Catalytic Reactor to reduce the operational temperature and pressure. For the UPA, this paper discusses progress on various concepts for improving the reliability of the system, including the implementation of a more reliable drive belt, improved methods for managing condensate in the stationary bowl of the Distillation Assembly, and evaluating upgrades to the UPA vacuum pump.

An approach for upgrading biomass and pyrolysis product quality using a combination of aqueous phase bio-oil washing and torrefaction pretreatment.

PubMed

Chen, Dengyu; Cen, Kehui; Jing, Xichun; Gao, Jinghui; Li, Chen; Ma, Zhongqing

2017-06-01

Bio-oil undergoes phase separation because of poor stability. Practical application of aqueous phase bio-oil is challenging. In this study, a novel approach that combines aqueous phase bio-oil washing and torrefaction pretreatment was used to upgrade the biomass and pyrolysis product quality. The effects of individual and combined pretreatments on cotton stalk pyrolysis were studied using TG-FTIR and a fixed bed reactor. The results showed that the aqueous phase bio-oil washing pretreatment removed metals and resolved the two pyrolysis peaks in the DTG curve. Importantly, it increased the bio-oil yield and improved the pyrolysis product quality. For example, the water and acid content of bio-oil decreased significantly along with an increase in phenol formation, and the heating value of non-condensable gases improved, and these were more pronounced when combined with torrefaction pretreatment. Therefore, the combined pretreatment is a promising method, which would contribute to the development of polygeneration pyrolysis technology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preliminary Experience with ''In-Site'' Baking of Niobium Cavities

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

P. Kneisel

In a series of experiments several single cell and multi-cell niobium cavities made from reactor grade and high RRR niobium (frequencies were 700 MHz, 1300 MHz and 1497 MHz) have been baked--after initial testing--in-situ around 145 C for up to 90 hours prior to being recooled. Surprisingly, all cavities showed significant improvements in Q-values between 4.2 and 1.6K. The BCS surface resistance was lowered by nearly a factor of two. This cannot be explained by solely a reduction of dielectric losses caused by adsorbates at the surface or by a decrease of the mean free path due to possibly diffusionmore » of oxygen into the surface layer. In several experiments also the high field behavior of the cavity improved after the in-situ baking procedure. The observed effect opens the possibility for the CEBAF upgrade cavities, which in turn will permit to run the cavities at higher gradients if field emission loading can be prevented. Utilizing this effect can possibly translate into sizeable cost savings since fewer modules are needed for the upgrade program.« less

MAST Upgrade Status and Future Enhancements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrison, James; MAST Upgrade Team Team

2017-10-01

The MAST Upgrade spherical tokamak has unique capabilities to address some of the key issues facing the development of fusion energy. Its main objectives are: 1) development of novel exhaust concepts, 2) contribution to the knowledge base for ITER and 3) to explore potential routes to smaller/cheaper fusion reactors. To fulfil these aims, it is equipped with 19 new poloidal field coils and closed divertors with Super-X capability. BT has been increased by 50% and the pulse length and Ip have increased to 5s and 2MA respectively. Auxiliary heating is provided by on and off axis NBI. The gas fuelling system allows for injection from 10 poloidal locations. The divertors are diagnosed with probes, bolometers, Thomson scattering, IR, visible imaging and spectroscopy. Fast ion physics studies are enhanced with a new fast ion loss detector. Following the construction phase, further enhancements are underway including new diagnostics, a cryoplant to serve the cryopumps and 2 additional neutral beams to increase the heating power from 5 to 10MW. Work supported by the RCUK Energy Programme [Grant Number EP/P012450/1] and EURATOM.

Torrefaction study for energy upgrading on Indonesian biomass as low emission solid fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alamsyah, R.; Siregar, N. C.; Hasanah, F.

2017-05-01

Torrefaction is a pyrolysis process with low heating rate and temperature lower than 300°C in an inert condition which transforms biomass into a low emission solid fuel with relatively high energy. Through the torrefaction process biomass can be altered so that the end product is easy to grind and simple in the supply chain. The research was aimed at designing torrefaction reactor and upgrading energy content of some Indonesian biomass. The biomass used consist of empty fruit bunches of oil palm (EFB), cassava peel solid waste, and cocopeat (waste of coconut fiber). These biomass were formed into briquette and pellet form and were torrified with 300°C temperature during 1.5 hours without air. The results of terrified biomass and non-torrefied biomass were compared after burning on the stove in term of energy content and air emission quality. The result shows that energy content of biomass have increased by 1.1 up to 1.36 times. Meanwhile emission air resulted from its combustion was met with Indonesian emission regulation.

Dynamic Response Testing in an Electrically Heated Reactor Test Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bragg-Sitton, Shannon M.; Morton, T. J.

2006-01-01

Non-nuclear testing can be a valuable tool in the development of a space nuclear power or propulsion system. In a non-nuclear test bed, electric heaters are used to simulate the heat from nuclear fuel. Standard testing allows one to fully assess thermal, heat transfer, and stress related attributes of a given system, but fails to demonstrate the dynamic response that would be present in an integrated, fueled reactor system. The integration of thermal hydraulic hardware tests with simulated neutronic response provides a bridge between electrically heated testing and fueled nuclear testing. By implementing a neutronic response model to simulate the dynamic response that would be expected in a fueled reactor system, one can better understand system integration issues, characterize integrated system response times and response characteristics, and assess potential design improvements at a relatively small fiscal investment. Initial system dynamic response testing was demonstrated on the integrated SAFE-100a heat pipe (HP) cooled, electrically heated reactor and heat exchanger hardware, utilizing a one-group solution to the point kinetics equations to simulate the expected neutronic response of the system. Reactivity feedback calculations were then based on a bulk reactivity feedback coefficient and measured average core temperature. This paper presents preliminary results from similar dynamic testing of a direct drive gas cooled reactor system (DDG), demonstrating the applicability of the testing methodology to any reactor type and demonstrating the variation in system response characteristics in different reactor concepts. Although the HP and DDG designs both utilize a fast spectrum reactor, the method of cooling the reactor differs significantly, leading to a variable system response that can be demonstrated and assessed in a non-nuclear test facility. Planned system upgrades to allow implementation of higher fidelity dynamic testing are also discussed. Proposed DDG testing will utilize a higher fidelity point kinetics model to control core power transients, and reactivity feedback will be based on localized feedback coefficients and several independent temperature measurements taken within the core block. This paper presents preliminary test results and discusses the methodology that will be implemented in follow-on DDG testing and the additional instrumentation required to implement high fidelity dynamic testing.

CY2013 Annual Report for DOE-ITU INERI 2010-006-E

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

Kennedy, J. Rory; Rondinella, Vincenzo V.

2014-12-01

New concepts for nuclear energy development are considered in both the USA and Europe within the framework of the Generation-IV International Forum (GIF) as well as in various US-DOE programs (e.g. the Fuel Cycle Research and Development - FCRD) and as part of the European Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform (SNE-TP). Since most new fuel cycle concepts envisage the adoption of a closed nuclear fuel cycle employing fast reactors, the fuel behavior characteristics of the various proposed advanced fuel forms must be effectively investigated using state of the art experimental techniques before implementation. More rapid progress can be achieved ifmore » effective synergy with advanced (multi-scale) modeling efforts can be achieved. The fuel systems to be considered include minor actinide (MA) transmutation fuel types such as advanced MOX, advanced metal alloy, inert matrix fuel (IMF), and other ceramic fuels like nitrides, carbides, etc., for fast neutronic spectrum conditions. Most of the advanced fuel compounds have already been the object of past examination programs, which included irradiations in research reactors. The knowledge derived from previous experience constitutes a significant, albeit incomplete body of data. New or upgraded experimental tools are available today that can extend the scientific and technological knowledge towards achieving the objectives associated with the new generation of nuclear reactors and fuels. The objectives of this project will be three-fold: (1) to extend the available knowledge on properties and irradiation behavior of high burnup and minor actinide bearing advanced fuel systems; (2) to establish a synergy with multi-scale and code development efforts in which experimental data and expertise on the irradiation behavior of nuclear fuels is properly conveyed for the upgrade/development of advanced modeling tools; (3) to promote the effective use of international resources to the characterization of irradiated fuel through exchange of expertise and information among leading experimental facilities. The priorities in this project will be set according to the down selection procedure of U.S. and European development programs.« less

Ammonia inhibition on hydrogen enriched anaerobic digestion of manure under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions.

PubMed

Wang, Han; Zhang, Yifeng; Angelidaki, Irini

2016-11-15

Capturing of carbon dioxide by hydrogen derived from excess renewable energy (e.g., wind mills) to methane in a microbially catalyzed process offers an attractive technology for biogas production and upgrading. This bioconversion process is catalyzed by hydrogenotrophic methanogens, which are known to be sensitive to ammonia. In this study, the tolerance of the biogas process under supply of hydrogen, to ammonia toxicity was studied under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. When the initial hydrogen partial pressure was 0.5 atm, the methane yield at high ammonia load (7 g NH 4 + -N L -1 ) was 41.0% and 22.3% lower than that at low ammonia load (1 g NH 4 + -N L -1 ) in mesophilic and thermophilic condition, respectively. Meanwhile no significant effect on the biogas composition was observed. Moreover, we found that hydrogentrophic methanogens were more tolerant to the ammonia toxicity than acetoclastic methanogens in the hydrogen enriched biogas production and upgrading processes. The highest methane production yield was achieved under 0.5 atm hydrogen partial pressure in batch reactors at all the tested ammonia levels. Furthermore, the thermophilic methanogens at 0.5 atm of hydrogen partial pressure were more tolerant to high ammonia levels (≥5 g NH 4 + -N L -1 ), compared with mesophilic methanogens. The present study offers insight in developing resistant hydrogen enriched biogas production and upgrading processes treating ammonia-rich waste streams. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of population growth and population ethics on climate change mitigation policy

PubMed Central

Scovronick, Noah; Budolfson, Mark B.; Dennig, Francis; Fleurbaey, Marc; Siebert, Asher; Socolow, Robert H.; Spears, Dean; Wagner, Fabian

2017-01-01

Future population growth is uncertain and matters for climate policy: higher growth entails more emissions and means more people will be vulnerable to climate-related impacts. We show that how future population is valued importantly determines mitigation decisions. Using the Dynamic Integrated Climate-Economy model, we explore two approaches to valuing population: a discounted version of total utilitarianism (TU), which considers total wellbeing and is standard in social cost of carbon dioxide (SCC) models, and of average utilitarianism (AU), which ignores population size and sums only each time period’s discounted average wellbeing. Under both approaches, as population increases the SCC increases, but optimal peak temperature decreases. The effect is larger under TU, because it responds to the fact that a larger population means climate change hurts more people: for example, in 2025, assuming the United Nations (UN)-high rather than UN-low population scenario entails an increase in the SCC of 85% under TU vs. 5% under AU. The difference in the SCC between the two population scenarios under TU is comparable to commonly debated decisions regarding time discounting. Additionally, we estimate the avoided mitigation costs implied by plausible reductions in population growth, finding that large near-term savings ($billions annually) occur under TU; savings under AU emerge in the more distant future. These savings are larger than spending shortfalls for human development policies that may lower fertility. Finally, we show that whether lowering population growth entails overall improvements in wellbeing—rather than merely cost savings—again depends on the ethical approach to valuing population. PMID:29087298

Impact of population growth and population ethics on climate change mitigation policy.

PubMed

Scovronick, Noah; Budolfson, Mark B; Dennig, Francis; Fleurbaey, Marc; Siebert, Asher; Socolow, Robert H; Spears, Dean; Wagner, Fabian

2017-11-14

Future population growth is uncertain and matters for climate policy: higher growth entails more emissions and means more people will be vulnerable to climate-related impacts. We show that how future population is valued importantly determines mitigation decisions. Using the Dynamic Integrated Climate-Economy model, we explore two approaches to valuing population: a discounted version of total utilitarianism (TU), which considers total wellbeing and is standard in social cost of carbon dioxide (SCC) models, and of average utilitarianism (AU), which ignores population size and sums only each time period's discounted average wellbeing. Under both approaches, as population increases the SCC increases, but optimal peak temperature decreases. The effect is larger under TU, because it responds to the fact that a larger population means climate change hurts more people: for example, in 2025, assuming the United Nations (UN)-high rather than UN-low population scenario entails an increase in the SCC of 85% under TU vs. 5% under AU. The difference in the SCC between the two population scenarios under TU is comparable to commonly debated decisions regarding time discounting. Additionally, we estimate the avoided mitigation costs implied by plausible reductions in population growth, finding that large near-term savings ($billions annually) occur under TU; savings under AU emerge in the more distant future. These savings are larger than spending shortfalls for human development policies that may lower fertility. Finally, we show that whether lowering population growth entails overall improvements in wellbeing-rather than merely cost savings-again depends on the ethical approach to valuing population. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Heterologous expression of a plastid EF-Tu reduces protein thermal aggregation and enhances CO2 fixation in wheat (Triticum aestivum) following heat stress.

PubMed

Fu, Jianming; Momcilović, Ivana; Clemente, Thomas E; Nersesian, Natalya; Trick, Harold N; Ristic, Zoran

2008-10-01

Heat stress is a major constraint to wheat production and negatively impacts grain quality, causing tremendous economic losses, and may become a more troublesome factor due to global warming. At the cellular level, heat stress causes denaturation and aggregation of proteins and injury to membranes leading to alterations in metabolic fluxes. Protein aggregation is irreversible, and protection of proteins from thermal aggregation is a strategy a cell uses to tolerate heat stress. Here we report on the development of transgenic wheat (Triticum aestivum) events, expressing a maize gene coding for plastidal protein synthesis elongation factor (EF-Tu), which, compared to non-transgenic plants, display reduced thermal aggregation of leaf proteins, reduced heat injury to photosynthetic membranes (thylakoids), and enhanced rate of CO(2) fixation after exposure to heat stress. The results support the concept that EF-Tu ameliorates negative effects of heat stress by acting as a molecular chaperone. This is the first demonstration of the introduction of a plastidal EF-Tu in plants that leads to protection against heat injury and enhanced photosynthesis after heat stress. This is also the first demonstration that a gene other than HSP gene can be used for improvement of heat tolerance and that the improvement is possible in a species that has a complex genome, hexaploid wheat. The results strongly suggest that heat tolerance of wheat, and possibly other crop plants, can be improved by modulating expression of plastidal EF-Tu and/or by selection of genotypes with increased endogenous levels of this protein.

Delayed photo-activation and addition of thio-urethane: Impact on polymerization kinetics and stress of dual-cured resin cements.

PubMed

Faria-E-Silva, André L; Pfeifer, Carmem S

2017-10-01

1) to determine the moment during the redox polymerization reaction of dual cure cements at which to photo-activate the material in order to reduce the polymerization stress, and 2) to evaluate possible synergistic effects between adding chain transfer agents and delayed photo-activation. The two pastes of an experimental dual-cure material were mixed, and the polymerization kinetics of the redox phase was followed. The moment when the material reached its maximum rate of redox polymerization (MRRP) of cement was determined. The degree of conversion (DC) and maximum rates of polymerization (Rp max ) were assessed for materials where: the photoactivation immediately followed material mixing, at MRRP, 1min before and 1min after MRRP. Thio-urethane (TU) additives were synthesized and added to the cement (20% wt), which was then cured under the same conditions. The polymerization kinetics was evaluated for both cements photo-activated immediately or at MRRP, followed by measurements of polymerization stress, flexural strength (FS) and elastic modulus (EM). Knoop hardness was measured before and after ethanol storage. Photo-activating the cement at or after MRRP reduced the Rp max and the polymerization stress. Addition of TU promoted additional and more significant reduction, while not affecting the Rp max . Greater hardness loss was observed for cements with TU, but the final hardness was similar for all experimental conditions. Addition of TU slightly reduced the EM and did not affect the FS. Delayed photo-activation and addition of TU significantly reduce the polymerization stress of dual-cured cements. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reactivity of Metal Oxide Sorbents for Removal of H{sub 2}S

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

Kwon, K.C.; Crowe, E.R.

1996-12-31

Removal of hydrogen sulfide contained in hot coal gases produced from integrated gasification combined cycle power generation systems is required to protect downstream combustion turbines from being corroded with sulfur compounds. Removal of sulfur compounds from hot coal gas products is investigated by using various metal oxide sorbents and membrane separation methods. The main requirements of these metal oxide sorbents are durability and high sulfur loading capacity during absorption-regeneration cycles. In this research, durable metal oxide sorbents were formulated. Reactivity of the formulated metal oxide sorbents with simulated coal gas mixtures was examined to search for an ideal sorbent formulationmore » with a high-sulfur loading capacity suitable for removal of hydrogen sulfide from coal gases. The main objectives of this research are to formulate durable metal oxide sorbents with high-sulfur loading capacity by a physical mixing method, to investigate reaction kinetics on the removal of sulfur compounds from coal gases at high temperature and pressure, to study reaction kinetics on the regeneration of sulfided sorbents, to identify effects of hydrogen partial pressures and moisture on equilibrium/dynamic absorption of hydrogen sulfide into formulated metal oxide sorbents as well as initial reaction rates of H{sub 2}S with formulated metal oxide sorbents, and to evaluate intraparticular diffusivity of H{sub 2}S into formulated sorbents at various reaction conditions. The metal oxide sorbents such as TU-1, TU-19, TU-24, TU-25 and TU-28 were formulated with zinc oxide powder as an active sorbent ingredient, bentonite as a binding material and titanium oxide as a supporting metal oxide.« less

Development of a cryogenic load frame for the neutron diffractometer at Takumi in Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Xinzhe; Nakamoto, Tatsushi; Harjo, Stefanus; Hemmi, Tsutomu; Umeno, Takahiro; Ogitsu, Toru; Yamamoto, Akira; Sugano, Michinaka; Aizawa, Kazuya; Abe, Jun; Gong, Wu; Iwahashi, Takaaki

2013-06-01

To prepare for projects such as the Large Hadron Collider upgrade, International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and Demonstration reactor, it is important to form a clear understanding of stress-strain properties of the materials that make up superconducting magnets. Thus, we have been studying the mechanical properties of superconducting wires using neutron diffraction measurements. To simulate operational conditions such as temperature, stress, and strain, we developed a cryogenic load frame for stress-strain measurements of materials using a neutron diffractometer at Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) Takumi beam line. The maximum load that can be applied to a sample using an external driving machine is 50 kN. Using a Gifford-MacMahon cryocooler, samples can be measured down to temperatures below 10 K when loaded. In the present paper, we describe the details of the cryogenic load frame with its test results by using type-304 stainless steel wire.

Development of a cryogenic load frame for the neutron diffractometer at Takumi in Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex

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

Jin, Xinzhe; Nakamoto, Tatsushi; Ogitsu, Toru

2013-06-15

To prepare for projects such as the Large Hadron Collider upgrade, International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and Demonstration reactor, it is important to form a clear understanding of stress-strain properties of the materials that make up superconducting magnets. Thus, we have been studying the mechanical properties of superconducting wires using neutron diffraction measurements. To simulate operational conditions such as temperature, stress, and strain, we developed a cryogenic load frame for stress-strain measurements of materials using a neutron diffractometer at Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) Takumi beam line. The maximum load that can be applied to a sample using an externalmore » driving machine is 50 kN. Using a Gifford-MacMahon cryocooler, samples can be measured down to temperatures below 10 K when loaded. In the present paper, we describe the details of the cryogenic load frame with its test results by using type-304 stainless steel wire.« less

Two stages catalytic pyrolysis of refuse derived fuel: production of biofuel via syncrude.

PubMed

Miskolczi, N; Buyong, F; Angyal, A; Williams, P T; Bartha, L

2010-11-01

Thermo-catalytic pyrolysis of refuse derived fuels with different catalysts had been conducted in a two stages process due to its important potential value as fuel. The first stage was a pure thermal pyrolysis in a horizontal tubular reactor with feed rate of 0.5kg hourly. The second stage was a semi-batch process in the presence of catalysts. Results showed that the tested catalysts significantly have affected the quantity of products. E.g. gas yield could be increased with 350% related to the catalyst free case using ZSM-5, while that of pyrolytic oil was 115% over Y-zeolite. Gases consisted of mainly CO and CO(2) obtained from the tubular reactor, while dominantly hydrocarbons from the second stage. Ni-Mo-catalyst and Co-Mo-catalyst had shown activity in pyrolytic oil upgrading via in-situ hydrogenation-dehydrogenation reactions. Sulphur, nitrogen and chlorine level in pyrolytic oils could be significantly declined by using of catalysts.

High-pressure anaerobic digestion up to 100 bar: influence of initial pressure on production kinetics and specific methane yields.

PubMed

Merkle, Wolfgang; Baer, Katharina; Haag, Nicola Leonard; Zielonka, Simon; Ortloff, Felix; Graf, Frank; Lemmer, Andreas

2017-02-01

To ensure an efficient use of biogas produced by anaerobic digestion, in some cases it would be advisable to upgrade the biogenic gases and inject them into the transnational gas grids. To investigate biogas production under high-pressure conditions up to 100 bar, new pressure batch methane reactors were developed for preliminary lab-scale experiments with a mixture of grass and maize silage hydrolysate. During this investigation, the effects of different initial pressures (1, 50 and 100 bar) on pressure increase, gas production and the specific methane yield using nitrogen as inert gas were determined. Based on the experimental findings increasing initial pressures alter neither significantly, further pressure increases nor pressure increase rates. All supplied organic acids were degraded and no measurable inhibition of the microorganisms was observed. The results show that methane reactors can be operated at operating pressures up to 100 bar without any negative effects on methane production.

Development of a cryogenic load frame for the neutron diffractometer at Takumi in Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex.

PubMed

Jin, Xinzhe; Nakamoto, Tatsushi; Harjo, Stefanus; Hemmi, Tsutomu; Umeno, Takahiro; Ogitsu, Toru; Yamamoto, Akira; Sugano, Michinaka; Aizawa, Kazuya; Abe, Jun; Gong, Wu; Iwahashi, Takaaki

2013-06-01

To prepare for projects such as the Large Hadron Collider upgrade, International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and Demonstration reactor, it is important to form a clear understanding of stress-strain properties of the materials that make up superconducting magnets. Thus, we have been studying the mechanical properties of superconducting wires using neutron diffraction measurements. To simulate operational conditions such as temperature, stress, and strain, we developed a cryogenic load frame for stress-strain measurements of materials using a neutron diffractometer at Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) Takumi beam line. The maximum load that can be applied to a sample using an external driving machine is 50 kN. Using a Gifford-MacMahon cryocooler, samples can be measured down to temperatures below 10 K when loaded. In the present paper, we describe the details of the cryogenic load frame with its test results by using type-304 stainless steel wire.

More than a decade of experience of landfill leachate treatment with a full-scale anammox plant combining activated sludge and activated carbon biofilm.

PubMed

Azari, Mohammad; Walter, Uwe; Rekers, Volker; Gu, Ji-Dong; Denecke, Martin

2017-05-01

The performance of biological treatment for high ammonium removal from landfill leachate has been demonstrated. The plant was upgraded combining the activated sludge process followed by activated carbon reactor. Based on a long-term analysis of data collected from 2006 to 2015, the average total nitrogen removal efficiency of 94% was achieved for wastewaters with a C: N ratio varying from 1 to 5 kg-COD kg-TN -1 . But without the presence of activated carbon reactor, the average of biological removal efficiency for total nitrogen was only 82% ± 6% for the activated sludge stage. It means that up to 20% of the nitrogen in the influent can only be eliminated by microorganisms attached to granular activated carbon. After upgrades of the plant, the energy efficiency showed a reduction in the specific energy demand from 1.6 to less than 0.2 kWh m -3 . Methanol consumption and sludge production was reduced by 91% and 96%, respectively. Fluorescent in situ Hybridization was used for microbial diversity analysis on floccular sludge and granular biofilm samples. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria and nitrifiers were detected and Candidatus Scalindua was found in two forms of flocs and biofilms. Due to stochastic risk assessment based on the long-term data analysis given in this research, the treatment criteria were achieved and the combination of granular activated carbon biofilm process and activated sludge can be a novel and sought approach to better enrich anammox biomass for full-scale treatment applications to reduce operating costs and promote nutrient removal stability and efficiency. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced thermally stable jet fuels: Technical progress report, October 1994--December 1994

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

Schobert, H.H.; Eser, S.; Song, C.

There are five tasks within this project on thermally stable coal-based jet fuels. Progress on each of the tasks is described. Task 1, Investigation of the quantitative degradation chemistry of fuels, has 5 subtasks which are described: Literature review on thermal stability of jet fuels; Pyrolytic and catalytic reactions of potential endothermic fuels: cis- and trans-decalin; Use of site specific {sup 13}C-labeling to examine the thermal stressing of 1-phenylhexane: A case study for the determination of reaction kinetics in complex fuel mixtures versus model compound studies; Estimation of critical temperatures of jet fuels; and Surface effects on deposit formation inmore » a flow reactor system. Under Task 2, Investigation of incipient deposition, the subtask reported is Uncertainty analysis on growth and deposition of particles during heating of coal-derived aviation gas turbine fuels; under Task 3, Characterization of solid gums, sediments, and carbonaceous deposits, is subtask, Studies of surface chemistry of PX-21 activated carbon during thermal degradation of jet A-1 fuel and n-dodecane; under Task 4, Coal-based fuel stabilization studies, is subtask, Exploratory screening and development potential of jet fuel thermal stabilizers over 400 C; and under Task 5, Exploratory studies on the direct conversion of coal to high quality jet fuels, are 4 subtasks: Novel approaches to low-severity coal liquefaction and coal/resid co-processing using water and dispersed catalysts; Shape-selective naphthalene hydrogenation for production of thermally stable jet fuels; Design of a batch mode and a continuous mode three-phase reactor system for the liquefaction of coal and upgrading of coal liquids; and Exploratory studies on coal liquids upgrading using mesopores molecular sieve catalysts. 136 refs., 69 figs., 24 tabs.« less

Formulations of the endophytic bacterium Bacillus subtilis Tu-100 suppress Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on oilseed rape and improve plant vigor in field trials conducted at separate locations

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causes serious yield losses in crops in The People’s Republic of China. Two formulations of oilseed rape seed containing the endophytic bacterium Bacillus subtilis Tu-100 were evaluated for suppression of this pathogen in field trials conducted at two independent locations....

Linking Student Engagement and Strategic Initiatives: Using NSSE Results to Inform Campus Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doherty, Kathryn

2007-01-01

Towson University (TU) is in a period of growth in both students and facilities. To guide this growth, TU relies on its strategic plan, Towson 2010, to focus its strategic decisions through 2010. Release of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data for 2005 coincided with a call for academic excellence and accelerated growth at Towson…

"Vous" or "tu"? Native and Non-Native Speakers of French on a Sociolinguistic Tightrope

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dewaele, Jean-Marc

2004-01-01

Sociolinguistic rules governing choice of pronouns of address are notoriously difficult in French, despite the fact that the number of variants is rather limited: the more formal "vous" versus the more informal "tu." Children with French as L1 learn to use pronouns of address appropriately as part of their socialization process. The learning curve…

A Comparison of the Cognitive Moral Development of Christian University Seniors in Traditional versus Adult Degree Completion Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loomis, Michael J.

2009-01-01

This research uses the Defining Issues Test-2 (DIT-2) to investigate the cognitive moral development of college seniors in adult degree completion (ADC) programs and traditional undergraduate (TU) programs at three Council of Christian College and University institutions. Overall, TU students had significantly higher scores on the DIT-2, TU…

The C-terminal Helix of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Elongation Factor Ts Tunes EF-Tu Dynamics to Modulate Nucleotide Exchange.

PubMed

De Laurentiis, Evelina Ines; Mercier, Evan; Wieden, Hans-Joachim

2016-10-28

Little is known about the conservation of critical kinetic parameters and the mechanistic strategies of elongation factor (EF) Ts-catalyzed nucleotide exchange in EF-Tu in bacteria and particularly in clinically relevant pathogens. EF-Tu from the clinically relevant pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa shares over 84% sequence identity with the corresponding elongation factor from Escherichia coli Interestingly, the functionally closely linked EF-Ts only shares 55% sequence identity. To identify any differences in the nucleotide binding properties, as well as in the EF-Ts-mediated nucleotide exchange reaction, we performed a comparative rapid kinetics and mutagenesis analysis of the nucleotide exchange mechanism for both the E. coli and P. aeruginosa systems, identifying helix 13 of EF-Ts as a previously unnoticed regulatory element in the nucleotide exchange mechanism with species-specific elements. Our findings support the base side-first entry of the nucleotide into the binding pocket of the EF-Tu·EF-Ts binary complex, followed by displacement of helix 13 and rapid binding of the phosphate side of the nucleotide, ultimately leading to the release of EF-Ts. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

On-line pre-reduction of Se(VI) by thiourea for selenium speciation by hydride generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Jianhua; Wang, Qiuquan; Ma, Yuning; Yang, Limin; Huang, Benli

2006-07-01

In this study, thiourea (TU) was novelly developed as a reduction reagent for on-line pre-reduction of selenium(VI) before conventional hydride generation (HG) by KBH 4/NaOH-HCl. After TU on-line pre-reduction, the HG efficiency of Se(VI) has been greatly improved and because even higher than that of the same amount of Se(IV) obtained in the conventional HG system. The possible pre-reduction mechanism is discussed. The detection limit (DL) of selenate reaches 10 pg mL - 1 when using on-line TU pre-reduction followed by HG atomic fluorescence detection. When TU pre-reduction followed by HG is used as an interface between ion-pair high performance liquid chromatography and atomic fluorescence spectrometry, selenocystine, selenomethionine, selenite and selenate can be measured simultaneously and quantitatively. The DLs of these are 0.06, 0.08, 0.05 and 0.04 ng mL - 1 , respectively, and the relative standard deviations of 9 duplicate runs for all the 4 species are less than 5%. Furthermore, it was successfully applied to Se speciation analysis of cultured garlic samples, and validated by determination of total selenium and selenium species in certified reference material NIST 1946.

Molecular targeted PDT with selective delivery of ICG Photo-Immunoconjugates (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Sijia; Hüttmann, Gereon; Hasan, Tayyaba; Rahmanzadeh, Ramtin

2016-03-01

Light-induced inhibition of intracellular molecules holds great promise for a selective treatment of cancer and other diseases. Challenges for the targeting of intracellular proteins are the synthesis of effective photoimmuno-conjugates and their functional delivery inside living cells. In earlier studies we have shown, that photodynamic inactivation of the nuclear Ki-67 protein leads to an effective elimination of proliferating tumor cells. Here we show a selective treatment for EGFR and Ki-67 positive cancer cells after light-controlled delivery of indocyanine green (ICG) photo-immunoconjugates. The Ki-67 antibody TuBB-9, which recognizes an active state of the protein, was labeled with different ratios of ICG and encapsulated into immuno-liposomes that selectively deliver the conjugates to EGFR overexpressing cells. To overcome endosomal entrapment of the delivered agents, ovarian carcinoma cells were treated with the photosensitizer benzoporphyrin monoacid derivative (BPD) and irradiated first for endosomal escape of the TuBB-9-ICG constructs. 24 h after irradiation TuBB-9-ICG antibodies showed a relocalization from spots in the cytoplasm to the cell nucleus. A second irradiation of the delivered TuBB-9-ICG led to a significant elimination of cells after Ki-67 inactivation.

DNA-binding studies and biological activities of new nitrosubstituted acyl thioureas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tahir, Shaista; Badshah, Amin; Hussain, Raja Azadar; Tahir, Muhammad Nawaz; Tabassum, Saira; Patujo, Jahangir Ali; Rauf, Muhammad Khawar

2015-11-01

Four new nitrosubstituted acylthioureas i.e. 1-acetyl-3-(4-nitrophenyl)thiourea (TU1), 1-acetyl-3-(2-methyl-4-nitrophenyl)thiourea (TU2), 1-acetyl-3-(2-methoxy-4-nitrophenyl)thiourea (TU3) and 1-acetyl-3-(4-chloro-3-nitrophenyl)thiourea (TU4) have been synthesized and characterized (by C13 and H1 nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray diffraction). As a preliminary investigation of the anti-cancer potencies of the said compounds, DNA interaction studies have been carried out using cyclic voltammetry and UV-vis spectroscopy along with verification from computational studies. The drug-DNA binding constants are found to be in the order, KTU3 9.04 × 106 M-1 > KTU4 8.57 × 106 M-1 > KTU2 6.05 × 106 M-1 > KTU1 1.16 × 106 M-1. Furthermore, the antioxidant, cytotoxic, antibacterial and antifungal activities have been carried out against DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-dipicrylhydrazyl), Brine shrimp eggs, gram positive (Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus) and gram negative (Bordetella bronchiseptica, Salmonella typhimurium, Enterobacter aerogens) and fungal cultures (Aspergillus fumigatus, Mucor species, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus) respectively.

Assessment and Application of the ROSE Code for Reactor Outage Thermal-Hydraulic and Safety Analysis

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

Liang, Thomas K.S.; Ko, F.-K.; Dai, L.-C

The currently available tools, such as RELAP5, RETRAN, and others, cannot easily and correctly perform the task of analyzing the system behavior during plant outages. Therefore, a medium-sized program aiming at reactor outage simulation and evaluation, such as midloop operation (MLO) with loss of residual heat removal (RHR), has been developed. Important thermal-hydraulic processes involved during MLO with loss of RHR can be properly simulated by the newly developed reactor outage simulation and evaluation (ROSE) code. The two-region approach with a modified two-fluid model has been adopted to be the theoretical basis of the ROSE code.To verify the analytical modelmore » in the first step, posttest calculations against the integral midloop experiments with loss of RHR have been performed. The excellent simulation capacity of the ROSE code against the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research Integral System Test Facility test data is demonstrated. To further mature the ROSE code in simulating a full-sized pressurized water reactor, assessment against the WGOTHIC code and the Maanshan momentary-loss-of-RHR event has been undertaken. The successfully assessed ROSE code is then applied to evaluate the abnormal operation procedure (AOP) with loss of RHR during MLO (AOP 537.4) for the Maanshan plant. The ROSE code also has been successfully transplanted into the Maanshan training simulator to support operator training. How the simulator was upgraded by the ROSE code for MLO will be presented in the future.« less

[Procyanidins enhance the chemotherapeutic sensitivity of laryngeal carcinoma cells to cisplatin through autophagy pathway].

PubMed

Yu, Feng; Liu, Wei; Gong, Xiao Rong; Zhou, Yi Bo; Lin, Ying

2018-03-01

To investigate the effect of Procyanidins (OPCs) on the autophagy of laryngeal cancer cell line TU686 and to explore the effect of OPCs on the chemosensitivity of laryngeal cancer cells to DDP in terms of autophagy and apoptosis. CCK-8 was used to detected the effect of different concentrations of OPC and DDP on TU686 cell viability. Experimental grouping: Both kinds of cells were divided into CON group, DDP group, OPC group and MIX group. Annexin-V-FITC/PI double staining of flow cytometry was used to detect the effect of each experimental group on the apoptosis. Cell immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the formation of autophagy. Western blot was used to detect the expression of autophagy-related and apoptosis-related proteins. Autophagy inhibitors (3-MA) were used to study the effect of autophagy on apoptosis. The results of CCK-8 showed that TU686 cells were inhibited by OPC and DDP in a concentration-dependent manner for 24 hours. LC3-Ⅱ protein staining showed that compared with CON group, DDP group and OPC group, MIX group significantly induced autophagy formation in TU686 cells ( P <0.05). Flow cytometry showed that compared with CON group, apoptosis of TU686 cells was induced in DDP group, OPC group and MIX group. And the effect of MIX on apoptosis was significantly higher than that of OPC and DDP groups ( P <0.05). After pretreatment with 3-MA, the apoptotic effect of OPC group and MIX group on TU686 cells was significantly decreased ( P <0.05). Western blot results showed that the expression of LC3-Ⅱ and Caspase-3 in DDP, OPC and MIX groups was significantly higher than that in CON group ( P <0.05). In MIX group, the expression of LC3-Ⅱ and Caspase-3 also had significant difference ( P <0.05) compared with single drug group. After using 3-MA to inhibit autophagy, the expression of LC3-Ⅱ was significantly decreased ( P <0.05), and the expression of Caspase-3 was decreased along with LC3-Ⅱ, but the decrease of Caspase-3 expression was only significant in OPC and MIX group ( P <0.05). OPC can induce autophagy in laryngeal carcinoma TU686 cells and promote its apoptosis, which in turn enhances sensitivity of laryngeal cancer cells to cisplatin chemotherapy. Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.

Response to 'pervasive sequence patents cover the entire human genome' - authors' reply.

PubMed

Rosenfeld, Jeffrey; Mason, Christopher

2014-01-01

An author reply to the Letter to the Editor from Tu et al. regarding Pervasive sequence patents cover the entire human genome by J Rosenfeld and C Mason. Genome Med 2013, 5:27. See related Correspondence by Rosenfeld and Mason, http://genomemedicine.com/content/5/3/27, and related letter by Tu et al., http://genomemedicine.com/content/6/2/14.

Aerodynamic Effects of Turbulence Intensity on a Variable-Speed Power-Turbine Blade with Large Incidence and Reynolds Number Variations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flegel, Ashlie Brynn; Giel, Paul W.; Welch, Gerard E.

2014-01-01

The effects of inlet turbulence intensity on the aerodynamic performance of a variable speed power turbine blade are examined over large incidence and Reynolds number ranges. Both high and low turbulence studies were conducted in the NASA Glenn Research Center Transonic Turbine Blade Cascade Facility. The purpose of the low inlet turbulence study was to examine the transitional flow effects that are anticipated at cruise Reynolds numbers. The high turbulence study extends this to LPT-relevant turbulence levels while perhaps sacrificing transitional flow effects. Downstream total pressure and exit angle data were acquired for ten incidence angles ranging from +15.8 to 51.0. For each incidence angle, data were obtained at five flow conditions with the exit Reynolds number ranging from 2.12105 to 2.12106 and at a design exit Mach number of 0.72. In order to achieve the lowest Reynolds number, the exit Mach number was reduced to 0.35 due to facility constraints. The inlet turbulence intensity, Tu, was measured using a single-wire hotwire located 0.415 axial-chord upstream of the blade row. The inlet turbulence levels ranged from 0.25 - 0.4 for the low Tu tests and 8- 15 for the high Tu study. Tu measurements were also made farther upstream so that turbulence decay rates could be calculated as needed for computational inlet boundary conditions. Downstream flow field measurements were obtained using a pneumatic five-hole pitchyaw probe located in a survey plane 7 axial chord aft of the blade trailing edge and covering three blade passages. Blade and endwall static pressures were acquired for each flow condition as well. The blade loading data show that the suction surface separation that was evident at many of the low Tu conditions has been eliminated. At the extreme positive and negative incidence angles, the data show substantial differences in the exit flow field. These differences are attributable to both the higher inlet Tu directly and to the thinner inlet endwall boundary layer that the turbulence grid imposes.

Effect of hardness on acute toxicity of metal mixtures using Daphnia magna: prediction of acid mine drainage toxicity.

PubMed

Yim, Jin Hee; Kim, Kyoung W; Kim, Sang D

2006-11-02

In this study, the effect of hardness on the combined outcome of metal mixtures was investigated using Daphnia magna. The toxic unit (TU) was calculated using modified LC(50) values based on the hardness (i.e., LC(50-soft) and LC(50-hard)). From a bioassay test, the degree of sensitivity to hardness on the toxicity changes was in the order: Cd

Process Development for Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Algae Feedstocks in a Continuous-Flow Reactor

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

Elliott, Douglas C.; Hart, Todd R.; Schmidt, Andrew J.

Wet algae slurries can be converted into an upgradeable biocrude by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). High levels of carbon conversion to gravity-separable biocrude product were accomplished at relatively low temperature (350 °C) in a continuous-flow, pressurized (sub-critical liquid water) environment (20 MPa). As opposed to earlier work in batch reactors reported by others, direct oil recovery was achieved without the use of a solvent and biomass trace components were removed by processing steps so that they did not cause process difficulties. High conversions were obtained even with high slurry concentrations of up to 35 wt% of dry solids. Catalytic hydrotreating wasmore » effectively applied for hydrodeoxygenation, hydrodenitrogenation, and hydrodesulfurization of the biocrude to form liquid hydrocarbon fuel. Catalytic hydrothermal gasification was effectively applied for HTL byproduct water cleanup and fuel gas production from water soluble organics, allowing the water to be considered for recycle of nutrients to the algae growth ponds. As a result, high conversion of algae to liquid hydrocarbon and gas products was found with low levels of organic contamination in the byproduct water. All three process steps were accomplished in bench-scale, continuous-flow reactor systems such that design data for process scale-up was generated.« less

Deuterium-tritium experiments on the Tokamak Fusion Test reactor

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

Hosea, J.; Adler, J.H.; Alling, P.

The deuterium-tritium (D-T) experimental program on the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) is underway and routine tritium operations have been established. The technology upgrades made to the TFTR facility have been demonstrated to be sufficient for supporting both operations and maintenance for an extended D-T campaign. To date fusion power has been increased to {approx}9 MW and several physics results of importance to the D-T reactor regime have been obtained: electron temperature, ion temperature, and plasma stored energy all increase substantially in the D-T regime relative to the D-D regime at the same neutral beam power and comparable limiter conditioning;more » possible alpha electron heating is indicated and energy confinement improvement with average ion mass is observed; and alpha particle losses appear to be classical with no evidence of TAE mode activity up to the PFUS {approx}6 MW level. Instability in the TAE mode frequency range has been observed at PFUS > 7 MW and its effect on performance in under investigation. Preparations are underway to enhance the alpha particle density further by increasing fusion power and by extending the neutral beam pulse length to permit alpha particle effects of relevance to the ITER regime to be more fully explored.« less

A Reactor Development Scenario for the FuZE Sheared-Flow Stabilized Z-pinch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLean, Harry S.; Higginson, D. P.; Schmidt, A.; Tummel, K. K.; Shumlak, U.; Nelson, B. A.; Claveau, E. L.; Forbes, E. G.; Golingo, R. P.; Stepanov, A. D.; Weber, T. R.; Zhang, Y.

2017-10-01

We present a conceptual design, scaling calculations, and development path for a pulsed fusion reactor based on a flow-stabilized Z-pinch. Experiments performed on the ZaP and ZaP-HD devices have largely demonstrated the basic physics of sheared-flow stabilization at pinch currents up to 100 kA. Initial experiments on the FuZE device, a high-power upgrade of ZaP, have achieved 20 usec of stability at pinch current 100-200 kA and pinch diameter few mm for a pinch length of 50 cm. Scaling calculations based on a quasi-steady-state power balance show that extending stable duration to 100 usec at a pinch current of 1.5 MA and pinch length of 50 cm, results in a reactor plant Q 5. Future performance milestones are proposed for pinch currents of: 300 kA, where Te and Ti are calculated to exceed 1-2 keV; 700 kA, where DT fusion power would be expected to exceed pinch input power; and 1 MA, where fusion energy per pulse exceeds input energy per pulse. This work funded by USDOE ARPA-E and performed under the auspices of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. LLNL-ABS-734770.

Biomass conversion to produce hydrocarbon liquid fuel via hot-vapor filtered fast pyrolysis and catalytic hydrotreating

DOE PAGES

Wang, Huamin; Elliott, Douglas C.; French, Richard J.; ...

2016-12-25

Lignocellulosic biomass conversion to produce biofuels has received significant attention because of the quest for a replacement for fossil fuels. Among the various thermochemical and biochemical routes, fast pyrolysis followed by catalytic hydrotreating is considered to be a promising near-term opportunity. This paper reports on experimental methods used 1) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass to produce bio-oils in a fluidized-bed reactor and 2) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for catalytic hydrotreating of bio-oils in a two-stage, fixed-bed, continuous-flow catalytic reactor. The configurations of the reactor systems, the operating procedures, and themore » processing and analysis of feedstocks, bio-oils, and biofuels are described in detail in this paper. We also demonstrate hot-vapor filtration during fast pyrolysis to remove fine char particles and inorganic contaminants from bio-oil. Representative results showed successful conversion of biomass feedstocks to fuel-range hydrocarbon biofuels and, specifically, the effect of hot-vapor filtration on bio-oil production and upgrading. As a result, the protocols provided in this report could help to generate rigorous and reliable data for biomass pyrolysis and bio-oil hydrotreating research.« less

Biomass conversion to produce hydrocarbon liquid fuel via hot-vapor filtered fast pyrolysis and catalytic hydrotreating

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

Wang, Huamin; Elliott, Douglas C.; French, Richard J.

Lignocellulosic biomass conversion to produce biofuels has received significant attention because of the quest for a replacement for fossil fuels. Among the various thermochemical and biochemical routes, fast pyrolysis followed by catalytic hydrotreating is considered to be a promising near-term opportunity. This paper reports on experimental methods used 1) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass to produce bio-oils in a fluidized-bed reactor and 2) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for catalytic hydrotreating of bio-oils in a two-stage, fixed-bed, continuous-flow catalytic reactor. The configurations of the reactor systems, the operating procedures, and themore » processing and analysis of feedstocks, bio-oils, and biofuels are described in detail in this paper. We also demonstrate hot-vapor filtration during fast pyrolysis to remove fine char particles and inorganic contaminants from bio-oil. Representative results showed successful conversion of biomass feedstocks to fuel-range hydrocarbon biofuels and, specifically, the effect of hot-vapor filtration on bio-oil production and upgrading. As a result, the protocols provided in this report could help to generate rigorous and reliable data for biomass pyrolysis and bio-oil hydrotreating research.« less

Fuel cycle for a fusion neutron source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ananyev, S. S.; Spitsyn, A. V.; Kuteev, B. V.

2015-12-01

The concept of a tokamak-based stationary fusion neutron source (FNS) for scientific research (neutron diffraction, etc.), tests of structural materials for future fusion reactors, nuclear waste transmutation, fission reactor fuel production, and control of subcritical nuclear systems (fusion-fission hybrid reactor) is being developed in Russia. The fuel cycle system is one of the most important systems of FNS that provides circulation and reprocessing of the deuterium-tritium fuel mixture in all fusion reactor systems: the vacuum chamber, neutral injection system, cryogenic pumps, tritium purification system, separation system, storage system, and tritium-breeding blanket. The existing technologies need to be significantly upgraded since the engineering solutions adopted in the ITER project can be only partially used in the FNS (considering the capacity factor higher than 0.3, tritium flow up to 200 m3Pa/s, and temperature of reactor elements up to 650°C). The deuterium-tritium fuel cycle of the stationary FNS is considered. The TC-FNS computer code developed for estimating the tritium distribution in the systems of FNS is described. The code calculates tritium flows and inventory in tokamak systems (vacuum chamber, cryogenic pumps, neutral injection system, fuel mixture purification system, isotope separation system, tritium storage system) and takes into account tritium loss in the fuel cycle due to thermonuclear burnup and β decay. For the two facility versions considered, FNS-ST and DEMO-FNS, the amount of fuel mixture needed for uninterrupted operation of all fuel cycle systems is 0.9 and 1.4 kg, consequently, and the tritium consumption is 0.3 and 1.8 kg per year, including 35 and 55 g/yr, respectively, due to tritium decay.

A system for the measurement of delayed neutrons and gammas from special nuclear materials

DOE PAGES

Andrews, M. T.; Corcoran, E. C.; Goorley, J. T.; ...

2014-11-27

The delayed neutron counting (DNC) system at the Royal Military College of Canada has been upgraded to accommodate concurrent delayed neutron and gamma measurements. This delayed neutron and gamma counting (DNGC) system uses a SLOWPOKE-2 reactor to irradiate fissile materials before their transfer to a counting arrangement consisting of six ³He and one HPGe detector. The application of this system is demonstrated in an example where delayed neutron and gamma emissions are used in complement to examine ²³³U content and determine fissile mass with an average relative error and accuracy of -2.2 and 1.5 %, respectively.

Salutary effect of gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 in two different stress urinary incontinence models in female rats.

PubMed

Jandric, Ivan; Vrcic, Hrvoje; Jandric Balen, Marica; Kolenc, Danijela; Brcic, Luka; Radic, Bozo; Drmic, Domagoj; Seiwerth, Sven; Sikiric, Predrag

2013-03-12

Since an originally anti-ulcer stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (PL 14736) was shown to promote healing of injured striated muscle and smooth muscle in the gastrointestinal tract, we explored its therapeutic potentials for leak point pressure (LPP) recovery in rat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) after transabdominal urethrolysis (TU) and prolonged vaginal dilatation (VD). During a 7-day period, TU-rats and VD-rats (or healthy rats) received BPC 157, either (i) intraperitoneally, 10 µg/kg or 10 ng/kg, once daily (first administration 30 min after surgery, last 24 h before LPP-testing and sacrifice), or (ii) per-orally, 10 µg/kg in drinking water (0.16 µg/mL, 12 mL/rat/day). Vesicourethral segments were harvested for immunohistochemical evaluation. All BPC 157 regimens counteracted decrease of LPP values in TU-rats and VD-rats. Additionally, BPC 157-TU rats (µg-intraperitoneally or per-orally) and BPC 157-VD rats (µg intraperitoneally) reached LPP values originally noted in healthy rats. Conversely, in healthy rats, BPC 157 did not alter LPP. Immunohistochemical studies revealed higher desmin (delineates striated organization of skeletal muscle), smooth muscle actin, and CD34 (angiogenic marker) positivity within the urethral wall in BPC 157-treated rats vs. controls, as well as overall preserved muscle/connective tissue ratio assessed with Mallory's trichrome staining. Pentadecapeptide BPC 157, applied parenterally or per-orally, appears to ameliorate the SUI in rat models, improving the otherwise detrimental course of healing after VD and TU, which may be analogous to human injury. These beneficial effects may possibly be selectively used in future strategies for treatment of SUI.

Salutary effect of gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 in two different stress urinary incontinence models in female rats

PubMed Central

Jandric, Ivan; Vrcic, Hrvoje; Balen, Marica Jandric; Kolenc, Danijela; Brcic, Luka; Radic, Bozo; Drmic, Domagoj; Seiwerth, Sven; Sikiric, Predrag

2013-01-01

Background Since an originally anti-ulcer stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (PL 14736) was shown to promote healing of injured striated muscle and smooth muscle in the gastrointestinal tract, we explored its therapeutic potentials for leak point pressure (LPP) recovery in rat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) after transabdominal urethrolysis (TU) and prolonged vaginal dilatation (VD). Material/Methods During a 7-day period, TU-rats and VD-rats (or healthy rats) received BPC 157, either (i) intraperitoneally, 10 μg/kg or 10 ng/kg, once daily (first administration 30 min after surgery, last 24 h before LPP-testing and sacrifice), or (ii) per-orally, 10 μg/kg in drinking water (0.16 μg/mL, 12 mL/rat/day). Vesicourethral segments were harvested for immunohistochemical evaluation. Results All BPC 157 regimens counteracted decrease of LPP values in TU-rats and VD-rats. Additionally, BPC 157-TU rats (μg-intraperitoneally or per-orally) and BPC 157-VD rats (μg intraperitoneally) reached LPP values originally noted in healthy rats. Conversely, in healthy rats, BPC 157 did not alter LPP. Immunohistochemical studies revealed higher desmin (delineates striated organization of skeletal muscle), smooth muscle actin, and CD34 (angiogenic marker) positivity within the urethral wall in BPC 157-treated rats vs. controls, as well as overall preserved muscle/connective tissue ratio assessed with Mallory’s trichrome staining. Conclusions Pentadecapeptide BPC 157, applied parenterally or per-orally, appears to ameliorate the SUI in rat models, improving the otherwise detrimental course of healing after VD and TU, which may be analogous to human injury. These beneficial effects may possibly be selectively used in future strategies for treatment of SUI. PMID:23478678

Prospective evaluation of plasma levels of ANGPT2, TuM2PK, and VEGF in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

PubMed

Gayed, Bishoy A; Gillen, Jessica; Christie, Alana; Peña-Llopis, Samuel; Xie, Xian-Jin; Yan, Jingsheng; Karam, Jose A; Raj, Ganesh; Sagalowsky, Arthur I; Lotan, Yair; Margulis, Vitaly; Brugarolas, James

2015-04-03

To assess pathological correlations and temporal trends of Angiopoietin-2 (ANGPT2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and M2 Pyruvate kinase (TuM2PK), markers of tumor vascular development and metabolism, in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We prospectively collected plasma samples from 89 patients who underwent surgical/ablative therapy for RCC and 38 patients with benign disease (nephrolithiasis, hematuria without apparent neoplastic origin, or renal cysts). In RCC patients, marker levels were compared between at least 1 preoperative and 1 postoperative time point generally 3 weeks after surgery. Marker temporal trends were assessed using the Wilcoxon sign-rank test. Plasma VEGF, ANGPT2, and TuM2PK levels were determined by ELISA and tested for association with pathological variables. Median age was comparable between groups. 83/89 (93%) of the cohort underwent surgical extirpation. 82% of the tumors were organ confined (T ≤ 2, N0). Only ANGPT2 exhibited significantly elevated preoperative levels in patients with RCC compared to benign disease (p = 0.046). Elevated preoperative levels of ANGPT2 and TuM2PK significantly correlated with increased tumor size and advanced grade (p < 0.05). Chromophobe RCC exhibited higher levels of ANGPT2 compared to other histologies (p < 0.05). A decline in marker level after surgery was not observed, likely due to the timing of the analyses. Our results suggest that ANGPT2 is a marker of RCC. Additionally, ANGPT2 and TuM2PK significantly correlated with several adverse pathological features. Further studies are needed to determine clinical applicability.

Molecular genetic basis of pod corn (Tunicate maize)

PubMed Central

Wingen, Luzie U.; Münster, Thomas; Faigl, Wolfram; Deleu, Wim; Sommer, Hans; Saedler, Heinz; Theißen, Günter

2012-01-01

Pod corn is a classic morphological mutant of maize in which the mature kernels of the cob are covered by glumes, in contrast to generally grown maize varieties in which kernels are naked. Pod corn, known since pre-Columbian times, is the result of a dominant gain-of-function mutation at the Tunicate (Tu) locus. Some classic articles of 20th century maize genetics reported that the mutant Tu locus is complex, but molecular details remained elusive. Here, we show that pod corn is caused by a cis-regulatory mutation and duplication of the ZMM19 MADS-box gene. Although the WT locus contains a single-copy gene that is expressed in vegetative organs only, mutation and duplication of ZMM19 in Tu lead to ectopic expression of the gene in the inflorescences, thus conferring vegetative traits to reproductive organs. PMID:22517751

A divergent picornavirus from a turkey with gastro-intestinal disease

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A novel picornavirus, turkey avisivirus (TuASV), was identified from the feces of turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) with gastro-intestinal disease from a farm in Indiana, USA. Its genome organization is 5’UTR**IRES-II[VP0,VP3,VP1,2A,2B,2C,3A,3B,3Cpro,3Dpol]3’UTR-poly(A). TuASV only shares 34% (P1), 36% ...

Response to ‘pervasive sequence patents cover the entire human genome’ - authors’ reply

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

An author reply to the Letter to the Editor from Tu et al. regarding Pervasive sequence patents cover the entire human genome by J Rosenfeld and C Mason. Genome Med 2013, 5:27. See related Correspondence by Rosenfeld and Mason, http://genomemedicine.com/content/5/3/27, and related letter by Tu et al., http://genomemedicine.com/content/6/2/14 PMID:24764495

Arabidopsis EF-Tu receptor enhances bacterial disease resistance in transgenic wheat.

PubMed

Schoonbeek, Henk-Jan; Wang, Hsi-Hua; Stefanato, Francesca L; Craze, Melanie; Bowden, Sarah; Wallington, Emma; Zipfel, Cyril; Ridout, Christopher J

2015-04-01

Perception of pathogen (or microbe)-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs/MAMPs) by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) is a key component of plant innate immunity. The Arabidopsis PRR EF-Tu receptor (EFR) recognizes the bacterial PAMP elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and its derived peptide elf18. Previous work revealed that transgenic expression of AtEFR in Solanaceae confers elf18 responsiveness and broad-spectrum bacterial disease resistance. In this study, we developed a set of bioassays to study the activation of PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) in wheat. We generated transgenic wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants expressing AtEFR driven by the constitutive rice actin promoter and tested their response to elf18. We show that transgenic expression of AtEFR in wheat confers recognition of elf18, as measured by the induction of immune marker genes and callose deposition. When challenged with the cereal bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. oryzae, transgenic EFR wheat lines had reduced lesion size and bacterial multiplication. These results demonstrate that AtEFR can be transferred successfully from dicot to monocot species, further revealing that immune signalling pathways are conserved across these distant phyla. As novel PRRs are identified, their transfer between plant families represents a useful strategy for enhancing resistance to pathogens in crops. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

Metal sulfide thin films by chemical spray pyrolysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krunks, Malle; Mellikov, Enn

2001-04-01

CdS, ZnS and CuS thin films were prepared by spray pyrolysis method using metal chlorides and thiourea (tu) as starting materials. Metal sulfide films form as products of thermal decomposition of complexes Cd(tu)2Cl2, Zn(tu)2Cl2 and Cu(tu)Cl(DOT)1/2H2O, originally formed in aqueous solution at precursors molar ratio 1:2. The metal-ligand bonding is thermally stable up to 220 degrees Celsius, followed by multistep degradation process of complexes. The TG/DTA analysis show similar thermal behavior of complexes up to 300 degrees Celsius with the formation of metal sulfides in this decomposition step. In air intensive oxidation processes are detected close to 400, 600 and 720 degrees Celsius for Cu, Cd and Zn complexes, respectively. The results of thermoanalytical study and XRD of sprayed films show that CdS and ZnS films could be grown at 450 degrees Celsius even in air while deposition of copper sulfide films should be performed in an inert atmosphere. High total impurities content of 10 wt% in CdS films prepared at 240 degrees Celsius is originated from the precursor and reduced to 2 wt% by increasing the growth temperature up to 400 degrees Celsius.

Upper limb joint kinetics of three sitting pivot wheelchair transfer techniques in individuals with spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Kankipati, Padmaja; Boninger, Michael L; Gagnon, Dany; Cooper, Rory A; Koontz, Alicia M

2015-07-01

Repeated measures design. This study compared the upper extremity (UE) joint kinetics between three transfer techniques. Research laboratory. Twenty individuals with spinal cord injury performed three transfer techniques from their wheelchair to a level tub bench. Two of the techniques involved a head-hips method with leading hand position close (HH-I) and far (HH-A) from the body, and the third technique with the trunk upright (TU) and hand far from body. Motion analysis equipment recorded upper body movements and force sensors recorded their hand and feet reaction forces during the transfers. Several significant differences were found between HH-A and HH-I and TU and HH-I transfers indicating that hand placement was a key factor influencing the UE joint kinetics. Peak resultant hand, elbow, and shoulder joint forces were significantly higher for the HH-A and TU techniques at the trailing arm (P < 0.036) and lower at the leading arm (P < 0.021), compared to the HH-I technique. Always trailing with the same arm if using HH-A or TU could predispose that arm to overuse related pain and injuries. Technique training should focus on initial hand placement close to the body followed by the amount of trunk flexion needed to facilitate movement.

Formation of virions is strictly required for turnip yellows virus long-distance movement in plants.

PubMed

Hipper, Clémence; Monsion, Baptiste; Bortolamiol-Bécet, Diane; Ziegler-Graff, Véronique; Brault, Véronique

2014-02-01

Viral genomic RNA of the Turnip yellows virus (TuYV; genus Polerovirus; family Luteoviridae) is protected in virions formed by the major capsid protein (CP) and the minor component, the readthrough (RT*) protein. Long-distance transport, used commonly by viruses to systemically infect host plants, occurs in phloem sieve elements and two viral forms of transport have been described: virions and ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes. With regard to poleroviruses, virions have always been presumed to be the long-distance transport form, but the potential role of RNP complexes has not been investigated. Here, we examined the requirement of virions for polerovirus systemic movement by analysing CP-targeted mutants that were unable to form viral particles. We confirmed that TuYV mutants that cannot encapsidate into virions are not able to reach systemic leaves. To completely discard the possibility that the introduced mutations in CP simply blocked the formation or the movement of RNP complexes, we tested in trans complementation of TuYV CP mutants by providing WT CP expressed in transgenic plants. WT CP was able to facilitate systemic movement of TuYV CP mutants and this observation was always correlated with the formation of virions. This demonstrated clearly that virus particles are essential for polerovirus systemic movement.

Interaction of elongation factor Tu from Escherichia coli with aminoacyl-tRNA carrying a fluorescent reporter group on the 3' terminus.

PubMed

Ott, G; Faulhammer, H G; Sprinzl, M

1989-09-15

Transfer ribonucleic acids containing 2-thiocytidine in position 75 ([s2C]tRNAs) were prepared by incorporation of the corresponding cytidine analogue into 3'-shortened tRNA using ATP(CTP):tRNA nucleotidyltransferase. [s2C]tRNA was selectively alkylated with fluorescent N-iodoacetyl-N'-(5-sulfo-1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine (1,5-I-AEDANS) on the 2-thiocytidine residue. The product [AEDANS-s2C]aminoacyl-tRNA, forms a ternary complex with Escherichia coli elongation factor Tu and GTP, leading to up to 130% fluorescence enhancement of the AEDANS chromophore. From fluorescence titration experiments, equilibrium dissociation constants of 0.24 nM, 0.22 nM and 0.60 nM were determined for yeast [AEDANS-s2C]Tyr-tRNATyr, yeast Tyr-tRNATyr, and the homologous E. coli Phe-tRNAPhe, respectively, interacting with E. coli elongation factor Tu.GTP. The measurement of the association and dissociation rates of the interaction of [AEDANS-s2C]Tyr-tRNATyr with EF-Tu.GTP and the temperature dependence of the resulting dissociation constants gave values of 55 J mol-1 K-1 for delta S degrees' and -34.7 kJ mol-1 for delta H degrees' of this reaction.

GPR applications in civil engineering collaborating with a Company and preparation of material for the educational package to teach in Universities. STSM, COST Action TU1208

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sossa, Viviana; Assunção, Sonia; Pérez, Vega

2017-04-01

The STSM, Short-Term Missions, was carried out with the support of Murphy Survey company from Dublin - Ireland, was proposed for to Develop a module "GPR Applications in Archaeology" of the educational pack defined in the different meetings of the Cost Action TU 1208. The employ of GPR is mainly determined by the limits and uncertainties associated to this technique that affects to the measurements and the results. Private companies and end-users are highly interested in known the limits associated to particular cases and the advantages of the methodology compared to other studies. During this STSM, we plan to prepare a field survey, analyzing the possible problems and defining the objectives, and to acquire data to assess the structure. This data will be analyzed and processed in order to determine the limits of the technique in the particular case. The results will be compared to other surveys, in order to determine some clear restrictions that the company need to take into account in further works. Aknowledgments: This work has been partially funded by the EU COST Action TU1208, "Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar", and it is a contribution to the working group 2.2 tasks in the COST Action TU1208.

Using the Human Systems Simulation Laboratory at Idaho National Laboratory for Safety Focused Research

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

Joe, Jeffrey .C; Boring, Ronald L.

Under the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have been using the Human Systems Simulation Laboratory (HSSL) to conduct critical safety focused Human Factors research and development (R&D) for the nuclear industry. The LWRS program has the overall objective to develop the scientific basis to extend existing nuclear power plant (NPP) operating life beyond the current 60-year licensing period and to ensure their long-term reliability, productivity, safety, and security. One focus area for LWRS is the NPP main control room (MCR), because many of the instrumentation andmore » control (I&C) system technologies installed in the MCR, while highly reliable and safe, are now difficult to replace and are therefore limiting the operating life of the NPP. This paper describes how INL researchers use the HSSL to conduct Human Factors R&D on modernizing or upgrading these I&C systems in a step-wise manner, and how the HSSL has addressed a significant gap in how to upgrade systems and technologies that are built to last, and therefore require careful integration of analog and new advanced digital technologies.« less

Occurrence and abatement of volatile sulfur compounds during biogas production.

PubMed

Andersson, Fräs Annika T; Karlsson, Anna; Svensson, Bo H; Ejlertsson, Jörgen

2004-07-01

Volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) in biogas originating from a biogas production plant and from a municipal sewage water treatment plant were identified. Samples were taken at various stages of the biogas-producing process, including upgrading the gas to vehicle-fuel quality. Solid-phase microextraction was used for preconcentration of the VSCs, which were subsequently analyzed using gas chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry. Other volatile organic compounds present also were identified. The most commonly occurring VSCs in the biogas were hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, methanethiol, dimethyl sulfide, and dimethyl disulfide, and hydrogen sulfide was not always the most abundant sulfur (S) compound. Besides VSCs, oxygenated organic compounds were commonly present (e.g., ketones, alcohols, and esters). The effect of adding iron chloride to the biogas reactor on the occurrence of VSCs also was investigated. It was found that additions of 500-g/m3 substrate gave an optimal removal of VSCs. Also, the use of a prefermentation step could reduce the amount of VSCs formed in the biogas process. Moreover, in the carbon dioxide scrubber used for upgrading the gas, VSCs were removed efficiently, leaving traces (ppbv levels). The scrubber also removed other organic compounds.

Partial Hydrothermal Oxidation of High Molecular Weight Unsaturated Carboxylic Acids for Upgrading of Biodiesel Fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawasaki, K.; Jin, F.; Kishita, A.; Tohji, K.; Enomoto, H.

2007-03-01

With increasing environmental awareness and crude oil price, biodiesel fuel (BDF) is gaining recognition as a renewable fuel which may be used as an alternative diesel fuel without any modification to the engine. The cold flow and viscosity of BDF, however, is a major drawback that limited its use in cold area. In this study, therefore, we investigated that partial oxidation of high molecular weight unsaturated carboxylic acids in subcritical water, which major compositions in BDF, to upgrade biodiesel fuel. Oleic acid, (HOOC(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7CH3), was selected as a model compound of high molecular weight unsaturated carboxylic acids. All experiments were performed with a batch reactor made of SUS 316 with an internal volume of 5.7 cm3. Oleic acid was oxidized at 300 °C with oxygen supply varying from 1-10 %. Results showed that a large amount of carboxylic acids and aldehydes having 8-9 carbon atoms were formed. These experimental results suggest that the hydrothermal oxidative cleavage may mainly occur at double bonds and the cleavage of double bonds could improve the cold flow and viscosity of BDF.

Differentiation of Cuscuta chinensis and Cuscuta australis by HPLC-DAD-MS analysis and HPLC-UV quantitation.

PubMed

He, Xianghui; Yang, Wenzhi; Ye, Min; Wang, Qing; Guo, Dean

2011-11-01

Cuscuta chinensis and Cuscuta australis, the two botanical sources of the Chinese herbal medicine Tu-Si-Zi, were distinguished from each other based on qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis. By HPLC‑DAD‑MS, a total of 36 compounds were characterized from these two Cuscuta species, including 14 flavonoids, 17 quinic acid derivatives, and 5 lignans. In addition, HPLC‑UV was applied to determine seven major compounds (6 flavonoids plus chlorogenic acid) in 27 batches of Tu-Si-Zi. The results revealed that the amounts of the three classes of compounds varied significantly between the species. C. australis contained more flavonoids but less quinic acid derivatives and lignans than C. chinensis. Particularly, the amounts of kaempferol and astragalin in C. australis were remarkably higher than in C. chinensis. This finding could be valuable for the quality control of Tu-Si-Zi. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Application of amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis in identification of Acinetobacter baumannii from a tertiary teaching hospital, Malaysia.

PubMed

Kong, B H; Hanifah, Y A; Yusof, M Y; Thong, K L

2011-12-01

Acinetobacter baumannii, genomic species 3 and 13TU are being increasingly reported as the most important Acinetobacter species that cause infections in hospitalized patients. These Acinetobacter species are grouped in the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus- Acinetobacter baumannii (Acb) complex. Differentiation of the species in the Acb-complex is limited by phenotypic methods. Therefore, in this study, amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) was applied to confirm the identity A. baumannii strains as well as to differentiate between the subspecies. One hundred and eighty-five strains from Intensive Care Unit, Universiti Malaya Medical Center (UMMC) were successfully identified as A. baumannii by ARDRA. Acinetobacter genomic species 13TU and 15TU were identified in 3 and 1 strains, respectively. ARDRA provides an accurate, rapid and definitive approach towards the identification of the species level in the genus Acinetobacter. This paper reports the first application ARDRA in genospecies identification of Acinetobacter in Malaysia.

The integration of multiple proprioceptive information: effect of ankle tendon vibration on postural responses to platform tilt.

PubMed

Hatzitaki, Vassilia; Pavlou, Marousa; Bronstein, Adolfo M

2004-02-01

Previous studies have looked at co-processing of multiple proprioceptive inputs but few have investigated the effect of separate dynamic and tonic predominantly proprioceptive disruptions applied concurrently at the same segment. The purpose of the present study was to investigate how simultaneous ankle tendon vibration, a tonic stimulus, with a dynamic toes-up (TU) or toes-down (TD) platform perturbation (1) affects postural stability and (2) influences the adaptation process. Sixteen normal subjects (ten male, six female, mean age 26 +/- 4.8 years) stood blindfolded on a moving platform with vibrators attached bilaterally over the Achilles tendons. Participants were tested in quiet stance (QS), and with five successive TU and TD tilts. All tests were conducted both with (QS+V, TU+V, TD+V) and without vibration. Centre of pressure (CoP) displacements and pitch angular trunk velocity were recorded. Results for QS+V showed a significant 1.02-cm backward CoP displacement (P<0.01) and a significant increase in trunk velocity (peak-to-peak amplitude, P<0.05; SD of trunk velocity, P<0.05). TU+V resulted in a non-significant increase of maximum backwards CoP displacement when compared to TU alone. In addition, no notable effect of vibration on other measures of CoP (pre-tilt position, SD and area of sway) and trunk velocity (peak-to-peak, SD and area of sway) indicates that TU+V does not introduce significantly greater instability compared to tilt alone. In the TD condition, vibration was found to be a stabilising influence, causing a significant shift of the mean pre-tilt position 0.85 cm backwards (P<0.01) and a substantial decrease in the area of forward CoP displacement (P<0.01). However, maximum forwards CoP displacement and trunk velocity measures were not significantly altered during TD+V. Furthermore, in neither TU nor TD was the time-course or pattern of adaptation disrupted by the additional application of vibration. In conclusion, although vibration significantly affects postural measures when applied in isolation, this finding does not hold when it is applied in combination with a more dynamic stimulus. Instead it seems that once postural stability has been disrupted the central nervous system can rapidly assess information from a weaker tonic input and utilise or suppress it appropriately, depending on its effect towards overall postural control. It can be concluded that postural responses to the concurrent application of different predominantly proprioceptive stimuli are dependent upon the type of stimulus and the ability of the central nervous system to rapidly assess and re-weigh available sensory inputs.

The Optimized Integration of the Decontamination Plan and the Radwaste Management Plan into Decommissioning Plan to the VVR-S Research Reactor from Romania

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

Barariu, G.

2008-07-01

The paper presents the progress of the Decontamination Plan and Radioactive Waste Management Plan which accompanies the Decommissioning Plan for research reactor VVR-S located in Magurele, Ilfov, near Bucharest, Romania. The new variant of the Decommissioning Plan was elaborated taking into account the IAEA recommendation concerning radioactive waste management. A new feasibility study for VVR-S decommissioning was also elaborated. The preferred safe management strategy for radioactive wastes produced by reactor decommissioning is outlined. The strategy must account for reactor decommissioning, as well as rehabilitation of the existing Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant and the upgrade of the Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilitymore » at Baita-Bihor. Furthermore, the final rehabilitation of the laboratories and reusing of cleaned reactor building is envisaged. An inventory of each type of radioactive waste is presented. The proposed waste management strategy is selected in accordance with the IAEA assistance. Environmental concerns are a part of the radioactive waste management strategy. In conclusion: The current version 8 of the Draft Decommissioning Plan which include the Integrated concept of Decontamination and Decommissioning and Radwaste Management, reflects the substantial work that has been incorporated by IFIN-HH in collaboration with SITON, which has resulted in substantial improvement in document The decommissioning strategy must take into account costs for VVR-S Reactor decommissioning, as well as costs for much needed refurbishments to the radioactive waste treatment plant and the Baita-Bihor waste disposal repository. Several improvements to the Baita-Bihor repository and IFIN-HH waste treatment facility were proposed. The quantities and composition of the radioactive waste generated by VVR-S Reactor dismantling were again estimated by streams and the best demonstrated practicable processing solution was proposed. The estimated quantities of materials to be managed in the near future raise some issues that need to be solved swiftly, such as treatment of aluminum and lead and graphite management. It is envisaged that these materials to be treated to Subsidiary for Nuclear Research (SCN) Pitesti. (authors)« less

PR-EDB: Power Reactor Embrittlement Database - Version 3

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

Wang, Jy-An John; Subramani, Ranjit

2008-03-01

The aging and degradation of light-water reactor pressure vessels is of particular concern because of their relevance to plant integrity and the magnitude of the expected irradiation embrittlement. The radiation embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel materials depends on many factors, such as neutron fluence, flux, and energy spectrum, irradiation temperature, and preirradiation material history and chemical compositions. These factors must be considered to reliably predict pressure vessel embrittlement and to ensure the safe operation of the reactor. Large amounts of data from surveillance capsules are needed to develop a generally applicable damage prediction model that can be used for industrymore » standards and regulatory guides. Furthermore, the investigations of regulatory issues such as vessel integrity over plant life, vessel failure, and sufficiency of current codes, Standard Review Plans (SRPs), and Guides for license renewal can be greatly expedited by the use of a well-designed computerized database. The Power Reactor Embrittlement Database (PR-EDB) is such a comprehensive collection of data for U.S. designed commercial nuclear reactors. The current version of the PR-EDB lists the test results of 104 heat-affected-zone (HAZ) materials, 115 weld materials, and 141 base materials, including 103 plates, 35 forgings, and 3 correlation monitor materials that were irradiated in 321 capsules from 106 commercial power reactors. The data files are given in dBASE format and can be accessed with any personal computer using the Windows operating system. "User-friendly" utility programs have been written to investigate radiation embrittlement using this database. Utility programs allow the user to retrieve, select and manipulate specific data, display data to the screen or printer, and fit and plot Charpy impact data. The PR-EDB Version 3.0 upgrades Version 2.0. The package was developed based on the Microsoft .NET framework technology and uses Microsoft Access for backend data storage, and Microsoft Excel for plotting graphs. This software package is compatible with Windows (98 or higher) and has been built with a highly versatile user interface. PR-EDB Version 3.0 also contains an "Evaluated Residual File" utility for generating the evaluated processed files used for radiation embrittlement study.« less

Harmful impact on presynaptic glutamate and GABA transport by carbon dots synthesized from sulfur-containing carbohydrate precursor.

PubMed

Borisova, Tatiana; Dekaliuk, Mariia; Pozdnyakova, Natalia; Pastukhov, Artem; Dudarenko, Marina; Borysov, Arsenii; Vari, Sandor G; Demchenko, Alexander P

2017-07-01

Carbon nanoparticles that may be potent air pollutants with adverse effects on human health often contain heteroatoms including sulfur. In order to study in detail their effects on different physiological and biochemical processes, artificially produced carbon dots (CDs) with well-controlled composition that allows fluorescence detection may be of great use. Having been prepared from different types of organic precursors, CDs expose different atoms at their surface suggesting a broad variation of functional groups. Recently, we demonstrated neurotoxic properties of CDs synthesized from the amino acid β-alanine, and it is of importance to analyze whether CDs obtained from different precursors and particularly those exposing sulfur atoms induce similar neurotoxic effects. This study focused on synthesis of CDs from the sulfur-containing precursor thiourea-CDs (TU-CDs) with a size less than 10 nm, their characterization, and neuroactivity assessment. Neuroactive properties of TU-CDs were analyzed based on their effects on the key characteristics of glutamatergic and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmission in isolated rat brain nerve terminals. It was observed that TU-CDs (0.5-1.0 mg/ml) attenuated the initial velocity of Na + -dependent transporter-mediated uptake and accumulation of L-[ 14 C]glutamate and [ 3 H]GABA by nerve terminals in a dose-dependent manner and increased the ambient level of the neurotransmitters. Starting from the concentration of 0.2 mg/ml, TU-CDs evoked a gradual dose-dependent depolarization of the plasma membrane of nerve terminals measured with the cationic potentiometric dye rhodamine 6G. Within the concentration range of 0.1-0.5 mg/ml, TU-CDs caused an "unphysiological" step-like increase in fluorescence intensity of the рН-sensitive fluorescent dye acridine orange accumulated by synaptic vesicles. Therefore, despite different surface properties and fluorescent features of CDs prepared from different starting materials (thiourea and β-alanine), their principal neurotoxic effects are analogous but displayed at a different level of efficiency. Sulfur-containing TU-CDs exhibit lower effects (by ~30%) on glutamate and GABA transport in the nerve terminals in comparison with sulfur-free β-alanine CDs. Our results suggest considering that an uncontrolled presence of carbon-containing particulate matter in the human environment may pose a toxicity risk for the central nervous system.

CTC Sentinel. Volume 6, Issue 3

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

rac- ism. Locals reported that “light- skinned ” Arabs, Tu- aregs, and sub-Saharan Africans from Niger, Nigeria, Mali and other countries fought...Wadud), the amir of AQIM, to his lieutenants in the Sahara and to the Islamist militant group Ansar Eddine’s2 leader, Iyad ag Ghaly (also known as...2013. 2 Ansar Eddine, which means “Defenders of the Faith,” is a homegrown Islamist movement led by renowned Tu- areg rebel leader Iyad ag Ghaly

Integrable Rosochatius deformations of the restricted soliton flows

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

Zhou Ruguang

2007-10-15

A method to construct integrable Rosochatius deformations of the restricted soliton flows in the setup of Lax formulation is presented. The integrable Rosochatius deformations of the restricted soliton flows such as the restricted Ablowitz-Kaup-Newell-Segur flow, the restricted Tu-Meng flow, the restricted Tu flow with Neumann-type constraints, and the restricted modified Korteweg-de Vries flow, together with their Lax representations, are presented. In addition, a Lax representation of the Jacobi-Rosochatius system is obtained.

Efficient azo dye decolorization in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) with built-in bioelectrochemical system.

PubMed

Cui, Min-Hua; Cui, Dan; Gao, Lei; Cheng, Hao-Yi; Wang, Ai-Jie

2016-10-01

A continuous stirred tank reactor with built-in bioelectrochemical system (CSTR-BES) was developed for azo dye Alizarin Yellow R (AYR) containing wastewater treatment. The decolorization efficiency (DE) of the CSTR-BES was 97.04±0.06% for 7h with sludge concentration of 3000mg/L and initial AYR concentration of 100mg/L, which was superior to that of the sole CSTR mode (open circuit: 54.87±4.34%) and the sole BES mode (without sludge addition: 91.37±0.44%). The effects of sludge concentration and sodium acetate (NaAc) concentration on azo dye decolorization were investigated. The highest DE of CSTR-BES for 4h was 87.66±2.93% with sludge concentration of 12,000mg/L, NaAc concentration of 2000mg/L and initial AYR concentration of 100mg/L. The results in this study indicated that CSTR-BES could be a practical strategy for upgrading conventional anaerobic facilities against refractory wastewater treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Industrial wastewater platform: upgrading of the biological process and operative configurations for best performance.

PubMed

Eusebi, Anna Laura; Massi, Alessandro; Sablone, Emiliano; Santinelli, Martina; Battistoni, Paolo

2012-01-01

The treatment of industrial liquid wastes is placed in a wide context of technologies and is related to the high variability of the influent physical-chemical characteristics. In this condition, the achievement of satisfactory biological unit efficiency could be complicated. An alternate process (AC) with aerobic and anoxic phases fed in a continuous way was evaluated as an operative solution to optimize the performance of the biological reactor in a platform for the treatment of industrial liquid wastes. The process application has determined a stable quality effluent with an average concentration of 25 mg TN L(-1), according to the law limits. The use of discharged wastewaters as rapid carbon sources to support the anoxic phase of the alternate cycle, realizes a reduction of TN of 95% without impact on the total operative costs. The evaluation of the micro-pollutants behaviour has highlighted a bio-adsorption phenomenon in the first reactor. The implementation of the process defined 31% of energy saving during period 1 and 19% for the periods 2, 3 and 4.

Ultrapyrolytic upgrading of plastic wastes and plastics/heavy oil mixtures to valuable light gas products

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

Lovett, S.; Berruti, F.; Behie, L.A.

1997-11-01

Viable operating conditions were identified experimentally for maximizing the production of high-value products such as ethylene, propylene, styrene, and benzene, from the ultrapyrolysis of waste plastics. Using both a batch microreactor and a pilot-plant-sized reactor, the key operating variables considered were pyrolysis temperature, product reaction time, and quench time. In the microreactor experiments, polystyrene (PS), a significant component of waste plastics, was pyrolyzed at temperatures ranging from 800 to 965 C, with total reaction times ranging from 500 to 1,000 ms. At a temperature of 965 C and 500 ms, the yields of styrene plus benzene were greater than 95more » wt %. In the pilot-plant experiments, the recently patented internally circulating fluidized bed (ICFB) reactor (Milne et al., US Patent Number 5,370,789, 1994b) was used to ultrapyrolyze low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in addition to LDPE (5% by weight)/heavy oil mixtures at a residence time of 600 ms. Both experiments produced light olefin yields greater than 55 wt % at temperatures above 830 C.« less

Degradation and COD removal of catechol in wastewater using the catalytic ozonation process combined with the cyclic rotating-bed biological reactor.

PubMed

Aghapour, Ali Ahmad; Moussavi, Gholamreza; Yaghmaeian, Kamyar

2015-07-01

The effect of ozonation catalyzed with MgO/granular activated carbon (MgO/GAC) composite as a pretreatment process on the performance of cyclic rotating-bed biological reactor (CRBR) for the catechol removal from wastewater has been investigated. CRBR with acclimated biomasses could efficiently remove catechol and its related COD from wastewater at organic loading rate (OLR) of 7.82 kg COD/m(3).d (HRT of 9 h). Then, OLR increased to 15.64 kg COD/m(3).d (HRT of 4.5 h) and CRBR failed. Catalytic ozonation process (COP) used as a pre-treatment and could improve the performance of the failed CRBR. The overall removal efficiency of the combined process attained respective steady states of 91% and 79% for degradation and COD removal of catechol. Therefore, the combined process is more effective in degradation and COD removal of catechol; it is also a viable alternative for upgrading industrial wastewater treatment plant. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal Handling Qualities of the Tu-144LL Airplane and Comparisons With Other Large, Supersonic Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cox, Timothy H.; Marshall, Alisa

2000-01-01

Four flights have been conducted using the Tu-144LL supersonic transport aircraft with the dedicated objective of collecting quantitative data and qualitative pilot comments. These data are compared with the following longitudinal flying qualities criteria: Neal-Smith, short-period damping, time delay, control anticipation parameter, phase delay (omega(sp)*T(theta(2))), pitch bandwidth as a function of time delay, and flight path as a function of pitch bandwidth. Determining the applicability of these criteria and gaining insight into the flying qualities of a large, supersonic aircraft are attempted. Where appropriate, YF-12, XB-70, and SR-71 pilot ratings are compared with the Tu-144LL results to aid in the interpretation of the Tu-144LL data and to gain insight into the application of criteria. The data show that approach and landing requirements appear to be applicable to the precision flightpath control required for up-and-away flight of large, supersonic aircraft. The Neal-Smith, control anticipation parameter, and pitch-bandwidth criteria tend to correlate with the pilot comments better than the phase delay criterion, omega(sp)*T(theta(2)). The data indicate that the detrimental flying qualities implication of decoupled pitch-attitude and flightpath responses occurring for high-speed flight may be mitigated by requiring the pilot to close the loop on flightpath or vertical speed.

Effectiveness and tolerability of parenteral testosterone undecanoate: a post-marketing surveillance study.

PubMed

Wolf, Jan; Keipert, Dieter; Motazedi, Heiko; Ernst, Michael; Nettleship, Joanne; Gooren, Louis

2017-12-01

This observational post-marketing study of parenteral testosterone undecanoate (TU) in a non-selected population aimed to: examine the effectiveness of TU as treatment of hypogonadism; record adverse drug reactions (ADR) quantitatively particularly regarding polycythemia, prostate safety and cardiovascular-related metabolic risk factors; and verify whether recommended injection intervals apply to routine clinical practice. Eight hundred and seventy subjects from 259 outpatient units scheduled to visit the clinic six times were included. Effectiveness and tolerability of TU administration were assessed on a 4-point scale. Body weight, waist girth, blood pressure, hemoglobin levels, hematocrit, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and digital rectal prostate examination were assessed. Over 90% of subjects completed the observational duration of 52.8 ± 9.7 weeks (mean ± SD) and 56% judged effectiveness as very good, 30.8% as good. 63.1% judged tolerability as very good, and 24.4% as good. No adverse effects on indicators of cardiovascular risk were observed. Polycythemia occurred in one subject and a supranormal hematocrit in one subject. Four subjects developed supranormal PSA levels. Prostate carcinoma was found in one subject, one subject had recurrence of a previously surgically treated prostate carcinoma, and the other two showed no indication of malignancy. Parenteral TU is safe, effective, and well-tolerated in clinical practice proving a good therapeutic option for hypogonadism.

Assessment of heavy metals bioavailability and toxicity toward Vibrio fischeri in sediment of the Huelva estuary.

PubMed

Rosado, Daniel; Usero, José; Morillo, José

2016-06-01

Relationship between toxicity and bioavailable metals in sediments from the Huelva estuary and its littoral of influence was analyzed. Toxicity was assessed with Microtox® bioassay using a marine luminescent bacterium: Vibrio fischeri. Bioavailable metals were considered as both, acid extractable fraction of BCR procedure and the sum of exchangeable and bound to carbonates fractions of Tessier sequential extraction. A bioavailable metals index was calculated to integrate results in a single figure. Toxicity and bioavailable metals showed a similar pattern. Higher levels were found in the estuary than in the littoral (140 TU/g). In Huelva estuary, highest levels were found in the Tinto estuary (5725 TU/g), followed by the Odiel estuary (5100 TU/g) and the Padre Santo Canal (2500 TU/g). Results in this area were well over than those in nearby estuaries. Furthermore, they are similar to or even higher than those in other polluted sediments around the world. Bioavailable metal index showed a stronger correlation with acid extractable fraction of BCR (R(2) = 0.704) than that for the sum of exchangeable and bound to carbonates fractions of Tessier (R(2) = 0.661). These results suggest that bioavailable metals are an important source of sediment toxicity in the Huelva estuary and its littoral of influence, an area with one of the highest mortality risks of Spain. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Upper limb joint kinetics of three sitting pivot wheelchair transfer techniques in individuals with spinal cord injury

PubMed Central

Kankipati, Padmaja; Boninger, Michael L.; Gagnon, Dany; Cooper, Rory A.; Koontz, Alicia M.

2015-01-01

Study design Repeated measures design. Objective This study compared the upper extremity (UE) joint kinetics between three transfer techniques. Setting Research laboratory. Methods Twenty individuals with spinal cord injury performed three transfer techniques from their wheelchair to a level tub bench. Two of the techniques involved a head–hips method with leading hand position close (HH-I) and far (HH-A) from the body, and the third technique with the trunk upright (TU) and hand far from body. Motion analysis equipment recorded upper body movements and force sensors recorded their hand and feet reaction forces during the transfers. Results Several significant differences were found between HH-A and HH-I and TU and HH-I transfers indicating that hand placement was a key factor influencing the UE joint kinetics. Peak resultant hand, elbow, and shoulder joint forces were significantly higher for the HH-A and TU techniques at the trailing arm (P < 0.036) and lower at the leading arm (P < 0.021), compared to the HH-I technique. Conclusion Always trailing with the same arm if using HH-A or TU could predispose that arm to overuse related pain and injuries. Technique training should focus on initial hand placement close to the body followed by the amount of trunk flexion needed to facilitate movement. PMID:25130053

A novel patient-derived xenograft model for claudin-low triple-negative breast cancer.

PubMed

Matossian, Margarite D; Burks, Hope E; Bowles, Annie C; Elliott, Steven; Hoang, Van T; Sabol, Rachel A; Pashos, Nicholas C; O'Donnell, Benjamen; Miller, Kristin S; Wahba, Bahia M; Bunnell, Bruce A; Moroz, Krzysztof; Zea, Arnold H; Jones, Steven D; Ochoa, Augusto C; Al-Khami, Amir A; Hossain, Fokhrul; Riker, Adam I; Rhodes, Lyndsay V; Martin, Elizabeth C; Miele, Lucio; Burow, Matthew E; Collins-Burow, Bridgette M

2018-06-01

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes are clinically aggressive and cannot be treated with targeted therapeutics commonly used in other breast cancer subtypes. The claudin-low (CL) molecular subtype of TNBC has high rates of metastases, chemoresistance and recurrence. There exists an urgent need to identify novel therapeutic targets in TNBC; however, existing models utilized in target discovery research are limited. Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models have emerged as superior models for target discovery experiments because they recapitulate features of patient tumors that are limited by cell-line derived xenograft methods. We utilize immunohistochemistry, qRT-PCR and Western Blot to visualize tumor architecture, cellular composition, genomic and protein expressions of a new CL-TNBC PDX model (TU-BcX-2O0). We utilize tissue decellularization techniques to examine extracellular matrix composition of TU-BcX-2O0. Our laboratory successfully established a TNBC PDX tumor, TU-BCX-2O0, which represents a CL-TNBC subtype and maintains this phenotype throughout subsequent passaging. We dissected TU-BCx-2O0 to examine aspects of this complex tumor that can be targeted by developing therapeutics, including the whole and intact breast tumor, specific cell populations within the tumor, and the extracellular matrix. Here, we characterize a claudin-low TNBC patient-derived xenograft model that can be utilized for therapeutic research studies.

Genome-wide haploinsufficiency screen reveals a novel role for γ-TuSC in spindle organization and genome stability

PubMed Central

Choy, John S.; O'Toole, Eileen; Schuster, Breanna M.; Crisp, Matthew J.; Karpova, Tatiana S.; McNally, James G.; Winey, Mark; Gardner, Melissa K.; Basrai, Munira A.

2013-01-01

How subunit dosage contributes to the assembly and function of multimeric complexes is an important question with implications in understanding biochemical, evolutionary, and disease mechanisms. Toward identifying pathways that are susceptible to decreased gene dosage, we performed a genome-wide screen for haploinsufficient (HI) genes that guard against genome instability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This led to the identification of all three genes (SPC97, SPC98, and TUB4) encoding the evolutionarily conserved γ-tubulin small complex (γ-TuSC), which nucleates microtubule assembly. We found that hemizygous γ-TuSC mutants exhibit higher rates of chromosome loss and increases in anaphase spindle length and elongation velocities. Fluorescence microscopy, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, electron tomography, and model convolution simulation of spc98/+ mutants revealed improper regulation of interpolar (iMT) and kinetochore (kMT) microtubules in anaphase. The underlying cause is likely due to reduced levels of Tub4, as overexpression of TUB4 suppressed the spindle and chromosome segregation defects in spc98/+ mutants. We propose that γ-TuSC is crucial for balanced assembly between iMTs and kMTs for spindle organization and accurate chromosome segregation. Taken together, the results show how gene dosage studies provide critical insights into the assembly and function of multisubunit complexes that may not be revealed by using traditional studies with haploid gene deletion or conditional alleles. PMID:23825022

Genome-wide haploinsufficiency screen reveals a novel role for γ-TuSC in spindle organization and genome stability.

PubMed

Choy, John S; O'Toole, Eileen; Schuster, Breanna M; Crisp, Matthew J; Karpova, Tatiana S; McNally, James G; Winey, Mark; Gardner, Melissa K; Basrai, Munira A

2013-09-01

How subunit dosage contributes to the assembly and function of multimeric complexes is an important question with implications in understanding biochemical, evolutionary, and disease mechanisms. Toward identifying pathways that are susceptible to decreased gene dosage, we performed a genome-wide screen for haploinsufficient (HI) genes that guard against genome instability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This led to the identification of all three genes (SPC97, SPC98, and TUB4) encoding the evolutionarily conserved γ-tubulin small complex (γ-TuSC), which nucleates microtubule assembly. We found that hemizygous γ-TuSC mutants exhibit higher rates of chromosome loss and increases in anaphase spindle length and elongation velocities. Fluorescence microscopy, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, electron tomography, and model convolution simulation of spc98/+ mutants revealed improper regulation of interpolar (iMT) and kinetochore (kMT) microtubules in anaphase. The underlying cause is likely due to reduced levels of Tub4, as overexpression of TUB4 suppressed the spindle and chromosome segregation defects in spc98/+ mutants. We propose that γ-TuSC is crucial for balanced assembly between iMTs and kMTs for spindle organization and accurate chromosome segregation. Taken together, the results show how gene dosage studies provide critical insights into the assembly and function of multisubunit complexes that may not be revealed by using traditional studies with haploid gene deletion or conditional alleles.

Selection of DNA aptamers against epidermal growth factor receptor with high affinity and specificity.

PubMed

Wang, Deng-Liang; Song, Yan-Ling; Zhu, Zhi; Li, Xi-Lan; Zou, Yuan; Yang, Hai-Tao; Wang, Jiang-Jie; Yao, Pei-Sen; Pan, Ru-Jun; Yang, Chaoyong James; Kang, De-Zhi

2014-10-31

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/HER1/c-ErbB1), is overexpressed in many solid cancers, such as epidermoid carcinomas, malignant gliomas, etc. EGFR plays roles in proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis of malignant cancer cells and is the ideal antigen for clinical applications in cancer detection, imaging and therapy. Aptamers, the output of the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), are DNA/RNA oligonucleotides which can bind protein and other substances with specificity. RNA aptamers are undesirable due to their instability and high cost of production. Conversely, DNA aptamers have aroused researcher's attention because they are easily synthesized, stable, selective, have high binding affinity and are cost-effective to produce. In this study, we have successfully identified DNA aptamers with high binding affinity and selectivity to EGFR. The aptamer named TuTu22 with Kd 56±7.3nM was chosen from the identified DNA aptamers for further study. Flow cytometry analysis results indicated that the TuTu22 aptamer was able to specifically recognize a variety of cancer cells expressing EGFR but did not bind to the EGFR-negative cells. With all of the aforementioned advantages, the DNA aptamers reported here against cancer biomarker EGFR will facilitate the development of novel targeted cancer detection, imaging and therapy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hsp33 confers bleach resistance by protecting elongation factor Tu against oxidative degradation in Vibrio cholerae

PubMed Central

Wholey, Wei-Yun; Jakob, Ursula

2012-01-01

Summary The redox-regulated chaperone Hsp33 protects bacteria specifically against stress conditions that cause oxidative protein unfolding, such as treatment with bleach or exposure to peroxide at elevated temperatures. To gain insight into the mechanism by which expression of Hsp33 confers resistance to oxidative protein unfolding conditions, we made use of V. cholerae strain O395 lacking the Hsp33 gene hslO. We found that this strain, which is exquisitely bleach-sensitive, displays a temperature-sensitive (ts) phenotype during aerobic growth, implying that V. cholerae suffers from oxidative heat stress when cultivated at 43°C. We utilized this phenotype to select for E. coli genes that rescue the ts phenotype of V. cholerae ΔhslO when overexpressed. We discovered that expression of a single protein, the elongation factor EF-Tu, was sufficient to rescue both the ts and bleach-sensitive phenotypes of V. cholerae ΔhslO. In vivo studies revealed that V. cholerae EF-Tu is highly sensitive to oxidative protein degradation in the absence of Hsp33, indicating that EF-Tu is a vital chaperone substrate of Hsp33 in V. cholerae. These results suggest an “essential client protein” model for Hsp33’s chaperone action in Vibrio in which stabilization of a single oxidative stress-sensitive protein is sufficient to enhance the oxidative stress resistance of the whole organism. PMID:22296329

Asymmetrical effects of mesophyll conductance on fundamental photosynthetic parameters and their relationships estimated from leaf gas exchange measurements.

PubMed

Sun, Ying; Gu, Lianhong; Dickinson, Robert E; Pallardy, Stephen G; Baker, John; Cao, Yonghui; DaMatta, Fábio Murilo; Dong, Xuejun; Ellsworth, David; Van Goethem, Davina; Jensen, Anna M; Law, Beverly E; Loos, Rodolfo; Martins, Samuel C Vitor; Norby, Richard J; Warren, Jeffrey; Weston, David; Winter, Klaus

2014-04-01

Worldwide measurements of nearly 130 C3 species covering all major plant functional types are analysed in conjunction with model simulations to determine the effects of mesophyll conductance (g(m)) on photosynthetic parameters and their relationships estimated from A/Ci curves. We find that an assumption of infinite g(m) results in up to 75% underestimation for maximum carboxylation rate V(cmax), 60% for maximum electron transport rate J(max), and 40% for triose phosphate utilization rate T(u) . V(cmax) is most sensitive, J(max) is less sensitive, and T(u) has the least sensitivity to the variation of g(m). Because of this asymmetrical effect of g(m), the ratios of J(max) to V(cmax), T(u) to V(cmax) and T(u) to J(max) are all overestimated. An infinite g(m) assumption also limits the freedom of variation of estimated parameters and artificially constrains parameter relationships to stronger shapes. These findings suggest the importance of quantifying g(m) for understanding in situ photosynthetic machinery functioning. We show that a nonzero resistance to CO2 movement in chloroplasts has small effects on estimated parameters. A non-linear function with gm as input is developed to convert the parameters estimated under an assumption of infinite gm to proper values. This function will facilitate gm representation in global carbon cycle models. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Hardwired Control Changes For NSTX DC Power Feeds

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

Ramakrishnan, S.

The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) has been designed and installed in the existing facilities at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). Most of the hardware, plant facilities, auxiliary sub-systems, and power systems originally used for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) have been used with suitable modifications to reflect NSTX needs. The original TFTR Hardwired Control System (HCS) with electromechanical relays was used for NSTX DC Power loop control and protection during NSTX operations. As part of the NSTX Upgrade, the HCS is being changed to a PLC-based system with the same control logic. This paper gives a description ofmore » the changeover to the new PLC-based system __________________________________________________« less

Surfactant studies for bench-scale operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hickey, Gregory S.; Sharma, Pramod K.

1993-01-01

A phase 2 study has been initiated to investigate surfactant-assisted coal liquefaction, with the objective of quantifying the enhancement in liquid yields and product quality. This report covers the second quarter of work. The major accomplishments were: completion of coal liquefaction autoclave reactor runs with Illinois number 6 coal at processing temperatures of 300, 325, and 350 C, and pressures of 1800 psig; analysis of the filter cake and the filtrate obtained from the treated slurry in each run; and correlation of the coal conversions and the liquid yield quality to the surfactant concentration. An increase in coal conversions and upgrading of the liquid product quality due to surfactant addition was observed for all runs.

Phase separated membrane bioreactor: Results from model system studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petersen, G. R.; Seshan, P. K.; Dunlop, E. H.

The operation and evaluation of a bioreactor designed for high intensity oxygen transfer in a microgravity environment is described. The reactor itself consists of a zero headspace liquid phase separated from the air supply by a long length of silicone rubber tubing through which the oxygen diffuses in and the carbon dioxide diffuses out. Mass transfer studies show that the oxygen is film diffusion controlled both externally and internally to the tubing and not by diffusion across the tube walls. Methods of upgrading the design to eliminate these resistances are proposed. Cell growth was obtained in the fermenter using Saccharomyces cerevisiae showing that this concept is capable of sustaining cell growth in the terrestial simulation.

The development of the new Eureka process

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

Watari, R.; Shoji, Y.; Ishikawa, T.

1987-01-01

Fuji Oil and Chiyoda have jointly developed this new Eureka (ET-II) process. It utilizes the unique technology of the original Eureka process, such as the injection of superheated steam into the reaction atmosphere and the handling of pitch in a molten state. It also combines a cracking heater with a high conversion rate and a single flow type reactor. In comparison with the original Eureka process, the advantages offered by the ET-II process are: Lower capital investment; lower operating cost; higher yield of lighter distillates. The cracked oil products can also be processed in secondary upgrading processes and the pitchmore » can then be utilized as a form of pitch water slurry fuel.« less

Production and energetic use of biogas from energy crops and wastes in Germany.

PubMed

Weiland, Peter

2003-01-01

The production of biogas for reducing fossil CO2 emissions is one of the key strategic issues of the German government and has resulted in the development of new process techniques and new technologies for the energetic use of biogas. Progress has been made in cultivating energy crops for biogas production, in using new reactor systems for anaerobic digestion, and in applying more efficient technologies for combined heat and power production. Recently, integration of fuel cells within the anaerobic digestion process was started, and new technologies for biogas upgrading and conversion to hydrogen were tested. This article describes the trends in Germany for achieving more efficient energy production.

Phase separated membrane bioreactor - Results from model system studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petersen, G. R.; Seshan, P. K.; Dunlop, E. H.

1989-01-01

The operation and evaluation of a bioreactor designed for high intensity oxygen transfer in a microgravity environment is described. The reactor itself consists of a zero headspace liquid phase separated from the air supply by a long length of silicone rubber tubing through which the oxygen diffuses in and the carbon dioxide diffuses out. Mass transfer studies show that the oxygen is film diffusion controlled both externally and internally to the tubing and not by diffusion across the tube walls. Methods of upgrading the design to eliminate these resistances are proposed. Cell growth was obtained in the fermenter using Saccharomyces cerevisiae showing that this concept is capable of sustaining cell growth in the terrestrial simulation.

Model system studies with a phase separated membrane bioreactor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petersen, G. R.; Seshan, P. K.; Dunlop, Eric H.

1989-01-01

The operation and evaluation of a bioreactor designed for high intensity oxygen transfer in a microgravity environment is described. The reactor itself consists of a zero headspace liquid phase separated from the air supply by a long length of silicone rubber tubing through which the oxygen diffuses in and the carbon dioxide diffuses out. Mass transfer studies show that the oxygen is film diffusion controlled both externally and internally to the tubing and not by diffusion across the tube walls. Methods of upgrading the design to eliminate these resistances are proposed. Cell growth was obtained in the fermenter using Saccharomyces cerevisiae showing that this concept is capable of sustaining cell growth in the terrestial simulation.

Qualification and characterization of electronics of the fast neutron Hodoscope detectors using neutrons from CABRI core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirotta, S.; Guillot, J.; Chevalier, V.; Biard, B.

2018-01-01

The study of Reactivity Initiated Accidents (RIA) is important to determine up to which limits nuclear fuels can withstand such accidents without clad failure. The CABRI International Program (CIP), conducted by IRSN under an OECD/NEA agreement, has been launched to perform representative RIA Integral Effect Tests (IET) on real irradiated fuel rods in prototypical Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) conditions. For this purpose, the CABRI experimental pulse reactor, operated by CEA in Cadarache, France, has been strongly renovated, and equipped with a pressurized water loop. The behavior of the test rod, located in that loop in the center of the driver core, is followed in real time during the power transients thanks to the hodoscope, a unique online fuel motion monitoring system, and one of the major distinctive features of CABRI. The hodoscope measures the fast neutrons emitted by the tested rod during the power pulse with a complete set of 153 Fission Chambers and 153 Proton Recoil Counters. During the CABRI facility renovation, the electronic chain of these detectors has been upgraded. In this paper, the performance of the new system is presented describing gain calibration methodology in order to get maximal Signal/Noise ratio for amplification modules, threshold tuning methodology for the discrimination modules (old and new ones), and linear detectors response limit versus different reactor powers for the whole electronic chain.

Results of the engineering run of the Coherent Neutrino Nucleus Interaction Experiment (CONNIE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguilar-Arevalo, A.; Bertou, X.; Bonifazi, C.; Butner, M.; Cancelo, G.; Castañeda Vázquez, A.; Cervantes Vergara, B.; Chavez, C. R.; Da Motta, H.; D'Olivo, J. C.; Dos Anjos, J.; Estrada, J.; Fernandez Moroni, G.; Ford, R.; Foguel, A.; Hernández Torres, K. P.; Izraelevitch, F.; Kavner, A.; Kilminster, B.; Kuk, K.; Lima, H. P., Jr.; Makler, M.; Molina, J.; Moreno-Granados, G.; Moro, J. M.; Paolini, E. E.; Sofo Haro, M.; Tiffenberg, J.; Trillaud, F.; Wagner, S.

2016-07-01

The CONNIE detector prototype is operating at a distance of 30 m from the core of a 3.8 GWth nuclear reactor with the goal of establishing Charge-Coupled Devices (CCD) as a new technology for the detection of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. We report on the results of the engineering run with an active mass of 4 g of silicon. The CCD array is described, and the performance observed during the first year is discussed. A compact passive shield was deployed around the detector, producing an order of magnitude reduction in the background rate. The remaining background observed during the run was stable, and dominated by internal contamination in the detector packaging materials. The in-situ calibration of the detector using X-ray lines from fluorescence demonstrates good stability of the readout system. The event rates with the reactor ON and OFF are compared, and no excess is observed coming from nuclear fission at the power plant. The upper limit for the neutrino event rate is set two orders of magnitude above the expectations for the standard model. The results demonstrate the cryogenic CCD-based detector can be remotely operated at the reactor site with stable noise below 2 e- RMS and stable background rates. The success of the engineering test provides a clear path for the upgraded 100 g detector to be deployed during 2016.

Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES) Upgrade Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Emrich, William J., Jr.

2014-01-01

Over the past year the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES) has been undergoing a significant upgrade beyond its initial configuration. The NTREES facility is designed to perform realistic non-nuclear testing of nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) fuel elements and fuel materials. Although the NTREES facility cannot mimic the neutron and gamma environment of an operating NTR, it can simulate the thermal hydraulic environment within an NTR fuel element to provide critical information on material performance and compatibility. The first phase of the upgrade activities which was completed in 2012 in part consisted of an extensive modification to the hydrogen system to permit computer controlled operations outside the building through the use of pneumatically operated variable position valves. This setup also allows the hydrogen flow rate to be increased to over 200 g/sec and reduced the operation complexity of the system. The second stage of modifications to NTREES which has just been completed expands the capabilities of the facility significantly. In particular, the previous 50 kW induction power supply has been replaced with a 1.2 MW unit which should allow more prototypical fuel element temperatures to be reached. The water cooling system was also upgraded to so as to be capable of removing 100% of the heat generated during. This new setup required that the NTREES vessel be raised onto a platform along with most of its associated gas and vent lines. In this arrangement, the induction heater and water systems are now located underneath the platform. In this new configuration, the 1.2 MW NTREES induction heater will be capable of testing fuel elements and fuel materials in flowing hydrogen at pressures up to 1000 psi at temperatures up to and beyond 3000 K and at near-prototypic reactor channel power densities. NTREES is also capable of testing potential fuel elements with a variety of propellants, including hydrogen with additives to inhibit corrosion of certain potential NTR fuel forms. Additional diagnostic upgrades included in the present NTREES set up include the addition of a gamma ray spectrometer located near the vent filter to detect uranium fuel particles exiting the fuel element in the propellant exhaust stream to provide additional information any material loss occurring during testing. Other aspects of the upgrade included reworking NTREES to reduce the operational complexity of the system despite the increased complexity of the induction heating system. To this end, many of the controls were consolidated on fewer panels. As part of this upgrade activity, the Safety Assessment (SA) and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for NTREES were extensively rewritten. The new 1.2 MW induction heater consists of three physical units consisting of a transformer, rectifier, and inverter. This multiunit arrangement facilitated increasing the flexibility of the induction heater by more easily allowing variable frequency operation. Frequency ranges between 20 and 60 kHz can be accommodated in the new induction heater allowing more representative power distributions to be generated within the test elements.

Oxidative degradation of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) by UV/persulfate and associated acute toxicity assessment.

PubMed

Huang, Jingting; Wang, Kai-Sung; Liang, Chenju

2017-07-29

Tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) is widely used in high-tech industries as a developing agent. Ultraviolet (UV) light-activated persulfate (PS, S 2 O 8 2- ) can be used to generate strongly oxidative sulfate radicals, and it also exhibits the potential to treat TMAH-containing wastewater. This study initially investigated the effect of S 2 O 8 2- concentration and UV strength on the UV/S 2 O 8 2- process for the degradation of TMAH in a batch reactor. The results suggested that 15 watts (W) of UV-activated S 2 O 8 2- at concentrations of 10 or 50 mM resulted in pseudo-first-order TMAH degradation rate constants of 3.1-4.2 × 10 -2 min -1 , which was adopted for determining the hydraulic retention time (HRT) in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). The operating conditions (15 W UV/10 mM S 2 O 8 2- ) with a HRT of 129 min resulted in stable residual concentrations of S 2 O 8 2- and TMAH at approximately 2.6 mM and 20 mg L -1 in effluent, respectively. Several TMAH degradation intermediates including trimethylamine, dimethylamine, and methylamine were also detected. The effluent was adjusted to a neutral pH and evaluated for its biological acute toxicity using Cyprinus carpio as a bioassay organism. The "bio-acute toxicity unit" (TU a ) was determined to be 1.41, which indicated that the effluent was acceptable for being discharged into an aquatic ecosystem.

Comparative Evaluation of Stress Distribution in Experimentally Designed Nickel-titanium Rotary Files with Varying Cross Sections: A Finite Element Analysis.

PubMed

Basheer Ahamed, Shadir Bughari; Vanajassun, Purushothaman Pranav; Rajkumar, Kothandaraman; Mahalaxmi, Sekar

2018-04-01

Single cross-sectional nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments during continuous rotations are subjected to constant and variable stresses depending on the canal anatomy. This study was intended to create 2 new experimental, theoretic single-file designs with combinations of triple U (TU), triangle (TR), and convex triangle (CT) cross sections and to compare their bending stresses in simulated root canals with a single cross-sectional instrument using finite element analysis. A 3-dimensional model of the simulated root canal with 45° curvature and NiTi files with 5 cross-sectional designs were created using Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0 software (PTC Inc, Needham, MA) and ANSYS software (version 17; ANSYS, Inc, Canonsburg, PA) for finite element analysis. The NiTi files of 3 groups had single cross-sectional shapes of CT, TR, and TU designs, and 2 experimental groups had a CT, TR, and TU (CTU) design and a TU, TR, and CT (UTC) design. The file was rotated in simulated root canals to analyze the bending stress, and the von Mises stress value for every file was recorded in MPa. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Bonferroni-adjusted Mann-Whitney test for multiple pair-wise comparison with a P value <.05 (95 %). The maximum bending stress of the rotary file was observed in the apical third of the CT design, whereas comparatively less stress was recorded in the CTU design. The TU and TR designs showed a similar stress pattern at the curvature, whereas the UTC design showed greater stress in the apical and middle thirds of the file in curved canals. All the file designs showed a statistically significant difference. The CTU designed instruments showed the least bending stress on a 45° angulated simulated root canal when compared with all the other tested designs. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Predictive Genes in Adjacent Normal Tissue Are Preferentially Altered by sCNV during Tumorigenesis in Liver Cancer and May Rate Limiting

PubMed Central

Lamb, John R.; Zhang, Chunsheng; Xie, Tao; Wang, Kai; Zhang, Bin; Hao, Ke; Chudin, Eugene; Fraser, Hunter B.; Millstein, Joshua; Ferguson, Mark; Suver, Christine; Ivanovska, Irena; Scott, Martin; Philippar, Ulrike; Bansal, Dimple; Zhang, Zhan; Burchard, Julja; Smith, Ryan; Greenawalt, Danielle; Cleary, Michele; Derry, Jonathan; Loboda, Andrey; Watters, James; Poon, Ronnie T. P.; Fan, Sheung T.; Yeung, Chun; Lee, Nikki P. Y.; Guinney, Justin; Molony, Cliona; Emilsson, Valur; Buser-Doepner, Carolyn; Zhu, Jun; Friend, Stephen; Mao, Mao; Shaw, Peter M.; Dai, Hongyue; Luk, John M.; Schadt, Eric E.

2011-01-01

Background In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) genes predictive of survival have been found in both adjacent normal (AN) and tumor (TU) tissues. The relationships between these two sets of predictive genes and the general process of tumorigenesis and disease progression remains unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we have investigated HCC tumorigenesis by comparing gene expression, DNA copy number variation and survival using ∼250 AN and TU samples representing, respectively, the pre-cancer state, and the result of tumorigenesis. Genes that participate in tumorigenesis were defined using a gene-gene correlation meta-analysis procedure that compared AN versus TU tissues. Genes predictive of survival in AN (AN-survival genes) were found to be enriched in the differential gene-gene correlation gene set indicating that they directly participate in the process of tumorigenesis. Additionally the AN-survival genes were mostly not predictive after tumorigenesis in TU tissue and this transition was associated with and could largely be explained by the effect of somatic DNA copy number variation (sCNV) in cis and in trans. The data was consistent with the variance of AN-survival genes being rate-limiting steps in tumorigenesis and this was confirmed using a treatment that promotes HCC tumorigenesis that selectively altered AN-survival genes and genes differentially correlated between AN and TU. Conclusions/Significance This suggests that the process of tumor evolution involves rate-limiting steps related to the background from which the tumor evolved where these were frequently predictive of clinical outcome. Additionally treatments that alter the likelihood of tumorigenesis occurring may act by altering AN-survival genes, suggesting that the process can be manipulated. Further sCNV explains a substantial fraction of tumor specific expression and may therefore be a causal driver of tumor evolution in HCC and perhaps many solid tumor types. PMID:21750698

Is testosterone replacement therapy in males with hypogonadism cost-effective? An analysis in Sweden.

PubMed

Arver, Stefan; Luong, Ba; Fraschke, Anina; Ghatnekar, Ola; Stanisic, Sanja; Gultyev, Dmitry; Müller, Elvira

2014-01-01

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) has been recommended for the treatment of primary and secondary hypogonadism. However, long-term implications of TRT have not been investigated extensively. The aim of this analysis was to evaluate health outcomes and costs associated with life-long TRT in patients suffering from Klinefelter syndrome and late-onset hypogonadism (LOH). A Markov model was developed to assess cost-effectiveness of testosterone undecanoate (TU) depot injection treatment compared with no treatment. Health outcomes and associated costs were modeled in monthly cycles per patient individually along a lifetime horizon. Modeled health outcomes included development of type 2 diabetes, depression, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications, and fractures. Analysis was performed for the Swedish health-care setting from health-care payer's and societal perspective. One-way sensitivity analyses evaluated the robustness of results. The main outcome measures were quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and total cost in TU depot injection treatment and no treatment cohorts. In addition, outcomes were also expressed as incremental cost per QALY gained for TU depot injection therapy compared with no treatment (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio [ICER]). TU depot injection compared to no-treatment yielded a gain of 1.67 QALYs at an incremental cost of 28,176 EUR (37,192 USD) in the Klinefelter population. The ICER was 16,884 EUR (22,287 USD) per QALY gained. Outcomes in LOH population estimated benefits of TRT at 19,719 EUR (26,029 USD) per QALY gained. Results showed to be considerably robust when tested in sensitivity analyses. Variation of relative risk to develop type 2 diabetes had the highest impact on long-term outcomes in both patient groups. This analysis suggests that lifelong TU depot injection therapy of patients with hypogonadism is a cost-effective treatment in Sweden. Hence, it can support clinicians in decision making when considering appropriate treatment strategies for patients with testosterone deficiency. © 2013 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

A Theory of Cramer-Rao Bounds for Constrained Parametric Models

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of...overly optimistic. This occurs frequently in communications when the signal- to-noise ratio (SNR) or data transmission size decreases. 43 3.1, then U ?(φ...space of UTHT , the LSE is BLUE and is given by dT θ̂CLS(x) = d Tθ1 + d TU ( UTQU )† UTHTC−1 ( x−Hθ1 ) (3.28) similar to (3.27) with variance dTU

China Report, Science and Technology

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-01-27

Technology Assessment Reviewed (Huang Qingming; JISHU JINGJI YU GUANLI YANJIU, No 4, 31 Aug 85) 19 - a - Editorial Explores Technology Importation...JPRS-CST-86-003 27 January 1986 NATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT REVIEWED Shanxi JISHU JINGJI YU GUANLI YANJIU [RESEARCH ON THE...derived based on the theory of least squares: where: and x0=l(MN-U 2)Q+(UV-NT)R + (TU-MV)Sl/D y0 = ZOJV-NT)Q + (LN-V 1)R + (TV- LU )Sn/D 20 = L(TU-VM)Q

Translations on North Korea. Number 616.

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-09-20

Chin-u, Kye Ung -tae, Kim -hwan, Kim Man-kum, Ho Tam, Chong Chun-ki and Kong Chin-tae. Attending the soiree were Comrade Han Tok-su, chairman of the...Committee which was held on 10 June under the leadership of Kim Il-song; listed ninth, after Kim Tu- yong and before No T’ae-sok (NODONG SINMUN 12 Jun...Province KWP Committee which was held on 10 June under the leadership of Kim Il-song; listed seventh, after Kang Song-san and before Kim Tu- yong

A great honor and a huge challenge for China: You-you TU getting the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

PubMed

Yuan, Da; Yang, Xue; Guo, Jun-Chao

2016-05-01

Public excitement over the award of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to the Chinese medical scientist You-you TU for the discovery of a herbal anti-malarial, may mislead the Chinese people into believing that traditional Chinese herbal medi-cine can be used to cure all disease without any ad-verse effects. The aim of this paper is to explain the advantages and disadvantages of herbal traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) objectively.

Air Weapon Systems in the Third World: A Combat Potential Assessment Technique.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-06-01

VALUE LABEL BMAT BOMBER-GROUND ATTACK FTAT FIGHTER-GROUND ATTACK FTTA FIGHTER/TRAINER-GROUND ATTACK FTIN FIGHTER-INTERCEPTOR FTTI FIGHTER/TRAINER...260 2.91 10900 5440 17720 24540 TORADV FTIN 46 400 5.20 31500 15632 41392 60000 TORIDS FTAT 46 400 5.20 31065 14000 47985 60000 TU16AG BMAT 108 1772...6.58 82000 56870 130235 158730 TU22BD BMAT 91 1451 5. 69 80400 81600 147650 185000 ACFT MAXPWR TWPWR ASPD SPECENA LSPD SPECENS CSPD SCEI ALPHAMSI 5952

Upgraded HFIR Fuel Element Welding System

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

Sease, John D

2010-02-01

The welding of aluminum-clad fuel plates into aluminum alloy 6061 side plate tubing is a unique design feature of the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) fuel assemblies as 101 full-penetration circumferential gas metal arc welds (GMAW) are required in the fabrication of each assembly. In a HFIR fuel assembly, 540 aluminum-clad fuel plates are assembled into two nested annular fuel elements 610 mm (24-inches) long. The welding process for the HFIR fuel elements was developed in the early 1960 s and about 450 HFIR fuel assemblies have been successfully welded using the GMAW process qualified in the 1960 s. Inmore » recent years because of the degradation of the electronic and mechanical components in the old HFIR welding system, reportable defects in plate attachment or adapter welds have been present in almost all completed fuel assemblies. In October 2008, a contract was awarded to AMET, Inc., of Rexburg, Idaho, to replace the old welding equipment with standard commercially available welding components to the maximum extent possible while maintaining the qualified HFIR welding process. The upgraded HFIR welding system represents a major improvement in the welding system used in welding HFIR fuel elements for the previous 40 years. In this upgrade, the new inner GMAW torch is a significant advancement over the original inner GMAW torch previously used. The innovative breakthrough in the new inner welding torch design is the way the direction of the cast in the 0.762 mm (0.030-inch) diameter aluminum weld wire is changed so that the weld wire emerging from the contact tip is straight in the plane perpendicular to the welding direction without creating any significant drag resistance in the feeding of the weld wire.« less

Synthesis and characterization of hydrolysed starch-g-poly(methacrylic acid) composite.

PubMed

Zahran, Magdy K; Ahmed, Enas M; El-Rafie, Mohamed H

2016-06-01

A novel method for the synthesis of starch-g-poly(methacrylic acid) composite was adopted by graft polymerization of hydrolysed starch (HS) and methacrylic acid (MAA) in aqueous medium using an efficient sodium perborate (SPB)-thiourea (TU) redox initiation system. The parameters influencing the redox system efficiency and thence the polymerization method were considered. These parameters comprehended the concentrations of MAA, SPB, TU and SPB/TU molar ratio as well as the polymerization temperature. The polymerization reaction was scrutinized through calculation of the MAA total conversion percent (TC%). The resultant poly(MAA-HS) composite was assessed by evaluating the polymer criteria (the graft yield, GY%; the grafting efficiency, GE%; the homopolymer, HP%; and the total conversion). The comportment of the apparent viscosity of the cooked poly(MAA)-starch composite paste, obtained under diverse polymerization conditions, was examined. Tentative mechanisms, which depict all occasions that happen amid the entire course of the polymerization reaction, have been proffered. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of Urea, Hydroxyurea, and Thiourea on Meloidogyne javanica and Infected Excised Tomato Roots in Culture

PubMed Central

Glazer, I.; Orion, D.

1984-01-01

Urea (U), hydroxyurea (HU), and thiourea (TU), in various concentrations, were added to chemically defined plant tissue culture medium on which Meloidogyne javanica was reared on excised tomato roots. Concentrations as low as 3 ppm HU or 12 ppm TU inhibited nematode maturation by 70-90% 4 weeks after inoculation, and the coenocytes in the parasitized tissue were poorly developed. Gall weight was also inhibited by 50% in cultures treated with 3 and 6 ppm HU. However, exposing juveniles of M. javanica and Tylenchulus semipenetrans or juveniles and adults of Pratylenchus thornei to increasing concentrations of HU or TU, up to 100 ppm, was not lethal. These two urea derivatives still inhibited nematode maturation when the infected region of the root was not in direct contact with the chemicals. Therefore, we suggest that these urea derivatives inhibit nematode development by affecting the plant metabolism essential to coenocyte formation, an occurrence similar to the hypersensitive reaction in a naturally resistant plant. PMID:19295888

Stability of dilute solutions of tuberculin purified protein derivative.

PubMed

Landi, S; Held, H R

1978-06-01

The biological potency of 15 commercially available tuberculin solutions prepared from a master batch of tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) (PPD-CT68) and using a newly formulated diluent (Connaught diluent) containing 0.0005% Tween 80 as an anti-adsorption agent and 0.3% phenol as a preservative, was determined after storage for various intervals at 4, 24 and 37 degrees C. The 5 tuberculin units (TU) per 0.1 ml dose solutions were bioequivalent to a non-stabilized solution of PPD-S whereas the 1 TU and 250 TU per dose solutions were equivalent by calculation to a non-stabilized solution of PPD-S. It was found that the PPD solutions of all 3 strengths, 1, 5 and 250 TU per dose, were stable for at least 3 years at 4 degrees C and for 2 years at room temperature (24 degrees C). Even at 37 degrees C the solutions of all 3 strengths were stable for at least 1 year. The stability of Connaught tuberculin PPD solutions has not been affected by the changes in formulation. The stability data suggest that the expiry date of the newly formulated tuberculin products could be at least two years from the data of the last satisfactory potency test. Although these products are stable for at least 1 year even at 37 degrees C, we nonetheless agree with the Canadian and U.S. regulations that they be stored at 2 to 8 degrees C in their original containers.

Blockage of both the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of diazinon-induced apoptosis in PaTu cells by magnesium oxide and selenium nanoparticles.

PubMed

Shiri, Mahdi; Navaei-Nigjeh, Mona; Baeeri, Maryam; Rahimifard, Mahban; Mahboudi, Hossein; Shahverdi, Ahmad Reza; Kebriaeezadeh, Abbas; Abdollahi, Mohammad

Diazinon (DZ) is an organophosphorus insecticide that acts as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. It is important to note that it can induce oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, diabetic disorders, and cytotoxicity. Magnesium oxide (MgO) and selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) showed promising protection against oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, cytotoxicity, and diabetic disorders. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the possible protective mechanisms of MgO and Se NPs against DZ-induced cytotoxicity in PaTu cell line. Cytotoxicity of DZ, in the presence or absence of effective doses of MgO and Se NPs, was determined in human pancreatic cancer cell line (PaTu cells) after 24 hours of exposure by using mitochondrial activity and mitochondrial membrane potential assays. Then, the insulin, proinsulin, and C-peptide release; caspase-3 and -9 activities; and total thiol molecule levels were assessed. Determination of cell viability, including apoptotic and necrotic cells, was assessed via acridine orange/ethidium bromide double staining. Furthermore, expression of 15 genes associated with cell death/apoptosis in various phenomena was examined after 24 hours of contact with DZ and NPs by using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Compared to the individual cases, the group receiving the combination of MgO and Se NPs showed more beneficial effects in reducing the toxicity of DZ. Cotreatment of PaTu cell lines with MgO and Se NPs counteracts the toxicity of DZ on insulin-producing cells.

Novel double-layer Silastic testicular prosthesis with controlled release of testosterone in vitro, and its effects on castrated rats

PubMed Central

Chen, Hui-Xing; Yang, Shi; Ning, Ye; Shao, Hai-Hao; Ma, Meng; Tian, Ru-Hui; Liu, Yu-Fei; Gao, Wei-Qiang; Li, Zheng; Xia, Wei-Liang

2017-01-01

Testicular prostheses have been used to deal with anorchia for nearly 80 years. Here, we evaluated a novel testicular prosthesis that can controllably release hormones to maintain physiological levels of testosterone in vivo for a long time. Silastic testicular prostheses with controlled release of testosterone (STPT) with different dosages of testosterone undecanoate (TU) were prepared and implanted into castrated Sprague-Dawley rats. TU oil was applied by oral administration to a separate group of castrated rats. Castrated untreated and sham-operated groups were used as controls. Serum samples from every group were collected to measure the levels of testosterone (T), follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone (LH). Maximum intracavernous penile pressure (ICPmax) was recorded. The prostates and seminal vesicles were weighed and subjected to histology, and a terminal dexynucleotidyl transferase-mediated UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay was used to evaluate apoptosis. Our results revealed that the weights of these tissues and the levels of T and LH showed significant statistical differences in the oral administration and TU replacement groups compared with the castrated group (P < 0.05). Compared with the sham-operated group, the ICPmax, histology and TUNEL staining for apoptosis, showed no significant differences in the hormone replacement groups implanted with medium and high doses of STPT. Our results suggested that this new STPT could release TU stably through its double semi-permeable membranes with excellent biocompatibility. The study provides a new approach for testosterone replacement therapy. PMID:27174160

Tracing nuclear elements released by Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsujimura, M.; Onda, Y.; Abe, Y.; Hada, M.; Pun, I.

2011-12-01

Radioactive contamination has been detected in Fukushima and the neighboring regions due to the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) following the earthquake and tsunami occurred on 11th March 2011. The small experimental catchments have been established in Yamakiya district, Kawamata Town, Fukushima Prefecture, located approximately 35 km west from the Fukushima NPP. The tritium (3H) concentration and stable isotopic compositions of deuterium and oxygen-18 have been determined on the water samples of precipitation, soil water at the depths of 10 to 30 cm, groundwater at the depths of 5 m to 50 m, spring water and stream water taken at the watersheds in the recharge and discharge zones from the view point of the groundwater flow system. The tritium concentration of the rain water fell just a few days after the earthquake showed a value of approximately 17 Tritium Unit (T.U.), whereas the average concentration of the tritium in the precipitation was less than 5 T.U. before the Fukushima accident. The spring water in the recharge zone showed a relatively high tritium concentration of approximately 12 T.U., whereas that of the discharge zone showed less than 5 T.U. Thus, the artificial tritium was apparently injected in the groundwater flow system due to the Fukushima NPP accident, whereas that has not reached at the discharge zone yet. The monitoring of the nuclear elements is now on going from the view points of the hydrological cycles and the drinking water security.

Analysis of Strand-Specific RNA-Seq Data Using Machine Learning Reveals the Structures of Transcription Units in Clostridium thermocellum

DOE PAGES

Chou, Wen-Chi; Ma, Qin; Yang, Shihui; ...

2015-03-12

The identification of transcription units (TUs) encoded in a bacterial genome is essential to elucidation of transcriptional regulation of the organism. To gain a detailed understanding of the dynamically composed TU structures, we have used four strand-specific RNA-seq (ssRNA-seq) datasets collected under two experimental conditions to derive the genomic TU organization of Clostridium thermocellum using a machine-learning approach. Our method accurately predicted the genomic boundaries of individual TUs based on two sets of parameters measuring the RNA-seq expression patterns across the genome: expression-level continuity and variance. A total of 2590 distinct TUs are predicted based on the four RNA-seq datasets.more » Moreover, among the predicted TUs, 44% have multiple genes. We assessed our prediction method on an independent set of RNA-seq data with longer reads. The evaluation confirmed the high quality of the predicted TUs. Functional enrichment analyses on a selected subset of the predicted TUs revealed interesting biology. To demonstrate the generality of the prediction method, we have also applied the method to RNA-seq data collected on Escherichia coli and achieved high prediction accuracies. The TU prediction program named SeqTU is publicly available athttps://code.google.com/p/seqtu/. We expect that the predicted TUs can serve as the baseline information for studying transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation in C. thermocellum and other bacteria.« less

Safety analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knight, John C.

1995-01-01

We are engaged in a research program in safety-critical computing that is based on two case studies. We use these case studies to provide application-specific details of the various research issues, and as targets for evaluation of research ideas. The first case study is the Magnetic Stereotaxis System (MSS), an investigational device for performing human neurosurgery being developed in a joint effort between the Department of Physics at the University of Virginia and the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Iowa. The system operates by manipulating a small permanent magnet (known as a 'seed') within the brain using an externally applied magnetic field. By varying the magnitude and gradient of the external magnetic field, the seed can be moved along a non-linear path and positioned at a site requiring therapy, e.g., a tumor. The magnetic field required for movement through brain tissue is extremely high, and is generated by a set of six superconducting magnets located in a housing surrounding the patient's head. The system uses two X-ray cameras positioned at right angles to detect in real time the locations of the seed and of X-ray opaque markers affixed to the patient's skull. the X-ray images are used to locate the objects of interest in a canonical frame of reference. the second case study is the University of Virginia Research Nuclear Reactor (UVAR). It is a 2 MW thermal, concrete-walled pool reactor. The system operates using 20 to 25 plate-type fuel assemblies placed on a rectangular grid plate. There are three scramable safety rods, and one non-scramable regulating rod that can be put in automatic mode. It was originally constructed in 1959 as a 1 MW system, and it was upgraded to 2 MW in 1973. Though only a research reactor rather than a power reactor, the issues raised are significant and can be related to the problems faced by full-scale reactor systems.

Exogenous addition of H2 for an in situ biogas upgrading through biological reduction of carbon dioxide into methane.

PubMed

Mulat, Daniel Girma; Mosbæk, Freya; Ward, Alastair James; Polag, Daniela; Greule, Markus; Keppler, Frank; Nielsen, Jeppe Lund; Feilberg, Anders

2017-10-01

Biological reduction of CO 2 into CH 4 by exogenous addition of H 2 is a promising technology for upgrading biogas into higher CH 4 content. The aim of this work was to study the feasibility of exogenous H 2 addition for an in situ biogas upgrading through biological conversion of the biogas CO 2 into CH 4. Moreover, this study employed systematic study with isotope analysis for providing comprehensive evidence on the underlying pathways of CH 4 production and upstream processes. Batch reactors were inoculated with digestate originating from a full-scale biogas plant and fed once with maize leaf substrate. Periodic addition of H 2 into the headspace resulted in a completely consumption of CO 2 and a concomitant increase in CH 4 content up to 89%. The microbial community and isotope analysis shows an enrichment of hydrogenotrophic Methanobacterium and the key role of hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis for biogas upgrading to higher CH 4 content. Excess H 2 was also supplied to evaluate its effect on overall process performance. The results show that excess H 2 addition resulted in accumulation of H 2 , depletion of CO 2 and inhibition of the degradation of acetate and other volatile fatty acids (VFA). A systematic isotope analysis revealed that excess H 2 supply led to an increase in dissolved H 2 to the level that thermodynamically inhibit the degradation of VFA and stimulate homo-acetogens for production of acetate from CO 2 and H 2 . The inhibition was a temporary effect and acetate degradation resumed when the excess H 2 was removed as well as in the presence of stoichiometric amount of H 2 and CO 2 . This inhibition mechanism underlines the importance of carefully regulating the H 2 addition rate and gas retention time to the CO 2 production rate, H 2 -uptake rate and growth of hydrogenotrophic methanogens in order to achieve higher CH 4 content without the accumulation of acetate and other VFA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ATRC Neutron Detector Testing Quick Look Report

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

Troy C. Unruh; Benjamin M. Chase; Joy L. Rempe

2013-08-01

As part of the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) National Scientific User Facility (NSUF) program, a joint Idaho State University (ISU) / French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) / Idaho National Laboratory (INL) project was initiated in FY-10 to investigate the feasibility of using neutron sensors to provide online measurements of the neutron flux and fission reaction rate in the ATR Critical Facility (ATRC). A second objective was to provide initial neutron spectrum and flux distribution information for physics modeling and code validation using neutron activation based techniques in ATRC as well as ATR during depressurized operations. Detailed activationmore » spectrometry measurements were made in the flux traps and in selected fuel elements, along with standard fission rate distribution measurements at selected core locations. These measurements provide additional calibration data for the real-time sensors of interest as well as provide benchmark neutronics data that will be useful for the ATR Life Extension Program (LEP) Computational Methods and V&V Upgrade project. As part of this effort, techniques developed by Prof. George Imel will be applied by Idaho State University (ISU) for assessing the performance of various flux detectors to develop detailed procedures for initial and follow-on calibrations of these sensors. In addition to comparing data obtained from each type of detector, calculations will be performed to assess the performance of and reduce uncertainties in flux detection sensors and compare data obtained from these sensors with existing integral methods employed at the ATRC. The neutron detectors required for this project were provided to team participants at no cost. Activation detectors (foils and wires) from an existing, well-characterized INL inventory were employed. Furthermore, as part of an on-going ATR NSUF international cooperation, the CEA sent INL three miniature fission chambers (one for detecting fast flux and two for detecting thermal flux) with associated electronics for assessment. In addition, Prof. Imel, ISU, has access to an inventory of Self-Powered Neutron Detectors (SPNDs) with a range of response times as well as Back-to-Back (BTB) fission chambers from prior research he conducted at the Transient REActor Test Facility (TREAT) facility and Neutron RADiography (NRAD) reactors. Finally, SPNDs from the National Atomic Energy Commission of Argentina (CNEA) were provided in connection with the INL effort to upgrade ATR computational methods and V&V protocols that are underway as part of the ATR LEP. Work during fiscal year 2010 (FY10) focussed on design and construction of Experiment Guide Tubes (EGTs) for positioning the flux detectors in the ATRC N-16 locations as well as obtaining ATRC staff concurrence for the detector evaluations. Initial evaluations with CEA researchers were also started in FY10 but were cut short due to reactor reliability issues. Reactor availability issues caused experimental work to be delayed during FY11/12. In FY13, work resumed; and evaluations were completed. The objective of this "Quick Look" report is to summarize experimental activities performed from April 4, 2013 through May 16, 2013.« less

Hybrid moving bed biofilm reactors: a pilot plant experiment.

PubMed

Di Trapani, D; Mannina, G; Torregrossa, M; Viviani, G

2008-01-01

The growing increment of the urbanization and, on the other hand, the even more strict effluent limits imposed by the Water Framework Directive for the receiving water body quality state have led to the need for upgrading several existing WWTP. With this respect HMBBR systems are an innovative solution since they allow to upgrade existing high loaded WWTP without building new tanks. However, some uncertainties in their design, maintenance as well as performance have to be addressed due to their recent acquisition compared with well consolidated technologies such as activated sludge systems. In this light, a data gathering campaign on a HMBBR pilot plant has been performed. The aim was to detect the performance of such new technology as well as to survey the influencing effect of the carrier media filling ratio. Indeed, there may be problem of competitiveness between attached and suspended biomass that jointly operate in the same system for carbon and nitrogen removal. Such competitiveness may lead to a worsening of the system efficiency. The results are interesting and the gathered data in the experimental period show a slight difference in terms of performance behaviour, between the two systems (35 and 66%). Such result leads to address the filling ratio choice towards the 35%. IWA Publishing 2008.

Fast, Statistical Model of Surface Roughness for Ion-Solid Interaction Simulations and Efficient Code Coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drobny, Jon; Curreli, Davide; Ruzic, David; Lasa, Ane; Green, David; Canik, John; Younkin, Tim; Blondel, Sophie; Wirth, Brian

2017-10-01

Surface roughness greatly impacts material erosion, and thus plays an important role in Plasma-Surface Interactions. Developing strategies for efficiently introducing rough surfaces into ion-solid interaction codes will be an important step towards whole-device modeling of plasma devices and future fusion reactors such as ITER. Fractal TRIDYN (F-TRIDYN) is an upgraded version of the Monte Carlo, BCA program TRIDYN developed for this purpose that includes an explicit fractal model of surface roughness and extended input and output options for file-based code coupling. Code coupling with both plasma and material codes has been achieved and allows for multi-scale, whole-device modeling of plasma experiments. These code coupling results will be presented. F-TRIDYN has been further upgraded with an alternative, statistical model of surface roughness. The statistical model is significantly faster than and compares favorably to the fractal model. Additionally, the statistical model compares well to alternative computational surface roughness models and experiments. Theoretical links between the fractal and statistical models are made, and further connections to experimental measurements of surface roughness are explored. This work was supported by the PSI-SciDAC Project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through contract DOE-DE-SC0008658.

Stabilization of Softwood-Derived Pyrolysis Oils for Continuous Bio-oil Hydroprocessing

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

Olarte, Mariefel V.; Zacher, Alan H.; Padmaperuma, Asanga B.

The use of fast pyrolysis as a potential renewable liquid transportation fuel alternative to crude oil depends on successful catalytic upgrading to produce a refinery-ready product with oxygen content and qualities (i.e. specific functional group or compound content) that is compatible with the product’s proposed insertion point. Catalytic upgrading of bio-oil requires high temperature and pressure, while similar to crude oil hydrotreating, is not as straightforward for the thermally unstable pyrolysis oil. For years, a two-temperature zone, downflow trickle bed reactor was the state-of-the art for continuous operation. However, pressure excursion due to plug formation still occurred, typically at themore » high temperature transition zone, leading to a process shutdown within 140 h. Recently, a bio-oil pre-treatment process, together with a robust commercial catalyst, was found to be enabling the continuous operation of the two-zone hydroprocessing system. Here, we report the results on pre-treating bio-oil at 413 K and 8.4 MPa of flowing H2 (500 L H2/L bio-oil, 0.5 L bio-oil/L catalyst bed) and the attempts to characterize this oil product to understand the chemistry which enabled the long-term processing of bio-oil.« less

DIII-D Upgrade to Prepare the Basis for Steady-State Burning Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buttery, R. J.; Guo, H. Y.; Taylor, T. S.; Wade, M. R.; Hill, D. N.

2014-10-01

Future steady-state burning plasma facilities will access new physics regimes and modes of plasma behavior. It is vital to prepare for this both experimentally using existing facilities, and theoretically in order to develop the tools to project to and optimize these devices. An upgrade to DIII-D is proposed to address the three critical aspects where research must go beyond what we can do now: (i) torque free electron heating to address the energy, particle and momentum transport mechanisms of burning plasmas using electron cyclotron (EC) heating and full power balanced neutral beams; (ii) off-axis heating and current drive to develop the path to true fusion steady state by reorienting neutral beams and deploying EC and helicon current drive; (iii) a new divertor with hot walls and reactor relevant materials to develop the basis for benign detached divertor operation compatible with wall materials and a high performance fusion core. These elements with modest incremental cost and enacted as a user facility for the whole US program will enable the US to lead on ITER and take a decision to proceed with a Fusion Nuclear Science Facility. Work supported by the US Department of Energy under DE-FC02-04ER54698 and DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Organization of the Topical Meeting on Short Wavelength Coherent Radiation: Generation and Applications (4th) Held in North Falmouth, Massachusetts

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-01

00 PM oleton Laboratory, U K. Stripe. foil. and fiber targets were ir- TuC, SESSION 7: POSTER SESSION radiated ,vith high intensity line-focused laser...Interference in Four-Wave TuC28 Gain Measurement on a 18.2-nm Carbon Recombin- Mixing, K. G. H. Baldwin. Australian National U. Constructive ation Laser...mixing in sodium vapor. (p. 76) cylindrical wall confined carbon recombination laser produc- ed by a high power CO laser are presented. A maximum gain

[Organizational problems of disaster victim identification in mass casualties as exemplified by Tu 154-M and Airbus A310 passenger plane crashes].

PubMed

Volkov, A V; Kolkutin, V V; Klevno, V A; Shkol'nikov, B V; Kornienko, I V

2008-01-01

Managerial experience is described that was gained during the large-scale work on victim identification following mass casualties in the Tu 154-M and Airbus A310 passenger plane crashes. The authors emphasize the necessity to set up a specialized agency of constant readiness meeting modern requirements for the implementation of a system of measures for personality identification. This agency must incorporate relevant departments of the Ministries of Health, Defense, and Emergency Situations as well as investigative authorities and other organizations.

A Qualitative Piloted Evaluation of the Tupolev Tu-144 Supersonic Transport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rivers, Robert A.; Jackson, E. Bruce; Fullerton, C. Gordon; Cox, Timothy H.; Princen, Norman H.

2000-01-01

Two U.S. research pilots evaluated the Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic transport aircraft on three dedicated flights: one subsonic and two supersonic profiles. The flight profiles and maneuvers were developed jointly by Tupolev and U.S. engineers. The vehicle was found to have unique operational and flight characteristics that serve as lessons for designers of future supersonic transport aircraft. Vehicle subsystems and observed characteristics are described as are flight test planning and ground monitoring facilities. Maneuver descriptions and extended pilot narratives for each flight are included as appendices.

OPERATION DOMINIC. FISH BOWL AND CHRISTMAS SERIES. Organizational, Operational, Funding, Logistic, and Scientific Summary

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-01

Strypi rocket, XM-33 ’"’" 22 1.3 Nike -Hercules missile 23 2.1 Staff organization, TU 8.1.3- 34 2.2 Control diagram, TU 8.1.3 2.3...DAMPshlp lf 6.3 General experimental plan, radar attenuation I69 6.4 Nike -Apache rockets with C-band beacon payloads - I™ 6.5 Shipboard antenna...Shot Star Fish 198 6.34 Blast instrument installation, Project 1.1 199 6.35 Accelerometer installation, Project 1.1 199 6.36 Nike -Cajun rocket

An Investigation of Large Tilt-Rotor Hover and Low Speed Handling Qualities

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-01

de (d B) 10 1 100 101 102 360 180 0 180 360 Frequency (rad...sec) Ph as e (d eg ) CAMRAD Reduced order 150 100 50 0 50 M ag ni tu de (d B) 10 1 100 101 102 360 180 0 180 360 Frequency (rad/sec) Ph as e...time specifications defined in ADS-33. Additionally, the 0 10 20 30 40 50 M ag ni tu de (d B) 10 2 10 1 100 101 102 360 180 0 180 360

Advances in Monte-Carlo code TRIPOLI-4®'s treatment of the electromagnetic cascade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mancusi, Davide; Bonin, Alice; Hugot, François-Xavier; Malouch, Fadhel

2018-01-01

TRIPOLI-4® is a Monte-Carlo particle-transport code developed at CEA-Saclay (France) that is employed in the domains of nuclear-reactor physics, criticality-safety, shielding/radiation protection and nuclear instrumentation. The goal of this paper is to report on current developments, validation and verification made in TRIPOLI-4 in the electron/positron/photon sector. The new capabilities and improvements concern refinements to the electron transport algorithm, the introduction of a charge-deposition score, the new thick-target bremsstrahlung option, the upgrade of the bremsstrahlung model and the improvement of electron angular straggling at low energy. The importance of each of the developments above is illustrated by comparisons with calculations performed with other codes and with experimental data.

Integration between chemical oxidation and membrane thermophilic biological process.

PubMed

Bertanza, G; Collivignarelli, M C; Crotti, B M; Pedrazzani, R

2010-01-01

Full scale applications of activated sludge thermophilic aerobic process for treatment of liquid wastes are rare. This experimental work was carried out at a facility, where a thermophilic reactor (1,000 m(3) volume) is operated. In order to improve the global performance of the plant, it was decided to upgrade it, by means of two membrane filtration units (ultrafiltration -UF-, in place of the final sedimentation, and nanofiltration -NF-). Subsequently, the integration with chemical oxidation (O(3) and H(2)O(2)/UV processes) was taken into consideration. Studied solutions dealt with oxidation of both the NF effluents (permeate and concentrate). Based on experimental results and economic evaluation, an algorithm was proposed for defining limits of convenience of this process.

Water - Isotope - Map (δ 18O, δ 2H, 3H) of Austria: Applications, Extremes and Trends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wyhlidal, Stefan; Kralik, Martin; Benischke, Ralf; Leis, Albrecht; Philippitsch, Rudolf

2016-04-01

The isotopic ratios of oxygen and hydrogen in water (2H/1H and 18O/16O) are important tools to characterise waters and their cycles. This starts in the atmosphere as rain or snow and continues in surface water and ends in shallow groundwater as well as in deep groundwater. Tritium formed by natural cosmic radiation in the upper atmosphere and in the last century by tests of thermonuclear bombs in the atmosphere, is characterised by its radioactive decay with a half-life of 12.32 years and is an ideal age-marker during the last 60 years. To determine the origin and mean age of waters in many projects concerning water supply, engineering and scientific projects in the last 45 years on more than 1,350 sites, more than 40,000 isotope measurements were performed in Austria. The median value of all sites of oxygen-18 is δ 18O -10.7 ‰ and for hydrogen-2 δ 2H -75 ‰. As the fractionation is mainly temperature dependent the lowest negative values are observed in winter precipitation (oxygen-18 as low as δ 18O -23 ‰) and in springs in the mountain regions (δ 18O -15.1 ‰). In contrast the highest values were observed in summer precipitation (up to δ 18O - 0.5 ‰) and in shallow lakes in the Seewinkel (up to δ 18O + 5 ‰). The isotopic ratios of the Austrian waters are also influenced by the origin of the evaporated water masses. Therefore the precipitation in the region south of the main Alpine crest (East-Tyrol, Carinthia and South-East Styria) is approximately 1 ‰ higher in δ 18O-values than sites at the same altitude in the northern part. This is most probably caused by the stronger influence of precipitation from the mediterranean area. The median value of all 1,120 sampling sites of decay corrected (2015) tritium measurements is 6.2 tritium units (TU). This is somewhat smaller than the median value of all precipitation stations with 7.2 TU. This can be explained by the fact that in most cases in groundwater the median value has been reduced by decay according to the residence time underground. The tritium concentration increases in the summer up to 10 - 11 TU and decreases in winter down to 3 - 4 TU. This is due to the better circulation in the atmosphere in spring which brings the tritium formed by cosmic radiation down to the lower atmosphere and precipitation. A smaller mean tritium concentration in aquifers than approximately 3.5 TU indicates large amounts of water older than 60 years. Waters with approximately more than 12 TU contain still tritium from the 1960s and 1970s formed originally by thermonuclear bomb experiments. In Austria the highest Tritium values can be observed in the rivers Danube and March which show periodic or permanent tritium contamination up to 70 TU coming from nuclear power plants in the neighbouring countries.

NATCRCTR: One-dimensional thermal-hydraulics analysis code for natural-circulation TRIGA reactors

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

Feltus, M.A.; Rubinaccio, G.

1996-12-31

The Pennsylvania State University nuclear engineering department is evaluating the upgrade of the Reed College (Portland, Oregon) TRIGA reactor from 250 kW to 1 MW in two areas: thermal-hydraulics and steady-state neutronics analysis. This analysis was initiated as a cooperative effort between Penn State and Reed College as a training project for two International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) fellows from Ghana. The two Ghanaian IAEA fellows were assisted by G. Rubinaccio, an undergraduate, who undertook the task of writing the new computer programs for the thermal-hydraulic and physics evaluation as a three-credit special design project course. The Reed College TRIGA,more » which has a fixed graphite radial reflector, is cooled by natural circulation, without external cross-flow; whereas, the Penn State Breazeale Reactor has significant crossflow into its sides. To model the Reed TRIGA, the NATCRCTR program has been developed from first principles using the following assumptions: 1. The core is surrounded by the fixed reflector structure, which acts as a one-dimensional channel. 2. The core inlet temperature distribution is constant at the core bottom. 3. The axial heat flux distribution is a chopped cosine shape. 4. The heat transfer in the fuel is primarily in the radial directions. 5. A small gap between the fuel and cladding exists. The NATCRCTR code is used to find the peak centerline fuel, gap, and cladding surface temperatures, based on assumed flux and engineering peaking factors.« less

Elongation Factor-Tu (EF-Tu) proteins structural stability and bioinformatics in ancestral gene reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehipawala, Sunil; Nguyen, A.; Tremberger, G.; Cheung, E.; Schneider, P.; Lieberman, D.; Holden, T.; Cheung, T.

2013-09-01

A paleo-experimental evolution report on elongation factor EF-Tu structural stability results has provided an opportunity to rewind the tape of life using the ancestral protein sequence reconstruction modeling approach; consistent with the book of life dogma in current biology and being an important component in the astrobiology community. Fractal dimension via the Higuchi fractal method and Shannon entropy of the DNA sequence classification could be used in a diagram that serves as a simple summary. Results from biomedical gene research provide examples on the diagram methodology. Comparisons between biomedical genes such as EEF2 (elongation factor 2 human, mouse, etc), WDR85 in epigenetics, HAR1 in human specificity, DLG1 in cognitive skill, and HLA-C in mosquito bite immunology with EF Tu DNA sequences have accounted for the reported circular dichroism thermo-stability data systematically; the results also infer a relatively less volatility geologic time period from 2 to 3 Gyr from adaptation viewpoint. Comparison to Thermotoga maritima MSB8 and Psychrobacter shows that Thermus thermophilus HB8 EF-Tu calibration sequence could be an outlier, consistent with free energy calculation by NUPACK. Diagram methodology allows computer simulation studies and HAR1 shows about 0.5% probability from chimp to human in terms of diagram location, and SNP simulation results such as amoebic meningoencephalitis NAF1 suggest correlation. Extensions to the studies of the translation and transcription elongation factor sequences in Megavirus Chiliensis, Megavirus Lba and Pandoravirus show that the studied Pandoravirus sequence could be an outlier with the highest fractal dimension and lowest entropy, as compared to chicken as a deviant in the DNMT3A DNA methylation gene sequences from zebrafish to human and to the less than one percent probability in computer simulation using the HAR1 0.5% probability as reference. The diagram methodology would be useful in ancestral gene reconstruction studies in astrobiology and also be applicable to the study of point mutation in conformational thermostabilization research with Synchrotron based X-ray data for drug applications such as Parkinson's disease.

[Results of pulmonary embolism treatment in a tertiary hospital short stay unit. Is this the right place?].

PubMed

Rosa Salazar, V; Bernal Martínez, L; García Pino, M J; Hernández Contreras, M E; García Méndez, M M; García Pérez, B; Marras Fernández-Cid, C

2016-01-01

To determine the mean stay (MS) of patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) in a thrombosis unit (TU) with a short stay unit (SSU) in a tertiary hospital. To compare the data collected with those of other hospitals in the same region, of other regions (Autonomous Communities [AACC]), and within the same hospital in the year before the SSU opened. A descriptive retrospective observational study that included patients with a diagnosis of PE in the University Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca (HCUVA) in 2012. These data were classified by hospital department, and used for calculating the mean stay. This was then compared with that of other hospitals in our region, with the rest of the regions, and with the data in 2007 (the last year without a TU). A total of 113patients with PE were included, 60 (53%) in the TU with an MS of 4.39, in Oncology, 7.45, and Internal Medicine (IM), 15.38days. There were no deaths in the TU and only 3 (5%) readmissions. Published data showed that the MS in all hospitals in our region was 8.25, 5.18 in our hospital, and higher in the rest of hospitals. The best AACC was the Basque Country with an MS of 6.85days. In 2007, there were 70patients with PE in the HCUVA, 34 (49%) in IM, with an MS of 8.50, Oncology 11 (31%) with an MS 9.64, and Chest Diseases 3 (4.3%) with an MS 19days, and with an overall mortality of 11% and a rate of readmissions in IM of 6%. The mean stay for a PE in the SSU of a TU was lower than in the rest of the hospital departments, lower than the rest hospitals of our region, lower than the rest of the regions, and lower than any department of our hospital before the SSU existed, without increasing the readmission or mortality rate. Copyright © 2015 SECA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

PREFACE: Quantum Dot 2010

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Robert A.

2010-09-01

These conference proceedings contain the written papers of the contributions presented at Quantum Dot 2010 (QD2010). The conference was held in Nottingham, UK, on 26-30 April 2010. The conference addressed topics in research on: 1. Epitaxial quantum dots (including self-assembled and interface structures, dots defined by electrostatic gates etc): optical properties and electron transport quantum coherence effects spin phenomena optics of dots in cavities interaction with surface plasmons in metal/semiconductor structures opto-electronics applications 2. Novel QD structures: fabrication and physics of graphene dots, dots in nano-wires etc 3. Colloidal quantum dots: growth (shape control and hybrid nanocrystals such as metal/semiconductor, magnetic/semiconductor) assembly and surface functionalisation optical properties and spin dynamics electrical and magnetic properties applications (light emitting devices and solar cells, biological and medical applications, data storage, assemblers) The Editors Acknowledgements Conference Organising Committee: Maurice Skolnick (Chair) Alexander Tartakovskii (Programme Chair) Pavlos Lagoudakis (Programme Chair) Max Migliorato (Conference Secretary) Paola Borri (Publicity) Robert Taylor (Proceedings) Manus Hayne (Treasurer) Ray Murray (Sponsorship) Mohamed Henini (Local Organiser) International Advisory Committee: Yasuhiko Arakawa (Tokyo University, Japan) Manfred Bayer (Dortmund University, Germany) Sergey Gaponenko (Stepanov Institute of Physics, Minsk, Belarus) Pawel Hawrylak (NRC, Ottawa, Canada) Fritz Henneberger (Institute for Physics, Berlin, Germany) Atac Imamoglu (ETH, Zurich, Switzerland) Paul Koenraad (TU Eindhoven, Nethehrlands) Guglielmo Lanzani (Politecnico di Milano, Italy) Jungil Lee (Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Korea) Henri Mariette (CNRS-CEA, Grenoble, France) Lu Jeu Sham (San Diego, USA) Andrew Shields (Toshiba Research Europe, Cambridge, UK) Yoshihisa Yamamoto (Stanford University, USA) Artur Zrenner (Paderborn University, Germany) International Programme Committee: Alexander Eychmüller (TU Dresden, Germany) Jonathan Finley (TU Munich, Germany) Dan Gammon (NRL, Washington, USA) Alexander Govorov (Ohio University, USA) Neil Greenham (Cavendish Laboratory, UK) Vladimir Korenev (Ioffe Institute, Russia) Leo Kouwenhoven (TU Delft, Netherlands) Wolfgang Langbein (Cardiff University, UK) Xavier Marie (CNRS Toulouse, France) David Ritchie (Cambridge, UK) Andrew Sachrajda (IMS, Ottawa, Canada) Katerina Soulantica (University of Toulouse, France) Seigo Tarucha (University of Tokyo, Japan) Carlos Tejedor (UAM, Madrid, Spain) Euijoon Yoon (Seoul National University, Korea) Ulrike Woggon (Tu Berlin, Germany) Proceedings edited and compiled by Profesor Robert A Taylor, University of Oxford

Prevalence of parvovirus in Minnesota turkeys.

PubMed

Sharafeldin, T A; Singh, A; Abdel-Glil, M Y; Mor, S K; Porter, R E; Goyal, S M

2017-02-01

Poult enteritis syndrome (PES) is characterized by enteritis and decreased body weight gain in growing turkey poults between one d and 7 wk of age. Another syndrome called light turkey syndrome (LTS) causes a decrease in body weight of adult tom turkeys in Minnesota leading to huge economic losses. Reovirus, rotavirus, and astrovirus have been found in LTS and PES flocks in Minnesota. We tested 80 fecal pools collected from four LTS flocks and 35 fecal pools from non-LTS flocks for the presence of parvovirus. In addition, 116 fecal and meconium samples from turkeys submitted to the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (MVDL) also were tested. The samples were tested by PCR using primers for the non-structural 1 (NS1) gene of parvovirus. Of the 80 samples from LTS flocks, 41 were positive for parvovirus while 20 of 35 samples from non-LTS flocks were positive. The prevalence of parvovirus in fecal samples submitted to MVDL was relatively low; only five of the 116 pools were positive. The partial NS1 gene sequences from LTS and non-LTS samples showed 98 to 100% nt identity except for one divergent turkey parvovirus (TuPV) strain that revealed 90% identity and clustered with chicken-like parvoviruses. The presence of this divergent strain suggests circulation of a recombinant strain of TuPV in Minnesota turkeys. Our results indicate that TuPVs are circulating in both LTS and non-LTS flocks of turkeys in Minnesota, and further experimental studies are indicated to study the role of TuPV in LTS. © 2016 Poultry Science Association Inc.

Measles virus minigenomes encoding two autofluorescent proteins reveal cell-to-cell variation in reporter expression dependent on viral sequences between the transcription units.

PubMed

Rennick, Linda J; Duprex, W Paul; Rima, Bert K

2007-10-01

Transcription from morbillivirus genomes commences at a single promoter in the 3' non-coding terminus, with the six genes being transcribed sequentially. The 3' and 5' untranslated regions (UTRs) of the genes (mRNA sense), together with the intergenic trinucleotide spacer, comprise the non-coding sequences (NCS) of the virus and contain the conserved gene end and gene start signals, respectively. Bicistronic minigenomes containing transcription units (TUs) encoding autofluorescent reporter proteins separated by measles virus (MV) NCS were used to give a direct estimation of gene expression in single, living cells by assessing the relative amounts of each fluorescent protein in each cell. Initially, five minigenomes containing each of the MV NCS were generated. Assays were developed to determine the amount of each fluorescent protein in cells at both cell population and single-cell levels. This revealed significant variations in gene expression between cells expressing the same NCS-containing minigenome. The minigenome containing the M/F NCS produced significantly lower amounts of fluorescent protein from the second TU (TU2), compared with the other minigenomes. A minigenome with a truncated F 5' UTR had increased expression from TU2. This UTR is 524 nt longer than the other MV 5' UTRs. Insertions into the 5' UTR of the enhanced green fluorescent protein gene in the minigenome containing the N/P NCS showed that specific sequences, rather than just the additional length of F 5' UTR, govern this decreased expression from TU2.

Toxicity and photoactivation of PAH mixtures in marine sediment

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

Swartz, R.; Ferraro, S.; Lamberson, J.

1995-12-31

The toxicity and toxicological photoactivation of mixtures of sediment-associated fluoranthene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and acenaphthene were determined using standard 10 d sediment toxicity tests with the marine amphipod, Rhepoxynius abronius. The four PAHs were spiked into sediment in a concentration series of either single compounds or an equitoxic mixture. Spiked sediment was stored at 4 C for 28 d before testing. Toxicity tests were conducted under fluorescent lighting. Survivors after 10 d in PAH-contaminated sediment were exposed for 1 h to UV light in the absence of sediment and then tested for their ability to bury in clean sediment. The 10more » d LC50s for single PAHs were 3.3, 2.2, 2.8, and 2.3 mg/g oc for fluoranthene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and acenaphthene, respectively. These LC50s were used to calculate the sum of toxic units ({Sigma}TU) of the four PAHs in the equitoxic mixture treatments. The {Sigma}TU LC50 was then calculated for the mixture treatments. If the toxicological interaction of the four PAHs in the mixture was additive, the {Sigma}TU LC50 should equal 1.0. The observed {Sigma}TU LC50 in the mixture was 1.55, indicating the interaction was slightly less than additive. UV enhancement of toxic effects of individual PAHs was correctly predicted by photophysical properties, i.e. pyrene and fluoranthene were photoactivated and phenanthrene and acenaphthene were not. UV effects in the mixture of four PAHs can be explained by the photoactivation of pyrene and fluoranthene alone.« less

Future use of tritium in mapping pre-bomb groundwater volumes.

PubMed

Eastoe, C J; Watts, C J; Ploughe, M; Wright, W E

2012-01-01

The tritium input to groundwater, represented as volume-weighted mean tritium concentrations in precipitation, has been close to constant in Tucson and Albuquerque since 1992, and the decrease in tritium concentrations at the tail end of the bomb tritium pulse has ceased. To determine the future usefulness of tritium measurements in southwestern North America, volume-weighted mean tritium levels in seasonal aggregate precipitation samples have been gathered from 26 sites. The averages range from 2 to 9 tritium units (TU). Tritium concentrations increase with site latitude, and possibly with distance from the coast and with site altitude, reflecting local ratios of combination of low-tritium moisture advected from the oceans with high-tritium moisture originating near the tropopause. Tritium used alone as a tool for mapping aquifer volumes containing only pre-bomb recharge to groundwater will become ambiguous when the tritium in precipitation at the end of the bomb tritium pulse decays to levels close to the analytical detection limit. At such a time, tritium in precipitation from the last one to two decades of the bomb pulse will become indistinguishable from pre-bomb recharge. The threshold of ambiguity has already arrived in coastal areas with a mean of 2 TU in precipitation and will follow in the next three decades throughout the study region. Where the mean tritium level is near 5 TU, the threshold will occur between 2025 and 2030, given a detection limit of 0.6 TU. Similar thresholds of ambiguity, with different local timing possible, apply globally. © 2011, The Author(s). Ground Water © 2011, National Ground Water Association.

The role of the reactor wall in hydrothermal biomass conversions.

PubMed

Fábos, Viktória; Yuen, Alexander K L; Masters, Anthony F; Maschmeyer, Thomas

2012-11-01

The processing of renewable feedstocks to platform chemicals and, to a lesser degree, fuels is a key part of sustainable development. In particular, the combination of lignocellulosic biomass with hydrothermal upgrading (HTU), using high temperature and pressure water (HTPW), is experiencing a renaissance. One of the many steps in this complicated process is the in-situ hydrogenation of intermediate compounds. As formic acid and related low-molecular-weight oxygenates are among the species generated, it is conceivable that they act as a hydrogen source. Such hydrogenations have been suggested to be catalyzed by water, by bases like NaOH, and/or to involve "reactive/nascent hydrogen". To achieve the temperatures and pressures required for HTU, it is necessary to conduct the reactions in high-pressure vessels. Metals are typical components of their walls and/or internal fittings. Here, using cyclohexanone as a model compound for more complex biomass-derived molecules, iron in the wall of high-pressure stainless steel reactors is shown to be responsible for the hydrogenation of ketones with low-molecular-weight oxygenates acting as a hydrogen source in combination with water. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Effect of low-purity Fenton reagents on toxicity of textile dyeing effluent to Daphnia magna.

PubMed

Na, Joorim; Yoo, Jisu; Nam, Gwiwoong; Jung, Jinho

2017-09-20

This study aimed to identify the source of toxicity in textile dyeing effluent collected from February to July 2016, using Daphnia magna as a test organism. Toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) procedures were used to identify the toxicants in textile dyeing effluent, and Jar testing to simulate the Fenton process was conducted to identify the source of toxicants. Textile dyeing effluent was acutely toxic to D. magna [from 1.5 to 9.7 toxic units (TU)] during the study period. TIE results showed that Zn derived from the Fenton process was a key toxicant in textile dyeing effluent. Additionally, Jar testing revealed that low-purity Fenton reagents (FeCl 2 and FeSO 4 ), which contained large amounts of Zn (89 838 and 610 mg L -1 , respectively), were the source of toxicity. Although we were unable to conclusively identify the residual toxicity (approx. 1.4 TU of 9.71 TU) attributable to unknown toxicants in textile dyeing effluent, the findings of this study suggest that careful operation of the Fenton treatment process could contribute to eliminating its unintended toxic effects on aquatic organisms.

[The affinity between Le family of Tong Ren Tang and acu-moxibustion as viewed from Mian xue tang zhen jiu ji cheng (Mian Xuetang's Synthetic Work of Acu-moxibustion)].

PubMed

Huang, L X

2017-11-28

This compilation process of Mian xue tang zhen jiu ji cheng ( Mian Xuetang ' s Synthetic Work of Acu - moxibustion )was quite mysterious, the book's advent coincidentally met with several major historical events which made its value of decoding its historical functions far beyond its academic value. The editor of this book is Le Xianyang, the founder of Tong Ren Tang. While compiling this book, he also made a replica of Ming-Dynasty's Zhengtong bronze statue. More than 200 years later, Le Jingyu, the 12th generation of the Le family revised Ming Tang Tu inherited from his ancestors and engraved Ming Tang Tu on the stone for its standardization. This great achievement of Le family was no less than the recasting of the Tiansheng bronze statue and the reengraving Tong ren shu xue zhen jiu tu jing ( Illustrated Manual of Acupuncture Points of the Bronze Figure ) by support of state power for building the Beijing Imperial Hospital in the eighth year of the Zhengtong reign (1443).

Inferring the palaeoenvironment of ancient bacteria on the basis of resurrected proteins

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaucher, Eric A.; Thomson, J. Michael; Burgan, Michelle F.; Benner, Steven A.

2003-01-01

Features of the physical environment surrounding an ancestral organism can be inferred by reconstructing sequences of ancient proteins made by those organisms, resurrecting these proteins in the laboratory, and measuring their properties. Here, we resurrect candidate sequences for elongation factors of the Tu family (EF-Tu) found at ancient nodes in the bacterial evolutionary tree, and measure their activities as a function of temperature. The ancient EF-Tu proteins have temperature optima of 55-65 degrees C. This value seems to be robust with respect to uncertainties in the ancestral reconstruction. This suggests that the ancient bacteria that hosted these particular genes were thermophiles, and neither hyperthermophiles nor mesophiles. This conclusion can be compared and contrasted with inferences drawn from an analysis of the lengths of branches in trees joining proteins from contemporary bacteria, the distribution of thermophily in derived bacterial lineages, the inferred G + C content of ancient ribosomal RNA, and the geological record combined with assumptions concerning molecular clocks. The study illustrates the use of experimental palaeobiochemistry and assumptions about deep phylogenetic relationships between bacteria to explore the character of ancient life.

Structural insights into translational fidelity.

PubMed

Ogle, James M; Ramakrishnan, V

2005-01-01

The underlying basis for the accuracy of protein synthesis has been the subject of over four decades of investigation. Recent biochemical and structural data make it possible to understand at least in outline the structural basis for tRNA selection, in which codon recognition by cognate tRNA results in the hydrolysis of GTP by EF-Tu over 75 A away. The ribosome recognizes the geometry of codon-anticodon base pairing at the first two positions but monitors the third, or wobble position, less stringently. Part of the additional binding energy of cognate tRNA is used to induce conformational changes in the ribosome that stabilize a transition state for GTP hydrolysis by EF-Tu and subsequently result in accelerated accommodation of tRNA into the peptidyl transferase center. The transition state for GTP hydrolysis is characterized, among other things, by a distorted tRNA. This picture explains a large body of data on the effect of antibiotics and mutations on translational fidelity. However, many fundamental questions remain, such as the mechanism of activation of GTP hydrolysis by EF-Tu, and the relationship between decoding and frameshifting.

Successful Strategies for Rapidly Upgrading PTC Windchill 9.1 to Windchill 10.1 on a Light Budget

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shearrow, Charles A.

2013-01-01

Topics covered include: The Frugal Times Historical Upgrade Process; Planning for Possible Constraints; PTC Compatibility Matrix; In-Place Upgrade Process; Pre-Upgrade Activities; Upgrade Activities; Post Upgrade Activities; Results of the Upgrade; Tips for an Upgrade On a Shoestring Budget.

The Measure your World / Mide tu Mundo Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hojman, S.; Johnson, R. M.; Meymaris, K. K.; Ward, D. L.; Russell, R.; Genyuk, J.; Lagrave, M.; Henderson, S.; Ostrosky, J.; Martinez, M.

2007-12-01

Over 22 centuries ago Erathostenes devised a method to determine the Earth radius. Measure your World / Mide tu Mundo is a joint venture lead by Windows to the Universe/Ventanas al Universo in the United States of America, EducaRed in Chile and RedEscolar in Mexico seeking to partner teams of students, teachers and parents from the three countries in a collaborative effort to determine the Earth circumference by sharing the results of their measurements, and exchanging cultural information. Data are collected from September 29 through October 7, 2007. A report of the whole experience will be presented.

The Japanese Space Program (Le Programme Spatial Japonais),

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-04-22

three-axis stabilization, study of vertical * structure of the earth); --series of probes for exploration of the moon and the planets. Future Missions...in foreground and 7 rr IArk j I, I *151 Fig. 9. Structural detail of the MU 3S (rear skirt) Fi. 1. St u tu a de ai of MU 3S..’’ ’ -, t r-’ ,’ s:,ru...ture) The total l t of te M I is 2-8. 2 m, - . The Fig. i. Structural detail of tU S (ri er sit)ctre 1.65 mthiamr. ach bfotitaniu wll have a

[Correlation of Rab coupling protein expression with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma].

PubMed

Dai, Yaozhang; Liu, Yong; Tian, Xiufen; Zhang, Xin

2015-02-01

To explore the RCP protein expression and its clinicopathological significance in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). RCP protein expression in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines (NP-69, Tu686, Tu212, M2 and M4) was analyzed by Western blotting. Besides, its expression in 87 cases of LSCC, 18 cases of adjacent epithelial mucosa and 16 cases of vocal cord leukoplakia was detected by immunohistochemistry, and their correlation with clinicopathological parameters and patients' outcome was analyzed. The NP-69, Tu212 Tu686, M2 and M4 cells showed a gradual increase in the expression of RCP protein. The average relative expression levels of RCP protein in the NP-69, Tu212, Tu686, M2 and M4 cells were 0.05±0.01, 0.38±0.05, 0.63±0.02, 0.84±0.06 and 0.96±0.04, respectively. The same situation occurred in the adjacent mucosa, vocal cord leukoplakia and LSCC. Specifically, only 3 of 18 adjacent mucosa showed a low RCP expression (scored 0-2). Although the 16 cases of vocal cord leukoplakia had a low RCP expression, all their scores ranged from 0 to 3. While in the LSCC specimens, 59 (67.8%) cases demonstrated a high RCP expression (scored 8-15), 18 cases showed a lower RCP expression (scored 4-7), and only 10 cases were scored 2-3. Among the 87 LSCC cases, there were 28 cases (32.2%) of low RCP expression and 59 cases of high RCP expression. All the 18 cases of cancer-adjacent tissues and 16 cases of vocal cord leukoplakia were of low RCP expression. RCP overexpression was significantly associated with T classification, clinical staging, lymph node metastasis and recurrence (P<0.05 for all). Survival analysis revealed that the 5-year survival rate was 40.0% in the patients with high RCP expression and 75.0% in the patients with low RCP expression, the tumor-free 5-year survival rate was 30.7% and 64.0%, respectively, both showing a significant difference between the two subgroups (P<0.05). Univariate analysis revealed that alcohol history; smoking, T classification, clinical staging, lymph node metastasis and RCP expression were significantly associated with a poor prognosis (P<0.05 for all). The multivariate analysis showed that only recurrence and RCP expression were independent prognostic factors affecting the prognosis for patients with LSCC (P<0.05 for both). Expression of RCP protein may contribute to the malignant progression of LSCC, and may become a novel marker predicting tumor recurrence, cervical lymph node metastasis and prognosis for patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

COST Action TU1208 "Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar:" ongoing research activities and mid-term results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pajewski, Lara; Benedetto, Andrea; Loizos, Andreas; Slob, Evert; Tosti, Fabio

2015-04-01

This work aims at presenting the ongoing activities and mid-term results of the COST (European COoperation in Science and Technology) Action TU1208 'Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar.' Almost three hundreds experts are participating to the Action, from 28 COST Countries (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Macedonia, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom), and from Albania, Armenia, Australia, Egypt, Hong Kong, Jordan, Israel, Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, Ukraine, and United States of America. In September 2014, TU1208 has been praised among the running Actions as 'COST Success Story' ('The Cities of Tomorrow: The Challenges of Horizon 2020,' September 17-19, 2014, Torino, IT - A COST strategic workshop on the development and needs of the European cities). The principal goal of the COST Action TU1208 is to exchange and increase scientific-technical knowledge and experience of GPR techniques in civil engineering, whilst simultaneously promoting throughout Europe the effective use of this safe and non-destructive technique in the monitoring of infrastructures and structures. Moreover, the Action is oriented to the following specific objectives and expected deliverables: (i) coordinating European scientists to highlight problems, merits and limits of current GPR systems; (ii) developing innovative protocols and guidelines, which will be published in a handbook and constitute a basis for European standards, for an effective GPR application in civil- engineering tasks; safety, economic and financial criteria will be integrated within the protocols; (iii) integrating competences for the improvement and merging of electromagnetic scattering techniques and of data- processing techniques; this will lead to a novel freeware tool for the localization of buried objects, shape-reconstruction and estimation of geophysical parameters useful for civil engineering needs; (iv) networking for the design, realization and optimization of innovative GPR equipment; (v) comparing GPR with different NDT techniques, such as ultrasonic, radiographic, liquid-penetrant, magnetic-particle, acoustic-emission and eddy-current testing; (vi) comparing GPR technology and methodology used in civil engineering with those used in other fields; (vii) promotion of a more widespread, advanced and efficient use of GPR in civil engineering; and (viii) organization of a high-level modular training program for GPR European users. Four Working Groups (WGs) carry out the research activities. WG 1 focuses on the design of innovative GPR equipment, on the building of prototypes and on the testing and optimisation of new systems. WG 2 focuses on the GPR surveying of pavement, bridges, tunnels and buildings, as well as on the sensing of underground utilities and voids. WG 3 deals with the development of electromagnetic forward and inverse scattering methods, for the characterization of GPR scenarios, as well as with data- processing algorithms for the elaboration of the data collected during GPR surveys. WG 4 works on the use of GPR in fields different from the civil engineering, as well as on the integration of GPR with other non-destructive testing techniques. Each WG includes several Projects. COST Action TU1208 is active through a range of networking tools: meetings, workshops, conferences, training schools, short-term scientific missions, dissemination activities. The Action is still open to the participation of new parties and it is possible to include, in the scientific work plan, new perspectives and activities. Scientists and scientific institutions willing to join are encouraged to contact the Chair of the Action and to follow the procedure described at http://www.cost.eu/participate/join_action. For more information on COST Action TU1208, please visit www.GPRadar.eu. Acknowledgement The Authors thank COST, for funding the Action TU1208 "Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar." References [1] L. Pajewski, A. Benedetto, X. Dérobert, A. Giannopoulos, A. Loizos, G. Manacorda, M. Marciniak, C. Plati, G. Schettini, I. Trinks, "Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar in Civil Engineering - COST Action TU1208," Proc. 7th International Workshop on Advanced Ground Penetrating Radar (IWAGPR), 2-5 July 2013, Nantes, France, pp. 1-6 (INVITED). ISBN 978-1-4799-0937-7, doi:10.1109/ IWAGPR.2013.6601528). [2] L. Pajewski, A. Benedetto, "Advanced Ground Penetrating Radar: open issues and new research opportunities in Europe," Proc. 10th European Radar Conference (EuRad), 2013 European Microwave Week (EuMW), 6-11 October 2013, Nuremberg, Germany, pp. 1847-1850. [3] 'Proceedings of the First Action's General Meeting - Rome, Italy, July 2013' 1st edition, COST Action TU1208, Aracne, L. Pajewski and A. Benedetto, Eds., Rome, Italy, July 2013, ISBN 978-88-548-6191-6, available online at www.GPRadar.eu. [4] 'Booklet of Participants and Institutions,' 1st edition, COST Action TU1208, Aracne, L. Pajewski and A. Benedetto, Eds., Rome, Italy, July 2013, ISBN 978-88-548-6192-3, available online at www.GPRadar.eu. [5] 'Proceedings of the 2014 Working Group Progress Meeting - Nantes, France, February 2014,' COST Action TU1208, Aracne, L. Pajewski and X. Derobert, Eds., Rome, Italy, May 2014, ISBN 978-88-548-7223-3, available online at www.GPRadar.eu. [6] 'Proceedings of the Second Action's General Meeting - Vienna, Austria, April-May 2014,' COST Action TU1208, Aracne, L. Pajewski and A. Benedetto, Eds., Rome, Italy, 2014, ISBN 978-88-548-7224-0. [7] 'Short Term Scientific Missions and Training Schools - Year 1,' COST Action TU1208, Aracne, L. Pajewski and M. Marciniak, Eds., Rome, Italy, 2014, ISBN 978-88-548-7225-7. [8] 'Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar,' A. Benedetto and L. Pajewski Eds., Springer, July 2015, ISBN 978-3-319-04812-3 (in press). [9] 'Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar - GPR2014, June 30 - July 4, 2014, Bruxelles, Belgium,' S. Lambot, A. Giannopoulos, L. Pajewski, F. De André, E. Slob, and C. Craeye, Eds., IEEE Conference Record Number: 35163, ISBN: 978-1-4799-6789-6, IEEE Part Number: CFP14538-ART, October 2014. [10] 'Near Surface Geophysics' Special Issue on 'Civil and Environmental Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar,' A. Benedetto, A. Loizos, L. Pajewski, and F. Tosti, Guest Eds., publication planned for Spring 2015. [11] IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing (JSTARS) Special Issue on 'Ground Penetrating Radar', S. Lambot, A. Giannopoulos, L. Pajewski, E. Slob, Guest Eds., publication planned for December 2015.

COST Action TU1208 "Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar": ongoing research activities and third-year results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pajewski, Lara; Benedetto, Andrea; Loizos, Andreas; Tosti, Fabio

2016-04-01

This work aims at disseminating the ongoing research activities and third-year results of the COST (European COoperation in Science and Technology) Action TU1208 "Civil Engineering Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar." About 350 experts are participating to the Action, from 28 COST Countries (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Macedonia, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom), and from Albania, Armenia, Australia, Colombia, Egypt, Hong Kong, Jordan, Israel, Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, Ukraine, and United States of America. In September 2014, TU1208 has been recognised among the running Actions as "COST Success Story" ("The Cities of Tomorrow: The Challenges of Horizon 2020," September 17-19, 2014, Torino, IT - A COST strategic workshop on the development and needs of the European cities). The principal goal of the COST Action TU1208 is to exchange and increase scientific-technical knowledge and experience of GPR techniques in civil engineering, whilst simultaneously promoting throughout Europe the effective use of this safe and non-destructive technique in the monitoring of infrastructures and structures. Moreover, the Action is oriented to the following specific objectives and expected deliverables: (i) coordinating European scientists to highlight problems, merits and limits of current GPR systems; (ii) developing innovative protocols and guidelines, which will be published in a handbook and constitute a basis for European standards, for an effective GPR application in civil- engineering tasks; safety, economic and financial criteria will be integrated within the protocols; (iii) integrating competences for the improvement and merging of electromagnetic scattering techniques and of data- processing techniques; this will lead to a novel freeware tool for the localization of buried objects, shape-reconstruction and estimation of geophysical parameters useful for civil engineering needs; (iv) networking for the design, realization and optimization of innovative GPR equipment; (v) comparing GPR with different NDT techniques, such as ultrasonic, radiographic, liquid-penetrant, magnetic-particle, acoustic-emission and eddy-current testing; (vi) comparing GPR technology and methodology used in civil engineering with those used in other fields; (vii) promotion of a more widespread, advanced and efficient use of GPR in civil engineering; and (viii) organization of a high-level modular training program for GPR European users. Four Working Groups (WGs) carry out the research activities. WG 1 focuses on the design of innovative GPR equipment, on the building of prototypes and on the testing and optimisation of new systems. WG 2 focuses on the GPR surveying of pavement, bridges, tunnels and buildings, as well as on the sensing of underground utilities and voids. WG 3 deals with the development of electromagnetic forward and inverse scattering methods, for the characterization of GPR scenarios, as well as with data-processing algorithms for the elaboration of the data collected during GPR surveys. WG 4 works on the use of GPR in fields different from the civil engineering, as well as on the integration of GPR with other non-destructive testing techniques. Each WG includes several Projects. COST Action TU1208 is active through a range of networking tools: meetings, workshops, conferences, training schools, short-term scientific missions, dissemination activities. For more information on COST Action TU1208, please visit www.GPRadar.eu and www.cost.eu. Acknowledgement The Authors wish to thank COST, for funding the COST Action TU1208 "Civil engineering applications of Ground Penetrating Radar."

Tu-144LL SST Flying Laboratory on Taxiway at Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow, Russia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

The sleek lines of the Tupolev Tu-144LL are evident as it sits on the taxiway at the Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow, Russia. NASA teamed with American and Russian aerospace industries for an extended period in a joint international research program featuring the Russian-built Tu-144LL supersonic aircraft. The object of the program was to develop technologies for a proposed future second-generation supersonic airliner to be developed in the 21st Century. The aircraft's initial flight phase began in June 1996 and concluded in February 1998 after 19 research flights. A shorter follow-on program involving seven flights began in September 1998 and concluded in April 1999. All flights were conducted in Russia from Tupolev's facility at the Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow. The centerpiece of the research program was the Tu 144LL, a first-generation Russian supersonic jetliner that was modified by its developer/builder, Tupolev ANTK (aviatsionnyy nauchno-tekhnicheskiy kompleks-roughly, aviation technical complex), into a flying laboratory for supersonic research. Using the Tu-144LL to conduct flight research experiments, researchers compared full-scale supersonic aircraft flight data with results from models in wind tunnels, computer-aided techniques, and other flight tests. The experiments provided unique aerodynamic, structures, acoustics, and operating environment data on supersonic passenger aircraft. Data collected from the research program was being used to develop the technology base for a proposed future American-built supersonic jetliner. Although actual development of such an advanced supersonic transport (SST) is currently on hold, commercial aviation experts estimate that a market for up to 500 such aircraft could develop by the third decade of the 21st Century. The Tu-144LL used in the NASA-sponsored research program was a 'D' model with different engines than were used in production-model aircraft. Fifty experiments were proposed for the program and eight were selected, including six flight and two ground (engine) tests. The flight experiments included studies of the aircraft's exterior surface, internal structure, engine temperatures, boundary-layer airflow, the wing's ground-effect characteristics, interior and exterior noise, handling qualities in various flight profiles, and in-flight structural flexibility. The ground tests studied the effect of air inlet structures on airflow entering the engine and the effect on engine performance when supersonic shock waves rapidly change position in the engine air inlet. A second phase of testing further studied the original six in-flight experiments with additional instrumentation installed to assist in data acquisition and analysis. A new experiment aimed at measuring the in-flight deflections of the wing and fuselage was also conducted. American-supplied transducers and sensors were installed to measure nose boom pressures, angle of attack, and sideslip angles with increased accuracy. Two NASA pilots, Robert Rivers of Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, and Gordon Fullerton from Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, assessed the aircraft's handling at subsonic and supersonic speeds during three flight tests in September 1998. The program concluded after four more data-collection flights in the spring of 1999. The Tu-144LL model had new Kuznetsov NK-321 turbofan engines rated at more than 55,000 pounds of thrust in full afterburner. The aircraft is 215 feet, 6 inches long and 42 feet, 2 inches high with a wingspan of 94 feet, 6 inches. The aircraft is constructed mostly of light aluminum alloy with titanium and stainless steel on the leading edges, elevons, rudder, and the under-surface of the rear fuselage.

Tu-144LL SST Flying Laboratory Lifts off Runway on a High-Speed Research Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

The Tupolev Tu-144LL lifts off from the Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow, Russia, on a 1998 test flight. NASA teamed with American and Russian aerospace industries for an extended period in a joint international research program featuring the Russian-built Tu-144LL supersonic aircraft. The object of the program was to develop technologies for a proposed future second-generation supersonic airliner to be developed in the 21st Century. The aircraft's initial flight phase began in June 1996 and concluded in February 1998 after 19 research flights. A shorter follow-on program involving seven flights began in September 1998 and concluded in April 1999. All flights were conducted in Russia from Tupolev's facility at the Zhukovsky Air Development Center near Moscow. The centerpiece of the research program was the Tu 144LL, a first-generation Russian supersonic jetliner that was modified by its developer/builder, Tupolev ANTK (aviatsionnyy nauchno-tekhnicheskiy kompleks-roughly, aviation technical complex), into a flying laboratory for supersonic research. Using the Tu-144LL to conduct flight research experiments, researchers compared full-scale supersonic aircraft flight data with results from models in wind tunnels, computer-aided techniques, and other flight tests. The experiments provided unique aerodynamic, structures, acoustics, and operating environment data on supersonic passenger aircraft. Data collected from the research program was being used to develop the technology base for a proposed future American-built supersonic jetliner. Although actual development of such an advanced supersonic transport (SST) is currently on hold, commercial aviation experts estimate that a market for up to 500 such aircraft could develop by the third decade of the 21st Century. The Tu-144LL used in the NASA-sponsored research program was a 'D' model with different engines than were used in production-model aircraft. Fifty experiments were proposed for the program and eight were selected, including six flight and two ground (engine) tests. The flight experiments included studies of the aircraft's exterior surface, internal structure, engine temperatures, boundary-layer airflow, the wing's ground-effect characteristics, interior and exterior noise, handling qualities in various flight profiles, and in-flight structural flexibility. The ground tests studied the effect of air inlet structures on airflow entering the engine and the effect on engine performance when supersonic shock waves rapidly change position in the engine air inlet. A second phase of testing further studied the original six in-flight experiments with additional instrumentation installed to assist in data acquisition and analysis. A new experiment aimed at measuring the in-flight deflections of the wing and fuselage was also conducted. American-supplied transducers and sensors were installed to measure nose boom pressures, angle of attack, and sideslip angles with increased accuracy. Two NASA pilots, Robert Rivers of Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, and Gordon Fullerton from Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, assessed the aircraft's handling at subsonic and supersonic speeds during three flight tests in September 1998. The program concluded after four more data-collection flights in the spring of 1999. The Tu-144LL model had new Kuznetsov NK-321 turbofan engines rated at more than 55,000 pounds of thrust in full afterburner. The aircraft is 215 feet, 6 inches long and 42 feet, 2 inches high with a wingspan of 94 feet, 6 inches. The aircraft is constructed mostly of light aluminum alloy with titanium and stainless steel on the leading edges, elevons, rudder, and the under-surface of the rear fuselage.

The gammaTuRC Nanomachine Mechanism and Future Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riehlman, Timothy D.

The complexity and precision of the eukaryotic cell's cytoskeletal network is unrivaled by any man-made systems, perfected by billions of years of evolution, mastering elegant processes of self-assembly, error correction, and self-repair. Understanding the capabilities of these networks will have important and far reaching applications in human medicine by aiding our understanding of developmental processes, cellular division, and disease mechanisms, and through biomimicry will provide insights for biosynthetic manufacturing at the nanoscale and across scales. My research utilizes cross species techniques from Human to the model organism of Fission Yeast to investigate the structure and mechanisms of the g-tubulin ring complex (gTuRC). The gTuRC is a highly conserved eukaryotic multiprotein complex serving as a microtubule organizing center (MTOC) responsible for microtubule nucleation through templating, regulation of dynamics, and establishment of microtubule polarity. Microtubules are 25 nm diameter dynamic flexible polymers of a/b-tubulin heterodimers that function as scaffolds, force generators, distributors, and intracellular highways. The microtubule cytoskeleton is essential for numerous fundamental cellular processes such as mitotic division of chromosomes and cell division, organelle distribution within the cell, cell signaling, and cell shape. This incredible diversity in functions is made possible in part due to molecular motor Kinesin-like proteins (Klps), which allow expansion into more specialized neural, immune, and ciliated cell functions. Combined, the MTOC, microtubules, and Klps represent ideal microtubule cytoskeleton protein (MCP) modular components for in vitro biomimicry towards generation of adaptable patterned networks for human designed applications. My research investigates the hypothesis that a mechanistic understanding of conserved MTOC gTuRC mechanisms will help us understand dynamic cellular nanomachines and their ability to self-assemble complex structures for applications in biomedicine and new roles in biomimetic nanotechnologies.

Supplement Analysis for the Watershed Management Program EIS (DOE/EIS-0265/SA-106) - Water Entity (Trout Unlimited Montana Water Project 2003)

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

Yarde, Richard

2003-06-13

BPA proposes to fund several water rights acquisition projects proposed by Trout Unlimited Montana Water Project (TU). The funding will be administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the entity administering the Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program, initiated under RPA 151 of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s 2000 Biological Opinion on the Operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System. The water rights acquired by TU will be left instream to increase flow and improve water quality. Increasing instream flow of water-limited streams benefits fish listed under the Endangered Species Act. The three projects proposed by TU include: amore » Diversion Reduction Agreement, where the landowner agrees to leave up to 4 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water in Rock Creek for the 2003 irrigation season; another Diversion Reduction Agreement for the latter part of the 2003 irrigation season, under which the landowner would agree to cease diverting 1.65 cfs on Rock Creek and between 3 to 6 cfs from the North Fork Blackfoot River; the final proposal is one piece of a larger project in conjunction with other local, federal and state entities, to install a pipeline and sprinkler system to replace a ditch and flood irrigation system, which will result in the conversion of 15.11 cfs of water rights to instream flow. TU's contribution to the proposal (and BPA’s funding) is limited to working with the landowner to convert the water rights to instream flow; all other components of the project, including the irrigation efficiency work, is being done in conjunction with other federal agencies with independent NEPA and other environmental review and consultation obligations.« less

Participatory surveillance of diabetes device safety: a social media-based complement to traditional FDA reporting.

PubMed

Mandl, Kenneth D; McNabb, Marion; Marks, Norman; Weitzman, Elissa R; Kelemen, Skyler; Eggleston, Emma M; Quinn, Maryanne

2014-01-01

Malfunctions or poor usability of devices measuring glucose or delivering insulin are reportable to the FDA. Manufacturers submit 99.9% of these reports. We test online social networks as a complementary source to traditional FDA reporting of device-related adverse events. Participatory surveillance of members of a non-profit online social network, TuDiabetes.org, from October 2011 to September 2012. Subjects were volunteers from a group within TuDiabetes, actively engaged online in participatory surveillance. They used the free TuAnalyze app, a privacy-preserving method to report detailed clinical information, available through the network. Network members were polled about finger-stick blood glucose monitors, continuous glucose monitors, and insulin delivery devices, including insulin pumps and insulin pens. Of 549 participants, 75 reported device-related adverse events, nearly half (48.0%) requiring intervention from another person to manage the event. Only three (4.0%) of these were reported by participants to the FDA. All TuAnalyze reports contained outcome information compared with 22% of reports to the FDA. Hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia were experienced by 48.0% and 49.3% of participants, respectively. Members of an online community readily engaged in participatory surveillance. While polling distributed online populations does not yield generalizable, denominator-based rates, this approach can characterize risk within online communities using a bidirectional communication channel that enables reach-back and intervention. Engagement of distributed communities in social networks is a viable complementary approach to traditional public health surveillance for adverse events related to medical devices. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Selection of DNA aptamers against epidermal growth factor receptor with high affinity and specificity

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

Wang, Deng-Liang; Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou; Song, Yan-Ling

2014-10-31

Highlights: • This is the first report of DNA aptamer against EGFR in vitro. • Aptamer can bind targets with high affinity and selectivity. • DNA aptamers are more stable, cheap and efficient than RNA aptamers. • Our selected DNA aptamer against EGFR has high affinity with K{sub d} 56 ± 7.3 nM. • Our selected DNA aptamer against EGFR has high selectivity. - Abstract: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/HER1/c-ErbB1), is overexpressed in many solid cancers, such as epidermoid carcinomas, malignant gliomas, etc. EGFR plays roles in proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis of malignant cancer cells and is the idealmore » antigen for clinical applications in cancer detection, imaging and therapy. Aptamers, the output of the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), are DNA/RNA oligonucleotides which can bind protein and other substances with specificity. RNA aptamers are undesirable due to their instability and high cost of production. Conversely, DNA aptamers have aroused researcher’s attention because they are easily synthesized, stable, selective, have high binding affinity and are cost-effective to produce. In this study, we have successfully identified DNA aptamers with high binding affinity and selectivity to EGFR. The aptamer named TuTu22 with K{sub d} 56 ± 7.3 nM was chosen from the identified DNA aptamers for further study. Flow cytometry analysis results indicated that the TuTu22 aptamer was able to specifically recognize a variety of cancer cells expressing EGFR but did not bind to the EGFR-negative cells. With all of the aforementioned advantages, the DNA aptamers reported here against cancer biomarker EGFR will facilitate the development of novel targeted cancer detection, imaging and therapy.« less

Photoactivation and toxicity of mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds in marine sediment

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

Swartz, R.C.; Ferraro, S.P.; Lamberson, J.O.

1997-10-01

The direct toxicity and photoinduced toxicity of sediment-associated acenaphthene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, and pyrene were determined for the marine amphipod Rhepoxynius abronius. The four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were spiked into sediment in a concentration series of either single compounds or as approximately equitoxic mixtures of all four compounds. Standard 10-d sediment toxicity tests were conducted under fluorescent lighting. After 10 d, survivors were exposed for 1 h to ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the absence of sediment and then tested for their ability to bury in uncontaminated sediment. The 10-d median lethal concentrations (LC50s) were 2.31 mg acenaphthene/g organic carbon (OC),more » 2.22 mg phenanthrene/g OC, 3.31 mg fluoranthene/g OC, and 2.81 mg pyrene/g OC. These LC50s were used to calculate the sum of toxic units ({Sigma}TU) of the four PAHs in the approximately equitoxic mixtures. The {Sigma}TU LC50 was then calculated for the mixture treatments. If the toxicologic interaction of a mixture of contaminants is additive, {Sigma}TU LC50 = 1.0. The observed LC50 (1.55 {Sigma}TU) was slightly, but significantly, greater than unity, indicating that the interaction of PAHs in the mixture was less than additive. Exposure to UV radiation enhanced the toxic effects of fluoranthene and pyrene, but did not affect the toxicity of acenaphthene and phenanthrene. Effects of UV radiation on the toxicity of the mixture of four PAHs could be explained by the photoactivation of fluoranthene and pyrene alone. These results are consistent with predictions based on photophysical properties of PAH compounds.« less

Transmission of Turnip yellows virus by Myzus persicae Is Reduced by Feeding Aphids on Double-Stranded RNA Targeting the Ephrin Receptor Protein

PubMed Central

Mulot, Michaël; Monsion, Baptiste; Boissinot, Sylvaine; Rastegar, Maryam; Meyer, Sophie; Bochet, Nicole; Brault, Véronique

2018-01-01

Aphid-transmitted plant viruses are a threat for major crops causing massive economic loss worldwide. Members in the Luteoviridae family are transmitted by aphids in a circulative and non-replicative mode. Virions are acquired by aphids when ingesting sap from infected plants and are transported through the gut and the accessory salivary gland (ASG) cells by a transcytosis mechanism relying on virus-specific receptors largely unknown. Once released into the salivary canal, virions are inoculated to plants, together with saliva, during a subsequent feeding. In this paper, we bring in vivo evidence that the membrane-bound Ephrin receptor (Eph) is a novel aphid protein involved in the transmission of the Turnip yellows virus (TuYV, Polerovirus genus, Luteoviridae family) by Myzus persicae. The minor capsid protein of TuYV, essential for aphid transmission, was able to bind the external domain of Eph in yeast. Feeding M. persicae on in planta- or in vitro-synthesized dsRNA targeting Eph-mRNA (dsRNAEph) did not affect aphid feeding behavior but reduced accumulation of TuYV genomes in the aphid's body. Consequently, TuYV transmission efficiency by the dsRNAEph-treated aphids was reproducibly inhibited and we brought evidence that Eph is likely involved in intestinal uptake of the virion. The inhibition of virus uptake after dsRNAEph acquisition was also observed for two other poleroviruses transmitted by M. persicae, suggesting a broader role of Eph in polerovirus transmission. Finally, dsRNAEph acquisition by aphids did not affect nymph production. These results pave the way toward an ecologically safe alternative of insecticide treatments that are used to lower aphid populations and reduce polerovirus damages. PMID:29593696

Transmission of Turnip yellows virus by Myzus persicae Is Reduced by Feeding Aphids on Double-Stranded RNA Targeting the Ephrin Receptor Protein.

PubMed

Mulot, Michaël; Monsion, Baptiste; Boissinot, Sylvaine; Rastegar, Maryam; Meyer, Sophie; Bochet, Nicole; Brault, Véronique

2018-01-01

Aphid-transmitted plant viruses are a threat for major crops causing massive economic loss worldwide. Members in the Luteoviridae family are transmitted by aphids in a circulative and non-replicative mode. Virions are acquired by aphids when ingesting sap from infected plants and are transported through the gut and the accessory salivary gland (ASG) cells by a transcytosis mechanism relying on virus-specific receptors largely unknown. Once released into the salivary canal, virions are inoculated to plants, together with saliva, during a subsequent feeding. In this paper, we bring in vivo evidence that the membrane-bound Ephrin receptor (Eph) is a novel aphid protein involved in the transmission of the Turnip yellows virus (TuYV, Polerovirus genus, Luteoviridae family) by Myzus persicae . The minor capsid protein of TuYV, essential for aphid transmission, was able to bind the external domain of Eph in yeast. Feeding M. persicae on in planta - or in vitro -synthesized dsRNA targeting Eph -mRNA (dsRNA Eph ) did not affect aphid feeding behavior but reduced accumulation of TuYV genomes in the aphid's body. Consequently, TuYV transmission efficiency by the dsRNA Eph -treated aphids was reproducibly inhibited and we brought evidence that Eph is likely involved in intestinal uptake of the virion. The inhibition of virus uptake after dsRNA Eph acquisition was also observed for two other poleroviruses transmitted by M. persicae , suggesting a broader role of Eph in polerovirus transmission. Finally, dsRNA Eph acquisition by aphids did not affect nymph production. These results pave the way toward an ecologically safe alternative of insecticide treatments that are used to lower aphid populations and reduce polerovirus damages.

Increased temperature tolerance of the air-breathing Asian swamp eel Monopterus albus after high-temperature acclimation is not explained by improved cardiorespiratory performance.

PubMed

Lefevre, S; Findorf, I; Bayley, M; Huong, D T T; Wang, T

2016-01-01

This study investigated the hypothesis that in the Asian swamp eel Monopterus albus, an air-breathing fish from south-east Asia that uses the buccopharyngeal cavity for oxygen uptake, the upper critical temperature (TU) is increased by acclimation to higher temperature, and that the increased TU is associated with improved cardiovascular and respiratory function. Monopterus albus were therefore acclimated to 27° C (current average) and 32° C (current maximum temperature as well as projected average within 100-200 years), and both the effect of acclimation and acute temperature increments on cardiovascular and respiratory functions were investigated. Two weeks of heat acclimation increased upper tolerated temperature (TU ) by 2° C from 36·9 ± 0·1° C to 38·9 ± 0·1° C (mean ± s.e.). Oxygen uptake (M˙O2) increased with acclimation temperature, accommodated by increases in both aerial and aquatic respiration. Overall, M˙O2 from air (M˙O2a ) was predominant, representing 85% in 27° C acclimated fish and 80% in 32° C acclimated fish. M˙O2 increased with acute increments in temperature and this increase was entirely accommodated by an increase in air-breathing frequency and M˙O2a . Monopterus albus failed to upregulate stroke volume; rather, cardiac output was maintained through increased heart rate with rising temperature. Overall, acclimation of M. albus to 32° C did not improve its cardiovascular and respiratory performance at higher temperatures, and cardiovascular adaptations, therefore, do not appear to contribute to the observed increase in TU. © 2015 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Centralisation for resection of the pancreatic head: A comparison of operative factors and early outcomes during the evolving unit and tertiary unit phases at a UK institution.

PubMed

Kostalas, M; Nageswaran, H; Froghi, S; Riga, A; Kumar, R; Menezes, N; Worthington, T R; Karanjia, N D

2017-08-19

To assess impact of centralisation on patients undergoing pancreatic head resections at a tertiary hepatobiliary (HPB) centre in the UK. Data were analysed from a prospectively maintained database from 1998 to 2014 on all patients undergoing pancreatic head resections. Two specific time periods were defined; these were the evolving unit phase (EU) from 1998 to 2009 and finally the established tertiary unit phase (TU) from 2010 to 2014. Peri-operative factors and post-operative outcomes were analysed. 395 resections were undertaken during the study period. Following establishment of our tertiary HPB unit, the volume of resections undertaken increased greater than three-fold with an associated increase in case-complexity (p = 0.004). Operating time was found to increase in the TU phase compared with EU phase (p=>0.0005) whilst there was no significant difference in the rate of peri-operative transfusion, or in post-operative morbidity rates. There was a significant reduction in the post-operative length of stay in the TU phase (p = 0.003) with a significantly higher proportion of patients being discharged within 9 days of their procedure (p=<0.0005). There was also a significant reduction in 30-day post-operative mortality in the TU phase (0.5%) compared with the EU phase (3%) (p = 0.029). Data from our series of 395 cases suggests that centralisation of pancreatic cancer services to a tertiary centre does result in improved patient outcomes. The benefits of a multi-disciplinary and specialist HPB service results in a high volume, high quality unit with improved patient outcomes. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Instrument developments and recent scientific highlights at the J-NSE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanova, Oxana; Pasini, Stefano; Monkenbusch, Michael; Holderer, Olaf

2017-06-01

The J-NSE neutron spin echo spectrometer faces now 10 years of successful user operation at the FRM II research reactor at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ). We present scientific highlights and instrumental developments of the last decade, for example the development of grazing incidence neutron spin echo spectroscopy (GINSES) at the J-NSE and investigations of the dynamics at solid-liquid interfaces with this new option. Polymers in confinement have been a prominent topic, as well as the internal dynamics of proteins. The scientific questions also triggered instrumental developments such as a new polarizer and a new neutron guide concept. Finally, the future of the J-NSE will be addressed with a short presentation of the current upgrade program with superconducting main coils with reduced intrinsic field integral inhomogeneity.

Upgrades to the ISS Water Recovery System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kayatin, Matthew J.; Carter, Donald L.; Schunk, Richard G.; Pruitt, Jennifer M.

2016-01-01

The International Space Station Water Recovery System (WRS) is comprised of the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). The WRS produces potable water from a combination of crew urine (first processed through the UPA), crew latent, and Sabatier product water. Though the WRS has performed well since operations began in November 2008, several modifications have been identified to improve the overall system performance. These modifications can reduce resupply and improve overall system reliability, which is beneficial for the ongoing ISS mission as well as for future NASA manned missions. The following paper details efforts to reduce the resupply mass of the WPA Multifiltration Bed, develop improved catalyst for the WPA Catalytic Reactor, evaluate optimum operation of UPA through parametric testing, and improve reliability of the UPA fluids pump and Distillation Assembly.

Design and installation of a ferromagnetic wall in tokamak geometry

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

Hughes, P. E., E-mail: peh2109@columbia.edu; Levesque, J. P.; Rivera, N.

Low-activation ferritic steels are leading material candidates for use in next-generation fusion development experiments such as a prospective component test facility and DEMO power reactor. Understanding the interaction of plasmas with a ferromagnetic wall will provide crucial physics for these facilities. In order to study ferromagnetic effects in toroidal geometry, a ferritic wall upgrade was designed and installed in the High Beta Tokamak–Extended Pulse (HBT-EP). Several material options were investigated based on conductivity, magnetic permeability, vacuum compatibility, and other criteria, and the material of choice (high-cobalt steel) is characterized. Installation was accomplished quickly, with minimal impact on existing diagnostics andmore » overall machine performance, and initial results demonstrate the effects of the ferritic wall on plasma stability.« less

Development of a polarized neutron beam line at Algerian research reactors using McStas software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makhloufi, M.; Salah, H.

2017-02-01

Unpolarized instrumentation has long been studied and designed using McStas simulation tool. But, only recently new models were developed for McStas to simulate polarized neutron scattering instruments. In the present contribution, we used McStas software to design a polarized neutron beam line, taking advantage of the available spectrometers reflectometer and diffractometer in Algeria. Both thermal and cold neutron was considered. The polarization was made by two types of supermirrors polarizers FeSi and CoCu provided by the HZB institute. For sake of performance and comparison, the polarizers were characterized and their characteristics reproduced. The simulated instruments are reported. Flipper and electromagnets for guide field are developed. Further developments including analyzers and upgrading of the existing spectrometers are underway.

Neutron induced radiation damage of plastic scintillators for the upgrade of the Tile Calorimeter of the ATLAS detector.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mdhluli, J. E.; Jivan, H.; Erasmus, R.; Davydov, Yu I.; Baranov, V.; Mthembu, S.; Mellado, B.; Sideras-Haddad, E.; Solovyanov, O.; Sandrock, C.; Peter, G.; Tlou, S.; Khanye, N.; Tjale, B.

2017-07-01

With the prediction that the plastic scintillators in the gap region of the Tile Calorimeter will sustain a significantly large amount of radiation damage during the HL-LHC run time, the current plastic scintillators will need to be replaced during the phase 2 upgrade in 2018. The scintillators in the gap region were exposed to a radiation environment of up to 10 kGy/year during the first run of data taking and with the luminosity being increased by a factor of 10, the radiation environment will be extremely harsh. We report on the radiation damage to the optical properties of plastic scintillators following irradiation using a neutron beam of the IBR-2 pulsed reactor in Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), Dubna. A comparison is drawn between polyvinyl toluene based commercial scintillators EJ200, EJ208 and EJ260 as well as polystyrene based scintillator from Kharkov. The samples were subjected to irradiation with high energy neutrons and a flux density range of 1 × 106-7.7 × 106. Light transmission, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and light yield testing was performed to characterize the damage induced in the samples. Preliminary results from the tests done indicate a minute change in the optical properties of the scintillators with further studies underway to gain a better understanding of the interaction between neutrons with plastic scintillators.

Low-temperature upgrading of low-calorific biogas for CO2 mitigation using DBD-catalyst hybrid reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nozaki, Tomohiro; Tsukijihara, Hiroyuki; Fukui, Wataru; Okazaki, Ken

2006-10-01

Although huge amounts of biogas, which consists of 20-60% of CH4 in CO2/N2, can be obtained from landfills, coal mines, and agricultural residues, most of them are simply flared and wasted: because global warming potential of biogas is 5-15 times as potent as CO2. Poor combustibility of such biogas makes it difficult to utilize in conventional energy system. The purpose of this project is to promote the profitable recovery of methane from poor biogas via non-thermal plasma technology. We propose low-temperature steam reforming of biogas using DBD generated in catalyst beds. Methane is partially converted into hydrogen, and then fed into internal combustion engines for improved ignition stability as well as efficient operation. Low-temperature steam reforming is beneficial because exhaust gas from an engine can be used to activate catalyst beds. Space velocity (3600-15000 hr-1), reaction temperature (300-650^oC), and energy cost (30-150 kJ per mol CH4) have been investigated with simulated biogas (20-60% CH4 in mixtures of CO2/N2). The DBD enhances reaction rate of CH4 by a factor of ten at given catalyst temperatures, which is a rate-determining step of methane steam reforming, while species concentration of upgraded biogas was governed by thermodynamic equilibrium in the presence of catalyst.

The Wide Angle Neutron Diffractometer (WAND) at HFIR: possibilities and future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frontzek, Matthias; Andrews, Katie M.; Chakoumakos, Bryan C.

The Wide Angle Neutron Diffractometer (WAND) at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been built and continues to be, a joint project between ORNL and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Equipped with a 1-dimensional position sensitive detector (PSD), the instrument is a multi-purpose instrument for both powder and single crystal diffraction. WAND is currently in the process of a 2-phase upgrade to become a world class, general purpose instrument. In phase 1, finished in the beginning of 2016, the whole instrument was practically re-built from scratch, keeping only the front end and the 1-D PSD. Phase 2 will replace the 1-D PSD with the state of the art BNL120 2D-PSD which comes from the Lujan Neutron Scattering Center. We are currently integrating the detector off-line into the data acquisition architecture at HFIR. The new instrument, WAND2, will be available for general users in the proposal call 2018A. In our contribution we present results from experiments on WAND after phase 1. The upgrade now allows mounting the whole suite of available sample environment (50 mK to 1500 K, magnetic fields (5 T), high pressures (4 GPa)). We will further discuss the scientific impact the new capabilities of WAND2 will have.

HIGH PRESSURE COAL COMBUSTION KINETICS PROJECT

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

Chris Guenther; Bill Rogers

2001-09-15

The HPCCK project was initiated with a kickoff meeting held on June 12, 2001 in Morgantown, WV, which was attended by all project participants. SRI's existing g-RCFR reactor was reconfigured to a SRT-RCFR geometry (Task 1.1). This new design is suitable for performing the NBFZ experiments of Task 1.2. It was decided that the SRT-RCFR apparatus could be modified and used for the HPBO experiments. The purchase, assembly, and testing of required instrumentation and hardware is nearly complete (Task 1.1 and 1.2). Initial samples of PBR coal have been shipped from FWC to SRI (Task 1.1). The ECT device formore » coal flow measurements used at FWC will not be used in the SRI apparatus and a screw type feeder has been suggested instead (Task 5.1). NEA has completed a upgrade of an existing Fluent simulator for SRI's RCFR to a version that is suitable for interpreting results from tests in the NBFZ configuration (Task 1.3) this upgrade includes finite-rate submodels for devolatilization, secondary volatiles pyrolysis, volatiles combustion, and char oxidation. Plans for an enhanced version of CBK have been discussed and development of this enhanced version has begun (Task 2.5). A developmental framework for implementing pressure and oxygen effects on ash formation in an ash formation model (Task 3.3) has begun.« less

High-quality fuel from food waste - investigation of a stepwise process from the perspective of technology development.

PubMed

Yin, Ke; Li, Ling; Giannis, Apostolos; Weerachanchai, Piyarat; Ng, Bernard J H; Wang, Jing-Yuan

2017-07-01

A stepwise process (SP) was developed for sustainable energy production from food waste (FW). The process comprised of hydrothermal treatment followed by oil upgrading. Synthetic food waste was primarily used as feedstock in the hydrothermal reactor under subcritical water conditions. The produced hydrochars were analyzed for calorific value (17.0-33.7 MJ/kg) and elemental composition indicating high-quality fuel comparable to coal. Hydrothermal carbonization (e.g. 180°C) would be efficient for oil recovery (>90%) from FW, as compared to hydrothermal liquefaction (320°C) whereby lipid degradation may take place. The recovered oil was upgraded to biodiesel in a catalytic refinery process. Selected biodiesels, that is, B3 and B4 were characterized for density (872.7 and 895.5 kg/m 3 ), kinematic viscosity (3.115 and 8.243 cSt), flash and pour point (30°C and >126°C), micro carbon (0.03% and 0.04%), sulfur (both <0.0016%), and calorific value (38,917 and 39,584 J/g), suggesting similar quality to commercial biodiesel. Fatty acid methyl ethers content was further analyzed to assess the influence of hydrothermal treatment in biodiesel quality, indicating the limited impacts. Overall, the SP provides a promising alternative for sustainable energy recovery through high-quality biofuel and hydrochar production.

Reflections on the Nobel Prize for Medicine 2015--The Public Health Legacy and Impact of Avermectin and Artemisinin.

PubMed

Molyneux, David H; Ward, Steve A

2015-12-01

The award of the Nobel Prize to Dr Bill Campbell and Professor Satoshi Ōmura for their role in the discovery of avermectin and Professor Youyou Tu for her work on the development of artemisinin has been universally welcomed by the International Health community for what the Nobel Committee described as 'The discoveries of Avermectin and Artemisinin have revolutionized therapy for patients suffering from devastating parasitic diseases. Campbell, Ōmura and Tu have transformed the treatment of parasitic diseases. The global impact of their discoveries and the resulting benefit to mankind are immeasurable'. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wheat phytotoxicity from arsenic and cadmium separately and together in solution culture and in a calcareous soil

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

Cao, Q; Hu, Q; Khan, S

2007-03-05

The toxicity effect of two deleterious elements of arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) (individually or in combination) on root elongation of wheat seedlings (Triticum aestivum, L.) were investigated both in hydroponics and in soils freshly spiked with the toxic elements. Median effective concentration (EC{sub 50}) and non-observed effect concentration (NOEC) were used to investigate the toxic thresholds and potencies of the two elements. The EC{sub 50} for As was 0.97 {mu}M in hydroponics and 196 mg {center_dot} kg{sup -1} in soil, and 4.32 {mu}M and 449 mg {center_dot} kg{sup -1} for Cd, respectively. Toxic unit (TU) and additive index (AI)more » concepts were introduced to determine the combined outcomes, and different behaviors were obtained: synergism in solution culture (EC{sub 50mix} = 0.36 TU{sub mix} and AI: 1.76) and antagonism in soil experiments (EC{sub 50mix} = 1.49 TU{sub mix} and AI: -0.33). Furthermore, the data of soil bioavailable As and Cd can not explain the discrepancy between the results derived from soil and hydroponics experiments.« less

Reduction of the "burst release" of copper ions from copper-based intrauterine devices by organic inhibitors.

PubMed

Alvarez, Florencia; Schilardi, Patricia L; de Mele, Monica Fernández Lorenzo

2012-01-01

The copper intrauterine device is a contraceptive method that is based on the release of copper ions from a copper wire. Immediately after insertion, the dissolution of copper in the uterine fluid is markedly higher ("burst release") than that necessary for contraception action, leading to a variety of harmful effects. Pretreatments with organic compounds [thiourea (TU) and purine (PU), 10(-4)-10(-2) M concentration range, 1- and 3-h immersion times] were tested. The dissolution of copper with and without pretreatments in TU and PU solutions was analyzed by conventional electrochemical techniques and surface analysis. Pretreatments in PU solutions reduced the initial corrosion rate of copper in simulated uterine solutions, with inhibitory efficiencies that depend on the PU concentration and on the immersion time assayed. Inhibitory efficiency values higher than 98% for pretreatments with ≥10(-3) M PU were found. Conversely, after TU pretreatments, a high copper release was measured. It was concluded that 10(-3) M PU pretreatment is a promising strategy able to reduce the "burst release" of copper and to ensure contraceptive action. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Flight Test Measurements From The Tu-144LL Structure/Cabin Noise Follow-On Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rizzi, Stephen A.; Rackl, Robert G.; Andrianov, Eduard V.

2000-01-01

This follow-on flight experiment on the TU-144LL Supersonic Flying Laboratory, conducted during the period September 1998 to April 1999, was a continuation of previous Structure/Cabin Noise Experiment 2.1. Data was obtained over a wide range of altitudes and Mach numbers. Measured were: turbulent boundary layer pressure fluctuations on the fuselage over its length; structural response on skin panels using accelerometers; and flow direction over three windows using 'flow cones'. The effect of steps in the flow was also measured using two window blank pairs; each pair bridged by a plate which created small sharp forward and aft facing steps. The effect of transducer flushness with the exterior surface was also measured during flight. Height test points were chosen to cover much of the TU-144's flight envelope, as well as to obtain as large a unit Reynolds number range as possible at various Mach numbers: takeoff, subsonic, transonic, and supersonic cruise conditions up to Mach 2. Data on engine runups and background noise were acquired on the ground. The data in the form of time histories of the acoustic signals, together with auxiliary data and basic MATLAB processing modules, are available on CD-R disks.

Estimation of Handling Qualities Parameters of the Tu-144 Supersonic Transport Aircraft from Flight Test Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curry, Timothy J.; Batterson, James G. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Low order equivalent system (LOES) models for the Tu-144 supersonic transport aircraft were identified from flight test data. The mathematical models were given in terms of transfer functions with a time delay by the military standard MIL-STD-1797A, "Flying Qualities of Piloted Aircraft," and the handling qualities were predicted from the estimated transfer function coefficients. The coefficients and the time delay in the transfer functions were estimated using a nonlinear equation error formulation in the frequency domain. Flight test data from pitch, roll, and yaw frequency sweeps at various flight conditions were used for parameter estimation. Flight test results are presented in terms of the estimated parameter values, their standard errors, and output fits in the time domain. Data from doublet maneuvers at the same flight conditions were used to assess the predictive capabilities of the identified models. The identified transfer function models fit the measured data well and demonstrated good prediction capabilities. The Tu-144 was predicted to be between level 2 and 3 for all longitudinal maneuvers and level I for all lateral maneuvers. High estimates of the equivalent time delay in the transfer function model caused the poor longitudinal rating.

DNA methylation of miRNA-encoding genes in non-small cell lung cancer patients.

PubMed

Heller, Gerwin; Altenberger, Corinna; Steiner, Irene; Topakian, Thais; Ziegler, Barbara; Tomasich, Erwin; Lang, György; End-Pfützenreuter, Adelheid; Zehetmayer, Sonja; Döme, Balazs; Arns, Britt-Madeleine; Klepetko, Walter; Zielinski, Christoph C; Zöchbauer-Müller, Sabine

2018-03-23

De-regulated DNA methylation leading to transcriptional inactivation of certain genes occurs frequently in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). Besides protein-encoding genes also microRNA (miRNA)-encoding genes may be targets for methylation in NSCLCs, however, the number of known methylated miRNA genes is still small. Thus, we investigated methylation of miRNA genes in primary tumours (TU) and corresponding non-malignant lung tissue samples (NL) of 50 NSCLC patients using methylated DNA immunoprecipitation followed by custom designed tiling microarray analyses (MeDIP-chip) and 252 differentially methylated probes between TU and NL samples were identified. These probes were annotated which resulted in the identification of 34 miRNA-encoding genes with increased methylation in TU specimens. While some of these miRNA-encoding genes were already known to be methylated in NSCLCs (e.g. miR-9-3, miR-124), methylation of the vast majority of them was unknown so far. We selected six miRNA genes (miR-10b, miR-1179, miR-137, miR-572, miR-3150b and miR-129-2) for gene-specific methylation analyses in TU and corresponding NL samples of 104 NSCLC patients and observed a statistically significant increase of methylation of these miRNA genes in TU samples (p<0.0001, respectively). In silico target prediction of the six miRNAs identified several oncogenic/cell proliferation promoting factors (e.g. CCNE1 as miR-1179 target). To investigate if miR-1179 indeed targets CCNE1, we transfected miR-1179 mimics into CCNE1 expressing NSCLC cells and observed down-regulated CCNE1 mRNA expression in these cells compared to control cells. Similar effects on Cyclin E1 expression were seen in Western blot analyses. In addition, we found a statistically significant growth reduction of NSCLC cells transfected with miR-1179 mimics compared to control cells. In conclusion, we identified many methylated miRNA genes in NSCLC patients and found that miR-1179 is a potential tumour cell growth suppressor in NSCLCs. Overall, our findings emphasize the impact of miRNA gene methylation on the pathogenesis of NSCLCs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Hybrid activated sludge/biofilm process for the treatment of municipal wastewater in a cold climate region: a case study.

PubMed

Di Trapani, Daniele; Christensso, Magnus; Odegaard, Hallvard

2011-01-01

A hybrid activated sludge/biofilm process was investigated for wastewater treatment in a cold climate region. This process, which contains both suspended biomass and biofilm, usually referred as IFAS process, is created by introducing plastic elements as biofilm carrier media into a conventional activated sludge reactor. In the present study, a hybrid process, composed of an activated sludge and a moving bed biofilm reactor was used. The aim of this paper has been to investigate the performances of a hybrid process, and in particular to gain insight the nitrification process, when operated at relatively low MLSS SRT and low temperatures. The results of a pilot-scale study carried out at the Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim are presented. The experimental campaign was divided into two periods. The pilot plant was first operated with a constant HRT of 4.5 hours, while in the second period the influent flow was increased so that HRT was 3.5 hours. The average temperature was near 11.5°C in the overall experimental campaign. The average mixed liquor SRT was 5.7 days. Batch tests on both carriers and suspended biomass were performed in order to evaluate the nitrification rate of the two different biomasses. The results demonstrated that this kind of reactor can efficiently be used for the upgrading of conventional activated sludge plant for achieving year-round nitrification, also in presence of low temperatures, and without the need of additional volumes.

Alternative Fuels Research Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Surgenor, Angela D.; Klettlinger, Jennifer L.; Nakley, Leah M.; Yen, Chia H.

2012-01-01

NASA Glenn has invested over $1.5 million in engineering, and infrastructure upgrades to renovate an existing test facility at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), which is now being used as an Alternative Fuels Laboratory. Facility systems have demonstrated reliability and consistency for continuous and safe operations in Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) synthesis and thermal stability testing. This effort is supported by the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Subsonic Fixed Wing project. The purpose of this test facility is to conduct bench scale F-T catalyst screening experiments. These experiments require the use of a synthesis gas feedstock, which will enable the investigation of F-T reaction kinetics, product yields and hydrocarbon distributions. Currently the facility has the capability of performing three simultaneous reactor screening tests, along with a fourth fixed-bed reactor for catalyst activation studies. Product gas composition and performance data can be continuously obtained with an automated gas sampling system, which directly connects the reactors to a micro-gas chromatograph (micro GC). Liquid and molten product samples are collected intermittently and are analyzed by injecting as a diluted sample into designated gas chromatograph units. The test facility also has the capability of performing thermal stability experiments of alternative aviation fuels with the use of a Hot Liquid Process Simulator (HLPS) (Ref. 1) in accordance to ASTM D 3241 "Thermal Oxidation Stability of Aviation Fuels" (JFTOT method) (Ref. 2). An Ellipsometer will be used to study fuel fouling thicknesses on heated tubes from the HLPS experiments. A detailed overview of the test facility systems and capabilities are described in this paper.