bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
First detection ofBursaphelenchus luxuriosaeassociated withPinus pinasterin Portugal and in Europe
Authors: Inácio M. L. , Nóbrega F. , Mota M. , Vieira P.
Published: July 2016

During a field survey carried out on symptomatic maritime pine trees (Pinus pinaster) in Góis, central Portugal,Bursaphelenchus luxuriosaewas isolated for the first time in Portugal, and in Europe. Identification of the nematodes was based on morphological characters and molecular analyses for this species. The general morphology of both females and males is in agreement with the original description forB. luxuriosae,namely the typical morphology of the male spicules and the conspicuous morphology of female tail. Species identification was confirmed through sequencing of theITS rDNAregion and the fragment spanning the D2/D3 domain of the 28SrDNAgene. This species belongs to thexylophilus‐group and is the third species in this group known in Portugal. The nematodes were retrieved in small numbers (<100 nematodes/100 g dry wood), and no insect vector association could be established.
The effect of early life status epilepticus on ultrasonic vocalizations in mice
Authors: Reynolds Conner D. , Smith Gregory , Jefferson Taylor , Lugo Joaquin N.
Published: July 2016

Objective

Infant crying is a series of innate vocal patterns intended to elicit the attention of adult caregivers for fulfillment of specific needs such as pain, hunger, or hypostimulation. It is one of the earliest forms of observable communication. In neonatal rodents, this behavior has recently been investigated as a potential early behavioral marker of neural deficits in neurodevelopmental disorders. However, few studies have examined the effects of seizures on vocalization behavior during the neonatal period. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of a single kainate‐induced early life seizure on vocalization behavior in mice. This study also investigates the subsequent effect of seizures on two pathways critical for early neural development and epileptogenesis: the phosphoinositide 3‐kinase|serine/threonine kinase|mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K‐Akt‐mTOR) and canonical (Wingless‐Int Wnt) intracellular signaling pathways.

Methods

On postnatal day 10, male and female 129SvEvTac mice received a single intraperitoneal injection of kainic acid (2.5 mg/kg) or vehicle injection. The kainate administration resulted in 1–2 h of status epilepticus. On postnatal days 11 and 12, the quantity and duration of isolation‐induced ultrasonic vocalizations were recorded. Western blotting analyses were performed using male and female pups on postnatal day 12.

Results

There was significant, male‐specific suppression in the quantity and total duration of 50‐kHz calls on postnatal day 12 following seizures. The hippocampi of male mice on this postnatal day also revealed male‐specific changes in the PI3K‐Akt‐mTOR intracellular signaling pathway, as well as changes in phosphorylated fragile × mental retardation protein.

Significance

These findings demonstrate that early life seizures can disrupt communication behavior in neonatal mice.
Molecular biosignatures reveal common benthic microbial sources of organic matter in ooids and grapestones from Pigeon Cay, The Bahamas
Authors: O'Reilly S. S. , Mariotti G. , Winter A. R. , Newman S. A. , Matys E. D. , McDermott F. , Pruss S. B. , Bosak T. , Summons R. E. , Klepac‐Ceraj V.
Published: July 2016

Ooids are sedimentary grains that are distributed widely in the geologic record. Their formation is still actively debated, which limits our understanding of the significance and meaning of these grains in Earth's history. Central questions include the role played by microbes in the formation of ooids and the sources of ubiquitous organic matter within ooid cortices. To address these issues, we investigated the microbial community composition and associated lipids in modern oolitic sands at Pigeon Cay on Cat Island, The Bahamas. Surface samples were taken along a transect from the shallow, turbulent surf zone to calmer, deeper water. Grains transitioned from shiny and abraded ooids in the surf zone, to biofilm‐coated ooids at about 3 m water depth. Further offshore, grapestones (cemented aggregates of ooids) dominated. Benthic diatoms and Proteobacteria dominated biofilms. Taxa that may promote carbonate precipitation were abundant, particularly those associated with sulfur cycling. Compared to the lipids associated with surface biofilms, relict lipids bound within carbonate exhibited remarkably similar profiles in all grain types. The enhanced abundance of methyl‐branched fatty acids and β‐hydroxy fatty acids, 1‐O‐monoalkyl glycerol ethers and hopanoids bound within ooid and grapestone carbonate confirms a clear association of benthic sedimentary bacteria with these grains. Lipids bound within ooid cortices also contain molecular indicators of microbial heterotrophic degradation of organic matter, possibly in locally reducing conditions. These included the loss of labile unsaturated fatty acids, enhanced long‐chain fatty acids/short‐chain fatty acids, enriched stable carbon isotopes ratios of fatty acids, and very high stanol/stenol ratios. To what extent some of these molecular signals are derived from later heterotrophic endolithic activity remains to be fully resolved. We speculate that some ooid carbonate forms in microbial biofilms and that early diagenetic degradation of biofilms may also play a role in early stage carbonate precipitation around ooids.
Thermal growth potential of Atlantic cod by the end of the 21st century
Authors: Butzin Martin , Pörtner Hans‐Otto
Published: July 2016

Ocean warming may lead to smaller body sizes of marine ectotherms, because metabolic rates increase exponentially with temperature while the capacity of the cardiorespiratory system to match enhanced oxygen demands is limited. Here, we explore the impact of rising sea water temperatures on Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), an economically important fish species. We focus on changes in the temperature‐dependent growth potential by a transfer function model combining growth observations with climate model ensemble temperatures. Growth potential is expressed in terms of asymptotic body weight and depends on water temperature. We consider changes between the periods 1985–2004 and 2081–2100, assuming that future sea water temperatures will evolve according to climate projections for IPCC AR5 scenario RCP8.5. Our model projects a response of Atlantic cod to future warming, differentiated according to ocean regions, leading to increases of asymptotic weight in the Barents Sea, while weights are projected to decline at the southern margin of the biogeographic range. Southern spawning areas will disappear due to thermal limitation of spawning stages. These projections match the currently observed biogeographic shifts and the temperature‐ and oxygen‐dependent decline in routine aerobic scope at southern distribution limits.
Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Extruded Sorghum‐Based Bean Analog
Authors: Adedeji Akinbode A. , Joseph Michael V. , Plattner Brian , Alavi Sajid
Published: July 2016

The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the physicochemical and functional properties of a bean like product made from cold extrusion of sorghum, soy and wheat flours. Formulated samples comprised of sorghum (25–70%), wheat (0–35%) and soy (30–50%) flours. The degree of gelatinization ranged from 54.1 to 93.6%. Pasting curves showed minimal starch damage with peak and final viscosities in the range of 456.0–1138.5 and 297–584 cP, respectively. Textural properties of the extrudates were significantly impacted by starch content and cooking time. There was significant cooking loss due to poor binding properties of the extrudates. Cooking the product for 30 min after 2 h soaking gave comparable hardness to cooked navy bean. Texture profile analysis showed that mostly starch‐based ingredients contributed to hardness and cohesiveness, while formulations high in protein showed increased adhesiveness and gumminess.

Practical Applications

This study addressed a major gap in access to sufficient nutrient in navy beans, a common staple, the processability subject, and offers a novel approach to addressing them. Beans are common staple in many regions where malnutrition is prevalent, and some types of beans take long to cook to a texture acceptable due to changes during storage. Reforming beans using extrusion allows manipulation of ingredients that can help to address deficiencies in nutrient, flatulence and the “hard to cook” characteristics seen in some beans. Bean analog, as we refer to extruded bean in this study, is a major mechanism for nutrient delivery which has the potential to help address macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies in diets of people where beans is a staple.
Modeling Heat Transfer During Blanching of Cubic Particles of Loche (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) and Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Using Finite Difference Method
Authors: Mauricio Vidaurre‐Ruiz Julio , Francisco Salas‐Valerio Walter
Published: July 2016

The aim of this study was to model heat transfer during blanching of cubic particles of loche (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) and potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). The model included the variation of thermal properties based on temperature and the solution of the model was implemented by explicit finite difference method. Cube particles of 1 × 1 × 1 cm3, 2 × 2 × 2 cm3, and 3 × 3 × 3 cm3 were subjected to blanching at temperatures of 70, 80, and 90°C, each one, for 5 min. The heat transfer coefficient (h) was determined experimentally during heating of different sizes of aluminum cubes. The variation of the thermal diffusivity (α) was also determined according to the temperature increase, finding the minimum and maximum value of (α) for loche were: 1.55–1.61 × 10−7 m2 s−1 and for potato were: 1.40–1.46 × 10−7 m2 s−1. A computer program in Visual Basic language was developed. The program includes the variation of the thermal diffusivity with respect to the increase of temperature with a second degree polynomial function. Experimental temperature profiles were compared with simulated ones, showing that an efficient convergence was achieved (RMSE: 0.329–5.119°C) for cubic particle of both vegetables.

Practical Applications

The explicit finite difference scheme in three‐dimensions (3D) developed in this research can be used to simulate heat transfer during heating of cubic particles of vegetables with variable thermal properties. Thermal properties of Loche (peruvian pumpkin) was reported for the first time and can be used for design and optimization of processes involving heating.
The Price of the Calling: Exploring Clergy Compensation Using Current Population Survey Data
Authors: Schleifer Cyrus , Chaves Mark
Published: July 2016

Previous research shows that clergy make less money than others with similar levels of education. We use Current Population Survey data to offer five contributions to knowledge about clergy compensation. First, we document and take into account the shift in clergy compensation from the provision of free housing to the payment of housing allowances. Second, although the clergy earnings disadvantage appears to have increased over the last 40 years relative to their educational peers, the picture changes when we exclude the highest income occupations. Clergy have lost ground to doctors, lawyers, and investment bankers, but they have gained ground relative to everyone else. Third, these gains are largely because of decline in the number of hours clergy report working. Fourth, we show that clergy working in churches earn less than clergy working elsewhere. Fifth, we document immediate wage penalties for those who become clergy and, among clergy, for those who begin to work in congregations. Overall, although clergy still earn less than comparable workers, their position has improved in recent decades relative to all but the highest earning occupations.
Radiation Recall Dermatitis Secondary to Dactinomycin
Authors: Prindaville Brea , Horii Kimberly A. , Canty Kristi M.
Published: July 2016

Radiation recall dermatitis (RRD) is an uncommon reaction typically triggered by the use of chemotherapeutic agents in the months after treatment with radiation therapy. It usually presents as dermatitis in the irradiated field with prominent intertriginous involvement, and because internal involvement occurs in up to one‐third of cases, early recognition is important. RRD has rarely been reported in the pediatric literature. We report the case of a 15‐month‐old boy with RRD to dactinomycin.
Startle amplitude during unpleasant pictures is greater in veterans with a history of multiple‐suicide attempts and predicts a future suicide attempt
Authors: Hazlett Erin A. , Blair Nicholas J. , Fernandez Nicolas , Mascitelli Kathryn , Perez‐Rodriguez M. Mercedes , New Antonia S. , Goetz Raymond R. , Goodman Marianne
Published: July 2016

Recent studies demonstrate that veterans exhibit higher suicide risk compared with the general U.S. population. A prior suicide attempt is a well‐documented predictor of suicide death. Despite increased attention to clinical risk factors of suicide and efforts to develop psychosocial interventions to reduce suicide risk, the underlying biological factors that confer this risk are not well understood. This study examined affect‐modulated startle (AMS) during a series of intermixed unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant pictures in a sample of 108 demographically‐matched veterans at low (passive ideators: n = 26) and high risk (active ideators: n = 29; single attempters: n = 28; and multiple attempters: n = 25) for suicide based on the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale. An exploratory aim involved a longitudinal component in a subset of the high‐risk sample that went on to participate in a randomized 6‐month clinical trial. We investigated whether baseline AMS predicts a subsequent suicide attempt at 12‐month follow‐up. Compared with the other three groups, multiple attempters showed greater startle potentiation during unpleasant pictures and deficient overall startle habituation from early to later trials. The groups did not differ in startle during neutral or pleasant pictures, or self‐reported picture valence. Greater startle during unpleasant pictures was associated with greater emotion dysregulation as measured by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and a future suicide attempt assessed prospectively at 12‐month follow‐up. These findings suggest that startle potentiation during unpleasant pictures in multiple‐suicide attempters is a promising psychophysiological biomarker of suicide risk and underscore the clinical importance of targeting emotion dysregulation in the treatment of patients at‐risk for suicide.
Evaluating strategies for facilitating native plant establishment in northern Nevada crested wheatgrass seedings
Authors: McAdoo J. Kent , Swanson John C. , Murphy Peter J. , Shaw Nancy L.
Published: July 2016

Non‐native crested wheatgrasses (Agropyron cristatum and A. desertorum) were used historically within the Great Basin for the purpose of competing with weed species and increasing livestock forage. These species continue to be used in some areas, especially after wildfires occurring in low elevation/precipitation, formerly Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis)/herbaceous communities. Seeding native species in these sites is often unsuccessful, and lack of establishment results in invasion and site dominance by exotic annuals. However, crested wheatgrass often forms dense monocultures that interfere competitively with the establishment of desirable native vegetation and do not provide the plant structure and habitat diversity for wildlife species equivalent to native‐dominated sagebrush plant communities. During a 5‐year study, we conducted trials to evaluate chemical and mechanical methods for reducing crested wheatgrass and the effectiveness of seeding native species into these sites after crested wheatgrass suppression. We determined that discing treatments were ineffective in reducing crested wheatgrass cover and even increased crested wheatgrass density in some cases. Glyphosate treatments initially reduced crested wheatgrass cover, but weeds increased in many treated plots and seeded species diminished over time as crested wheatgrass recovered. We concluded that, although increases in native species could possibly be obtained by repeating crested wheatgrass control treatments, reducing crested wheatgrass opens a window for invasion by exotic weed species.
Retail Payment Innovations and Cash usage: Accounting for Attrition by using Refreshment Samples
Authors: Chen Heng , Felt Marie-Hélène , Huynh Kim P.
Published: July 2016

Contactless credit cards and stored value cards are touted as a fast and convenient method of payment to replace cash at the point of sale. Cross-sectional approaches find a large effect of these retail payment innovations on cash usage (around 10%). Using a semiparametric panel model that accounts for unobserved heterogeneity and general forms of attrition, we find no significant effect for contactless credit cards and only a 2% reduction in cash usage stemming from single-purpose stored value cards. These results point to the uneven pace of payment innovation diffusion.
Appropriate targeting of artemisinin‐based combination therapy by community health workers using malaria rapid diagnostic tests: findings from randomized trials in two contrasting areas of high and low malaria transmission in south‐western Uganda
Authors: Ndyomugyenyi Richard , Magnussen Pascal , Lal Sham , Hansen Kristian , Clarke Siân E.
Published: July 2016

Objective

To compare the impact of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs), used by community health workers (CHWs), on the proportion of children <5 years of age receiving appropriately targeted treatment with artemisinin‐based combination therapy (ACT), vs. presumptive treatment.

Methods

Cluster‐randomized trials were conducted in two contrasting areas of moderate‐to‐high and low malaria transmission in rural Uganda. Each trial examined the effectiveness of mRDTs in the management of malaria and targeting of ACTs by CHWs comparing two diagnostic approaches: (i) presumptive clinical diagnosis of malaria [control arm] and (ii) confirmatory diagnosis with mRDTs followed by ACT treatment for positive patients [intervention arm], with village as the unit of randomisation. Treatment decisions by CHWs were validated by microscopy on a reference blood slide collected at the time of consultation, to compare the proportion of children <5 years receiving appropriately targeted ACT treatment, defined as patients with microscopically‐confirmed presence of parasites in a peripheral blood smear receiving artemether‐lumefantrine or rectal artesunate, and patients with no malaria parasites not given ACT.

Results

In the moderate‐to‐high transmission area, ACT treatment was appropriately targeted in 79.3% (520/656) of children seen by CHWs using mRDTs to diagnose malaria, vs. 30.8% (215/699) of children seen by CHWs using presumptive diagnosis (P < 0.001). In the low transmission area, 90.1% (363/403) children seen by CHWs using mRDTs received appropriately targeted ACT treatment vs. 7.8% (64/817) seen by CHWs using presumptive diagnosis (P < 0.001). Low mRDT sensitivity in children with low‐density parasitaemia (<200 parasites/μl) was identified as a potential concern.

Conclusion

When equipped with mRDTs, ACT treatments delivered by CHWs are more accurately targeted to children with malaria parasites. mRDT use could play an important role in reducing overdiagnosis of malaria and improving fever case management within iCCM, in both moderate‐to‐high and low transmission areas. Nonetheless, missed treatments due to the low sensitivity of current mRDTs in patients with low parasite density are a concern. For community‐based treatment in areas of low transmission and/or non‐immune populations, presumptive treatment of all fevers as malaria may be advisable, until more sensitive diagnostic assays, suitable for routine use by CHWs in remote settings, become available.
Preliminary evaluation of a gel tube agglutination major cross‐match method in dogs
Authors: Villarnovo Dania , Burton Shelley A. , Horney Barbara S. , MacKenzie Allan L. , Vanderstichel Raphaël
Published: July 2016

Background

A major cross‐match gel tube test is available for use in dogs yet has not been clinically evaluated.

Objectives

This study compared cross‐match results obtained using the gel tube and the standard tube methods for canine samples.

Methods

Study 1 included 107 canine sample donor–recipient pairings cross‐match tested with the RapidVet‐H method gel tube test and compared results with the standard tube method. Additionally, 120 pairings using pooled sera containing anti‐canine erythrocyte antibody at various concentrations were tested with leftover blood from a hospital population to assess sensitivity and specificity of the gel tube method in comparison with the standard method.

Results

The gel tube method had a good relative specificity of 96.1% in detecting lack of agglutination (compatibility) compared to the standard tube method. Agreement between the 2 methods was moderate. Nine of 107 pairings showed agglutination/incompatibility on either test, too few to allow reliable calculation of relative sensitivity. Fifty percent of the gel tube method results were difficult to interpret due to sample spreading in the reaction and/or negative control tubes.

Conclusions

The RapidVet‐H method agreed with the standard cross‐match method on compatible samples, but detected incompatibility in some sample pairs that were compatible with the standard method. Evaluation using larger numbers of incompatible pairings is needed to assess diagnostic utility. The gel tube method results were difficult to categorize due to sample spreading. Weak agglutination reactions or other factors such as centrifuge model may be responsible.
ESTABLISHING AN OPTIMAL QUALITY PLANNING DECISION THROUGH DISCRETE EVENT SIMULATION: ANALYSIS CASE STUDY
Authors: Abd Suki Nur Syazwani , Hoay Yee Ong , Kamaruddin Shahrul , Abu Bakar Elmi
Published: July 2016

Random in-process quality control (IPQC) is conducted in one of the departments in a circuit board manufacturing company, Company A, which produces high-mixed products, and results in complete failure of ensuring the quality of parts produced. Consequently, defects occur on the parts produced, leading to high rejection rate. This high rejection rate eventually results in high cost of non-value-added activities, which include rework of rejected parts. This paper introduces quality planning to ensure the quality of work-in-progress (WIP) parts in the production with discrete event simulation (DES) software. A series of experiments is conducted by using varying parameters, including flow patterns of parts in the shop floor and number of IPQC inspector, to assess the significance of these parameters on the performance measures relevant to quality perspective. Statistical analysis is conducted on the simulation results via ANOVA. Findings from this research prove that varying the parameters has a significant effect on the performance measures.
MULTIPLE TIME-SCALES NONLINEAR PREDICTION OF RIVER FLOW USING CHAOS APPROACH
Authors: Adenan Nur Hamiza , Md Noorani Mohd Salmi
Published: July 2016

River flow prediction is important in determining the amount of water in certain areas to ensure sufficient water resources to meet the demand. Hence, an analysis and prediction of multiple time-scales data for daily, weekly and 10-day averaged time series were performed using chaos approach. An analysis was conducted at the Tanjung Tualang station, Malaysia. This method involved the reconstruction of a single variable in a multi-dimensional phase space. River flow prediction was performed using local linear approximation. The prediction result is close to agreement with a high correlation coefficient for each time scale. The analysis suggests that the presence of low dimensional chaos as an optimal embedding dimension exists when the inverse method is adopted. In addition, a comparison of the prediction performance of chaos approach, autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM) and least squares support vector machines (LSSVM) were performed. The comparative analysis shows that all methods provide comparable predictions. However, chaos approach provides a simpler means of analysis since it only use a scalar time series (river flow data). Therefore, the relevant authorities may use this prediction result for the creation of a water management system for local benefit.
FLUVIAL PROCESSES IN COMPOUND STRAIGHT CHANNELS: A LABORATORY INVESTIGATION
Authors: Jumain Mazlin , Ibrahim Zukiflee , Ismail Zulhilmi , Makhtar Md Ridzuan , Abd Rahman Mohd Suhaimi , Miran Norain Syakira , Md Khairi Siti Shafiqah
Published: July 2016

Floods are become frequent occurrence in every part of the world. The field of flood hydraulics has been keenly studied to enhance the understanding on its processes and impacts to the environment. The main impacts of frequent floods incidents are soil erosion phenomenon which leads to sedimentation problems in the drainage and river systems. It is extremely important to understand the sedimentation process and the flow behaviour patterns in the water course for post-flood events. Experimental investigations on the overbank flow in mobile bed straight channels have been undertaken. Significant changes on the bed morphology due to the changes in flow behaviour are studied. The findings on roughness coefficient, lateral distribution of stream-wise velocity, secondary currents, bed shear stress and bed formation are presented in this paper. Results show that the resistance coefficient increased with flow depth in the channel and the increments are about 32% and 42% for floodplain and main channel sections respectively.
A NEW MINIMAL PART BREAKUP BODY-IN-WHITE DESIGN APPROACH AND OPTIMIZED MATERIAL MAP STRENGTH ASSESSMENT
Authors: Rajasekaran Mohan , Hari Ram V. , Subramanian M.
Published: July 2016

Body-in-White (BIW) is the Car Body without additional subsystems. Automakers are trying hard to reduce the mass of the vehicle body. The efficient option is to use multi materials and minimal number of parts in the BIW, in order to meet the stiffness requirements considering different load cases. Bending Analysis and Torsion Stiffness Analysis was performed to understand and assess the structural performance of the BIW. This paper presents the new BIW architecture with minimal number of parts, with an effective load path for the Structural and Crash load cases. Structural bending and torsion stiffness of the BIW were performed to evaluate the stiffness of the BIW to meet the passenger segment car.  The methodology of using different materials for upper and under body has been investigated with the alternatives as Aluminium and Magnesium. BIW was analysed with Steel under body and Magnesium or Aluminium upper body. The Torsion stiffness of Steel/Magnesium BIW was found to be better than Steel/Aluminium BIW. The design concept with Steel underbody and Magnesium upper body was giving lighter weight design with better structural stiffness as compared to the Steel/Aluminium body. This approach of modifying the materials for the upper body of the BIW can be considered as lightweight solutions in other Conceptual BIW designs.
SHORT TERM DURABILITY OF STEEL-STRAP CONFINED CONCRETE
Authors: Lee Hoong Pin , Awang Abdullah Zawawi , Omar Wahid
Published: July 2016

Steel strapping tensioning technique (SSTT) confinement has been proven as a type of external confinement to retrofit and upgrade concrete structures. Their remarkable enhancement to concrete mechanical properties, practicing active lateral confinement, low cost, easy to operate, time saving and no structure interruption during application have brought this technique as of the most affordable technique for column confinement, especially for high strength concrete (HSC) which naturally behaves insufficient in ductility. Although a great number of previous studies have demonstrated the performance of SSTT confinement, there are several anxieties related to the long term behaviour of SSTT confined columns which have yet been implemented especially in real hostile condition. Environmental effects, such as ultraviolet radiation exposure and saline solution (sea water) may affect the confining material properties, and therefore decrease the performance of the confined columns. In this study a total of twenty HSC specimens with dimension of 100 mm and 200 mm in diameter and height respectively were prepared, volumetric-identically pre-tensioned with steel strap and exposed to three conditions: indoor, outdoor and saline water for three months. The exposed specimens were monotonically tested and their performance was studied through the stress-strain relationship, mode of failure and degree of corrosion. The results show that none of the forenamed environmental conditions have exaggerating influence on the performance of the SSTT confined concrete specimens even some material has been severely corroded. It is then parallel compared with existing FRP confinement studies and the result proves that SSTT confinement able to possess the highest strength performance under similar environmental exposure.
LEACHING BEHAVIOUR OF Cs-134 IMMOBILISED IN CEMENT-BIOCHAR MATRIX
Authors: Laili Zalina , Yasir Muhammad Samudi , Yusof Mohd Abd Wahab
Published: July 2016

The leaching behavior of cesium -134 (Cs-134) from cement mixed with 5%, 11% and 18% of biochar has been investigated accordance with the ANSI/ANS 16.1-2003 method. The leachate was collected and measured using gamma spectrometry after the leaching periods of 2 h, 7 h, 24 h, 14 days, 28 days, 43 days and 90 days. In order to evaluate the leaching behavior of Cs-134 from cement biochar matrix, the cumulative leach fraction, leaching rate, diffusion coefficient and leachability index for Cs-134 were calculated. The compressive strength of the specimen after 90 days of leaching test was also performed to evaluate its durability in the water. The results indicated that the addition of biochar affects the leaching behavior of Cs-134 from the cement matrix. The optimum amount of biochar required to obtain the lowest leachability and the highest compressive strength of Cs-134 was found to be at 11%. The leaching of Cs-134 from cement-biochar matrix was found less than 20%, in which the leaching behavior approximates that of a semi-infinite medium. The leachabilty indices of all specimens were above the recommend minimum value of 6, which suggest the leaching behavior of Cs-134 from cement-biochar matrix occurred in a very slow diffusion.
SELF-CLEANING TiO2-SiO2 CLUSTERS ON COTTON TEXTILE PREPARED BY DIP-SPIN COATING PROCESS
Authors: Rilda Yetria , Fadhli Fadhli , Syukri Syukri , Alif Admin , Aziz Hermansyah , Chandren Sheela , Nur Hadi
Published: July 2016

Titanium-silica (TiO2-SiO2), a type of semiconductor metal oxide cluster compound, has been widely used as oxidative catalysts and dye agents. In this research, TiO2-SiO2 on cotton textile has been utilized as self-cleaning agents by cross linking with acrylic acid compound. The clusters of TiO2-SiO2 was modified by a series of Ti:Si molar compositions, i.e. 1:1; 2:1 and 1:2. The successful modification of the cotton textile’s fiber surface was confirmed with an increase in mass. The FTIR spectra displayed an intense peak at 1700 cm–1, indicating the presence of carboxyl functional groups for both the coated cottons with and without TiO2-SiO2­ coating. SEM-EDX characterization showed that the TiO2-SiO2 clusters was homogeneously distributed on the cotton. The self-cleaning performance of TiO2-SiO2 coated cotton textile was evaluated in the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye and examined with UV light (120 min). Results showed that TiO2-SiO2 coated cotton with Ti:Si molar ratio of 1:2, which was prepared by dip-spin coating in acrylic acid with 24 h of soaking time, achieved the best self-cleaning effect in the degradation of methylene blue.
HTTR Demonstration Program for Nuclear Cogeneration of Hydrogen and Electricity
Authors: Sato Hiroyuki , Yan Xing L. , Sumita Junya , Terada Atsuhiko , Tachibana Yukio
Published: July 2016

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) initiated a high-temperature engineering test reactor (HTTR) demonstration program in accordance with recommendations of a task force established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology according to the Strategic Energy Plan as of April 2014. This paper explains the outline of the HTTR demonstration program with a plant concept of the heat application system directed at establishing a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) cogeneration system with 950°C reactor outlet temperature for production of power and hydrogen as recommended by the task force. A commercial deployment strategy including a development plan for the helium gas turbine is also presented.
Entrance Region Heat Transfer in a Channel With a Ribbed Wall
Authors: Matsubara Koji , Ohta Hiroyuki , Miura Takahiro
Published: July 2016

Direct numerical simulation was performed for the heat transfer of airflow in the entrance region of a channel with repeated rib protrusions. The rib-pitch to rib-height ratio (Pi/H) was increased from 2.0 to 16.0 by four steps. The rib-height ratio (H/δ) was maintained constant at 0.20. The distribution of heat transfer coefficient numerically simulated agreed with the experiment by Kattchee and Mackewicz (1963, “Effects of Boundary Layer Turbulence Promoters on the Local Film Coefficients of ML-1 Fuel Elements,” Nucl. Sci. Eng., 16, pp. 31–38). The enhancement parameter was used to evaluate the heat transfer performance by a ribbed channel. This parameter was defined as the ratio of the mean Nusselt number for the ribbed channel against the smooth channel consuming the same pumping power. The simulation result revealed that the enhancement parameter was maximized for Pi/H = 2 to 4 over the upstream ribs (x/δ < 2) and was remained high for Pi/H = 4, 8, and 16 over the downstream ribs (x/δ > 4). Therefore, the optimal rib pitch was smaller for the upstream ribs, and increased to the developed region. The mechanisms underlying this trend were discussed through observation of the streamlines, mean temperature, turbulence statistics, and instantaneous structures. The turbulence was increased over the ribbed wall for the cases of medium to wide rib pitch (Pi/H = 4, 8, and 16), whereas the turbulence increase appeared only over the upstream ribs (x/δ < 2) for the cases of narrow rib pitch (Pi/H = 2). The excellent performance of the wider rib pitch (Pi/H = 4, 8, and 16) at the downstream ribs (x/δ > 2) was resulted from the turbulence increase activating the turbulent heat transport. Whereas, the superiority by the narrower rib pitch (Pi/H = 2, 4) comes from the turbulence activation, and the renewed thin boundary layer which continues due to the densely allocated ribs.
High-Flux Thermal Management With Supercritical Fluids
Authors: Fronk Brian M. , Rattner Alexander S.
Published: July 2016

A novel thermal management approach is explored, which uses supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as a working fluid to manage extreme heat fluxes in electronics cooling applications. In the pseudocritical region, sCO2 has extremely high volumetric thermal capacity, which can enable operation with low pumping requirements, and without the potential for two-phase critical heat flux (CHF) and flow instabilities. A model of a representative microchannel heat sink is evaluated with single-phase liquid water and FC-72, two-phase boiling R-134a, and sCO2. For a fixed pumping power, sCO2 is found to yield lower heat-sink wall temperatures than liquid coolants. Practical engineering challenges for supercritical thermal management systems are discussed, including the limits of predictive heat transfer models, narrow operating temperature ranges, high working pressures, and pump design criteria. Based on these findings, sCO2 is a promising candidate working fluid for cooling high heat flux electronics, but additional thermal transport research and engineering are needed before practical systems can be realized.
Predictions of Temperature and Pressure Fields Due to Collapse of a Bubble in Sulfuric Acid Solution Under Ultrasound
Authors: Alhelfi Ali , Sundén Bengt
Published: July 2016

A gas bubble under the influence of an ultrasonic field so strong to destroy any material due to high pressures and temperatures reached during the collapse is the topic of the present paper. In the current work, simulations have been performed to describe the radial dynamics of a gas (argon) bubble being strongly forced to periodic oscillation in a highly viscous liquid like aqueous sulfuric acid solution. The basic equations for nonlinear bubble oscillation in a sound field are given, together with a survey of some important existing studies. The hydrodynamics forces acting on the bubble are taken into account to consider the bubble dynamics under the action of a sound wave. The theory permits one to predict correctly the bubble radius–time behavior and the characteristics of a microsize bubble in sulfuric acid solutions, such as the peak temperature and pressure fields generated at this occasion.
Development of a Subject-Specific Foot-Ground Contact Model for Walking
Authors: Jackson Jennifer N. , Hass Chris J. , Fregly Benjamin J.
Published: July 2016

Computational walking simulations could facilitate the development of improved treatments for clinical conditions affecting walking ability. Since an effective treatment is likely to change a patient's foot-ground contact pattern and timing, such simulations should ideally utilize deformable foot-ground contact models tailored to the patient's foot anatomy and footwear. However, no study has reported a deformable modeling approach that can reproduce all six ground reaction quantities (expressed as three reaction force components, two center of pressure (CoP) coordinates, and a free reaction moment) for an individual subject during walking. This study proposes such an approach for use in predictive optimizations of walking. To minimize complexity, we modeled each foot as two rigid segments—a hindfoot (HF) segment and a forefoot (FF) segment—connected by a pin joint representing the toes flexion–extension axis. Ground reaction forces (GRFs) and moments acting on each segment were generated by a grid of linear springs with nonlinear damping and Coulomb friction spread across the bottom of each segment. The stiffness and damping of each spring and common friction parameter values for all springs were calibrated for both feet simultaneously via a novel three-stage optimization process that used motion capture and ground reaction data collected from a single walking trial. The sequential three-stage process involved matching (1) the vertical force component, (2) all three force components, and finally (3) all six ground reaction quantities. The calibrated model was tested using four additional walking trials excluded from calibration. With only small changes in input kinematics, the calibrated model reproduced all six ground reaction quantities closely (root mean square (RMS) errors less than 13 N for all three forces, 25 mm for anterior–posterior (AP) CoP, 8 mm for medial–lateral (ML) CoP, and 2 N·m for the free moment) for both feet in all walking trials. The largest errors in AP CoP occurred at the beginning and end of stance phase when the vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) was small. Subject-specific deformable foot-ground contact models created using this approach should enable changes in foot-ground contact pattern to be predicted accurately by gait optimization studies, which may lead to improvements in personalized rehabilitation medicine.
SU‐A‐BRC‐02: The Path of a Chief of Medical Physics
Authors: Shepard D.
Published: July 2016

This year's Annual Student Meeting consists of a panel of professionals who have pursued a traditional education in medical physics and have since pursued a variety of careers. These range from chief medical physicist, small business founder, FDA scientist, industry R&D scientist, and academic researcher. Each panelist will discuss their education, positions that they have held leading to their current one, and factors that influenced them to pursue their careers. Time will be left at the end of the talk to open the floor for questions from students and trainees. Discussion between the presenters and participants is encouraged.

Learning Objectives:

The audience will learn about how to prepare for a career in medical physics.

The audience will be able to consider some of the widely different job opportunities open to medical physicists.

The audience will gain a better understanding of some future challenges facing medical physics graduates.

N. Childress, I am the owner of Mobius Medical Systems, LP.
SU‐A‐BRC‐06: The Path of an Academic Physicist
Authors: Howell R.
Published: July 2016

This year's Annual Student Meeting consists of a panel of professionals who have pursued a traditional education in medical physics and have since pursued a variety of careers. These range from chief medical physicist, small business founder, FDA scientist, industry R&D scientist, and academic researcher. Each panelist will discuss their education, positions that they have held leading to their current one, and factors that influenced them to pursue their careers. Time will be left at the end of the talk to open the floor for questions from students and trainees. Discussion between the presenters and participants is encouraged.

Learning Objectives:

The audience will learn about how to prepare for a career in medical physics.

The audience will be able to consider some of the widely different job opportunities open to medical physicists.

The audience will gain a better understanding of some future challenges facing medical physics graduates.

N. Childress, I am the owner of Mobius Medical Systems, LP.
SU‐B‐BRA‐09: Panel Member
Authors: Willcut V.
Published: July 2016

In the current rapidly changing Healthcare environment, many groups are competing for limited resources. How can medical physicists position themselves to be a relevant stakeholder in the discussion of how those resources are allocated Our value goes beyond what can be shown in a business plan and is heavily involved with safety and quality.

Three areas will be explored:

What is our value?

Who needs to receive that message?

How do we communicate that message?

To help frame the discussion in terms of how other stakeholders may view the value of medical physicists, a physician and an administrator will present their perspective.

Lastly, a multidisciplinary panel will present real life examples of strategies that can be utilized today to establish the value of medical physicists. The presentation of these examples will lead into an interactive question and answer time.

V. Willcut, I work for Elekta. There was no research associated with this talk.
SU‐B‐BRA‐04: An Administrators Perspective on the Value of Medical Physics
Authors: McNary D.
Published: July 2016

In the current rapidly changing Healthcare environment, many groups are competing for limited resources. How can medical physicists position themselves to be a relevant stakeholder in the discussion of how those resources are allocated Our value goes beyond what can be shown in a business plan and is heavily involved with safety and quality.

Three areas will be explored:

What is our value?

Who needs to receive that message?

How do we communicate that message?

To help frame the discussion in terms of how other stakeholders may view the value of medical physicists, a physician and an administrator will present their perspective.

Lastly, a multidisciplinary panel will present real life examples of strategies that can be utilized today to establish the value of medical physicists. The presentation of these examples will lead into an interactive question and answer time.

V. Willcut, I work for Elekta. There was no research associated with this talk.
SU‐B‐BRA‐05: Panel Member
Authors: Pavord D.
Published: July 2016

In the current rapidly changing Healthcare environment, many groups are competing for limited resources. How can medical physicists position themselves to be a relevant stakeholder in the discussion of how those resources are allocated Our value goes beyond what can be shown in a business plan and is heavily involved with safety and quality.

Three areas will be explored:

What is our value?

Who needs to receive that message?

How do we communicate that message?

To help frame the discussion in terms of how other stakeholders may view the value of medical physicists, a physician and an administrator will present their perspective.

Lastly, a multidisciplinary panel will present real life examples of strategies that can be utilized today to establish the value of medical physicists. The presentation of these examples will lead into an interactive question and answer time.

V. Willcut, I work for Elekta. There was no research associated with this talk.
SU‐B‐BRA‐07: Panel Member
Authors: Halvorsen P.
Published: July 2016

In the current rapidly changing Healthcare environment, many groups are competing for limited resources. How can medical physicists position themselves to be a relevant stakeholder in the discussion of how those resources are allocated Our value goes beyond what can be shown in a business plan and is heavily involved with safety and quality.

Three areas will be explored:

What is our value?

Who needs to receive that message?

How do we communicate that message?

To help frame the discussion in terms of how other stakeholders may view the value of medical physicists, a physician and an administrator will present their perspective.

Lastly, a multidisciplinary panel will present real life examples of strategies that can be utilized today to establish the value of medical physicists. The presentation of these examples will lead into an interactive question and answer time.

V. Willcut, I work for Elekta. There was no research associated with this talk.