bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Current Status of 300 kW Class Industrial Ceramic Gas Turbine R&D in Japan
Authors: Murayama Takuki , Nagata Kunihiro , Taki Masanobu , Ogiyama Hisao 
Published: February 2015

Advanced technologies in Ceramics Gas Turbine (CGT) are expected to make a great progress in energy conservation, anti-pollution, and fuel-diversification.
In Japan, R&D’s in industrial usage 300 kW class CGT have been advanced under a national project entitled “New Sunshine Program”, under the subsidy of Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) through the period of FY1988–1996.
In this project, three different type prototypes of the CGT are under development through New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
Over the last six years, the basic designs have been completed and the ceramic elements such as turbine rotors, scrolls, and combustors were successfully fabricated. To check up the whole progress of the project, an interim evaluation is scheduled by the end of FY1993.
Toward this evaluation, each prototype has been programmed to demonstrate 1200°C of Turbine Inlet Temperature (TIT) and prove more than 30% of thermal efficiency. (The ultimate target in the project is 42% of thermal efficiency at 1350°C TIT.) They would also show enough environmental adaptability.
In this paper, overall status of the development in the 300kW CGT project is reviewed and the items in the interim evaluation are explained.
Ceramic Gas Turbine Technology Development
Authors: Easley M. L. , Smyth J. R. 
Published: February 2015

AlliedSignal Engines is addressing critical concerns slowing the commercialization of structural ceramics in gas turbine engines. These issues include ceramic component reliability, commitment of ceramic suppliers to support production needs, and refinement of ceramic design technologies.
The stated goals of the current program are to develop and demonstrate structural ceramic technology that has the potential for extended operation in a gas turbine environment by incorporation in an auxiliary power unit (APU) to support automotive gas turbine development. AlliedSignal Engines changed the ATTAP ceramic engine test bed from the AGT101 automotive engine to the 331-200[CT] APU. The 331-200[CT] first-stage turbine nozzle segments and blades were redesigned using ceramic materials, employing design methods developed during the earlier DOE/NASA-funded Advanced Gas Turbine (AGT) and the ATTAP programs.
The ceramic design technologies under development in the present program include design methods for improved resistance to impact and contact damage, assessment of the effects of oxidation and corrosion on ceramic component life, and assessment of the effectiveness of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and proof testing methods to reliably identify ceramic parts having critical flaws. AlliedSignal made progress in these activities during 1993 ATTAP efforts.
Ceramic parts for the 331-200[CT] engine have been fabricated and evaluated in component tests, to verify the design characteristics and assure structural integrity prior to full-up engine testing. Engine testing is currently underway.
The work summarized in this paper was funded by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) Office of Transportation Technologies and administered by NASA-Lewis Research Center, under Contract No. DEN3-335.
Non-Random Adaptive Grid Method for High Speed Optimization of Highly Dimensional Badly Behaving Real Time Functions
Authors: Shahroudi Kamran Eftekhari 
Published: February 2015

The majority of optimization methods lose their applicability when solving Highly Dimensional Functions. The required calculation effort usually becomes enormous as dimensions increase, regardless of the elegance of the method. Most methods concern themselves with finding a single optimum which satisfies the required Accuracy, but which provide no quantitative measure (i.e. Probability of correctness) indicating whether the true optimum is found). Furthermore, there is usually no exact measure of the Calculation Effonprior to starting the procedure.
There is always an unavoidable coupling (i.e. relation) between the Accuracy, Probability and Calculation Effort of an optimization method but the exact form of this relation is dependant on the procedures followed to reach optimum. Ideally, an optimization method should facilitate the statement of required accuracy, required probability and the required calculation effort separately and the method should take care of the rest (i.e. total decoupling of the three requirements). Although this ideal case is generally not possible, it is possible to move towards it by finding procedures that reduce the strength of this unwanted coupling.
This report derives simple analytical relations between the required accuracy, probability and calculation effort of a general multidimensional adaptive grid Non-Gradient Guided (NGG) search method where the search points are generated either decisively or randomly. It is then shown that any adaptive method based on reducing the total solution space is heavily penalized. Further, it is analytically illustrated that if the adaptive grid is randomly generated, it is far less successful than the non random adaptive grid, because the amount of grid adaptation is less decisive at every step., due to the randomness.
As with many optimization techniques, the Dimensionality Problem limits the application of this method to cases where the function evaluation is real time (∼ milliseconds) and dimensions are lower than say 25, which occurs in Conceptual/Preliminary Design systems such as CAGEDR [Shahroudi, K.E. (Ref. 4)].
Verification and compensation of respiratory motion using an ultrasound imaging system
Authors: Chuang Ho‐Chiao , Hsu Hsiao‐Yu , Chiu Wei‐Hung , Tien Der‐Chi , Wu Ren‐Hong , Hsu Chung‐Hsien 
Published: February 2015

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to determine if it is feasible to use ultrasound imaging as an aid for moving the treatment couch during diagnosis and treatment procedures associated with radiation therapy, in order to offset organ displacement caused by respiratory motion. A noninvasive ultrasound system was used to replace the C‐arm device during diagnosis and treatment with the aims of reducing the x‐ray radiation dose on the human body while simultaneously being able to monitor organ displacements.Methods:This study used a proposed respiratory compensating system combined with an ultrasound imaging system to monitor the compensation effect of respiratory motion. The accuracy of the compensation effect was verified by fluoroscopy, which means that fluoroscopy could be replaced so as to reduce unnecessary radiation dose on patients. A respiratory simulation system was used to simulate the respiratory motion of the human abdomen and a strain gauge (respiratory signal acquisition device) was used to capture the simulated respiratory signals. The target displacements could be detected by an ultrasound probe and used as a reference for adjusting the gain value of the respiratory signal used by the respiratory compensating system. This ensured that the amplitude of the respiratory compensation signal was a faithful representation of the target displacement.Results:The results show that performing respiratory compensation with the assistance of the ultrasound images reduced the compensation error of the respiratory compensating system to 0.81–2.92 mm, both for sine‐wave input signals with amplitudes of 5, 10, and 15 mm, and human respiratory signals; this represented compensation of the respiratory motion by up to 92.48%. In addition, the respiratory signals of 10 patients were captured in clinical trials, while their diaphragm displacements were observed simultaneously using ultrasound. Using the respiratory compensating system to offset, the diaphragm displacement resulted in compensation rates of 60%–84.4%.Conclusions:This study has shown that a respiratory compensating system combined with noninvasive ultrasound can provide real‐time compensation of the respiratory motion of patients.
Development of solid‐state avalanche amorphous selenium for medical imaging
Authors: Scheuermann James R. , Goldan Amir H. , Tousignant Olivier , Léveillé Sébastien , Zhao Wei 
Published: February 2015

Purpose:Active matrix flat panel imagers (AMFPI) have limited performance in low dose applications due to the electronic noise of the thin film transistor (TFT) array. A uniform layer of avalanche amorphous selenium (a‐Se) called high gain avalanche rushing photoconductor (HARP) allows for signal amplification prior to readout from the TFT array, largely eliminating the effects of the electronic noise. The authors report preliminary avalanche gain measurements from the first HARP structure developed for direct deposition onto a TFT array.Methods:The HARP structure is fabricated on a glass substrate in the form of p‐i‐n, i.e., the electron blocking layer (p) followed by an intrinsic (i) a‐Se layer and finally the hole blocking layer (n). All deposition procedures are scalable to large area detectors. Integrated charge is measured from pulsed optical excitation incident on the top electrode (as would in an indirect AMFPI) under continuous high voltage bias. Avalanche gain measurements were obtained from samples fabricated simultaneously at different locations in the evaporator to evaluate performance uniformity across large area.Results:An avalanche gain of up to 80 was obtained, which showed field dependence consistent with previous measurements from n‐i‐p HARP structures established for vacuum tubes. Measurements from multiple samples demonstrate the spatial uniformity of performance using large area deposition methods. Finally, the results were highly reproducible during the time course of the entire study.Conclusions:We present promising avalanche gain measurement results from a novel HARP structure that can be deposited onto a TFT array. This is a crucial step toward the practical feasibility of AMFPI with avalanche gain, enabling quantum noise limited performance down to a single x‐ray photon per pixel.
Fast, automatic, and accurate catheter reconstruction in HDR brachytherapy using an electromagnetic 3D tracking system
Authors: Poulin Eric , Racine Emmanuel , Binnekamp Dirk , Beaulieu Luc 
Published: February 2015

Purpose:In high dose rate brachytherapy (HDR‐B), current catheter reconstruction protocols are relatively slow and error prone. The purpose of this technical note is to evaluate the accuracy and the robustness of an electromagnetic (EM) tracking system for automated and real‐time catheter reconstruction.Methods:For this preclinical study, a total of ten catheters were inserted in gelatin phantoms with different trajectories. Catheters were reconstructed using a 18G biopsy needle, used as an EM stylet and equipped with a miniaturized sensor, and the second generation Aurora® Planar Field Generator from Northern Digital Inc. The Aurora EM system provides position and orientation value with precisions of 0.7 mm and 0.2°, respectively. Phantoms were also scanned using a μCT (GE Healthcare) and Philips Big Bore clinical computed tomography (CT) system with a spatial resolution of 89 μm and 2 mm, respectively. Reconstructions using the EM stylet were compared to μCT and CT. To assess the robustness of the EM reconstruction, five catheters were reconstructed twice and compared.Results:Reconstruction time for one catheter was 10 s, leading to a total reconstruction time inferior to 3 min for a typical 17‐catheter implant. When compared to the μCT, the mean EM tip identification error was 0.69 ± 0.29 mm while the CT error was 1.08 ± 0.67 mm. The mean 3D distance error was found to be 0.66 ± 0.33 mm and 1.08 ± 0.72 mm for the EM and CT, respectively. EM 3D catheter trajectories were found to be more accurate. A maximum difference of less than 0.6 mm was found between successive EM reconstructions.Conclusions:The EM reconstruction was found to be more accurate and precise than the conventional methods used for catheter reconstruction in HDR‐B. This approach can be applied to any type of catheters and applicators.
Patient position alters attenuation effects in multipinhole cardiac SPECT
Authors: Timmins Rachel , Ruddy Terrence D. , Wells R. Glenn 
Published: February 2015

Purpose:Dedicated cardiac cameras offer improved sensitivity over conventional SPECT cameras. Sensitivity gains are obtained by large numbers of detectors and novel collimator arrangements such as an array of multiple pinholes that focus on the heart. Pinholes lead to variable amounts of attenuation as a source is moved within the camera field of view. This study evaluated the effects of this variable attenuation on myocardial SPECT images.Methods:Computer simulations were performed for a set of nine point sources distributed in the left ventricular wall (LV). Sources were placed at the location of the heart in both an anthropomorphic and a water‐cylinder computer phantom. Sources were translated in x, y, and z by up to 5 cm from the center. Projections were simulated with and without attenuation and the changes in attenuation were compared. A LV with an inferior wall defect was also simulated in both phantoms over the same range of positions. Real camera data were acquired on a Discovery NM530c camera (GE Healthcare, Haifa, Israel) for five min in list‐mode using an anthropomorphic phantom (DataSpectrum, Durham, NC) with 100 MBq of Tc‐99m in the LV. Images were taken over the same range of positions as the simulations and were compared based on the summed perfusion score (SPS), defect width, and apparent defect uptake for each position.Results:Point sources in the water phantom showed absolute changes in attenuation of ≤8% over the range of positions and relative changes of ≤5% compared to the apex. In the anthropomorphic computer simulations, absolute change increased to 20%. The changes in relative attenuation caused a change in SPS of <1.5 for the water phantom but up to 4.2 in the anthropomorphic phantom. Changes were larger for axial than for transverse translations. These results were supported by SPS changes of up to six seen in the physical anthropomorphic phantom for axial translations. Defect width was also seen to significantly increase. The position‐dependent changes were removed with attenuation correction.Conclusions:Translation of a source relative to a multipinhole camera caused only small changes in homogeneous phantoms with SPS changing <1.5. Inhomogeneous attenuating media cause much larger changes to occur when the source is translated. Changes in SPS of up to six were seen in an anthropomorphic phantom for axial translations. Attenuation correction removes the position‐dependent changes in attenuation.
Placental Transfer of Rilpivirine in an
Ex Vivo
Human Cotyledon Perfusion Model
Authors: Mandelbrot Laurent , Duro Dominique , Belissa Emilie , Peytavin Gilles 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACT
Placental transfers of the HIV nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor rilpivirine were investigated in 8 term human cotyledons perfused with rilpivirine (400 ng/ml) in the maternal-to-fetal direction. The mean fetal transfer rate (FTR) (fetal/maternal concentration at steady state from 15 to 90 min) was 26% ± 8% (mean ± standard deviation), and the clearance index (rilpivirine FTR/antipyrine FTR) was 61% ± 20%. This shows that rilpivirine crosses the placenta at a relatively high rate, suggesting that the fetus is exposed to the compound during treatment of the mother.
Heterosubtypic Protection Conferred by the Human Monoclonal Antibody PN-SIA28 against Influenza A Virus Lethal Infections in Mice
Authors: Retamal Miguel , Abed Yacine , Rhéaume Chantal , Cappelletti Francesca , Clementi Nicola , Mancini Nicasio , Clementi Massimo , Burioni Roberto , Boivin Guy 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACTPN-SIA28 is a human monoclonal antibody (Hu-MAb) targeting highly conserved epitopes within the stem portion of the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) (N. Clementi, et al, PLoS One 6:e28001, 2011,http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0028001). Previousin vitrostudies demonstrated PN-SIA28 neutralizing activities against phylogenetically divergent influenza A subtypes. In this study, the protective activity of PN-SIA28 was evaluated in mice inoculated with lethal influenza A/WSN/33 (H1N1), A/Quebec/144147/09 (H1N1)pdm09, and A/Victoria/3/75 (H3N2) viruses. At 24 h postinoculation (p.i.), animals received PN-SIA28 intraperitoneally (1 or 10 mg/kg of body weight) or 10 mg/kg of unrelated Hu-MAb (mock). Body weight loss and mortality rate (MR) were recorded for 14 days postinfection (p.i.). Lung viral titers (LVT) were determined at day 5 p.i. In A/WSN/33 (H1N1)-infected groups, all untreated and mock-receiving mice died, whereas MRs of 87.5% and 25% were observed in mice that received PN-SIA28 1 and 10 mg/kg, respectively. In influenza A(H1N1) pdm09-infected groups, an MR of 75% was recorded for untreated and mock-treated groups, whereas the PN-SIA28 1-mg/kg and 10-mg/kg groups had rates of 62.5% and 0%, respectively. In A/Victoria/3/75 (H3N2)-infected animals, untreated and mock-treated animals had MRs of 37.5% and 25%, respectively, and no mortalities were recorded after PN-SIA28 treatments. Accordingly, PN-SIA28 treatments significantly reduced weight losses and resulted in a ≥1-log reduction in LVT compared to the control in all infection groups. This study confirms that antibodies targeting highly conserved epitopes in the influenza HA stem region, like PN-SIA28, not only neutralize influenza A viruses of clinically relevant subtypesin vitrobut also, more importantly, protect from a lethal influenza virus challengein vivo.
Characterization of Tn
6238
with a New Allele of
aac(6′)-Ib-cr
Authors: Quiroga María P. , Orman Betina , Errecalde Laura , Kaufman Sara , Centrón Daniela 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACT

Here, we report that the genetic structure of Tn
1331
remained conserved in Argentina from 1989 to 2013 (72 of 73 isolates), with the exception being the plasmid-borne Tn
1331
-like transposon Tn
6238
containing a new
aac(6′)-Ib-cr
allele recovered from a colistin-resistant
Klebsiella pneumoniae
clinical isolate. A bioinformatic analysis of
aac(6′)-Ib
-like gene cassettes suggests that this new
aac(6′)-Ib-cr
allele emerged through mutation or homologous recombination in the Tn
1331
genetic platform. Tn
6238
is a novel platform for the dissemination of aminoglycoside and fluoroquinolone resistance determinants.
In VitroPharmacodynamics of Various Antibiotics in Combination against Extensively Drug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae
Authors: Lim Tze-Peng , Cai Yiying , Hong Yanjun , Chan Eric Chun Yong , Suranthran Sasikala , Teo Jocelyn Qi-Min , Lee Winnie Huiling , Tan Thean-Yen , Hsu Li-Yang , Koh Tse-Hsien , Tan Thuan-Tong , Kwa Andrea Lay-Hoon 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACTExtensively drug-resistant (XDR)Klebsiella pneumoniaeis an emerging pathogen in Singapore. With limited therapeutic options available, combination antibiotics may be the only viable option. In this study, we aimed to elucidate effective antibiotic combinations against XDRK. pneumoniaeisolates. Six NDM-1-producing and two OXA-181-producingK. pneumoniaestrains were exposed to 12 antibiotics alone and in combination via time-kill studies. A hollow-fiber infection model (HFIM) with pharmacokinetic validation was used to simulate clinically relevant tigecycline-plus-meropenem dosing regimens against 2 XDRK. pneumoniaeisolates over 240 h. The emergence of resistance against tigecycline was quantified using drug-free and selective (tigecycline at 3× the MIC) media. Thein vitrogrowth rates were determined and serial passages on drug-free and selective media were carried out on resistant isolates obtained at 240 h. Both the polymyxin B and tigecycline MICs ranged from 1 to 4 mg/liter. In single time-kill studies, all antibiotics alone demonstrated regrowth at 24 h, except for polymyxin B against 2 isolates. Tigecycline plus meropenem was found to be bactericidal in 50% of the isolates. For the isolates that produced OXA-181-like carbapenemases, none of the 55 tested antibiotic combinations was bactericidal. Against 2 isolates in the HFIM, tigecycline plus meropenem achieved a >90% reduction in bacterial burden for 96 h before regrowth was observed until 109CFU/ml at 240 h. Phenotypically stable and resistant isolates, which were recovered from tigecycline-supplemented plates post-HFIM studies, had lower growth rates than those of their respective parent isolates, possibly implying a substantial biofitness deficit in this population. We found that tigecycline plus meropenem may be a potential antibiotic combination for XDRK. pneumoniaeinfections, but its efficacy was strain specific.
Surveillance of Artemisinin Resistance in Plasmodium falciparum in India Using the kelch13 Molecular Marker
Authors: Mishra Neelima , Prajapati Surendra Kumar , Kaitholia Kamlesh , Bharti Ram Suresh , Srivastava Bina , Phookan Sobhan , Anvikar Anupkumar R. , Dev Vas , Sonal Gagan Singh , Dhariwal Akshay Chandra , White Nicholas J. , Valecha Neena 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACT

Malaria treatment in Southeast Asia is threatened with the emergence of artemisinin-resistant
Plasmodium falciparum
. Genome association studies have strongly linked a locus on
P. falciparum
chromosome 13 to artemisinin resistance, and recently, mutations in the kelch13 propeller region (
Pfk-13
) were strongly linked to resistance. To date, this information has not been shown in Indian samples.
Pfk-13
mutations were assessed in samples from efficacy studies of artemisinin combination treatments in India. Samples were PCR amplified and sequenced from codon 427 to 727. Out of 384 samples, nonsynonymous mutations in the propeller region were found in four patients from the northeastern states, but their presence did not correlate with ACT treatment failures. This is the first report of
Pfk-13
point mutations from India. Further phenotyping and genotyping studies are required to assess the status of artemisinin resistance in this region.
Ambush of Clostridium difficile Spores by Ramoplanin: Activity in an
In Vitro
Model
Authors: Kraus Carl N. , Lyerly Matthew W. , Carman Robert J. 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACT

Clostridium difficile
infection (CDI) is a gastrointestinal disease caused by
C. difficile
, a spore-forming bacterium that in its spore form is tolerant to standard antimicrobials. Ramoplanin is a glycolipodepsipeptide antibiotic that is active against
C. difficile
with MICs ranging from 0.25 to 0.50 μg/ml. The activity of ramoplanin against the spores of
C. difficile
has not been well characterized; such activity, however, may hold promise, since posttreatment residual intraluminal spores are likely elements of disease relapse, which can impact more than 20% of patients who are successfully treated.
C. difficile
spores were found to be stable in deionized water for 6 days.
In vitro
spore counts were consistently below the level of detection for 28 days after even brief (30-min) exposure to ramoplanin at concentrations found in feces (300 μg/ml). In contrast, suppression of spore counts was not observed for metronidazole or vancomycin at human fecal concentrations during treatment (10 μg/ml and 500 μg/ml, respectively). Removal of the
C. difficile
exosporium resulted in an increase in spore counts after exposure to 300 μg/ml of ramoplanin. Therefore, we propose that rather than being directly sporicidal, ramoplanin adheres to the exosporium for a prolonged period, during which time it is available to attack germinating cells. This action, in conjunction with its already established bactericidal activity against vegetative
C. difficile
forms, supports further evaluation of ramoplanin for the prevention of relapse after
C. difficile
infection in patients.