Multidimensional Systems and Signal Processing - After a careful review of the published version of our paper, we discovered that some references to the number of multiwavelet decomposition and... 相似文献
To provide a basis for the selection of suitable emulsifiers in oil-in-water emulsions used as tissue analogs for MRI experiments. Three different emulsifiers were investigated with regard to their ability to stabilize tissue-like oil-in-water emulsions. Furthermore, MR signal properties of the emulsifiers themselves and influences on relaxation times and ADC values of the aqueous phase were investigated.
Materials and methods
Polysorbate 60, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and soy lecithin were used as emulsifiers. MR characteristics of emulsifiers were assessed in aqueous solutions and their function as a stabilizer was examined in oil-in-water emulsions of varying fat content (10, 20, 30, 40, 50%). Stability and homogeneity of the oil-in-water emulsions were evaluated with a delay of 3 h and 9 h after preparation using T1 mapping and visual control. Signal properties of the emulsifiers were investigated by 1H-MRS in aqueous emulsifier solutions. Relaxometry and diffusion weighted MRI (DWI) were performed to investigate the effect of various emulsifier concentrations on relaxation times (T1 and T2) and ADC values of aqueous solutions.
Results
Emulsions stabilized by polysorbate 60 or soy lecithin were stable and homogeneous across all tested fat fractions. In contrast, emulsions with SDS showed a significantly lower stability and homogeneity. Recorded T1 maps revealed marked creaming of oil droplets in almost all of the emulsions with SDS. The spectral analysis showed several additional signals for polysorbate and SDS. However, lecithin remained invisible in 1H-MRS. Relaxometry and DWI revealed different influences of the emulsifiers on water: Polysorbate and SDS showed only minor effects on relaxation times and ADC values of aqueous solutions, whereas lecithin showed a strong decrease in both relaxation times (r1,lecithin = 0.11 wt.%−1 s−1, r2,lecithin = 0.57 wt.%−1 s−1) and ADC value (Δ(ADC)lecithin = − 0.18 × 10–3 mm2/s⋅wt.%) with increasing concentration.
Conclusion
Lecithin is suggested as the preferred emulsifier of oil-in-water emulsions in MRI as it shows a high stabilizing ability and remains invisible in MRI experiments. In addition, lecithin is suitable as an alternative means of adjusting relaxation times and ADC values of water.
The light-induced degradation of clofibric acid, carbamazepine, iomeprol and iopromide under simulated solar irradiation has been investigated in aqueous solutions suspended with different TiO2 materials (P25 and Hombikat UV100). Kinetic studies showed that P25 had a better photocatalytic activity for clofibric acid and carbamazepine than Hombikat UV100. For photocatalytic degradation of iomeprol Hombikat UV100 was more suitable than P25. The results can be explained by the higher adsorption capacity of Hombikat UV100 for iomeprol. The study also focuses on the identification and quantification of possible degradation products. The degradation process was monitored by determination of sum parameters and inorganic ions. In case of clofibric acid various aromatic and aliphatic degradation products have been identified and quantified. A possible multi-step degradation scheme for clofibric acid is proposed. This study proves the high potential of the photocatalytic oxidation process to transform and mineralize environmentally relevant pharmaceuticals and contrast media in water. 相似文献
Three different industrial wastewaters from the production of stilbene-based fluorescent whitening agents were investigated with regard to the applicability of advanced oxidation processes combined with biodegradation. Oxidation processes included the application of ozone, hydrogen peroxide, UV-radiation and Fenton's reagent (Fe(2+)/H(2)O(2)). Characterization of the combined chemical-biological treatment was done by sum parameters and HPLC analysis. In addition, toxicity was determined using the luminescence inhibition test. Results showed that processes producing OH-radicals without the need of UV-irradiation proved to be suited for the oxidation of all three wastewaters. H(2)O(2)/UV processes were ineffective due to the high inner filter effect of the effluents. Comparing the combined oxidative-biological process with biological treatment, the applied pre-oxidation steps did not always lead to a significant improvement of the biological degradation. In one case, an inverted treatment starting with biodegradation followed by oxidation turned out to be the preferable procedure. After oxidation with ozone or ozone combined with UV-irradiation, an increase in toxicity was partly observed indicating the formation of toxic intermediate products. In some cases samples had to be diluted before the biodegradation step to achieve a better biodegradability. 相似文献
Nickel allergic subjects are at risk factor of acquiring hand eczema. In 1990 and 1994, respectively, Denmark and member states in the EU regulated nickel release from selected consumer products. The intention was that the nickel epidemic could be controlled and prevented if the general population was protected from high cutaneous nickel concentrations. Despite a decrease, the prevalence of nickel allergy remains high as nearly 10% of young women are nickel allergic.
Objective
This study aimed to perform dimethylglyoxime (DMG) testing of inexpensive jewelry and hair clasps purchased from random stores in Copenhagen, Denmark to detect the proportion of items that may result in nickel allergy.
Methods
Inexpensive jewelry and hair clasps were purchased from 36 stores and street vendors in Copenhagen and were later tested for nickel release using the DMG test.
Results
The study showed that 19.3% hair clasps, 14.8% earrings, and 12.9% necklaces intended for adult women released an excessive amount of nickel. Of 25 stores visited, 36.0% sold DMG positive jewelry. For items designed for children, excessive nickel release was identified in hair clasps (79.4%) and in finger rings (20%). Four (50.0%) of 8 children clothing stores sold jewelry that released too much nickel.
Discussion
Excessive nickel release has been regulated since 1990 in Denmark. However, 1/5 of purchased items released nickel in concentrations that may lead to nickel allergy. Especially hair clasps intended for children released an excessive amount of nickel. 相似文献
The SAFIRA-project (remediation research in regionally contaminated aquifers) focuses on innovative in situ remediation technologies to treat complex groundwater contamination. For this purpose, a model site located in Bitterfeld, Germany, was selected. The site is heavily contaminated with aliphatic and aromatic chlorinated hydrocarbons. The goal of the project is to develop, test and optimize new technologies of reactive barriers under controlled in situ conditions in a pilot plant. In order to create the necessary basis for this model project, the hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical conditions at the selected field site were investigated and various technologies for the design of the in situ pilot plant were examinated. Small-scale laboratory studies and tests in a mobile test unit (scale 1 m) were carried out in order to test the technologies prior to their application in the field. The technologies now tested in the reactive columns at the pilot plant include physico-chemical, microbial and combined techniques.相似文献
A prerequisite of the efficient recycling of demolition waste and its evaluation in terms of the material specific recycling rates is information on the composition of the building material stock (as the source of future demolition waste). A practical method is presented that characterizes the material composition of buildings prior to their demolition. The characterization method is based on the analysis of available construction documents and different approaches of on-site investigation. The method is tested in different buildings and the results from four case studies indicate that the documents are useful to quantify bulk materials (e.g. bricks, concrete, sand/gravel, iron/steel and timber). However, on-site investigations are necessary to locate and determine the trace materials such as metals (e.g. copper and aluminium), or different types of plastics. The overall material intensity of the investigated buildings ranges from 270 to 470?kg/m³ gross volume. With ongoing surveys about the composition of different buildings, the collected data will be used to establish a building-specific database about the amount of materials contained in Vienna's building stock. 相似文献
To evaluate and compare conventional T1-weighted 2D turbo spin echo (TSE), T1-weighted 3D volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE), and two-point 3D Dixon-VIBE sequences for automatic segmentation of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volume at 3 Tesla by measuring and compensating for errors arising from intensity nonuniformity (INU) and partial volume effects (PVE).
Materials and methods
The body trunks of 28 volunteers with body mass index values ranging from 18 to 41.2 kg/m2 (30.02 ± 6.63 kg/m2) were scanned at 3 Tesla using three imaging techniques. Automatic methods were applied to reduce INU and PVE and to segment VAT. The automatically segmented VAT volumes obtained from all acquisitions were then statistically and objectively evaluated against the manually segmented (reference) VAT volumes.
Results
Comparing the reference volumes with the VAT volumes automatically segmented over the uncorrected images showed that INU led to an average relative volume difference of ?59.22 ± 11.59, 2.21 ± 47.04, and ?43.05 ± 5.01 % for the TSE, VIBE, and Dixon images, respectively, while PVE led to average differences of ?34.85 ± 19.85, ?15.13 ± 11.04, and ?33.79 ± 20.38 %. After signal correction, differences of ?2.72 ± 6.60, 34.02 ± 36.99, and ?2.23 ± 7.58 % were obtained between the reference and the automatically segmented volumes. A paired-sample two-tailed t test revealed no significant difference between the reference and automatically segmented VAT volumes of the corrected TSE (p = 0.614) and Dixon (p = 0.969) images, but showed a significant VAT overestimation using the corrected VIBE images.
Conclusion
Under similar imaging conditions and spatial resolution, automatically segmented VAT volumes obtained from the corrected TSE and Dixon images agreed with each other and with the reference volumes. These results demonstrate the efficacy of the signal correction methods and the similar accuracy of TSE and Dixon imaging for automatic volumetry of VAT at 3 Tesla.
This work reports on the changes in compositions of humic acids (HAs) and fulvic acids (FAs) during photocatalytic degradation. The HAs and FAs were obtained from the XAD-resin fractionation of natural-organic matter (NOM) from a bog lake (Lake Hohloh, Black Forest, Germany). Degussa P-25 titanium dioxide (TiO2) in a suspension and a solar UV simulator (batch reactor) were used in the experiments. The photocatalytic degradation of the HAs and FAs were monitored using size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) equipped with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and ultraviolet (UV254) detection (SEC-DOC and SEC-UV254) and UV–Vis spectrophotometry. The evolutions of the photocatalytic degradations of the HA and FA fractions were selective. The photocatalytic degradation started with the degradations of high molecular weight compounds with relatively high UV254 absorbances in the HA and FA fractions to yield low molecular weight compounds showing less specific UV254 absorbances. Observance of the same tendency for the original NOM from Lake Hohloh indicates that these XAD-fractions still having complex compound mixtures. However, the larger molecular weight fractions of the FAs showed higher preferential adsorptions onto TiO2, which caused their faster degradation rates. Furthermore, FAs showed a greater reduction of the total THM formation potential (TTHMFP) and the organic halogen compounds adsorbable on activated carbon formation potential (AOXFP), in comparison with the HAs. 相似文献