Illustrative Hybrid Visualization and Exploration of Anatomical and Functional Brain Data

Common practice in brain research and brain surgery involves the multi‐modal acquisition of brain anatomy and brain activation data. These highly complex three‐dimensional data have to be displayed simultaneously in order to convey spatial relationships. Unique challenges in information and interaction design have to be solved in order to keep the visualization sufficiently complete and uncluttered at the same time. The visualization method presented in this paper addresses these issues by using a hybrid combination of polygonal rendering of brain structures and direct volume rendering of activation data. Advanced rendering techniques including illustrative display styles and ambient occlusion calculations enhance the clarity of the visual output. The presented rendering pipeline produces real‐time frame rates and offers a high degree of configurability. Newly designed interaction and measurement tools are provided, which enable the user to explore the data at large, but also to inspect specific features closely. We demonstrate the system in the context of a cognitive neurosciences dataset. An initial informal evaluation shows that our visualization method is deemed useful for clinical research.     

A study of the rheological behaviour of multigrade oils

The rheological behaviour of four blends of multigrade oils containing different commercial viscosity index improvers has been studied for increasing shear rate and temperature. Polyalkylmethacrylate has been found to demonstrate different behaviour to styrene-isoprene, styrene-butadiene and ethylene-propylene copolymers. Oil blends for all these hydrocarbon copolymers have shown non-Newtonian behaviour with increasing shear rate (0 to 35,000 s⁻¹) at low and moderate temperatures (−15 to 40°C), i.e. their viscosities were subject to a significant decrease, while the viscosity of the polyalkyl-methacrylate blend showed a limited decrease. With increasing shear rate at high temperature (100°C), all the formulated blends behaved as Newtonian fluids, i.e. with nearly constant viscosities. Increasing shear rate can also change the behaviour of some hydrocarbon copolymers from thickeners to viscosity index improvers.     

Volatile compound analysis of SPME headspace and extract samples from roasted Italian chestnuts (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Castanea sativa</Emphasis> Mill.) using GC-MS

The volatile flavor compounds of roasted Italian chestnuts, which have not been studied prior to this report, were determined by capillary gas-chromatography with a mass selective detector. Samples were obtained by SPME directly from the headspace of freshly roasted and ground chestnuts as well as by previous extraction with dichloromethane. Monoterpenes and derivatives of butane, pentane, hexane, and heptane were identified as important aroma impact compounds. -Butyrolactone (12.8%), -terpinene (9.2%), furfural (6.3%), benzaldehyde (7.2%) and 4-methyl-2-pentanone (5.3%) were found in concentrations higher than 5.0% (calculated as % peak area of GC-MS analysis using a nonpolar column).     

The Effectiveness of Sanitizer Treatments in Inactivation of Salmonella spp. from Bell Pepper, Cucumber, and Strawberry

ABSTRACT: Four different postharvest treatments for removal of Salmonella from bell pepper and cucumber were examined, including washes with chlorinated water (HOCl; 200 ppm), acidified sodium chlorite (ASC; 1200 ppm), and peroxyacetic acid (PAA; 75 ppm), and treatment with gaseous chlorine dioxide (ClO₂; total 100 mg). Only ClO₂ gas was evaluated for decontamination of strawberries. Each produce was inoculated with approximately 1.0 × 10⁷ colony-forming units (CFU) of a 5-serovar cocktail of Salmonella on artificially created wounds, smooth surfaces, and stem scar tissue. For tests involving smooth surface inoculation, ASC and PAA treatments decreased contamination to undetectable levels on bell pepper and cucumber, while the chlorine treatment of bell pepper reduced contamination by approximately 2-logs. For stem scar contamination on bell pepper, ASC and PAA treatments both showed >2-log unit reductions, and chlorine treatment showed a <1-log unit reduction. For puncture wounds on bell pepper, HOCl, ASC, and PAA treatments reduced bacterial levels approximately 2-, 3-, and 1-log units, respectively, indicating that HOCl and ASC were more effective than PAA. These aqueous treatments of cucumber with puncture wounds reduced bacterial levels approximately 1-, 2-, and 2-log units, respectively. ClO₂ treatment decreased counts to undetectable levels on all inoculation sites on cucumber and on strawberry smooth surfaces, but failed to completely eliminate Salmonella from bell pepper and from the stem scar and the puncture wounds of strawberry. ASC treatment of bell pepper and ClO₂ gas treatments of cucumber showed the best efficiency for inactivation of Salmonella. ClO₂ treatments effectively reduced Salmonella cells inoculated on the smooth surface and stem scar of strawberries compared with unsanitized control.     

Hydrogeochemische Hintergrundwerte der Grundw?sser Deutschlands als Web Map Service

One of the main objectives of the EC water framework directive is to ensure good chemical status for all groundwater bodies. For this reason the geological surveys of Germany have produced a nationwide map of the background values of groundwater. Only naturally occurring inorganic parameters were taken into account, including the relevant major and trace elements. Based on the hydrogeological map of Germany at the scale of 1:200,000 (HüK 200), and its delimited hydrogeological regions, a total of 186 hydrogeochemical units were defined and mapped geochemically. This involved collection of more than 52,000 groundwater samples in a database and allocation to their appropriate hydrogeochemical units. In order to separate anomalies within the data-sets from the underlying normal population, probability nets were used as a statistical tool. The procedure allowed to determine the normal populations of the investigated parameters within the hydrogeochemical units and to quantify them in the form of percentiles. The resulting hydrogeochemical background values are accessible through an internet web map service that includes an online map application. The main intention of this technical note is to inform the reader about the existing internet service, which necessitates some web-site content duplication.     

Use of a modified Roux-en-Y procedure for treatment of pyloroduodenal obstruction in a horse

A modification of the Roux-en-Y anastomosis procedure was used to bypass a pyloroduodenal mass in a 12-year-old Arabian stallion. Clinical signs had consisted of a 4-week progression of ventral and hind limb edema, hypoproteinemia, fecal occult blood, intermittent abdominal pain, weight loss, and gastric reflux. On exploratory celiotomy, an obstructive mass was found in the pylorus and proximal portion of the duodenum. Gastrojejunostomy and duodenojejunostomy were performed by use of stapled side-to-side anastomosis techniques. Inaccessibility of the obstructed pyloric region prevented resection of the affected area.     

The Plug & Play Reactor: A Highly Flexible Device for Heterogeneous Reactions in Continuous Flow

The so‐called plug & play reactor is a novel reaction device with exchangeable reaction segments as well as modules for heating/cooling and mixing. Its performance is demonstrated for two model processes: the production of acetylsalicylic acid with a fixed bed of commercial ion‐exchange particles and a Suzuki‐Miyaura cross‐coupling with a solid Pd‐catalyst developed by us. The reaction progress was monitored by inline UV‐vis spectroscopy and compared with offline HPLC. The novel set‐up leads to quantitative yields and selectivity as well as to an improved practicability of the processes.