Characterization of virus replication

New viruses spread faster than ever and current signature based detection do not protect against these unknown viruses. Behavior based detection is the currently preferred defense against unknown viruses. The drawback of behavior based detection is the ability only to detect specific classes of viruses or have successful detection under certain conditions plus false positives. This paper presents a characterization of virus replication which is the only virus characteristic guaranteed to be consistently present in all viruses. Two detection models based on virus replication are developed, one using operation sequence matching and the other using frequency measures. Regression analysis was generated for both models. A safe list is used to minimize false positives. In our testing using operation sequence matching, over 250 viruses were detected with 43 subsequences. There were minimal false negatives. The replication sequence of just one virus detected 130 viruses, 45% of all tested viruses. Our testing using frequency measures detected all test viruses with no false negatives. The paper shows that virus replication can be identified and used to detect known and unknown viruses.     

Similarity-guided streamline placement with error evaluation

Most streamline generation algorithms either provide a particular density of streamlines across the domain or explicitly detect features, such as critical points, and follow customized rules to emphasize those features. However, the former generally includes many redundant streamlines, and the latter requires Boolean decisions on which points are features (and may thus suffer from robustness problems for real-world data). We take a new approach to adaptive streamline placement for steady vector fields in 2D and 3D. We define a metric for local similarity among streamlines and use this metric to grow streamlines from a dense set of candidate seed points. The metric considers not only Euclidean distance, but also a simple statistical measure of shape and directional similarity. Without explicit feature detection, our method produces streamlines that naturally accentuate regions of geometric interest. In conjunction with this method, we also propose a quantitative error metric for evaluating a streamline representation based on how well it preserves the information from the original vector field. This error metric reconstructs a vector field from points on the streamline representation and computes a difference of the reconstruction from the original vector field.     

Toxicoproteomics and its application to human health risk assessment

Toxicoproteomics is the use of proteomic technologies to better understand environmental and genetic factors, toxic mechanisms, and modes of action in response to acute exposure to toxicants and in the long-term development of diseases caused or influenced by these exposures. Use of toxicoproteomic technologies to identify key biochemical pathways, mechanisms, and biomarkers of exposure and toxicity will decrease the uncertainties that are associated with human health risk assessments. This review provides an overview of toxicoproteomics from human health risk assessment perspectives. Key toxicoproteomic technologies such as 2-D gel-based proteomic methods and toxicoproteomic approaches are described, and examples of applications of these technologies and methodologies in the risk assessment context are presented. The discussion includes a focus on challenges and future directions.     

Synthetic on-line signature generation. Part II: Experimental validation

A novel method for the generation of synthetic on-line signatures based on the spectral analysis and the Kinematic Theory of rapid human movements, was presented in Part I of this series of two papers. In the present paper, the experimental framework used for the validation of the novel approach is described. The validation protocol, which uses different development and test sets in order to achieve unbiased results, includes the comparison of real and synthetic databases in terms of (i) visual appearance, (ii) statistical information, and (iii) performance evaluation of three competitive and totally different verification systems. The experimental results show the high similarity existing between synthetically generated and humanly produced samples, and the great potential of the method for the study of the signature trait.     

Microwave remote sensing of physically buried objects in the Negev Desert: implications for environmental research

We report remote detections of physically buried specularly reflecting objects using microwave radar at two sites: Ashalim and Tseelim in the northern region of the Negev Desert, Israel. These detections provide confirmation that microwave subsurface remote sensing is a genuine phenomenon. At Ashalim, a scatterometer operating in the P-band (441 MHz, 68 cm) was mounted on a cherry picker truck at a height of 8 m and used to detect two triangular aluminum mesh reflectors (forming a 1-m square area reflector) buried down to a depth of 8 cm in dry sand. At Tseelim, the same scatterometer was mounted on an airplane flying at an altitude of 70 m and used to detect 1-m square aluminum reflectors (each one submerged at a different location along the airplane flight path) buried down to a depth of 20 cm. The experimental results compare favorably with a theoretical model that incorporates radar absorption effects arising in the sandy subsurface layer and radar interference effects arising from phase differences between reflections from the surface and buried reflector. The theoretical modeling also predicts the detection of a subsurface reflector down to a depth of about 4.4 m. This experiment and the associated modeling approach is the first of a series of planned experiments, which we outline for the detection and the theoretical evaluation of buried reflectors using remote microwave and VHF radar. We identify potential subject areas for environmental research.     

Dynamics of coupled and uncoupled two-phase flows in a slab mold

Two-phase flows in a mold of a slab caster are studied using water modeling, particle-image velocimetry (PIV), and computational fluid-dynamics techniques. Two-way coupled flows are observed in liquidgas systems, because both phases influence each other’s momentum transfer. In addition to this concept, PIV measurements indicate the existence of structurally coupled flows, where the velocity vectors of both phases observe similar orientations. When the drag forces of the liquid, exerted on the bubbles, exceed a certain value of the inertial forces of the liquid phase, at high mass loads of gas (ratio of mass flow rates of the gas phase and the liquid phase), the flow becomes structurally coupled. These types of flows promote large oscillations of the meniscus level. Two jets, liquid and bubble, were identified; the latter always reported larger angles than the first, independent of the gas load. Thus, a gas-rich jet is located closer to the lower edge of the submerged entry nozzle (SEN) port, and the liquid-rich jet is found above this position. The liquid-jet angle approaches that of the SEN port when the flow becomes structurally coupled. Structurally uncoupled flows report gas jets that follow torrent-type patterns which are well explained using a multiphase fluid-dynamics model. Structurally coupled flows yield gas jets with a continuous pattern.     

Threshold photoionization in time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Multi-photon excitation in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) is shown to lead to threshold ions with defined internal energy. A powerful technique for the production of threshold ions is based on the excitation of high long-lived Rydberg states embedded in the ionization continuum. The Rydberg molecules are separated with suitable separation techniques from ions produced by a direct multi-photon ionization process. Finally, the ionization of the Rydberg molecules in a delayed pulsed electric field leads to threshold ions. This work reviews several separation techniques, and reports on applications of threshold ionization for investigation of the structure, energetics, and dynamics of neutral molecules, molecular cations, and cluster cations.     

Structural and Magnetic Properties of the New La2SrCo2FeO9 Triple Perovskite

In this work, we report synthesis and characterization of the new La₂SrCo₂FeO₉ triple perovskite material. The samples were produced by the solid-state reaction method. The analyses of the XRD patterns were made by Rietveld refinement through the GSAS code. The results reveal that the material crystallizes in an orthorhombic complex perovskite, space group Immm (#71) with lattice parameters a=5.4314(3) ?, b=5.4583(3) ? and c=7.7018(2) ?. SEM micrographs evidence a strongly diffused granular morphology with mean grain size of 2 μm and the EDX spectra show that the chemical composition of samples are in good agreement with the nominal values of the stoichiometric formula. ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy recorded at 300 K reveals two sites in concordance with the X-ray diffraction measurements, and its valence state is +3, as determined from the isomer shift found. At 4.2 K magnetic ordering with canting of the Fe moments is found. Measurements of the magnetization as a function of temperature permitted us to determine the ferromagnetic characteristic of material with an effective magnetic moment of 9.7μ _B.     

Processing of graded anode-supported micro-tubular SOFCs based on samaria-doped ceria via gel-casting and spray-coating

A simple gel-casting method was successfully combined with the spray-coating technique to manufacture graded anode-supported micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cells (MT-SOFCs) based on samaria-doped ceria (SDC) as an electrolyte. Micro-tubular anodes were shaped by a gel-casting method based on a new and simple forming technique that operates as a syringe. The aqueous slurry formulation of the NiO–SDC substrate using agarose as a gelling agent, and the effect of spray-coating parameters used to deposit the anode functional layers (AFLs) and electrolyte were investigated. Furthermore, pre-sintering temperature of anode substrates was systematically studied to avoid the anode–electrolyte delamination and obtain a dense electrolyte without cracks, after co-sintering process at 1450 °C. Despite the high shrinkage of substrate (～70%), an anode porosity of ～37% was achieved. MT-SOFCs with ～2.5 mm of outer diameter, 370 μm thick substrate, 20 μm thick AFLs and 15 μm thick electrolyte were successfully obtained. The use of AFLs with 30:70 and 50:50 wt% NiO–SDC allowed to obtain a continuous gradation of composition and porosity in the anode–electrolyte interface.