Water shutoff and conformance improvement:an introduction

This paper provides an introduction to the topic of water shutoff and conformance improvement.After indicating the volumes of water produced during oilfield ope...     

Development of an HRTEM image analysis method to quantify carbon nanostructure

An analytical method for analyzing high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images is presented. The method is composed of two major parts: digital image processing and lattice fringe characterization. The digital image processing is composed of the following operations: negative transformation, region of interest (ROI) selection, contrast enhancement, Gaussian lowpass filter, top-hat transformation (used to correct uneven illumination across an image), thresholding to obtain a binary image, morphological modification, clearing fringes on the ROI border, skeletonization, and removing short fringes that lack physical meaning. These operations are defined by equations with effects illustrated by images. The lattice fringe characterization generates statistics on fringe length, tortuosity, and separation based on the skeletons of the graphene layers. Fringe length and tortuosity are obtained automatically from the features of the skeletons, while fringe separation is obtained by analyzing manually selected fringe pairs. The algorithms are implemented within MATLAB, and demonstrated upon an exemplary HRTEM image of carbonaceous material. The image analysis algorithm permits quantitative HRTEM, here specifically addressing nanostructure of carbonaceous materials.     

Strengthening molecular replacement with maximum likelihood in Beast

In molecular replacement we test a series of hypotheses about the position and/or orientation of molecules in the crystal. Likelihood is the natural score for hypothesis testing, and applications to experimental phasing and structure refinement have already demonstrated the value of likelihood in crystallography. A new likelihood function is required for rotation searches, because hypotheses about orientations leave the relative phases of structure factor contributions from symmetry-related molecules undefined. This function can also make good use of information from partial molecular replacement solutions. When multiple choices of model are available, multivariate statistics can be used to generate an ensemble average model, which is particularly powerful in solving structures with NMR models. The likelihood-based approach to molecular replacement will become even more powerful when the targets become more sophisticated, taking account of factors such as anisotropy of diffraction or the presence of non-crystallographic symmetry.     

Screening of whey protein isolate hydrolysates for their dual functionality: Influence of heat pre-treatment and enzyme specificity

Heat pre-treated and non heat pre-treated whey protein isolate (WPI) were hydrolysed using α-chymotrypsin (chymotrypsin), pepsin and trypsin. The in vitro antioxidant activity, ACE-inhibition activity and surface hydrophobicities of the hydrolysates were measured in order to determine if peptides with dual functionalities were present. Dual functional peptides have both biological (e.g. antioxidant, ACE-inhibition, opioid activities) and technological (e.g. nanoemulsification abilities) functions in food systems. Heat pre-treatment marginally enhanced the hydrolysis of WPI by pepsin and trypsin but had no effect on WPI hydrolysis with chymotrypsin. With the exception of the hydrolysis by trypsin, heat pre-treatment did not affect the peptide profile of the hydrolysates as analysed using size exclusion chromatography, or the antioxidant activity (P > 0.05). Heat pre-treatment significantly affected the ACE-inhibition activities and the surface hydrophobicities of the hydrolysates (P < 0.05), which was a function of the specificity of the hydrolysing enzyme. Extended hydrolysis (up to 24 h) had no significant effect on the DH and the molecular weight profiles (P > 0.05) but in some instances caused a reduction in the antioxidant activity of WPI hydrolysates. The chymotrypsin hydrolysate showed a broad MW size range, and was followed by pepsin and then trypsin. The bioactivities of the hydrolysates generally decreased in the order; chymotrypsin > trypsin > pepsin. This study showed that by manipulating protein conformation with pre-hydrolysis heat treatment, combined with careful enzyme selection, peptides with dual functionalities can be produced from WPI for use as functional ingredients in the manufacture of functional foods.     

Quantitation of amphetamine,methamphetamine, and their methylenedioxy derivatives in urine by solid-phase microextraction coupled with electrospray ionization-high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry

Amphetamine, methamphetamine, and their methylenedioxy derivatives have been identified and measured in a human urine matrix using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) in combination with electrospray ionization (ESI) and mass spectrometric detection (MS). Limits of detection in human urine between 200 pg/mL and 7.5 ng/mL have been achieved. The use of a simple extraction method, SPME, combined with the high sensitivity and selectivity of ESI-FAIMS-MS eliminates the need for chromatographic separation and allows for very rapid sample processing.     

Enduring effects of photoperiod on affective behaviors in Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus).

The effects of perinatal and postweaning photoperiods on subsequent affective behaviors were examined in adult Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus). Hamsters exposed perinatally to short days (8 hr light/day) exhibited mixed results for adult anxiety-like behaviors and increased some depressive-like behaviors compared with hamsters exposed to long days (16 hr light/day). Postweaning exposure to short days increased depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors compared with long days. Sex differences in affective behaviors were observed. These results suggest that anxiety-like behaviors are organized early in life and endure throughout adulthood, and anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors are modified by postweaning photoperiod. The persistence of photoperiod-induced affective behaviors in rodents supports the hypothesis that symptoms of human affective disorders may reflect ancestral adaptations to seasonal environments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paper and plastic in daily diary research: Comment on Green, Rafaeli, Bolger, Shrout, and Reis (2006).

The authors applaud A. S. Green, E. Rafaeli, N. Bolger, P. E. Shrout, and H. T. Reis's (2006) response to one-sided comparisons of paper versus electronic (plastic) diary methods (see record 2006-03820-006) and hope that it will stimulate more balanced considerations of the issues involved. The authors begin by highlighting areas of agreement and disagreement with Green et al. The authors review briefly the broader literature that has compared paper and plastic diaries, noting how recent comparisons have relied on study designs and methods that favor investigators' allegiances. The authors note some sorely needed data for the evaluation of the implications of paper versus plastic for the internal and external validity of research. To facilitate evaluation of the existing literature and assist in the design of future studies, the authors offer a balanced comparison of paper and electronic diary methods across a range of applications. Finally, the authors propose 2 study designs that offer fair comparisons of paper and plastic diary methods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Wizard of OZ in Crmland: Crm's Need for Business Process Management

For several years now the focus of CRM has been to make it easier for companies to “reach out and touch” their customers, and vice versa. We have seen an explosion of technologies (wireless, chat, Web portals, voice recognition, analytics, and so on) that have made it convenient for customers to contact vendors, for employees to obtain information, and for companies to hone in on their most valuable assets - profitable customers. Over the last year, CRM company revenues have soared as the big get huge, and the small pick up sizable crumbs left over from the CRM table. Sure, the market is consolidating; but the CRM money machine rolls on.     

The additive heat history of PVC stability

A thermal stability test can determine the amount of residual stability remaining in a polyvinyl chloride compound after processing. Once the percentage of a compound's stability consumed in a given process is known, any regrind material can be tested to determine if it has sufficient residual stability to be reprocessed. Thermal processing also affects weathering, so the test can predict safe weathering limits.     

Feature detectors for speech: A critical reappraisal.

A review of the literature shows that in the past decade, most theoretical accounts of speech perception have stressed the role of feature detectors in mapping initial auditory transforms of the speech signal onto features or phonemes. Several types of experiments are often viewed as supporting the feature detector hypothesis. These include electrophysiological studies of the visual and auditory systems of nonhuman species, studies of categorical perception of speech sounds by human adults and infants, and especially, studies of selective adaptation to speech sounds. The present article argues that evidence for feature detectors in speech perception is equivocal at best and that there are compelling reasons to reject the detector hypothesis (e.g., lack of firm consensus regarding the nature of detector outputs). (3? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)