Cell surface characterization of Yarrowia lipolytica IMUFRJ 50682

In the present work, the surface characteristics of a wild-type strain of Yarrowia lipolytica (IMUFRJ50682) were investigated. Six different methods to characterize cell surfaces--adhesion to polystyrene; hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC); microbial adhesion to solvents (MATS) test; zeta potential; microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons (MATH) test; and contact angle measurement (CAM)--were employed to explain the cell surface behaviour of Y. lipolytica (IMUFRJ50682). This Y. lipolytica strain presents significant differences at the cell surface compared with another Y. lipolytica strain (W29) previously reported in the literature. The main difference is related to the higher cell adhesion to non-polar solvents. The proteins present on the cell wall of Y. lipolytica IMUFRJ50682 seem to play an important role in these particular surface characteristics because of the consistent reduction of this yeast hydrophobic character after the action of pronase on its cell wall.     

Monotonic penalized-likelihood image reconstruction for X-ray fluorescence computed tomography

In this paper, we derive a monotonic penalized-likelihood algorithm for image reconstruction in X-ray fluorescence computed tomography (XFCT) when the attenuation maps at the energies of the fluorescence X-rays are unknown. In XFCT, a sample is irradiated with pencil beams of monochromatic synchrotron radiation that stimulate the emission of fluorescence X-rays from atoms of elements whose K- or L-edges lie below the energy of the stimulating beam. Scanning and rotating the object through the beam allows for acquisition of a tomographic dataset that can be used to reconstruct images of the distribution of the elements in question. XFCT is a stimulated emission tomography modality, and it is thus necessary to correct for attenuation of the incident and fluorescence photons. The attenuation map is, however, generally known only at the stimulating beam energy and not at the energies of the various fluorescence X-rays of interest. We have developed a penalized-likelihood image reconstruction strategy for this problem. The approach alternates between updating the distribution of a given element and updating the attenuation map for that element's fluorescence X-rays. The approach is guaranteed to increase the penalized likelihood at each iteration. Because the joint objective function is not necessarily concave, the approach may drive the solution to a local maximum. To encourage the algorithm to seek out a reasonable local maximum, we include in the objective function a prior that encourages a relationship, based on physical considerations, between the fluorescence attenuation map and the distribution of the element being reconstructed.     

Photothermal gas analyzer for simultaneous measurements of thermal diffusivity and thermal effusivity

In this paper, we describe a new, simple, and fast photothermal method for simultaneous measurements of two important gas thermal properties: thermal diffusivity and thermal effusivity. The method consists essentially in combining a photoacoustic cell and a thermal wave pyroelectric cell enclosed in a single compact gas analyzer. The photoacoustic cell is kept filled with synthetic air and sealed. The pyroelectric cell is also filled with synthetic air, and after some warm up time, the synthetic air is exchanged to the gas of interest. It is shown that the analysis of the transient and saturation signals of both photoacoustic and pyroelectric cells is capable of measuring the thermal properties with an accuracy of 3%. This particular capability of performing simultaneously the measurements of thermal diffusivity and thermal effusivity allows us to carry on the complete characterization of the thermal properties of gases.     

Ammonia detection by using quantum-cascade laser photoacoustic spectroscopy

A pulsed quantum-cascade distributed-feedback laser, temperature tunable from -41 degrees C to +31.6 degrees C, and a resonant differential photoacoustic detector are used to measure trace-gas concentrations to as low as 66 parts per 10(9) by volume (ppbv) ammonia at a low laser power of 2 mW. Good agreement between the experimental spectrum and the simulated HITRAN spectrum of NH3 is found in the spectral range between 1046 and 1052 cm(-1). A detection limit of 30 ppbv ammonia at a signal-to-noise ratio of 1 was obtained with the quantum-cascade laser (QCL) photoacoustic (PA) setup. Concentration changes of approximately 50 ppbv were detectable with this compact and versatile QCL-based PA detection system. The performance of the PA detector, characterized by the product of the incident laser power and the minimum detectable absorption coefficient, was 4.7 x 10-9 W cm(-1).     

Analysis of the dynamics of paste drying in a spouted bed

Although there are some models available in the literature for paste drying in spouted beds, few of them have focused on transient analysis of dynamical systems. Our objective was to integrate experiments and simulations of a dynamic model to investigate the transient response to disturbances and interruptions in the feed flow during paste drying in a spouted bed with inert particles. The spouted bed consisted of a cylindrical column with 50.0?cm of height and 20.0?cm of diameter. Drying tests were performed at inlet gas temperatures of 70?°C and 100?°C and inlet air flow 30% above the minimum spouting velocity. A 5% w/w suspension of calcium carbonate was used as paste material, and glass spheres of 2.2?mm were used as inert materials. Different patterns of step function changes were tested in the paste feed flow rate. A lumped parameter model was used to predict mass and heat transfer during the drying. Experiments and simulations were in good agreement.     

Analysis of transmittance and degree of conversion of composite resins

The objective of this study was to evaluate and correlate light transmittance (T), initial degree of conversion (IDC), and degree of conversion after 24 hr (DC24) for 22 composite resins (CR) for enamel and dentin use. The transmittance (n = 10) was measured with a spectrometer at a wavelength of 468.14 nm. The degree of conversion (DC; n = 5) was measured with Fourier Transform Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy before polymerization, immediately after photoactivation, and 24 hr after photoactivation. Both sets of values are provided as percentages. ANOVA and Games‐Howell (α = 5%) tests showed that Filtek Supreme Ultra gave the highest T values of all enamel CRs, while Esthet‐X HD presented the lowest. Meanwhile, Venus diamond gave the highest values of all dentin CRs, while Esthet‐X HD gave the lowest. For IDC and DC24, ANOVA showed differences between individual CRs and the two CR types (p < .0001). Despite the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that there was no correlation between T and either IDC or DC24 (p > .05); however, IDC and DC24 were strongly correlated (p < .05) by Pearson's correlation. That being said, as a higher DC reflects better mechanical properties, certain conclusions can be drawn about overall performance. The best IDC values were observed for the Opallis enamel resin and the Opallis and Premise dentin resins. Meanwhile, the best DC24 values were observed for the Opallis, Charisma, and Premise enamel resins and the Opallis and Premise dentin resins. Degree of conversion and light transmittance showed differences between composite resin types (enamel and dentin) and brands. It is important to know at the moment of composite choice taking into account mechanical and optical properties.     

Movement-related cortical potentials allow discrimination of rate of torque development in imaginary isometric plantar flexion

The aim of this study was to discriminate on a single-trial basis the cortical activity associated to two rates of torque development (RTDs) in imaginary isometric plantar flexions. Electroencephalographic (EEG), electrooculographic (EOG), and electromyographic (EMG) signals were recorded while ten healthy subjects imagined right-sided isometric ankle plantar-flexion tasks at moderate [from 0% to 60% of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) in 4 s] and ballistic (from 0% to 60% MVC as fast as possible) RTDs. The EEG signals were classified using feature extraction based on the marginal distribution of a discrete wavelet transform with optimization of the mother wavelet. The classifier was based on support vector machines (SVMs). Minimum misclassification rate for the best case was 8.3%. Average minimum misclassification rate over the ten subjects was (17.4 +/- 8.4)%. The two RTDs could be best differentiated from channel C4 on average. In conclusion, different RTDs could be differentiated in imaginary isometric plantar-flexion by only using cortical potentials recorded with surface EEG. This result constitutes the first step for the development of a new type of brain-computer interfaces that rely on kinetic parameters of a single limb rather than movements of opposite limbs.     

Distance-Learning Power-System Protection Based on Testing Protective Relays

The study of power system of relays requires some previous experience in this field. Laboratories focusing on teaching and researching the area of power-system protection have therefore been amply reported. However, these facilities require the actual presence of the students in the laboratories. To overcome this problem, a power-system-relaying remote laboratory has been developed. To implement this laboratory, a testing system of the relay operating characteristic, together with Matlab-based software, was developed. This remote laboratory enables real power-system-relaying experiments through the Internet. In fact, the user can remotely test a real relay disoperation. This system will therefore allow proficient analysis of sensitivities to relay settings and network configurations.