Biofilm in the sediment phase of a sanitary gravity sewer

Microbial activity of the sediment phase in a 1.5-km-long concrete sewer section with a cement pipe in a 540-mm diameter was investigated in this paper. SEM examinations and elementary composition analyses of the sediment samples have identified the presence of a biofilm layer at the sediment surface. Bacterial counting results with a DNA-staining technique have revealed that the amount of bacteria in this layer was 2.1 x 10(11)cellg(-1) dry wt, which is close to that of activated sludge. ATP content in the sewer biofilm was found relatively high, demonstrating that the sewer biofilm is active. Throughout the entire 1.5-km sewer section, the biofilm activity was maintained at almost the same level. Lab-scale sediment oxygen uptake flux (SOUF) tests showed that the shear flow velocity above the sediment phase linearly increases the SOUF, which of the potential value was determined to be 32gO(2)m(-2) day(-1) at an estimated shear flow velocity of 0.055ms(-1) at 25 degrees C in the sewer line, provided that the mean flow velocity was 1.5ms(-1), and the mean water depth was 220mm. Such a high SOUF value further endorsed the existence of the active sewer biofilm.     

Generalized overlap measures for evaluation and validation in medical image analysis

Measures of overlap of labelled regions of images, such as the Dice and Tanimoto coefficients, have been extensively used to evaluate image registration and segmentation algorithms. Modern studies can include multiple labels defined on multiple images yet most evaluation schemes report one overlap per labelled region, simply averaged over multiple images. In this paper, common overlap measures are generalized to measure the total overlap of ensembles of labels defined on multiple test images and account for fractional labels using fuzzy set theory. This framework allows a single "figure-of-merit" to be reported which summarises the results of a complex experiment by image pair, by label or overall. A complementary measure of error, the overlap distance, is defined which captures the spatial extent of the nonoverlapping part and is related to the Hausdorff distance computed on grey level images. The generalized overlap measures are validated on synthetic images for which the overlap can be computed analytically and used as similarity measures in nonrigid registration of three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain images. Finally, a pragmatic segmentation ground truth is constructed by registering a magnetic resonance atlas brain to 20 individual scans, and used with the overlap measures to evaluate publicly available brain segmentation algorithms.     

Current use pesticides in Arctic media; 2000-2007

This review will summarize the levels of selected current use pesticides (CUPs) that have been identified and reported in Arctic media (i.e. air, water, sediment, and biota) since the year 2000. Almost all of the 10 CUPs (chlorothalonil, chlorpyrifos, dacthal, diazinon, dicofol, lindane, methoxychlor, pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB), pentachlorophenol, and trifluralin) examined in the review currently are, or have been, high production volume chemicals i.e. > 1 M lbs/y in USA or > 1000 t/y globally. Characteristic travel distances for the 10 chemicals range from 55 km (methoxychlor) to 12,100 km (PCNB). Surveys and long-term monitoring studies have demonstrated the presence of 9 of the 10 CUPs included in this review in the Arctic environment. Only dicofol has not been reported. The presence of these chemicals has mainly been reported in high volume air samples and in snow from Arctic ice caps and lake catchments. There are many other CUPs registered for use which have not been determined in Arctic environments. The discovery of the CUPs currently measured in the Arctic has been mainly serendipitous, a result of analyzing some samples using the same suite of analytes as used for studies in mid-latitude locations. A more systematic approach is needed to assess whether other CUPs might be accumulating in the arctic and ultimately to assess whether their presence has any significance biologically or results in risks for human consumers.     

On the joint effects of stimulus quality, regularity, and lexicality when reading aloud: New challenges.

A number of computational models have been developed over the last 2 decades that are remarkably successful at explaining the process of translating print into sound. Nevertheless, 2 of the most successful computational accounts on the table fail to simulate the results from factorial experiments reported in this article in which university students read aloud letter strings that varied in terms of spelling–sound regularity and lexicality (regular words vs. exception words vs. nonwords) and stimulus quality (bright vs. dim). Skilled readers yielded additive effects of regularity and stimulus quality and additive effects of lexicality and stimulus quality on both RT and errors when nonwords were mixed with words. When only words appeared in the list, there was an interaction in which exception words were less affected by low stimulus quality than regular words were; no existing account anticipates or explains these results. We advance a hypothesis that assumes a novel module that accommodates these data and provide an existence proof in the form of a simulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the response of ballistic soap to one-dimensional shock loading

The effects of projectile penetration into soft tissue are often studied using the tissue simulant ballistic soap. Consequently, a full understanding of the high strain-rate response of ballistic soap is desirable. Using the plate-impact technique, key shock parameters have been measured for impacts in the range 81–968 m/s, allowing derivation of the Hugoniot equation-of-state for soap in the U_S–u_P and σ_X–u_P planes. A polynomial Hugoniot relationship was found in the U_S–u_P plane, with the general form U_S = 1.96 + 2.41u_P − 0.72u_P² (ρ₀ = 1.107 g/cc). Further, embedded lateral manganin stress gauges were employed to interrogate the evolution of lateral stress within the soap. A gradient in lateral stress, whose magnitude increased incrementally with impact stress, was apparent behind the shock for σ_X >1 GPa. It is proposed that at higher values of σ_X, increased compression of hydrocarbon chains acts to increase the materials resistance to shear, a phenomenon consistent with steric hindrance.     

Accessory child safety harnesses: Do the risks outweigh the benefits?

Accessory child safety harnesses are available in some countries as alternative restraints for young children or as an accessory restraint used with booster seats. Their use, in Australia at least, is becoming more common. There have been concerns that the risk of misuse of these restraints outweighs any potential benefit this system might have over a retractable lap-shoulder belt system used with a booster seat. However to date there is no evidence to confirm or deny this. This study used laboratory simulated frontal crash tests to examine the performance of accessory child safety harness systems compared to the lap-shoulder belt when used alone and when used with two common designs of Australian booster seat. The performance of the child safety harness system when misused was also investigated. The results demonstrate that the correctly used child safety harness system performed no better than the lap-shoulder system, and in fact allows for a greater risk of submarining. Furthermore, one common form of child safety harness misuse, where the harness is over-tightened causing the lap belt to be positioned high over the abdomen, allowed extremely undesirable dummy motion. This involved gross submarining and direct contact between the harness system and the dummy's neck. These findings suggest that the risks associated with accessory child safety harness systems most likely outweigh any potential benefits, in frontal impacts at least.     

Future horizons in building environmental engineering

The paper brings together many current themes of interest and stimulates the reader to be aware that in creative work there has to be something beyond technical competence; there has to be a committed energy, desire and love in the work being created. The author confirms that buildings modify climate; they influence behaviour and culture; they affect the distribution of resources and the ecological pattern of our planet, whilst human aspirations can only be met when climate, buildings and people are in balance.