Assessing stem cell research productivity

Honour Index (HoI), a method to evaluate research performance within different research fields, was derived from the impact factor (IF). It can be used to rate and compare different categories of journals. HoI was used in this study to determine the scientific productivity of stem cell research in the Asian Four Dragons (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) from 1981 to 2001. The methodology applied in this study represents a synthesis of universal indicator studies and bibliometric analyses of subfields at the micro-level. We discuss several comparisons, and conclude the developmental trend in stem cell research for two decades. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Knowledge-based control and case-based diagnosis based upon empirical knowledge and fuzzy logic for the SBR plant.

Because biological wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) involve a long time-delay and various disturbances, in general, skilled operators manually control the plant based on empirical knowledge. And operators usually diagnose the plant using similar cases experienced in the past. For the effective management of the plant, system automation has to be accomplished based upon operating recipes. This paper introduces automatic control and diagnosis based upon the operator's knowledge. Fuzzy logic was employed to design this knowledge-based controller because fuzzy logic can convert the linguistic information to rules. The controller can manage the influent and external carbon in considering the loading rate. The input of the controller is not the loading rate but the dissolved oxygen (DO) lag-time, which has a strong relation to the loading rate. This approach can replace an expensive sensor, which measures the loading rate and ammonia concentration in the reactor, with a cheaper DO sensor. The proposed controller can assure optimal operation and prevent the over-feeding problem. Case-based diagnosis was achieved by the analysis of profile patterns collected from the past. A new test profile was diagnosed by comparing it with template patterns containing normal and abnormal cases. The proposed control and diagnostic system will guarantee the effective and stable operation of WWTPs.     

Co-digestion of manure and biowaste according to the EC animal by-products regulation and Finnish national regulations.

The objective of this study was to compare methane production and characteristics of digested material in anaerobic digestion concepts according to the Animal By-Products Regulation (ABP-Regulation) of the EC (hygienisation of biowaste for 1 hour at 70 degrees C, particle size < 12 mm) and Finnish national regulations (treatment temperature 55 degrees C, feeding interval 24 h, hydraulic retention time (HRT) 20 d, particle size < 40 mm) and with small variations in treatment methods for treating manure and biowaste. Moreover, the survival of three different salmonella bacteria in these processes was studied. Hygienisation of biowaste prior to digestion at 35 degrees C enhanced methane production by 14-18% compared to similar treatment without hygienisation. The differences in treatment temperature, HRT and hygienisation of biowaste prior to digestion did not significantly affect the characteristics of digested material. The concepts according to the ABP-Regulation and Finnish national regulations were effective in destroying salmonella bacteria to an undetectable level.     

Photocatalytic oxidation of low concentration 2,4-D solution with new TiO2 fiber catalyst in a continuous flow reactor.

Environmental pollution by low concentrations of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is a concern these days due to ever increasingly stringent regulations. Photocatalysis with immobilized TiO2 fiber is a promising oxidation method. Laboratory experiments on photocatalytic degradation of 0.045 mmol l(-1) 2,4-D with the world's first high-strength TiO2 fiber catalyst were carried out in a continuous flow reactor in which the degradations were, in general, similar to those with high 2,4-D concentrations investigated elsewhere. Degradation and mineralization of 2,4-D were significantly enhanced with no initial pH adjustments. The rate constants for total organic carbon (TOC) without pH adjustment were about two-fold bigger than the pH adjustment cases. CO2 gas measurement and carbon mass-balance were carried out for the first time, where about 34% organic carbon converted into CO2 gas during four-hour oxidation. 2,4-Dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), phenol, benzyl alcohol and two unknowns (RT = 2.65 and 3.78 min.) were detected as aromatic intermediates while Phenol was the new aromatic in HPLC analysis. Dechlorination efficiencies were high (> 70%) in all the cases, and more than 90% efficiencies were observed in chloride mass balance. Bigger flow rates and solution temperature fixed at 20 degrees C without pH adjustment greatly enhanced 2,4-D mineralization. These results can be an important basis in applying the treatment method for dioxin-contaminated water and wastewater.     

Effect of surface waxes on the persistence of chlorpyrifos-methyl in apples, strawberries and grapefruits

The effects of the cuticle and epicuticular waxes of grapefruit, strawberry and apple on the photodegradation and penetration of chlorpyrifos-methyl were studied. Photodegradation experiments were conducted by exposing the insecticide to the light of a xenon lamp in the presence of a film of wax extracted from the fruit surface. The half-life of chlorpyrifos-methyl irradiated in absence of waxes was 9.6 min. The half-lives of pesticide irradiated in the presence of wax extracts of apple, grapefruit and strawberry were 83, 34 and 26 min, respectively. In penetration studies, fruit with and without wax layers were treated with an aqueous suspension of pesticide. The penetration of the pesticide from the cuticle to the pulp was measured after 24 h. Samples without wax contained a higher total amount of insecticide than those with wax. No pesticide was detected in samples of apple and grapefruit pulp. Residues were detected in all fractions of strawberry. The waxes and cuticle appear to have some effect on the photodegradation and penetration of chlorpyrifos-methyl in fruit samples.     

A multigrid accelerated hybrid unstructured mesh method for 3D compressible turbulent flow

 A cell vertex finite volume method for the solution of steady compressible turbulent flow problems on unstructured hybrid meshes of tetrahedra, prisms, pyramids and hexahedra is described. These hybrid meshes are constructed by firstly discretising the computational domain using tetrahedral elements and then by merging certain tetrahedra. A one equation turbulence model is employed and the solution of the steady flow equations is obtained by explicit relaxation. The solution process is accelerated by the addition of a multigrid method, in which the coarse meshes are generated by agglomeration, and by parallelisation. The approach is shown to be effective for the simulation of a number of 3D flows of current practical interest. Sponsored by The Research Council of Norway, project number 125676/410 Dedicated to the memory of Prof. Mike Crisfield, a respected colleague     

Catalytic aminolysis of epoxide by alumina prepared from amine-protected Al precursor

The catalytic activities of alumina prepared from an Al alkoxide-amine adduct monomer for the reaction of cyclopentene oxide with piperidine was determined after various pretreatments, including calcination and exposure to moisture. They were compared with the activity of alumina prepared by the conventional hydrolysis method. It was found that the as-prepared sample from the alkoxide-amine monomer preparation was five times more active than a conventional preparation, suggesting that it has a higher density of surface Lewis acid sites. However, its activity was much more severely suppressed by exposure to moisture.