Residual thermal strain of metals in heating-cooling cycles

Summary Metallic samples subjected to heating-cooling cycles undergo a permanent change in their length. The difference between the initial length and the length at the end of the cycle (residual strain) depends on the maximum temperature attained during the cycle. This dependence of residual strain on the maximum temperature of the cycle is similar for all of the examined metals (polycrystalline copper, aluminium, iron, gold, lead and single-crystal copper). Upon further increasing this temperature, the metal residual strain changes from positive to negative values. The temperature at which the maximum positive residual strain occurs is characteristic for each metal. The value of the residual strain and the temperature at which it changes its sign depend on the previous thermal history of the metal.     

Flow characteristics of primary and digested sewage sludge

Summary Rheological study of sewage sludge is useful for the design, operation and control of sewage treatment plants. The rheology is highly dependent on physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the sludge. A pipeline rheometer is described in this paper for measurement of rheological properties of the sludge. Primary sewage sludge is a complex flocculated suspension having no fixed particle dimension, shape, size distribution or surface characteristics. The information available so far on rheology of sewage sludge is not suitable for application in design because of the lack of data on physico-chemical characteristics of this sludge.Primary and digested sewage sludge are non-Newtonian in character. Both exhibit yield stress and while primary sludge is shear-thinning in nature, digested sludge has been found to be shear-thickening. Parabolic and yield-power law models have been used to express the experimental data obtained for sludges at various concentrations and temperatures. Yield stress of primary sludge varies exponentially with concentration and linearly with temperature within the short temperature range studied. Primary sludge is found to be antithixotropic at low shear stress. Digested sludge does not exhibit time dependency.With 9 figures and 5 tables     

Vocal fold nodules in adult singers: Regional opinions about etiologic factors, career impact, and treatment. A survey of otolaryngologists, speech pathologists, and teachers of singing

This study was undertaken to better understand current regional opinions regarding vocal fold nodules in adult singers. A questionnaire was sent to 298 persons representing the 3 professional groups most involved with the care of singers with vocal nodules: otolaryngologists, speech pathologists, and teachers of singing. The questionnaire queried respondents about their level of experience with this problem, and their beliefs about causative factors, career impact, and optimum treatment. Responses within and between groups were similar, with differences between groups primarily in the magnitude of positive or negative responses, rather than in the polarity of the responses. Prevailing opinions included: recognition of causative factors in both singing and speaking voice practices, optimism about responsiveness to appropriate treatment, enthusiasm for coordinated voice therapy and voice training as first-line treatment, and acceptance of microsurgical management as appropriate treatment if behavioral management fails.     

A combination of statistical and analytical evaluation methods as a new optimization strategy for the quantification of pharmaceutical residues in sewage effluent

In this study, a new solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method for simultaneous extraction of pharmaceutical compounds with acidic and basic characteristics (ibuprofen, fenoprofen, diclofenac, diazepam and loratadine) from residual water samples is proposed. In this procedure, the extraction is processed using two distinct sample pH values. The extraction is begun at pH 2.5 to promote the sorption of acidic pharmaceuticals and after 35 min the sample pH is changed to 7.0 by adding 0.4 mol L⁻¹ disodium hydrogenphosphate, so that the basic compounds can be sorbed by the fiber (20 min). The pH change is performed without interruption of the extraction process. A comparison between the proposed method and the SPME method applied to each group of the target compounds was performed. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry was used for separation and detection of analytes. The extraction conditions for the three methods were optimized using full factorial experimental design, response surface through a Doehlert matrix and central composite design. Limits of detection (0.02-0.43 μg L⁻¹) and correlation coefficients (0.9970-0.9998) were determined for the three methods. The proposed extraction procedure was applied to samples of sewage treatment plant effluent and untreated wastewater. Recovery and relative standard deviation values ranged from 67 to 116% and 4.6 to 14.5%, respectively, for all compounds studied. Modification of sample pH during the extraction procedure was shown to be an excellent option for all of the compounds and may be extended to the simultaneous extraction of other compounds with different acid-base characteristics.     

Innovative combination of QuEChERS extraction with on-line solid-phase extract purification and pre-concentration,followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and their metabolites in sewage sludge

For the first time QuEChERS extraction of sewage sludge was combined with the automatic solid-phase pre-concentration and purification of the extract (following indicated as SPE) and LC-MS/MS analysis, for the determination of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), diclofenac (DIC), fenbufen (FEN), flurbiprofen (FLU), ketoprofen (KET), ibuprofen (IBU) and naproxen (NAP), and their metabolites salicylic acid (SAL), 4′-hydroxydiclofenac (4′-HYDIC), 1-hydroxyibuprofen (1-HYIBU), 2-hydroxyibuprofen (2-HYIBU), 3-hydroxyibuprofen (3-HYIBU) and o-desmethylnaproxen (O-DMNAP). Various commercial pellicular stationary phases (i.e. silica gel functionalized with octadecyl, biphenyl, phenylhexyl and pentafluorophenyl groups) were preliminarily investigated for the resolution of target analytes and different sorbent phases (i.e. octyl or octadecyl functionalized silica gel and a polymeric phase functionalized with N-benzylpyrrolidone groups) were tested for the SPE phase. The optimized method involves the QuEChERS extraction of 1 g of freeze-dried sludge with 15 mL of water/acetonitrile 1/2 (v/v), the SPE of the extract with the N-benzylpyrrolidone polymeric phase and the water/acetonitrile gradient elution on the pentafluorophenyl stationary phase at room temperature. Matrix effect was always suppressive and in most cases low, being it ≤20% for ASA, DIC, FLU, KET, IBU, 1-HYIBU, 2-HYIBU, 3-HYIBU, NAP and O-DMNAP, and included in the range of 35–47% for the other analytes. Recoveries were evaluated at three spiking levels, evidencing almost quantitative values for HYIBUs and O-DMNAP; for ASA, SAL and KET the recoveries were included in between 50 and 76%, whereas for the other compounds they ranged from 36% to 55%. The proposed method showed better analytical performances than those so far published, being suitable for target compound determination in real samples from tens of pg g⁻¹ to ng g⁻¹ of freeze-dried sludge, with a total analysis time of 30 min per sample.     

Changes in vocal intensity in Parkinson's disease following pallidotomy surgery

The present study was designed to examine changes in vocal intensity following unilateral posteroventral pallidotomy (PVP) in a large sample of speakers with Parkinson's disease (PD) that exhibited a range of hypokinetic dysarthria. Twenty-five persons with PD were recorded using a variety of speech tasks, once prior to and once following PVP. The pre-PVP vocal SPL was subtracted from the post-PVP vocal SPL to derive a relative change in vocal SPL. Mildly dysarthric participants had significantly greater relative increases in vocal SPL following PVP than either moderately or severely dysarthric participants who had reduced vocal SPL following PVP. If future results follow those observed in the present data, mildly dysarthric Parkinson's patients may benefit most from unilateral PVP perhaps due to less overall destruction of the basal ganglia sensorimotor control circuits involved in oral facial functions, thus increasing the chances to observe improvements postsurgery.     

热解析富集-能量色散X射线荧光光谱法对溶液中汞的测定

搭建热解析富集装置对溶液中的汞富集后进行检测,可以提高X射线荧光测试的灵敏度.整个测试过程如下:样品中的汞在高温下发生热解析,经过滤膜时被选择性吸附,在使用光谱仪测试后,最终计算出样品中汞的含量.在热解析管路中加入白云石增加停留时间,可以降低汞的热解还原温度,在使用汞稳定化剂的条件下,只需加热到600℃就可以实现汞的解...     

A nonrigid registration algorithm for longitudinal breast MR images and the analysis of breast tumor response

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) can estimate parameters relating to blood flow and tissue volume fractions and therefore may be used to characterize the response of breast tumors to treatment. To assess treatment response, values of these DCE-MRI parameters are observed at different time points during the course of treatment. We propose a method whereby DCE-MRI data sets obtained in separate imaging sessions can be co-registered to a common image space, thereby retaining spatial information so that serial DCE-MRI parameter maps can be compared on a voxel-by-voxel basis. In performing inter-session breast registration, one must account for patient repositioning and breast deformation, as well as changes in tumor shape and volume relative to other imaging sessions. One challenge is to optimally register the normal tissues while simultaneously preventing tumor distortion. We accomplish this by extending the adaptive bases algorithm through adding a tumor-volume preserving constraint in the cost function. We also propose a novel method to generate the simulated breast magnetic resonance (MR) images, which can be used to evaluate the proposed registration algorithm quantitatively. The proposed nonrigid registration algorithm is applied to both simulated and real longitudinal 3D high resolution MR images and the obtained transformations are then applied to lower resolution physiological parameter maps obtained via DCE-MRI. The registration results demonstrate the proposed algorithm can successfully register breast MR images acquired at different time points and allow for analysis of the registered parameter maps.     

分析北京城市污泥中铅砷镉形态浓度的ICP-MS

城市污泥中重金属的难降解和高毒性限制了污泥的资源化利用.以北京G和Q污水处理厂的压滤出厂污泥为实验材料,采用BCR三步浸提法对污泥中铅砷镉Pb,As,Cd的三种形态进行提取,以HNO3-HClO4进行全量消解,利用ICP-MS检测Pb,As,Cd的全量和各形态的含量,从而为北京城市污泥的资源开发研究提供基础数据.实验结果表明,北京城市污泥中Pb和Cd含量比上世纪末明显降低:其中,G污泥中Pb,As,Cd的全量(干重)分别为19.60,37.96和1.34 mg·kg-1,而Q污泥中分别为19.58,23.46和2.30 mg·kg-1;两种污泥中Pb含量相差甚微,G污泥中As明显高于Q污泥,而Cd则显著低于后者;两种污泥中相应金属的三种形态的变化趋势基本一致:Pb与As以HAc酸溶态为主,H2O2可氧化态最少;而Cd主要以NH2OH-HCl可还原态存在,HAc酸溶态最少.三种重金属中生物毒性大的形态均占70%以上.     

Towards dynamic control of magnetic fields to focus magnetic carriers to targets deep inside the body

Magnetic drug delivery has the potential to target therapy to specific regions in the body, improving efficacy and reducing side effects for treatment of cancer, stroke, infection, and other diseases. Using stationary external magnets, which attract the magnetic drug carriers, this treatment is limited to shallow targets (<5 cm below skin depth using the strongest possible, still safe, practical magnetic fields). We consider dynamic magnetic actuation and present initial results that show it is possible to vary magnets one against the other to focus carriers between them on average. The many remaining tasks for deep targeting in-vivo are then briefly noted.