Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Main Applications (main + application)
Selected AbstractsDiagnosis of Helicobacter pylori InfectionHELICOBACTER, Issue 2004Athanasios Makristathis ABSTRACT While there are some attempts to improve culture of Helicobacter pylori, molecular methods have been the main focus of this interest. Their main application concerns the development of rapid tests also allowing the determination of bacterial resistance, i.e. real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), or to genotype the strains. Attempts to improve, simplify or explain the discrepancies of urea breath test results have been made and new generation of stool antigen test with monoclonal antibodies either using the standard ELISA format or rapid immunoenzymatic detection have confirmed their value. With regard to serology, studies have mainly focused on the distinction of infections with more pathogenic strains and the ability to diagnose atrophic gastritis with the Gastropanel. [source] Prior knowledge processing for initial state of Kalman filterINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADAPTIVE CONTROL AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, Issue 3 2010E. Suzdaleva Abstract The paper deals with a specification of the prior distribution of the initial state for Kalman filter. The subjective prior knowledge, used in state estimation, can be highly uncertain. In practice, incorporation of prior knowledge contributes to a good start of the filter. The present paper proposes a methodology for selection of the initial state distribution, which enables eliciting of prior knowledge from the available expert information. The proposed methodology is based on the use of the conjugate prior distribution for models belonging to the exponential family. The normal state-space model is used for demonstrating the methodology. The paper covers processing of the prior knowledge for state estimation, available in the form of simulated data. Practical experiments demonstrate the processing of prior knowledge from the urban traffic control area, which is the main application of the research. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An image fiber based fluorescent probe with associated signal processing scheme for biomedical diagnosticsLASER PHYSICS LETTERS, Issue 10 2008M. Vaishakh Abstract A dual-modality image fiber based fluorescent probe that can be used for depth sensitive imaging and suppression of fluorescent emissions with nanosecond lifetime difference is proposed and illustrated in this paper. The system can give high optical sectioning and employs an algorithm for obtaining phase sensitive images. The system can find main application in in vivo biomedical diagnostics for detecting biochemical changes for distinguishing malignant tissue from healthy tissue. (© 2008 by Astro Ltd., Published exclusively by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA) [source] Accuracy and precision of flowing afterglow mass spectrometry for the determination of the deuterium abundance in the headspace of aqueous liquids and exhaled breath waterRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 11 2001Patrik, panel We have assessed the accuracy and precision of our flowing afterglow mass spectrometric method (FA-MS) for absolute measurements of deuterium abundance in water using standardised tap water/D2O mixtures within the D/H range from 155,ppm (local tap water) to 1104,ppm, prepared by the gravimetric method. The results of this study show that a precision and accuracy of 1% can be achieved for the deuterium abundance in water samples. This is quite adequate for the main application, which is the rapid, non-invasive measurement of total body water by deuterium analysis of breath water vapour using the D2O dilution method. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Theory of pH-stat titrationBIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 1 2003Elena Ficara Abstract Innovative techniques are being studied to assess the activity of bioreactors and to improve the performance and operational stability of biological processes. Among these techniques, the pH-stat titration is applicable to any bioreaction involving pH variations. Up to now, the main application of the pH-stat titration has been for nitrification monitoring. In this article, we present a theoretical model of pH-stat titration, which predicts the response to any reaction involving the production or consumption of protons, hydroxyl ions, or inorganic carbon chemical species (CO2, HCO3,, CO3=). This model is a useful tool to understand pH-stat titrations, to define their applicability and limits, and to select the best experimental conditions for specific applications. Tests have been performed to compare experimental pH-stat titration rates in the presence of carbon dioxide and HCO3, producing reactions to the values predicted by the model and a very satisfying correspondence was found. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 82: 28,37, 2003. [source] Assessing cytotoxicity of (iron oxide-based) nanoparticles: an overview of different methods exemplified with cationic magnetoliposomesCONTRAST MEDIA & MOLECULAR IMAGING, Issue 5 2009Stefaan J. H. Soenen Abstract Iron oxide nanoparticles are the most widely used T2/T2* contrast agents and for biomedical research purposes, one of the main applications is the in vitro labeling of stem or therapeutic cells, allowing them to be subsequently tracked in vivo upon transplantation. To allow this, the nanoparticles used should not show any sign of cytotoxicity and not affect cellular physiology as this could impede normal cell functionality in vivo or lead to undesired side-effects. Assessing the biocompatibility of the nanoparticles has proven to be quite a difficult task. In the present work, a small overview of commonly used assays is presented in order to assess several aspects, such as cell viability, induction of reactive oxygen species, nanoparticle uptake, cellular morphology, cellular proliferation, actin cytoskeleton architecture and differentiation of stem cells. The main focus is on comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the different assays, highlighting several common problems and presenting possible solutions to these problems as well as pointing out the high importance of the relationship between intracellular nanoparticle concentration and cytotoxicity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Recent advances in the analysis of antibiotics by CE and CECELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 1 2010Marķa Castro-Puyana Abstract This article reviews the latest advances in the development of analytical methodologies by CE and CEC for the analysis of different groups of antibiotics. CZE and MEKC have been the most employed CE modes. Analytical information on experimental conditions, detection mode, and LOD are provided to the readers. In addition, the main applications performed in the pharmaceutical, biological, food, and environmental fields have been reviewed emphasizing the sample preparation requirements. The publications reviewed cover the period of time from June 2007 to May 2009. [source] Benzonitriles: Survey of their importance and scaling of their vibrational frequenciesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, Issue 4 2003M. Alcolea Palafox Abstract This work provides a short survey of the studies carried out on benzonitrile and its derivatives, with special attention on a spectroscopic point of view. The importance and main applications of these molecules are also briefly indicated. For an accurate assignment of their vibrational spectra, the scaling procedures for the wave numbers are described. For this purpose, the performance of semiempirical, ab initio, and density functional methods, with different basis sets, is determined. A "resume" of the main scaling factors to be used in the calculated wave numbers is shown. The results obtained for several benzene derivatives, and in particular for four benzonitriles, are analyzed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem 94: 189,204, 2003 [source] Supercritical water for environmental technologiesJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Dr Anne Loppinet-Serani Abstract OVERVIEW: Supercritical water is a great medium in which to perform chemical reactions and to develop processes. Due to its unique thermo-physico-chemical properties, supercritical water is able to play the role of solvent of organic compounds and/or to react with them. These specific properties have been used since the 1990s to develop new technologies dedicated to the environment and energy. IMPACT: Supercritical water based technologies are innovative and efficient processes having a strong impact on society, the environment and the economy, and is termed a sustainable technology. APPLICATIONS: Three main applications for supercritical water technology are under development: (i) supercritical water oxidation (SCWO); (ii) supercritical water biomass gasification (SCBG); and (iii) hydrolysis of polymers in supercritical water (HPSCW) for composites/plastics recycling. In this paper some fundamentals of supercritical water are first presented to introduce the above three major developments. Then these technologies are reviewed in terms of their present and future industrial development and their impact on the environment and on energy production. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Artificial boundary conditions for Petrovsky systems of second order in exterior domains and in other domains of conical typeMATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 13 2004A. Nazarov, Sergue Abstract The approximation of solutions to boundary value problems on unbounded domains by those on bounded domains is one of the main applications for artificial boundary conditions. Based on asymptotic analysis, here a new method is presented to construct local artificial boundary conditions for a very general class of elliptic problems where the main asymptotic term is not known explicitly. Existence and uniqueness of approximating solutions are proved together with asymptotically precise error estimates. One class of important examples includes boundary value problems for anisotropic elasticity and piezoelectricity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Determination of the profile of atmospheric optical turbulence strength from SLODAR dataMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2006T. Butterley ABSTRACT Slope Detection and Ranging (SLODAR) is a technique for the measurement of the vertical profile of atmospheric optical turbulence strength. Its main applications are astronomical site characterization and real-time optimization of imaging with adaptive optical correction. The turbulence profile is recovered from the cross-covariance of the slope of the optical phase aberration for a double star source, measured at the telescope with a wavefront sensor (WFS). Here, we determine the theoretical response of a SLODAR system based on a Shack,Hartmann WFS to a thin turbulent layer at a given altitude, and also as a function of the spatial power spectral index of the optical phase aberrations. Recovery of the turbulence profile via fitting of these theoretical response functions is explored. The limiting resolution in altitude of the instrument and the statistical uncertainty of the measured profiles are discussed. We examine the measurement of the total integrated turbulence strength (the seeing) from the WFS data and, by subtraction, the fractional contribution from all turbulence above the maximum altitude for direct sensing of the instrument. We take into account the effects of noise in the measurement of wavefront slopes from centroids and the form of the spatial structure function of the atmospheric optical aberrations. [source] Elastic image registration of 2-D gels for differential and repeatability studiesPROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 1 2008Carlos O. S. Sorzano Dr. Abstract One of the main applications of electrophoretic 2-D gels is the analysis of differential responses between different conditions. For this reason, specific spots are present in one of the images, but not in the other. In some other occasions, the same experiment is repeated between 2 and 12 times in order to increase statistical significance. In both situations, one of the major difficulties of these analysis is that 2-D gels are affected by spatial distortions due to run-time differences and dye-front deformations, resulting in images that are significantly dissimilar not only because of their content, but also because of their geometry. In this technical brief, we show how to use free, state-of-the-art image registration and fusion algorithms developed by us for solving the problem of comparing differential expression profiles, or computing an "average" image from a series of virtually identical gels. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||