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Least One Order (least + one_order)
Selected AbstractsFast Inverse Reflector Design (FIRD)COMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 8 2009A. Mas I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism; I.3.5 [Computer Graphics]: Computational Geometry and Object Modeling , Physically based modeling; I.3.1 [Hardware architecture]: Graphics processors Abstract This paper presents a new inverse reflector design method using a GPU-based computation of outgoing light distribution from reflectors. We propose a fast method to obtain the outgoing light distribution of a parametrized reflector, and then compare it with the desired illumination. The new method works completely in the GPU. We trace millions of rays using a hierarchical height-field representation of the reflector. Multiple reflections are taken into account. The parameters that define the reflector shape are optimized in an iterative procedure in order for the resulting light distribution to be as close as possible to the desired, user-provided one. We show that our method can calculate reflector lighting at least one order of magnitude faster than previous methods, even with millions of rays, complex geometries and light sources. [source] Volume natriuresis vs. pressure natriuresisACTA PHYSIOLOGICA, Issue 4 2004P. Bie Abstract Body fluid regulation depends on regulation of renal excretion. This includes a fast vasopressin-mediated water-retaining mechanism, and slower, complex sodium-retaining systems dominated by the renin,angiotensin aldosterone cascade. The sensory mechanisms of sodium control are not identified; effectors may include renal arterial pressure, renal reflexes, extrarenal hormones and other regulatory factors. Since the pioneering work of Guyton more than three decades ago, pressure natriuresis has been in focus. Dissociations between sodium excretion and blood pressure are explained as conditions where regulatory performance exceeds the precision of the measurements. It is inherent to the concept, however, that sudden transition from low to high sodium intake elicits an arterial pressure increase, which is reversed by the pressure natriuresis mechanism. However, such transitions elicit parallel changes in extracellular fluid volume thereby activating volume receptors. Recently we studied the orchestration of sodium homeostasis by chronic and acute sodium loading in normal humans and trained dogs. Small increases in arterial blood pressure are easily generated by acute sodium loading, and dogs appear more sensitive than humans. However, with suitable loading procedures it is possible , also acutely , to augment renal sodium excretion by at least one order of magnitude without any change in arterial pressure whatsoever. Although pressure natriuresis is a powerful mechanism capable of overriding any other controller, it seems possible that it is not operative under normal conditions. Consequently, it is suggested that physiological control of sodium excretion is neurohumoral based on extracellular volume with neural control of renin system activity as an essential component. [source] Wastewater treatment plants as a pathway for aquatic contamination by pharmaceuticals in the Ebro river basin (Northeast Spain)ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 8 2007Meritxell Gros Abstract The occurrence of 28 pharmaceuticals of major human consumption in Spain, including analgesics and anti-inflam-matories, lipid regulators, psychiatric drugs, antibiotics, antihistamines, and ,-blockers, was assessed along the Ebro river basin, one of the biggest irrigated lands in that country. Target compounds were simultaneously analyzed by off-line solid-phase extraction, followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The loads of detected pharmaceuticals and their removal rates were studied in seven wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in the main cities along the basin. Total loads ranged from 2 to 5 and from 0.5 to 1.5 g/d/1,000 inhabitants in influent and effluent wastewaters, respectively. High removal rates (60,90%) were achieved mainly for analgesics and anti-inflammatories. The other groups showed lower rates, ranging from 20 to 60%, and in most cases, the antiepileptic carbamazepine, macrolide antibiotics, and trimethoprim were not eliminated at all. Finally, the contribution of WWTP effluents to the presence of pharmaceuticals in receiving river waters was surveyed. In receiving surface water, the most ubiquitous compounds were the analgesics and anti-inflammatories ibuprofen, diclofenac, and naproxen; the lipid regulators bezafibrate and gemfibrozil; the antibiotics erythromycin, azithromycin, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, and less frequently, ofloxacin; the antiepileptic carbamazepine; the antihistamine ranitidine; and the ,-blockers atenolol and sotalol. Although levels found in WWTP effluents ranged from low ,g/L to high ng/L, pharmaceuticals in river waters occurred at levels at least one order of magnitude lower (low ng/L range) because of dilution effect. From the results obtained, it was proved that WWTP are hot spots of aquatic contamination concerning pharmaceuticals of human consumption. [source] Resource quality and stoichiometric constraints on stream ecosystem functioningFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2009SALLY HLADYZ Summary 1. Resource quality and stoichiometric imbalances in carbon : nutrient ratios between consumers and resources can influence key ecosystem processes. In many streams, this has important implications for food webs that are based largely upon the utilization of terrestrial leaf-litter, which varies widely among litter types in its value as a food source for detritivores and as a substrate for microbial decomposers. 2. We measured breakdown rates and macroinvertebrate colonization of leaf-litter from a range of native and exotic plants of differing resource quality and palatability to consumers [e.g. carbon : nitrogen : phosphorus (C : N : P) ratios, lignin and cellulose content], in a field experiment. We also measured C : N : P ratios of the principal leaf-shredding invertebrates, which revealed strong stoichiometric imbalances across trophic levels: C : N and C : P ratios typically differed by at least one order of magnitude between consumers and resources, whereas N : P imbalances were less marked. Application of the threshold elemental ratio approach, which integrates animal bioenergetics and body elemental composition in examining nutrient deficiency between consumers and resources, revealed less marked C : P imbalances than those based on the simpler arithmetic differences described above. 3. Litter breakdown rates declined as nutrient imbalances widened and resource quality fell, but they were independent of whether resources were exotic or native. The principal drivers of total, microbial and invertebrate-mediated breakdown rates were lignin : N, lignin : P and fungal biomass, respectively. However, multiple regression using orthogonal predictors yielded even more efficient models of litter breakdown, as consumers responded to more than one aspect of resource quality. For example, fungal biomass and litter C : N both influenced invertebrate-mediated breakdown. 4. Large stoichiometric imbalances and changes in resource quality are likely to have serious consequences for stream ecosystem functioning, especially when riparian zones have been invaded by exotic plant species whose chemical composition differs markedly from that of the native flora. Consequently, the magnitude and direction of change in breakdown rates and, thus, resource depletion, will be driven to a large extent by the biochemical traits (rather than taxonomic identity per se) of the resident and invading flora. [source] Scattering behaviour at Merapi volcano (Java) revealed from an active seismic experimentGEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2001Ulrich Wegler SUMMARY The seismic structure of the stratovolcano Merapi (Java, Indonesia) was studied using an active seismic experiment. Three 3 km long seismic profiles each consisting of up to 30 three-component seismometers with an interstation distance of 100 m were built up in an altitude range between 1000 and 2000 m above sea level. The detailed study of the seismic properties of the propagation media in active volcanic regions is important to understand the natural seismic signals used for eruption forecasting. The seismic experiment at Merapi therefore concentrates on the heterogeneous structure within a radius of 5 km from the active dome, where the sources of most of the natural volcanic seismic events are located. The cone of Merapi volcano consists of different materials changing on a small scale due to the layering of eruptive material. Additionally, the topography of the erosion valleys leads to an irregular deposition, which cannot be described by a simple 1-D layering. These inhomogeneities have a strong influence on seismic signals. The direct P and S waves are attenuated quickly and show only small amplitudes on seismograms. The energy lost from the direct waves, however, is not changed into heat but scattered and can be observed as seismic coda following the direct waves. The observed seismograms show a spindle-like amplitude increase after the direct P phase. This shape of the envelope can be explained by the diffusion model. According to this model there are so many strong inhomogeneities that the direct wave can be neglected and all energy is concentrated in multiple scattered waves. Besides the envelope, the coherence and polarization properties of the wavefield also indicate strong scattering. Only the first onset shows coherence over a station spacing of 100 m, whereas the late phases carrying the major part of the energy are mainly incoherent. The horizontal components of the seismograms have larger amplitudes than the vertical component, but within the horizontal plane the polarization is almost arbitrary, corresponding to waves arriving from scatterers located arbitrarily in space. As a result of the inversion using the diffusion model we obtain values of the S -wave scattering attenuation coefficient, ,s, and the S -wave intrinsic absorption coefficient, ,i. In the frequency range of 4,20 Hz used in this study the scattering attenuation is at least one order of magnitude larger than the intrinsic absorption (,s,,i). The mean free path of S waves is as low as 100 m (,s,1,100 m). The scattering coefficient is independent of frequency (,s,f0.0), whereas the coefficient of intrinsic attenuation increases with increasing frequency (,i,f1.6). The natural seismic signals at Merapi volcano show similar characteristics to the artificial shots. The first onsets have only small amplitudes and the energy maximum arrives delayed compared to the direct waves. Therefore, these signals appear to be strongly affected by multiple scattering also. [source] Performance of algebraic multi-grid solvers based on unsmoothed and smoothed aggregation schemesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 7 2001R. WebsterArticle first published online: 31 JUL 200 Abstract A comparison is made of the performance of two algebraic multi-grid (AMG0 and AMG1) solvers for the solution of discrete, coupled, elliptic field problems. In AMG0, the basis functions for each coarse grid/level approximation (CGA) are obtained directly by unsmoothed aggregation, an appropriate scaling being applied to each CGA to improve consistency. In AMG1 they are assembled using a smoothed aggregation with a constrained energy optimization method providing the smoothing. Although more costly, smoothed basis functions provide a better (more consistent) CGA. Thus, AMG1 might be viewed as a benchmark for the assessment of the simpler AMG0. Selected test problems for D'Arcy flow in pipe networks, Fick diffusion, plane strain elasticity and Navier,Stokes flow (in a Stokes approximation) are used in making the comparison. They are discretized on the basis of both structured and unstructured finite element meshes. The range of discrete equation sets covers both symmetric positive definite systems and systems that may be non-symmetric and/or indefinite. Both global and local mesh refinements to at least one order of resolving power are examined. Some of these include anisotropic refinements involving elements of large aspect ratio; in some hydrodynamics cases, the anisotropy is extreme, with aspect ratios exceeding two orders. As expected, AMG1 delivers typical multi-grid convergence rates, which for all practical purposes are independent of mesh bandwidth. AMG0 rates are slower. They may also be more discernibly mesh-dependent. However, for the range of mesh bandwidths examined, the overall cost effectiveness of the two solvers is remarkably similar when a full convergence to machine accuracy is demanded. Thus, the shorter solution times for AMG1 do not necessarily compensate for the extra time required for its costly grid generation. This depends on the severity of the problem and the demanded level of convergence. For problems requiring few iterations, where grid generation costs represent a significant penalty, AMG0 has the advantage. For problems requiring a large investment in iterations, AMG1 has the edge. However, for the toughest problems addressed (vector and coupled vector,scalar fields discretized exclusively using finite elements of extreme aspect ratio) AMG1 is more robust: AMG0 has failed on some of these tests. However, but for this deficiency AMG0 would be the preferred linear approximation solver for Navier,Stokes solution algorithms in view of its much lower grid generation costs. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Brush-Like Amphoteric Poly[isobutylene- alt -(maleic acid)- graft -oligoethyleneamine)]/DNA Complexes for Efficient Gene TransfectionMACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS, Issue 13 2010Majad Khan Abstract Synthetic gene delivery vectors, especially cationic polymers have attracted enormous attention in recent decades because of their ease of manufacture, targettability, and scaling up. However, certain issues such as high cytotoxicity and low transfection efficiency problems have hampered the advance of nonviral gene delivery. In this study, we designed and synthesized brush-like amphoteric poly[isobutylene- alt -(maleic acid)- graft -oligoethyleneamine] capable of mediating highly efficient gene transfection. The polymers are composed of multiple pendant oligoethyleneimine molecules with alternating carboxylic acid moiety grafted onto poly[isobutylene- alt -(maleic anhydride)]. The polymer formed from pentaethylenehexamine {i.e., poly[isobutylene- alt -(maleic acid)- graft -pentaethylenehexamine)]} was able to condense DNA efficiently into nanoparticles of size around 200,nm with positive zeta potential of about 28,30,mV despite its amphoteric nature. Luciferase expression level and percentage of GFP expressing cells induced by this polymer was higher than those mediated with polyethyleneimine (branched, 25,kDa) by at least one order of magnitude at their optimal N/P ratios on HEK293, HepG2, and 4T1 cells. In vitro cytotoxicity testing revealed that the polymer/DNA complexes were less cytotoxic than those of PEI, and the viability of the cells after being incubated with the polymer/DNA complexes at the optimal N/P ratios was higher than 85%. This polymer can be a promising gene delivery carrier for gene therapy. [source] Dynamical modelling of luminous and dark matter in 17 Coma early-type galaxiesMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2007J. Thomas ABSTRACT Dynamical models for 17 early-type galaxies in the Coma cluster are presented. The galaxy sample consists of flattened, rotating as well as non-rotating early-types including cD and S0 galaxies with luminosities between MB=,18.79 and ,22.56. Kinematical long-slit observations cover at least the major-axis and minor-axis and extend to 1,4reff. Axisymmetric Schwarzschild models are used to derive stellar mass-to-light ratios and dark halo parameters. In every galaxy, the best fit with dark matter matches the data better than the best fit without. The statistical significance is over 95 per cent for eight galaxies, around 90 per cent for five galaxies and for four galaxies it is not significant. For the highly significant cases, systematic deviations between models without dark matter and the observed kinematics are clearly seen; for the remaining galaxies, differences are more statistical in nature. Best-fitting models contain 10,50 per cent dark matter inside the half-light radius. The central dark matter density is at least one order of magnitude lower than the luminous mass density, independent of the assumed dark matter density profile. The central phase-space density of dark matter is often orders of magnitude lower than that in the luminous component, especially when the halo core radius is large. The orbital system of the stars along the major-axis is slightly dominated by radial motions. Some galaxies show tangential anisotropy along the minor-axis, which is correlated with the minor-axis Gauss,Hermite coefficient H4. Changing the balance between data-fit and regularization constraints does not change the reconstructed mass structure significantly: model anisotropies tend to strengthen if the weight on regularization is reduced, but the general property of a galaxy to be radially or tangentially anisotropic does not change. This paper is aimed to set the basis for a subsequent detailed analysis of luminous and dark matter scaling relations, orbital dynamics and stellar populations. [source] Numerical stability of the BEM for advection-diffusion problemsNUMERICAL METHODS FOR PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS, Issue 5 2004Andrés Peratta Abstract A boundary element method (BEM) approach has been developed to solve the time-dependent 1D advection-diffusion equation. The 1D solution is part of a 3D numerical scheme for solving advection-diffusion (AD) problems in fractured porous media. The full 3D scheme includes a 3D solution for the porous matrix, which is coupled with a 2D solution for fractures and a 1D solution for fracture intersections. As the hydraulic conductivity of the fracture intersections is usually higher than the hydraulic conductivity of the fractures and by at least one order of magnitude higher than the hydraulic conductivity of the porous matrix, the fastest flow and solute transport occurs in the fracture intersections. Therefore it is important to have an accurate and stable 1D solution of the transient AD problems. This article presents two different 1D BEM formulations for solution of the AD problems. The particular advantage of these formulations is that they provide one of the most straightforward and simplest ways to couple multiple intersecting 2D Boundary Element problems discretized with linear discontinuous elements. Both formulations are tested and compared for accuracy, stability, and consistency. The analysis helps to select the more suitable formulations according to the properties of the problem under consideration. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2004 [source] Optical super-resolution using higher harmonics and different acquisition modes in an aperture tapping SNOMPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 8 2010Giovanni Longo Abstract Scanning near field optical microscopy (SNOM) is a well-established technique to obtain a sub-wavelength resolution optical characterization, together with nanometer-scale topography images, on any kind of biological or non-biological sample. Recently we have modified a classical SNOM unit to work in the tapping modality, ensuring stability, versatility and good optical resolution and signal to noise ratio. Exploiting the vertical tip movement, in particular, we were able to access two different optical detection modes: light modulation, which can be obtained by a mechanical chopper or by electronically switching the laser on and off; gap modulation in which the tip's vertical oscillation is used to produce, itself, a modulation of the collected light. Several biological and non-biological samples have been investigated and the data reveal that, despite the signal collected in gap-modulation is at least one order of magnitude smaller than in laser-modulation, resolution, and signal-to-noise ratio in the gap-modulated images is preferable. On the other hand, the higher intensity of the laser-modulation signal allows to deconvolve the optical information at higher harmonics of the tip oscillation frequency. This is a well-known procedure used in the apertureless-SNOM setup to enhance the near-field contribution of the scattered light and reduce the noise content. The interesting results obtained in this Aperture setup are described and commented. [source] Effects of a peroxide-based commercial product on bacterial load of larval rearing water and on larval survival of two species of Sparidae under intensive culture: preliminary studyAQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 4 2009Gemma Giménez-Papiol Abstract Larvae of two Mediterranean Sparidae species, Sparus aurata and Dentex dentex, were used to test the efficacy of a peroxide-based product (Ox-Aquaculture©) on the reduction in bacterial load in larval rearing water and its effects on larval survival. Eleven-day-old S. aurata larvae and 15-day-old D. dentex larvae were exposed to different concentrations of Ox-Aquaculture© (50, 100 and 200 mg L,1, and 20 and 50 mg L,1 respectively) for 1 h. Results indicated that 50 and 20 mg L,1 were the most effective concentrations for the reduction in bacterial load (at least one order of magnitude) after 1 h treatment, without affecting larval survival and/or vitality in 11 dph S. aurata and 15 dph D. dentex larvae respectively. Ox-Aquaculture© concentrations of 200 and 50 mg L,1 during 1 h affected negatively final survival rate of the larvae of S. aurata and D. dentex respectively. [source] High-resolution neutron protein crystallography with radically small crystal volumes: application of perdeuteration to human aldose reductaseACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 10 2005I. Hazemann Neutron diffraction data have been collected to 2.2,Å resolution from a small (0.15,mm3) crystal of perdeuterated human aldose reductase (h-AR; MW = 36,kDa) in order to help to determine the protonation state of the enzyme. h-AR belongs to the aldo,keto reductase family and is implicated in diabetic complications. Its ternary complexes (h-AR,coenzyme NADPH,selected inhibitor) provide a good model to study both the enzymatic mechanism and inhibition. Here, the successful production of fully deuterated human aldose reductase [h-AR(D)], subsequent crystallization of the ternary complex h-AR(D),NADPH,IDD594 and neutron Laue data collection at the LADI instrument at ILL using a crystal volume of just 0.15,mm3 are reported. Neutron data were recorded to 2,Å resolution, with subsequent data analysis using data to 2.2,Å. This is the first fully deuterated enzyme of this size (36,kDa) to be solved by neutron diffraction and represents a milestone in the field, as the crystal volume is at least one order of magnitude smaller than those usually required for other high-resolution neutron structures determined to date. This illustrates the significant increase in the signal-to-noise ratio of data collected from perdeuterated crystals and demonstrates that good-quality neutron data can now be collected from more typical protein crystal volumes. Indeed, the signal-to-noise ratio is then dominated by other sources of instrument background, the nature of which is under investigation. This is important for the design of future instruments, which should take maximum advantage of the reduction in the intrinsic diffraction pattern background from fully deuterated samples. [source] Relating Chemical and Biological Diversity Space: A Tunable System for Efficient Gene TransfectionCHEMBIOCHEM, Issue 12 2008Liisa D. Van Vliet Dr. Abstract Polyethyleneimine (PEI), a well-established nonviral transfection reagent, was combinatorially modified with varying proportions of methyl, benzyl, and n -dodecyl groups to create a library of 435 derivatized polymers. Screening of this library for transfection, DNA binding, and toxicity allows systematic correlation of the biological properties of our polymers to their derivatizations. Combinations of derivatizations bring about a 100-fold variation in transfection efficiency between library members. The best PEI derivatives exhibit increases in transfection efficiency of more than 80-fold over unmodified PEI (up to 28±7,% of cells transfected) and rival commercial reagents such as Lipofectamine 2000 (21±10,%) and JetPEI (32±5.0,%). In addition, we can identify compounds that are specifically tuned for efficient transfection in CHO-K1 over Ishikawa cells and vice versa, demonstrating that the approach can lead to cell-type selectivity of at least one order of magnitude. This work demonstrates that multivalent derivatization of a polymeric framework can create functional diversity substantially greater than the structural diversity of the derivatization building blocks and suggests an approach to a better understanding of the molecular underpinnings of transfection as well as their exploitation. [source] Highly Dispersed Ruthenium Hydroxide Supported on Titanium Oxide Effective for Liquid-Phase Hydrogen-Transfer ReactionsCHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 36 2008Kazuya Yamaguchi Dr. Abstract Supported ruthenium hydroxide catalysts (Ru(OH)x/support) were prepared with three different TiO2 supports (anatase TiO2 (TiO2(A), BET surface area: 316,m2,g,1), anatase TiO2 (TiO2(B), 73,m2,g,1), and rutile TiO2 (TiO2(C), 3.2,m2,g,1)), as well as an Al2O3 support (160,m2,g,1). Characterizations with X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electron spin resonance (ESR), and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) showed the presence of monomeric ruthenium(III) hydroxide and polymeric ruthenium(III) hydroxide species. Judging from the coordination numbers of the nearest-neighbor Ru atoms and the intensities of the ESR signals, the amount of monomeric hydroxide species increased in the order of Ru(OH)x Selectively Deposited Silver Coatings on Gold-Capped Silicon Nanowires for Surface-Enhanced Raman SpectroscopyCHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 8 2009M. Becker Dr. Abstract Gold caps on silicon nanowires are selectively coated with silver by autometallography (electroless deposition). Changing the conditions of silver deposition, a variety of different coating morphologies can be produced (see figure). The different silver coating morphologies are investigated in terms of their capabilities for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) experiments. Gold caps on silicon nanowires are hemispherical and only a few tens of nanometers in diameter when grown from metal catalysts by the vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism using chemical vapor deposition. These gold caps are capable of enhancing Raman signals based on the surface-enhanced Raman scattering effect. The Raman signal can be enhanced even further (by at least one order of magnitude) when silver is selectively deposited onto these gold caps by autometallography (electroless deposition). By changing the silver deposition conditions, different coating morphologies can be realized on the gold caps that range from very thin, smooth layers to uneven and extremely rough coatings. The SERS signal enhancement and the spatial homogeneity of the achievable enhancement are compared for the different silver coatings using a model dye molecule. [source]
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