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New Objective (new + objective)
Selected AbstractsNew Objectives of Sludge Treatment Considering a Safe Sludge RemovalCHEMICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY (CET), Issue 2 2003N. Dichtl Abstract Sewage sludge consists of valuable components such as nutrients as well as harmful substances, e.g. heavy metals. For sludge with a low concentration of pollutants, its utilization in agriculture is the best way of sludge reuse. Carbon recycling is also possible by using disintegration in combination with anaerobic degradation processes. The other important compound in sludge is phosphorus, which is a limited resource on earth. Recycling options for phosphorus are also described in the paper. A safe disposal of the residues can be achieved by using incineration. [source] Model reference adaptive control using a low-order controllerINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADAPTIVE CONTROL AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, Issue 3 2001Daniel E. Miller Abstract In the model reference adaptive control problem, the goal is to force the error between the plant output and the reference model output asymptotically to zero. The classical assumptions on a single-input,single-output (SISO) plant is that it is minimum phase, and that the plant relative degree, the sign of the high-frequency gain, and an upper bound on the plant order are known. Here we consider a modified problem in which the objective is weakened slightly to that of requiring that the asymptotic value of the error be less than a (arbitrarily small) pre-specified constant. Using recent results on the design of generalized holds for model reference tracking, here we present a new switching adaptive controller of dimension two which achieves this new objective for every minimum phase SISO system; no structural information is required. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Porphyrin derivatives as photosensitizers for the inactivation of Bacillus cereus endosporesJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2009A. Oliveira Abstract Aims:, In this study, we propose (i) to study the photodynamic inactivation (PDI) efficiency of neutral and cationic porphyrin derivatives, (ii) to characterize the kinetics of the inactivation process using Bacillus cereus as a model endospore-producing bacterium and (iii) to conclude on the applicability of porphyrin derivatives in the inactivation of bacterial endospores. Methods and Results:, The study of PDI of Bacillus cereus endospores, taken as model-endospores, using porphyrin derivatives differing in the number of positive charges and in the meso-substituent groups, showed that neutral, monocationic and dicationic porphyrins are quite ineffective, in contrast with the tri- and tetra-cationic molecules. The most effective porphyrin is a tricationic porphyrin with a meso-pentafluorophenyl group. With this photosensitizer (PS), at 0·5 ,mol l,1, a reduction of 3·5 log units occurs after only 4 min of irradiation. None of the porphyrin derivatives showed toxicity in the absence of light. Conclusions:, Some porphyrin derivatives are efficient PSs for the inactivation of bacterial endospores and should be considered in further studies. Small modifications in the substituent groups, in addition to charge, significantly improve the effectiveness of the molecule as a PS for endospore inactivation. Significance and Impact of the Study:, Tetrapyrrolic macrocycles should be regarded as worthy to explore for the PDI of spore-producing gram-positive bacteria. The development of molecules, more selective and effective, emerges as a new objective. [source] Quantifying tibial plafond fracture severity: Absorbed energy and fragment displacement agree with clinical rank orderingJOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH, Issue 8 2008Donald D. Anderson Abstract The energy of producing a fracture is considered one of the most important factors relating to injury severity, prognosis, and risk of complications, yet there has been no objective way to measure this important variable. The purpose of this study was to compare assessments of fracture severity made using new objective computed tomography (CT),based methods versus the expert opinion of experienced orthopedic traumatologists. Fracture energy, fragment displacement, and soft tissue swelling were quantified in twenty tibial plafond fractures by analyzing injury CT scans. Three experienced orthopedic traumatologists then independently performed a rank order analysis of fracture severity, using plain radiographs. The concordance among the three clinicians ranged from 87% to 91%. Objective fracture severity measurements made with the CT algorithm agreed well with the clinical assessments (fracture energy concordance from 73% to 76%, fragment displacement from 82% to 89%, and soft tissue swelling from 61% to 65%). These are the first objective, CT-based measures of fracture severity. With further refinement, this conceptually novel method has the potential to serve as a valuable tool to provide objective measurement of fracture severity, allowing one to control for this previously confounding variable in large multicenter studies. © 2008 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 26:1046,1052, 2008 [source] Aneusomy of chromosomes 7 and 17 predicts the recurrence of transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladderBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2000A.D. Watters Objective,To determine if changes in chromosome 7 and 17 copy number can be used to predict recurrence in patients with primary noninvasive (pTa) or superficially invasive (pT1) transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urinary bladder. Patients and methods,Tissue specimens for 129 tumours from 52 patients (38 men and 14 women) with pTa/pT1 TCC at first diagnosis were retrieved from pathology archives. All patient notes were accessed and disease outcome documented for superficial (pTa/pT1) recurrence or progression to detrusor muscle invasion ( pT2). The tumours were examined for chromosomal copy number of chromosomes 7 and 17 using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with chromosome-specific probes. The copy number of chromosomes 7 and 17 was determined in interphase nuclei on intact 6 µm tissue sections. Results,Aneusomy of chromosomes 7 and 17 was detected in the index primary tumours of 10 of 32 (31%) patients with subsequent recurrent disease. No aneusomy for these chromosomes was detected in primary tumours from 20 patients with no detect-able recurrence (P = 0.0082). The relative risk of recurrence was 3.62 times greater (95% confi-dence interval 1.6,8.1, Cox's multiple regression P = 0.0019) for patients with chromosomal aneusomy in primary TCC. Neither stage nor grade of the primary tumours was associated with recurrence in these patients, nor was there a significant association with increased grade (G2/3) or stage ( pT2) at recurrence. Conclusion,These results suggest that the measurement of aneusomy by FISH, using markers for chromosomes 7 and 17, predict recurrence in a subgroup of patients with pTa/pT1 tumours at presentation. This finding may offer a new objective and quantitative test for patients destined to recur. [source] | ||||||||||