Modelado detallado de una central nuclear CANDU con CITVAP.

La línea de cálculo de INVAP consiste principalmente de los códigos CONDOR y CITVAP. Este último es la versión mejorada del código CITATION II que resuelve la ecuación de difusión neutrónica multigrupo por el método de diferencias finitas. CITVAP es ampliamente usado para estudiar reactores de investigación y reactores de potencia tales como PWR, BWR, VVER y últimamente se implemento nuevas funciones para estudiar una central PHWR tipo Atucha. Siguiendo con la línea de reactores PHWR, en este trabajo se estudian las capacidades y deficiencias del código de núcleo CITVAP para modelar una central nuclear tipo CANDU. Se plantean mejoras a realizar para un manejo mas eficiente desde el punto de vista del usuario, tanto de la gestión de combustibles, movimientos de barras de control y zonas líquidas como mejoras en el modelo termohidraulico. La metodología consiste en validar la línea de cálculo de INVAP, contrastando los resultados con el benchmark IAEA-tecdoc-887. El proceso de validación consiste en cálculos de celda en dos y tres dimensiones usando los códigos CONDOR y SERPENT respectivamente, obtención de secciones eficaces macroscópicas en función del quemado y cálculos de núcleo para distintas configuraciones de los dispositivos de control usando un núcleo fresco y una distribución de quemado en equilibrio. Se analizan las dificultades que se presentan al modelar el núcleo con las capacidades actuales del código y se plantean posibles soluciones a implementar. Para un estudio completo de un reactor CANDU, se estudian tres de la características distintivas de este tipo de reactor: la termohidraulica, la gestión de combustibles y los dispositivos de control de reactividad, distribución de potencia y apagado.

Modelado detallado de una central nuclear CANDU con CITVAP.

La línea de cálculo de INVAP consiste principalmente de los códigos CONDOR y CITVAP. Este último es la versión mejorada del código CITATION II que resuelve la ecuación de difusión neutrónica multigrupo por el método de diferencias finitas. CITVAP es ampliamente usado para estudiar reactores de investigación y reactores de potencia tales como PWR, BWR, VVER y últimamente se implemento nuevas funciones para estudiar una central PHWR tipo Atucha. Siguiendo con la línea de reactores PHWR, en este trabajo se estudian las capacidades y deficiencias del código de núcleo CITVAP para modelar una central nuclear tipo CANDU. Se plantean mejoras a realizar para un manejo mas eficiente desde el punto de vista del usuario, tanto de la gestión de combustibles, movimientos de barras de control y zonas líquidas como mejoras en el modelo termohidraulico. La metodología consiste en validar la línea de cálculo de INVAP, contrastando los resultados con el benchmark IAEA-tecdoc-887. El proceso de validación consiste en cálculos de celda en dos y tres dimensiones usando los códigos CONDOR y SERPENT respectivamente, obtención de secciones eficaces macroscópicas en función del quemado y cálculos de núcleo para distintas configuraciones de los dispositivos de control usando un núcleo fresco y una distribución de quemado en equilibrio. Se analizan las dificultades que se presentan al modelar el núcleo con las capacidades actuales del código y se plantean posibles soluciones a implementar. Para un estudio completo de un reactor CANDU, se estudian tres de la características distintivas de este tipo de reactor: la termohidraulica, la gestión de combustibles y los dispositivos de control de reactividad, distribución de potencia y apagado.

Numerical comparison between Maxwell stress method and equivalent multipole approach for calculation of the dielectrophoretic force in octupolar cell traps

This work presents detailed numerical calculations of the dielectrophoretic force in octupolar traps designed for single-cell trapping. A trap with eight planar electrodes is studied for spherical and ellipsoidal particles using an indirect implementation of the boundary element method (BEM). Multipolar approximations of orders one to three are compared with the full Maxwell stress tensor (MST) calculation of the electrical force on spherical particles. Ellipsoidal particles are also studied, but in their case only the dipolar approximation is available for comparison with the MST solution. The results show that the full MST calculation is only required in the study of non-spherical particles.

Coloured Petri nets and graphical simulation for the validation of a robotic cell in aircraft industry

This paper proposes a mixed validation approach based on coloured Petri nets and 3D graphic simulation for the design of supervisory systems in manufacturing cells with multiple robots. The coloured Petri net is used to model the cell behaviour at a high level of abstraction. It models the activities of each cell component and its coordination by a supervisory system. The graphical simulation is used to analyse and validate the cell behaviour in a 3D environment, allowing the detection of collisions and the calculation of process times. The motivation for this work comes from the aeronautic industry. The automation of a fuselage assembly process requires the integration of robots with other cell components such as metrological or vision systems. In this cell, the robot trajectories are defined by the supervisory system and results from the coordination of the cell components. The paper presents the application of the approach for an aircraft assembly cell under integration in Brazil. This case study shows the feasibility of the approach and supports the discussion of its main advantages and limits. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interlaminar differences in the pyramidal cell phenotype in cortical areas 7m and STP (the superior temporal polysensory area) of the macaque monkey

Pyramidal neurones were injected with Lucifer Yellow in slices cut tangential to the surface of area 7m and the superior temporal polysensory area (STP) of the macaque monkey. Comparison of the basal dendritic arbors of supra- and infragranular pyramidal neurones (n=139) that were injected in the same putative modules in the different cortical areas revealed variation in their structure. Moreover, there were relative differences in dendritic morphology of supra- and infragranular pyramidal neurones in the two cortical areas. Shell analyses revealed that layer III pyramidal neurones in area STP had considerably higher peak complexity (maximum number of dendritic intersections per Shell circle) than those in layer V, whereas peak complexities were similar for supra- and infragranular pyramidal neurones in area 7m. In both cortical areas, the basal dendritic trees of layer m pyramidal neurones were characterized by a higher spine density than those in layer V. Calculations of the total number of dendritic spines in the average basal dendritic arbor revealed that layer V pyramidal neurones in area 7m had twice as many spines as cells in layer III. (4535 and 2294, respectively). A similar calculation for neurones in area STP revealed that layer III pyramidal neurones had approximately the same number of spines as cells in layer V (3585 and 3850 spines, respectively). Relative differences in the branching patterns of, and the number of spines in, the basal dendritic arbors of supra- and infragranular pyramidal neurones in the different cortical areas may allow for integration of different numbers of inputs, and different degrees of dendritic processing. These results support the thesis that intra-areal circuitry differs in different cortical areas.

Transmission Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy allows simultaneous assessment of cutin and cell-wall polysaccharides of Arabidopsis petals.

A procedure for the simultaneous analysis of cell-wall polysaccharides, amides and aliphatic polyesters by transmission Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FTIR) has been established for Arabidopsis petals. The combination of FTIR imaging with spectra derivatization revealed that petals, in contrast to other organs, have a characteristic chemical zoning with high amount of aliphatic compounds and esters in the lamina and of polysaccharides in the stalk of the petal. The hinge region of petals was particular rich in amides as well as in vibrations potentially associated with hemicellulose. In addition, a number of other distribution patterns have been identified. Analyses of mutants in cutin deposition confirmed that vibrations of aliphatic compounds and esters present in the lamina were largely associated with the cuticular polyester. Calculation of spectrotypes, including the standard deviation of intensities, allowed detailed comparison of the spectral features of various mutants. The spectrotypes not only revealed differences in the amount of polyesters in cutin mutants, but also changes in other compound classes. For example, in addition to the expected strong deficiencies in polyester content, the long-chain acyl CoA synthase 2 mutant showed increased intensities of vibrations in a wavelength range that is typical for polysaccharides. Identical spectral features were observed in quasimodo2, a cell-wall mutant of Arabidopsis with a defect in pectin formation that exhibits increased cellulose synthase activity. FTIR thus proved to be a convenient method for the identification and characterization of mutants affected in the deposition of cutin in petals.

A joint back calculation model for the imputation of the date of HIV infection in a prevalent cohort.

In studies of the natural history of HIV-1 infection, the time scale of primary interest is the time since infection. Unfortunately, this time is very often unknown for HIV infection and using the follow-up time instead of the time since infection is likely to provide biased results because of onset confounding. Laboratory markers such as the CD4 T-cell count carry important information concerning disease progression and can be used to predict the unknown date of infection. Previous work on this topic has made use of only one CD4 measurement or based the imputation on incident patients only. However, because of considerable intrinsic variability in CD4 levels and because incident cases are different from prevalent cases, back calculation based on only one CD4 determination per person or on characteristics of the incident sub-cohort may provide unreliable results. Therefore, we propose a methodology based on the repeated individual CD4 T-cells marker measurements that use both incident and prevalent cases to impute the unknown date of infection. Our approach uses joint modelling of the time since infection, the CD4 time path and the drop-out process. This methodology has been applied to estimate the CD4 slope and impute the unknown date of infection in HIV patients from the Swiss HIV Cohort Study. A procedure based on the comparison of different slope estimates is proposed to assess the goodness of fit of the imputation. Results of simulation studies indicated that the imputation procedure worked well, despite the intrinsic high volatility of the CD4 marker.

Semiquantitative RT-PCR measurement of gene expression in rat tissues including a correction for varying cell size and number

Background: Current methodology of gene expression analysis limits the possibilities of comparison between cells/tissues of organs in which cell size and/or number changes as a consequence of the study (e.g. starvation). A method relating the abundance of specific mRNA copies per cell may allow direct comparison or different organs and/or changing physiological conditions. Methods: With a number of selected genes, we analysed the relationship of the number of bases and the fluorescence recorded at a present level using cDNA standards. A lineal relationship was found between the final number of bases and the length of the transcript. The constants of this equation and those of the relationship between fluorescence and number of bases in cDNA were determined and a general equation linking the length of the transcript and the initial number of copies of mRNA was deduced for a given pre-established fluorescence setting. This allowed the calculation of the concentration of the corresponding mRNAs per g of tissue. The inclusion of tissue RNA and the DNA content per cell, allowed the calculation of the mRNA copies per cell. Results: The application of this procedure to six genes: Arbp, cyclophilin, ChREBP, T4 deiodinase 2, acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 and IRS-1, in liver and retroperitoneal adipose tissue of food-restricted rats allowed precise measures of their changes irrespective of the shrinking of the tissue, the loss of cells or changes in cell size, factors that deeply complicate the comparison between changing tissue conditions. The percentage results obtained with the present methods were essentially the same obtained with the delta-delta procedure and with individual cDNA standard curve quantitative RT-PCR estimation. Conclusion: The method presented allows the comparison (i.e. as copies of mRNA per cell) between different genes and tissues, establishing the degree of abundance of the different molecular species tested.

PixFRET, an ImageJ plug-in for FRET calculation that can accommodate variations in spectral bleed-throughs.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) allows the user to investigate interactions between fluorescent partners. One crucial issue when calculating sensitized emission FRET is the correction for spectral bleed-throughs (SBTs), which requires to calculate the ratios between the intensities in the FRET and in the donor or acceptor settings, when only the donor or acceptor are present. Theoretically, SBT ratios should be constant. However, experimentally, these ratios can vary as a function of fluorophore intensity, and assuming constant values may hinder precise FRET calculation. One possible cause for such a variation is the use of a microscope set-up with different photomultipliers for the donor and FRET channels, a set-up allowing higher speed acquisitions on very dynamic fluorescent molecules in living cells. Herein, we show that the bias introduced by the differential response of the two PMTs can be circumvented by a simple modeling of the SBT ratios as a function of fluorophore intensity. Another important issue when performing FRET is the localization of FRET within the cell or a population of cells. We hence developed a freely available ImageJ plug-in, called PixFRET, that allows a simple and rapid determination of SBT parameters and the display of normalized FRET images. The usefulness of this modeling and of the plug-in are exemplified by the study of FRET in a system where two interacting nuclear receptors labeled with ECFP and EYFP are coexpressed in living cells.

Calculation of Activity Coefficients of Uni-Univalent Electrolytes by Equations Containing No Adjustable Parameters in Aqueous Solutions at 298.15 K

Normally either the Güntelberg or Davies equation is used to predict activity coefficients of electrolytes in dilute solutions when no better equation is available. The validity of these equations and, additionally, of the parameter-free equations used in the Bates-Guggenheim convention and in the Pitzerformalism for activity coefficients were tested with experimentally determined activity coefficients of HCl, HBr, HI, LiCl, NaCl, KCl, RbCl, CsCl, NH4Cl, LiBr,NaBr and KBr in aqueous solutions at 298.15 K. The experimental activity coefficients of these electrolytes can be usually reproduced within experimental errorby means of a two-parameter equation of the Hückel type. The best Hückel equations were also determined for all electrolytes considered. The data used in the calculations of this study cover almost all reliable galvanic cell results available in the literature for the electrolytes considered. The results of the calculations reveal that the parameter-free activity coefficient equations can only beused for very dilute electrolyte solutions in thermodynamic studies.

Calculation of Activity Coefficients of Electrolytes of Other Charge Types than 1-1 by Equations Containing No Adjustable Parameters in Aqueous Solutions at 25 0C

Normally either the Güntelberg or Davies equation is used to predict activity coefficients of electrolytes in dilute solutions when no betterequation is available. The validity of these equations and, additionally, of the parameter-free equation used in the Bates-Guggenheim convention for activity coefficients were tested with experimentally determined activity coefficients of LaCl3, CaCl2, SrCl2 and BaCl2 in aqueous solutions at 298.15 K. The experimentalactivity coefficients of these electrolytes can be usually reproduced within experimental error by means of a two-parameter equation of the Hückel type. The best Hückel equations were also determined for all electrolytes considered. The data used in the calculations of this study cover almost all reliable galvanic cell results available in the literature for the electrolytes considered. The results of the calculations reveal that the parameter-free activity coefficient equations can only be used for very dilute electrolyte solutions in thermodynamic studies

Calculation of the magnetic field penetration depth for high-Tc cuprate superconductors based on the Interlayer Pair Tunneling model /

In this work, the magnetic field penetration depth for high-Tc cuprate superconductors is calculated using a recent Interlayer Pair Tunneling (ILPT) model proposed by Chakravarty, Sudb0, Anderson, and Strong [1] to explain high temperature superconductivity. This model involves a "hopping" of Cooper pairs between layers of the unit cell which acts to amplify the pairing mechanism within the planes themselves. Recent work has shown that this model can account reasonably well for the isotope effect and the dependence of Tc on nonmagnetic in-plane impurities [2] , as well as the Knight shift curves [3] and the presence of a magnetic peak in the neutron scattering intensity [4]. In the latter case, Yin et al. emphasize that the pair tunneling must be the dominant pairing mechanism in the high-Tc cuprates in order to capture the features found in experiments. The goal of this work is to determine whether or not the ILPT model can account for the experimental observations of the magnetic field penetration depth in YBa2Cu307_a7. Calculations are performed in the weak and strong coupling limits, and the efi"ects of both small and large strengths of interlayer pair tunneling are investigated. Furthermore, as a follow up to the penetration depth calculations, both the neutron scattering intensity and the Knight shift are calculated within the ILPT formalism. The aim is to determine if the ILPT model can yield results consistent with experiments performed for these properties. The results for all three thermodynamic properties considered are not consistent with the notion that the interlayer pair tunneling must be the dominate pairing mechanism in these high-Tc cuprate superconductors. Instead, it is found that reasonable agreement with experiments is obtained for small strengths of pair tunneling, and that large pair tunneling yields results which do not resemble those of the experiments.

Unit-cell approximation for diblock−copolymer brushes grafted to spherical particles

This paper examines the equilibrium phase behavior of thin diblock-copolymer films tethered to a spherical core, using numerical self-consistent field theory (SCFT). The computational cost of the calculation is greatly reduced by implementing the unit-cell approximation (UCA) routinely used in the study of bulk systems. This provides a tremendous reduction in computational time, permitting us to map out the phase behavior more extensively and allowing us to consider far larger particles. The main consequence of the UCA is that it omits packing frustration, but evidently the effect is minor for large particles. On the other hand, when the particles are small, the UCA calculation can be readily followed up with the full SCFT, the comparison to which conveniently allows one to quantitatively assess the effect of packing frustration.

Pancreatic β-cell defects in women at risk of type 2 diabetes

We evaluated insulin release and insulin sensitivity in women with basal and/or postprandial hyperglycemia but normal oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in previous pregnancy (GHG). These women were individually matched with females without previous hyperglycemia (NGT). Both groups consisted of normal glucose-tolerant women at the time of this study. They underwent OGTT (75g; n= 32 pairs) and hyperglycemic clamp experiments (10mmoll-1; n=27 pairs) with plasma glucose, insulin, and C-peptide measurements and calculation of insulinogenic index, first- and second-phase insulin release, and insulin sensitivity index (ISI). The GHG group showed higher glycosylated hemoglobin levels (6.2±0.6% versus 5.8±0.8%; P<0.05); lower insulinogenic index at 30min (134.03±62.69pmolmmol-1 versus 181.59±70.26pmolmmoll-1; P<0.05) and diminished C-peptide response in relation to glucose (4.05±0.36nmolmmol-1 versus 4.23±0.36nmolmmol-1; P<0.05) at OGTT. Both groups did not show difference in insulin secretion and ISI by hyperglycemic clamp technique. We concluded that in up to 12 years from index pregnancy, women with previous GHG, presenting normal glucose tolerance and well-matched with their controls, showed β-cell dysfunction without change in ISI. As women with previous GHG are at risk of type 2 diabetes, β-cell dysfunction may be its primary defect. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of N-acetylcysteine on pulmonary cell death in a controlled hemorrhagic shock model in rats

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) combined with fluid resuscitation on pulmonary cell death in rats induced with controlled hemorrhagic shock (HS). METHODS: Two arteries (MAP calculation and exsanguination) and one vein (treatments) were catheterized in 22 anesthetized rats. Two groups of male albino rats were induced with controlled HS at 35mmHg MAP for 60 min. After this period, the RL group was resuscitated with Ringer's lactate and the RL+NAC group was resuscitated with Ringer's lactate combined with 150mg/Kg NAC. The control group animals were cannulated only. The animals were euthanized after 120 min of fluid resuscitation. Lung tissue samples were collected to evaluate the following: histopathology, TUNEL and imunohistochemical expression of caspase 3. RESULTS: RL showed a greater number of cells stained by TUNEL than RL + NAC, but there was no change in caspase 3 expression in any group. CONCLUSION: N-acetylcysteine associate to fluid resuscitation, after hemorrhagic shock, decreased cell death attenuating lung injury.