Influence of variables on centrifuge-flotation technique for recovery of Toxocara canis eggs from soil

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of variables in a flotation technique for the recovery of Toxocara canis eggs from soil. The trials were done under standardized conditions on one gram of previously sterilized soil samples contaminated with 200 eggs of T. canis. The following variables were evaluated in serial steps: sieving; type of wash; time of stirring; resuspension of sediment; solution flotation. Centrifuge-flotation in sodium nitrate (d = 1.20 g/cm³) was adopted as an initial technique, using Tween 80 (0.2%) and decinormal sodium hydroxide as solutions for washing the samples. Ten tests were done to compare the variables, using counting in triplicate. The sieving of the material reduced significantly the recovery of eggs (p < 0.001) and the number of eggs recovered was higher when the sediment was resuspended (p < 0.05). After standardization, flotation solutions sodium chloride, zinc sulfate, sodium dichromate, magnesium sulfate, and sodium nitrate (d = 1.20g/cm³) were compared. The best results were obtained by using zinc sulfate solution. In conclusion, the chances of recovering T. canis eggs from samples using flotation solutions can be increased by washing of soil twice using distilled water, and resuspension of sediment. On the other hand, the sieving procedure can drastically reduce the number of eggs.

A new insight in stress recovery tecniques and hessian reconstruction methods

Stress recovery techniques have been an active research topic in the last few years since, in 1987, Zienkiewicz and Zhu proposed a procedure called Superconvergent Patch Recovery (SPR). This procedure is a last-squares fit of stresses at super-convergent points over patches of elements and it leads to enhanced stress fields that can be used for evaluating finite element discretization errors. In subsequent years, numerous improved forms of this procedure have been proposed attempting to add equilibrium constraints to improve its performances. Later, another superconvergent technique, called Recovery by Equilibrium in Patches (REP), has been proposed. In this case the idea is to impose equilibrium in a weak form over patches and solve the resultant equations by a last-square scheme. In recent years another procedure, based on minimization of complementary energy, called Recovery by Compatibility in Patches (RCP) has been proposed in. This procedure, in many ways, can be seen as the dual form of REP as it substantially imposes compatibility in a weak form among a set of self-equilibrated stress fields. In this thesis a new insight in RCP is presented and the procedure is improved aiming at obtaining convergent second order derivatives of the stress resultants. In order to achieve this result, two different strategies and their combination have been tested. The first one is to consider larger patches in the spirit of what proposed in [4] and the second one is to perform a second recovery on the recovered stresses. Some numerical tests in plane stress conditions are presented, showing the effectiveness of these procedures. Afterwards, a new recovery technique called Last Square Displacements (LSD) is introduced. This new procedure is based on last square interpolation of nodal displacements resulting from the finite element solution. In fact, it has been observed that the major part of the error affecting stress resultants is introduced when shape functions are derived in order to obtain strains components from displacements. This procedure shows to be ultraconvergent and is extremely cost effective, as it needs in input only nodal displacements directly coming from finite element solution, avoiding any other post-processing in order to obtain stress resultants using the traditional method. Numerical tests in plane stress conditions are than presented showing that the procedure is ultraconvergent and leads to convergent first and second order derivatives of stress resultants. In the end, transverse stress profiles reconstruction using First-order Shear Deformation Theory for laminated plates and three dimensional equilibrium equations is presented. It can be seen that accuracy of this reconstruction depends on accuracy of first and second derivatives of stress resultants, which is not guaranteed by most of available low order plate finite elements. RCP and LSD procedures are than used to compute convergent first and second order derivatives of stress resultants ensuring convergence of reconstructed transverse shear and normal stress profiles respectively. Numerical tests are presented and discussed showing the effectiveness of both procedures.

Comparison of delayed gadolinium enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) using inversion recovery and fast T1 mapping sequences

The delayed Gadolinium Enhanced MRI of Cartilage (dGEMRIC) technique has shown promising results in pilot clinical studies of early osteoarthritis. Currently, its broader acceptance is limited by the long scan time and the need for postprocessing to calculate the T1 maps. A fast T1 mapping imaging technique based on two spoiled gradient echo images was implemented. In phantom studies, an appropriate flip angle combination optimized for center T1 of 756 to 955 ms yielded excellent agreement with T1 measured using the inversion recovery technique in the range of 200 to 900 ms, of interest in normal and diseased cartilage. In vivo validation was performed by serially imaging 26 hips using the inversion recovery and the Fast 2 angle T1 mapping techniques (center T1 756 ms). Excellent correlation with Pearson correlation coefficient R2 of 0.74 was seen and Bland-Altman plots demonstrated no systematic bias.

Cylinder wall waste heat recovery from liquid-cooled internal combustion engines utilizing thermoelectric generators

This report is a dissertation proposal that focuses on the energy balance within an internal combustion engine with a unique coolant-based waste heat recovery system. It has been predicted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration that the transportation sector in the United States will consume approximately 15 million barrels per day in liquid fuels by the year 2025. The proposed coolant-based waste heat recovery technique has the potential to reduce the yearly usage of those liquid fuels by nearly 50 million barrels by only recovering even a modest 1% of the wasted energy within the coolant system. The proposed waste heat recovery technique implements thermoelectric generators on the outside cylinder walls of an internal combustion engine. For this research, one outside cylinder wall of a twin cylinder 26 horsepower water-cooled gasoline engine will be implemented with a thermoelectric generator surrogate material. The vertical location of these TEG surrogates along the water jacket will be varied along with the TEG surrogate thermal conductivity. The aim of this proposed dissertation is to attain empirical evidence of the impact, including energy distribution and cylinder wall temperatures, of installing TEGs in the water jacket area. The results can be used for future research on larger engines and will also assist with proper TEG selection to maximize energy recovery efficiencies.

Selective SWIFT-R. A Flexible Software-Based Technique for Soft Error Mitigation in Low-Cost Embedded Systems

Commercial off-the-shelf microprocessors are the core of low-cost embedded systems due to their programmability and cost-effectiveness. Recent advances in electronic technologies have allowed remarkable improvements in their performance. However, they have also made microprocessors more susceptible to transient faults induced by radiation. These non-destructive events (soft errors), may cause a microprocessor to produce a wrong computation result or lose control of a system with catastrophic consequences. Therefore, soft error mitigation has become a compulsory requirement for an increasing number of applications, which operate from the space to the ground level. In this context, this paper uses the concept of selective hardening, which is aimed to design reduced-overhead and flexible mitigation techniques. Following this concept, a novel flexible version of the software-based fault recovery technique known as SWIFT-R is proposed. Our approach makes possible to select different registers subsets from the microprocessor register file to be protected on software. Thus, design space is enriched with a wide spectrum of new partially protected versions, which offer more flexibility to designers. This permits to find the best trade-offs between performance, code size, and fault coverage. Three case studies have been developed to show the applicability and flexibility of the proposal.

Novel Automotive Waste Heat Recovery Techniques

The United States transportation industry is predicted to consume approximately 13 million barrels of liquid fuel per day by 2025. If one percent of the fuel energy were salvaged through waste heat recovery, there would be a reduction of 130 thousand barrels of liquid fuel per day. This dissertation focuses on automotive waste heat recovery techniques with an emphasis on two novel techniques. The first technique investigated was a combination coolant and exhaust-based Rankine cycle system, which utilized a patented piston-in-piston engine technology. The research scope included a simulation of the maximum mass flow rate of steam (700 K and 5.5 MPa) from two heat exchangers, the potential power generation from the secondary piston steam chambers, and the resulting steam quality within the steam chamber. The secondary piston chamber provided supplemental steam power strokes during the engine's compression and exhaust strokes to reduce the pumping work of the engine. A Class-8 diesel engine, operating at 1,500 RPM at full load, had a maximum increase in the brake fuel conversion efficiency of 3.1%. The second technique investigated the implementation of thermoelectric generators on the outer cylinder walls of a liquid-cooled internal combustion engine. The research scope focused on the energy generation, fuel energy distribution, and cylinder wall temperatures. The analysis was conducted over a range of engine speeds and loads in a two cylinder, 19.4 kW, liquid-cooled, spark-ignition engine. The cylinder wall temperatures increased by 17% to 44% which correlated well to the 4.3% to 9.5% decrease in coolant heat transfer. Only 23.3% to 28.2% of the heat transfer to the coolant was transferred through the TEG and TEG surrogate material. The gross indicated work decreased by 0.4% to 1.0%. The exhaust gas energy decreased by 0.8% to 5.9%. Due to coolant contamination, the TEG output was not able to be obtained. TEG output was predicted from cylinder wall temperatures and manufacturer documentation, which was less than 0.1% of the cumulative heat release. Higher TEG conversion efficiencies, combined with greater control of heat transfer paths, would be needed to improve energy output and make this a viable waste heat recovery technique.

Quantification of in vivo short echo-time proton magnetic resonance spectra at 14.1 T using two different approaches of modelling the macromolecule spectrum

Reliable quantification of the macromolecule signals in short echo-time H-1 MRS spectra is particularly important at high magnetic fields for an accurate quantification of metabolite concentrations (the neurochemical profile) due to effectively increased spectral resolution of the macromolecule components. The purpose of the present study was to assess two approaches of quantification, which take the contribution of macromolecules into account in the quantification step. H-1 spectra were acquired on a 14.1 T/26 cm horizontal scanner on five rats using the ultra-short echo-time SPECIAL (spin echo full intensity acquired localization) spectroscopy sequence. Metabolite concentrations were estimated using LCModel, combined with a simulated basis set of metabolites using published spectral parameters and either the spectrum of macromolecules measured in vivo, using an inversion recovery technique, or baseline simulated by the built-in spline function. The fitted spline function resulted in a smooth approximation of the in vivo macromolecules, but in accordance with previous studies using Subtract-QUEST could not reproduce completely all features of the in vivo spectrum of macromolecules at 14.1 T. As a consequence, the measured macromolecular 'baseline' led to a more accurate and reliable quantification at higher field strengths.

Three-dimensional patient-specific dosimetry in radioimmunotherapy with 90Y-ibritumomab-tiuxetan.

Aim of the present article was to perform three-dimensional (3D) single photon emission tomography-based dosimetry in radioimmunotherapy (RIT) with (90)Y-ibritumomab-tiuxetan. A custom MATLAB-based code was used to elaborate 3D images and to compare average 3D doses to lesions and to organs at risk (OARs) with those obtained with planar (2D) dosimetry. Our 3D dosimetry procedure was validated through preliminary phantom studies using a body phantom consisting of a lung insert and six spheres with various sizes. In phantom study, the accuracy of dose determination of our imaging protocol decreased when the object volume decreased below 5 mL, approximately. The poorest results were obtained for the 2.58 mL and 1.30 mL spheres where the dose error evaluated on corrected images with regard to the theoretical dose value was -12.97% and -18.69%, respectively. Our 3D dosimetry protocol was subsequently applied on four patients before RIT with (90)Y-ibritumomab-tiuxetan for a total of 5 lesions and 4 OARs (2 livers, 2 spleens). In patient study, without the implementation of volume recovery technique, tumor absorbed doses calculated with the voxel-based approach were systematically lower than those calculated with the planar protocol, with average underestimation of -39% (range from -13.1% to -62.7%). After volume recovery, dose differences reduce significantly, with average deviation of -14.2% (range from -38.7.4% to +3.4%, 1 overestimation, 4 underestimations). Organ dosimetry in one case overestimated, in the other underestimated the dose delivered to liver and spleen. However, both for 2D and 3D approach, absorbed doses to organs per unit administered activity are comparable with most recent literature findings.

Proton T1 relaxation times of metabolites in human occipital white and gray matter at 7 T.

Proton T1 relaxation times of metabolites in the human brain have not previously been published at 7 T. In this study, T1 values of CH3 and CH2 group of N-acetylaspartate and total creatine as well as nine other brain metabolites were measured in occipital white matter and gray matter at 7 T using an inversion-recovery technique combined with a newly implemented semi-adiabatic spin-echo full-intensity acquired localized spectroscopy sequence (echo time = 12 ms). The mean T1 values of metabolites in occipital white matter and gray matter ranged from 0.9 to 2.2 s. Among them, the T1 of glutathione, scyllo-inositol, taurine, phosphorylethanolamine, and N-acetylaspartylglutamate were determined for the first time in the human brain. Significant differences in T1 between white matter and gray matter were found for water (-28%), total choline (-14%), N-acetylaspartylglutamate (-29%), N-acetylaspartate (+4%), and glutamate (+8%). An increasing trend in T1 was observed when compared with previously reported values of N-acetylaspartate (CH3 ), total creatine (CH3 ), and total choline at 3 T. However, for N-acetylaspartate (CH3 ), total creatine, and total choline, no substantial differences compared to previously reported values at 9.4 T were discernible. The T1 values reported here will be useful for the quantification of metabolites and signal-to-noise optimization in human brain at 7 T. Magn Reson Med 69:931-936, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Visual Object Recognition Using Deformable Models of Vehicles

This workshop paper reports recent developments to a vision system for traffic interpretation which relies extensively on the use of geometrical and scene context. Firstly, a new approach to pose refinement is reported, based on forces derived from prominent image derivatives found close to an initial hypothesis. Secondly, a parameterised vehicle model is reported, able to represent different vehicle classes. This general vehicle model has been fitted to sample data, and subjected to a Principal Component Analysis to create a deformable model of common car types having 6 parameters. We show that the new pose recovery technique is also able to operate on the PCA model, to allow the structure of an initial vehicle hypothesis to be adapted to fit the prevailing context. We report initial experiments with the model, which demonstrate significant improvements to pose recovery.

Influência das tensões tectônicas na permeabilidade da formação Açu - Bacia Potiguar

The behavior of the fluid flux in oil fields is influenced by different factors and it has a big impact on the recovery of hydrocarbons. There is a need of evaluating and adapting the actual technology to the worldwide reservoirs reality, not only on the exploration (reservoir discovers) but also on the development of those that were already discovered, however not yet produced. The in situ combustion (ISC) is a suitable technique for these recovery of hydrocarbons, although it remains complex to be implemented. The main objective of this research was to study the application of the ISC as an advanced oil recovery technique through a parametric analysis of the process using vertical wells within a semi synthetic reservoir that had the characteristics from the brazilian northwest, in order to determine which of those parameters could influence the process, verifying the technical and economical viability of the method on the oil industry. For that analysis, a commercial reservoir simulation program for thermal processes was used, called steam thermal and advanced processes reservoir simulator (STARS) from the computer modeling group (CMG). This study aims, through the numerical analysis, find results that help improve mainly the interpretation and comprehension of the main problems related to the ISC method, which are not yet dominated. From the results obtained, it was proved that the mediation promoted by the thermal process ISC over the oil recovery is very important, with rates and cumulated production positively influenced by the method application. It was seen that the application of the method improves the oil mobility as a function of the heating when the combustion front forms inside the reservoir. Among all the analyzed parameters, the activation energy presented the bigger influence, it means, the lower the activation energy the bigger the fraction of recovered oil, as a function of the chemical reactions speed rise. It was also verified that the higher the enthalpy of the reaction, the bigger the fraction of recovered oil, due to a bigger amount of released energy inside the system, helping the ISC. The reservoir parameters: porosity and permeability showed to have lower influence on the ISC. Among the operational parameters that were analyzed, the injection rate was the one that showed a stronger influence on the ISC method, because, the higher the value of the injection rate, the higher was the result obtained, mainly due to maintaining the combustion front. In connection with the oxygen concentration, an increase of the percentage of this parameter translates into a higher fraction of recovered oil, because the quantity of fuel, helping the advance and the maintenance of the combustion front for a longer period of time. About the economic analysis, the ISC method showed to be economically feasible when evaluated through the net present value (NPV), considering the injection rates: the higher the injection rate, the higher the financial incomes of the final project

Restauração ecológica de um solo decapitado sob intervenção antrópica há 17 anos

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Characterization of the macromolecule baseline in localized (1)H-MR spectra of human brain

Short-echo-time magnetic resonance spectra of human brain contain broad contributions from macromolecules. As they are a priori of unknown shape and intensity, they pose a problem if one wants to quantitate the overlying spectral features from low-molecular-weight metabolites. On the other hand, the macromolecular contributions may provide relevant clinical information themselves, if properly evaluated. Several methods, based on T(1), T(2), or spectral shape, have previously been suggested to suppress or edit the macromolecule contributions. Here, a method is presented based on a series of saturation recovery scans and that allows for simultaneous recording of the macromolecular baseline and the fully relaxed metabolite spectrum. In comparison to an inversion recovery technique aimed at nulling signals from long-T(1) components, the saturation recovery method is less susceptible to T(1) differences inherent in signals from different metabolites or introduced by pathology. The saturation recovery method was used to quantitate the macromolecular baseline in white and/or gray matter locations of the human brain in 40 subjects. It was found that the content and composition of MR visible macromolecules depends on cerebral location, as well as the age of the investigated subject, while no gender dependence could be found.

An O(N log N) algorithm for shape modeling.

We present a shape-recovery technique in two dimensions and three dimensions with specific applications in modeling anatomical shapes from medical images. This algorithm models extremely corrugated structures like the brain, is topologically adaptable, and runs in O(N log N) time, where N is the total number of points in the domain. Our technique is based on a level set shape-recovery scheme recently introduced by the authors and the fast marching method for computing solutions to static Hamilton-Jacobi equations.

Modelagem matemática e experimental da perda de injetividade em poços canhoneados

Water injection in oil reservoirs is a recovery technique widely used for oil recovery. However, the injected water contains suspended particles that can be trapped, causing formation damage and injectivity decline. In such cases, it is necessary to stimulate the damaged formation looking forward to restore the injectivity of the injection wells. Injectivity decline causes a major negative impact to the economy of oil production, which is why, it is important to foresee the injectivity behavior for a good waterflooding management project. Mathematical models for injectivity losses allow studying the effect of the injected water quality, also the well and formation characteristics. Therefore, a mathematical model of injectivity losses for perforated injection wells was developed. The scientific novelty of this work relates to the modeling and prediction of injectivity decline in perforated injection wells, considering deep filtration and the formation of external cake in spheroidal perforations. The classic modeling for deep filtration was rewritten using spheroidal coordinates. The solution to the concentration of suspended particles was obtained analytically and the concentration of the retained particles, which cause formation damage, was solved numerically. The acquisition of the solution to impedance assumed a constant injection rate and the modified Darcy´s Law, defined as being the inverse of the normalized injectivity by the inverse of the initial injectivity. Finally, classic linear flow injectivity tests were performed within Berea sandstone samples, and within perforated samples. The parameters of the model, filtration and formation damage coefficients, obtained from the data, were used to verify the proposed modeling. The simulations showed a good fit to the experimental data, it was observed that the ratio between the particle size and pore has a large influence on the behavior of injectivity decline.