A New Hand-Held Microsystem Architecture for Biological Analysis

This paper presents a hand-held microsystem based on new fully integrated magnetoresistive biochips for biomolecular recognition (DNA hybridization, antibody antigen interaction, etc.). Magnetoresistive chip surfaces are chemically treated, enabling the immobilization of probe biomolecules such as DNA or antibodies. Fluid handling is also integrated in the biochip. The proposed microsystem not only integrates the biochip, which is an array of 16times16 magnetoresistive sensors, but it also provides all the electronic circuitry for addressing and reading out each transducer. The proposed architecture and circuits were specifically designed for achieving a compact, programmable and portable microsystem. The microsystem also integrates a hand-held analyzer connected through a wireless channel. A prototype of the system was already developed and detection of magnetic nanoparticles was obtained. This indicates that the system may be used for magnetic label based bioassays     

Probing the thermal decomposition process of layered double hydroxides through in situ <Superscript>57</Superscript>Fe Mössbauer and in situ X-ray diffraction experiments

The thermal decomposition properties of Mg–Fe hydrotalcites were studied through in situ ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and in situ X-ray diffraction. Abrupt changes in the quadrupolar splitting measured in the Mössbauer spectra revealed a phase transition from the starting lamellar structure to a new crystalline arrangement. By analyzing the Mössbauer parameters we show that the material is highly disordered in the 300–400 °C temperature range. This hypothesis is confirmed by the X-ray results whose diffractograms indicated the collapse of the lamellar structure and the formation of a solid solution.     

Use of the polymerase chain reaction in the diagnosis of leprosy

A case is described in which a pericardial branch of a nongrafted left internal mammary artery communicated directly with the distal left anterior descending artery, following saphenous vein bypass grafting. This type of collateralization following coronary artery bypass surgery seems to be very rare, and perhaps could protect the myocardium from severe ischemia.     

Generalized Nakagami-m phase crossing rate

This paper provides simple, exact, new closed-form expressions for the generalized phase crossing rate of Nakagami-m fading channels. Sample numerical results obtained by simulation are presented that validate the formulations developed here. A special case of this formulation is the Rayleigh case, whose result agrees with that obtained elsewhere in the literature. In passing, several new closed-form results concerning the statistics of the envelope, its in-phase and quadrature components, phase, and their time derivatives are obtained.     

Wake and aerodynamics loads in multiple bodies—application to turbomachinery blade rows

Two-dimensional, unsteady flow around bodies of complex geometry (or multiple bodies) at high Reynolds number is simulated using the vortex method. This method is modified to take into account the sub-grid scale phenomena through a second order velocity structure function model adapted to the Lagrangian scheme. The dynamics of the body wake is computed using the convection-diffusion splitting algorithm; the convection process is carried out with a Lagrangian Adams-Bashforth time-marching scheme and the diffusion process is simulated using the random walk method. The pressure distribution is obtained using an integral equation derived from the pressure Poisson equation, which was first developed for a single body. Results for the numerical simulation around a linear cascade of airfoils are presented. As the flow is periodic in the y direction, the discrete vortex shedding need only be considered for a reference airfoil. The flow characteristics around the NACA 65-410 series airfoils are calculated and comparisons are made with results available in the literature.     

Granular Reasoning Using Zooming In & Out: Part 2. Aristotle's Categorical Syllogism

The concept of granular computing is applied to Aristotle's categorical syllogism. Such kind of reasoning is called granular reasoning in this paper. For the purpose, two operations called zooming in & out are introduced to reconstruct granules of possible worlds.     

Development of a predictive model for polymer/solvent diffusion coefficient calculations

A new calculation procedure for free‐volume parameters is considered in this work by using viscosity prediction methods and the Levenberg‐Marquardt calculation scheme. All parameters used in the Vrentas–Duda free‐volume theory can be estimated from pure component properties. The prediction results are compared with experimental data for some polymer/solvent systems. The diffusion coefficient calculated by Vrentas–Duda theory can be used in the modeling of membrane separation processes. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Neuronal migration disorders increase susceptibility to hyperthermia-induced seizures in developing rats

PURPOSE: Retrospective studies suggest that adult patients with intractable epilepsy may have a history of febrile seizures in childhood. Risk factors for a febrile seizure may include the rate of increase in the core temperature (T-core), its peak (Tmax), the duration of the temperature increase, or an underlying brain pathology. Recently, neuronal migration disorders (NMD) have been diagnosed with increasing frequency in patients with epilepsy, but the link between NMD, febrile seizures, and epilepsy is unclear. We studied rat pups rendered hyperthermic to ascertain the incidence of seizures, mortality, and extent of hippocampal cell loss in each group. METHODS: We exposed 14-day-old rat pups with experimentally induced NMD (n = 39) and age-matched controls (n = 30) to hyperthermia (core body temperature > 42 degrees C). RESULTS: The incidence of hyperthermia-induced behavioral seizures and mortality rate were significantly higher in rats with NMD than in controls (p < 0.05). The longer duration of hyperthermia resulted in a higher incidence of behavioral seizures and higher mortality rate (p < 0.05). In rats with NMD, hyperthermia resulted in hippocampal pyramidal cell loss independent of seizure activity; the extent of neuronal damage correlated positively with the duration of hyperthermia. In control rats, occasional neuronal loss and astrocytosis occurred only after prolonged hyperthermia. CONCLUSIONS: In immature rats, NMD lower the threshold to hyperthermia-induced behavioral seizures and hyperthermia in the presence of NMD may cause irreversible hippocampal neuronal damage.     

Exporting water wave optimization concepts to modified simulated annealing algorithm for size optimization of truss structures with natural frequency constraints

This paper proposes an improved version of a recently proposed modified simulated annealing algorithm (MSAA) named as an improved MSAA (I-MSAA) to tackle the size optimization of truss structures with frequency constraint. This kind of problem is problematic because its feasible region is non-convex while the boundaries are highly non-linear. The main motivation is to improve the exploitative behavior of MSAA, taking concept from water wave optimization metaheuristic (WWO). An interesting concept of WWO is its breaking operation. Thirty functions extracted from the CEC2014 test suite and four benchmark truss optimization problems with frequency constraints are explored for the validity of the proposed algorithm. Numerical results indicate that I-MSAA is more reliable, stable and efficient than those found by other existing metaheuristics in the literature.

     

Grain-size effects in the quasi-static fracture resistance of a thermally embrittled RPV steel (quenched and tempered microstructures)

The elastic-plastic fracture toughness and crack extension behavior under the quasi-static loading regimen of several thermally embrittled conditions of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steel were assessed on the basis of microstructural parameters. It was discovered that the bainite packet size is the fracture properties controlling parameter of single-phase quenched and tempered microstructures. Results were found in close agreement to those obtained in a parallel study with dual-phase annealed microstructures derived from the same low alloy steel. Similarly, it was concluded that a Hall-Petch type relationship correlates J-fracture mechanics criteria to the grain size.