Overview of the ImageCLEF 2015 medical classification task

This articles describes the ImageCLEF 2015 Medical Clas-sification task. The task contains several subtasks that all use a dataset of figures from the biomedical open access literature (PubMed Cen-tral). Particularly compound figures are targeted that are frequent inthe literature. For more detailed information analysis and retrieval it isimportant to extract targeted information from the compound figures.The proposed tasks include compound figure detection (separating com-pound from other figures), multi–label classification (define all sub typespresent), figure separation (find boundaries of the subfigures) and modal-ity classification (detecting the figure type of each subfigure). The tasksare described with the participation of international research groups inthe tasks. The results of the participants are then described and analysedto identify promising techniques

Spectrometric analysis in shielded flames

Imperial Users onl

Miniaturisation in Separation Science: Liquid-Liquid Separation on a Chip.

In recent years, the field for miniaturised analytical devices as well as micro-reactors and micro-mixers has grown rapidly. From this the need arose to also miniaturise and integrate sample preparation techniques such as extraction. Therefore, technologies to build new devices faster and cheaper have become increasingly important. The classic processing technique for glass or silicon is photolithography followed by wet etching. Major time and cost factors in this process are the production of lithography masks. A process to design masks based on printouts on office printers and photographic reduction was therefore developed. The process is capable of producing masks with features as small as 20μm. Furthermore a new process for bonding two glass slides with enclosed channels has been developed. The process was based on an intermediate polymer layer and allows the formation of a polymer coating inside the capillaries. The technique worked at low temperatures and allowed us to selectively coat capillaries etched in one slide but not to coat capillaries in the other slide. The ability to selectively coat capillaries allowed the construction of a miniaturised liquid-liquid separator. The separator was based on different contact angles of solvents on different surfaces. In general, polar solvents have a low contact angle on polar surfaces while non-polar solvents have low contact angles on non-polar surfaces. At a junction where one arm has a polar surface and one arm a non-polar surface the phases separate according to their polarity into the channels for which they have the greater affinity. Since the effect is not fully efficient at one junction, an array of multiple junctions was used to separate a two-phase mixture. The array consisted of five polar and five non-polar channels leading at a 90° angle to the other polarity, leading to two outlet channels. The separator achieved complete separation for isooctane and also achieved partial separation for more polar solvents such as octanol and ethylacetate

The placement, fate and effectiveness of granular nematicides in potato beds infested with the potato cyst nematode <i>Globodera pallida</i> (stone)

The chemical control of the potato cyst nematode (PCN) by granular nematicides when applied and incorporated into potato seed beds was investigated to assess problems connected with incorporation using bed cultivation machinery. Fluorescent tracer granule work using a range of granular nematicide incorporation methods suggested that differences exist between the incorporation methods in terms of placement of the fluorescent granules in the planted potato bed. Incorporation of tracer initially by a bed tiller followed by a second incorporation by a stone and clod separator produced a distribution of tracer greater than 40cm deep in the planted bed. Incorporation of tracer by a stone and clod separator with application of tracer halfway up the first web produced concentrated bands of tracer in the sides of the planted bed. No visible differences in tracer distribution occurred between other treatments. The differences observed between incorporation techniques during the fluorescent tracer granule work were shown not to be important in terms of PCN control or yield in the first year's field experiments. The second year of field experimentsa ssessedth e incorporation of the granular nematicide Vydate (10G) before, during or after stone and clod separation of potato beds. These field experiments suggested that timing of nematicide incorporation in relation to stone and clod separation had no effect on potato yield or control of PCN. As in the first year's experiments, significant differences occurred between plots treated or not treated with a granular nematicide, but not between incorporation methods. Work describing the field concentration of oxamyl immediately after planting showed similarities to the distribution of tracer granules observed in the soil hall studies. The subsequent distribution of oxamyl 3 weeks after planting showed no redistribution of the nematicide in the potato bed. The depth of potato planting is thought to be responsible for the uniformity of PCN control and crop response to nematicide treatment regardless of incorporation method as seed was planted below the nematicide treated layer. Evaluation of a diagnostic kit used for detecting oxamyl in soil showed that the kit was well suited for this purpose and its use is discussed in the light of the findings of this study

Insight into Sulfur Confined in Ultramicroporous Carbon

Here, we provide a deeper insight into the state of sulfur confined in ultramicroporous carbon (UMC) and clarify its electrochemical reaction mechanism with lithium by corroborating the results obtained using various experimental techniques, such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, in situ Raman spectroscopy, and in situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In combination, these results indicate that sulfur in UMC exists as linear polymeric sulfur rather than smaller allotropes. The electrochemical reactivity of lithium with sulfur confined in UMC (pore size ≤0.7 nm) is different from that of sulfur confined in microporous carbon (≤2 nm, or ultramicroporous carbon containing significant amount of micropores) and mesoporous carbon (>2 nm). The observed quasi-solid-state reaction of lithium with sulfur in UMC with a single voltage plateau during the discharge/charge process is due to the effective separation of solvent molecules from the active material. The size of carbon pores plays a vital role in determining the reaction path of lithium with sulfur confined in UMC