Chemical characterization of local black Soap ( Chahul Mtse ) made by using cassava peels ashes (alkali base) and palm oil in North Central Zone of Nigeria

Chemical characterization of local black by using cassava peels ashes (alkali base) and palm oil in  North Central Zone of Nigeria is essensially crude soap  made by using cassava peels ashes (alkali base) and palm oil  . These peels were burnt to ashes and  the alkali extracted from it by dissolving in water and later filtered. This Soap( Chahul Mtse ) made extract is made to react with hot oil and the resultant mixture is black soap. This soap is often disregarded due to its color and mode of preparation .The values for total fatty matter (TFM), total free alkali (TFA), free carbonate alkali (FCaA), free caustic alkali (FCA), pH, lather volume and  foam analysis were  62% (w/w), 6.7% (w/w), 3.8% (w/w), 2.95% (w/w), 9.0, 300ml and 6.33 hrs respectively while the wash-active-substance was found to be 35.78%  compared to the modern soap. The chemical characterization however has revealed this soap has a quality very close to any standard soap These results showed the potency as well as the inadequacies of black soap which can be improved upon . Key words-  , analysis  crude, cleansing, , domestic surfactant

Neural network interpolation of the magnetic field for the LISA Pathfinder Diagnostics Subsystem

LISA Pathfinder is a science and technology demonstrator of the European Space Agency within the framework of its LISA mission, which aims to be the first space-borne gravitational wave observatory. The payload of LISA Pathfinder is the so-called LISA Technology Package, which is designed to measure relative accelerations between two test masses in nominal free fall. Its disturbances are monitored and dealt by the diagnostics subsystem. This subsystem consists of several modules, and one of these is the magnetic diagnostics system, which includes a set of four tri-axial fluxgate magnetometers, intended to measure with high precision the magnetic field at the positions of the test masses. However, since the magnetometers are located far from the positions of the test masses, the magnetic field at their positions must be interpolated. It has been recently shown that because there are not enough magnetic channels, classical interpolation methods fail to derive reliable measurements at the positions of the test masses, while neural network interpolation can provide the required measurements at the desired accuracy. In this paper we expand these studies and we assess the reliability and robustness of the neural network interpolation scheme for variations of the locations and possible offsets of the magnetometers, as well as for changes in environmental conditions. We find that neural networks are robust enough to derive accurate measurements of the magnetic field at the positions of the test masses in most circumstances

Significance of borderline hemoglobin A2 values in an Italian population with a high prevalence of -thalassemia

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On-ground tests of LISA PathFinder thermal diagnostics system

Thermal conditions in the LTP, the LISA Technology Package, are required to be very stable, and in such environment precision temperature measurements are also required for various diagnostics objectives. A sensitive temperature gauging system for the LTP is being developed at IEEC, which includes a set of thermistors and associated electronics. In this paper we discuss the derived requirements applying to the temperature sensing system, and address the problem of how to create in the laboratory a thermally quiet environment, suitable to perform meaningful on-ground tests of the system. The concept is a two layer spherical body, with a central aluminium core for sensor implantation surrounded by a layer of polyurethane. We construct the insulator transfer function, which relates the temperature at the core with the laboratory ambient temperature, and evaluate the losses caused by heat leakage through connecting wires. The results of the analysis indicate that, in spite of the very demanding stability conditions, a sphere of outer diameter of the order one metre is sufficient. We provide experimental evidence confirming the model predictions.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, LaTeX2e (compile with pdflatex), sumbitted to CQG. This paper is a significant extension of gr-qc/060109

Thermal diagnostic of the Optical Window on board LISA Pathfinder

Vacuum conditions inside the LTP Gravitational Reference Sensor must comply with rather demanding requirements. The Optical Window (OW) is an interface which seals the vacuum enclosure and, at the same time, lets the laser beam go through for interferometric Metrology with the test masses. The OW is a plane-parallel plate clamped in a Titanium flange, and is considerably sensitive to thermal and stress fluctuations. It is critical for the required precision measurements, hence its temperature will be carefully monitored in flight. This paper reports on the results of a series of OW characterisation laboratory runs, intended to study its response to selected thermal signals, as well as their fit to numerical models, and the meaning of the latter. We find that a single pole ARMA transfer function provides a consistent approximation to the OW response to thermal excitations, and derive a relationship with the physical processes taking place in the OW. We also show how system noise reduction can be accomplished by means of that transfer function.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures; accepted for publication in Class. Quantum Gra

Multipactor radiation analysis within a waveguide region based on a frequency-domain representation of the dynamics of charged particles

[EN] A technique for the accurate computation of the electromagnetic fields radiated by a charged particle moving within a parallel-plate waveguide is presented. Based on a transformation of the time-varying current density of the particle into a time-harmonic current density, this technique allows the evaluation of the radiated electromagnetic fields both in the frequency and time domains, as well as in the near- and far-field regions. For this purpose, several accelerated versions of the parallel-plate Green's function in the frequency domain have been considered. The theory has been successfully applied to the multipactor discharge occurring within a two metal-plates region. The proposed formulation has been tested with a particle-in-cell code based on the finite-difference time-domain method, obtaining good agreement.The authors would like to thank ESA/ESTEC for having funded this research activity through the Contract "RF Breakdown in Multicarrier Systems" (Contract No. 19918/06/NL/GLC).Gimeno, B.; Sorolla, E.; Anza, S.; Vicente, C.; Gil, J.; Pérez, AM.; Boria Esbert, VE.... (2009). Multipactor radiation analysis within a waveguide region based on a frequency-domain representation of the dynamics of charged particles. Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics. 79(4):1-9. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.79.046604S19794Figueroa, H., Gai, W., Konecny, R., Norem, J., Ruggiero, A., Schoessow, P., & Simpson, J. (1988). Direct Measurement of Beam-Induced Fields in Accelerating Structures. Physical Review Letters, 60(21), 2144-2147. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.60.2144Ng, K.-Y. (1990). Wake fields in a dielectric-lined waveguide. Physical Review D, 42(5), 1819-1828. doi:10.1103/physrevd.42.1819Rosing, M., & Gai, W. (1990). Longitudinal- and transverse-wake-field effects in dielectric structures. Physical Review D, 42(5), 1829-1834. doi:10.1103/physrevd.42.1829Gai, W., Kanareykin, A. D., Kustov, A. L., & Simpson, J. (1997). Numerical simulations of intense charged-particle beam propagation in a dielectric wake-field accelerator. Physical Review E, 55(3), 3481-3488. doi:10.1103/physreve.55.3481Burov, A., & Danilov, V. (1999). Suppression of Transverse Bunch Instabilities by Asymmetries in the Chamber Geometry. Physical Review Letters, 82(11), 2286-2289. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.82.2286Xiao, L., Gai, W., & Sun, X. (2001). Field analysis of a dielectric-loaded rectangular waveguide accelerating structure. Physical Review E, 65(1). doi:10.1103/physreve.65.016505Jing, C., Liu, W., Xiao, L., Gai, W., Schoessow, P., & Wong, T. (2003). Dipole-mode wakefields in dielectric-loaded rectangular waveguide accelerating structures. Physical Review E, 68(1). doi:10.1103/physreve.68.016502Stupakov, G., Bane, K. L. F., & Zagorodnov, I. (2007). Optical approximation in the theory of geometric impedance. Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams, 10(5). doi:10.1103/physrevstab.10.054401Hatch, A. J., & Williams, H. B. (1954). The Secondary Electron Resonance Mechanism of Low‐Pressure High‐Frequency Gas Breakdown. Journal of Applied Physics, 25(4), 417-423. doi:10.1063/1.1721656Hatch, A. J., & Williams, H. B. (1958). Multipacting Modes of High-Frequency Gaseous Breakdown. Physical Review, 112(3), 681-685. doi:10.1103/physrev.112.681Vaughan, J. R. M. (1988). Multipactor. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 35(7), 1172-1180. doi:10.1109/16.3387Gilardini, A. L. (1995). Multipacting discharges: Constant‐ktheory and simulation results. Journal of Applied Physics, 78(2), 783-795. doi:10.1063/1.360336Riyopoulos, S. (1997). Multipactor saturation due to space-charge-induced debunching. Physics of Plasmas, 4(5), 1448-1462. doi:10.1063/1.872319Kryazhev, A., Buyanova, M., Semenov, V., Anderson, D., Lisak, M., Puech, J., … Sombrin, J. (2002). Hybrid resonant modes of two-sided multipactor and transition to the polyphase regime. Physics of Plasmas, 9(11), 4736-4743. doi:10.1063/1.1514969Udiljak, R., Anderson, D., Ingvarson, P., Jordan, U., Jostell, U., Lapierre, L., … Sombrin, J. (2003). New method for detection of multipaction. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 31(3), 396-404. doi:10.1109/tps.2003.811646De Lara, J., Perez, F., Alfonseca, M., Galan, L., Montero, I., Roman, E., & Garcia-Baquero, D. R. (2006). Multipactor prediction for on-board spacecraft RF equipment with the MEST software tool. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 34(2), 476-484. doi:10.1109/tps.2006.872450Torregrosa, G., Coves, A., Vicente, C. P., Perez, A. M., Gimeno, B., & Boria, V. E. (2006). Time evolution of an electron discharge in a parallel-plate dielectric-loaded waveguide. IEEE Electron Device Letters, 27(7), 619-621. doi:10.1109/led.2006.877284Udiljak, R., Anderson, D., Lisak, M., Semenov, V. E., & Puech, J. (2007). Multipactor in a coaxial transmission line. I. Analytical study. Physics of Plasmas, 14(3), 033508. doi:10.1063/1.2710464Semenov, V. E., Zharova, N., Udiljak, R., Anderson, D., Lisak, M., & Puech, J. (2007). Multipactor in a coaxial transmission line. II. Particle-in-cell simulations. Physics of Plasmas, 14(3), 033509. doi:10.1063/1.2710466Anza, S., Vicente, C., Gimeno, B., Boria, V. E., & Armendáriz, J. (2007). Long-term multipactor discharge in multicarrier systems. Physics of Plasmas, 14(8), 082112. doi:10.1063/1.2768019Udiljak, R., Anderson, D., Lisak, M., Puech, J., & Semenov, V. E. (2007). Multipactor in a Waveguide Iris. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 35(2), 388-395. doi:10.1109/tps.2007.892737Burton, R. J., de Jong, M. S., & Funk, L. W. (1991). Vacuum and multipactor performance of the hadron electron ring accelerator 52 MHz cavities. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, 9(3), 2081-2084. doi:10.1116/1.577417Yamaguchi, S., Saito, Y., Anami, S., & Michizono, S. (1992). Trajectory simulation of multipactoring electrons in an S-band pillbox RF window. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 39(2), 278-282. doi:10.1109/23.277497Kishek, R., & Lau, Y. Y. (1995). Interaction of Multipactor Discharge and rf Circuit. Physical Review Letters, 75(6), 1218-1221. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.75.1218Lay-Kee Ang, Lau, Y. Y., Kishek, R. A., & Gilgenbach, R. M. (1998). Power deposited on a dielectric by multipactor. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 26(3), 290-295. doi:10.1109/27.700756Kishek, R. A., Lau, Y. Y., Ang, L. K., Valfells, A., & Gilgenbach, R. M. (1998). Multipactor discharge on metals and dielectrics: Historical review and recent theories. Physics of Plasmas, 5(5), 2120-2126. doi:10.1063/1.872883Neuber, A., Hemmert, D., Krompholz, H., Hatfield, L., & Kristiansen, M. (1999). Initiation of high power microwave dielectric interface breakdown. Journal of Applied Physics, 86(3), 1724-1728. doi:10.1063/1.370953Chojnacki, E. (2000). Simulations of a multipactor-inhibited waveguide geometry. Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams, 3(3). doi:10.1103/physrevstab.3.032001Cimino, R., Collins, I. R., Furman, M. A., Pivi, M., Ruggiero, F., Rumolo, G., & Zimmermann, F. (2004). Can Low-Energy Electrons Affect High-Energy Physics Accelerators? Physical Review Letters, 93(1). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.93.014801Abe, T., Kageyama, T., Akai, K., Ebihara, K., Sakai, H., & Takeuchi, Y. (2006). Multipactoring zone map of an rf input coupler and its application to high beam current storage rings. Physical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams, 9(6). doi:10.1103/physrevstab.9.062002Sorolla, E., Anza, S., Gimeno, B., Perez, A. M. P., Vicente, C., Gil, J., … Boria, V. E. (2008). An Analytical Model to Evaluate the Radiated Power Spectrum of a Multipactor Discharge in a Parallel-Plate Region. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 55(8), 2252-2258. doi:10.1109/ted.2008.926271Harrington, R. F. (2001). Time-Harmonic Electromagnetic Fields. doi:10.1109/9780470546710Hanson, G. W., & Yakovlev, A. B. (2002). Operator Theory for Electromagnetics. doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-3679-3Ewald, P. P. (1921). Die Berechnung optischer und elektrostatischer Gitterpotentiale. Annalen der Physik, 369(3), 253-287. doi:10.1002/andp.19213690304Myun-Joo Park, & Sangwook Nam. (1998). Rapid summation of the Green’s function for the rectangular waveguide. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 46(12), 2164-2166. doi:10.1109/22.739301Capolino, F., Wilton, D. R., & Johnson, W. A. (2005). Efficient computation of the 2-D Green’s function for 1-D periodic structures using the Ewald method. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 53(9), 2977-2984. doi:10.1109/tap.2005.854556Kustepeli, A., & Martin, A. Q. (2000). On the splitting parameter in the Ewald method. IEEE Microwave and Guided Wave Letters, 10(5), 168-170. doi:10.1109/75.85036

Idoneidad de la prescripción antibiótica en atención primaria en la Comunidad Autónoma Vasca

ObjetivoEstudiar la variabilidad e idoneidad de la prescripción antibiótica en atención primaria en la Comunidad Autónoma Vasca (CAV).DiseñoEstudio descriptivo, prospectivo.EmplazamientoCentros de atención primaria de la red reformada y no reformada de la CAV.Mediciones y resultados principalesSe estudiaron 3.182 infecciones obtenidas de consultas sobre enfermedad infecciosa mediante muestreo estratificado por área sanitaria durante febrero, marzo y abril de 1998. La idoneidad de la prescripción de antibióticos (ATB) se comparó con unos patrones elaborados tras una extensa revisión bibliográfica. Un 68,6% de las consultas son infecciones que no requieren ATB (catarro de vías altas [IRA], bronquitis aguda, gripe y gastroenteritis). Se utilizan ATB en un 28,5% de estos casos (IC, 26,6-30,5). Destaca la bronquitis aguda, con un 90,7% (IC, 87,3-93,4). La prescripción innecesaria supone un 39,7% de la prescripción total antibiótica (IC, 37,2-42,1%), suponiendo un gasto anual innecesario de 1.155 millones de pesetas.En el 31,4% de las infecciones que requieren tratamiento con ATB, se opta por uno no adecuado en un 23,7% (IC, 21-26,7%).En total, la idoneidad del tratamiento global fue del 72,2% (IC, 70,6-73,8). El hecho de trabajar en la red reformada se asoció a una mejor prescripción en todos los casos. Los pediatras prescriben mejor en el caso de las infecciones no susceptibles de tratamiento con ATB.ConclusionesLa prescripción de ATB no se realiza conforme a la evidencia científica disponible. Los tratamientos incorrectos tienen lugar sobre todo en procesos benignos y autolimitados. Es necesaria una política local de uso de ATB que incluya colaboración multidisciplinaria y formación continuada efectiva.ObjectiveTo study the variability and suitability of antibiotic prescription in primary care in the Basque Country.DesignProspective, descriptive study.SettingBasque Country health care centres both within and not in the reformed network.Measurements and main results3182 infections from consultations for infectious disease were studied through sampling stratified by health area during February, March and April 1998. The appropriateness of antibiotics (ATB) prescription was compared with some standards after an extensive bibliographic review. 68.6% of consultations were infections not needing ATB (infections of respiratory airways, acute bronchitis, flu and gastro-enteritis). ATB were used in 28.5% of these cases (CI: 26.6-30.5), especially in acute bronchitis (90.7%) (CI: 87.3-93.4). Unnecessary prescription supposes 39.7% of total antibiotic prescription (CI: 37.2-42.1%), which means unnecessary annual expenditure of 1155 million pesetas. In 31.4% of the infections that require ATB treatment, in 23.7% inappropriate treatment was chosen (CI: 21-26.7%). Overall appropriateness of treatment was 72.2% (CI: 70.6-73.8). Working in the reformed system was linked to better prescription in all cases. Paediatricians prescribed better in the case of infections not susceptible to ATB treatment.ConclusionsATB prescription is not consistent with the available scientific evidence. Incorrect treatments occur especially in benign and self-limiting processes. A local policy of ATB use that includes multi-disciplinary collaboration and effective ongoing training is necessary

Eutrophication and enteropathogens as risk factors for avian botulism outbreaks in wetlands receiving effluents from urban wastewater treatment plants

Due to the scarcity of water resources in the “Mancha Húmeda” Biosphere Reserve, the use of treated wastewater has been proposed as a solution for the conservation of natural threatened floodplain wetlands. In addition, wastewater treatment plants of many villages pour their effluent into nearby natural lakes. We hypothesized that certain avian pathogens present in wastewater may cause avian mortalities which would trigger avian botulism outbreaks. With the aim of testing our hypothesis, 24 locations distributed in three wetlands, two that receive wastewater effluents and one serving as a control, were monitored during a year. Sediment, water, water bird feces, and invertebrates were collected for the detection of putative avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC), Salmonella spp., Clostridium perfringens type A, and Clostridium botulinum type C/D. Also, water and sediment physicochemical properties were determined. Overall, APEC, C. perfringens, and C. botulinum were significantly more prevalent in samples belonging to the wetlands which receive wastewater. The occurrence of a botulism outbreak in one of the studied wetlands coincided with high water temperatures and sediment 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), a decrease in water redox potential, chlorophyll a, and sulfate levels, and an increase in water inorganic carbon levels. The presence of C. botulinum in bird feces before the onset of the outbreak indicates that carrier birds exist and highlights the risk of botulinum toxin production in their carcasses if they die by other causes such as bacterial diseases, which are more probable in wastewater wetlands

Analysis of the electromagnetic radiation generated by a multipactor discharge occurring within a microwave passive component

International audienceMultipactoring is a non-linear phenomenon that appears in highpower microwave equipments operating under vacuum conditions and causes several undesirable effects. In this manuscript, a theoretical and experimental study of the RF spectrum radiated by a multipactor discharge, occurring within a realistic microwave component based on rectangular waveguides, is reported. The electromagnetic coupling of a multipactor current to the fundamental propagative mode of a uniform waveguide has been analyzed in the context of the microwave network theory. The discharge produced under a single-carrier RF voltage regime has been approached as a shunt current source exciting such a mode in a transmission-line gap-region. By means of a simple equivalent circuit, this model allows predicting the harmonics generated by the discharge occurring in a realistic passive waveguide component. Power spectrum radiated by a third order multipactor discharge has been measured in an E-plane silver-plated waveguide transformer, thus validating qualitatively the presented theory to simulate the noise generated by a single-carrier multipactor discharge

Acceleration disturbances and requirements for ASTROD I

ASTRODynamical Space Test of Relativity using Optical Devices I (ASTROD I) mainly aims at testing relativistic gravity and measuring the solar-system parameters with high precision, by carrying out laser ranging between a spacecraft in a solar orbit and ground stations. In order to achieve these goals, the magnitude of the total acceleration disturbance of the proof mass has to be less than 10−13 m s−2 Hz−1/2 at 0.1 m Hz. In this paper, we give a preliminary overview of the sources and magnitude of acceleration disturbances that could arise in the ASTROD I proof mass. Based on the estimates of the acceleration disturbances and by assuming a simple controlloop model, we infer requirements for ASTROD I. Our estimates show that most of the requirements for ASTROD I can be relaxed in comparison with Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA).Comment: 19 pages, two figures, accepted for publication by Class. Quantum Grav. (at press