Towards a Flat-Bottom Hole Standard for Thermal Imaging

Transient thermal imaging has not as yet found a niche among industrial NDE methodologies even though the field has been active since the mid 1980’s. Difficulty with image interpretation is perhaps the primary reason. An ambiguous image leads to false calls and lack of confidence. Ultrasonics, on the other hand appears not to generally suffer from these issues for a simple reason — the term “flat-bottom hole” (FBH) is second nature in the field. Such standards encourage quantitative imaging. The present work provides a deeper insight into certain invariances in 1-D and 2-D heat flow that permit the use of flatbottom hole standards to quantify thermal imaging yielding reproducible and interpretable images of flaws. The very simple theoretical basis for these effects will be described with emphasis placed on the thermal images obtained and the accuracy of the quantitative results. We describe recent work both at GE-CRD and UTRC in the area of thermal standards evaluation

Switchgrass Response to Nitrogen Fertilizer Across Diverse Environments in the USA: a Regional Feedstock Partnership Report

The Regional Feedstock Partnership is a collaborative effort between the Sun Grant Initiative (through Land Grant Universities), the US Department of Energy, and the US Department of Agriculture. One segment of this partnership is the field-scale evaluation of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) in diverse sites across the USA. Switchgrass was planted (11.2 kg PLS ha−1 ) in replicated plots in New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Virginia in 2008 and in Iowa in 2009. Adapted switchgrass cultivars were selected for each location and baseline soil samples collected before planting. Nitrogen fertilizer (0, 56, and 112 kg N ha−1 ) was applied each spring beginning the year after planting, and switchgrass was harvested once annually after senescence. Establishment, management, and harvest operations were completed using fieldscale equipment. Switchgrass production ranged from 2 to 11.5 Mg ha−1 across locations and years. Yields were lowest the first year after establishment. Switchgrass responded positively to N in 6 of 19 location/year combinations and there was one location/year combination (NY in Year 2) where a significant negative response was noted. Initial soil N levels were lowest in SD and VA (significant N response) and highest at the other three locations (no N response). Although N rate affected some measures of biomass quality (N and hemicellulose), location and year had greater overall effects on all quality parameters evaluated. These results demonstrate the importance of local field-scale research and of proper N management in order to reduce unnecessary expense and potential environmental impacts of switchgrass grown for bioenergy

Anti-TNF-α antibody allows healing of joint damage in polyarthritic transgenic mice

Anti-tumor-necrosis-factor-α (TNF-α) monoclonal antibody was used to treat Tg197 transgenic mice, which constitutively produce human TNF-α (hTNF-α) and develop a progressive polyarthritic disease. Treatment of both young (7- or 8-week-old) and aged (27- or 28-week-old) mice commenced when at least two limbs showed signs of moderate to severe arthritis. The therapeutic efficacy of anti-TNF-α antibody was assessed using various pathological indicators of disease progression. The clinical severity of arthritis in Tg197 mice was significantly reduced after anti-TNF-α treatment in comparison with saline-treated mice and in comparison with baseline assessments in both young and aged mice. The treatment with anti-TNF-α prevented loss of body weight. Inflammatory pathways as reflected by elevated circulating hTNF-α and local expression of various proinflammatory mediators were all diminished by anti-TNF-α treatment, confirming a critical role of hTNF-α in this model of progressive polyarthritis. More importantly, the amelioration of the disease was associated with reversal of existing structural damage, including synovitis and periosteal bone erosions evident on histology. Repair of cartilage was age dependent: reversal of cartilage degradation after anti-TNF-α treatment was observed in young mice but not in aged mice

Computational models in plant-pathogen interactions: the case of Phytophthora infestans

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Phytophthora infestans </it>is a devastating oomycete pathogen of potato production worldwide. This review explores the use of computational models for studying the molecular interactions between <it>P. infestans </it>and one of its hosts, <it>Solanum tuberosum</it>.</p> <p>Modeling and conclusion</p> <p>Deterministic logistics models have been widely used to study pathogenicity mechanisms since the early 1950s, and have focused on processes at higher biological resolution levels. In recent years, owing to the availability of high throughput biological data and computational resources, interest in stochastic modeling of plant-pathogen interactions has grown. Stochastic models better reflect the behavior of biological systems. Most modern approaches to plant pathology modeling require molecular kinetics information. Unfortunately, this information is not available for many plant pathogens, including <it>P. infestans</it>. Boolean formalism has compensated for the lack of kinetics; this is especially the case where comparative genomics, protein-protein interactions and differential gene expression are the most common data resources.</p

Towards a Flat-Bottom Hole Standard for Thermal Imaging

Transient thermal imaging has not as yet found a niche among industrial NDE methodologies even though the field has been active since the mid 1980’s. Difficulty with image interpretation is perhaps the primary reason. An ambiguous image leads to false calls and lack of confidence. Ultrasonics, on the other hand appears not to generally suffer from these issues for a simple reason — the term “flat-bottom hole” (FBH) is second nature in the field. Such standards encourage quantitative imaging. The present work provides a deeper insight into certain invariances in 1-D and 2-D heat flow that permit the use of flatbottom hole standards to quantify thermal imaging yielding reproducible and interpretable images of flaws. The very simple theoretical basis for these effects will be described with emphasis placed on the thermal images obtained and the accuracy of the quantitative results. We describe recent work both at GE-CRD and UTRC in the area of thermal standards evaluation.</p