Erwin Schrödinger and quantum wave mechanics

The fathers of matrix quantum mechanics believed that the quantum particles are unanschaulich (unvisualizable) and that quantum particles pop into existence only when we measure them. Challenging the orthodoxy, in 1926 Erwin Schrödinger developed his wave equation that describes the quantum particles as a packet of quantum probability amplitudes evolving in space and time. Thus, Schrödinger visualized the unvisualizable and lifted the veil that has been obscuring the wonders of the quantum world.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Kinetics of chlorine depletion and microbial growth in household plumbing systems

To date, the microbial ecology of water treatment and distribution systems has never been systematically explored. Despite chronic problems with microbial growths in water distribution systems, the waterworks literature would indicate that the fundamentals, techniques and applications of microbial ecology are virtually unknown to the waterworks profession. Microbial ecology is the science that explores the relationships between microorganisms and their environment. A study of microbial ecology involves an assessment of the changes in the total and individual members of the microbial community. In distribution systems, the microbial ecology would be influenced by the influx of organisms, the surface colonization of distribution mains, the invasion of distribution systems by organisms from external sources, variations in flow, the chemical composition of the distributed water and the effective concentration of residual disinfectant. In addition, seasonal water temperature changes would be expected to affect total microbial populations. An assessment of microbial ecology requires the determination of, at least, four basic parameters.Project # G-1235-02 Agreement # 14-08-0001-G-1235-0

Development of new methodology for the assessment of water treatment plant performance with respect to the removal of cyst-sized particles

"This is the fourth in a four-part series of year-long studies conducted at the Capital City Water Treatment Plant, Jefferson City, Missouri, over the period of 1985 to 1989, to evaluate the effect of temperature on water treatment plant performance and to observe the subsequent changes in water quality during distribution."--IntroductionProject # G-1572-06 Agreement # 14-08-0001-G-157

NCBO Ontology Recommender 2.0: An Enhanced Approach for Biomedical Ontology Recommendation

Biomedical researchers use ontologies to annotate their data with ontology terms, enabling better data integration and interoperability. However, the number, variety and complexity of current biomedical ontologies make it cumbersome for researchers to determine which ones to reuse for their specific needs. To overcome this problem, in 2010 the National Center for Biomedical Ontology (NCBO) released the Ontology Recommender, which is a service that receives a biomedical text corpus or a list of keywords and suggests ontologies appropriate for referencing the indicated terms. We developed a new version of the NCBO Ontology Recommender. Called Ontology Recommender 2.0, it uses a new recommendation approach that evaluates the relevance of an ontology to biomedical text data according to four criteria: (1) the extent to which the ontology covers the input data; (2) the acceptance of the ontology in the biomedical community; (3) the level of detail of the ontology classes that cover the input data; and (4) the specialization of the ontology to the domain of the input data. Our evaluation shows that the enhanced recommender provides higher quality suggestions than the original approach, providing better coverage of the input data, more detailed information about their concepts, increased specialization for the domain of the input data, and greater acceptance and use in the community. In addition, it provides users with more explanatory information, along with suggestions of not only individual ontologies but also groups of ontologies. It also can be customized to fit the needs of different scenarios. Ontology Recommender 2.0 combines the strengths of its predecessor with a range of adjustments and new features that improve its reliability and usefulness. Ontology Recommender 2.0 recommends over 500 biomedical ontologies from the NCBO BioPortal platform, where it is openly available.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, 11 table

Caking behaviour of food powder binary mixes containing sticky and non-sticky powders

Caking of food powders is highly undesirable. Many food powders are powder ingredient mixes and there is little work reported on the caking of food powder mixes. This study focusses on the caking of food powder binary mixes consisting of a “sticky” powder (whey permeate WP or maltodextrin MD) and a “non-sticky” powder (salt, flour or paprika). The powders were exposed to 76% relative humidity to make the WP and MD sticky. Force-displacement testing coupled with visual assessment of 2 particles in contact using a microscope were used to investigate the caking behaviour of the binary mixes. A “sticky” powder mass fraction of at least 20% was required to initiate caking and formation of weak cakes. Increasing percentage “sticky” powder fraction above the initial caking percentage resulted in progressively stronger cakes, however the rate of this progression was much less for the stickiest MD powder. The “non-sticky” powders and how they interacted with the “sticky” powders influenced the caking behaviour of the mix. For example, salt formed the strongest cakes in the WP mixes but formed the weakest in the MD mixes. Ability of a “sticky” powder to deform and flow influenced caking behaviour

Bloodborne viral infection in Irish injecting drug users.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of, and factors associated with, hepatitis C (HCV), hepatitis B (HBV) and HIV infections among injecting drug users (IDUs) against this background. A cross-sectional survey of participants in an addiction treatment clinic was carried out on seven hundred and thirty-five people IDU tested for antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) between September 1992 and September 1997. Socio-demographic and drug use characteristics were measured. Serology tests for anti-HCV, HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) and HIV. The vast majority (89%) commenced injecting since 1990. Prevalence of anti-HCV was 61.8% (453/733), of HBsAg was 1.0% (7/729) and of HIV was 1.2% (7/600). Logistic regression analyses indicated that longer history of injecting and increased daily drug expenditure were the only independent variables associated with significantly increased risk of HCV. The only characteristic associated with increased prevalence of HBsAg was a history of injecting prior to 1990 (3.8%, 3/80). HIV prevalence was significantly higher when aged over 24 years (3.7%, 6/162), when injecting commenced prior to 1990 (6.3%, 4/64) and when injecting over 5 years (6.5%, 4/62). The study concluded that HIV prevalence has sustained a low level in this population. Interventions which aim to halt transmission of HCV are necessary and will need to target IDU very early in their injecting careers and also those at risk of commencing to inject

Seasonal effects on total bacterial removals in a rapid sand filtration plant

The present study is the first comprehensive study of the removal of total bacterial cells from a drinking water supply. Using the direct microscopic count to enumerate the total bacterial population present in raw, settled and filtered water, it was possible to determine bacterial removals by physical processes, such as coagulation, sedimentation and filtration. The 15-month longitudinal study was performed at the Capital City Water Company treatment plant serving Jefferson City, Missouri. The results confirmed earlier survey results indicating that bacterial cell removals by conventional water treatment processes are far lower than turbidity reductions would indicate. Moreover, bacterial removals are significantly impaired when water temperatures are low. Most bacterial removal is accomplished by pretreatment (coagulation and sedimentation). Filtration, as a single unit operation, was found to be ineffective in achieving significant bacterial removals throughout the entire study period. Based on the results, it is evident that the enumeration of the total bacterial population is the most fundamental and basic microbiological measurement that can be made to evaluate water treatment plant performance.Project # G-1027-04 Agreement # 14-08-0001-G-1027-0

Systolic blood pressure reduction during the first 24 h in acute heart failure admission: friend or foe?

Aims: Changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) during an admission for acute heart failure (AHF), especially those leading to hypotension, have been suggested to increase the risk for adverse outcomes. Methods and results: We analysed associations of SBP decrease during the first 24 h from randomization with serum creatinine changes at the last time-point available (72 h), using linear regression, and with 30- and 180-day outcomes, using Cox regression, in 1257 patients in the VERITAS study. After multivariable adjustment for baseline SBP, greater SBP decrease at 24 h from randomization was associated with greater creatinine increase at 72 h and greater risk for 30-day all-cause death, worsening heart failure (HF) or HF readmission. The hazard ratio (HR) for each 1 mmHg decrease in SBP at 24 h for 30-day death, worsening HF or HF rehospitalization was 1.01 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00–1.02; P = 0.021]. Similarly, the HR for each 1 mmHg decrease in SBP at 24 h for 180-day all-cause mortality was 1.01 (95% CI 1.00–1.03; P = 0.038). The associations between SBP decrease and outcomes did not differ by tezosentan treatment group, although tezosentan treatment was associated with a greater SBP decrease at 24 h. Conclusions: In the current post hoc analysis, SBP decrease during the first 24 h was associated with increased renal impairment and adverse outcomes at 30 and 180 days. Caution, with special attention to blood pressure monitoring, should be exercised when vasodilating agents are given to AHF patients