Space-saving hoist for tank manholes

Working platform and collapsible basket facilitate entry of men with equipment into the overhead manhole of a deep tank. A winch and pulley rigging hold the basket which is suspended in the manhole. The basket is suspended at three points without the rig impinging on the area of the manhole

NMR Spectroscopic Properties of Nucleotides, and a New Method of Numeric Calculation of Raman Intensities for Organic Molecules

General and accurate computational methodologies are currently lacking for large chemical systems. This is primarily due to the computational expense required to perform calculations on systems with one hundred or more atoms. Calculated spectroscopic properties could aid in the process of elucidating structural features of large biologically relevant molecules if accurate and inexpensive methods are developed. Towards this end the first steps were taken to design a general methodology for predicting NMR chemical shifts of large nucleic acid systems. It was found that HF and semi-empirical methods were not sufficient for optimization of nucleobases, and therefore larger nucleotide or nucleic acid systems. It was also found that there is little difference in performance between DFT methods for prediction of NMR shifts of nucleobases as long as hydrogen bonding requirements are satisfied. To potentially reduce the computational expense of calculating Raman activities, a new and potentially inexpensive numerical method was developed. This method utilizes volume changes as a basis for approximating polarizability changes over the course of molecular vibrations. Raman intensities calculated using this methodology were compared to experimentally obtained Raman intensities by linear regression. While a positive correlation was found further refinement is needed

Asymptotics of block Toeplitz determinants and the classical dimer model

We compute the asymptotics of a block Toeplitz determinant which arises in the classical dimer model for the triangular lattice when considering the monomer-monomer correlation function. The model depends on a parameter interpolating between the square lattice ($t=0$) and the triangular lattice ($t=1$), and we obtain the asymptotics for $0<t\le 1$. For $0<t<1$ we apply the Szeg\"o Limit Theorem for block Toeplitz determinants. The main difficulty is to evaluate the constant term in the asymptotics, which is generally given only in a rather abstract form

The Forensic Characterization of Bacterial and Fungal Organisms in Traditional Chinese Medicine

There has been an increase in use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the United States because they are less expensive and believed to be more effective with less adverse effects in comparison to traditional pharmaceutics. Therefore, sales have increased in the US, despite articles and case studies demonstrating the dangers, such as injury and death, related to TCM, stemming from improper labelling, toxic contaminants, and, in some cases, the presence of pathogenic bacteria. The aim of this study was to perform a survival experiment to demonstrate the importance of proper herbal brewing technique and to conduct a molecular and biochemical survey of microorganisms present on eleven Chinese herbal samples. The survival study compared Chinese brewing preparation and American brewing preparation by fortifying the herbal mixture with known bacteria and assessing its survival after brewing. The American brewed herbal tea was calculated to contain upwards of 3000 CFU (colony forming units)/mL, where the Chinese brewed herbal tea contained roughly 50 CFU/mL. FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester) analysis was performed on the herbs to characterize any microorganisms present on the plant material already, following purchase. Strains within the Bacillus genus were identified in nearly all eleven of the herbal samples. These included B. subtilis and B. megaterium. Organisms belonging to the Bacillus ACT group (anthracis, cereus, thuringiensis) were identified in five out of eleven herb cultures as evidenced by the large ratio of 15:0 iso to 15:0 anteiso fatty acid biomarkers. Nine out of eleven herbal specimens also exhibited fungal biomarkers such as polyunsaturated 20:4 ω6,9,12,15c, and 18:3 ω6c (6,9,12).https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1291/thumbnail.jp

Development of a portable source for production of Re-188

Abstract only availableRhenium 188 is a radioisotope that is potentially useful for treatment of certain types of cancer including bone cancer and circulating tumors. Its short half-life of 16.7h however makes it an awkward choice for clinical use as much of the product will decay during shipping. This project focuses on the development of a portable source of producing high specific activity Rhenium188 from a longer lived (t1/2 = 69.4d), low specific activity source; Tungsten 188. Tungsten 188 is obtained by double neutron capture from Na2186WO4. Peroxide complexes of the Sodium Tungstate (Na2186WO4) and Zirconyl Nitrate (ZrO(NO3)2) are formed and then mixed with heating to yield a ZrO186WO4•XH2O gel precipitate. This is loaded into a column and washed with saline. As the W-188 decays to Re-188, high specific activity Sodium Perrehnate (Na188ReO4) will be eluted from the column. This can then be reduced to form the final drug on location. Future studies may include a similar method of production for a Mo-99/Tc-99m generator, another drug commonly used for imaging. The final poster will also discuss crystalline content of the ZrO186WO4•XH2O gel, which must be minimized to maximize the yield of Re-188.MU Research Reacto

Stability of Life-Satisfaction Over Time: analysis of change in ranks in a national population

This paper is about constancy of differences in life-satisfaction in society. It analyzes data of a large panel study in Germany, which involved yearly interviews between 1984 and 1994. Year-to-year correlation started at +.45 and increased gradually to +.54. The correlation between the first and later reports declined through the years, the correlation between the 1st and the 11th report was only +.29. Observed overtime correlation may result from six effects: Firstly the correlation is attenuated by error: 1) common measurement error, such as haphazard responding, and 2) error in estimating general satisfaction due to passing uplifts and hassles. Both errors may shrink as 3) respondents get experienced in answering questions about life-satisfaction and 4) when they mature. Next, 'true' correlation will depend on: 5) mayor changes in life, such as loss of job or getting married, and 6) stable stocks, such as personal capabilities and social relations. This paper develops models to disentangle these effects. The best fitting model suggests that almost half of the initial variance in life-satisfaction was due to error: 23% to error in responding (effect 1) and 19% to error in estimating one's satisfaction with life (effect 2). In 10 years the error component shrinks by 10%, largely due to learning effect 3) and partly due to aging (effect 4). In the end, life-changes explained 30% of the varianc

Potts Model On Random Trees

We study the Potts model on locally tree-like random graphs of arbitrary degree distribution. Using a population dynamics algorithm we numerically solve the problem exactly. We confirm our results with simulations. Comparisons with a previous approach are made, showing where its assumption of uniform local fields breaks down for networks with nodes of low degree.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

(An overview of) Synergistic reconstruction for multimodality/multichannel imaging methods

Imaging is omnipresent in modern society with imaging devices based on a zoo of physical principles, probing a specimen across different wavelengths, energies and time. Recent years have seen a change in the imaging landscape with more and more imaging devices combining that which previously was used separately. Motivated by these hardware developments, an ever increasing set of mathematical ideas is appearing regarding how data from different imaging modalities or channels can be synergistically combined in the image reconstruction process, exploiting structural and/or functional correlations between the multiple images. Here we review these developments, give pointers to important challenges and provide an outlook as to how the field may develop in the forthcoming years. This article is part of the theme issue 'Synergistic tomographic image reconstruction: part 1'