A new cloud detection algorithm for NOAA AVHRR imagery

1999 IEEE TENCO

Use of Microalgae for Advanced Wastewater Treatment and Sustainable Bioenergy Generation

Given that sustainable energy production and advanced wastewater treatment for producing clean water are two major challenges faced by modern society, microalgae make a desirable treatment alternative by providing a renewable biomass feedstock for biofuel production, while treating wastewater as a growth medium. Microalgae have been known to be resilient to the toxic contaminants of highly concentrated organic wastewater (e.g., organic nitrogen, phosphorus, and salinity) and are excellent at sorbing heavy metals and emerging contaminants. Economic and environmental advantages associated with massive algae culturing in wastewater constitute a driving force to promote its utilization as a feedstock for biofuels. However, there are still many challenges to be resolved which have impeded the development of algal biofuel technology at a commercial scale. This review provides an overview of an integrated approach using microalgae for wastewater treatment, CO2 utilization, and biofuel production. The main goal of this article is to promote research in algae technologies by outlining critical needs along the integrated process train, including cultivation, harvesting, and biofuel production. Various aspects associated with design challenges of microalgae production are described and current developments in algae cultivation and pretreatment of algal biomass for biofuel production are also discussed. Furthermore, synergistic coupling of the use of microalgae for advanced wastewater treatment and biofuel production is highlighted in a sustainability context using life cycle analysis.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140370/1/ees.2016.0132.pd

Intracorporeal Anastomosis Using Linear Stapler in Laparoscopic Distal Gastrectomy: Comparison between Gastroduodenostomy and Gastrojejunostomy

Purpose: Intracorporeal anastomosis during laparoscopic gastrectomy is becoming increasingly prevalent. However, selection of the anastomosis method after laparoscopic distal gastrectomy is equivocal because of a lack of technical feasibility and safety. We compared intracorporeal gastroduodenostomy with gastrojejunostomy using linear staplers to evaluate the technical feasibility and safety of intracorporeal anastomoses as well as its' minimally invasiveness. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analyses of a prospectively collected database for gastric cancer revealed 47 gastric cancer patients who underwent laparoscopic distal gastrectomy with either intracorporeal gastroduodenostomy or gastrojejunostomy from March 2011 to June 2011. Perioperative outcomes such as operation time, postoperative complication, and hospital stay were compared according to the type of anastomosis. Postoperative inflammatory response was also compared between the two groups using white blood cell count and high sensitivity C-reactive protein. Results: Among the 47 patients, 26 patients received gastroduodenostomy, whereas 21 patients received gastrojejunostomy without open conversion or additional mini-laparotomy incision. There was no difference in mean operation time, blood loss, and length of postoperative hospital stays. There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative complication or mortality between two groups. However, significantly more staplers were used for gastroduodenostomy than for gastrojejunostomy (n=6) than for gastroduodenostomy and (n=5). Conclusions: Intracorporeal anastomosis during laparoscopic gastrectomy using linear stapler, either gastroduodenostomy or gastrojejunostomy, shows comparable and acceptable early postoperative outcomes and are safe and feasible. Therefore, surgeons may choose either anastomosis method as long as oncological safety is guaranteedope

Association between childhood adversities and adulthood depressive symptoms in South Korea: Results from a nationally representative longitudinal study

Objective To examine how childhood adversity (ie, parental death, parental divorce, suspension of school education due to financial strain or being raised in a relative\u27s house due to financial strain) is associated with prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms and whether this association differs by gender and by age in South Korea. Design Prospective cohort design. Setting Nationally representative longitudinal survey in South Korea. Participants 11 526 participants in South Korea. Outcome measure Prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms were assessed as a dichotomous variable using the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale in 2006 and 2007. Results In the prevalence analysis, each of the four childhood adversities was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of adulthood depressive symptoms. The higher incidence of depressive symptoms was associated with suspension of school education (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.32 to 1.82) and parental divorce (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.71). In the age-stratified analyses, prevalence of depressive symptoms was associated with all CAs across different adulthoods, except for parental divorce and late adulthood depressive symptoms. After being stratified by gender, the association was significant for parental divorce (OR 3.76, 95% CI 2.34 to 6.03) in the prevalence analysis and for being raised in a relative’s house (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.21 to 2.94) in the incidence analysis only among women. Conclusions This study suggests that childhood adversity may increase prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms, and the impact of parental divorce or being raised in a relative\u27s house due to financial strain on adulthood depressive symptoms may differ by gender

Clinical outcomes of FOLFIRINOX in locally advanced pancreatic cancer: A single center experience

Systemic chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy is the initial primary option for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). This study analyzed the effect of FOLFIRINOX and assessed the factors influencing conversion to surgical resectability for LAPC.Sixty-four patients with LAPC who received FOLFIRINOX as initial chemotherapy were enrolled retrospectively. Demographic characteristics, tumor status, interval/dosage/cumulative relative dose intensity (cRDI) of FOLFIRINOX, conversion to resection, and clinical outcomes were reviewed and factors associated with conversion to resectability after FOLFIRINOX were analyzed.After administration of FOLFIRINOX (median 9 cycles, 70% of cRDI), the median patient overall survival (OS) was 17.0 months. Fifteen of 64 patients underwent surgery and R0 resection was achieved in 11 patients. During a median follow-up time of 9.4 months after resection, cumulative recurrence rate was 28.5% at 18 months after resection. The estimated median OS was significantly longer for the resected group (>40 months vs 13 months). There were no statistical differences between the resected and non-resected groups in terms of baseline characteristics, tumor status and hematologic adverse effects. The patients who received standard dose of FOLFIRINOX had higher probability of subsequent resection compared with patients who received reduced dose, although cRDIs did not differ between groups.FOLFIRINOX is an active regimen in patients with LAPC, given acceptable resection rates and promising R0 resection rates. Additionally, our data demonstrate it is advantageous for obtaining resectability to administer FOLFIRINOX without dose reduction

Electrical Switching in Metallic Carbon Nanotubes

We present first-principles calculations of quantum transport which show that the resistance of metallic carbon nanotubes can be changed dramatically with homogeneous transverse electric fields if the nanotubes have impurities or defects. The change of the resistance is predicted to range over more than two orders of magnitude with experimentally attainable electric fields. This novel property has its origin that backscattering of conduction electrons by impurities or defects in the nanotubes is strongly dependent on the strength and/or direction of the applied electric fields. We expect this property to open a path to new device applications of metallic carbon nanotubes.Comment: 4 pages and 4 figure

Development of Micro-Heaters with Optimized Temperature Compensation Design for Gas Sensors

One of the key components of a chemical gas sensor is a MEMS micro-heater. Micro-heaters are used in both semiconductor gas sensors and NDIR gas sensors; however they each require different heat dissipation characteristics. For the semiconductor gas sensors, a uniform temperature is required over a wide area of the heater. On the other hand, for the NDIR gas sensor, the micro-heater needs high levels of infrared radiation in order to increase sensitivity. In this study, a novel design of a poly-Si micro-heater is proposed to improve the uniformity of heat dissipation on the heating plate. Temperature uniformity of the micro-heater is achieved by compensating for the variation in power consumption around the perimeter of the heater. With the power compensated design, the uniform heating area is increased by 2.5 times and the average temperature goes up by 40 °C. Therefore, this power compensated micro-heater design is suitable for a semiconductor gas sensor. Meanwhile, the poly-Si micro-heater without compensation shows a higher level of infrared radiation under equal power consumption conditions. This indicates that the micro-heater without compensation is more suitable for a NDIR gas sensor. Furthermore, the micro-heater shows a short response time of less than 20ms, indicating a very high efficiency of pulse driving