Search results for "Sensitivity"
showing 10 items of 3059 documents
A new method for creating sparse design velocity fields
2006
We present a novel method for the computation of mesh node sensitivities with respect to the boundary node movement. The sensitivity field is sparse in a sense that movement of each boundary node affects only given amount of inner mesh nodes, which can result in considerable savings in the storage space. The method needs minimal control from the user, and it does not place any restrictions (such as block structure) on the mesh. Use of the method is demonstrated with a shape optimization problem using CAD-free parametrization. A solution to the classical die-swell free boundary problem by coupling the boundary node locations with the state variables is also presented. In that case, sparsity …
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction for Detection of Schistosoma DNA in Small-Volume Urine Samples Reflects Focal Distribution of Urogenital Schistos…
2014
Schistosoma haematobium eggs and Schistosoma DNA levels were measured in urine samples from 708 girls recruited from 18 randomly sampled primary schools in South Africa. Microscopic analysis of two 10-mL urine subsamples collected on three consecutive days confirmed high day-to-day variation; 103 (14.5%) girls had positive results at all six examinations, and at least one positive sample was seen in 225 (31.8%) girls. Schistosoma-specific DNA, which was measured in a 200-μL urine subsample by using real-time polymerase chain reaction, was detected in 180 (25.4%) cases, and levels of DNA corresponded significantly with average urine egg excretion. In concordance with microscopic results, pol…
An over-the-distance wireless battery charger based on RF energy harvesting
2017
An RF powered receiver silicon IC (integrated circuit) for RF energy harvesting is presented as wireless battery charger. This includes an RF-to-DC energy converter specifically designed with a sensitivity of -18.8 dBm and an energy conversion efficiency of â¼45% at 900 MHz with a transmitting power of 0.5 W in free space. Experimental results concerned with remotely battery charging using a complete prototype working in realistic scenarios will be shown.
GW170817: Implications for the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from Compact Binary Coalescences
2018
The LIGO Scientific and Virgo Collaborations have announced the first detection of gravitational waves from the coalescence of two neutron stars. The merger rate of binary neutron stars estimated from this event suggests that distant, unresolvable binary neutron stars create a significant astrophysical stochastic gravitational-wave background. The binary neutron star background will add to the background from binary black holes, increasing the amplitude of the total astrophysical background relative to previous expectations. In the Advanced LIGO-Virgo frequency band most sensitive to stochastic backgrounds (near 25 Hz), we predict a total astrophysical background with amplitude $\Omega_{\rm…
Development of a real-time PCR assay for detection and quantification of enterotoxigenic members of Bacillus cereus group in food samples
2009
A highly sensitive real-time PCR (qPCR) procedure, targeting the phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C gene (pc-plc), was developed for specific detection and quantification of strains belonging to Bacillus cereus group. The target region was selected based on the enterotoxigenic profiles of 75 Bacillus strains. The inclusivity and exclusivity of the RTi-PCR assay were assessed with 59 isolates of the B. cereus group, 16 other Bacillus spp., and 4 non-Bacillus strains. The assay was also used to construct calibration curves for different food matrices, and it had a wide quantification range of 6 log units using both serial dilutions of purified DNA and calibrated cell suspensions of …
New exclusion limits on scalar and pseudoscalar axionlike particles from light shining through a wall
2015
Physics beyond the Standard Model predicts the possible existence of new particles that can be searched at the low-energy frontier in the sub-eV range. The OSQAR photon regeneration experiment looks for ``light shining through a wall'' from the quantum oscillation of optical photons into ``weakly interacting sub-eV particles,'' such as axion or axionlike particles (ALPs) in a 9 T transverse magnetic field over a length of $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}14.3\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{m}$. In 2014, this experiment was run with an outstanding sensitivity, using an 18.5 W continuous wave laser emitting in the green at the single wavelength of 532 nm. No regenerated photons have been detected …
Analysis of thiabendazole and procymidone in fruits and vegetables by capillary electrophoresis–electrospray mass spectrometry
2002
Abstract A capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry method for determining procymidone and thiabendazole in apples, grapes, oranges, pears, strawberries and tomatoes is described. Separation is achieved using a buffer of formic acid–ammonium formate at pH 3.5 with 2% of methanol. Fungicide residues present in the sample are preconcentrated by both solid-phase extraction and injection of large sample volumes into the capillary by a stacking technique, to obtain lower detection limits. Ionization is performed at atmospheric pressure in an electrospray type source and detection is carried out using positive ionization and selected ion monitoring modes. The quantitation limits are 0.005 and …
Lung microenvironments and disease progression in fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis
2022
Rationale: Fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (fHP) is an interstitial lung disease caused by sensitization to an inhaled allergen. Objectives: To identify the molecular determinants associated with progression of fibrosis. Methods: Nine fHP explant lungs and six unused donor lungs (as controls) were systematically sampled (4 samples/lung). According to microcomputed tomography measures, fHP cores were clustered into mild, moderate, and severe fibrosis groups. Gene expression profiles were assessed using weighted gene co-expression network analysis, xCell, gene ontology, and structure enrichment analysis. Gene expression of the prevailing molecular traits was also compared with idiopathi…
Accuracy of magnetic resonance enterography in the preoperative assessment of patients with Crohn's disease of the small bowel
2016
Aim to assess the accuracy of magnetic resonance-enterography in predicting the extension, location and characteristics of the small bowel segments affected by Crohn's disease. Method This is a prospective study including a consecutive series of 38 patients with small bowel Crohn's disease who underwent surgery at a specialized colorectal unit of a tertiary hospital. Preoperative magnetic resonance enterography was performed in all patients, following a homogeneous protocol, within the three months prior to surgery. A thorough exploration of the small bowel was performed during the surgical procedure, using calibration spheres, according to the discretion of the surgeon. The accuracy of mag…
A European multicentre evaluation of detection and typing methods for human enteroviruses and parechoviruses using RNA transcripts
2020
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection has become the gold standard for diagnosis and typing of enterovirus (EV) and human parechovirus (HPeV) infections. Its effectiveness depends critically on using the appropriate sample types and high assay sensitivity as viral loads in cerebrospinal fluid samples from meningitis and sepsis clinical presentation can be extremely low. This study evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of currently used commercial and in‐house diagnostic and typing assays. Accurately quantified RNA transcript controls were distributed to 27 diagnostic and 12 reference laboratories in 17 European countries for blinded testing. Transcripts represented the four human EV…