9 research outputs found
High Throughput Tomography (HiTT) on EMBL beamline P14 on PETRA III
No full textHere, high-throughput tomography (HiTT), a fast and versatile phase-contrast imaging platform for life-science samples on the EMBL beamline P14 at DESY in Hamburg, Germany, is presented. A high-photon-flux undulator beamline is used to perform tomographic phase-contrast acquisition in about two minutes which is linked to an automated data processing pipeline that delivers a 3D reconstructed data set less than a minute and a half after the completion of the X-ray scan. Combining this workflow with a sophisticated robotic sample changer enables the streamlined collection and reconstruction of X-ray imaging data from potentially hundreds of samples during a beam-time shift. HiTT permits optimal data collection for many different samples and makes possible the imaging of large sample cohorts thus allowing population studies to be attempted. The successful application of HiTT on various soft tissue samples in both liquid (hydrated and also dehydrated) and paraffin-embedded preparations is demonstrated. Furthermore, the feasibility of HiTT to be used as a targeting tool for volume electron microscopy, as well as using HiTT to study plant morphology, is demonstrated. It is also shown how the high-throughput nature of the work has allowed large numbers of `identical' samples to be imaged to enable statistically relevant sample volumes to be studied.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/50110000165
High Throughput Tomography (HiTT) on EMBL beamline P14 on PETRA III
No full textHere, high-throughput tomography (HiTT), a fast and versatile phase-contrast imaging platform for life-science samples on the EMBL beamline P14 at DESY in Hamburg, Germany, is presented. A high-photon-flux undulator beamline is used to perform tomographic phase-contrast acquisition in about two minutes which is linked to an automated data processing pipeline that delivers a 3D reconstructed data set less than a minute and a half after the completion of the X-ray scan. Combining this workflow with a sophisticated robotic sample changer enables the streamlined collection and reconstruction of X-ray imaging data from potentially hundreds of samples during a beam-time shift. HiTT permits optimal data collection for many different samples and makes possible the imaging of large sample cohorts thus allowing population studies to be attempted. The successful application of HiTT on various soft tissue samples in both liquid (hydrated and also dehydrated) and paraffin-embedded preparations is demonstrated. Furthermore, the feasibility of HiTT to be used as a targeting tool for volume electron microscopy, as well as using HiTT to study plant morphology, is demonstrated. It is also shown how the high-throughput nature of the work has allowed large numbers of `identical' samples to be imaged to enable statistically relevant sample volumes to be studied
Calibration protocol for PARAMICS microscopic traffic simulation model - application of neuro-fuzzy approach
No full textThis study investigated the challenges of calibration of the PARAMICS microscopic simulation model for the local traffic conditions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It proposed an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) based calibration protocol for the PARAMICS model. The developed ANFIS model performs adequately in modeling the queue length as a function of two key calibration parameters, namely mean headway time and mean reaction time. The selected values of the calibration parameters obtained through the ANFIS modeling approach were used as the input parameters for the PARAMICS model. The error indices such as mean absolute errors and mean absolute percentage errors of the developed ANFIS model in predicting the queue lengths varied between 1.11 and 1.24, and between 3.44 and 4.06, respectively. The conformance of the PARAMICS output and the measured queue length indicates the validity of the proposed calibration protocol.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author
Applying and advancing the economic resource scarcity potential (ESP) method for rare earth elements
No full textThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.A number of studies have identified rare earth elements (REE) as critical metals due to their
high economic importance combined with a high risk of supply disruption (Du et al, 2011;
Nassar et al, 2015; Schneider et al, 2014). The current methods used to calculate resource
depletion in life cycle assessments (LCA) neglect socio-economic, regulatory and
geopolitical aspects, nor do they include functionalities such as material recycling or reuse
that control the supply of raw materials. These are important factors in determining criticality
and are the controlling factors on REE availability rather than geological availability. The
economic scarcity potential (ESP) method introduced by Schneider et al. (2014) provides a
framework to calculate criticality. This paper reviews the ESP method and advances the
method based on recent developments in material criticality. ESP criticality scores for 15
REE with the addition of Au, Cu, platinum-group metals (PGM), Fe and Li are measured.
The results highlight that Nd and Dy are the most critical REE, owing mainly to the high
demand growth forecast for these two elements. A pathway is presented for incorporating
these calculated scores into the ReCiPe life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method of a
LCA.Research was funded by NERC SoS RARE consortium (NE/M011429/1), www.sosrare.org with University of Exeter co-funding for R. Pell’s PhD project. The authors appreciate the funding assistance from the Camborne School of Mines Trust to visit and present this research in USA and gain insight from the Critical Metals team from Yale University and Nedal Nassar and his team at USGS
Cellular hallmarks from volume electron microscopy reveal developmental progression of plasmodium ookinetes
No full textUnicellular organisms or cells of metazoans often change their morphology during development or life cycle progression to adapt to environmental changes. Malaria parasites undergo a striking range of morphological transformations as they navigate through the different environments of mammalian hosts and mosquito vectors. These developmental transitions are accompanied by changes in the subcellular organelles. Here, this work introduces an unbiased approach using volume electron microscopy (vEM) to facilitate cluster analyses of morphometric parameters during developmental transformation. Investigating the transformation of fertilized Plasmodium zygotes into the motile ookinetes with three complementary vEM techniques revealed intimate mitochondrion-nucleus interactions, different microtubule arrangements, elongated shapes of micronemes and their close interaction with the apicoplast. The presented data and approach provide an open-access subcellular atlas for ookinete development to aid mechanistic molecular insights from reverse genetic studies and a framework for the ultrastructural study of other parasite stages and developmental transitions in general
BioMalPar XX: looking back on, and forward from, 20 years of malaria research.
No full textNo abstract available
The Compliance with Intellectual Property Laws and their Enforcement in Jordan- A post-WTO Review & Analysis
No full textThis thesis examines the implementation, enforcement and evolution of IP laws and regulations in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The period of interest includes the last decade of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty first century, with emphasis on the role played by Free Trade Agreements struck between Jordan and the United States, the European Union, and Jordan’s accession to the World Trade Organization.
This thesis also examines the enforcement of the current set of IP laws in Jordan, and looks at their social and economic compatibility with the Jordanian societal norms and economic realities.
This thesis argues that Jordanian IP laws lack a meaningful social and economic texture, and have failed to be evenly enforced in Jordan, essentially because they do not fit the Jordanian culture and are not compatible with Jordan’s economic stage of development. Additionally, the thesis argues that IP laws have had insignificant economic impact on the Jordanian economy as the majority of technologies used in Jordan, and the majority of foreign direct investments attracted to Jordan, are not IP related. Finally, the thesis argues that the current Jordanian enforcement model, which is built on coercion by donor countries, is serving the interests of foreign companies to the exclusion of the local citizens, and will not, in the long run, produce an enforcement model based on self-regulation by Jordanians, themselves. The laws, therefore, are unable to produce tangible results for the Jordanian people, or help meet their economic interests.
The last part of the thesis deals with recommendations and suggestions aimed at creating an integrated approach to the adoption of IP policies
The mineralogy, geochemistry, and petrogenesis of the grønnedal-íka alkaline igneous complex, south-west Greenland
No full textAt 1299±17 Ma (Blaxland et al, 1978), the Grønnedal-Íka is the oldest of the Gardar centres, situated in the extreme north-west of the province. Hare-earth clement (REE) trends suggest that the nepheline-syenites which make up the bulk of the complex were derived from a parental magma formed by a few percent of partial melting of a garnet-lherzolite mantle source during an episode of rifting in the Early Gardar. In contrast to other undersaturated Gardar centres, the syenites of Gronnedal-l'ka show some striking raineralogical differences. The scarcity of amphibole and lack of olivine indicate a magma with a relatively high oxygen fugacity. Opaque oxide compositions and pyroxene trends provide further support for this idea. Additionally, the occurrence of zircon in all units of the complex is unusual, and is probably related to post-magmatic alteration processes. Fractionation of apatite and zircon appears to have been responsible for the observed variations in REE content, although later iteration and variations in the composition of the inter- cumulus liquid have given rise to a considerable scatter in major and trace element abundances. Normative compositions show the evidence for the development of a 'sandwich' horizon in both the Lower and Upper Series. At a later stage, a plug of xenolithic syenite was intruded, which was followed by a the em placement of a body of xenolithic carbonatite, containing fragments of the earlier syenites. This unit is predominantly s0vitic, but with increasing fractionation, more iron-rich (ferrcarbonatite) compositions were developed. Compared to many carbonatites, the rock at Grønnedal is rather poor in 'exotic' minerals. Trace element abundances, however, show extreme enrichment in Sr, Th, REE's, and Y, and depletion in Zr, Ti, and K compared to the syenites. These variations are comparable to the observed concentrations in the Igaliko carbonatite dykes (Pearce, 1988). Hf, Ta, and REE distributions between the carbonatite and syenitic rocks suggest that the carbonatite was derived by liquid immiscibility from a Co(_2)-saturated phonolitic magma, with the conjugate silicate phase possibly intruded as the Xenolithic Porphyritc Syenite. Patchy metasomatic alteration has affected all units, and has given rise to the Coarse- Grained Brown Syenite, which occurs in both the Lower and Upper Series. More intense alteration has affected the syenites, giving carbonate-rich 'carbosyenites', and xenoliths of country rock within the syenites and carbonatite; the surrounding country-rock is not as severely affected as might have been expected. The presence of zircon, alkali mafics, sodalite veins, and recrystallisation of feldspar in the altered rocks is attributed to the effects of peradkaline. C1 and C0(_2)-rich late-stage fluids derived from both the syenites and carbonatite
Genotypes and serotype distribution of macrolide resistant invasive and non- invasive <it>Streptococcus pneumoniae </it>isolates from Lebanon
No full textAbstract Background This study determined macrolide resistance genotypes in clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae from multiple medical centers in Lebanon and assessed the serotype distribution in relation to these mechanism(s) of resistance and the source of isolate recovery. Methods Forty four macrolide resistant and 21 macrolide susceptible S. pneumoniae clinical isolates were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility according to CLSI guidelines (2008) and underwent molecular characterization. Serotyping of these isolates was performed by Multiplex PCR-based serotype deduction using CDC protocols. PCR amplification of macrolide resistant erm (encoding methylase) and mef (encoding macrolide efflux pump protein) genes was carried out. Results Among 44 isolates resistant to erythromycin, 35 were resistant to penicillin and 18 to ceftriaxone. Examination of 44 macrolide resistant isolates by PCR showed that 16 isolates harbored the erm(B) gene, 8 isolates harbored the mef gene, and 14 isolates harbored both the erm(B) and mef genes. There was no amplification by PCR of the erm(B) or mef genes in 6 isolates. Seven different capsular serotypes 2, 9V/9A,12F, 14,19A, 19F, and 23, were detected by multiplex PCR serotype deduction in 35 of 44 macrolide resistant isolates, with 19F being the most prevalent serotype. With the exception of serotype 2, all serotypes were invasive. Isolates belonging to the invasive serotypes 14 and 19F harbored both erm(B) and mef genes. Nine of the 44 macrolide resistant isolates were non-serotypable by our protocols. Conclusion Macrolide resistance in S. pneumoniae in Lebanon is mainly through target site modification but is also mediated through efflux pumps, with serotype 19F having dual resistance and being the most prevalent and invasive.</p
