Two-phase expander refrigeration cycles with ethane–nitrogen: A cost-efficient alternative LNG processes for offshore applications

Wear of wheels and rails is a major problem in railway transportation industry. Solid lubricants constitute a cost-efficient alternative to control wear and friction at the wheel–rail interface, especially when a fine-tuned balance between traction force and energy consumption is sought. In this work, composite friction modifiers (CFMs) composed of a vinyl ester matrix reinforced with molybdenum disulfide and carbon nanotubes were developed. The total solid additive content was less than a half in comparison with a commercial product available on the market, which was used as a reference. A benchmarking study of the CFM was carried out by means of tribological tests in a twin-disc machine at a contact pressure of 1.1 GPa and different slip values. The results indicated that the developed CFM reduce coefficient of traction by 10% compared to unlubricated conditions that is similar to the reference. However, the total mass loss of steel components due to wear under CFM lubrication was lower than in the reference test.

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A cost analysis of practicing oncology via telemedicine

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2006.24.18_suppl.6143 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 24 (18_suppl) ◽

pp. 6143-6143

Author(s):

G. C. Doolittle ◽

A. O. Spaulding ◽

A. R. Williams

Keyword(s):

Average Cost ◽

Administrative Support ◽

Medical Center ◽

Substantial Reduction ◽

Fiscal Year ◽

Traditional Practice ◽

Efficient Alternative ◽

Cost Efficient ◽

Oncology Practice ◽

The University

6143 Background: The University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) has offered oncology services via interactive tele-video (ITV) to patients in rural Kansas for over a decade. A KUMC oncologist utilizes ITV technology to connect with patients at Hays Medical Center (HMC), which is approximately 265 west of KUMC. The technology enables the oncologist to conduct a complete patient visit without being in physical proximity to the patient. To date, two cost-tracking studies have been conducted to determine expenses associated with the tele-oncology practice. A third study recently analyzed costs incurred during fiscal year 2005 (FY05). Methods: In order to determine the costs of the practice during FY05, HMC and KUMC expenses were monitored for oncology services rendered via telemedicine. An analysis revealed expenses common to a traditional oncology practice and additional expenses unique to a telemedicine practice. Administrative support staff salaries, the oncologist’s contract fees, and nursing staff salaries made up the majority of the traditional practice-related expenses. Costs unique to a tele-oncology practice were those associated with technology including expenses for telemedicine equipment, telecommunication charges, and technician time. Results: Expenses for the tele-oncology practice on the KUMC side totaled $22,848, with $7,331 attributed to technology-related costs and $15,517 attributed to practice-related costs. For HMC, $5,803 in technology-related costs and $30,430 in practice-related costs totaled $36,233. At 235 tele-oncology consults and a combined total expense of $59,081 between KUMC and HMC, the FY05 analysis resulted in an average cost of $251 per consult. When compared to prior studies, this shows a substantial reduction in costs related to the practice of telemedicine. Conclusions: The average cost of a tele-oncology visit in Kansas has consistently decreased significantly since the practice’s 1995 inception. Analyses have revealed that the costs of providing oncology services via telemedicine are closely tied to utilization, as the majority of the expenses are related to personnel rather than technology. Telemedicine has proven itself to be a cost-efficient alternative to offering regular outreach clinics. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

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Early Diagnostic Marker Panel Determination for Microarray Based Clinical Studies

Statistical Applications in Genetics and Molecular Biology ◽

10.2202/1544-6115.1109 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jochen Jaeger ◽

Dieter Weichenhan ◽

Boris Ivandic ◽

Rainer Spang

Keyword(s):

Phase 1 ◽

Classification Model ◽

Marker Genes ◽

Phase 2 ◽

Two Phase ◽

Marker Panel ◽

Performance Loss ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Number Of Patients ◽

Cost Efficient

We present a novel, cost efficient two-phase design for predictive clinical gene expression studies: early marker panel determination (EMPD). In Phase-1, genome-wide microarrays are used only for a small number of individual patient samples. From this Phase-1 data a panel of marker genes is derived. In Phase-2, the expression values of these marker panel genes are measured for a large group of patients and a predictive classification model is learned from this data. Phase-2 does not require the use of expensive whole genome microarrays, thus making EMPD a cost efficient alternative for current trials. The expected performance loss of EMPD is compared to designs which use genome-wide microarrays for all patients. We also examine the trade-off between the number of patients included in Phase-1 and the number of marker genes required in Phase-2. By analysis of five published datasets we find that in Phase-1 already 16 patients per group are sufficient to determine a suitable marker panel of 10 genes, and that this early decision compromises the final performance only marginally.

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Purification of the recombinant green fluorescent protein from tobacco plants using alcohol/salt aqueous two-phase system

10.21203/rs.2.12829/v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jie Dong ◽

Xiangzhen Ding ◽

Sheng Wang

Keyword(s):

Green Fluorescent Protein ◽

Fluorescent Protein ◽

Expression System ◽

Active Form ◽

Phase System ◽

Purification Process ◽

Two Phase ◽

Aqueous Two Phase System ◽

Cost Efficient ◽

Green Fluorescent

Abstract Background The green fluorescent protein (GFP) has been regarded as a valuable tool and widely applied as a biomarker in medical applications and diagnostics. A cost-efficient upstream expression system and an inexpensive downstream purification process will meet the demands of the GFP protein with high-purity. Results The recombinant GFP was transiently expressed in an active form in agoinoculated N. benthamiana leaves by using Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) RNA-based overexpression vector (TRBO). The yield of recombinant GFP was up to ~60% of total soluble proteins (TSPs). Purification of recombinant GFP from the clarified lysate of N. benthaniana leaves was achieved by using an alcohol/salt aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) and following with a further hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC). The purification process takes only ~4 h and can recover 34.1% of the protein. The purity of purified GFP was more than 95% and there were no any changes in its spectroscopic characteristics. Conclusions The strategy described here combines the advantages of both the economy and efficiency of plant virus-based expression platform and the simplicity and rapidity of environmentally friendly alcohol/salt ATPS. It has a considerable potential for the development of a cost-efficient alternative for production of recombinant GFP.

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Sniff species - SURMOF based sensor array discriminate aromatic plants beyond the genus level

10.20944/preprints202106.0278.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Salih Okur ◽

Chun Li ◽

Zejun Zhang ◽

Sahi Vaidurya Pratap ◽

Mohammed Mohammed Sarheed ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Classification Model ◽

Aromatic Plants ◽

Electronic Noses ◽

Linear Discriminant ◽

Genus Level ◽

Consumer Safety ◽

Volatile Organic ◽

Efficient Alternative ◽

Cost Efficient

The Lamiaceae belong to the species-richest families of flowering plants and harbor many species used as herbs or for medicinal applications, such as Basils or Mints. Evolution of this group has been driven by chemical speciation, mainly of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The commercial use of these plants is characterized by a large extent of adulteration and surrogation. To authenticate and discern the species, is, thus, relevant for consumer safety, but usually requires cumbersome analytics, such as Gas Chromatography, often to be coupled with Mass Spectroscopy. We demon-strate here that quartz-crystal microbalance (QCM)-based electronic noses provide a very cost-efficient alternative, allowing for a fast, automated discrimination of scents emitted from leaves of different plants. To explore the range of this strategy, we used leaf material from four genera of Lamiaceae along with Lemongrass as similarly scented, but non-related outgroup. In order to unambiguously differentiate the scents from the different plants, the output of the 6 different SURMOF/QCM sensors was analyzed using machine learning (ML) methods, together with a thorough statistical analysis. The exposure and purging datasets (4 cycles) obtained from a QCM-based, low-cost homemade portable e-Nose were analyzed with Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) classification model. Prediction accuracies with repeating test measurements reached values of up to 90%. We show that it is not only possible to discern and identify plants on the genus level, but even to discriminate closely related sister clades within a genus (Basil), demonstrating that e-Noses are a powerful technology to safeguard consumer safety against the challenges of globalized trade.

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A Low-Cost Contactless Overhead Micrometer Surface Scanner

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11146274 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (14) ◽

pp. 6274

Author(s):

Xenophon Zabulis ◽

Panagiotis Koutlemanis ◽

Nikolaos Stivaktakis ◽

Nikolaos Partarakis

Keyword(s):

Image Registration ◽

Low Cost ◽

Image Acquisition ◽

Design And Implementation ◽

Planar Surfaces ◽

Surface Mosaics ◽

Efficient Alternative ◽

Cost Efficient

The design and implementation of a contactless scanner and its software are proposed. The scanner regards the photographic digitization of planar and approximately planar surfaces and is proposed as a cost-efficient alternative to off-the-shelf solutions. The result is 19.8 Kppi micrometer scans, in the service of several applications. Accurate surface mosaics are obtained based on a novel image acquisition and image registration approach that actively seeks registration cues by acquiring auxiliary images and fusing proprioceptive data in correspondence and registration tasks. The device and operating software are explained, provided as an open prototype, and evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively.

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Sniff Species: SURMOF-Based Sensor Array Discriminates Aromatic Plants beyond the Genus Level

Chemosensors ◽

10.3390/chemosensors9070171 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 171

Author(s):

Salih Okur ◽

Chun Li ◽

Zejun Zhang ◽

Sahi Vaidurya Pratap ◽

Mohammed Mohammed Sarheed ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Classification Model ◽

Data Sets ◽

Electronic Noses ◽

Linear Discriminant ◽

Genus Level ◽

Consumer Safety ◽

Efficient Alternative ◽

Cost Efficient ◽

Repeated Test

Lamiaceae belong to the species-richest family of flowering plants and harbor many species that are used as herbs or in medicinal applications such as basils or mints. The evolution of this group has been driven by chemical speciation, mainly volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The commercial use of these plants is characterized by adulteration and surrogation to a large extent. Authenticating and discerning this species is thus relevant for consumer safety but usually requires cumbersome analytics, such as gas chromatography, often coupled with mass spectroscopy. Here, we demonstrate that quartz-crystal microbalance (QCM)-based electronic noses provide a very cost-efficient alternative, allowing for fast, automated discrimination of scents emitted from the leaves of different plants. To explore the range of this strategy, we used leaf material from four genera of Lamiaceae along with lemongrass, which is similarly scented but from an unrelated outgroup. To differentiate the scents from different plants unambiguously, the output of the six different SURMOF/QCM sensors was analyzed using machine learning (ML) methods together with a thorough statistical analysis. The exposure and purging of data sets (four cycles) obtained from a QCM-based, low-cost homemade portable e-Nose were analyzed using a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classification model. Prediction accuracy with repeated test measurements reached values of up to 0%. We show that it is possible not only to discern and identify plants at the genus level but also to discriminate closely related sister clades within a genus (basil), demonstrating that an e-Nose is a powerful device that can safeguard consumer safety against dangers posed by globalized trade.

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