Green analytical chemistry - the use of surfactants as a replacement of organic solvents in spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Pharr, Daniel Y.

2017-07-01

This chapter gives an introduction to the many practical uses of surfactants in analytical chemistry in replacing organic solvents to achieve greener chemistry. Taking a holistic approach, it covers some background of surfactants as chemical solvents, their properties and as green chemicals, including their environmental effects. The achievements of green analytical chemistry with micellar systems are reviewed in all the major areas of analytical chemistry where these reagents have been found to be useful.

Understanding Business Analytics

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-05

analytics have been used in organizations for a variety of reasons for quite some time; ranging from the simple (generating and understanding business analytics...process. understanding business analytics 3 How well these two components are orchestrated will determine the level of success an organization has in

Development of Organ-Specific Donor Risk Indices

Science.gov (United States)

Akkina, Sanjeev K.; Asrani, Sumeet K.; Peng, Yi; Stock, Peter; Kim, Ray; Israni, Ajay K.

2012-01-01

Due to the shortage of deceased donor organs, transplant centers accept organs from marginal deceased donors, including older donors. Organ-specific donor risk indices have been developed to predict graft survival using various combinations of donor and recipient characteristics. We will review the kidney donor risk index (KDRI) and liver donor risk index (LDRI) and compare and contrast their strengths, limitations, and potential uses. The Kidney Donor Risk Index has a potential role in developing new kidney allocation algorithms. The Liver Donor Risk Index allows for greater appreciation of the importance of donor factors, particularly for hepatitis C-positive recipients; as the donor risk index increases, rates of allograft and patient survival among these recipients decrease disproportionately. Use of livers with high donor risk index is associated with increased hospital costs independent of recipient risk factors, and transplanting livers with high donor risk index into patients with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease scores Donor Risk Index has limited this practice. Significant regional variation in donor quality, as measured by the Liver Donor Risk Index, remains in the United States. We also review other potential indices for liver transplant, including donor-recipient matching and the retransplant donor risk index. While substantial progress has been made in developing donor risk indices to objectively assess donor variables that affect transplant outcomes, continued efforts are warranted to improve these indices to enhance organ allocation policies and optimize allograft survival. PMID:22287036

Environmental research organizations and climate change policy analytical capacity : an assessment of the Canadian case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howlett, M.; Oliphant, S.

2010-01-01

Climate change is a topic of increasing interest to contemporary decision makers. In order for governments to make informed decisions in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, environmental policy makers require strong research and analytical capabilities to design and implement effective policies to deal with wide-ranging and complex policy issues. This articles presented a 7-criteria model of policy analytical capacity (PAC) and applied it to 3 prominent Canadian environmental policy research organizations. The 2 governmental organizations examined in this study were Environment Canada and the British Columbia Ministry of the Environment, while the non-government organization was the David Suzuki Foundation. Following the 7 principles that determine the PAC of an organization, each case study examined the education/training of the organization's employees; the types and mix of policy analysis techniques used by the organization; the culture and structure of decision making in the organization; the nature and source of demand for the organization's research; and the organization's access to necessary data and information to conduct work at a high level of competence. Interview data provided information on the status of each organizations' current research capacity and the effect this has on overall government policy-making capability in the face of climate change challenges. 75 refs.

Advanced organic analysis and analytical methods development: FY 1995 progress report. Waste Tank Organic Safety Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wahl, K.L.; Campbell, J.A.; Clauss, S.A.

1995-09-01

This report describes the work performed during FY 1995 by Pacific Northwest Laboratory in developing and optimizing analysis techniques for identifying organics present in Hanford waste tanks. The main focus was to provide a means for rapidly obtaining the most useful information concerning the organics present in tank waste, with minimal sample handling and with minimal waste generation. One major focus has been to optimize analytical methods for organic speciation. Select methods, such as atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, were developed to increase the speciation capabilities, while minimizing sample handling. A capillary electrophoresis method was developed to improve separation capabilities while minimizing additional waste generation. In addition, considerable emphasis has been placed on developing a rapid screening tool, based on Raman and infrared spectroscopy, for determining organic functional group content when complete organic speciation is not required. This capability would allow for a cost-effective means to screen the waste tanks to identify tanks that require more specialized and complete organic speciation to determine tank safety

Development of Organ-Specific Donor Risk Indices

OpenAIRE

Akkina, Sanjeev K.; Asrani, Sumeet K.; Peng, Yi; Stock, Peter; Kim, Ray; Israni, Ajay K.

2012-01-01

Due to the shortage of deceased donor organs, transplant centers accept organs from marginal deceased donors, including older donors. Organ-specific donor risk indices have been developed to predict graft survival using various combinations of donor and recipient characteristics. We will review the kidney donor risk index (KDRI) and liver donor risk index (LDRI) and compare and contrast their strengths, limitations, and potential uses. The Kidney Donor Risk Index has a potential role in devel...

Analytical Model for Voltage-Dependent Photo and Dark Currents in Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mesbahus Saleheen

2016-05-01

Full Text Available A physics-based explicit mathematical model for the external voltage-dependent forward dark current in bulk heterojunction (BHJ organic solar cells is developed by considering Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH recombination and solving the continuity equations for both electrons and holes. An analytical model for the external voltage-dependent photocurrent in BHJ organic solar cells is also proposed by incorporating exponential photon absorption, dissociation efficiency of bound electron-hole pairs (EHPs, carrier trapping, and carrier drift and diffusion in the photon absorption layer. Modified Braun’s model is used to compute the electric field-dependent dissociation efficiency of the bound EHPs. The overall net current is calculated considering the actual solar spectrum. The mathematical models are verified by comparing the model calculations with various published experimental results. We analyze the effects of the contact properties, blend compositions, charge carrier transport properties (carrier mobility and lifetime, and cell design on the current-voltage characteristics. The power conversion efficiency of BHJ organic solar cells mostly depends on electron transport properties of the acceptor layer. The results of this paper indicate that improvement of charge carrier transport (both mobility and lifetime and dissociation of bound EHPs in organic blend are critically important to increase the power conversion efficiency of the BHJ solar cells.

Metal-organic frameworks for analytical chemistry: from sample collection to chromatographic separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Zhi-Yuan; Yang, Cheng-Xiong; Chang, Na; Yan, Xiu-Ping

2012-05-15

In modern analytical chemistry researchers pursue novel materials to meet analytical challenges such as improvements in sensitivity, selectivity, and detection limit. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are an emerging class of microporous materials, and their unusual properties such as high surface area, good thermal stability, uniform structured nanoscale cavities, and the availability of in-pore functionality and outer-surface modification are attractive for diverse analytical applications. This Account summarizes our research on the analytical applications of MOFs ranging from sampling to chromatographic separation. MOFs have been either directly used or engineered to meet the demands of various analytical applications. Bulk MOFs with microsized crystals are convenient sorbents for direct application to in-field sampling and solid-phase extraction. Quartz tubes packed with MOF-5 have shown excellent stability, adsorption efficiency, and reproducibility for in-field sampling and trapping of atmospheric formaldehyde. The 2D copper(II) isonicotinate packed microcolumn has demonstrated large enhancement factors and good shape- and size-selectivity when applied to on-line solid-phase extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples. We have explored the molecular sieving effect of MOFs for the efficient enrichment of peptides with simultaneous exclusion of proteins from biological fluids. These results show promise for the future of MOFs in peptidomics research. Moreover, nanosized MOFs and engineered thin films of MOFs are promising materials as novel coatings for solid-phase microextraction. We have developed an in situ hydrothermal growth approach to fabricate thin films of MOF-199 on etched stainless steel wire for solid-phase microextraction of volatile benzene homologues with large enhancement factors and wide linearity. Their high thermal stability and easy-to-engineer nanocrystals make MOFs attractive as new stationary phases to fabricate MOF

Extra-analytical quality indicators and laboratory performances.

Science.gov (United States)

Sciacovelli, Laura; Aita, Ada; Plebani, Mario

2017-07-01

In the last few years much progress has been made in raising the awareness of laboratory medicine professionals about the effectiveness of quality indicators (QIs) in monitoring, and improving upon, performances in the extra-analytical phases of the Total Testing Process (TTP). An effective system for management of QIs includes the implementation of an internal assessment system and participation in inter-laboratory comparison. A well-designed internal assessment system allows the identification of critical activities and their systematic monitoring. Active participation in inter-laboratory comparison provides information on the performance level of one laboratory with respect to that of other participating laboratories. In order to guarantee the use of appropriate QIs and facilitate their implementation, many laboratories have adopted the Model of Quality Indicators (MQI) proposed by Working Group "Laboratory Errors and Patient Safety" (WG-LEPS) of IFCC, since 2008, which is the result of international consensus and continuous experimentation, and updating to meet new, constantly emerging needs. Data from participating laboratories are collected monthly and reports describing the statistical results and evaluating laboratory data, utilizing the Six Sigma metric, issued regularly. Although the results demonstrate that the processes need to be improved upon, overall the comparison with data collected in 2014 shows a general stability of quality levels and that an improvement has been achieved over time for some activities. The continuous monitoring of QI data allows identification all possible improvements, thus highlighting the value of participation in the inter-laboratory program proposed by WG-LEPS. The active participation of numerous laboratories will guarantee an ever more significant State-of-the-Art, promote the reduction of errors and improve quality of the TTP, thus guaranteeing patient safety. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Study on Quality Indicator System of Rhythmic Gymnasts in Analytic Hierarchy Process

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Lin

2017-08-01

The rhythmic gymnastics (RG) is a sport item with the direct aim of winning as well as a good ornamental value. The scientific selection by the rhythmic gymnasts is necessary for the success, and also the beginning for the scientific training of the gymnasts in their special training stage. According to RG characteristics and the physical characteristics of the gymnasts, also in combination with the investigations & interviews to the coaches who have years of training experience in RG, the experts & scholars on RG study & teaching in universities, and by referring to relevant documents, this paper established the quality indicator system in analytic hierarchy process (AHP). We summarized and selected several indicators obviously influencing the RG training and divided them into the three types of factors: physical factors, flexibility & strength factors, and speed & dexterity factors, according to which 12 specific indicators, their weights and comprehensive evaluation coefficients. Based on these indicators, we established the quality indicator system of the gymnasts, and developed corresponding software system, providing scientific theoretical basis & practical application basis for the selection & evaluation of the gymnasts.

FOREIGN EXPERIENCE OF USING CLOUD SERVICES FOR THE INFORMATION-ANALYTICAL SUPPORT OF THE ORGANIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION OF UNIVERSITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kravchenko A.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Foreign experience of using cloud services for the information-analytical support of the organization of international cooperation of universities is presented in the article. The best practices of using cloud services like new analytical tools and platforms for solving complex problems of optimization of the management of scientific and international activities of universities are analyzed. Architecture of the cloud computing environment as a system is analysed; it consists of 4 blocks: hardware; infrastructure; platforms and applications and cloud taxonomy for the organization of the scientific, academic and international activities of the University support, as well as taxonomy of the main cloud technologies to support the University's academic and international activities. The activities of the leading universities of the world for 2016-2017 are monitored and the expert results of Quacquarelli Symonds specialists’ are presented according to the World University Ratings. The evaluation was carried out based on more than 50 different indicators, such as: academic reputation; employer's reputation; faculty / student rate; reference (quotation about the faculty; international correlation of faculties; international student rate; assessment of the quality of researches of scientists and determination of productivity of the university; number of quotes; graduate university rewards; assessment of teaching quality; employment opportunity; Internationalization, which includes statistical indicators for the number of foreign students styding at University; number of exchange students; number of international partnership Agreements with other universities; accessibility; the possibility of distance learning; social responsibility; innovation; art and culture; inclusiveness, etc.

Effects of Bimolecular Recombination on Impedance Spectra in Organic Semiconductors: Analytical Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Takata, Masashi; Takagi, Kenichiro; Nagase, Takashi; Kobayashi, Takashi; Naito, Hiroyoshi

2016-04-01

An analytical expression for impedance spectra in the case of double injection (both electrons and holes are injected into an organic semiconductor thin film) has been derived from the basic transport equations (the current density equation, the continuity equation and the Possion's equation). Capacitance-frequency characteristics calculated from the analytical expression have been examined at different recombination constants and different values of mobility balance defined by a ratio of electron mobility to hole mobility. Negative capacitance appears when the recombination constant is lower than the Langevin recombination constant and when the value of the mobility balance approaches unity. These results are consistent with the numerical results obtained by a device simulator (Atlas, Silvaco).

Enhancing Competitiveness Business Strategy of Organic Vegetables Using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pristiana Widyastuti

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Public awareness about healthy lifestyles leads people to want to understand more about the food they consume. Choosing organic vegetables is one alternative choices when seeking to have a healthy body and healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, not a lot of organic vegetable farmers in Indonesia succeed in seizing the organic vegetable market rather than the non-organic and the competition with imported organic vegetables into Indonesia prevents farmers from thriving. This study aims to: 1 Analyze the factors affecting the competitiveness of the organic vegetables market; 2 Analyze the appropriate strategy for increasing the competitiveness of the organic vegetables market; 3 Analyze the factors priority strategies for improving the competitiveness of the organic vegetables market. Porter's Generic Model and Analysis Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP is used to determine the best strategy. The research found that organic vegetables marketing channels are still dominated by conventional market; the higher cost for intensive cultivation of organic vegetables. The main strategies are derived from the analysis is focusing on market delivery. There needs to be retailers of organic vegetables either modern or traditional to display these products. The establishment of organic vegetable outlets and online marketing that are not dependent on large retail (hypermarket become recommendations in this study. Bahasa Indonesia Abstrak: Kesadaran masyarakat tentang gaya hidup sehat memberi pilihan kepada masyarakat untuk memahami makanan yang mereka konsumsi. Pilihan sayuran organik merupakan salah satu alternatif untuk memiliki tubuh sehat dan gaya hidup sehat bagi masyarakat. Sayangnya, tidak banyak petani sayuran organik di Indonesia yang berhasil merebut pasar sayuran organik daripada non organic. Persaingan produk impor sayuran organik ke Indonesia membuat petani tidak bisa berkembang. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk: 1 Menganalisis faktor-faktor yang

Using Print Media Indicators in Researching Organization Concepts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benders, J.; Nijholt, J.; Heusinkveld, H.S.

2007-01-01

Quantitative empirical research into 'management fashions' or 'organization concepts' is dominated by studies using print media indicators (PMI). Such research builds on the simple premise that the number of publications on an organization concept in the course of time reflects managerial interest

Priority survey between indicators and analytic hierarchy process analysis for green chemistry technology assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sungjune; Hong, Seokpyo; Ahn, Kilsoo; Gong, Sungyong

2015-01-01

This study presents the indicators and proxy variables for the quantitative assessment of green chemistry technologies and evaluates the relative importance of each assessment element by consulting experts from the fields of ecology, chemistry, safety, and public health. The results collected were subjected to an analytic hierarchy process to obtain the weights of the indicators and the proxy variables. These weights may prove useful in avoiding having to resort to qualitative means in absence of weights between indicators when integrating the results of quantitative assessment by indicator. This study points to the limitations of current quantitative assessment techniques for green chemistry technologies and seeks to present the future direction for quantitative assessment of green chemistry technologies.

Analytic network process model for sustainable lean and green manufacturing performance indicator

Science.gov (United States)

Aminuddin, Adam Shariff Adli; Nawawi, Mohd Kamal Mohd; Mohamed, Nik Mohd Zuki Nik

2014-09-01

Sustainable manufacturing is regarded as the most complex manufacturing paradigm to date as it holds the widest scope of requirements. In addition, its three major pillars of economic, environment and society though distinct, have some overlapping among each of its elements. Even though the concept of sustainability is not new, the development of the performance indicator still needs a lot of improvement due to its multifaceted nature, which requires integrated approach to solve the problem. This paper proposed the best combination of criteria en route a robust sustainable manufacturing performance indicator formation via Analytic Network Process (ANP). The integrated lean, green and sustainable ANP model can be used to comprehend the complex decision system of the sustainability assessment. The finding shows that green manufacturing is more sustainable than lean manufacturing. It also illustrates that procurement practice is the most important criteria in the sustainable manufacturing performance indicator.

Analytical pyrolysis-based study on intra-skeletal organic matrices from Mediterranean corals.

Science.gov (United States)

Adamiano, Alessio; Goffredo, Stefano; Dubinsky, Zvy; Levy, Oren; Fermani, Simona; Fabbri, Daniele; Falini, Giuseppe

2014-09-01

Off-line analytical pyrolysis combined with gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS), directly or after trimethylsilylation, along with infrared spectroscopy and amino acid analysis was applied for the first time to the characterization of the intra-skeletal organic matrix (OM) extracted from four Mediterranean hard corals. They were diverse in growth form and trophic strategy namely Balanophyllia europaea and Leptopsammia pruvoti—solitary corals, only the first having zooxanthelle—and Cladocora caespitosa and Astroides calycularis—colonial corals, only the first with zooxanthelle. Pyrolysis products evolved from OM could be assigned to lipid (e.g. fatty acids, fatty alcohols, monoacylglicerols), protein (e.g. 2,5-diketopiperazines, DKPs) and polysaccharide (e.g. anhydrosugars) precursors. Their quantitative distribution showed for all the species a low protein content with respect to lipids and polysaccharides. A chemometric approach using principal component analysis (PCA) and clustering analysis was applied on OM mean amino acidic compositions. The small compositional diversity across coral species was tentatively related with coral growth form. The presence of N-acetyl glucosamine markers suggested a functional link with other calcified tissues containing chitin. The protein fraction was further investigated using novel DKP markers tentatively identified from analytical pyrolysis of model polar linear dipeptides. Again, no correlation was observed in relation to coral ecology. These analytical results revealed that the bulk structure and composition of OMs among studied corals are similar, as it is the textural organization of the skeleton mineralized units. Therefore, they suggest that coral’s biomineralization is governed by similar macromolecules, and probably mechanisms, independently from their ecology.

Analytical treatment of the relationships between soil heat flux/net radiation ratio and vegetation indices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kustas, W.P.; Daughtry, C.S.T.; Oevelen, P.J. van

1993-01-01

Relationships between leaf area index (LAI) and midday soil heat flux/net radiation ratio (G/R n ) and two more commonly used vegetation indices (VIs) were used to analytically derive formulas describing the relationship between G/R n and VI. Use of VI for estimating G/R n may be useful in operational remote sensing models that evaluate the spatial variation in the surface energy balance over large areas. While previous experimental data have shown that linear equations can adequately describe the relationship between G/Rn and VI, this analytical treatment indicated that nonlinear relationships are more appropriate. Data over bare soil and soybeans under a range of canopy cover conditions from a humid climate and data collected over bare soil, alfalfa, and cotton fields in an arid climate were used to evaluate model formulations derived for LAI and G/R n , LAI and VI, and VI and G/R n . In general, equations describing LAI-G/R n and LAI-VI relationships agreed with the data and supported the analytical result of a nonlinear relationship between VI and G/R n . With the simple ratio (NIR/Red) as the VI, the nonlinear relationship with G/R n was confirmed qualitatively. But with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), a nonlinear relationship did not appear to fit the data. (author)

Removal of indicator organisms by chemical treatment of wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

De Zutter, L; van Hoof, J

1981-01-01

Recently a new chemical wastewater treatment process based upon precipitation of proteins by sodium lignosulphonate under acid conditions is used to purify the wastewater from slaughterhouses and poultry processing plants. In order to determine the reduction of indicator organisms due to this treatment process, influent and effluent samples from two of such plants (plant A in a pig slaughterhouse and plant B in a poultry processing plant) were examined. The results demonstrated that the pH used in the process, has a considerable influence on the reduction of the indicator organisms. On the first sampling day in plant A the initial working-pH was 4 and the corresponding reduction of the different microorganisms varied from 0.7 to 1.5 log. According to the decrease of the pH to 2.3, the reduction increased to a minimum of at least 1.9 and a maximum of at least 4.5 log. In the other samples from this plant (working-pH 2.4) the elimination ranged from 1.8 to 4.0 log. In plant B, the removal of the indicator organisms brought about by a working-pH of 3.0 ranged from 2.1 to 3.1 log. The results showed that in comparison with the biological treatment processes this chemical wastewater treatment process realized a significant greater removal of indicator organisms.

Identifying bioaccumulative halogenated organic compounds using a nontargeted analytical approach: seabirds as sentinels.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher J Millow

Full Text Available Persistent organic pollutants (POPs are typically monitored via targeted mass spectrometry, which potentially identifies only a fraction of the contaminants actually present in environmental samples. With new anthropogenic compounds continuously introduced to the environment, novel and proactive approaches that provide a comprehensive alternative to targeted methods are needed in order to more completely characterize the diversity of known and unknown compounds likely to cause adverse effects. Nontargeted mass spectrometry attempts to extensively screen for compounds, providing a feasible approach for identifying contaminants that warrant future monitoring. We employed a nontargeted analytical method using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC/TOF-MS to characterize halogenated organic compounds (HOCs in California Black skimmer (Rynchops niger eggs. Our study identified 111 HOCs; 84 of these compounds were regularly detected via targeted approaches, while 27 were classified as typically unmonitored or unknown. Typically unmonitored compounds of note in bird eggs included tris(4-chlorophenylmethane (TCPM, tris(4-chlorophenylmethanol (TCPMOH, triclosan, permethrin, heptachloro-1'-methyl-1,2'-bipyrrole (MBP, as well as four halogenated unknown compounds that could not be identified through database searching or the literature. The presence of these compounds in Black skimmer eggs suggests they are persistent, bioaccumulative, potentially biomagnifying, and maternally transferring. Our results highlight the utility and importance of employing nontargeted analytical tools to assess true contaminant burdens in organisms, as well as to demonstrate the value in using environmental sentinels to proactively identify novel contaminants.

Organizational Models for Big Data and Analytics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert L. Grossman

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In this article, we introduce a framework for determining how analytics capability should be distributed within an organization. Our framework stresses the importance of building a critical mass of analytics staff, centralizing or decentralizing the analytics staff to support business processes, and establishing an analytics governance structure to ensure that analytics processes are supported by the organization as a whole.

Laboratory methodologies for indicators of iron status: strengths, limitations, and analytical challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeiffer, Christine M; Looker, Anne C

2017-12-01

Biochemical assessment of iron status relies on serum-based indicators, such as serum ferritin (SF), transferrin saturation, and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), as well as erythrocyte protoporphyrin. These indicators present challenges for clinical practice and national nutrition surveys, and often iron status interpretation is based on the combination of several indicators. The diagnosis of iron deficiency (ID) through SF concentration, the most commonly used indicator, is complicated by concomitant inflammation. sTfR concentration is an indicator of functional ID that is not an acute-phase reactant, but challenges in its interpretation arise because of the lack of assay standardization, common reference ranges, and common cutoffs. It is unclear which indicators are best suited to assess excess iron status. The value of hepcidin, non-transferrin-bound iron, and reticulocyte indexes is being explored in research settings. Serum-based indicators are generally measured on fully automated clinical analyzers available in most hospitals. Although international reference materials have been available for years, the standardization of immunoassays is complicated by the heterogeneity of antibodies used and the absence of physicochemical reference methods to establish "true" concentrations. From 1988 to 2006, the assessment of iron status in NHANES was based on the multi-indicator ferritin model. However, the model did not indicate the severity of ID and produced categorical estimates. More recently, iron status assessment in NHANES has used the total body iron stores (TBI) model, in which the log ratio of sTfR to SF is assessed. Together, sTfR and SF concentrations cover the full range of iron status. The TBI model better predicts the absence of bone marrow iron than SF concentration alone, and TBI can be analyzed as a continuous variable. Additional consideration of methodologies, interpretation of indicators, and analytic standardization is important for further

Organic chemistry in space

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, R. D.

1977-01-01

Organic cosmochemistry, organic materials in space exploration, and biochemistry of man in space are briefly surveyed. A model of Jupiter's atmosphere is considered, and the search for organic molecules in the solar system and in interstellar space is discussed. Materials and analytical techniques relevant to space exploration are indicated, and the blood and urine analyses performed on Skylab are described.

SOMFlow: Guided Exploratory Cluster Analysis with Self-Organizing Maps and Analytic Provenance.

Science.gov (United States)

Sacha, Dominik; Kraus, Matthias; Bernard, Jurgen; Behrisch, Michael; Schreck, Tobias; Asano, Yuki; Keim, Daniel A

2018-01-01

Clustering is a core building block for data analysis, aiming to extract otherwise hidden structures and relations from raw datasets, such as particular groups that can be effectively related, compared, and interpreted. A plethora of visual-interactive cluster analysis techniques has been proposed to date, however, arriving at useful clusterings often requires several rounds of user interactions to fine-tune the data preprocessing and algorithms. We present a multi-stage Visual Analytics (VA) approach for iterative cluster refinement together with an implementation (SOMFlow) that uses Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) to analyze time series data. It supports exploration by offering the analyst a visual platform to analyze intermediate results, adapt the underlying computations, iteratively partition the data, and to reflect previous analytical activities. The history of previous decisions is explicitly visualized within a flow graph, allowing to compare earlier cluster refinements and to explore relations. We further leverage quality and interestingness measures to guide the analyst in the discovery of useful patterns, relations, and data partitions. We conducted two pair analytics experiments together with a subject matter expert in speech intonation research to demonstrate that the approach is effective for interactive data analysis, supporting enhanced understanding of clustering results as well as the interactive process itself.

How to conduct External Quality Assessment Schemes for the pre-analytical phase?

Science.gov (United States)

Kristensen, Gunn B B; Aakre, Kristin Moberg; Kristoffersen, Ann Helen; Sandberg, Sverre

2014-01-01

In laboratory medicine, several studies have described the most frequent errors in the different phases of the total testing process, and a large proportion of these errors occur in the pre-analytical phase. Schemes for registration of errors and subsequent feedback to the participants have been conducted for decades concerning the analytical phase by External Quality Assessment (EQA) organizations operating in most countries. The aim of the paper is to present an overview of different types of EQA schemes for the pre-analytical phase, and give examples of some existing schemes. So far, very few EQA organizations have focused on the pre-analytical phase, and most EQA organizations do not offer pre-analytical EQA schemes (EQAS). It is more difficult to perform and standardize pre-analytical EQAS and also, accreditation bodies do not ask the laboratories for results from such schemes. However, some ongoing EQA programs for the pre-analytical phase do exist, and some examples are given in this paper. The methods used can be divided into three different types; collecting information about pre-analytical laboratory procedures, circulating real samples to collect information about interferences that might affect the measurement procedure, or register actual laboratory errors and relate these to quality indicators. These three types have different focus and different challenges regarding implementation, and a combination of the three is probably necessary to be able to detect and monitor the wide range of errors occurring in the pre-analytical phase.

Minimum analytical quality specifications of inter-laboratory comparisons: agreement among Spanish EQAP organizers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ricós, Carmen; Ramón, Francisco; Salas, Angel; Buño, Antonio; Calafell, Rafael; Morancho, Jorge; Gutiérrez-Bassini, Gabriella; Jou, Josep M

2011-11-18

Four Spanish scientific societies organizing external quality assessment programs (EQAP) formed a working group to promote the use of common minimum quality specifications for clinical tests. Laboratories that do not meet the minimum specifications are encouraged to make immediate review of the analytical procedure affected and to implement corrective actions if necessary. The philosophy was to use the 95th percentile of results sent to EQAP (expressed in terms of percentage deviation from the target value) obtained for all results (except the outliers) during a cycle of 1 year. The target value for a number of analytes of the basic biochemistry program was established as the overall mean. However, because of the substantial discrepancies between routine methods for basic hematology, hormones, proteins, therapeutic drugs and tumor markers, the target in these cases was the peer group mean. The resulting specifications were quite similar to those established in the US (CLIA), and Germany (Richtlinie). The proposed specifications stand for the minimum level of quality to be attained for laboratories, to assure harmonized service performance. They have nothing to do with satisfying clinical requirements, which are the final level of quality to be reached, and that is strongly recommended in our organizations by means of documents, courses, symposiums and all types of educational activities.

Evaluasi Kinerja Organisasi Publik Dengan Menggunakan Pendekatan Balanced Scorecard dan Analytic Network Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adi Mora Tunggul

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Balanced scorecard is a strategic business management method that links performance evaluation to vision and strategies using a multidimensional set of financial and nonfinancial performance metrics. This study examined both quantitative data for the proposed Analytic Network Process method. The purpose of this research is to build a model that combines the Balanced Scorecard approach and Analytical Network Process to assist in the performance evaluation of public organizations tax services. Balanced Scorecard concept is applied to determine the hierarchy of the financial perspective, customer perspective, internal business processes, and learning and growth perspective as well as their respective performance indicators of public organizations and then Analytical Network Process used to tolerate vagueness and ambiguity of information and built an information system that is applied to facilitate the performance evaluation process. The study provides recommendations to the management of public organizations regarding the tax service strategy to improve the performance of public organizations.

Applications of the Conceptual Density Functional Theory Indices to Organic Chemistry Reactivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Domingo, Luis R; Ríos-Gutiérrez, Mar; Pérez, Patricia

2016-06-09

Theoretical reactivity indices based on the conceptual Density Functional Theory (DFT) have become a powerful tool for the semiquantitative study of organic reactivity. A large number of reactivity indices have been proposed in the literature. Herein, global quantities like the electronic chemical potential μ, the electrophilicity ω and the nucleophilicity N indices, and local condensed indices like the electrophilic P k + and nucleophilic P k - Parr functions, as the most relevant indices for the study of organic reactivity, are discussed.

[Evaluation of Organ Dose Estimation from Indices of CT Dose Using Dose Index Registry].

Science.gov (United States)

Iriuchijima, Akiko; Fukushima, Yasuhiro; Ogura, Akio

Direct measurement of each patient organ dose from computed tomography (CT) is not possible. Most methods to estimate patient organ dose is using Monte Carlo simulation with dedicated software. However, dedicated software is too expensive for small scale hospitals. Not every hospital can estimate organ dose with dedicated software. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the simple method of organ dose estimation using some common indices of CT dose. The Monte Carlo simulation software Radimetrics (Bayer) was used for calculating organ dose and analysis relationship between indices of CT dose and organ dose. Multidetector CT scanners were compared with those from two manufactures (LightSpeed VCT, GE Healthcare; SOMATOM Definition Flash, Siemens Healthcare). Using stored patient data from Radimetrics, the relationships between indices of CT dose and organ dose were indicated as each formula for estimating organ dose. The accuracy of estimation method of organ dose was compared with the results of Monte Carlo simulation using the Bland-Altman plots. In the results, SSDE was the feasible index for estimation organ dose in almost organs because it reflected each patient size. The differences of organ dose between estimation and simulation were within 23%. In conclusion, our estimation method of organ dose using indices of CT dose is convenient for clinical with accuracy.

Chemical and Analytical Sciences Division progress report for the period January 1, 1993--December 31, 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poutsma, M.L.

1995-06-01

This report provides brief summaries of progress in the Chemical and Analytical Sciences Division (CASD) during 1993 and 1994. The first four chapters, which cover the research mission, are organized to mirror the major organizational units of the division and indicate the scope of the research portfolio. These divisions are the Analytical Spectroscopy Section, Nuclear and Radiochemistry Section, Organic Chemistry Section, and Physical and Materials Chemistry Section. The fifth and sixth chapters summarize the support activities within CASD that are critical for research progress. Finally, the appendices indicate the productivity and recognition of the staff in terms of various forms of external publications, professional activities, and awards.

[Efficiency indicators to assess the organ donation and transplantation process: systematic review of the literature].

Science.gov (United States)

Siqueira, Marina Martins; Araujo, Claudia Affonso; de Aguiar Roza, Bartira; Schirmer, Janine

2016-08-01

To search the literature and identify indicators used to monitor and control the organ donation and transplantation process and to group these indicators into categories. In November 2014, a systematic review of the literature was carried out in the following databases: Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), EBSCO, Emerald, Proquest, Science Direct, and Web of Science. The following search terms (and the corresponding terms in Brazilian Portuguese) were employed: "efficiency," "indicators," "organ donation," "tissue and organ procurement," and "organ transplantation." Of the 344 articles retrieved, 23 original articles published between 1992 and 2013 were selected and reviewed for analysis of efficiency indicators. The review revealed 117 efficiency indicators, which were grouped according to similarity of content and divided into three categories: 1) 71 indicators related to organ donation, covering mortality statistics, communication of brain death, clinical status of donors and exclusion of donors for medical reasons, attitude of families, confirmation of donations, and extraction of organs and tissues; 2) 22 indicators related to organ transplantation, covering the surgical procedure per se and post-transplantation follow-up; and 3) 24 indicators related to the demand for organs and the resources of hospitals involved in the process. Even if organ transplantation is a recent phenomenon, the high number of efficiency indicators described in the literature suggests that scholars interested in this field have been searching for ways to measure performance. However, there is little standardization of the indicators used. Also, most indicators focus on the donation step, suggesting gaps in the measurement of efficiency at others points in the process. Additional indicators are needed to monitor important stages, such as organ distribution (for example, organ loss indicators) and post-transplantation aspects (for example, survival and quality of life).

Analytical Chemistry Division. Annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1981

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyon, W.S.

1982-04-01

The functions of the Analytical Chemistry Division fall into three general categories: (1) analytical research, development, and implementation; (2) programmatic research, development and utilization; (3) technical support. The Division is organized into five major sections each of which may carry out any type of work falling into the thre categories mentioned above. Chapters 1 through 5 of this report highlight progress within the five sections which are: analytical methodology; mass and emission spectrometry; analytical technical support; bio/organic analysis section; and nuclear and radiochemical analysis. A short summary introduces each chapter to indicate work scope. Information about quality assurance and safety programs is presented in Chapter 6, along with a tabulation of analyses rendered. Chapter 7 covers supplementary activities. Chapter 8 is on presentation of research results (publications, articles reviewed or referred for periodicals). Approximately 56 articles, 31 proceedings publications and 33 reports have been published, and 119 oral presentations given during this reporting period

Analytical Chemistry Division. Annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1981

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyon, W. S. [ed.

1982-04-01

The functions of the Analytical Chemistry Division fall into three general categories: (1) analytical research, development, and implementation; (2) programmatic research, development and utilization; (3) technical support. The Division is organized into five major sections each of which may carry out any type of work falling into the thre categories mentioned above. Chapters 1 through 5 of this report highlight progress within the five sections which are: analytical methodology; mass and emission spectrometry; analytical technical support; bio/organic analysis section; and nuclear and radiochemical analysis. A short summary introduces each chapter to indicate work scope. Information about quality assurance and safety programs is presented in Chapter 6, along with a tabulation of analyses rendered. Chapter 7 covers supplementary activities. Chapter 8 is on presentation of research results (publications, articles reviewed or referred for periodicals). Approximately 56 articles, 31 proceedings publications and 33 reports have been published, and 119 oral presentations given during this reporting period.

Proposal of indicators to evaluate complementary feeding based on World Health Organization indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Saldan, Paula Chuproski; Venancio, Sonia Isoyama; Saldiva, Silvia Regina Dias Medici; de Mello, Débora Falleiros

2016-09-01

This study compares complementary feeding World Health Organization (WHO) indicators with those built in accordance with Brazilian recommendations (Ten Steps to Healthy Feeding). A cross-sectional study was carried out during the National Immunization Campaign against Poliomyelitis in Guarapuava-Paraná, Brazil, in 2012. Feeding data from 1,355 children aged 6-23 months were obtained through the 24 h diet recall. Based on five indicators, the proportion of adequacy was evaluated: introduction of solid, semi-solid, or soft foods; minimum dietary diversity; meal frequency; acceptable diet; and consumption of iron-rich foods. Complementary feeding showed adequacy higher than 85% in most WHO indicators, while review by the Ten Steps assessment method showed a less favorable circumstance and a high intake of unhealthy foods. WHO indicators may not reflect the complementary feeding conditions of children in countries with low malnutrition rates and an increased prevalence of overweight/obesity. The use of indicators according to the Ten Steps can be useful to identify problems and redirect actions aimed at promoting complementary feeding. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Predicting organic food consumption: A meta-analytic structural equation model based on the theory of planned behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Scalco, Andrea; Noventa, Stefano; Sartori, Riccardo; Ceschi, Andrea

2017-05-01

During the last decade, the purchase of organic food within a sustainable consumption context has gained momentum. Consequently, the amount of research in the field has increased, leading in some cases to discrepancies regarding both methods and results. The present review examines those works that applied the theory of planned behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1991) as a theoretical framework in order to understand and predict consumers' motivation to buy organic food. A meta-analysis has been conducted to assess the strength of the relationships between attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention, as well as between intention and behavior. Results confirm the major role played by individual attitude in shaping buying intention, followed by subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. Intention-behavior shows a large effect size, few studies however explicitly reported such an association. Furthermore, starting from a pooled correlation matrix, a meta-analytic structural equation model has been applied to jointly evaluate the strength of the relationships among the factors of the original model. Results suggest the robustness of the TPB model. In addition, mediation analysis indicates a potential direct effect from subjective norms to individual attitude in the present context. Finally, some issues regarding methodological aspects of the application of the TPB within the context of organic food are discussed for further research developments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analytical and preparative separation of organic acids from water by extraction with trioctylamine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eberle, S.H.; Hoyer, O.; Knobel, K.P.; Hodenberg, S. von

1977-12-01

The extraction of pure organic acids and of humic and ligninsulfonic acid from water by a solution of trioctylamine in chloroform was investigated (technical grade amine = ALAMINE). Quantitative separation is achieved by double extraction with 5% ALAMINE at pH 3,5 - 4. The acids may be back-extracted with dilute sodium hydroxide solution. Procedures are described for the analytical extraction of water samples of 200 to 2.000 ml and for the flow-through processing of large water volumes. (orig.) [de

30 Fulton's condition, organ indices and haematological response of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

`123456789jkl''''#

Abstract. This study was conducted to assess the Fulton's condition, organ indices and haematological response of catfish hybrid ... Haematological study is of immense importance .... give information on the stock composite, age at maturity ...

An analytical expression of electric potential and field of organic thin film transistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pankalla, S; Glesner, M

2012-01-01

The two-dimensional electric potential and field of an organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) is derived by conformal mapping using the Schwarz-Christoffel-transformation of the Poisson equation. In this paper we compare this analytical closed-form solution to field simulation results from Silvaco TCAD. Inter alia the potential close to the surface is calculated and we found excellent accordance to the numerical simulations and thus proofed its usability for charge transport calculations. Thus, it is used for calculation of the drain-source-current in the channel.

Learning Analytics: Readiness and Rewards

Science.gov (United States)

Friesen, Norm

2013-01-01

This position paper introduces the relatively new field of learning analytics, first by considering the relevant meanings of both "learning" and "analytics," and then by looking at two main levels at which learning analytics can be or has been implemented in educational organizations. Although integrated turnkey systems or…

Associations between and development of welfare indicators in organic layers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hinrichsen, Lena Karina; Riber, Anja Brinch; Labouriau, Rodrigo

2016-01-01

The retail market share of organic eggs in Denmark is high, and the consumers expect high animal welfare standards in the organic production. Documentation of animal welfare is important, however, knowledge about the associations between animal-based welfare indicators is limited. The aims......, keel bone damages, back feathering, body feathering, foot damages, comb colour and wounds on the body. An observational study with 12 organic egg farms was conducted in 2012 and 2013 with a total of 214 hens assessed individually at the peak and the end of lay. Insufficient data were obtained...

Indicator electrodes from d-elements for application in different types of potentiometric analytical methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Kunasheva

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The article covers the use of metal electrodes from titanium, tungsten, molybdenum as indicator electrodes at potentiometric method of analysis. The condition of measuring operation in dependence on pH, ionic strength of solutions is described in the article. Electrode potential of testing electrodes are measured in the interval of concentration of salts from 0,1∙10-1 mole/l till 0,1∙10-6 mole/l. The results of testing of electrical-analytical description of metal electrodes made of d-elements, in particular, titanium, tungsten, molybdenum in solutions of cations of some metals and anions were mentioned. As ions of metal cations Cu2+, Cd2+, Zn2+, Pb2+ and anions Cl-, I-, F- were chosen.It is identified that titanic electrode has different response to ions of copper (II, zinc and cadmium. However, dependence of electrode potential on concentration of ions of metal is rectilinear, that is vequired of indicator electrodes in the direct potential metrics.  

Leveraging cloud based big data analytics in knowledge management for enhanced decision making in organizations

OpenAIRE

Shorfuzzaman, Mohammad

2017-01-01

In recent past, big data opportunities have gained much momentum to enhance knowledge management in organizations. However, big data due to its various properties like high volume, variety, and velocity can no longer be effectively stored and analyzed with traditional data management techniques to generate values for knowledge development. Hence, new technologies and architectures are required to store and analyze this big data through advanced data analytics and in turn generate vital real-t...

Best practices on institutional performance indicators system in R and D and I public organizations - the case of military organizations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pereira, Maria Cecilia [Centro Tecnologico da Marinha em Sao Paulo (CTMSP), SP (Brazil). Superintendencia da Qualidade]. E-mail: mcecilia37@hotmail.com; ctmsp-70b1@ctmsp.mar.mil.br; Zouain, Desiree Moraes [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)]. E-mail: dmzouain@ipen.br

2007-07-01

This paper reflects the partial results of a Master degree research, performed in IPEN and CTMSP in Brazil. The focus of this research is to establish the best practices for an Institutional Performance Indicators System in Public Research, Development and Innovation (R and D and I) Organizations, particularly, the military ones. In public sector, especially military Institutes that are strongly committed to R and D and I, there have been changes in order to modernize the organization management. The focus, in our days, is on the Performance Indicator System, financial or not, strategic, tactic and operational, as a tool for the organizational control over the accomplishment of settled plans, the completion of the mission, everything according to a continuous improvement process. Among the many approaches underlying the development of a Performance Indicator System, since the 90s, the Balanced Scorecard - BSC stands out. It is based on the studies developed by Kaplan and Norton in 1986. By using the BSC approach, it is possible to construct a Performance Indicator System that makes available the information, financial or non-financial data, in logical format. This paper presents the results of the international and national experiences review of Institutional Performance Indicator Systems, applicable to the public organizations of R and D and I, preferably military organizations, and identify the best practices of these Systems. At the end of this paper, it is conducted a comparison among the experiences analyzed, in operation or planned, and are established some suggestions for an Institutional Performance Indicator System for a Military R and D and I Organization. (author)

Best practices on institutional performance indicators system in R and D and I public organizations - the case of military organizations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira, Maria Cecilia

2007-01-01

This paper reflects the partial results of a Master degree research, performed in IPEN and CTMSP in Brazil. The focus of this research is to establish the best practices for an Institutional Performance Indicators System in Public Research, Development and Innovation (R and D and I) Organizations, particularly, the military ones. In public sector, especially military Institutes that are strongly committed to R and D and I, there have been changes in order to modernize the organization management. The focus, in our days, is on the Performance Indicator System, financial or not, strategic, tactic and operational, as a tool for the organizational control over the accomplishment of settled plans, the completion of the mission, everything according to a continuous improvement process. Among the many approaches underlying the development of a Performance Indicator System, since the 90s, the Balanced Scorecard - BSC stands out. It is based on the studies developed by Kaplan and Norton in 1986. By using the BSC approach, it is possible to construct a Performance Indicator System that makes available the information, financial or non-financial data, in logical format. This paper presents the results of the international and national experiences review of Institutional Performance Indicator Systems, applicable to the public organizations of R and D and I, preferably military organizations, and identify the best practices of these Systems. At the end of this paper, it is conducted a comparison among the experiences analyzed, in operation or planned, and are established some suggestions for an Institutional Performance Indicator System for a Military R and D and I Organization. (author)

Analytics for managers with Excel

CERN Document Server

Bell, Peter C

2013-01-01

Analytics is one of a number of terms which are used to describe a data-driven more scientific approach to management. Ability in analytics is an essential management skill: knowledge of data and analytics helps the manager to analyze decision situations, prevent problem situations from arising, identify new opportunities, and often enables many millions of dollars to be added to the bottom line for the organization.The objective of this book is to introduce analytics from the perspective of the general manager of a corporation. Rather than examine the details or attempt an encyclopaedic revie

Building Credible Human Capital Analytics for Organizational Competitive Advantage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Minbaeva, Dana

2018-01-01

Despite the enormous interest in human capital analytics (HCA), organizations have struggled to move from operational reporting to HCA. This is mainly the result of the inability of analytics teams to establish credible internal HCA and demonstrate its value. In this article, we stress the import......Despite the enormous interest in human capital analytics (HCA), organizations have struggled to move from operational reporting to HCA. This is mainly the result of the inability of analytics teams to establish credible internal HCA and demonstrate its value. In this article, we stress...... the importance of conceptualizing HCA as an organizational capability and suggest a method for its operationalization. We argue that the development of HCA within an organization requires working with three dimensions of HCA: data quality, analytics capabilities, and strategic ability to act. Moreover, such work...

Arsenic speciation in marine organisms: from the analytical methodology to the constitution of reference materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

El Moll, A. [Laboratoire de Chimie Minerale et Analytique, URA 405 du CNRS, E. H. I. C. S., 1 rue Blaise Pascal, F-67008 Strasbourg Cedex (France); Heimburger, R. [Laboratoire de Chimie Minerale et Analytique, URA 405 du CNRS, E. H. I. C. S., 1 rue Blaise Pascal, F-67008 Strasbourg Cedex (France); Lagarde, F. [Laboratoire de Chimie Minerale et Analytique, URA 405 du CNRS, E. H. I. C. S., 1 rue Blaise Pascal, F-67008 Strasbourg Cedex (France); Leroy, M.J.F. [Laboratoire de Chimie Minerale et Analytique, URA 405 du CNRS, E. H. I. C. S., 1 rue Blaise Pascal, F-67008 Strasbourg Cedex (France); Maier, E. [Commission of the European Communities, Measurements and Testing Programme (BCR), 75 rue Montoyer, B-1049 Brussels (Belgium)

1996-03-01

An analytical procedure for total arsenic and arsenic species quantification in marine organisms has been developed. Fresh materials are freeze-dried and reduced to powders before analysis. Arsenic is determined either by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) directly or by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP/OES) after microwave digestion. Arsenic speciation is performed on the extracted sample using liquid chromatography coupled to ICP/OES for arsenobetaine and arsenocholine determination and to the hydride generation-quartz furnace atomic absorption spectrometric technique for arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic and dimethylarsinic acids quantification. Special precautions are taken to avoid losses or contaminations as well as to prevent analytical errors during the quantification stage. Other methods are applied and the corresponding results compared for each step of the procedure. The method is finally validated by means of intercomparison studies within the Measurements and Testing Programme of the European Community (formely BCR). (orig.). With 9 figs., 5 tabs.

Redox chemistry and natural organic matter (NOM): Geochemists' dream, analytical chemists' nightmare

Science.gov (United States)

Macalady, Donald L.; Walton-Day, Katherine

2011-01-01

Natural organic matter (NOM) is an inherently complex mixture of polyfunctional organic molecules. Because of their universality and chemical reversibility, oxidation/reductions (redox) reactions of NOM have an especially interesting and important role in geochemistry. Variabilities in NOM composition and chemistry make studies of its redox chemistry particularly challenging, and details of NOM-mediated redox reactions are only partially understood. This is in large part due to the analytical difficulties associated with NOM characterization and the wide range of reagents and experimental systems used to study NOM redox reactions. This chapter provides a summary of the ongoing efforts to provide a coherent comprehension of aqueous redox chemistry involving NOM and of techniques for chemical characterization of NOM. It also describes some attempts to confirm the roles of different structural moieties in redox reactions. In addition, we discuss some of the operational parameters used to describe NOM redox capacities and redox states, and describe nomenclature of NOM redox chemistry. Several relatively facile experimental methods applicable to predictions of the NOM redox activity and redox states of NOM samples are discussed, with special attention to the proposed use of fluorescence spectroscopy to predict relevant redox characteristics of NOM samples.

FAPIG's activities for public acceptance of nuclear energy. Analytical results of questionnaire executed at organized visits to nuclear power stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mizoguchi, Tadao

1999-01-01

FAPIG organizes a visit to nuclear power station in every November. It is an object that visitors acquire the correct knowledge of nuclear power by looking at the various facilities in the nuclear power stations. The paper showed the analytical results of questionnaire executed at organized visits to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station. The visitors were 18 women. The questionnaire was carried out by the same problems before and after seminar and a conducted tour. Their impressions and opinions and the changes are analyzed. The speakers used easy words, video, OHP, pamphlet and experimental equipment. These means showed very good results to visitors. The seminar had very large effect on just recognition of safety and need of it. The change of answer proved from 3 to 6 of need and from 0 to 7 of safety of it. Nine members indicated good understanding of seminar content. The interested items in the seminar were measurement of radiation, effects of radiation, reason of decreasing average life, Chernobyl accident, difference between nuclear power and atomic bomb and nuclear power dose not generate carbon dioxide and recycle plutonium after nuclear fission of uranium. (S.Y.)

Development of balanced key performance indicators for emergency departments strategic dashboards following analytic hierarchical process.

Science.gov (United States)

Safdari, Reza; Ghazisaeedi, Marjan; Mirzaee, Mahboobeh; Farzi, Jebrail; Goodini, Azadeh

2014-01-01

Dynamic reporting tools, such as dashboards, should be developed to measure emergency department (ED) performance. However, choosing an effective balanced set of performance measures and key performance indicators (KPIs) is a main challenge to accomplish this. The aim of this study was to develop a balanced set of KPIs for use in ED strategic dashboards following an analytic hierarchical process. The study was carried out in 2 phases: constructing ED performance measures based on balanced scorecard perspectives and incorporating them into analytic hierarchical process framework to select the final KPIs. The respondents placed most importance on ED internal processes perspective especially on measures related to timeliness and accessibility of care in ED. Some measures from financial, customer, and learning and growth perspectives were also selected as other top KPIs. Measures of care effectiveness and care safety were placed as the next priorities too. The respondents placed least importance on disease-/condition-specific "time to" measures. The methodology can be presented as a reference model for development of KPIs in various performance related areas based on a consistent and fair approach. Dashboards that are designed based on such a balanced set of KPIs will help to establish comprehensive performance measurements and fair benchmarks and comparisons.

Analytical performance of 17 general chemistry analytes across countries and across manufacturers in the INPUtS project of EQA organizers in Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom and Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Weykamp, Cas; Secchiero, Sandra; Plebani, Mario; Thelen, Marc; Cobbaert, Christa; Thomas, Annette; Jassam, Nuthar; Barth, Julian H; Perich, Carmen; Ricós, Carmen; Faria, Ana Paula

2017-02-01

Optimum patient care in relation to laboratory medicine is achieved when results of laboratory tests are equivalent, irrespective of the analytical platform used or the country where the laboratory is located. Standardization and harmonization minimize differences and the success of efforts to achieve this can be monitored with international category 1 external quality assessment (EQA) programs. An EQA project with commutable samples, targeted with reference measurement procedures (RMPs) was organized by EQA institutes in Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, UK, and Spain. Results of 17 general chemistry analytes were evaluated across countries and across manufacturers according to performance specifications derived from biological variation (BV). For K, uric acid, glucose, cholesterol and high-density density (HDL) cholesterol, the minimum performance specification was met in all countries and by all manufacturers. For Na, Cl, and Ca, the minimum performance specifications were met by none of the countries and manufacturers. For enzymes, the situation was complicated, as standardization of results of enzymes toward RMPs was still not achieved in 20% of the laboratories and questionable in the remaining 80%. The overall performance of the measurement of 17 general chemistry analytes in European medical laboratories met the minimum performance specifications. In this general picture, there were no significant differences per country and no significant differences per manufacturer. There were major differences between the analytes. There were six analytes for which the minimum quality specifications were not met and manufacturers should improve their performance for these analytes. Standardization of results of enzymes requires ongoing efforts.

Key indicators for organizational performance measurement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Firoozeh Haddadi

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Each organization for assessing the amount of utility and desirability of their activities, especially in complex and dynamic environments, requires determining and ranking the vital performance indicators. Indicators provide essential links among strategy, execution and ultimate value creation. The aim of this paper is to develop a framework, which identifies and prioritizes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs that a company should focus on them to define and measure progress towards organizational objectives. For this purpose, an applied research was conducted in 2013 in an Iranian telecommunication company. We first determined the objectives of the company with respect to four perspectives of BSC (Balanced Scorecard framework. Next, performance indicators were listed and paired wise comparisons were accomplished by company's high-ranked employees through standard Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP questionnaires. This helped us establish the weight of each indicator and to rank them, accordingly.

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1982

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyon, W.S.

1983-05-01

The Analytical Chemistry Dvision of Oak Ridge National laboratory (ORNL) serves a multitude of functions for a clientele that exists both in and outside ORNL. These functions fall into the following general categories: (1) analytical research, development, and implementation; (2) programmatic research, development, and utilization; and (3) technical support. The Division is organized into five major sections, each of which may carry out any type of work falling in the three categories mentioned above. Chapters 1 through 5 of this report highlight progress within the five sections (analytical methodology, mass and emission spectrometry, radioactive materials, bio/organic analysis, and general and environmental analysis) during the period January 1, 1982 to December 31, 1982. A short summary introduces each chapter to indicate work scope. Information about quality assurance and safety programs is presented in Chapter 6, along with a tabulation of analyses rendered. Publications, oral presentations, professional activities, educational programs, and seminars are cited in Chapters 7 and 8. Approximately 61 articles, 32 proceedings publications and 37 reports have been published, and 107 oral presentations were given during this reporting period

Aquatic indicator organisms as a tool to monitor discharges from nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Outola, Iisa; Vartti, Vesa-Pekka; Klemola, Seppo [STUK - Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, P.O. Box 14, 00881 Helsinki (Finland)

2014-07-01

There are four operating nuclear power plant units in Finland at two separate locations. The units started operation during 1977-1980. The surveillance of radioactive substances in the vicinities of the nuclear power plant is carried out under the permanent monitoring programs. Some 1000 samples are taken annually from the surroundings of the power plants to confirm that the discharges from the power plants are within permissible release limits and to monitor the dispersion of discharges in the environment. Aquatic indicator organisms (macro-algae, periphyton, mussels, crustacean, submerged aquatic plants) are included in the monitoring program. The indicator organisms are valuable monitoring objects both in normal and emergency situations because they accumulate effectively and often very rapidly radioactive substances from the medium. Six different species (Periphyton, Fucus vesiculosus, Myriophyllum spicatum, Potamogeton pectinatus, Saduria entomon, Macoma Baltica/Mytilus edulis) are collected regularly. Number of sampling location for each species varies from 1 to 7. Some species are collected continuously, some 1-2 times in a year. In this study we have evaluated the monitoring results for the aquatic indicator organisms for the period of 2005-2010 concerning concentration of discharge nuclides. Our aim was to answer the following questions using the monitoring data from aquatic organisms: 1) Which radionuclides are released to the marine environment and how often do we detect them? 2) How far from the nuclear power plants discharge radionuclides are detected? 3) How concentration of discharge radionuclides has changed with time in aquatic organisms? The number of discharge nuclides detected in the aquatic indicator samples was 11. Most of them were only detected in few samples, but {sup 58}Co, {sup 60}Co, {sup 54}Mn and {sup 110m}Ag were detected more frequently. Most of the observations above detection limits were made within the 5 km distance from the

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR HEALTHCARE RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS BETWEEN 2011 AND 2015

OpenAIRE

ANISKEVICH A.S.; HALFIN R.A.

2017-01-01

In this work we identify 16 key indicators to evaluate the performance of healthcare research organizations. These indicators comprehensively characterize such aspects of performance as research output and relevance, human resource development, integration into the international scientific community, distribution of scientific knowledge, promotion of the prestige of science, and resource provision. Below, we review the existing classification of medical research institutions and their key fea...

An overview of the analytical methods for the determination of organic ultraviolet filters in biological fluids and tissues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chisvert, Alberto, E-mail: alberto.chisvert@uv.es [Departamento de Quimica Analitica, Facultad de Quimica, Universitat de Valencia, Doctor Moliner St. 50, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia (Spain); Leon-Gonzalez, Zacarias [Unidad Analitica, Instituto de Investigacion Sanitaria Fundacion Hospital La Fe, 46009 Valencia (Spain); Tarazona, Isuha; Salvador, Amparo [Departamento de Quimica Analitica, Facultad de Quimica, Universitat de Valencia, Doctor Moliner St. 50, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia (Spain); Giokas, Dimosthenis [Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina (Greece)

2012-11-08

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Papers describing the determination of UV filters in fluids and tissues are reviewed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Matrix complexity and low amounts of analytes require effective sample treatments. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The published papers do not cover the study of all the substances allowed as UV filters. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer New analytical methods for UV filters determination in these matrices are encouraged. - Abstract: Organic UV filters are chemical compounds added to cosmetic sunscreen products in order to protect users from UV solar radiation. The need of broad-spectrum protection to avoid the deleterious effects of solar radiation has triggered a trend in the cosmetic market of including these compounds not only in those exclusively designed for sun protection but also in all types of cosmetic products. Different studies have shown that organic UV filters can be absorbed through the skin after topical application, further metabolized in the body and eventually excreted or bioaccumulated. These percutaneous absorption processes may result in various adverse health effects, such as genotoxicity caused by the generation of free radicals, which can even lead to mutagenic or carcinogenic effects, and estrogenicity, which is associated with the endocrine disruption activity caused by some of these compounds. Due to the absence of official monitoring protocols, there is a demand for analytical methods that enable the determination of UV filters in biological fluids and tissues in order to retrieve more information regarding their behavior in the human body and thus encourage the development of safer cosmetic formulations. In view of this demand, there has recently been a noticeable increase in the development of sensitive and selective analytical methods for the determination of UV filters and their metabolites in biological fluids (i.e., urine, plasma, breast milk and semen) and tissues. The complexity of

An overview of the analytical methods for the determination of organic ultraviolet filters in biological fluids and tissues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chisvert, Alberto; León-González, Zacarías; Tarazona, Isuha; Salvador, Amparo; Giokas, Dimosthenis

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Papers describing the determination of UV filters in fluids and tissues are reviewed. ► Matrix complexity and low amounts of analytes require effective sample treatments. ► The published papers do not cover the study of all the substances allowed as UV filters. ► New analytical methods for UV filters determination in these matrices are encouraged. - Abstract: Organic UV filters are chemical compounds added to cosmetic sunscreen products in order to protect users from UV solar radiation. The need of broad-spectrum protection to avoid the deleterious effects of solar radiation has triggered a trend in the cosmetic market of including these compounds not only in those exclusively designed for sun protection but also in all types of cosmetic products. Different studies have shown that organic UV filters can be absorbed through the skin after topical application, further metabolized in the body and eventually excreted or bioaccumulated. These percutaneous absorption processes may result in various adverse health effects, such as genotoxicity caused by the generation of free radicals, which can even lead to mutagenic or carcinogenic effects, and estrogenicity, which is associated with the endocrine disruption activity caused by some of these compounds. Due to the absence of official monitoring protocols, there is a demand for analytical methods that enable the determination of UV filters in biological fluids and tissues in order to retrieve more information regarding their behavior in the human body and thus encourage the development of safer cosmetic formulations. In view of this demand, there has recently been a noticeable increase in the development of sensitive and selective analytical methods for the determination of UV filters and their metabolites in biological fluids (i.e., urine, plasma, breast milk and semen) and tissues. The complexity of the biological matrix and the low concentration levels of these compounds inevitably impose sample

Is it all grist to the mill? Wandering between indications for psychoanalytic treatment and the analytic field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Bento Gastaud

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Determining the indications and contraindications for psychoanalytic treatment seems crucial to achieve therapeutic success and improve treatment effectiveness. In reviewing the classic literature on the topic, aspects such as age, diagnosis, motivation for treatment, present moment in life, ability to gain insight, psychic suffering when seeking treatment, defensive behaviors, and frustration tolerance are clearly analyzed by therapists/analysts when indicating psychoanalytic treatments. However, traditionally, most criteria underlying such indications date back to a time when the therapeutic relationship was viewed merely as a therapist treating a patient, with no regard to the therapeutic relationship itself. The goal of this article was to critically review the relevance and current adequacy of indications for psychoanalytic treatment, in view of advancements in knowledge on the analytic field. Considering cases that do not evolve as expected according to the indications, patients who are better suited to certain therapists, and therapist-patient pairs that modify their interaction over the course of treatment, the main question remains on how to identify the necessary elements in evaluating a candidate patient for psychoanalytic treatment, as well as the significant elements of therapeutic action.

Potential biological indicators of multi-organ damage: Application to radiation accident victims

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertho, J.M.; Souidi, M.; Gourmelon, P.

2009-01-01

Accidental irradiations induce a complex pathological situation, difficult to assess and to treat. However, recent results describing new biological indicators of radiation-induced damages such as Flt3-ligand, citrulline and oxy-sterol concentration in the plasma, together with results obtained in large animal models of high dose irradiation, allowed a better understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms induced by uncontrolled irradiations. This conducted to leave the classical paradigm of the acute radiation syndrome, described as the association of three individual syndromes, the hematopoietic syndrome, the gastro-intestinal syndrome and the cerebrovascular syndrome, in favour of a multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, with the implication of other organs and systems. Follow-up of victims from two recent radiation accidents brings a confirmation of the usefulness of the newly described biological indicators, and also a partial confirmation of this new concept of a multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. (authors)

A computerized system to monitor resilience indicators in organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

de Carvalho, Paulo Victor Rodrigues; de Souza, Alan Pinheiro; Gomes, Jose Orlando

2012-01-01

The concepts developed by resilience engineering allow the understanding and monitoring the functioning of organizations and, particularly, to map the role of human activities, in success or in failure, enabling a better comprehension about how people make decisions in unexpected situations. The capture of information about human activities in the various organization levels gives managers a deeper real-time understanding of what is influencing the people performance, providing awareness of the factors that influence positively or negatively the organizational goals initially projected. The monitoring is important because the correct functioning of complex systems depends on the knowledge that people have to perform their activities and how the system environment provides tools that actually support the human performance. Therefore, organizations should look forward through precursors in operating signals to identify possible problems or solutions in the structure of tasks and activities, safety, quality, schedule, rework, and maintenance. We apply the concepts of resilience engineering to understand the organization by the analysis of cognitive tasks and activities. The aim is the development of a computerized system to monitor human activities to produce indicators to access system resilience. The validation of the approach was made in a real organization and the results show the successful applicability of the system. Based on findings obtained after the experiment of the system in a real organization, and managers and workers opinions, it was possible to show that the use of system provided an anticipated (real-time) perception about how activities are effectively being performed, allowing managers and workers to make decisions more consistent with daily problems, and also to anticipate solutions to cope with unexpected situations.

Concentrations of Indicator Organisms

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — It is a compilation of organism concentrations of 16 sampling events conducted between July 2015 and February 2016. It also includes statistical analysis such as...

Decisions through data: analytics in healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Wills, Mary J

2014-01-01

The amount of data in healthcare is increasing at an astonishing rate. However, in general, the industry has not deployed the level of data management and analysis necessary to make use of those data. As a result, healthcare executives face the risk of being overwhelmed by a flood of unusable data. In this essay I argue that, in order to extract actionable information, leaders must take advantage of the promise of data analytics. Small data, predictive modeling expansion, and real-time analytics are three forms of data analytics. On the basis of my analysis for this study, I recommend all three for adoption. Recognizing the uniqueness of each organization's situation, I also suggest that practices, hospitals, and healthcare systems examine small data and conduct real-time analytics and that large-scale organizations managing populations of patients adopt predictive modeling. I found that all three solutions assist in the collection, management, and analysis of raw data to improve the quality of care and decrease costs.

Understanding Business Analytics Success and Impact: A Qualitative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Parks, Rachida F.; Thambusamy, Ravi

2017-01-01

Business analytics is believed to be a huge boon for organizations since it helps offer timely insights over the competition, helps optimize business processes, and helps generate growth and innovation opportunities. As organizations embark on their business analytics initiatives, many strategic questions, such as how to operationalize business…

Multi-indicator Evaluation System for Broadsword, Rod, Sword and Spear Athletes Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Lin

2017-08-01

In the practical selection of Wushu athletes, the objective evaluation of the level of athletes lacks sufficient technical indicators and often relies on the coach’s subjective judgments. It is difficult to accurately and objectively reflect the overall quality of the athletes without a fully quantified indicator system, thus affecting the level improvement of Wushu competition. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is a systemic analysis method combining quantitative and qualitative analysis. This paper realizes structured, hierarchized and quantified decision-making process of evaluating broadsword, rod, sword and spear athletes in the AHP. Combing characteristics of the athletes, analysis is carried out from three aspects, i.e., the athlete’s body shape, physical function and sports quality and 18 specific evaluation indicators established, and then combining expert advice and practical experience, pairwise comparison matrix is determined, and then the weight of the indicators and comprehensive evaluation coefficient are obtained to establish the evaluation model for the athletes, thus providing a scientific theoretical basis for the selection of Wushu athletes. The evaluation model proposed in this paper has realized the evaluation system of broadsword, rod, sword and spear athletes, which has effectively improved the scientific level of Wushu athletes selection in practical application.

Determining the effective indices on export development of Iran’s office furniture thereby analytical hierarchy process (AHP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hasan Alizadeh

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Furniture industry is one of the most important employment and wealth productive industries, and also one major category in developing countries. This study aimed on determining the effective indices on export development of office furniture throughout the analytical hierarchy process (AHP and also by group decision. For this, imports and exports of office furniture were determined through visiting the custom office of Islamic Republic of Iran. By then, after initial studies, furniture industry and relevant experts were interviewed to recognize the effective indices on export development, and specified indices were categorized on six main groups and forty-eight sub-index. After receiving the comments of experts, degree of importance of indices and sub-indices determined thereby Expert Choice software. Results showed that raw material and product has been chosen among the major indices. Among the 48 influential sub-indices also product designing, guaranty and costumer services, quality control, custom tariffs, and strategic marketing had highest value-weighted priorities in export development of office furniture, respectively. Regarding to government’s policies and decisions in wood raw materials extent, monetary and banking system and marketing infrastructures, to maintain the productivity competitiveness of Iran’s furniture industry in first step, and to achieve to the export markets in second step, full cooperation of government with furniture industry is necessary provision for participating of this industry in global markets.

Optimization of organic contaminant and toxicity testing analytical procedures for estimating the characteristics and environmental significance of natural gas processing plant waste sludges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novak, N.

1990-10-01

The Gas Plant Sludge Characterization Phase IIB program is a continuation of the Canadian Petroleum Association's (CPA) initiatives to characterize sludge generated at gas processing plants. The objectives of the Phase IIB project were to develop an effective procedure for screening waste sludges or centrifuge/leachate generated from sludge samples for volatile, solvent-soluble and water-soluble organics; verify the reproducibility of the three aquatic toxicity tests recommended as the battery of tests for determining the environmental significance of sludge centrifugates or leachates; assess the performance of two terrestrial toxicity tests in determining the environmental significance of whole sludge samples applied to soil; and to assess and discuss the reproducibility and cost-effectiveness of the sampling and analytical techniques proposed for the overall sludge characterization procedure. Conclusions and recommendations are provided for sludge collection, preparation and distribution, organic analyses, toxicity testing, project management, and procedure standardization. The three aquatic and two terrestrial toxicity tests proved effective in indicating the toxicity of complex mixtures. 27 refs., 3 figs., 59 tabs

Organizational Culture and Organizational Effectiveness: A Meta-Analytic Investigation of the Competing Values Framework's Theoretical Suppositions

Science.gov (United States)

Hartnell, Chad A.; Ou, Amy Yi; Kinicki, Angelo

2011-01-01

We apply Quinn and Rohrbaugh's (1983) competing values framework (CVF) as an organizing taxonomy to meta-analytically test hypotheses about the relationship between 3 culture types and 3 major indices of organizational effectiveness (employee attitudes, operational performance [i.e., innovation and product and service quality], and financial…

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1992

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shults, W.D.

1993-04-01

This report is divided into: Analytical spectroscopy (optical spectroscopy, organic mass spectrometry, inorganic mass spectrometry, secondary ion mass spectrometry), inorganic and radiochemistry (transuranium and activation analysis, low-level radiochemical analysis, inorganic analysis, radioactive materials analysis, special projects), organic chemistry (organic spectroscopy, separations and synthesis, special projects, organic analysis, ORNL/UT research program), operations (quality assurance/quality control, environmental protection, safety, analytical improvement, training, radiation control), education programs, supplementary activities, and presentation of research results. Tables are included for articles reviewed or refereed for periodicals, analytical service work, division manpower and financial summary, and organization chart; a glossary is also included.

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1990

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-04-01

The Analytical Chemistry Division has programs in inorganic mass spectrometry, optical spectroscopy, organic mass spectrometry, and secondary ion mass spectrometry. It maintains a transuranium analytical laboratory and an environmental analytical laboratory. It carries out chemical and physical analysis in the fields of inorganic chemistry, organic spectroscopy, separations and synthesis. (WET)

Analytical quality control [An IAEA service

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1973-07-01

In analytical chemistry the determination of small or trace amounts of elements or compounds in different types of materials is increasingly important. The results of these findings have a great influence on different fields of science, and on human life. Their reliability, precision and accuracy must, therefore, be checked by analytical quality control measures. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) set up an Analytical Quality Control Service (AQCS) in 1962 to assist laboratories in Member States in the assessment of their reliability in radionuclide analysis, and in other branches of applied analysis in which radionuclides may be used as analytical implements. For practical reasons, most analytical laboratories are not in a position to check accuracy internally, as frequently resources are available for only one method; standardized sample material, particularly in the case of trace analysis, is not available and can be prepared by the institutes themselves only in exceptional cases; intercomparisons are organized rather seldom and many important types of analysis are so far not covered. AQCS assistance is provided by the shipment to laboratories of standard reference materials containing known quantities of different trace elements or radionuclides, as well as by the organization of analytical intercomparisons in which the participating laboratories are provided with aliquots of homogenized material of unknown composition for analysis. In the latter case the laboratories report their data to the Agency's laboratory, which calculates averages and distributions of results and advises each laboratory of its performance relative to all the others. Throughout the years several dozens of intercomparisons have been organized and many thousands of samples provided. The service offered, as a consequence, has grown enormously. The programme for 1973 and 1974, which is currently being distributed to Member States, will contain 31 different types of materials.

Organic compounds as indicators of air pollution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mølhave, Lars

2003-01-01

The most important indoor air pollutants have already been addressedwith individual national guidelines or recommendations. However, an interna-tional set of guidelines or recommendations for indoor air quality (IAQ) isneeded for these pollutants based on general and uniform rules for setting...... suchstandards. A major research need exist on the less adverse pollutants beforerecommendations or guidelines can be established. In the interim period a pre-caution principle should lead to an ALARA principle for these secondary cau-salities. It should be noted that volatile organic compound (VOC......) is an indicatorfor the presence of VOC indoors. The TVOC indicator can be used in relation toexposure characterization and source identification but for VOCs only, not as anindictor of other pollutants and their health effects. In risk assessment the TVOCindicator can only be used as a screening tool and only...

Analytical chemistry department. Annual report, 1977

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knox, E.M.

1978-09-01

The annual report describes the analytical methods, analyses and equipment developed or adopted for use by the Analytical Chemistry Department during 1977. The individual articles range from a several page description of development and study programs to brief one paragraph descriptions of methods adopted for use with or without some modification. This year, we have included a list of the methods incorporated into our Analytical Chemistry Methods Manual. This report is organized into laboratory sections within the Department as well as major programs within General Atomic Company. Minor programs and studies are included under Miscellaneous. The analytical and technical support activities for GAC include gamma-ray spectroscopy, radiochemistry, activation analysis, gas chromatography, atomic absorption, spectrophotometry, emission spectroscopy, x-ray diffractometry, electron microprobe, titrimetry, gravimetry, and quality control. Services are provided to all organizations throughout General Atomic Company. The major effort, however, is in support of the research and development programs within HTGR Generic Technology Programs ranging from new fuel concepts, end-of-life studies, and irradiated capsules to fuel recycle studies

Big Data Analytics Platforms analyze from startups to traditional database players

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ionut TARANU

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Big data analytics enables organizations to analyze a mix of structured, semi-structured and unstructured data in search of valuable business information and insights. The analytical findings can lead to more effective marketing, new revenue opportunities, better customer service, improved operational efficiency, competitive advantages over rival organizations and other business benefits. With so many emerging trends around big data and analytics, IT organizations need to create conditions that will allow analysts and data scientists to experiment. "You need a way to evaluate, prototype and eventually integrate some of these technologies into the business," says Chris Curran[1]. In this paper we are going to review 10 Top Big Data Analytics Platforms and compare the key-features.

Biochemical indicators for the bioavailability of organic carbon in ground water

Science.gov (United States)

Chapelle, F.H.; Bradley, P.M.; Goode, D.J.; Tiedeman, C.; Lacombe, P.J.; Kaiser, K.; Benner, R.

2009-01-01

The bioavailability of total organic carbon (TOC) was examined in ground water from two hydrologically distinct aquifers using biochemical indicators widely employed in chemical oceanography. Concentrations of total hydrolyzable neutral sugars (THNS), total hydrolyzable amino acids (THAA), and carbon-normalized percentages of TOC present as THNS and THAA (referred to as "yields") were assessed as indicators of bioavailability. A shallow coastal plain aquifer in Kings Bay, Georgia, was characterized by relatively high concentrations (425 to 1492 ??M; 5.1 to 17.9 mg/L) of TOC but relatively low THNS and THAA yields (???0.2%-1.0%). These low yields are consistent with the highly biodegraded nature of TOC mobilized from relatively ancient (Pleistocene) sediments overlying the aquifer. In contrast, a shallow fractured rock aquifer in West Trenton, New Jersey, exhibited lower TOC concentrations (47 to 325 ??M; 0.6 to 3.9 mg/L) but higher THNS and THAA yields (???1% to 4%). These higher yields were consistent with the younger, and thus more bioavailable, TOC being mobilized from modern soils overlying the aquifer. Consistent with these apparent differences in TOC bioavailability, no significant correlation between TOC and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), a product of organic carbon mineralization, was observed at Kings Bay, whereas a strong correlation was observed at West Trenton. In contrast to TOC, THNS and THAA concentrations were observed to correlate with DIC at the Kings Bay site. These observations suggest that biochemical indicators such as THNS and THAA may provide information concerning the bioavailability of organic carbon present in ground water that is not available from TOC measurements alone.

Speciation of organic matter in sandy soil size fractions as revealed by analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC/MS) and FT-IR spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez-Morillo, Nicasio T.; González-Vila, Francisco J.; Jordán, Antonio; Zavala, Lorena M.; de la Rosa, José M.; González-Pérez, José A.

2015-04-01

, the C fraction from the PA soil presented a higher abundance of lignin derived pyrolysis products than the soils under the other vegetation. This is somehow unexpected since PA is a pteridophyte, not arboreal vegetation, i.e. low lignin content and, these lignin moieties probably remain in the soil from past vegetation or originate from surrounding woody arboreal vegetation. In contrast the F fractions released mainly lipids and aromatic compound of unspecific origin. Series of alkane/alkene pairs were present in all the pyrograms with varying abundance and composition. Lignin and polysaccharide derived pyrolysis compounds were scarce in the F fractions in all the cases, in fact, no sugar derived compounds were found in the HH sample. Regarding the composition of the LF soil fractions, the pyrolytic behavior of the LFC fractions was quite similar to the not extracted corresponding C soil fraction, showing a high proportion of lignin and sugar derived pyrolysis compounds. The LFF fractions also showed the same behavior as the C fraction, but with no lipid derived compounds which effectively indicates the occurrence of a selective and efficient removal of soil free lipids. Agreement was found between analytical pyrolysis results and FT-IR spectral features highlighting functional differences between fractions i.e. a decrease of OH- groups and an increase in aliphatics in the F fraction. With respect to the LF fractions, FT-IR spectra analysis was also consistent with the pyrolysis results with a slight increase in the lignin signals for LFF soil fractions under PA, PP and HH. For the soil under QS no differences were found between the LFF fractions and the whole organic matter in the F fraction, probably due to the high amount of organic matter in this fraction. In conclusion, despite the "a priori" low organic complexity of the collection of soils studied here, ostensible differences were found in the organic matter present in C and F soil size fractions under

Use of Artificial Neural Network Models to Predict Indicator Organism Concentrations in an Urban Watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Mas, D. M.; Ahlfeld, D. P.

2004-05-01

Forecasting stream water quality is important for numerous aspects of resource protection and management. Fecal coliform and enteroccocus are primary indicator organisms used to assess potential pathogen contamination. Consequently, modeling the occurrence and concentration of fecal coliform and enterococcus is an important tool in watershed management. In addition, analyzing the relationship between model input and predicted indicator organisms is useful for elucidating possible sources of contamination and mechanisms of transport. While many process-based, statistical, and empirical models exist for water quality prediction, artificial neural network (ANN) models are increasingly being used for forecasting of water resources variables because ANNs are often capable of modeling complex systems for which behavioral rules are either unknown or difficult to simulate. The performance of ANNs compared to more established modeling approaches such as multiple linear regression (MLR) remains an importance research question. Data collected the U.S. Geological Survey in the lower Charles River in Massachusetts, USA in 1999-2000 was examined to determine correlation between various water quality constituents and indicator organisms and to explore the relationship between rainfall characteristics and indicator organism concentrations. Using the results of the statistical analysis to guide the selection of explanatory variables, MLR was performed to develop predictive equations for wet weather and dry weather conditions. The results show that the best-performing predictor variables are generally consistent for both indicator organisms considered. In addition, the regression equations show increasing indicator organism concentrations as a function of suspended sediment concentrations and length of time since last precipitation event, suggesting accumulation and wash off as a key mechanism of pathogen transport under wet weather conditions. This research also presents the

Competing on analytics.

Science.gov (United States)

Davenport, Thomas H

2006-01-01

We all know the power of the killer app. It's not just a support tool; it's a strategic weapon. Companies questing for killer apps generally focus all their firepower on the one area that promises to create the greatest competitive advantage. But a new breed of organization has upped the stakes: Amazon, Harrah's, Capital One, and the Boston Red Sox have all dominated their fields by deploying industrial-strength analytics across a wide variety of activities. At a time when firms in many industries offer similar products and use comparable technologies, business processes are among the few remaining points of differentiation--and analytics competitors wring every last drop of value from those processes. Employees hired for their expertise with numbers or trained to recognize their importance are armed with the best evidence and the best quantitative tools. As a result, they make the best decisions. In companies that compete on analytics, senior executives make it clear--from the top down--that analytics is central to strategy. Such organizations launch multiple initiatives involving complex data and statistical analysis, and quantitative activity is managed atthe enterprise (not departmental) level. In this article, professor Thomas H. Davenport lays out the characteristics and practices of these statistical masters and describes some of the very substantial changes other companies must undergo in order to compete on quantitative turf. As one would expect, the transformation requires a significant investment in technology, the accumulation of massive stores of data, and the formulation of company-wide strategies for managing the data. But, at least as important, it also requires executives' vocal, unswerving commitment and willingness to change the way employees think, work, and are treated.

Characterization of Organic and Conventional Coffee Using Neutron Activation Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

E. A. De Nadai Fernandes; P. Bode; F. S. Tagliaferro

2000-01-01

Countries importing organic coffee are facing the difficulty of assessing the quality of the product to distinguish original organic coffee from other coffees, thereby eliminating possible fraud. Many analytical methods are matrix sensitive and require matrix-matching reference materials for validation, which are currently nonexistent. This work aims to establish the trace element characterization of organic and conventional Brazilian coffees and to establish correlations with the related soil and the type of fertilizer and agrochemicals applied. It was observed that the variability in element concentrations between the various types of coffee is not so large, which emphasizes the need for analytical methods of high accuracy, reproducibility, and a well-known uncertainty. Moreover, the analyses indicate that sometimes the coffee packages may contain some soil remnants

Side-by-side comparison of analytical techniques; organic acids, total organic carbon, and anions in PWR secondary cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hobart, S.A.; Byers, W.A.; Miller, M.R.; Richards, J.; Silva, H.; Palino, G.F.; Wall, P.S.

1986-01-01

Total Organic Carbon TOC samples should be analyzed no later than one week after they are taken and they should be stored in a refrigerated condition, if at all possible. It can be inferred that for TOC levels in the range of 50 to 120 ppb, state-of-the-art sampling and analysis techniques can produce results varying by 20 to 50 ppb. Any proposed limits for TOC should be reviewed in that light. Agreement between anion results appeared to improve over the course of the project. Both contractors agree that increased attention and care with sampling and analytical techniques probably accounted for this improvement. Utility personnel can therefore conclude that proper employee training, supervision, and motivation for proper sampling and analysis are critical if accurate anion results are to be obtained. Resonable agreement between calculated and measured values of cation conductivity suggest that both contractors had accurately determined all major anionic species

Bio indicator organisms available to use for determination of radioactive elements in Turkey's seas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kocbas, F.; Guener, H.

2006-01-01

In determination of radioactive concentration and monitoring alive and lifeless environmental samples possess a significant place. Thus, intense study is carried out related to natural and artificial radionuclides sediment. Bio indicator living organisms inhabiting in sea ecosystems; are being evaluated in researches such as determinations of environmental pollution, natural and artificial radioactive elements. Turkey's seas are rich related to diversification of various types. In determining and monitoring radioactivity concentration widespread implementation of some sorts appeal attention and on the other hand inadequate usage of many types is observed. In the present study, providing information about the bio indicator organisms keep living in seas and plays important role in food supply chain and increasing the numbers of the types of organisms used are aimed

Nuclear analytical methods in the life sciences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Goeij, J.J.M.

1994-01-01

A survey is given of various nuclear analytical methods. The type of analytical information obtainable and advantageous features for application in the life sciences are briefly indicated. These features are: physically different basis of the analytical method, isotopic rather than elemental

5 keys to business analytics program success

CERN Document Server

Boyer, John; Green, Brian; Harris, Tracy; Van De Vanter, Kay

2012-01-01

With business analytics is becoming increasingly strategic to all types of organizations and with many companies struggling to create a meaningful impact with this emerging technology, this work-based on the combined experience of 10 organizations that display excellence and expertise on the subject-shares the best practices, discusses the management aspects and sociology that drives success, and uncovers the five key aspects behind the success of some of the top business analytics programs in the industry. Readers will learn about numerous topics, including how to create and manage a changing

Different Analytical Procedures for the Study of Organic Residues in Archeological Ceramic Samples with the Use of Gas Chromatography-mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kałużna-Czaplińska, Joanna; Rosiak, Angelina; Kwapińska, Marzena; Kwapiński, Witold

2016-01-01

The analysis of the composition of organic residues present in pottery is an important source of information for historians and archeologists. Chemical characterization of the materials provides information on diets, habits, technologies, and original use of the vessels. This review presents the problem of analytical studies of archeological materials with a special emphasis on organic residues. Current methods used in the determination of different organic compounds in archeological ceramics are presented. Particular attention is paid to the procedures of analysis of archeological ceramic samples used before gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Advantages and disadvantages of different extraction methods and application of proper quality assurance/quality control procedures are discussed.

Social network data analytics

CERN Document Server

Aggarwal, Charu C

2011-01-01

Social network analysis applications have experienced tremendous advances within the last few years due in part to increasing trends towards users interacting with each other on the internet. Social networks are organized as graphs, and the data on social networks takes on the form of massive streams, which are mined for a variety of purposes. Social Network Data Analytics covers an important niche in the social network analytics field. This edited volume, contributed by prominent researchers in this field, presents a wide selection of topics on social network data mining such as Structural Pr

Single-cell MALDI-MS as an analytical tool for studying intrapopulation metabolic heterogeneity of unicellular organisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Amantonico, Andrea; Urban, Pawel L; Fagerer, Stephan R; Balabin, Roman M; Zenobi, Renato

2010-09-01

Heterogeneity is a characteristic feature of all populations of living organisms. Here we make an attempt to validate a single-cell mass spectrometric method for detection of changes in metabolite levels occurring in populations of unicellular organisms. Selected metabolites involved in central metabolism (ADP, ATP, GTP, and UDP-Glucose) could readily be detected in single cells of Closterium acerosum by means of negative-mode matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS). The analytical capabilities of this approach were characterized using standard compounds. The method was then used to study populations of individual cells with different levels of the chosen metabolites. With principal component analysis and support vector machine algorithms, it was possible to achieve a clear separation of individual C. acerosum cells in different metabolic states. This study demonstrates the suitability of mass spectrometric analysis of metabolites in single cells to measure cell-population heterogeneity.

Methodological procedures and analytical instruments to evaluate an indicators integrated archive for urban management; Guida metodologica per la costruzione di un archivio integrato di indicatori urbani

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Del Ciello, R; Napoleoni, S [ENEA, Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Rome (Italy). Dipt. Ambiente

1998-07-01

This guide provides the results of a research developed at ENEA (National Agency for new Technology, Energy and the Environment) Casaccia center (Rome, Italy) aimed to define methodological procedures and analytical instruments needed to carry out an indicators integrated archive for urban management. The guide also defines the scheme of a negotiation process aimed to reach and exchange data and information among governmental and local administrations, non-governmental organizations and scientific bodies. [Italian] Il lavoro presenta una sintesi dei risultati di una ricerca condotta presso il C.R. Casaccia dell'ENEA, relativia alla definizione di procedure metodologiche e strumenti di analisi ed elaborazione per realizzare un archivio integrato di indicatori per la gestione dei sistemi urbani. La guida, rivolta ai responsabili delle politiche urbane, deifinisce uno schema dei processi di condivisione degli indicatori urbani attraverso l'organizzazione di opportuni tavoli negoziali, costituiti da rappresentanti delle amministrazioni locali, dell'amministrazione centrale, delle categorie produttive e sociali e delle strutture tecniche operanti sul territorio.

Methodological procedures and analytical instruments to evaluate an indicators integrated archive for urban management; Guida metodologica per la costruzione di un archivio integrato di indicatori urbani

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Del Ciello, R.; Napoleoni, S. [ENEA, Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Rome (Italy). Dipt. Ambiente

1998-07-01

This guide provides the results of a research developed at ENEA (National Agency for new Technology, Energy and the Environment) Casaccia center (Rome, Italy) aimed to define methodological procedures and analytical instruments needed to carry out an indicators integrated archive for urban management. The guide also defines the scheme of a negotiation process aimed to reach and exchange data and information among governmental and local administrations, non-governmental organizations and scientific bodies. [Italian] Il lavoro presenta una sintesi dei risultati di una ricerca condotta presso il C.R. Casaccia dell'ENEA, relativia alla definizione di procedure metodologiche e strumenti di analisi ed elaborazione per realizzare un archivio integrato di indicatori per la gestione dei sistemi urbani. La guida, rivolta ai responsabili delle politiche urbane, deifinisce uno schema dei processi di condivisione degli indicatori urbani attraverso l'organizzazione di opportuni tavoli negoziali, costituiti da rappresentanti delle amministrazioni locali, dell'amministrazione centrale, delle categorie produttive e sociali e delle strutture tecniche operanti sul territorio.

Bessel Fourier Orientation Reconstruction (BFOR): An Analytical Diffusion Propagator Reconstruction for Hybrid Diffusion Imaging and Computation of q-Space Indices

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseinbor, A. Pasha; Chung, Moo K.; Wu, Yu-Chien; Alexander, Andrew L.

2012-01-01

The ensemble average propagator (EAP) describes the 3D average diffusion process of water molecules, capturing both its radial and angular contents. The EAP can thus provide richer information about complex tissue microstructure properties than the orientation distribution function (ODF), an angular feature of the EAP. Recently, several analytical EAP reconstruction schemes for multiple q-shell acquisitions have been proposed, such as diffusion propagator imaging (DPI) and spherical polar Fourier imaging (SPFI). In this study, a new analytical EAP reconstruction method is proposed, called Bessel Fourier orientation reconstruction (BFOR), whose solution is based on heat equation estimation of the diffusion signal for each shell acquisition, and is validated on both synthetic and real datasets. A significant portion of the paper is dedicated to comparing BFOR, SPFI, and DPI using hybrid, non-Cartesian sampling for multiple b-value acquisitions. Ways to mitigate the effects of Gibbs ringing on EAP reconstruction are also explored. In addition to analytical EAP reconstruction, the aforementioned modeling bases can be used to obtain rotationally invariant q-space indices of potential clinical value, an avenue which has not yet been thoroughly explored. Three such measures are computed: zero-displacement probability (Po), mean squared displacement (MSD), and generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA). PMID:22963853

A participatory approach to design monitoring indicators of production diseases in organic dairy farms.

Science.gov (United States)

Duval, J E; Fourichon, C; Madouasse, A; Sjöström, K; Emanuelson, U; Bareille, N

2016-06-01

Production diseases have an important negative effect on the health and welfare of dairy cows. Although organic animal production systems aim for high animal health levels, compliance with European organic farming regulations does not guarantee that this is achieved. Herd health and production management (HHPM) programs aim at optimizing herd health by preventing disease and production problems, but as yet they have not been consistently implemented by farmers. We hypothesize that one reason is the mismatch between what scientists propose as indicators for herd health monitoring and what farmers would like to use. Herd health monitoring is a key element in HHPM programs as it permits a regular assessment of the functioning of the different components of the production process. Planned observations or measurements of these components are indispensable for this monitoring. In this study, a participatory approach was used to create an environment in which farmers could adapt the indicators proposed by scientists for monitoring the five main production diseases on dairy cattle farms. The adaptations of the indicators were characterized and the farmers' explanations for the changes made were described. The study was conducted in France and Sweden, which differ in terms of their national organic regulations and existing advisory services. In both countries, twenty certified organic dairy farmers and their animal health management advisors participated in the study. All of the farmers adapted the initial monitoring plan proposed by scientists to specific production and animal health situation on their farm. This resulted in forty unique and farm-specific combinations of indicators for herd health monitoring. All but three farmers intended to monitor five health topics simultaneously using the constructed indicators. The qualitative analysis of the explanations given by farmers for their choices enabled an understanding of farmers' reasons for selecting and adapting

Monitoring radionuclides in marine organisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishii, T.; Matsuba, M.; Kurosawa, M.; Koyanagi, T.

1990-01-01

Concentration of stable elements corresponding to important radionuclides was determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for various marine organisms to find indicator organisms for environmental monitoring. Both analytical techniques indicated linearity over a range of concentrations covering 2-4 orders of magnitude. Detection limits of elements by ICP-MS were 10 or 100 times higher than those of ICP-AES, although the precision and accuracy of ICP-MS was slightly inferior to that of ICP-AES. For quantitative analysis of elements with medium mass numbers (chromium, manganese, iron, nickel, copper, zinc, etc.), matrix interferences in ICP-MS were caused mainly by overlaps of spectra from coexisting elements in biological samples. The presence of background ions from atmosphere, water, and argon plasma interfered with determination of some isotopes. Most elements of high mass number could not be determined by ICP-AES because of its poor detection limits, whereas ICP-MS indicated high sensitivity and low background for elements of interest. We used ICP-MS analysis to determine the specific accumulation of certain elements in organs or tissues of 30 marine organisms

Dynamic of Arabica Coffee Marketing Organization in Ngada District:Progress Upon Implementing of Geographical Indication

OpenAIRE

Aklimawati, Lya

2017-01-01

Farmer organization has important role on coffee agribusiness development. Organization was positioned as a driving force on farmer economic activities, especially in strengthening partnership networks. Realizing the importance of organization, the aim of this research was to identify the coffee market structure in the scheme of Geographical Indication; to analyze the dynamic of coffee marketing organization at farmers level; and to analyze added value of wet parchment bean sales at the farme...

Analytical Chemistry Laboratory: Progress report for FY 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, D.W.; Heinrich, R.R.; Graczyk, D.G.; Lindahl, P.C.; Erickson, M.D.

1988-12-01

The purpose of this report is to summarize the activities of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (ACL) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for fiscal year 1988 (October 1987 through September 1988). The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory is a full-cost recovery service center, with the primary mission of providing a broad range of analytical chemistry support services to the scientific and engineering programs at ANL. In addition, the ACL conducts a research program in analytical chemistry, works on instrumental and methods development, and provides analytical services for governmental, educational, and industrial organizations. The ACL handles a wide range of analytical problems, from routine standard analyses to unique problems that require significant development of methods and techniques

Analytical Chemistry Laboratory progress report for FY 1989

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, D.W.; Heinrich, R.R.; Graczyk, D.G.; Lindahl, P.C.; Erickson, M.D.

1989-12-01

The purpose of this report is to summarize the activities of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (ACL) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for Fiscal Year 1989 (October 1988 through September 1989). The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory is a full-cost-recovery service center, with the primary mission of providing a broad range of analytical chemistry support services to the scientific and engineering programs at ANL. In addition, the ACL conducts a research program in analytical chemistry, works on instrumental and methods development, and provides analytical services for governmental, educational, and industrial organizations. The ACL handles a wide range of analytical problems, from routine standard analyses to unique problems that require significant development of methods and techniques

Analytical Chemistry Laboratory: Progress report for FY 1988

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Green, D.W.; Heinrich, R.R.; Graczyk, D.G.; Lindahl, P.C.; Erickson, M.D.

1988-12-01

The purpose of this report is to summarize the activities of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (ACL) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for fiscal year 1988 (October 1987 through September 1988). The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory is a full-cost recovery service center, with the primary mission of providing a broad range of analytical chemistry support services to the scientific and engineering programs at ANL. In addition, the ACL conducts a research program in analytical chemistry, works on instrumental and methods development, and provides analytical services for governmental, educational, and industrial organizations. The ACL handles a wide range of analytical problems, from routine standard analyses to unique problems that require significant development of methods and techniques.

Analysis and analytical techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Batuecas Rodriguez, T [Department of Chemistry and Isotopes, Junta de Energia Nuclear, Madrid (Spain)

1967-01-01

The technology associated with the use of organic coolants in nuclear reactors depends to a large extent on the determination and control of their physical and chemical properties, and particularly on the viability, speed, sensitivity, precision and accuracy (depending on the intended usage) of the methods employed in detection and analytical determination. This has led to the study and development of numerous techniques, some specially designed for the extreme conditions involved in working with the types of product in question and others adapted from existing techniques. In the specific case of polyphenyl and hydropolyphenyl mixtures, which have been the principal subjects of study to date and offer greatest promise, the analytical problems are broadly as follows: Composition of initial product or virgin coolant composition of macro components and amounts of organic and inorganic impurities; Coolant during and after operation. Determination of gases and organic compounds produced by pyrolysis and radiolysis (degradation and polymerization products); Control of systems for purifying and regenerating the coolant after use. Dissolved pressurization gases; Detection of intermediate products during decomposition; these are generally very unstable (free radicals); Degree of fouling and film formation. Tests to determine potential formation of films; Corrosion of structural elements and canning materials; Health and safety. Toxicity, inflammability and impurities that can be activated. Although some of the above problems are closely interrelated and entail similar techniques, they vary as to degree of difficulty. Another question is the difficulty of distinguishing clearly between techniques for determining physical and physico-chemical properties, on one hand, and analytical techniques on the other. Any classification is therefore somewhat arbitrary (for example, in the case of dosimetry and techniques for determining mean molecular weights or electrical conductivity

Constructing core competency indicators for clinical teachers in Taiwan: a qualitative analysis and an analytic hierarchy process.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ai-Tzu; Lin, Jou-Wei

2014-04-11

The objective of this study was to construct a framework of core competency indicators of medical doctors who teach in the clinical setting in Taiwan and to evaluate the relative importance of the indicators among these clinical teachers. The preliminary framework of the indicators was developed from an in-depth interview conducted with 12 clinical teachers who had previously been recognized and awarded for their teaching excellence in university hospitals. The framework was categorized into 4 dimensions: 1) Expertise (i.e., professional knowledge and skill); 2) Teaching Ability; 3) Attitudes and Traits; and 4) Beliefs and Values. These areas were further divided into 11 sub-dimensions and 40 indicators. Subsequently, a questionnaire built upon this qualitative analysis was distributed to another group of 17 clinical teachers. Saaty's eigenvector approach, or the so-called analytic hierarchy process (AHP), was applied to perform the pairwise comparisons between indicators and to determine the ranking and relative importance of the indicators. Fourteen questionnaires were deemed valid for AHP assessment due to completeness of data input. The relative contribution of the four main dimensions was 31% for Attitudes and Traits, 30% for Beliefs and Values, 22% for Expertise, and 17% for Teaching Ability. Specifically, 9 out of the 10 top-ranked indicators belonged to the "Attitudes and Traits" or "Beliefs and Values" dimensions, indicating that inner characteristics (i.e., attitudes, traits, beliefs, and values) were perceived as more important than surface ones (i.e., professional knowledge, skills, and teaching competency). We performed a qualitative analysis and developed a questionnaire based upon an interview with experienced clinical teachers in Taiwan, and used this tool to construct the key features for the role model. The application has also demonstrated the relative importance in the dimensions of the core competencies for clinical teachers in Taiwan.

Organic analyses of mixed nuclear wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toste, A.P.; Lucke, R.B.; Lechner-Fish, T.J.; Hendren, D.J.; Myers, R.B.

1987-04-01

Analytical methods are being developed for the organic analysis of nuclear wastes. Our laboratory analyzed the organic content of three commercial wastes and an organic-rich, complex concentrate waste. The commercial wastes contained a variety of hydrophobic and hydrophilic organics, at concentrations ranging from nanomolar to micromolar. Alkyl phenols, chelating and complexing agents, as well as their degradation products, and carboxylic acids were detected in the commercial wastes. The complex concentrate waste contained chelating and complexing agents, as well as numerous degradation products, at millimolar concentrations. 75.1% of the complex concentrate waste's total organic carbon content has been identified. The presence of chelator fragments in all of the wastes analyzed, occasionally at elevated concentrations, indicates that organic diagenesis, or degradation, in nuclear wastes is both widespread and quite vigorous. 23 refs., 3 tabs

Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, progress report for FY 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-12-01

The purpose of this report is to summarize the activities of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (ACL) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for Fiscal Year (FY) 1993 (October 1992 through September 1993). This annual report is the tenth for the ACL and describes continuing effort on projects, work on new projects, and contributions of the ACL staff to various programs at ANL. The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory is a full-cost-recovery service center, with the primary mission of providing a broad range of analytical chemistry support services to the scientific and engineering programs at ANL. The ACL also has research programs in analytical chemistry, conducts instrumental and methods development, and provides analytical services for governmental, educational, and industrial organizations. The ACL handles a wide range of analytical problems. Some routine or standard analyses are done, but it is common for the Argonne programs to generate unique problems that require development or modification of methods and adaption of techniques to obtain useful analytical data. The ACL is administratively within the Chemical Technology Division (CMT), its principal ANL client, but provides technical support for many of the technical divisions and programs at ANL. The ACL has four technical groups--Chemical Analysis, Instrumental Analysis, Organic Analysis, and Environmental Analysis--which together include about 45 technical staff members. Talents and interests of staff members cross the group lines, as do many projects within the ACL.

Practical web analytics for user experience how analytics can help you understand your users

CERN Document Server

Beasley, Michael

2013-01-01

Practical Web Analytics for User Experience teaches you how to use web analytics to help answer the complicated questions facing UX professionals. Within this book, you'll find a quantitative approach for measuring a website's effectiveness and the methods for posing and answering specific questions about how users navigate a website. The book is organized according to the concerns UX practitioners face. Chapters are devoted to traffic, clickpath, and content use analysis, measuring the effectiveness of design changes, including A/B testing, building user profiles based on search hab

Analytical applications of ion exchangers

CERN Document Server

Inczédy, J

1966-01-01

Analytical Applications of Ion Exchangers presents the laboratory use of ion-exchange resins. This book discusses the development in the analytical application of ion exchangers. Organized into 10 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the history and significance of ion exchangers for technical purposes. This text then describes the properties of ion exchangers, which are large molecular water-insoluble polyelectrolytes having a cross-linked structure that contains ionic groups. Other chapters consider the theories concerning the operation of ion-exchange resins and investigate th

An analytic Pade-motivated QCD coupling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez, H. E.; Cvetic, G.

2010-01-01

We consider a modification of the Minimal Analytic (MA) coupling of Shirkov and Solovtsov. This modified MA (mMA) coupling reflects the desired analytic properties of the space-like observables. We show that an approximation by Dirac deltas of its discontinuity function ρ is equivalent to a Pade(rational) approximation of the mMA coupling that keeps its analytic structure. We propose a modification to mMA that, as preliminary results indicate, could be an improvement in the evaluation of low-energy observables compared with other analytic couplings.

Analytical Chemistry Laboratory progress report for FY 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Green, D.W.; Heinrich, R.R.; Graczyk, D.G.; Lindahl, P.C.; Boparai, A.S.

1991-12-01

The purpose of this report is to summarize the activities of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (ACL) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for Fiscal Year 1991 (October 1990 through September 1991). This is the eighth annual report for the ACL. The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory is a full-cost-recovery service center, with the primary mission of providing a broad range of analytical chemistry support services to the scientific and engineering programs at ANL. In addition, the ACL conducts a research program in analytical chemistry, works on instrumental and methods development, and provides analytical services for governmental, educational, and industrial organizations. The ACL handles a wide range of analytical problems, from routine standard analyses to unique problems that require significant development of methods and techniques.

Short-term effects of different organic amendments on soil chemical, biochemical and biological indicators

Science.gov (United States)

Mondelli, Donato; Aly, Adel; Yirga Dagnachew, Ababu; Piscitelli, Lea; Dumontet, Stefano; Miano, Teodoro

2014-05-01

The limited availability of animal manure and the high cost of good quality compost lead to difficult soil quality management under organic agriculture. Therefore, it is important to find out alternative organic soil amendments and more flexible strategies that are able to sustain crop productivity and maintain and enhance soil quality. A three years study was carried out in the experimental fields of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari located in Valenzano, Italy. The main objective of this research is to investigate the effects of different fertility management strategies on soil quality in order to estimate the role of innovative matrices for their use in organic farming. The experiment consists of seven treatments applied to a common crop rotation. The treatments include alternative organic amendments (1- olive mill wastewater OMW, 2- residues of mushroom cultivation MUS, 3- coffee chaff COF), common soil amendments (4- compost COM, 5- faba bean intercropping LEG, 6- cow manure - MAN) and as a reference treatment (7- mineral fertilizer COV). The soil quality was assessed before and after the application of the treatments, through biological (microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, soil respiration and metabolic quotient), biochemical (soil enzymatic activities: β-glucosidase, alkaline phospatase, urease, fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis), and chemical (pH, soil organic carbon, soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, exchangeable potassium, dissolved organic carbon and total dissolved nitrogen) indicators. Based on the results obtained after the second year, all treatments were able to improve various soil chemical parameters as compared to mineral fertilizer. The incorporation of COF and OMW seemed to be more effective in improving soil total N and exchangeable K, while MAN significantly increased available P. All the amendments enhance dissolved organic C, soil respiration, microbial biomass and metabolic quotient as

Oracle Exalytics: Engineered for Speed-of-Thought Analytics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela GLIGOR

2011-12-01

Full Text Available One of the biggest product announcements at 2011's Oracle OpenWorld user conference was Oracle Exalytics In-Memory Machine, the latest addition to the "Exa"-branded suite of Oracle-Sun engineered software-hardware systems. Analytics is all about gaining insights from the data for better decision making. However, the vision of delivering fast, interactive, insightful analytics has remained elusive for most organizations. Most enterprise IT organizations continue to struggle to deliver actionable analytics due to time-sensitive, sprawling requirements and ever tightening budgets. The issue is further exasperated by the fact that most enterprise analytics solutions require dealing with a number of hardware, software, storage and networking vendors and precious resources are wasted integrating the hardware and software components to deliver a complete analytical solution. Oracle Exalytics Business Intelligence Machine is the world’s first engineered system specifically designed to deliver high performance analysis, modeling and planning. Built using industry-standard hardware, market-leading business intelligence software and in-memory database technology, Oracle Exalytics is an optimized system that delivers answers to all your business questions with unmatched speed, intelligence, simplicity and manageability.

Application of surrogates, indicators, and high-resolution mass spectrometry to evaluate the efficacy of UV processes for attenuation of emerging contaminants in water.

Science.gov (United States)

Merel, Sylvain; Anumol, Tarun; Park, Minkyu; Snyder, Shane A

2015-01-23

In response to water scarcity, strategies relying on multiple processes to turn wastewater effluent into potable water are being increasingly considered by many cities. In such context, the occurrence of contaminants as well as their fate during treatment processes is a major concern. Three analytical approaches where used to characterize the efficacy of UV and UV/H2O2 processes on a secondary wastewater effluent. The first analytical approach assessed bulk organic parameters or surrogates before and after treatment, while the second analytical approach measured the removal of specific indicator compounds. Sixteen trace organic contaminants were selected due to their relative high concentration and detection frequency over eight monitoring campaigns. While their removal rate ranges from approximately 10 to >90%, some of these compounds can be used to gauge process efficacy (or failure). The third analytical approach assessed the fate of unknown contaminants through high-resolution time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry with advanced data processing and demonstrated the occurrence of several thousand organic compounds in the water. A heat map clearly evidenced compounds as recalcitrant or transformed by the UV processes applied. In addition, those chemicals with similar fate were grouped together into clusters to identify new indicator compounds. In this manuscript, each approach is evaluated with advantages and disadvantages compared. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factors Influencing Attitudes Towards the Use of CRM’s Analytical Tools in Organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Šebjan Urban

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Background and Purpose: Information solutions for analytical customer relationship management CRM (aCRM IS that include the use of analytical tools are becoming increasingly important, due organizations’ need for knowledge of their customers and the ability to manage big data. The objective of the research is, therefore, to determine how the organizations’ orientations (process, innovation, and technology as critical organizational factors affect the attitude towards the use of the analytical tools of aCRM IS.

Planning for Low End Analytics Disruptions in Business School Curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Rienzo, Thomas; Chen, Kuanchin

2018-01-01

Analytics is getting a great deal of attention in both industrial and academic venues. Organizations of all types are becoming more serious about transforming data from a variety of sources into insight, and analytics is the key to that transformation. Academic institutions are rapidly responding to the demand for analytics talent, with hundreds…

Developing a Code of Practice for Learning Analytics

Science.gov (United States)

Sclater, Niall

2016-01-01

Ethical and legal objections to learning analytics are barriers to development of the field, thus potentially denying students the benefits of predictive analytics and adaptive learning. Jisc, a charitable organization that champions the use of digital technologies in UK education and research, has attempted to address this with the development of…

Orchid bees as bio-indicators for organic coffee farms in Costa Rica: does farm size affect their abundance?

Science.gov (United States)

Hedström, Ingemar; Denzel, Andrew; Owens, Gareth

2006-09-01

The potential of Euglossini bees, especially Euglossa, as biological indicators of organic vs nonorganic coffee farms was studied in Atenas and San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica using 1.8-cineole as lure. Observations were made for three days at each of four farms and complemented with data from a year of observations. Orchid bees were in greater abundance in the organic farms (t-Student test). However, lower abundances suggest that an organic farm may be negatively affected by the proximity of non-organic farms, depending on its size and distance. Orchid bees may be indicators of organic coffee farms.

The analytic impact of a reduced centrifugation step on chemistry and immunochemistry assays: an evaluation of the Modular Pre-Analytics.

Science.gov (United States)

Koenders, Mieke M J F; van Hurne, Marco E J F; Glasmacher-Van Zijl, Monique; van der Linde, Geesje; Westerhuis, Bert W J J M

2012-09-01

The COBAS 6000 system can be completed by a Modular Pre-Analytics (MPA), an integrated laboratory automation system that streamlines preanalysis. For an optimal throughput, the MPA centrifuges blood collection tubes for 5 min at 1885 × g - a centrifugation time that is not in concordance with the World Health Organization guidelines which suggest centrifugation for 10/15 min at 2000-3000 × g. In this study, the analytical outcome of 50 serum and 50 plasma samples centrifuged for 5 or 10 min at 1885 × g was investigated. The study included routine chemistry and immunochemistry assays on the COBAS 6000 and the Minicap capillary electrophoresis. Deming-fit and Bland-Altman plots of the 5-min and 10-min centrifugation steps indicated a significant correlation in serum samples. The lipaemia index in plasma samples centrifuged for 5 min displayed a statistically significant variation when compared with the 10-min centrifugation. Preanalytical centrifugation can be successfully down-scaled to a duration of 5 min for most routine chemistry and immunochemistry assays in serum and plasma samples. To prevent inaccurate results in plasma samples with an increased lipaemia index from being reported, the laboratory information system was programmed to withhold results above certain lipaemia indices. The presented data support the use of a 5-min centrifugation step to improve turnaround times, thereby meeting one of the desires of the requesting clinicians.

Organic solvents in electromembrane extraction: recent insights

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huang, Chuixiu; Gjelstad, Astrid; Pedersen-Bjergaard, Stig

2016-01-01

the introduction. Under the influence of an electrical field, EME is based on electrokinetic migration of the analytes through a supported liquid membrane (SLM), which is an organic solvent immobilized in the pores of the polymeric membrane, and into the acceptor solution. Up to date, close to 150 research...... articles with focus on EME have been published. The current review summarizes the performance of EME with different organic solvents and discusses several criteria for efficient solvents in EME. In addition, the authors highlight their personal perspective about the most promising organic solvents for EME...... and have indicated that more fundamental work is required to investigate and discover new organic solvents for EME....

Reactor Section standard analytical methods. Part 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sowden, D.

1954-07-01

the Standard Analytical Methods manual was prepared for the purpose of consolidating and standardizing all current analytical methods and procedures used in the Reactor Section for routine chemical analyses. All procedures are established in accordance with accepted practice and the general analytical methods specified by the Engineering Department. These procedures are specifically adapted to the requirements of the water treatment process and related operations. The methods included in this manual are organized alphabetically within the following five sections which correspond to the various phases of the analytical control program in which these analyses are to be used: water analyses, essential material analyses, cotton plug analyses boiler water analyses, and miscellaneous control analyses.

SPECTRAL COLOR INDICES BASED GEOSPATIAL MODELING OF SOIL ORGANIC MATTER IN CHITWAN DISTRICT, NEPAL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U. K. Mandal

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Space Technology provides a resourceful-cost effective means to assess soil nutrients essential for soil management plan. Soil organic matter (SOM is one of valuable controlling productivity of crops by providing nutrient in farming systems. Geospatial modeling of soil organic matter is essential if there is unavailability of soil test laboratories and its strong spatial correlation. In the present analysis, soil organic matter is modeled from satellite image derived spectral color indices. Brightness Index (BI, Coloration Index (CI, Hue Index (HI, Redness Index (RI and Saturation Index (SI were calculated by converting DN value to radiance and radiance to reflectance from Thematic Mapper image. Geospatial model was developed by regressing SOM with color indices and producing multiple regression model using stepwise regression technique. The multiple regression equation between SOM and spectral indices was significant with R = 0. 56 at 95% confidence level. The resulting MLR equation was then used for the spatial prediction for the entire study area. Redness Index was found higher significance in estimating the SOM. It was used to predict SOM as auxiliary variables using cokringing spatial interpolation technique. It was tested in seven VDCs of Chitwan district of Nepal using Thematic Mapper remotely sensed data. SOM was found to be measured ranging from 0.15% to 4.75 %, with a mean of 2.24 %. Remotely sensed data derived spectral color indices have the potential as useful auxiliary variables for estimating SOM content to generate soil fertility management plans.

A Comprehensive Diagnostic Framework for Evaluating Business Intelligence and Analytics Effectiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neil Foshay

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Business intelligence and analytics (BIA initiatives are costly, complex and experience high failure rates. Organizations require effective approaches to evaluate their BIA capabilities in order to develop strategies for their evolution. In this paper, we employ a design science paradigm to develop a comprehensive BIA effectiveness diagnostic (BIAED framework that can be easily operationalized. We propose that a useful BIAED framework must assess the correct factors, should be deployed in the proper process context and acquire the appropriate input from different constituencies within an organization. Drawing on the BIAED framework, we further develop an online diagnostic toolkit that includes a comprehensive survey instrument. We subsequently deploy the diagnostic mechanism within three large organizations in North America (involving over 1500 participants and use the results to inform BIA strategy formulation. Feedback from participating organizations indicates that BIA diagnostic toolkit provides insights that are essential inputs to strategy development. This work addresses a significant research gap in the area of BIA effectiveness assessment.

Orchid bees as bio-indicators for organic coffee farms in Costa Rica: Does farm size affect their abundance?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingemar Hedström

2006-09-01

Full Text Available The potential of Euglossini bees, especially Euglossa, as biological indicators of organic vs non-organic coffee farms was studied in Atenas and San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica using 1.8-cineole as lure. Observations were made for three days at each of four farms and complemented with data from a year of observations. Orchid bees were in greater abundance in the organic farms (t-Student test. However, lower abundances suggest that an organic farm may be negatively affected by the proximity of non-organic farms, depending on its size and distance. Orchid bees may be indicators of organic coffee farms. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54 (3: 965-969. Epub 2006 Sept. 29.

Five key pillars of an analytics center of excellence, which are required to manage populations and transform organizations into the next era of health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Reichert, Jim; Furlong, Gerry

2014-01-01

Acute care facilities are experiencing fiscal challenges as noted by decreasing admissions and lower reimbursement creating an unsustainable fiscal environment as we move into the next era of health care. This situation necessitates a strategy to move away from acting solely on hunches and instinct to using analytics to become a truly data-driven organization that identifies opportunities within patient populations to improve the quality and efficiency of care across the continuum. A brief overview of knowledge management philosophies will be provided and how it is used to enable organizations to leverage data, information, and knowledge for operational transformation leading to improved outcomes. This article outlines the 5 key pillars of an Analytics Center of Excellence; governance, organizational structure, people, process, and technology, that are foundational to the development of this strategy. While culture is the most important factor to achieve organizational transformation and improved care delivery, it is the 5 pillars of the ACoE that will enable the culture shift necessary to become a truly data-driven organization and thus achieve transformation into the next era of health care.

Indicator Organisms: Learner's Guide for a Critical Path in Water Quality Monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Glazer, Richard B.; And Others

This learner's guide on indicator organisms is derived from a water monitoring curriculum developed at Ulster County Community College. There are 37 modules in this guide; each is introduced with a statement of purpose and then broken down into units of instruction. These units contain an objective, learning conditions, and a performance level.…

FAPIG's activities for public acceptance of nuclear energy. Analytical results of questionnaire executed at organized visits to nuclear power stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoneda, Masaaki

2010-01-01

The First Atomic Power Industry Group (FAPIG) organized eighteenth visit of woman employees to nuclear power stations. They would have few chance of such a visit and to unfamiliar with mechanism of nuclear power generation as well as radiation and radioactivity. Participants were required to have a lecture on energy in general and basic understanding of nuclear energy and then had a visit to nuclear power stations to learn nuclear energy as correct knowledge. They also filled out the same questionnaire before the lecture and after the visit to express their ideas or comments on nuclear energy. This paper described analytical results of the questionnaire and significance of the organized visit for public acceptance of nuclear energy. (T. Tanaka)

Analytical Chemistry Laboratory progress report for FY 1984

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, D.W.; Heinrich, R.R.; Jensen, K.J.; Stetter, J.R.

1985-03-01

Technical and administrative activities of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (ACL) are reported for fiscal year 1984. The ACL is a full-cost-recovery service center, with the primary mission of providing a broad range of technical support services to the scientific and engineering programs at ANL. In addition, ACL conducts a research program in analytical chemistry, works on instrumental and methods development, and provides analytical services for governmental, educational, and industrial organizations. The ACL is administratively within the Chemical Technology Division, the principal user, but provides technical support for all of the technical divisions and programs at ANL. The ACL has three technical groups - Chemical Analysis, Instrumental Analysis, and Organic Analysis. Under technical activities 26 projects are briefly described. Under professional activities, a list is presented for publications and reports, oral presentations, awards and meetings attended. 6 figs., 2 tabs

Analytical approaches for the determination of personal care products and evaluation of their occurrence in marine organisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Montesdeoca-Esponda, Sarah; Checchini, Leonardo; Del Bubba, Massimo; Sosa-Ferrera, Zoraida; Santana-Rodriguez, José Juan

2018-03-23

Contamination of the aquatic environment caused by multiple human activities may exert a negative impact on all living organisms. Several contaminants of emerging concern such as personal care products (PCPs) are continuously released into the aquatic environment where they are biologically active and persistent. This work reviews the current knowledge, provided by papers published after 2010 and indexed by SciFinder, Scopus, and Google search engines, about the determination and occurrence of PCPs in marine biota. Analytical methodologies have been critically reviewed, emphasizing the importance of green and high-throughput approaches and focusing the discussion on the complexity of the solute-matrix interaction in the extraction step, as well as the matrix effect in the instrumental determination. Finally, the worldwide distribution of PCPs is surveyed, taking into account the concentrations found in the same organism in different marine environments. Differences among various world areas have been highlighted, evidencing some critical aspects from an environmental point of view. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Role of Teamwork in the Analysis of Big Data: A Study of Visual Analytics and Box Office Prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Buchanan, Verica; Lu, Yafeng; McNeese, Nathan; Steptoe, Michael; Maciejewski, Ross; Cooke, Nancy

2017-03-01

Historically, domains such as business intelligence would require a single analyst to engage with data, develop a model, answer operational questions, and predict future behaviors. However, as the problems and domains become more complex, organizations are employing teams of analysts to explore and model data to generate knowledge. Furthermore, given the rapid increase in data collection, organizations are struggling to develop practices for intelligence analysis in the era of big data. Currently, a variety of machine learning and data mining techniques are available to model data and to generate insights and predictions, and developments in the field of visual analytics have focused on how to effectively link data mining algorithms with interactive visuals to enable analysts to explore, understand, and interact with data and data models. Although studies have explored the role of single analysts in the visual analytics pipeline, little work has explored the role of teamwork and visual analytics in the analysis of big data. In this article, we present an experiment integrating statistical models, visual analytics techniques, and user experiments to study the role of teamwork in predictive analytics. We frame our experiment around the analysis of social media data for box office prediction problems and compare the prediction performance of teams, groups, and individuals. Our results indicate that a team's performance is mediated by the team's characteristics such as openness of individual members to others' positions and the type of planning that goes into the team's analysis. These findings have important implications for how organizations should create teams in order to make effective use of information from their analytic models.

Energy indicators for sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vera, Ivan; Langlois, Lucille

2007-01-01

Energy is an essential factor in overall efforts to achieve sustainable development. Countries striving to this end are seeking to reassess their energy systems with a view toward planning energy programmes and strategies in line with sustainable development goals and objectives. This paper summarizes the outcome of an international partnership initiative on indicators for sustainable energy development that aims to provide an analytical tool for assessing current energy production and use patterns at a national level. The proposed set of energy indicators represents a first step of a consensus reached on this subject by five international agencies-two from the United Nations system (the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the International Atomic Energy Agency), two from the European Union (Eurostat and the European Environment Agency) and one from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (the International Energy Agency). Energy and environmental experts including statisticians, analysts, policy makers and academics have started to implement general guidelines and methodologies in the development of national energy indicators for use in their efforts to monitor the effects of energy policies on the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development

Indices, multispecies and synthesis descriptors in benthic assessments: Intertidal organic enrichment from oyster farming

Science.gov (United States)

Quintino, Victor; Azevedo, Ana; Magalhães, Luísa; Sampaio, Leandro; Freitas, Rosa; Rodrigues, Ana Maria; Elliott, Michael

2012-09-01

Intertidal off-bottom oyster culture is shown to cause organic enrichment of the shore and although there are two stressors of interest (the presence of a structure, the trestles, and also the sediment and organic waste from the oysters), these can be separated and their relative impacts determined using an appropriate nested experimental design and data treatments. Although no artificial food sources are involved, the oysters feeding activity and intensity of culture enhances biodeposition and significantly increases the sediment fines content and total organic matter. This in general impoverished the benthic community in culture areas rather than a species succession with the installation of opportunists or a resulting increase in the abundance and biomass of benthic species; the findings can be a direct consequence of the intertidal situation which is less-amenable recruitment of species more common to the subtidal environment. Thus the most appropriate biological descriptors to diagnose the effects associated with the organic enrichment were the multispecies abundance data as well as the primary biological variables species richness and abundance. The effects were however spatially and statistically significantly confined to the area located directly underneath the culture bags compared to the corridors located between the trestles, which do not show such enrichment effects. Synthesis biotic indices were much less effective to diagnose the benthic alterations associated with this organic enrichment. These results show that special attention must be paid when using indices in areas where the organic enrichment induces an impoverishment of the benthic community but not necessarily a species replacement with the installation of opportunists.

Analytical Chemistry Laboratory Progress Report for FY 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Green, D.W.; Boparai, A.S.; Bowers, D.L. [and others

1994-12-01

The purpose of this report is to summarize the activities of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (ACL) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for Fiscal Year (FY) 1994 (October 1993 through September 1994). This annual report is the eleventh for the ACL and describes continuing effort on projects, work on new projects, and contributions of the ACL staff to various programs at ANL. The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory is a full-cost-recovery service center, with the primary mission of providing a broad range of analytical chemistry support services to the scientific and engineering programs at ANL. The ACL also has a research program in analytical chemistry, conducts instrumental and methods development, and provides analytical services for governmental, educational, and industrial organizations. The ACL handles a wide range of analytical problems. Some routine or standard analyses are done, but it is common for the Argonne programs to generate unique problems that require significant development of methods and adaption of techniques to obtain useful analytical data. The ACL has four technical groups -- Chemical Analysis, Instrumental Analysis, Organic Analysis, and Environmental Analysis -- which together include about 45 technical staff members. Talents and interests of staff members cross the group lines, as do many projects within the ACL. The Chemical Analysis Group uses wet- chemical and instrumental methods for elemental, compositional, and isotopic determinations in solid, liquid, and gaseous samples and provides specialized analytical services. Major instruments in this group include an ion chromatograph (IC), an inductively coupled plasma/atomic emission spectrometer (ICP/AES), spectrophotometers, mass spectrometers (including gas-analysis and thermal-ionization mass spectrometers), emission spectrographs, autotitrators, sulfur and carbon determinators, and a kinetic phosphorescence uranium analyzer.

Scaling laws and indications of self-organized criticality in urban systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yanguang; Zhou Yixing

2008-01-01

Evolution of urban systems has been considered to exhibit some form of self-organized criticality (SOC) in the literature. This paper provides further mathematical foundations and empirical evidences to support the supposition. The hierarchical structure of systems of cities can be formulated as three exponential functions: the number law, the population size law, and the area law. These laws are identical in form to the Horton-Strahler laws of rivers and Gutenberg-Richter laws of earthquakes. From the exponential functions, three indications of SOC are also derived: the frequency-spectrum relation indicting the 1/f noise, the power laws indicating the fractal structure, and the Zipf's law indicating the rank-size distribution. These mathematical models form a set of scaling laws for urban systems, as demonstrated in the empirical study of the system of cities in China. The fact that the scaling laws of urban systems bear an analogy to those on rivers and earthquakes lends further support to the notion of possible SOC in urban systems

Competing on talent analytics.

Science.gov (United States)

Davenport, Thomas H; Harris, Jeanne; Shapiro, Jeremy

2010-10-01

Do investments in your employees actually affect workforce performance? Who are your top performers? How can you empower and motivate other employees to excel? Leading-edge companies such as Google, Best Buy, Procter & Gamble, and Sysco use sophisticated data-collection technology and analysis to answer these questions, leveraging a range of analytics to improve the way they attract and retain talent, connect their employee data to business performance, differentiate themselves from competitors, and more. The authors present the six key ways in which companies track, analyze, and use data about their people-ranging from a simple baseline of metrics to monitor the organization's overall health to custom modeling for predicting future head count depending on various "what if" scenarios. They go on to show that companies competing on talent analytics manage data and technology at an enterprise level, support what analytical leaders do, choose realistic targets for analysis, and hire analysts with strong interpersonal skills as well as broad expertise.

Evaluation methodology for comparing memory and communication of analytic processes in visual analytics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ragan, Eric D [ORNL; Goodall, John R [ORNL

2014-01-01

Provenance tools can help capture and represent the history of analytic processes. In addition to supporting analytic performance, provenance tools can be used to support memory of the process and communication of the steps to others. Objective evaluation methods are needed to evaluate how well provenance tools support analyst s memory and communication of analytic processes. In this paper, we present several methods for the evaluation of process memory, and we discuss the advantages and limitations of each. We discuss methods for determining a baseline process for comparison, and we describe various methods that can be used to elicit process recall, step ordering, and time estimations. Additionally, we discuss methods for conducting quantitative and qualitative analyses of process memory. By organizing possible memory evaluation methods and providing a meta-analysis of the potential benefits and drawbacks of different approaches, this paper can inform study design and encourage objective evaluation of process memory and communication.

Water Gender Indicators in Agriculture: A Study of Horticultural Farmer Organizations in Senegal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesca Alice Centrone

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper intends to contribute to the debate on gender equality and water within the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs 5 and 6. Farmers organizations are often considered key stakeholders whose participation should be fostered to achieve a good water governance in agriculture and irrigation programs. Nonetheless, many water management interventions tackle participation as an instrumental and formal process. A common assumption is that granting sufficient space for women in water management will automatically ensure a greater gender empowerment. Nevertheless, often low importance is given to assessing who really actively participates and benefits from water development projects, favoring the technical aspects. This paper addresses the articulation between gender, water management and indicators, using male, female and mixed farmer organizations as touchstones in three regions of Senegal. The authors defines a system of water gender indicators grouped into five sections. The first results show more similarities between mixed and female organizations, while the main gender inequalities are visible in the water technique and economic domains. Thanks to this study, we can see how a gender-based analysis may allow to more deeply understand some more or less “hidden” water governance mechanisms and their related implications in terms of project management and policy making.

Fiber optic field analytical instrumentation in place of quarterly compliance monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henshaw, J.M.

1995-01-01

ChemSensor reg-sign is a new field analytical tool capable of in situ, real time measurements of organics in water. The purpose of this paper is to describe the application of this new instrument to the ongoing monitoring of petroleum contaminated ground water. The sensing element in ChemSensor incorporates a short optical fiber core with a hydrophobic/organophilic chemical coating. Light is launched into the fiber from a light emitting diode and detected at the opposite end by a photodiode. When the sensor is immersed in water containing organics, the organics partition into the organophilic coating and change the effective refractive index of he coating allowing light to escape. The resultant loss of light reaching the detector correlates to the concentration of organics present. It has been demonstrated through extensive field tests that response factors developed for ChemSensor allow it to be used as an accurate indication of BTEX contamination present. A large scale field test with an environmental consultant and a petroleum company was conducted to gain confidence in the correlation of ChemSensor to laboratory methods. As a result of this study, a case was made to the state regulators for substitution of a portion of the quarterly compliance monitoring with ChemSensor. This program has the potential to save the petroleum company thousands in laboratory analytical costs per year. This paper discusses the application of ChemSensor to sites contaminated by gasoline as well as the collection and interpretation of the data

Aplikasi Analytical Hierarchy Process Pada Pemilihan Metode Analisis Zat Organik Dalam Air

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dino Rimantho

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Water is one of the food products analyzed in water chemistry and environmental laboratories. One of the parameters analyzed are organic substances. The number of samples that were not comparable with the analytical skills can cause delays in test results. Analytical Hierarchy Process applied to evaluate the analytical methods used. Alternative methods tested include titrimetric method, spectrophotometry, and total organic carbon (TOC. Respondents consisted of deputy technical manager, laboratory coordinator, and two senior analysts. Alternative results obtained are methods of TOC. Proposed improvements alternative analytical method based on the results obtained, the method of the TOC with a 10-15 minute analysis time and use of CRM to the validity of the analysis results.

Green analytical chemistry introduction to chloropropanols determination at no economic and analytical performance costs?

Science.gov (United States)

Jędrkiewicz, Renata; Orłowski, Aleksander; Namieśnik, Jacek; Tobiszewski, Marek

2016-01-15

In this study we perform ranking of analytical procedures for 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol determination in soy sauces by PROMETHEE method. Multicriteria decision analysis was performed for three different scenarios - metrological, economic and environmental, by application of different weights to decision making criteria. All three scenarios indicate capillary electrophoresis-based procedure as the most preferable. Apart from that the details of ranking results differ for these three scenarios. The second run of rankings was done for scenarios that include metrological, economic and environmental criteria only, neglecting others. These results show that green analytical chemistry-based selection correlates with economic, while there is no correlation with metrological ones. This is an implication that green analytical chemistry can be brought into laboratories without analytical performance costs and it is even supported by economic reasons. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Meta-Analytic Review of Social Identification and Health in Organizational Contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Steffens, Niklas K; Haslam, S Alexander; Schuh, Sebastian C; Jetten, Jolanda; van Dick, Rolf

2017-11-01

We provide a meta-analytical review examining two decades of work on the relationship between individuals' social identifications and health in organizations (102 effect sizes, k = 58, N = 19,799). Results reveal a mean-weighted positive association between organizational identification and health ( r = .21, T = .14). Analysis identified a positive relationship for both workgroup ( r = .21) and organizational identification ( r = .21), and in studies using longitudinal/experimental ( r = .13) and cross-sectional designs ( r = .22). The relationship is stronger (a) for indicators of the presence of well-being ( r = .27) than absence of stress ( r = .18), (b) for psychological ( r = .23) than physical health ( r = .16), (c) to the extent that identification is shared among group members, and (d) as the proportion of female participants in a sample decreases. Overall, results indicate that social identifications in organizations are positively associated with health but that there is also substantial variation in effect size strength. We discuss implications for theory and practice and outline a roadmap for future research.

Cognitive computing and big data analytics

CERN Document Server

Hurwitz, Judith; Bowles, Adrian

2015-01-01

MASTER THE ABILITY TO APPLY BIG DATA ANALYTICS TO MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF STRUCTURED AND UNSTRUCTURED DATA Cognitive computing is a technique that allows humans and computers to collaborate in order to gain insights and knowledge from data by uncovering patterns and anomalies. This comprehensive guide explains the underlying technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, and big data analytics. It then demonstrates how you can use these technologies to transform your organization. You will explore how different vendors and different industries are a

Analytical Chemistry Laboratory progress report for FY 1985

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Green, D.W.; Heinrich, R.R.; Jensen, K.J.

1985-12-01

The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory is a full-cost-recovery service center, with the primary mission of providing a broad range of technical support services to the scientific and engineering programs at ANL. In addition, ACL conducts a research program in analytical chemistry, works on instrumental and methods development, and provides analytical services for governmental, educational, and industrial organizations. The ACL handles a wide range of analytical problems, from routine standard analyses to unique problems that require significant development of methods and techniques. The purpose of this report is to summarize the technical and administrative activities of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (ACL) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for Fiscal Year 1985 (October 1984 through September 1985). This is the second annual report for the ACL. 4 figs., 1 tab.

Analytical Chemistry Laboratory progress report for FY 1985

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, D.W.; Heinrich, R.R.; Jensen, K.J.

1985-12-01

The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory is a full-cost-recovery service center, with the primary mission of providing a broad range of technical support services to the scientific and engineering programs at ANL. In addition, ACL conducts a research program in analytical chemistry, works on instrumental and methods development, and provides analytical services for governmental, educational, and industrial organizations. The ACL handles a wide range of analytical problems, from routine standard analyses to unique problems that require significant development of methods and techniques. The purpose of this report is to summarize the technical and administrative activities of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (ACL) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for Fiscal Year 1985 (October 1984 through September 1985). This is the second annual report for the ACL. 4 figs., 1 tab

Big Data Analytics Methodology in the Financial Industry

Science.gov (United States)

Lawler, James; Joseph, Anthony

2017-01-01

Firms in industry continue to be attracted by the benefits of Big Data Analytics. The benefits of Big Data Analytics projects may not be as evident as frequently indicated in the literature. The authors of the study evaluate factors in a customized methodology that may increase the benefits of Big Data Analytics projects. Evaluating firms in the…

Using soil organic matter fractions as indicators of soil physical quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pulido Moncada, Mansonia A.; Lozano, Z; Delgado, M

2018-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of chemical and physical fractions of soil organic matter (SOM), rather than SOM per se, as indicators of soil physical quality (SPQ) based on their effect on aggregate stability (AS). Chemically extracted humic and fulvic acids (HA and FA) were...... used as chemical fractions, and heavy and light fractions (HF and LF) obtained by density separation as physical fractions. The analyses were conducted on medium-textured soils from tropical and temperate regions under cropland and pasture. Results show that soil organic carbon (SOC), SOM fractions...... and AS appear to be affected by land use regardless of the origin of the soils. A general separation of structurally stable and unstable soils between samples of large and small SOC content, respectively, was observed. SOM fractions did not show a better relationship with AS than SOC per se. In both...

Analytical procedures. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weber, G.

1985-01-01

In analytical procedures (Boole procedures) there is certain to be a close relationship between the safety assessment and reliability assessment of technical facilities. The paper gives an overview of the organization of models, fault trees, the probabilistic evaluation of systems, evaluation with minimum steps or minimum paths regarding statistically dependent components and of systems liable to suffer different kinds of outages. (orig.) [de

A literature review of methods of analysis of organic analytes in radioactive wastes with an emphasis on sources from the United Kingdom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clauss, S.A.; Bean, R.M.

1993-09-01

This report, compiled by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL), examines literature originating through the United Kingdom (UK) nuclear industry relating to the analyses of organic constituents of radioactive waste. Additionally, secondary references from the UK and other counties, including the United States, have been reviewed. The purpose of this literature review was to find analytical methods that would apply to the mixed-waste matrices found at Hanford

AN ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT TRENDS AND MODELING OF SAFETY INDICES IN AN INDIAN CONSTRUCTION ORGANIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunku Venkata Siva Rajaprasad

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Construction industry has been recognized as a hazardous industry in many countries due to distinct nature of execution of works.The accident rate in construction sector is high all over the world due to dynamic nature of work activities. Occurrence of accidents and its severity in construction industry is several times higher than the manufacturing industries. The study was limited to a major construction organization in India to examine the trends in construction accidents for the period 2008-2014. In India, safety performance is gauged basing on safety indices; frequency, severity and incidence rates. It is not practicable to take decisions or to implement safety strategies on the basis of indices. The data used for this study was collected from a leading construction organization involved in execution of major construction activities all over India and abroad. The multiple regression method was adopted to model the pattern of safety indices wise .The pattern showed that significant relationships exist between the three safety indices and the related independent variables.

Implementing analytics a blueprint for design, development, and adoption

CERN Document Server

Sheikh, Nauman

2013-01-01

Implementing Analytics demystifies the concept, technology and application of analytics and breaks its implementation down to repeatable and manageable steps, making it possible for widespread adoption across all functions of an organization. Implementing Analytics simplifies and helps democratize a very specialized discipline to foster business efficiency and innovation without investing in multi-million dollar technology and manpower. A technology agnostic methodology that breaks down complex tasks like model design and tuning and emphasizes business decisions rather than the technology behi

Optical indicators based on environment sensitive fluorophors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shakhsher, Z.M.; Seitz, W.R. (Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NC (USA))

1990-01-01

The authors are interested in the development of optical indicators based on environment sensitive fluorophors. The fluorophor is immobilized on a solid substrate. Interaction with analyte modifies the fluorophor environment, leading to a shift in the distribution of emission wavelengths. Because the indicator is based on spectral shift, it is possible to relate analyte concentration to a ratio of intensities at two different wavelengths. This parameter is insensitive to instrumental drift and slow loss of indicator. Two indicator systems have been investigated. Both involve dansyl derivation, i.e., derivatives of 5-dimethylamino-1-naphthalene sulfonic acid.

Paper-Based Analytical Device for Zinc Ion Quantification in Water Samples with Power-Free Analyte Concentration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroko Kudo

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Insufficient sensitivity is a general issue of colorimetric paper-based analytical devices (PADs for trace analyte detection, such as metal ions, in environmental water. This paper demonstrates the colorimetric detection of zinc ions (Zn2+ on a paper-based analytical device with an integrated analyte concentration system. Concentration of Zn2+ ions from an enlarged sample volume (1 mL has been achieved with the aid of a colorimetric Zn2+ indicator (Zincon electrostatically immobilized onto a filter paper substrate in combination with highly water-absorbent materials. Analyte concentration as well as sample pretreatment, including pH adjustment and interferent masking, has been elaborated. The resulting device enables colorimetric quantification of Zn2+ in environmental water samples (tap water, river water from a single sample application. The achieved detection limit of 0.53 μM is a significant improvement over that of a commercial colorimetric Zn2+ test paper (9.7 μM, demonstrating the efficiency of the developed analyte concentration system not requiring any equipment.

Evaluation of Trichoptera as an indicator organism for environmental pollution by heavy metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aizawa, Shoichi; Tsunoda, Kin-ichi; Akatsuka, Masayoshi; Inoue, Sadao; Akaiwa, Hideo

1994-01-01

A method of analysis for heavy metals in trichopteran larvae by AAS was established to evaluate this aquatic insect as an indicator organism for environmental pollution by heavy metals. A wet digestion method with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide was found to be suitable for the decomposition of trichopteran larva samples. No serious variation in heavy metal contents was found in individual samples collected from one sampling point. A weak negative correlation was observed between the body length and the heavy metal contents of trichopteran larvae. In addition, the heavy metal content of trichopteran larvae seems to show a seasonal fluctuation. Trichopteran larvae in the Watarase River, which has abandoned copper and manganese mines along its upper stream, show an enriched heavy metal content as compared with those in other non-polluted rivers. Moreover, this aquatic insect in the Kiryu River also shows enrichment of manganese due to abandoned manganese mines situated upstream. These facts suggest that the trichopteran larva in a useful indicator organism for environmental pollution by heavy metals. (author)

Developing a business analytics methodology: a case study in the foodbank sector

OpenAIRE

Hindle, Giles; Vidgen, Richard

2017-01-01

The current research seeks to address the following question: how can organizations align their business analytics development projects with their business goals? To pursue this research agenda we adopt an action research framework to develop and apply a business analytics methodology (BAM). The four-stage BAM (problem situation structuring, business model mapping, analytics leverage analysis, and analytics implementation) is not a prescription. Rather, it provides a logical structure and log...

Recent results on analytical plasma turbulence theory: Realizability, intermittency, submarginal turbulence, and self-organized criticality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krommes, J.A.

2000-01-01

Recent results and future challenges in the systematic analytical description of plasma turbulence are described. First, the importance of statistical realizability is stressed, and the development and successes of the Realizable Markovian Closure are briefly reviewed. Next, submarginal turbulence (linearly stable but nonlinearly self-sustained fluctuations) is considered and the relevance of nonlinear instability in neutral-fluid shear flows to submarginal turbulence in magnetized plasmas is discussed. For the Hasegawa-Wakatani equations, a self-consistency loop that leads to steady-state vortex regeneration in the presence of dissipation is demonstrated and a partial unification of recent work of Drake (for plasmas) and of Waleffe (for neutral fluids) is given. Brief remarks are made on the difficulties facing a quantitatively accurate statistical description of submarginal turbulence. Finally, possible connections between intermittency, submarginal turbulence, and self-organized criticality (SOC) are considered and outstanding questions are identified

Analytical estimation of emission zone mean position and width in organic light-emitting diodes from emission pattern image-source interference fringes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Epstein, Ariel; Tessler, Nir; Einziger, Pinchas D.; Roberts, Matthew

2014-01-01

We present an analytical method for evaluating the first and second moments of the effective exciton spatial distribution in organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) from measured emission patterns. Specifically, the suggested algorithm estimates the emission zone mean position and width, respectively, from two distinct features of the pattern produced by interference between the emission sources and their images (induced by the reflective cathode): the angles in which interference extrema are observed, and the prominence of interference fringes. The relations between these parameters are derived rigorously for a general OLED structure, indicating that extrema angles are related to the mean position of the radiating excitons via Bragg's condition, and the spatial broadening is related to the attenuation of the image-source interference prominence due to an averaging effect. The method is applied successfully both on simulated emission patterns and on experimental data, exhibiting a very good agreement with the results obtained by numerical techniques. We investigate the method performance in detail, showing that it is capable of producing accurate estimations for a wide range of source-cathode separation distances, provided that the measured spectral interval is large enough; guidelines for achieving reliable evaluations are deduced from these results as well. As opposed to numerical fitting tools employed to perform similar tasks to date, our approximate method explicitly utilizes physical intuition and requires far less computational effort (no fitting is involved). Hence, applications that do not require highly resolved estimations, e.g., preliminary design and production-line verification, can benefit substantially from the analytical algorithm, when applicable. This introduces a novel set of efficient tools for OLED engineering, highly important in the view of the crucial role the exciton distribution plays in determining the device performance.

Analytical estimation of emission zone mean position and width in organic light-emitting diodes from emission pattern image-source interference fringes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Epstein, Ariel, E-mail: ariel.epstein@utoronto.ca; Tessler, Nir, E-mail: nir@ee.technion.ac.il; Einziger, Pinchas D. [Department of Electrical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000 (Israel); Roberts, Matthew, E-mail: mroberts@cdtltd.co.uk [Cambridge Display Technology Ltd, Building 2020, Cambourne Business Park, Cambourne, Cambridgeshire CB23 6DW (United Kingdom)

2014-06-14

We present an analytical method for evaluating the first and second moments of the effective exciton spatial distribution in organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) from measured emission patterns. Specifically, the suggested algorithm estimates the emission zone mean position and width, respectively, from two distinct features of the pattern produced by interference between the emission sources and their images (induced by the reflective cathode): the angles in which interference extrema are observed, and the prominence of interference fringes. The relations between these parameters are derived rigorously for a general OLED structure, indicating that extrema angles are related to the mean position of the radiating excitons via Bragg's condition, and the spatial broadening is related to the attenuation of the image-source interference prominence due to an averaging effect. The method is applied successfully both on simulated emission patterns and on experimental data, exhibiting a very good agreement with the results obtained by numerical techniques. We investigate the method performance in detail, showing that it is capable of producing accurate estimations for a wide range of source-cathode separation distances, provided that the measured spectral interval is large enough; guidelines for achieving reliable evaluations are deduced from these results as well. As opposed to numerical fitting tools employed to perform similar tasks to date, our approximate method explicitly utilizes physical intuition and requires far less computational effort (no fitting is involved). Hence, applications that do not require highly resolved estimations, e.g., preliminary design and production-line verification, can benefit substantially from the analytical algorithm, when applicable. This introduces a novel set of efficient tools for OLED engineering, highly important in the view of the crucial role the exciton distribution plays in determining the device performance.

Analytical Method Validation of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Stability-Indicating Study of Medroxyprogesterone Acetate Intravaginal Sponges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nidal Batrawi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Medroxyprogesterone acetate is widely used in veterinary medicine as intravaginal dosage for the synchronization of breeding cycle in ewes and goats. The main goal of this study was to develop reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method for the quantification of medroxyprogesterone acetate in veterinary vaginal sponges. A single high-performance liquid chromatography/UV isocratic run was used for the analytical assay of the active ingredient medroxyprogesterone. The chromatographic system consisted of a reverse-phase C18 column as the stationary phase and a mixture of 60% acetonitrile and 40% potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer as the mobile phase; the pH was adjusted to 5.6. The method was validated according to the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH guidelines. Forced degradation studies were also performed to evaluate the stability-indicating properties and specificity of the method. Medroxyprogesterone was eluted at 5.9 minutes. The linearity of the method was confirmed in the range of 0.0576 to 0.1134 mg/mL ( R 2 > 0.999. The limit of quantification was shown to be 3.9 µg/mL. Precision and accuracy ranges were found to be %RSD <0.2 and 98% to 102%, respectively. Medroxyprogesterone capacity factor value of 2.1, tailing factor value of 1.03, and resolution value of 3.9 were obtained in accordance with ICH guidelines. Based on the obtained results, a rapid, precise, accurate, sensitive, and cost-effective analysis procedure was proposed for quantitative determination of medroxyprogesterone in vaginal sponges. This analytical method is the only available method to analyse medroxyprogesterone in veterinary intravaginal dosage form.

Enrichment of stream water with fecal indicator organisms from bottom sediments during baseflow periods

Science.gov (United States)

Fecal indicator organisms (FIOs) are generally believed to be present in surface waters due solely to direct deposition of feces or through transport in runoff. However, emerging evidence points toward hyporheic exchange between sediment pore water and the overlying water column during baseflow peri...

Rainfall-induced fecal indicator organisms transport from animal waste applied fields: model sensitivity analysis

Science.gov (United States)

The microbial quality of surface waters warrants attention because of associated food- and waterborne-disease outbreaks, and fecal indicator organisms (FIOs) are commonly used to evaluate levels of microbial pollution. Models that predict the fate and transport of FIOs are required for designing and...

Experimental setup and analytical methods for the non-invasive determination of volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde and NOx in exhaled human breath

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riess, Ulrich; Tegtbur, Uwe; Fauck, Christian; Fuhrmann, Frank; Markewitz, Doreen; Salthammer, Tunga

2010-01-01

Different analytical devices were tested and evaluated for their suitability of breath gas analysis by examining the physiological parameters and chemical substances in the exhaled breath of ten healthy probands during light cycling in dependence of methanol-rich nutrition. The probands exercised under normal breathing conditions on a bicycle ergometer. Breath air was exhaled into a glass cylinder and collected under steady-state conditions. Non-invasively measured parameters were pulse rate, breath frequency, temperature, relative humidity, NO x , total volatile organic compounds (TVOC PAS ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), formaldehyde, methanol, acetaldehyde, acetone, isoprene and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Methanol rich food and beverages strongly influenced the concentration of methanol and other organic substances in human breath. On the other hand, nutrition and smoking had no clear effect on the physical conditions of the probands. The proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) method was found to be very suitable for the analysis of breath gas but the m/z 31, if assigned to formaldehyde, is sensitive to interferences. The time vs. concentration curves of nitric oxide showed sudden peaks up to 120 ppb in most of the measurements. In one case a strong interference of the NO x signal was observed. The time resolved analysis of exhaled breath gas is of high capability and significance for different applications if reliable analytical techniques are used. Some compounds like nitric oxide (NO), methanol, different VOCs as well as sum parameters like TVOC PAS are especially suitable as markers. Formaldehyde, which is rapidly metabolized in the human body, could be measured reliably as a trace component by the acetylacetone (acac) method but not by PTR-MS.

Using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP for Prioritizing and Ranking of Ecological Indicators for Monitoring Sustainability of Ecotourism in Northern Forest, Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Godratollah Barzekar

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Ecotourism has been identified as a form of sustainable tourism which is expected to contribute to both conservation and development. Unfortunately, due to inadequate environmental assessment, many ecotourism destinations tend to be both hazardous and self-destructive. Indicators are an important tool to provide a means toward sustainability. Among all different aspects of indicators, ecological indicators are significant for monitoring and evaluating sustainable management of ecotourism. In this study criteria and indicators were identified by using the Delphi approach through an expert panel from different fields. At the end of the process, a consensus of 9 criteria and 61 indicators was reached. For prioritization and ranking the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP and Expert choice software was used. The 9 criteria include identified: 1-Conservation of Natural resources & biodiversity; 2-Maintenance of sceneries ,natural &physical features; 3-Conservation of soil & water resources; 4-Maintenance of heritage & cultural diversity; 5-existence of legal, institution, legislation and policy frameworks for empowering Ecotourism; 6-promoting economic benefits & poverty alleviation; 7-Educational affairs and public awareness 8-Maintenance of hygiene& tourist safety; 9-Tourists & local people satisfaction. The results showed that, out of the 9 criteria, the first three, which we labeled as Ecological criteria and comprised 21 indicators, stood as the top highest priority. We also continued the ranking of indicators with related criterion and then all of the indicators were ranked and prioritized by AHP method and using of expert choice software.

Method for effective usage of Google Analytics tools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ирина Николаевна Егорова

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Modern Google Analytics tools have been investigated against effective attraction channels for users and bottlenecks detection. Conducted investigation allowed to suggest modern method for effective usage of Google Analytics tools. The method is based on main traffic indicators analysis, as well as deep analysis of goals and their consecutive tweaking. Method allows to increase website conversion and might be useful for SEO and Web analytics specialists

Analytical strategy for the determination of various arsenic species in landfill leachate containing high concentrations of chlorine and organic carbon by HPLC-ICPMS

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, J.; An, J.; Kim, J.; Jung, H.; Kim, K.; Yoon, C.; Yoon, H.

2012-12-01

As a variety of wastes containing arsenic are disposed of in landfills, such facilities can play a prominent role in disseminating arsenic sources to the environment. Since it is widely recognized that arsenic toxicity is highly dependent on its species, accurate determination of various arsenic species should be considered as one of the essential goals to properly account for the potential health risk of arsenic in human and the environment. The inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry linked to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-ICPMS) is acknowledged as one of the most important tools for the trace analysis of metallic speciation because of its superior separation capability and detectability. However, the complexity of matrices can cause severe interferences in the analysis results, which is the problem often encountered with HPLC-ICPMS system. High concentration of organic carbon in a sample solution causes carbon build-up on the skimmer and sampling cone, which reduces analytical sensitivity and requires a high maintenance level for its cleaning. In addition, argon from the plasma and chlorine from the sample matrix may combine to form 40Ar35Cl, which has the same nominal mass to charge (m/z) ratio as arsenic. In this respect, analytical strategy for the determination of various arsenic species (e.g., inorganic arsenite and arsenate, monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, dimethyldithioarsinic acid, and arsenobetaine) in landfill leachate containing high concentrations of chlorine and organic carbon was developed in the present study. Solid phase extraction disk (i.e., C18 disk), which does not significantly adsorb any target arsenic species, was used to remove organic carbon in sample solutions. In addition, helium (He) gas was injected into the collision reaction cell equipped in ICPMS to collapse 40Ar35Cl into individual 40Ar and 35Cl. Although He gas also decreased arsenic intensity by blocking 75As, its signal to noise ratio

Healthcare Data Analytics on the Cloud

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Indrajit Bhattacharya

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Meaningful analysis of voluminous health information has always been a challenge in most healthcare organizations. Accurate and timely information required by the management to lead a healthcare organization through the challenges found in the industry can be obtained using business intelligence (BI or business analytics tools. However, these require large capital investments to implement and support the large volumes of data that needs to be analyzed to identify trends. They also require enormous processing power which places pressure on the business resources in addition to the dynamic changes in the digital technology. This paper evaluates the various nuances of business analytics of healthcare hosted on the cloud computing environment. The paper explores BI being offered as Software as a Service (SaaS solution towards offering meaningful use of information for improving functions in healthcare enterprise. It also attempts to identify the challenges that healthcare enterprises face when making use of a BI SaaS solution.

Recent topics in differential and analytic geometry

CERN Document Server

Ochiai, T

1990-01-01

Advanced Studies in Pure Mathematics, Volume 18-I: Recent Topics in Differential and Analytic Geometry presents the developments in the field of analytical and differential geometry. This book provides some generalities about bounded symmetric domains.Organized into two parts encompassing 12 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of harmonic mappings and holomorphic foliations. This text then discusses the global structures of a compact Kähler manifold that is locally decomposable as an isometric product of Ricci-positive, Ricci-negative, and Ricci-flat parts. Other chapters con

Intercalibration of analytical methods on marine environmental samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-06-01

The pollution of the seas by various chemical substances constitutes nowadays one of the principal concerns of mankind. The International Atomic Energy Agency has organized in past years several intercomparison exercises in the framework of its Analytical Quality Control Service. The present intercomparison had a double aim: first, to give laboratories participating in this intercomparison an opportunity for checking their analytical performance. Secondly, to produce on the basis of the results of this intercomparison a reference material made of fish tissue which would be accurately certified with respect to many trace elements. Such a material could be used by analytical chemists to check the validity of new analytical procedures. In total, 53 laboratories from 29 countries reported results (585 laboratory means for 48 elements). 5 refs, 52 tabs

Developing implementation indicators for public policy, case study: Tehran and Qom Agricultural Organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahammad Ali Haghighi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Public policies are problem oriented and solve a public problem. Making decision and policies does not solve problems by itself but they must be executed effectively. As executing policies is a main step of policy making, formulating indicators for implementing policy is necessary. In this article we conducted a content analysis of elites’ opinions to improve implementation of public policies. Therefore, three major factors have been introduced including policy making, environmental policy implementation and organizational structure factors. Sample data were taken from agricultural organizations of Tehran and Qom. For data gathering library research, interview and questionnaire were used. To analyze the data, k-s, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, confirmatory factors analysis and means comparisons were applied using SPSS and LISREL. Results show all of proposed indicators and measures are valid for implementation of public policies and about important of indicators between two participant groups, indicators in Tehran groups is more important.

The social organization of violence toward hostages: does violence in captivity indicate which kidnappers will kill?

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Everard M

2013-04-01

It is questionable whether violence toward a hostage varies according to criminal or radical orientation of their kidnappers who hold them for ransom. This notion is important because it relates to the assumption that how the hostage is treated may indicate whether the victim may survive the ordeal. To investigate, 181 kidnappings cases were cross-tabulated with four previously identified violent tactics (inflicting pain, terror, psychological torture, and reward tactics) and three distinctive type of kidnappers (common criminal, organized criminal, and radical/terrorist groups). The results indicated that criminal groups tended to use a range of violent tactics to coerce a hostage in captivity, while radical groups more often specialized in psychological torture. Regardless of these observations, specific forms of violence, for example inflicting pain, provided a better indication of whether the hostage would be killed by his or her kidnappers. This suggests that the intensity of violence and not the type of group conducting the kidnapping indicates whether the hostage will be killed. The implications to the social organization of kidnapping groups are discussed further.

Big data and analytics strategic and organizational impacts

CERN Document Server

Morabito, Vincenzo

2015-01-01

This book presents and discusses the main strategic and organizational challenges posed by Big Data and analytics in a manner relevant to both practitioners and scholars. The first part of the book analyzes strategic issues relating to the growing relevance of Big Data and analytics for competitive advantage, which is also attributable to empowerment of activities such as consumer profiling, market segmentation, and development of new products or services. Detailed consideration is also given to the strategic impact of Big Data and analytics on innovation in domains such as government and education and to Big Data-driven business models. The second part of the book addresses the impact of Big Data and analytics on management and organizations, focusing on challenges for governance, evaluation, and change management, while the concluding part reviews real examples of Big Data and analytics innovation at the global level. The text is supported by informative illustrations and case studies, so that practitioners...

δ15N, δ13C and radiocarbon in dissolved organic carbon as indicators of environmental change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geyer, S.; Kalbitz, K.

2002-01-01

Decomposition, humification, and stabilization of soil organic matter are closely related to the dynamics of dissolved organic matter. Enhanced peat decomposition results in increasing aromatic structures and polycondensation of dissolved organic molecules. Although recent studies support the concept that DOM can serve as an indicator for processes driven by changing environmental processes in soils affecting the C and N cycle (like decomposition and humification) and also permit insight in former conditions some 1000 years ago, it is unknown whether dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) have an equal response to these processes. (author)

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending November 30, 1977

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyon, W.S.

1978-03-01

Activities for the year are summarized in sections on analytical methodology, mass and mass emission spectrometry, analytical services, bio-organic analysis, nuclear and radiochemical analysis, and quality assurance and safety. Presentations of research results in publications and reports are tabulated

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending November 30, 1977

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyon, W.S. (ed.)

1978-03-01

Activities for the year are summarized in sections on analytical methodology, mass and mass emission spectrometry, analytical services, bio-organic analysis, nuclear and radiochemical analysis, and quality assurance and safety. Presentations of research results in publications and reports are tabulated. (JRD)

Indicators of a Flowless Construction process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Kirsten; Bonke, Sten

2012-01-01

to the questionnaire. Processing of data and information from questionnaires has been carried out using different statistical and analytical methods. Focus has been on the number and graduation of seriousness of defects, on type of tender and organization of the construction process, on the type of client...... construction processes characterized by few or no defects compared to those with many serious defects. The planning of budgetary conditions, time schedules, and an early and continuous defects control proved to have the most significant influence on the final results related to defects in the building......This paper is reviewing an ongoing research project which has two central aims. Firstly, to identify and analyse indicators of central importance to a successful construction process in the perspective of handing-over flawless buildings to clients. Secondly, from this knowledge, to deduce methods...

Evaluation of various approaches for assessing dose indicators and patient organ doses resulting from radiotherapy cone-beam CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rampado, Osvaldo; Giglioli, Francesca Romana; Rossetti, Veronica; Ropolo, Roberto; Fiandra, Christian; Ragona, Riccardo

2016-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate various approaches for assessing patient organ doses resulting from radiotherapy cone-beam CT (CBCT), by the use of thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) measurements in anthropomorphic phantoms, a Monte Carlo based dose calculation software, and different dose indicators as presently defined. Methods: Dose evaluations were performed on a CBCT Elekta XVI (Elekta, Crawley, UK) for different protocols and anatomical regions. The first part of the study focuses on using PCXMC software (PCXMC 2.0, STUK, Helsinki, Finland) for calculating organ doses, adapting the input parameters to simulate the exposure geometry, and beam dose distribution in an appropriate way. The calculated doses were compared to readouts of TLDs placed in an anthropomorphic Rando phantom. After this validation, the software was used for analyzing organ dose variability associated with patients’ differences in size and gender. At the same time, various dose indicators were evaluated: kerma area product (KAP), cumulative air-kerma at the isocenter (K_a_i_r), cone-beam dose index, and central cumulative dose. The latter was evaluated in a single phantom and in a stack of three adjacent computed tomography dose index phantoms. Based on the different dose indicators, a set of coefficients was calculated to estimate organ doses for a range of patient morphologies, using their equivalent diameters. Results: Maximum organ doses were about 1 mGy for head and neck and 25 mGy for chest and pelvis protocols. The differences between PCXMC and TLDs doses were generally below 10% for organs within the field of view and approximately 15% for organs at the boundaries of the radiation beam. When considering patient size and gender variability, differences in organ doses up to 40% were observed especially in the pelvic region; for the organs in the thorax, the maximum differences ranged between 20% and 30%. Phantom dose indexes provided better correlation with organ doses

Social Data Analytics Tool

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hussain, Abid; Vatrapu, Ravi

2014-01-01

This paper presents the design, development and demonstrative case studies of the Social Data Analytics Tool, SODATO. Adopting Action Design Framework [1], the objective of SODATO [2] is to collect, store, analyze, and report big social data emanating from the social media engagement of and social...... media conversations about organizations. We report and discuss results from two demonstrative case studies that were conducted using SODATO and conclude with implications and future work....

Deployment of Analytics into the Healthcare Safety Net: Lessons Learned.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartzband, David; Jacobs, Feygele

2016-01-01

As payment reforms shift healthcare reimbursement toward value-based payment programs, providers need the capability to work with data of greater complexity, scope and scale. This will in many instances necessitate a change in understanding of the value of data, and the types of data needed for analysis to support operations and clinical practice. It will also require the deployment of different infrastructure and analytic tools. Community health centers, which serve more than 25 million people and together form the nation's largest single source of primary care for medically underserved communities and populations, are expanding and will need to optimize their capacity to leverage data as new payer and organizational models emerge. To better understand existing capacity and help organizations plan for the strategic and expanded uses of data, a project was initiated that deployed contemporary, Hadoop-based, analytic technology into several multi-site community health centers (CHCs) and a primary care association (PCA) with an affiliated data warehouse supporting health centers across the state. An initial data quality exercise was carried out after deployment, in which a number of analytic queries were executed using both the existing electronic health record (EHR) applications and in parallel, the analytic stack. Each organization carried out the EHR analysis using the definitions typically applied for routine reporting. The analysis deploying the analytic stack was carried out using those common definitions established for the Uniform Data System (UDS) by the Health Resources and Service Administration. 1 In addition, interviews with health center leadership and staff were completed to understand the context for the findings. The analysis uncovered many challenges and inconsistencies with respect to the definition of core terms (patient, encounter, etc.), data formatting, and missing, incorrect and unavailable data. At a population level, apparent underreporting

Road Transportable Analytical Laboratory (RTAL) system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

The goal of this contractual effort is the development and demonstration of a Road Transportable Analytical Laboratory (RTAL) system to meet the unique needs of the Department of Energy (DOE) for rapid, accurate analysis of a wide variety of hazardous and radioactive contaminants in soil, groundwater, and surface waters. This laboratory system will be designed to provide the field and laboratory analytical equipment necessary to detect and quantify radionuclides, organics, heavy metals and other inorganics, and explosive materials. The planned laboratory system will consist of a set of individual laboratory modules deployable independently or as an interconnected group to meet each DOE site's specific needs

Automatic isotope gas analysis of tritium labelled organic materials Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gacs, I.; Mlinko, S.

1978-01-01

A new automatic procedure developed to convert tritium in HTO hydrogen for subsequent on-line gas counting is described. The water containing tritium is introduced into a column prepared from molecular sieve-5A and heated to 550 deg C. The tritium is transferred by isotopic exchange into hydrogen flowing through the column. The radioactive gas is led into an internal detector for radioactivity measurement. The procedure is free of memory effects, provides quantitative recovery with analytical reproducibility better than 0.5% rel. at a preset number of counts. The experimental and analytical results indicate that isotopic exchange between HTO and hydrogen over a column prepared from alumina or molecular sieve-5A can be successfully applied for the quantitative transfer of tritium from HTO into hydrogen for on-line gas countinq. This provides an analytical procedure for the automatic determination of tritium in water with an analytical reproducibility better than 0.5% rel. The exchange process will also be suitable for rapid tritium transfer from water formed during the decomposition of tritium-labelled organic compounds or biological materials. The application of the procedure in automatic isotope gas analysis of organic materials labelled with tritium will be described in subsequent papers (Parts II and III). (T.G.)

Elucidation of molecular and elementary composition of organic and inorganic substances involved in 19th century wax sculptures using an integrated analytical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Regert, M.; Langlois, J.; Laval, E.; Le Ho, A.-S.; Pages-Camagna, S.

2006-01-01

Wax sculptures contain several materials from both organic and inorganic nature. These works of art are particularly fragile. Determining their chemical composition is thus of prime importance for their preservation. The identification of the recipes of waxy pastes used through time also provides valuable information in the field of art history. The aim of the present research was to develop a convenient analytical strategy, as non-invasive as possible, that allows to identify the wide range of materials involved in wax sculptures. A multi-step analytical methodology, based on the use of complementary techniques, either non- or micro-destructive, was elaborated. X-ray fluorescence and micro-Raman spectroscopy were used in a non-invasive way to identify inorganic pigments, opacifiers and extenders. The combination of structural and separative techniques, namely infrared spectroscopy, direct inlet electron ionisation mass spectrometry and high temperature gas chromatography, was shown to be appropriate for unravelling the precise composition of the organic substances. A micro-chemical test was also performed for the detection of starch. From this study it has been possible to elucidate the composition of the waxy pastes used by three different sculptors at the end of the 19th century. Complex and elaborated recipes, in which a large range of natural substances were combined, were highlighted

Applied research on air pollution using nuclear-related analytical techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

A co-ordinated research programme (CRP) on applied research on air pollution using nuclear-related techniques is a global CRP which will run from 1992-1996, and will build upon the experience gained by the Agency from the laboratory support that it has been providing for several years to BAPMoN - the Background Air Pollution Monitoring Network programme organized under the auspices of the World Meterological Organization. The purpose of this CRP is to promote the use of nuclear analytical techniques in air pollution studies, e.g. NAA, XFR, and PIXE for the analysis of toxic and other trace elements in suspended particulate matter (including air filter samples), rainwater and fog-water samples, and in biological indicators of air pollution (e.g. lichens and mosses). The main purposes of the core programme are i) to support the use of nuclear and nuclear-related analytical techniques for practically-oriented research and monitoring studies on air pollution ii) to identify major sources of air pollution affecting each of the participating countries with particular reference to toxic heavy metals, and iii) to obtain comparative data on pollution levels in areas of high pollution (e.g. a city centre or a populated area downwind of a large pollution source) and low pollution (e.g. rural areas). This document reports the discussions held during the first Research Co-ordination Meeting (RCM) for the CRP which took place at the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna. Refs, figs and tabs

Hanford Site background: Part 1, Soil background for nonradioactive analytes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-04-01

The determination of soil background is one of the most important activities supporting environmental restoration and waste management on the Hanford Site. Background compositions serve as the basis for identifying soil contamination, and also as a baseline in risk assessment processes used to determine soil cleanup and treatment levels. These uses of soil background require an understanding of the extent to which analytes of concern occur naturally in the soils. This report documents the results of sampling and analysis activities designed to characterize the composition of soil background at the Hanford Site, and to evaluate the feasibility for use as Sitewide background. The compositions of naturally occurring soils in the vadose Zone have been-determined for-nonradioactive inorganic and organic analytes and related physical properties. These results confirm that a Sitewide approach to the characterization of soil background is technically sound and is a viable alternative to the determination and use of numerous local or area backgrounds that yield inconsistent definitions of contamination. Sitewide soil background consists of several types of data and is appropriate for use in identifying contamination in all soils in the vadose zone on the Hanford Site. The natural concentrations of nearly every inorganic analyte extend to levels that exceed calculated health-based cleanup limits. The levels of most inorganic analytes, however, are well below these health-based limits. The highest measured background concentrations occur in three volumetrically minor soil types, the most important of which are topsoils adjacent to the Columbia River that are rich in organic carbon. No organic analyte levels above detection were found in any of the soil samples

Analytic study of organic matters in Lodeve uranium ore

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campuzano, E.J.

1981-01-01

Exploitation of uranium in the Permian basin of Lodeve is difficult because of simultaneous extraction of organic matters which are found, in small proportion, in ammonium diuranate and a supplementary purification is required. Available information on natural organic matters are briefly reviewed. Natural organic matters contained in the Lodeve uranium ore processing fluid is separated and fractionated. Physicochemical properties of ligands in each fraction are studied. The existence of bonds between these ligands and dissolved uranium is experimentally demonstrated [fr

Secondary waste minimization in analytical methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, D.W.; Smith, L.L.; Crain, J.S.; Boparai, A.S.; Kiely, J.T.; Yaeger, J.S.; Schilling, J.B.

1995-01-01

The characterization phase of site remediation is an important and costly part of the process. Because toxic solvents and other hazardous materials are used in common analytical methods, characterization is also a source of new waste, including mixed waste. Alternative analytical methods can reduce the volume or form of hazardous waste produced either in the sample preparation step or in the measurement step. The authors are examining alternative methods in the areas of inorganic, radiological, and organic analysis. For determining inorganic constituents, alternative methods were studied for sample introduction into inductively coupled plasma spectrometers. Figures of merit for the alternative methods, as well as their associated waste volumes, were compared with the conventional approaches. In the radiological area, the authors are comparing conventional methods for gross α/β measurements of soil samples to an alternative method that uses high-pressure microwave dissolution. For determination of organic constituents, microwave-assisted extraction was studied for RCRA regulated semivolatile organics in a variety of solid matrices, including spiked samples in blank soil; polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in soils, sludges, and sediments; and semivolatile organics in soil. Extraction efficiencies were determined under varying conditions of time, temperature, microwave power, moisture content, and extraction solvent. Solvent usage was cut from the 300 mL used in conventional extraction methods to about 30 mL. Extraction results varied from one matrix to another. In most cases, the microwave-assisted extraction technique was as efficient as the more common Soxhlet or sonication extraction techniques

Analytical quality control in environmental analysis - Recent results and future trends of the IAEA's analytical quality control programme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suschny, O; Heinonen, J

1973-12-01

The significance of analytical results depends critically on the degree of their reliability, an assessment of this reliability is indispensable if the results are to have any meaning at all. Environmental radionuclide analysis is a relatively new analytical field in which new methods are continuously being developed and into which many new laboratories have entered during the last ten to fifteen years. The scarcity of routine methods and the lack of experience of the new laboratories have made the need for the assessment of the reliability of results particularly urgent in this field. The IAEA, since 1962, has provided assistance to its member states by making available to their laboratories analytical quality control services in the form of standard samples, reference materials and the organization of analytical intercomparisons. The scope of this programme has increased over the years and now includes, in addition to environmental radionuclides, non-radioactive environmental contaminants which may be analysed by nuclear methods, materials for forensic neutron activation analysis, bioassay materials and nuclear fuel. The results obtained in recent intercomparisons demonstrate the continued need for these services. (author)

Analytical methods under emergency conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sedlet, J.

1983-01-01

This lecture discusses methods for the radiochemical determination of internal contamination of the body under emergency conditions, here defined as a situation in which results on internal radioactive contamination are needed quickly. The purpose of speed is to determine the necessity for medical treatment to increase the natural elimination rate. Analytical methods discussed include whole-body counting, organ counting, wound monitoring, and excreta analysis. 12 references

Defining a roadmap for harmonizing quality indicators in Laboratory Medicine: a consensus statement on behalf of the IFCC Working Group "Laboratory Error and Patient Safety" and EFLM Task and Finish Group "Performance specifications for the extra-analytical phases".

Science.gov (United States)

Sciacovelli, Laura; Panteghini, Mauro; Lippi, Giuseppe; Sumarac, Zorica; Cadamuro, Janne; Galoro, César Alex De Olivera; Pino Castro, Isabel Garcia Del; Shcolnik, Wilson; Plebani, Mario

2017-08-28

The improving quality of laboratory testing requires a deep understanding of the many vulnerable steps involved in the total examination process (TEP), along with the identification of a hierarchy of risks and challenges that need to be addressed. From this perspective, the Working Group "Laboratory Errors and Patient Safety" (WG-LEPS) of International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) is focusing its activity on implementation of an efficient tool for obtaining meaningful information on the risk of errors developing throughout the TEP, and for establishing reliable information about error frequencies and their distribution. More recently, the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) has created the Task and Finish Group "Performance specifications for the extra-analytical phases" (TFG-PSEP) for defining performance specifications for extra-analytical phases. Both the IFCC and EFLM groups are working to provide laboratories with a system to evaluate their performances and recognize the critical aspects where improvement actions are needed. A Consensus Conference was organized in Padova, Italy, in 2016 in order to bring together all the experts and interested parties to achieve a consensus for effective harmonization of quality indicators (QIs). A general agreement was achieved and the main outcomes have been the release of a new version of model of quality indicators (MQI), the approval of a criterion for establishing performance specifications and the definition of the type of information that should be provided within the report to the clinical laboratories participating to the QIs project.

Advances in organic-inorganic hybrid sorbents for the extraction of organic and inorganic pollutants in different types of food and environmental samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Nyuk-Ting; Kamaruddin, Amirah Farhan; Wan Ibrahim, Wan Aini; Sanagi, Mohd Marsin; Abdul Keyon, Aemi S

2018-01-01

The efficiency of the extraction and removal of pollutants from food and the environment has been an important issue in analytical science. By incorporating inorganic species into an organic matrix, a new material known as an organic-inorganic hybrid material is formed. As it possesses high selectivity, permeability, and mechanical and chemical stabilities, organic-inorganic hybrid materials constitute an emerging research field and have become popular to serve as sorbents in various separaton science methods. Here, we review recent significant advances in analytical solid-phase extraction employing organic-inorganic composite/nanocomposite sorbents for the extraction of organic and inorganic pollutants from various types of food and environmental matrices. The physicochemical characteristics, extraction properties, and analytical performances of sorbents are discussed; including morphology and surface characteristics, types of functional groups, interaction mechanism, selectivity and sensitivity, accuracy, and regeneration abilities. Organic-inorganic hybrid sorbents combined with extraction techniques are highly promising for sample preparation of various food and environmental matrixes with analytes at trace levels. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

service line analytics in the new era.

Science.gov (United States)

Spence, Jay; Seargeant, Dan

2015-08-01

To succeed under the value-based business model, hospitals and health systems require effective service line analytics that combine inpatient and outpatient data and that incorporate quality metrics for evaluating clinical operations. When developing a framework for collection, analysis, and dissemination of service line data, healthcare organizations should focus on five key aspects of effective service line analytics: Updated service line definitions. Ability to analyze and trend service line net patient revenues by payment source. Access to accurate service line cost information across multiple dimensions with drill-through capabilities. Ability to redesign key reports based on changing requirements. Clear assignment of accountability.

Achieving Cost Reduction Through Data Analytics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rocchio, Betty Jo

2016-10-01

The reimbursement structure of the US health care system is shifting from a volume-based system to a value-based system. Adopting a comprehensive data analytics platform has become important to health care facilities, in part to navigate this shift. Hospitals generate plenty of data, but actionable analytics are necessary to help personnel interpret and apply data to improve practice. Perioperative services is an important revenue-generating department for hospitals, and each perioperative service line requires a tailored approach to be successful in managing outcomes and controlling costs. Perioperative leaders need to prepare to use data analytics to reduce variation in supplies, labor, and overhead. Mercy, based in Chesterfield, Missouri, adopted a perioperative dashboard that helped perioperative leaders collaborate with surgeons and perioperative staff members to organize and analyze health care data, which ultimately resulted in significant cost savings. Copyright © 2016 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The role played by Gerhard Adler in the development of analytical psychology internationally and in the UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Casement, Ann

2014-02-01

The Jungian analyst Gerhard Adler left Berlin and re-settled in London in 1936. He was closely involved with the professionalization of analytical psychology internationally and in the UK, including the formation of the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP) and The Society of Analytical Psychology (SAP).The tensions that arose within the latter organization led to a split that ended in the formation of the Association of Jungian Analysts (AJA). A further split at AJA resulted in the creation of another organization, the Independent Group of Analytical Psychologists (IGAP). Adler's extensive publications include his role as an editor of Jung's Collected Works and as editor of the C.G. Jung Letters. © 2014, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

Analytic network process (ANP approach for product mix planning in railway industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hadi Pazoki Toroudi

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Given the competitive environment in the global market in recent years, organizations need to plan for increased profitability and optimize their performance. Planning for an appropriate product mix plays essential role for the success of most production units. This paper applies analytical network process (ANP approach for product mix planning for a part supplier in Iran. The proposed method uses four criteria including cost of production, sales figures, supply of raw materials and quality of products. In addition, the study proposes different set of products as alternatives for production planning. The preliminary results have indicated that that the proposed study of this paper could increase productivity, significantly.

A shipboard comparison of analytic methods for ballast water compliance monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Bradie, Johanna; Broeg, Katja; Gianoli, Claudio; He, Jianjun; Heitmüller, Susanne; Curto, Alberto Lo; Nakata, Akiko; Rolke, Manfred; Schillak, Lothar; Stehouwer, Peter; Vanden Byllaardt, Julie; Veldhuis, Marcel; Welschmeyer, Nick; Younan, Lawrence; Zaake, André; Bailey, Sarah

2018-03-01

Promising approaches for indicative analysis of ballast water samples have been developed that require study in the field to examine their utility for determining compliance with the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments. To address this gap, a voyage was undertaken on board the RV Meteor, sailing the North Atlantic Ocean from Mindelo (Cape Verde) to Hamburg (Germany) during June 4-15, 2015. Trials were conducted on local sea water taken up by the ship's ballast system at multiple locations along the trip, including open ocean, North Sea, and coastal water, to evaluate a number of analytic methods that measure the numeric concentration or biomass of viable organisms according to two size categories (≥ 50 μm in minimum dimension: 7 techniques, ≥ 10 μm and scientific approaches (e.g. flow cytometry). Several promising indicative methods were identified that showed high correlation with microscopy, but allow much quicker processing and require less expert knowledge. This study is the first to concurrently use a large number of analytic tools to examine a variety of ballast water samples on board an operational ship in the field. Results are useful to identify the merits of each method and can serve as a basis for further improvement and development of tools and methodologies for ballast water compliance monitoring.

Evaluation of information indices as indicators of environmental stress in terrestrial soils

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tobor-Kaplon, M.A.; Holtkamp, R.; Scharler, U.M.; Doroszuk, A.; Kuenen, F.J.A.; Bloem, J.; Ruiter, de P.C.

2007-01-01

Information indices from Ecosystem Network Analysis (ENA) can be used to quantify the development of an ecosystem in terms of its size and organization. There are two types of indices, i.e. absolute indices that describe both the size and organization of ecosystem (Total System Throughput

Big Data – Big Deal for Organization Design?

OpenAIRE

Janne J. Korhonen

2014-01-01

Analytics is an increasingly important source of competitive advantage. It has even been posited that big data will be the next strategic emphasis of organizations and that analytics capability will be manifested in organizational structure. In this article, I explore how analytics capability might be reflected in organizational structure using the notion of  “requisite organization” developed by Jaques (1998). Requisite organization argues that a new strategic emphasis requires the addition ...

Analytical framework and tool kit for SEA follow-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsson, Mans; Wiklund, Hans; Finnveden, Goeran; Jonsson, Daniel K.; Lundberg, Kristina; Tyskeng, Sara; Wallgren, Oskar

2009-01-01

Most Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) research and applications have so far neglected the ex post stages of the process, also called SEA follow-up. Tool kits and methodological frameworks for engaging effectively with SEA follow-up have been conspicuously missing. In particular, little has so far been learned from the much more mature evaluation literature although many aspects are similar. This paper provides an analytical framework and tool kit for SEA follow-up. It is based on insights and tools developed within programme evaluation and environmental systems analysis. It is also grounded in empirical studies into real planning and programming practices at the regional level, but should have relevance for SEA processes at all levels. The purpose of the framework is to promote a learning-oriented and integrated use of SEA follow-up in strategic decision making. It helps to identify appropriate tools and their use in the process, and to systematise the use of available data and knowledge across the planning organization and process. It distinguishes three stages in follow-up: scoping, analysis and learning, identifies the key functions and demonstrates the informational linkages to the strategic decision-making process. The associated tool kit includes specific analytical and deliberative tools. Many of these are applicable also ex ante, but are then used in a predictive mode rather than on the basis of real data. The analytical element of the framework is organized on the basis of programme theory and 'DPSIR' tools. The paper discusses three issues in the application of the framework: understanding the integration of organizations and knowledge; understanding planners' questions and analytical requirements; and understanding interests, incentives and reluctance to evaluate

Labelling indices after 3H-thymidine incorporation during organ culture of duodenal mucosa in coeliac disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fluge, G.; Aksnes, L.

1980-01-01

Incorporation of 3 H-thymidine during organ culture of duodenal biopsy specimens from 34 coeliac and 10 non-coeliac patients was studied by autoradiography. High labelling indices were found in flat, coeliac mucosas. Gluten fractions, which provoked histological deterioration during culture, induced labelling of a greater proportion of crypt cells and higher migration rate than parallelly cultured specimens on gluten-free medium. No influence on clypt cell kinetics could be observed after culture with gluten fractions incapable of producing histological damage or with alpha-lactalbumin. In coeliac remission mucosas, labelling indices were at the same level as in non-coeliac biopsis, and no significant effects of gluten were observed. Autoradiography seems to be a fairly sensitive and reliable determinant of gluten toxicity by organ culture in coeliac desease and should supplement the histological appraisal of the biopsies. The increment of labelling indices provoked by gluten exposure seemed not merely to be a concequence of increased desquamation of cells from the biopsy surface but could imply a direct influence of gluten on crypt cell kinetics in coeliac disease. (Auth.)

Analytical chemistry of nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1966-01-01

The second panel on the Analytical Chemistry of Nuclear Materials was organized for two purposes: first, to advise the Seibersdorf Laboratory of the Agency on its future programme, and second, to review the results of the Second International Comparison of routine analysis of trace impurities in uranium and also the action taken as a result of the recommendations of the first panel in 1962. Refs, figs and tabs

Big data analytics as-a-service: Issues and challenges

OpenAIRE

Damiani, Ernesto; Ardagna, Claudio Agostino; Ceravolo, Paolo

2017-01-01

Big Data domain is one of the most promising ICT sectors with substantial expectations both on the side of market growing and design shift in the area of data storage managment and analytics. However, today, the level of complexity achieved and the lack of standardisation of Big Data management architectures represent a huge barrier towards the adoption and execution of analytics especially for those organizations and SMEs not including a sufficient amount of competences and knowledge. The fu...

On Military Innovation: Toward an Analytical Framework

OpenAIRE

Ross, Andrew L

2010-01-01

What is military innovation? How should we think about Chinese military innovation? By developing an analytical framework that captures both the components of military innovation (technology, doctrine, and organization) and the continuum of change, we can better assess the nature, extent, and importance of contemporary Chinese military innovation.

Process and results of analytical framework and typology development for POINT

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gudmundsson, Henrik; Lehtonen, Markku; Bauler, Tom

2009-01-01

POINT is a project about how indicators are used in practice; to what extent and in what way indicators actually influence, support, or hinder policy and decision making processes, and what could be done to enhance the positive role of indicators in such processes. The project needs an analytical......, a set of core concepts and associated typologies, a series of analytic schemes proposed, and a number of research propositions and questions for the subsequent empirical work in POINT....

New analytical technique for establishing the quality of Soil Organic Matter affected by a wildfire. A first approach using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez-Morillo, Nicasio T.; González-Pérez, José A.; Waggoner, Derek C.; Almendros, Gonzalo; González-Vila, Francisco J.; Hatcher, Patrick G.

2016-04-01

Introduction: Fire is one of the most important modulator factors of the environment and the forest. It is able to induce chemical and biological shifts and these, in turn, can alter the physical properties of soil. Generally, fire affects the most reactive fraction, soil organic matter (SOM) (González-Pérez et al., 2004) resulting in changes to several soil properties and functions. To study changes in SOM following a wildfire, researchers can count on several traditional as well as new analytical techniques. One of the most recently employed techniques is Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). This new powerful ultra-high resolution mass spectral technique, together with graphic interpretation tools such as van Krevelen diagrams (Kim et al, 2003), may be used to shed light on alterations caused by the burning of SOM. The objective of this research is to study fire impacts on SOM, using a sandy soil collected under a Cork oak (Quercus suber) in Doñana National Park, Southwest Spain. that was affected by a wildfire in August 2012. Methods: The impact of fire on SOM was studied in various different sieve fractions (coarse, 1-2 mm, and fine, tannins, lignin, lipids, protein and carbohydrate derived. The unburnt SOM in the coarse fraction was mainly composed of compounds with a high intensity in the tannin-like, lignin-like and carbohydrate-like regions of the van Krevelen diagram, whereas the SOM in the fine fraction showed a high intensity in the lipid-like and protein-like regions. These results suggest that the SOM in the coarse fraction was less altered than that of the fine fraction; the latter believed to be subjected to higher microbial activity. We suggest that the observed changes occurs via a methylation process, producing a SOM that is highly humified (Jiménez-Morillo et al., 2014). The SOM in the coarse fraction affected by fire, showed a high relative intensity of chemical compounds in the carbohydrate-like and

People Analytics in the Age of Big Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gal, Uri; Jensen, Tina Blegind; Stein, Mari-Klara

2017-01-01

Over the last decade, a growing number of organizations have started to apply various data-driven computational techniques and algorithmic technologies to manage their workforce. The fundamental objective of these technologies, known as People Analytics, is to enable more effective, objective...

Analysis of dissolved organic carbon concentration and 13C isotopic signature by TOC-IRMS - assessment of analytical performance

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkels, Frédérique; Cerli, Chiara; Federherr, Eugen; Kalbitz, Karsten

2013-04-01

Stable carbon isotopes provide a powerful tool to assess carbon pools and their dynamics. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) has been recognized to play an important role in ecosystem functioning and carbon cycling and has therefore gained increased research interest. However, direct measurement of 13C isotopic signature of carbon in the dissolved phase is technically challenging particularly using high temperature combustion. Until recently, mainly custom-made systems existed which were modified for coupling of TOC instruments with IRMS for simultaneous assessment of C content and isotopic signature. The variety of coupled systems showed differences in their analytical performances. For analysis of DOC high temperature combustion is recognized as best performing method, owing to its high efficiency of conversion to CO2 also for highly refractory components (e.g. humic, fulvic acids) present in DOC and soil extracts. Therefore, we tested high temperature combustion TOC coupled to IRMS (developed by Elementar Group) for bulk measurements of DOC concentration and 13C signature. The instruments are coupled via an Interface to exchange the carrier gas from O2 to He and to concentrate the derived CO2 for the isotope measurement. Analytical performance of the system was assessed for a variety of organic compounds characterized by different stability and complexity, including humic acid and DOM. We tested injection volumes between 0.2-3 ml, thereby enabling measurement of broad concentration ranges. With an injection volume of 0.5 ml (n=3, preceded by 1 discarded injection), DOC and 13C signatures for concentrations between 5-150 mg C/L were analyzed with high precision (standard deviation (SD) predominantly TOC-IRMS in comparison with other systems capable of determining C concentration and isotopic signatures. We recognize the advantages of this system providing: - High sample throughput, short measurement time (15 minutes), flexible sample volume - Easy maintenance

Experimental setup and analytical methods for the non-invasive determination of volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde and NO{sub x} in exhaled human breath

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Riess, Ulrich; Tegtbur, Uwe [Hannover Medical School, Sports Physiology and Sports Medicine, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover (Germany); Fauck, Christian; Fuhrmann, Frank; Markewitz, Doreen [Fraunhofer WKI, Department of Material Analysis and Indoor Chemistry, Bienroder Weg 54 E, 38108 Braunschweig (Germany); Salthammer, Tunga, E-mail: tunga.salthammer@wki.fraunhofer.de [Fraunhofer WKI, Department of Material Analysis and Indoor Chemistry, Bienroder Weg 54 E, 38108 Braunschweig (Germany)

2010-06-11

Different analytical devices were tested and evaluated for their suitability of breath gas analysis by examining the physiological parameters and chemical substances in the exhaled breath of ten healthy probands during light cycling in dependence of methanol-rich nutrition. The probands exercised under normal breathing conditions on a bicycle ergometer. Breath air was exhaled into a glass cylinder and collected under steady-state conditions. Non-invasively measured parameters were pulse rate, breath frequency, temperature, relative humidity, NO{sub x}, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC{sub PAS}), carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), formaldehyde, methanol, acetaldehyde, acetone, isoprene and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Methanol rich food and beverages strongly influenced the concentration of methanol and other organic substances in human breath. On the other hand, nutrition and smoking had no clear effect on the physical conditions of the probands. The proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) method was found to be very suitable for the analysis of breath gas but the m/z 31, if assigned to formaldehyde, is sensitive to interferences. The time vs. concentration curves of nitric oxide showed sudden peaks up to 120 ppb in most of the measurements. In one case a strong interference of the NO{sub x} signal was observed. The time resolved analysis of exhaled breath gas is of high capability and significance for different applications if reliable analytical techniques are used. Some compounds like nitric oxide (NO), methanol, different VOCs as well as sum parameters like TVOC{sub PAS} are especially suitable as markers. Formaldehyde, which is rapidly metabolized in the human body, could be measured reliably as a trace component by the acetylacetone (acac) method but not by PTR-MS.

Analytical strategies for organic food packaging contaminants.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchis, Yovana; Yusà, Vicent; Coscollà, Clara

2017-03-24

In this review, we present current approaches in the analysis of food-packaging contaminants. Gas and liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry detection have been widely used in the analysis of some relevant families of these compounds such as primary aromatic amines, bisphenol A, bisphenol A diglycidyl ether and related compounds, UV-ink photoinitiators, perfluorinated compounds, phthalates and non-intentionally added substances. Main applications for sample treatment and different types of food-contact material migration studies have been also discussed. Pressurized Liquid Extraction, Solid-Phase Microextraction, Focused Ultrasound Solid-Liquid Extraction and Quechers have been mainly used in the extraction of food contact material (FCM) contaminants, due to the trend of minimising solvent consumption, automatization of sample preparation and integration of extraction and clean-up steps. Recent advances in analytical methodologies have allowed unequivocal identification and confirmation of these contaminants using Liquid Chromatography coupled to High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS) through mass accuracy and isotopic pattern applying. LC-HRMS has been used in the target analysis of primary aromatic amines in different plastic materials, but few studies have been carried out applying this technique in post-target and non-target analysis of FCM contaminants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

MS-based analytical methodologies to characterize genetically modified crops.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Cañas, Virginia; Simó, Carolina; León, Carlos; Ibáñez, Elena; Cifuentes, Alejandro

2011-01-01

The development of genetically modified crops has had a great impact on the agriculture and food industries. However, the development of any genetically modified organism (GMO) requires the application of analytical procedures to confirm the equivalence of the GMO compared to its isogenic non-transgenic counterpart. Moreover, the use of GMOs in foods and agriculture faces numerous criticisms from consumers and ecological organizations that have led some countries to regulate their production, growth, and commercialization. These regulations have brought about the need of new and more powerful analytical methods to face the complexity of this topic. In this regard, MS-based technologies are increasingly used for GMOs analysis to provide very useful information on GMO composition (e.g., metabolites, proteins). This review focuses on the MS-based analytical methodologies used to characterize genetically modified crops (also called transgenic crops). First, an overview on genetically modified crops development is provided, together with the main difficulties of their analysis. Next, the different MS-based analytical approaches applied to characterize GM crops are critically discussed, and include "-omics" approaches and target-based approaches. These methodologies allow the study of intended and unintended effects that result from the genetic transformation. This information is considered to be essential to corroborate (or not) the equivalence of the GM crop with its isogenic non-transgenic counterpart. Copyright © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pentaho Business Analytics: a Business Intelligence Open Source Alternative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana TÂRNĂVEANU

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Most organizations strive to obtain fast, interactive and insightful analytics in order to fundament the most effective and profitable decisions. They need to incorporate huge amounts of data in order to run analysis based on queries and reports with collaborative capabilities. The large variety of Business Intelligence solutions on the market makes it very difficult for organizations to select one and evaluate the impact of the selected solution to the organization. The need of a strategy to help organization chose the best solution for investment emerges. In the past, Business Intelligence (BI market was dominated by closed source and commercial tools, but in the last years open source solutions developed everywhere. An Open Source Business Intelligence solution can be an option due to time-sensitive, sprawling requirements and tightening budgets. This paper presents a practical solution implemented in a suite of Open Source Business Intelligence products called Pentaho Business Analytics, which provides data integration, OLAP services, reporting, dashboarding, data mining and ETL capabilities. The study conducted in this paper suggests that the open source phenomenon could become a valid alternative to commercial platforms within the BI context.

An Analytical Hierarchy Process Model for the Evaluation of College Experimental Teaching Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Qingli

2013-01-01

Taking into account the characteristics of college experimental teaching, through investigaton and analysis, evaluation indices and an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) model of experimental teaching quality have been established following the analytical hierarchy process method, and the evaluation indices have been given reasonable weights. An…

Review of Urban Sustainability Indicators Assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michael, Florianna Lendai; Noor, Zainura Zainon; Figueroa, Maria Josefina

2015-01-01

This paper examines and compares the processes, methodologies and resulting sets of indicators for urban sustainability carried out in three of Asia's developing countries; Malaysia, Taiwan and China. The paper analytically discusses the challenges of developing urban sustainability indicators...... among the developing countries. The comparison reveals the urban indicators development's processes, contents and outcomes and whether the resulting set of urban indicators is operational and has changed the way things were....

A review of analytics and clinical informatics in health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Simpao, Allan F; Ahumada, Luis M; Gálvez, Jorge A; Rehman, Mohamed A

2014-04-01

Federal investment in health information technology has incentivized the adoption of electronic health record systems by physicians and health care organizations; the result has been a massive rise in the collection of patient data in electronic form (i.e. "Big Data"). Health care systems have leveraged Big Data for quality and performance improvements using analytics-the systematic use of data combined with quantitative as well as qualitative analysis to make decisions. Analytics have been utilized in various aspects of health care including predictive risk assessment, clinical decision support, home health monitoring, finance, and resource allocation. Visual analytics is one example of an analytics technique with an array of health care and research applications that are well described in the literature. The proliferation of Big Data and analytics in health care has spawned a growing demand for clinical informatics professionals who can bridge the gap between the medical and information sciences.

People analytics in the era of big data changing the way you attract, acquire, develop, and retain talent

CERN Document Server

Isson, Jean Paul

2016-01-01

Apply predictive analytics throughout all stages of workforce management People Analytics in the Era of Big Data provides a blueprint for leveraging your talent pool through the use of data analytics. Written by the Global Vice President of Business Intelligence and Predictive Analytics at Monster Worldwide, this book is packed full of actionable insights to help you source, recruit, acquire, engage, retain, promote, and manage the exceptional talent your organization needs. With a unique approach that applies analytics to every stage of the hiring process and the entire workforce planning and management cycle, this informative guide provides the key perspective that brings analytics into HR in a truly useful way. You're already inundated with disparate employee data, so why not mine that data for insights that add value to your organization and strengthen your workforce? This book presents a practical framework for real-world talent analytics, backed by groundbreaking examples of workforce analytics in a...

Application of the exergy index as ecological indicator of organically enrichment areas in the Mar Menor lagoon (south-eastern Spain)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salas, F.; Marques, J.C. [University of Coimbra (Portugal). Dept. of Zoology; Marcos, C.; Perez-Ruzafa, A. [University of Murcia (Spain). Dept. of Ecology and and Hidrology

2005-10-01

The increase of stress induced changes in marine environments caused by different types of marine pollution made necessary the search for indicators that assist in assessing pollution effects at the community level. The main goals, with a view to an effective management, are the early detection and evaluation of environmental responses to pollution and to avoid or mitigate negative impacts that different uses may generate. Exergy has been considered as a promising indicator of ecosystem integrity, acquiring a considerable interest in the context of systems ecology. In this research we have tested the capability of exergy (both the exergy index and specific exergy) alongside other diversity indices (Shannon and Margalef indices) of distinguishing organically enriched areas in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon (El Mar Menor). Results show that the exergy index and specific exergy were able to give useful information on community structure, although they were not capable of distinguishing high and poor organically enriched areas or affected by any other type of pollution. Diversity indices were more sensitive to organic pollution. We may say that the exergy and specific exergy are still not applicable as the only ecological indicators in a generalized way in the field of environmental management. Therefore, they still require further application in a wider range of geographical areas and in different conditions in order to study more widely the properties of exergy as an ecological indicator. (author)

The Policy Use of Environmental Indicators - Learning from Evaluation Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gudmundsson, H.

2003-01-01

indicators and monitoring systems are increasingly used, but what does the use of indicators mean for policymaking? The article exploits indicator theory and the evaluation research literature to develop an analytical framework so as to study the policy uses of indicators. The paper then provides...... system and partly to the lack of accountability mechanisms. The article concludes that the analytical framework and the concepts derived from evaluation research are useful starting points, but that further research should extend the analysis to other policy contexts (national or local) and broaden...

Aquatic concentrations of chemical analytes compared to ecotoxicity estimates

Science.gov (United States)

Kostich, Mitchell S.; Flick, Robert W.; Angela L. Batt,; Mash, Heath E.; Boone, J. Scott; Furlong, Edward T.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Glassmeyer, Susan T.

2017-01-01

We describe screening level estimates of potential aquatic toxicity posed by 227 chemical analytes that were measured in 25 ambient water samples collected as part of a joint USGS/USEPA drinking water plant study. Measured concentrations were compared to biological effect concentration (EC) estimates, including USEPA aquatic life criteria, effective plasma concentrations of pharmaceuticals, published toxicity data summarized in the USEPA ECOTOX database, and chemical structure-based predictions. Potential dietary exposures were estimated using a generic 3-tiered food web accumulation scenario. For many analytes, few or no measured effect data were found, and for some analytes, reporting limits exceeded EC estimates, limiting the scope of conclusions. Results suggest occasional occurrence above ECs for copper, aluminum, strontium, lead, uranium, and nitrate. Sparse effect data for manganese, antimony, and vanadium suggest that these analytes may occur above ECs, but additional effect data would be desirable to corroborate EC estimates. These conclusions were not affected by bioaccumulation estimates. No organic analyte concentrations were found to exceed EC estimates, but ten analytes had concentrations in excess of 1/10th of their respective EC: triclocarban, norverapamil, progesterone, atrazine, metolachlor, triclosan, para-nonylphenol, ibuprofen, venlafaxine, and amitriptyline, suggesting more detailed characterization of these analytes.

Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (ACL) procedure compendium. Volume 4, Organic methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-08-01

This interim notice covers the following: extractable organic halides in solids, total organic halides, analysis by gas chromatography/Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, hexadecane extracts for volatile organic compounds, GC/MS analysis of VOCs, GC/MS analysis of methanol extracts of cryogenic vapor samples, screening of semivolatile organic extracts, GPC cleanup for semivolatiles, sample preparation for GC/MS for semi-VOCs, analysis for pesticides/PCBs by GC with electron capture detection, sample preparation for pesticides/PCBs in water and soil sediment, report preparation, Florisil column cleanup for pesticide/PCBs, silica gel and acid-base partition cleanup of samples for semi-VOCs, concentrate acid wash cleanup, carbon determination in solids using Coulometrics` CO{sub 2} coulometer, determination of total carbon/total organic carbon/total inorganic carbon in radioactive liquids/soils/sludges by hot persulfate method, analysis of solids for carbonates using Coulometrics` Model 5011 coulometer, and soxhlet extraction.

Metrology and analytical chemistry: Bridging the cultural gap

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, Bernard

2002-01-01

Metrology in general and issues such as traceability and measurement uncertainty in particular are new to most analytical chemists and many remain to be convinced of their value. There is a danger of the cultural gap between metrologists and analytical chemists widening with unhelpful consequences and it is important that greater collaboration and cross-fertilisation is encouraged. This paper discusses some of the similarities and differences in the approaches adopted by metrologists and analytical chemists and indicates how these approaches can be combined to establish a unique metrology of chemical measurement which could be accepted by both cultures. (author)

Web Analytics 2.0 The Art of Online Accountability and Science of Customer Centricity

CERN Document Server

Kaushik, Avinash

2009-01-01

Adeptly address today's business challenges with this powerful new book from web analytics thought leader Avinash Kaushik. Web Analytics 2.0 presents a new framework that will permanently change how you think about analytics. It provides specific recommendations for creating an actionable strategy, applying analytical techniques correctly, solving challenges such as measuring social media and multichannel campaigns, achieving optimal success by leveraging experimentation, and employing tactics for truly listening to your customers. The book will help your organization become more data driven w

Implementation guide for Hanford Analytical Services Quality Assurance Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-09-01

This implementation guide for the Hanford Analytical Services Quality Assurance Plan (HASQAP) was developed by the US Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL) Waste Management Division, Analytical Services Branch. This plan formally presents RL's direction for Hanford Sitewide implementation of the HASQAP. The HASQAP establishes a uniform standard for quality requirements to meet US Department of Energy Order 5700.6C, Quality Assurance (10 CFR 830.120, ''Quality Assurance Requirements''), and is intended to satisfy the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement) requirements for ''Guidance on Preparation of Laboratory Quality Assurance Plans''. The quality assurance criteria specified in the HASQAP shall serve as a baseline for implementing quality management systems for the laboratories that provide analytical services, for data requesters and users, and for oversight organizations that monitor the data-generation process. Affected organizations shall implement the HASQAP requirements that are applicable to their work scope. Full implementation of the HASQAP is scheduled to occur by August 1995. RL will work with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) to have the HASQAP document incorporated into Appendix F of the Tri-Party Agreement by early Fiscal Year 1996

Evaluation of Interactive Website Design Indicators for e-Entrepreneurship

OpenAIRE

Chih-Chao Chung; Li-Chung Chao; Chin-Hui Chen; Shi-Jer Lou

2016-01-01

Using an analytic network process (ANP) as an analytical tool, this study aims to construct an ANP evaluation model of interactive website design indicators. Through a review of the literature, interactive website design of e-entrepreneurship is generalized to the following dimensions: (1) Design; (2) Checking; (3) Service; (4) Interactive; and (5) Promotion, including 19 design indicators. The research is conducted for a case company. According to the findings, the model helps the case compa...

Mixed Initiative Visual Analytics Using Task-Driven Recommendations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cook, Kristin A.; Cramer, Nicholas O.; Israel, David; Wolverton, Michael J.; Bruce, Joseph R.; Burtner, Edwin R.; Endert, Alexander

2015-12-07

Visual data analysis is composed of a collection of cognitive actions and tasks to decompose, internalize, and recombine data to produce knowledge and insight. Visual analytic tools provide interactive visual interfaces to data to support tasks involved in discovery and sensemaking, including forming hypotheses, asking questions, and evaluating and organizing evidence. Myriad analytic models can be incorporated into visual analytic systems, at the cost of increasing complexity in the analytic discourse between user and system. Techniques exist to increase the usability of interacting with such analytic models, such as inferring data models from user interactions to steer the underlying models of the system via semantic interaction, shielding users from having to do so explicitly. Such approaches are often also referred to as mixed-initiative systems. Researchers studying the sensemaking process have called for development of tools that facilitate analytic sensemaking through a combination of human and automated activities. However, design guidelines do not exist for mixed-initiative visual analytic systems to support iterative sensemaking. In this paper, we present a candidate set of design guidelines and introduce the Active Data Environment (ADE) prototype, a spatial workspace supporting the analytic process via task recommendations invoked by inferences on user interactions within the workspace. ADE recommends data and relationships based on a task model, enabling users to co-reason with the system about their data in a single, spatial workspace. This paper provides an illustrative use case, a technical description of ADE, and a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the approach.

Organic contaminants in environmental atmospheres and waters

OpenAIRE

Ramírez González, Noelia

2011-01-01

This Doctoral Thesis focuses on the development of efficient and highly sensitive analytical methods for determining organic contaminants in atmospheric, aquatic and house dust samples. The proposed analytical methods are based on single and comprehensive gas chromatography followed by different detectors (including mass spectrometry and nitrogen chemiluminiscence detection) and different sample preparation methods that have the aim of minimising the consumption of organic solvents in the who...

Analytical Chemistry Division : annual report (for) 1985

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahadevan, N.

1986-01-01

An account of the various activities of the Analytical Chemistry Division of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay, during 1985 is presented. The main function of the Division is to provide chemical analysis support to India's atomic energy programme. In addition, the Division also offers its analytical services, mostly for measurement of concentrations at trace levels to Indian industries and other research organization in the country. A list of these determinations is given. The report also describes the research and development (R and D) activities - both completed and in progress, in the form of individual summaries. During the year an ultra trace analytical laboratory for analysis of critical samples without contamination was set up using indigenous material and technology. Publications and training activities of the staff, training of the staff from other institution, guidance by the staff for post-graduate degree and invited talks by the staff are listed in the appendices at the end of the report. (M.G.B.)

Organic analysis progress report FY 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clauss, S.A.; Grant, K.E.; Hoopes, V.; Mong, G.M.; Steele, R.; Bellofatto, D.; Sharma, A.

1998-04-01

The Organic Analysis and Methods Development Task is being conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) as part of the Organic Tank Waste Safety Project. The objective of the task is to apply developed analytical methods to identify and/or quantify the amount of particular organic species in tank wastes. In addition, this task provides analytical support for the Gas Generation Studies Task, Waste Aging, and Solubility Studies. This report presents the results from analyses of tank waste samples archived at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and received from the Project Hanford Management Contractor (PHMC), which included samples associated with both the Flammable Gas and Organic Tank Waste Safety Programs. The data are discussed in Section 2.0. In addition, the results of analytical support for analyzing (1) simulated wastes for Waste Aging, (2) tank waste samples for Gas Generation, and (3) simulated wastes associated with solubility studies discussed in Sections 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0, respectively. The latter part of FY 1997 was devoted to documenting the analytical procedures, including derivation gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and GC/FID for quantitation, ion-pair chromatography (IPC), IC, and the cation exchange procedure for reducing the radioactivity of samples. The documentation of analytical procedures is included here and discussed in Section 6.0 and Section 7.0 discusses other analytical procedures. The references are listed in Section 8.0 and future plans are discussed in Section 9.0. Appendix A is a preprint of a manuscript accepted for publication. Appendix B contains the cc mail messages and chain-of-custody forms for the samples received for analyses. Appendix C contains the test plan for analysis of tank waste samples.

Organic analysis progress report FY 1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clauss, S.A.; Grant, K.E.; Hoopes, V.; Mong, G.M.; Steele, R.; Bellofatto, D.; Sharma, A.

1998-04-01

The Organic Analysis and Methods Development Task is being conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) as part of the Organic Tank Waste Safety Project. The objective of the task is to apply developed analytical methods to identify and/or quantify the amount of particular organic species in tank wastes. In addition, this task provides analytical support for the Gas Generation Studies Task, Waste Aging, and Solubility Studies. This report presents the results from analyses of tank waste samples archived at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and received from the Project Hanford Management Contractor (PHMC), which included samples associated with both the Flammable Gas and Organic Tank Waste Safety Programs. The data are discussed in Section 2.0. In addition, the results of analytical support for analyzing (1) simulated wastes for Waste Aging, (2) tank waste samples for Gas Generation, and (3) simulated wastes associated with solubility studies discussed in Sections 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0, respectively. The latter part of FY 1997 was devoted to documenting the analytical procedures, including derivation gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and GC/FID for quantitation, ion-pair chromatography (IPC), IC, and the cation exchange procedure for reducing the radioactivity of samples. The documentation of analytical procedures is included here and discussed in Section 6.0 and Section 7.0 discusses other analytical procedures. The references are listed in Section 8.0 and future plans are discussed in Section 9.0. Appendix A is a preprint of a manuscript accepted for publication. Appendix B contains the cc mail messages and chain-of-custody forms for the samples received for analyses. Appendix C contains the test plan for analysis of tank waste samples

[The diagnostic usability of selected narrativity indices in stories about close relationships in the assessment of personality organization].

Science.gov (United States)

Soroko, Emilia

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to test the usability of selected narrativity indices identified from autobiographical accounts of important relationships in an assessment of neurotic (NPO) and borderline personality organization (BPO). Narrativity indices, both particular and generalized, were used to predict personality organization levels. Indices were derived from two separate layers of analysis: 1) lexical indices were counted with computer assistance; 2) evocative/reception indices dealing with coherence of the story were assessed using the competent judges method. It was found that the lexical narrativity index-the active "I"-was a good predictor of both BPO and NPO, while the human factor was a good predictor of BPO when low. Moreover, a generalized index was used to describe how stories are saturated with the narrativity indices of intentionality, concreteness, and active "I", but simultaneously deprived of human factor, and was found to be the best predictor of BPO. Furthermore, where the coherence of the story and of its subdimension (integration) rise, the probability of BPO diagnosis decreases. This research provides support for the thesis that surface narrativity indices may predict deeper personality structure. Its results are justified in the light of Kernberg's theory, and have the potential to become a useful tool in clinical practice as a supplementary source of information in diagnostic and psychotherapeutic processes.

Use of lichens as indicator and test organism for atmospheric pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skye, E

1969-01-01

Some species of lichens are very specialized with regard to their substrata, while others grow on almost any substratum. The species that grow on the bark of trees are discussed. Not all kinds of bark are equally desirable to all epiphytic lichen species. Some species occur on bark with a fairly low pH (pH 3-4), while others occur on moderately acid to almost neutral bark (pH 4.5-6-7). Different ways of using lichens as indicators and test plants for atmospheric pollution have been tried. Individual species have served as indicators. In order to get an idea of the zonation around a source of damage, it is possible to use the number of species per tree or group of trees examined. This method is practicable only under certain special conditions. The comparison of the species gives a better indication of the degree and kind of atmospheric pollution than the epiphyte flora. De Sloover and LeBlanc have published a formula, with the aid of which an index of atmospheric purity (IAP) may be produced. This index may then be used in the cartographical representation of zones of air purity. Another formula is based on the degree of cover and poleotolerance in the individual species. Schoenbeck has developed Brodo's transplantation method and uses Hypogymnia physodes as a test organism for atmospheric pollution. The extent of the damage to the lichens is recorded on infra-red-sensitive film. The damaged areas are measured with a planimeter, by which means a numerical value is obtained for the extent of damage.

Analytical model for screening potential CO2 repositories

Science.gov (United States)

Okwen, R.T.; Stewart, M.T.; Cunningham, J.A.

2011-01-01

Assessing potential repositories for geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide using numerical models can be complicated, costly, and time-consuming, especially when faced with the challenge of selecting a repository from a multitude of potential repositories. This paper presents a set of simple analytical equations (model), based on the work of previous researchers, that could be used to evaluate the suitability of candidate repositories for subsurface sequestration of carbon dioxide. We considered the injection of carbon dioxide at a constant rate into a confined saline aquifer via a fully perforated vertical injection well. The validity of the analytical model was assessed via comparison with the TOUGH2 numerical model. The metrics used in comparing the two models include (1) spatial variations in formation pressure and (2) vertically integrated brine saturation profile. The analytical model and TOUGH2 show excellent agreement in their results when similar input conditions and assumptions are applied in both. The analytical model neglects capillary pressure and the pressure dependence of fluid properties. However, simulations in TOUGH2 indicate that little error is introduced by these simplifications. Sensitivity studies indicate that the agreement between the analytical model and TOUGH2 depends strongly on (1) the residual brine saturation, (2) the difference in density between carbon dioxide and resident brine (buoyancy), and (3) the relationship between relative permeability and brine saturation. The results achieved suggest that the analytical model is valid when the relationship between relative permeability and brine saturation is linear or quasi-linear and when the irreducible saturation of brine is zero or very small. ?? 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1988

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1988-05-01

The Analytical Chemistry Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a large and diversified organization. As such, it serves a multitude of functions for a clientele that exists both in and outside of ORNL. These functions fall into the following general categories: (1) Analytical Research, Development, and Implementation. The division maintains a program to conceptualize, investigate, develop, assess, improve, and implement advanced technology for chemical and physicochemical measurements. Emphasis is on problems and needs identified with ORNL and Department of Energy (DOE) programs; however, attention is also given to advancing the analytical sciences themselves. (2) Programmatic Research, Development, and Utilization. The division carries out a wide variety of chemical work that typically involves analytical research and/or development plus the utilization of analytical capabilities to expedite programmatic interests. (3) Technical Support. The division performs chemical and physicochemical analyses of virtually all types. The Analytical Chemistry Division is organized into four major sections, each of which may carry out any of the three types of work mentioned above. Chapters 1 through 4 of this report highlight progress within the four sections during the period January 1 to December 31, 1988. A brief discussion of the division's role in an especially important environmental program is given in Chapter 5. Information about quality assurance, safety, and training programs is presented in Chapter 6, along with a tabulation of analyses rendered. Publications, oral presentations, professional activities, educational programs, and seminars are cited in Chapters 7 and 8.

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-05-01

The Analytical Chemistry Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a large and diversified organization. As such, it serves a multitude of functions for a clientele that exists both in and outside of ORNL. These functions fall into the following general categories: (1) Analytical Research, Development, and Implementation. The division maintains a program to conceptualize, investigate, develop, assess, improve, and implement advanced technology for chemical and physicochemical measurements. Emphasis is on problems and needs identified with ORNL and Department of Energy (DOE) programs; however, attention is also given to advancing the analytical sciences themselves. (2) Programmatic Research, Development, and Utilization. The division carries out a wide variety of chemical work that typically involves analytical research and/or development plus the utilization of analytical capabilities to expedite programmatic interests. (3) Technical Support. The division performs chemical and physicochemical analyses of virtually all types. The Analytical Chemistry Division is organized into four major sections, each of which may carry out any of the three types of work mentioned above. Chapters 1 through 4 of this report highlight progress within the four sections during the period January 1 to December 31, 1988. A brief discussion of the division's role in an especially important environmental program is given in Chapter 5. Information about quality assurance, safety, and training programs is presented in Chapter 6, along with a tabulation of analyses rendered. Publications, oral presentations, professional activities, educational programs, and seminars are cited in Chapters 7 and 8

Assessing the impacts of international volunteer tourism in host communities: A new approach to organizing and prioritizing indicators

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher Anthony Lupoli; Wayde C. Morse; Conner Bailey; John Schelhas

2014-01-01

This paper explores the use of indicators to evaluate the impacts of volunteer tourism in host communities, based on an online questionnaire sent to 183 volunteer tourism organizations. Little research exists demonstrating how volunteer tourism programs impact host communities or how impacts can be assessed, but the literature suggests the use of indicators to do so....

Indicators of safety culture - selection and utilization of leading safety performance indicators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reiman, Teemu; Pietikaeinen, Elina (VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland (Finland))

2010-03-15

Safety indicators play a role in providing information on organizational performance, motivating people to work on safety and increasing organizational potential for safety. The aim of this report is to provide an overview on leading safety indicators in the domain of nuclear safety. The report explains the distinction between lead and lag indicators and proposes a framework of three types of safety performance indicators - feedback, monitor and drive indicators. Finally the report provides guidance for nuclear energy organizations for selecting and interpreting safety indicators. It proposes the use of safety culture as a leading safety performance indicator and offers an example list of potential indicators in all three categories. The report concludes that monitor and drive indicators are so called lead indicators. Drive indicators are chosen priority areas of organizational safety activity. They are based on the underlying safety model and potential safety activities and safety policy derived from it. Drive indicators influence control measures that manage the socio technical system; change, maintain, reinforce, or reduce something. Monitor indicators provide a view on the dynamics of the system in question; the activities taking place, abilities, skills and motivation of the personnel, routines and practices - the organizational potential for safety. They also monitor the efficacy of the control measures that are used to manage the socio technical system. Typically the safety performance indicators that are used are lagging (feedback) indicators that measure the outcomes of the socio technical system. Besides feedback indicators, organizations should also acknowledge the important role of monitor and drive indicators in managing safety. The selection and use of safety performance indicators is always based on an understanding (a model) of the socio technical system and safety. The safety model defines what risks are perceived. It is important that the safety

Indicators of safety culture - selection and utilization of leading safety performance indicators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reiman, Teemu; Pietikaeinen, Elina

2010-03-01

Safety indicators play a role in providing information on organizational performance, motivating people to work on safety and increasing organizational potential for safety. The aim of this report is to provide an overview on leading safety indicators in the domain of nuclear safety. The report explains the distinction between lead and lag indicators and proposes a framework of three types of safety performance indicators - feedback, monitor and drive indicators. Finally the report provides guidance for nuclear energy organizations for selecting and interpreting safety indicators. It proposes the use of safety culture as a leading safety performance indicator and offers an example list of potential indicators in all three categories. The report concludes that monitor and drive indicators are so called lead indicators. Drive indicators are chosen priority areas of organizational safety activity. They are based on the underlying safety model and potential safety activities and safety policy derived from it. Drive indicators influence control measures that manage the socio technical system; change, maintain, reinforce, or reduce something. Monitor indicators provide a view on the dynamics of the system in question; the activities taking place, abilities, skills and motivation of the personnel, routines and practices - the organizational potential for safety. They also monitor the efficacy of the control measures that are used to manage the socio technical system. Typically the safety performance indicators that are used are lagging (feedback) indicators that measure the outcomes of the socio technical system. Besides feedback indicators, organizations should also acknowledge the important role of monitor and drive indicators in managing safety. The selection and use of safety performance indicators is always based on an understanding (a model) of the socio technical system and safety. The safety model defines what risks are perceived. It is important that the safety

Analytical Business Model for Sustainable Distributed Retail Enterprises in a Competitive Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Courage Matobobo

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Retail enterprises are organizations that sell goods in small quantities to consumers for personal consumption. In distributed retail enterprises, data is administered per branch. It is important for retail enterprises to make use of data generated within the organization to determine consumer patterns and behaviors. Large organizations find it difficult to ascertain customer preferences by merely observing transactions. This has led to quantifiable losses, such as loss of market share to competitors and targeting the wrong market. Although some enterprises have implemented classical business models to address these challenging issues, they still lack analytics-based marketing programs to gain a competitive advantage to deal with likely catastrophic events. This research develops an analytical business (ARANN model for distributed retail enterprises in a competitive market environment to address the current laxity through the best arrangement of shelf products per branch. The ARANN model is built on association rules, complemented by artificial neural networks to strengthen the results of both mutually. According to experimental analytics, the ARANN model outperforms the state of the art model, implying improved confidence in business information management within the dynamically changing world economy.

Green Chemistry Metrics with Special Reference to Green Analytical Chemistry

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Marek Tobiszewski

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The concept of green chemistry is widely recognized in chemical laboratories. To properly measure an environmental impact of chemical processes, dedicated assessment tools are required. This paper summarizes the current state of knowledge in the field of development of green chemistry and green analytical chemistry metrics. The diverse methods used for evaluation of the greenness of organic synthesis, such as eco-footprint, E-Factor, EATOS, and Eco-Scale are described. Both the well-established and recently developed green analytical chemistry metrics, including NEMI labeling and analytical Eco-scale, are presented. Additionally, this paper focuses on the possibility of the use of multivariate statistics in evaluation of environmental impact of analytical procedures. All the above metrics are compared and discussed in terms of their advantages and disadvantages. The current needs and future perspectives in green chemistry metrics are also discussed.

Green Chemistry Metrics with Special Reference to Green Analytical Chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Tobiszewski, Marek; Marć, Mariusz; Gałuszka, Agnieszka; Namieśnik, Jacek

2015-06-12

The concept of green chemistry is widely recognized in chemical laboratories. To properly measure an environmental impact of chemical processes, dedicated assessment tools are required. This paper summarizes the current state of knowledge in the field of development of green chemistry and green analytical chemistry metrics. The diverse methods used for evaluation of the greenness of organic synthesis, such as eco-footprint, E-Factor, EATOS, and Eco-Scale are described. Both the well-established and recently developed green analytical chemistry metrics, including NEMI labeling and analytical Eco-scale, are presented. Additionally, this paper focuses on the possibility of the use of multivariate statistics in evaluation of environmental impact of analytical procedures. All the above metrics are compared and discussed in terms of their advantages and disadvantages. The current needs and future perspectives in green chemistry metrics are also discussed.

Metabolic syndrome indicators and target organ damage in urban active coping African and Caucasian men: the SABPA study.

Science.gov (United States)

de Kock, A; Malan, L; Potgieter, J C; Steenekamp, W; van der Merwe, M T

2012-05-01

Psychosocial stress relating to an urban environment or acculturation increases the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The objectives of this study were firstly to indicate and compare differences regarding appraisal of stress or active coping responses in urban African (n=88) and Caucasian (n=101) male teachers of South Africa, in accord with the prevalence of MetS indicators. And secondly to investigate the extent to which utilisation of active coping responses, together with MetS indicators, predict target organ damage, in these men. The Coping Strategy Indicator determined high and low active coping responses in male teachers from the Sympathetic Activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans (SABPA) study. SABPA inclusion and exclusion criteria were used. Additionally, diabetic medication users (n=8), and participants with renal impairment (n=2) or HIV positive (n=13), were excluded. MetS indicators included glucose, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure, and waist circumference, independent of confounders (age, physical activity, gamma glutamyl transferase). Microalbuminuria and carotid intima-media thickness indicated target organ damage. More MetS indicators exceeded the IDF cut-off points in high active coping African men (14.71%) than in their Caucasian counterparts (3.33%), as determined from χ² analyses. Furthermore, stepwise regressions indicated that more MetS indicators predicted endothelial dysfunction, especially in the high active coping African men. High active coping African men showed more manifestation of MetS, compared to their Caucasian counterparts, and revealed progress towards endothelial dysfunction. © J. A. Barth Verlag in Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Learning Analytics to Inform Teaching and Learning Approaches

OpenAIRE

Gray, Geraldine; McGuinness, Colm; Owende, Philip

2016-01-01

Learning analytics is an evolving discipline with capability for educational data analysis to enable better understanding of learning processes. This paper reports on learning analytics research at Institute of Technology Blanchardstown, Ireland, that indicated measureable factors can identify first year students at risk of failing based on data available prior to commencement of first year of study. The study was conducted over three years, 2010 to 2012, on a student population from a range ...

Orchid bees as bio-indicators for organic coffee farms in Costa Rica: Does farm size affect their abundance?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingemar Hedström

2006-09-01

Full Text Available The potential of Euglossini bees, especially Euglossa, as biological indicators of organic vs non-organic coffee farms was studied in Atenas and San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica using 1.8-cineole as lure. Observations were made for three days at each of four farms and complemented with data from a year of observations. Orchid bees were in greater abundance in the organic farms (t-Student test. However, lower abundances suggest that an organic farm may be negatively affected by the proximity of non-organic farms, depending on its size and distance. Orchid bees may be indicators of organic coffee farms. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54 (3: 965-969. Epub 2006 Sept. 29.Por un año estudiamos las abejas de la tribu Euglossini (abejas de las orquídeas, especialmente el género Euglossa en Atenas y San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica, para identificar su potencial como bioindicadoras de fincas orgánicas y fincas "convencionales" de café. Usamos como atrayente aceite de eucalipto (1.8-cineole. Las abejas son más abundantes en las fincas de café orgánico (t-Student. Sin embargo, el relativamente bajo número de abejas en la menor de las dos fincas orgánicas sugiere que el tamaño de una finca orgánica y la proximidad a las fincas convencionales, podrían tener efectos negativos en la orgánica. Estas abejas podrían servir como bioindicadores de fincas orgánicas.

Multi-Analytical Approach Reveals Potential Microbial Indicators in Soil for Sugarcane Model Systems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Acacio Aparecido Navarrete

Full Text Available This study focused on the effects of organic and inorganic amendments and straw retention on the microbial biomass (MB and taxonomic groups of bacteria in sugarcane-cultivated soils in a greenhouse mesocosm experiment monitored for gas emissions and chemical factors. The experiment consisted of combinations of synthetic nitrogen (N, vinasse (V; a liquid waste from ethanol production, and sugarcane-straw blankets. Increases in CO2-C and N2O-N emissions were identified shortly after the addition of both N and V to the soils, thus increasing MB nitrogen (MB-N and decreasing MB carbon (MB-C in the N+V-amended soils and altering soil chemical factors that were correlated with the MB. Across 57 soil metagenomic datasets, Actinobacteria (31.5%, Planctomycetes (12.3%, Deltaproteobacteria (12.3%, Alphaproteobacteria (12.0% and Betaproteobacteria (11.1% were the most dominant bacterial groups during the experiment. Differences in relative abundance of metagenomic sequences were mainly revealed for Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia with regard to N+V fertilization and straw retention. Differential abundances in bacterial groups were confirmed using 16S rRNA gene-targeted phylum-specific primers for real-time PCR analysis in all soil samples, whose results were in accordance with sequence data, except for Gammaproteobacteria. Actinobacteria were more responsive to straw retention with Rubrobacterales, Bifidobacteriales and Actinomycetales related to the chemical factors of N+V-amended soils. Acidobacteria subgroup 7 and Opitutae, a verrucomicrobial class, were related to the chemical factors of soils without straw retention as a surface blanket. Taken together, the results showed that MB-C and MB-N responded to changes in soil chemical factors and CO2-C and N2O-N emissions, especially for N+V-amended soils. The results also indicated that several taxonomic groups of bacteria, such as Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria and

Multi-Analytical Approach Reveals Potential Microbial Indicators in Soil for Sugarcane Model Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Navarrete, Acacio Aparecido; Diniz, Tatiana Rosa; Braga, Lucas Palma Perez; Silva, Genivaldo Gueiros Zacarias; Franchini, Julio Cezar; Rossetto, Raffaella; Edwards, Robert Alan; Tsai, Siu Mui

2015-01-01

This study focused on the effects of organic and inorganic amendments and straw retention on the microbial biomass (MB) and taxonomic groups of bacteria in sugarcane-cultivated soils in a greenhouse mesocosm experiment monitored for gas emissions and chemical factors. The experiment consisted of combinations of synthetic nitrogen (N), vinasse (V; a liquid waste from ethanol production), and sugarcane-straw blankets. Increases in CO2-C and N2O-N emissions were identified shortly after the addition of both N and V to the soils, thus increasing MB nitrogen (MB-N) and decreasing MB carbon (MB-C) in the N+V-amended soils and altering soil chemical factors that were correlated with the MB. Across 57 soil metagenomic datasets, Actinobacteria (31.5%), Planctomycetes (12.3%), Deltaproteobacteria (12.3%), Alphaproteobacteria (12.0%) and Betaproteobacteria (11.1%) were the most dominant bacterial groups during the experiment. Differences in relative abundance of metagenomic sequences were mainly revealed for Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia with regard to N+V fertilization and straw retention. Differential abundances in bacterial groups were confirmed using 16S rRNA gene-targeted phylum-specific primers for real-time PCR analysis in all soil samples, whose results were in accordance with sequence data, except for Gammaproteobacteria. Actinobacteria were more responsive to straw retention with Rubrobacterales, Bifidobacteriales and Actinomycetales related to the chemical factors of N+V-amended soils. Acidobacteria subgroup 7 and Opitutae, a verrucomicrobial class, were related to the chemical factors of soils without straw retention as a surface blanket. Taken together, the results showed that MB-C and MB-N responded to changes in soil chemical factors and CO2-C and N2O-N emissions, especially for N+V-amended soils. The results also indicated that several taxonomic groups of bacteria, such as Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria and

Application of metabonomic analytical techniques in the modernization and toxicology research of traditional Chinese medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Lao, Yong-Min; Jiang, Jian-Guo; Yan, Lu

2009-08-01

In the recent years, a wide range of metabonomic analytical techniques are widely used in the modern research of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). At the same time, the international community has attached increasing importance to TCM toxicity problems. Thus, many studies have been implemented to investigate the toxicity mechanisms of TCM. Among these studies, many metabonomic-based methods have been implemented to facilitate TCM toxicity investigation. At present, the most prevailing methods for TCM toxicity research are mainly single analysis techniques using only one analytical means. These techniques include nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), etc.; with these techniques, some favourable outcomes have been gained in the toxic reaction studies of TCM, such as the action target organs assay, the establishment of action pattern, the elucidation of action mechanism and the exploration of action material foundation. However, every analytical technique has its advantages and drawbacks, no existing analytical technique can be versatile. Multi-analysed techniques can partially overcome the shortcomings of single-analysed techniques. Combination of GC-MS and LC-MS metabolic profiling approaches has unravelled the pathological outcomes of aristolochic acid-induced nephrotoxicity, which can not be achieved by single-analysed techniques. It is believed that with the further development of metabonomic analytical techniques, especially multi-analysed techniques, metabonomics will greatly promote TCM toxicity research and be beneficial to the modernization of TCM in terms of extending the application of modern means in the TCM safety assessment, assisting the formulation of TCM safety norms and establishing the international standards indicators.

Selection of organic process and source indicator substances for the anthropogenically influenced water cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Jekel, Martin; Dott, Wolfgang; Bergmann, Axel; Dünnbier, Uwe; Gnirß, Regina; Haist-Gulde, Brigitte; Hamscher, Gerd; Letzel, Marion; Licha, Tobias; Lyko, Sven; Miehe, Ulf; Sacher, Frank; Scheurer, Marco; Schmidt, Carsten K; Reemtsma, Thorsten; Ruhl, Aki Sebastian

2015-04-01

An increasing number of organic micropollutants (OMP) is detected in anthropogenically influenced water cycles. Source control and effective natural and technical barriers are essential to maintain a high quality of drinking water resources under these circumstances. Based on the literature and our own research this study proposes a limited number of OMP that can serve as indicator substances for the major sources of OMP, such as wastewater treatment plants, agriculture and surface runoff. Furthermore functional indicators are proposed that allow assessment of the proper function of natural and technical barriers in the aquatic environment, namely conventional municipal wastewater treatment, advanced treatment (ozonation, activated carbon), bank filtration and soil aquifer treatment as well as self-purification in surface water. These indicator substances include the artificial sweetener acesulfame, the anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen, the anticonvulsant carbamazepine, the corrosion inhibitor benzotriazole and the herbicide mecoprop among others. The chemical indicator substances are intended to support comparisons between watersheds and technical and natural processes independent of specific water cycles and to reduce efforts and costs of chemical analyses without losing essential information. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advances in Alkenone Paleotemperature Proxies: Analytical Methods, Novel Structures and Haptophyte Species, Biosynthesis, New indices and Ecological Aspects

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Y.; Longo, W. M.; Zheng, Y.; Richter, N.; Dillon, J. T.; Theroux, S.; D'Andrea, W. J.; Toney, J. L.; Wang, L.; Amaral-Zettler, L. A.

2017-12-01

Alkenones are mature, well-established paleo-sea surface temperature proxies that have been widely applied for more than three decades. However, recent advances across a broad range of alkenone-related topics at Brown University are inviting new paleoclimate and paleo-environmental applications for these classic biomarkers. In this presentation, I will summarize our progress in the following areas: (1) Discovery of a freshwater alkenone-producing haptophyte species and structural elucidation of novel alkenone structures unique to the species, performing in-situ temperature calibrations, and classifying alkenone-producing haptophytes into three groups based on molecular ecological approaches (with the new species belonging to Group I Isochrysidales); (2) A global survey of Group I haptophyte distributions and environmental conditions favoring the presence of this alga, as well as examples of using Group I alkenones for paleotemperature reconstructions; (3) New gas chromatographic columns that allow unprecedented resolution of alkenones and alkenoates and associated structural isomers, and development of a new suite of paleotemperature and paleoenvironmental proxies; (4) A new liquid chromatographic separation technique that allows efficient cleanup of alkenones and alkenoates (without the need for saponification) for subsequent coelution-free gas chromatographic analysis; (5) Novel structural features revealed by new analytical methods that now allow a comprehensive re-assessment of taxonomic features of various haptophyte species, with principal component analysis capable of fully resolving species biomarker distributions; (6) Development of UK37 double prime (UK37'') for Group II haptophytes (e.g., those occurring in saline lakes and estuaries), that differs from the traditional unsaturation indices used for SST reconstructions; (7) New assessment of how mixed inputs from different alkenone groups may affect SST reconstructions in marginal ocean environments and

Evaluation of Interactive Website Design Indicators for e-Entrepreneurship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chih-Chao Chung

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Using an analytic network process (ANP as an analytical tool, this study aims to construct an ANP evaluation model of interactive website design indicators. Through a review of the literature, interactive website design of e-entrepreneurship is generalized to the following dimensions: (1 Design; (2 Checking; (3 Service; (4 Interactive; and (5 Promotion, including 19 design indicators. The research is conducted for a case company. According to the findings, the model helps the case company review its current execution of interactive website design indicators and the experts’ opinions of the importance of interactive website design indicators. In addition, by comprehensive comparison, it confirms key design indicators and analyzes the managerial implications to help the case company set up precise strategic planning and resource distribution to enhance corporate operational performance and competitiveness.

Web Analytics

Science.gov (United States)

EPA’s Web Analytics Program collects, analyzes, and provides reports on traffic, quality assurance, and customer satisfaction metrics for EPA’s website. The program uses a variety of analytics tools, including Google Analytics and CrazyEgg.

Analytical Chemistry Division. Annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1980

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyon, W.S.

1981-05-01

This report is divided into: analytical methodology; mass and emission spectrometry; technical support; bio/organic analysis; nuclear and radiochemical analysis; quality assurance, safety, and tabulation of analyses; supplementary activities; and presentation of research results. Separate abstracts were prepared for the technical support, bio/organic analysis, and nuclear and radiochemical analysis

Analytical Chemistry Division. Annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1980

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyon, W.S. (ed.)

1981-05-01

This report is divided into: analytical methodology; mass and emission spectrometry; technical support; bio/organic analysis; nuclear and radiochemical analysis; quality assurance, safety, and tabulation of analyses; supplementary activities; and presentation of research results. Separate abstracts were prepared for the technical support, bio/organic analysis, and nuclear and radiochemical analysis. (DLC)

Exploration on relationship between uranium and organic materials in carbonate-siliceous pelite type uranium ore deposits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong Yongjie

1996-01-01

The author determines the content of uranium and organic carbon of part specimen of surrounding rocks and ores, which sampled from carbonate and black shale type uranium deposits in Xiushui, Jiangxi Province, and Tongcheng, Hubei Province. According to the analytical operation regulations of organic materials, extraction and separation of chloroform pitch is carried out. Internal relationships between uranium and organic derivative is discussed. The conclusion shows that: (1) certain co-relationship between U and organic carbon and chloroform extract is detected; (2) evolutionary processes of organic materials in the exogenetic uranium deposits are not all the same; (3) non-hydrocarbon is closely related to uranium, so it can be regarded as indicator of uranium gathering in exogenetic uranium deposits

Analytical, Practical and Emotional Intelligence and Line Manager Competencies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Baczyńska

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The research objective was to examine to what extent line manager competencies are linked to intelligence, and more specifically, three types of intelligence: analytical (fluid, practical and emotional. Methodology: The research was carried out with line managers (N=98 who took part in 12 Assessment Centre sessions and completed tests measuring analytical, practical and emotional intelligence. The adopted hypotheses were tested using a multiple regression. In the regression model, the dependent variable was a managerial competency (management and striving for results, social skills, openness to change, problem solving, employee development and the explanatory variables were the three types of intelligence. Five models, each for a separate management competency, were tested in this way. Findings: In the study, it was hypothesized that practical intelligence relates to procedural tacit knowledge and is the strongest indicator of managerial competency. Analysis of the study results testing this hypothesis indicated that practical intelligence largely accounts for the level of competency used in managerial work (from 21% to 38%. The study findings suggest that practical intelligence is a better indicator of managerial competencies among line managers than traditionally measured IQ or emotional intelligence. Originality: This research fills an important gap in the literature on the subject, indicating the links between major contemporary selection indicators (i.e., analytical, practical and emotional intelligence and managerial competencies presented in realistic work simulations measured using the Assessment Centre process.

EPA Monthly Key Performance Indicator Dashboards 2017

Science.gov (United States)

Each month, the Web Analytics Program posts updated Key Performance Indicator (KPI) dashboards that correspond to three Web performance goals: content consumption, content discovery, and audience engagement.

Useful model organisms, indicators, or both? Ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) reflecting environmental conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Koivula, Matti J

2011-01-01

Classic studies have successfully linked single-species abundances, life-history traits, assemblage structures and biomass of carabid beetles to past and present, human-caused environmental impacts and variation in 'natural' conditions. This evidence has led many to suggest carabids to function as 'indicators' - a term that bears multiple meanings. Here, a conservation-oriented definition for an indicator is used, carabid indicator potential from seven views is evaluated, and ways to proceed in indicator research are discussed. (1) Carabid species richness poorly indicates the richness and abundance of other taxa, which underlines the importance of using multiple taxa in environmental assessments. The ability of assemblage indices and specialist or functional-group abundances to reflect rare species and habitats should be examined in detail. (2) Experimental evidence suggests that carabids may potentially serve as keystone indicators. (3) Carabids are sensitive to human-altered abiotic conditions, such as pesticide use in agro-ecosystems and heavy metal contamination of soils. Carabids might thus reflect ecological sustainability and 'ecosystem health'. (4) Carabid assemblages host abundant species characteristic of particular habitat types or successional stages, which makes them promising dominance indicators. (5) Carabids reflect variation in 'natural' conditions, but vegetation and structural features are more commonly adopted as condition indicators. Carabids nevertheless provide yet another, equally accurate, view on the structure of the environment. (6) Carabids may function as early-warning signalers, as suggested by recent studies linking climate and carabid distributions. (7) Carabids reflect natural and human-caused disturbances and management, but the usefulness of these responses for conservation purposes requires further research. In summary, European carabids appear useful model organisms and possibly indicators because they are diverse

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shults, W.D.; Lyon, W.S.

1980-05-01

The progress is reported in the following sections: analytical methodology, mass and emission spectrometry, technical support, bio-organic analysis, nuclear and radiochemical analysis, and quality assurance

Prioritizing pesticide compounds for analytical methods development

Science.gov (United States)

Norman, Julia E.; Kuivila, Kathryn; Nowell, Lisa H.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a periodic need to re-evaluate pesticide compounds in terms of priorities for inclusion in monitoring and studies and, thus, must also assess the current analytical capabilities for pesticide detection. To meet this need, a strategy has been developed to prioritize pesticides and degradates for analytical methods development. Screening procedures were developed to separately prioritize pesticide compounds in water and sediment. The procedures evaluate pesticide compounds in existing USGS analytical methods for water and sediment and compounds for which recent agricultural-use information was available. Measured occurrence (detection frequency and concentrations) in water and sediment, predicted concentrations in water and predicted likelihood of occurrence in sediment, potential toxicity to aquatic life or humans, and priorities of other agencies or organizations, regulatory or otherwise, were considered. Several existing strategies for prioritizing chemicals for various purposes were reviewed, including those that identify and prioritize persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic compounds, and those that determine candidates for future regulation of drinking-water contaminants. The systematic procedures developed and used in this study rely on concepts common to many previously established strategies. The evaluation of pesticide compounds resulted in the classification of compounds into three groups: Tier 1 for high priority compounds, Tier 2 for moderate priority compounds, and Tier 3 for low priority compounds. For water, a total of 247 pesticide compounds were classified as Tier 1 and, thus, are high priority for inclusion in analytical methods for monitoring and studies. Of these, about three-quarters are included in some USGS analytical method; however, many of these compounds are included on research methods that are expensive and for which there are few data on environmental samples. The remaining quarter of Tier 1

Summarizing documentation of the laboratory automation system RADAR for the analytical services of a nuclear fuel reprocessing facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandenburg, G.; Brocke, W.; Brodda, B.G.; Buerger, K.; Halling, H.; Heer, H.; Puetz, K.; Schaedlich, W.; Watzlawik, K.H.

1981-12-01

The essential tasks of the system are on-line open-loop process control based on in-line measurements and automation of the off-line analytical laboratory. The in-line measurements (at 55 tanks of the chemical process area) provide density-, liquid-, level-, and temperature values. The concentration value of a single component may easily be determined, if the solution consists of no more than two phases. The automation of the off-line analytical laboratory contains laboratory organization including sample management and data organization and computer-aided sample transportation control, data acquisition and data processing at chemical and nuclear analytical devices. The computer system consists of two computer-subsystems: a front end system for sample central registration and in-line process control and a central size system for the off-line analytical tasks. The organization of the application oriented system uses a centralized data base. Similar data processing functions concerning different analytical management tasks are structured into the following subsystem: man machine interface, interrupt- and data acquisition system, data base, protocol service and data processing. The procedures for the laboratory management (organization and experiment sequences) are defined by application data bases. Following the project phases, engineering requirements-, design-, assembly-, start up- and test run phase are described. In addition figures on expenditure and experiences are given and the system concept is discussed. (orig./HP) [de

Polar and non-polar organic aerosols from large-scale agricultural-waste burning emissions in Northern India: Implications to organic mass-to-organic carbon ratio.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajput, Prashant; Sarin, M M

2014-05-01

This study focuses on characteristics of organic aerosols (polar and non-polar) and total organic mass-to-organic carbon ratio (OM/OC) from post-harvest agricultural-waste (paddy- and wheat-residue) burning emissions in Northern India. Aerosol samples from an upwind location (Patiala: 30.2°N, 76.3°E) in the Indo-Gangetic Plain were analyzed for non-polar and polar fractions of organic carbon (OC1 and OC2) and their respective mass (OM1 and OM2). On average, polar organic aerosols (OM2) contribute nearly 85% of the total organic mass (OM) from the paddy- and wheat-residue burning emissions. The water-soluble-OC (WSOC) to OC2 ratio, within the analytical uncertainty, is close to 1 from both paddy- and wheat-residue burning emissions. However, temporal variability and relatively low WSOC/OC2 ratio (Av: 0.67±0.06) is attributed to high moisture content and poor combustion efficiency during paddy-residue burning, indicating significant contribution (∼30%) of aromatic carbon to OC2. The OM/OC ratio for non-polar (OM1/OC1∼1.2) and polar organic aerosols (OM2/OC2∼2.2), hitherto unknown for open agricultural-waste burning emissions, is documented in this study. The total OM/OC ratio is nearly identical, 1.9±0.2 and 1.8±0.2, from paddy- and wheat-residue burning emissions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Information and analytical support of integrated reporting: evaluation of the stakeholders’ influence on the change of the created value

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu. V. Novozhilova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Information and analytical support of integrated reporting needs constant improvement, depending on the growing needs of the stakeholders. The main objective of integrated reporting is to explain how the organization creates value over time. The stakeholders play a key role in the process of value creation. Firms accumulate stakeholders’ resources and transform them, thereby meeting the needs of the parties and achieving their own goals. Building relationships with their stakeholders, organization establishes impact leverage to create value. Thus, the created value depends on the successful interaction with stakeholders. Therefore, the article is devoted to problem of information and analytical support of integrated reporting to the evaluation of created value, which is influenced by the stakeholders. The article emphasizes that an integrated quantitative measurement of value change is a complex and unresolved currently task. Integrated evaluation - a systematic analytical study, in the course of which is given summarizing evaluation of the effectiveness company. Such assessment activity is important and has a multi-purpose orientation under market conditions. The annual reports of companies are practically no integrated indicators characterizing created value. The author believes that integrated reporting should become a platform for the realization of the possibility of an integrated assessment of the created value. The results of the study are the development the methods of computation the “integrated index overall impact by the stakeholders on the company’s created value” and its testing on the example of the annual reports of the organization, which discloses information on the level of international best practice. The methodology of the research bases on such methods as analysis, synthesis, abstraction, simulation, comprehensive approach to knowledge, logical methods of research. Private indicators for the computation the

Capillary gas chromatographic separation of organic bases using a pH-adjusted basic water stationary phase.

Science.gov (United States)

Darko, Ernest; Thurbide, Kevin B

2016-09-23

The use of a pH-adjusted water stationary phase for analyzing organic bases in capillary gas chromatography (GC) is demonstrated. Through modifying the phase to typical values near pH 11.5, it is found that various organic bases are readily eluted and separated. Conversely, at the normal pH 7 operating level, they are not. Sodium hydroxide is found to be a much more stable base than ammonium hydroxide for altering the pH due to the higher volatility and evaporation of the latter. In the basic condition, such analytes are not ionized and are observed to produce good peak shapes even for injected masses down to about 20ng. By comparison, analyses on a conventional non-polar capillary GC column yield more peak tailing and only analyte masses of 1μg or higher are normally observed. Through carefully altering the pH, it is also found that the selectivity between analytes can be potentially further enhanced if their respective pKa values differ sufficiently. The analysis of different pharmaceutical and petroleum samples containing organic bases is demonstrated. Results indicate that this approach can potentially offer unique and beneficial selectivity in such analyses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analytic cognitive style predicts religious and paranormal belief.

Science.gov (United States)

Pennycook, Gordon; Cheyne, James Allan; Seli, Paul; Koehler, Derek J; Fugelsang, Jonathan A

2012-06-01

An analytic cognitive style denotes a propensity to set aside highly salient intuitions when engaging in problem solving. We assess the hypothesis that an analytic cognitive style is associated with a history of questioning, altering, and rejecting (i.e., unbelieving) supernatural claims, both religious and paranormal. In two studies, we examined associations of God beliefs, religious engagement (attendance at religious services, praying, etc.), conventional religious beliefs (heaven, miracles, etc.) and paranormal beliefs (extrasensory perception, levitation, etc.) with performance measures of cognitive ability and analytic cognitive style. An analytic cognitive style negatively predicted both religious and paranormal beliefs when controlling for cognitive ability as well as religious engagement, sex, age, political ideology, and education. Participants more willing to engage in analytic reasoning were less likely to endorse supernatural beliefs. Further, an association between analytic cognitive style and religious engagement was mediated by religious beliefs, suggesting that an analytic cognitive style negatively affects religious engagement via lower acceptance of conventional religious beliefs. Results for types of God belief indicate that the association between an analytic cognitive style and God beliefs is more nuanced than mere acceptance and rejection, but also includes adopting less conventional God beliefs, such as Pantheism or Deism. Our data are consistent with the idea that two people who share the same cognitive ability, education, political ideology, sex, age and level of religious engagement can acquire very different sets of beliefs about the world if they differ in their propensity to think analytically. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1979

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shults, W.D.; Lyon, W.S. (ed.)

1980-05-01

The progress is reported in the following sections: analytical methodology, mass and emission spectrometry, technical support, bio-organic analysis, nuclear and radiochemical analysis, and quality assurance. (DLC)

Tritium fractionation in biological systems and in analytical procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, M.A.; Baumgaertner, F.

1991-01-01

The organically bound tritium (OBT) is evaluated in biological systems by measuring the tritium distribution ratio (R-value), i.e. tritium concentrations in organic substance to tissue water. The determination of the R-value is found to involve always isotope fractionation in applied analytical procedures and hence the evaluation of the true OBT-value in a given biological system appears more complicated than hitherto known in the literature. The present work concentrates on the tritium isotope fraction in the tissue water separation and on the resulting effects on the R-value. The analytical procedures examined are vacuum freeze drying under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions and azeotropic distillation. The vaporization isotope effects are determined separately in the phase transition of solid or liquid to gas in pure water systems as well as in real biological systems, e.g. maize plant. The results are systematically analysed and the influence of isotope effects on the R-value is rigorously quantified. (orig.)

Review of Pre-Analytical Errors in Oral Glucose Tolerance Testing in a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Nanda, Rachita; Patel, Suprava; Sahoo, Sibashish; Mohapatra, Eli

2018-03-13

The pre-pre-analytical and pre-analytical phases form a major chunk of the errors in a laboratory. The process has taken into consideration a very common procedure which is the oral glucose tolerance test to identify the pre-pre-analytical errors. Quality indicators provide evidence of quality, support accountability and help in the decision making of laboratory personnel. The aim of this research is to evaluate pre-analytical performance of the oral glucose tolerance test procedure. An observational study that was conducted overa period of three months, in the phlebotomy and accessioning unit of our laboratory using questionnaire that examined the pre-pre-analytical errors through a scoring system. The pre-analytical phase was analyzed for each sample collected as per seven quality indicators. About 25% of the population gave wrong answer with regard to the question that tested the knowledge of patient preparation. The appropriateness of test result QI-1 had the most error. Although QI-5 for sample collection had a low error rate, it is a very important indicator as any wrongly collected sample can alter the test result. Evaluating the pre-analytical and pre-pre-analytical phase is essential and must be conducted routinely on a yearly basis to identify errors and take corrective action and to facilitate their gradual introduction into routine practice.

Development of Chemical Indicators of Groundwater Contamination Near the Carcass Burial Site

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, H.; Choi, J.; Kim, M.; Choi, J.; Lee, M.; Lee, H.; Jeon, S.; Bang, S.; Noh, H.; Yoo, J.; Park, S.; Kim, H.; Kim, D.; Lee, Y.; Han, J.

2011-12-01

A serious outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) and avian influenza (AI) led to the culling of millions of livestock in South Korea from late 2010 to earlier 2011. Because of the scale of FMD and AI epidemic in Korea and rapid spread of the diseases, mass burial for the disposal of carcass was conducted to halt the outbreak. The improper construction of the burial site or inappropriate management of the carcass burial facility can cause the contamination of groundwater mainly due to the discharges of leachate through the base of disposal pit. The leachate from carcass burial contains by products of carcass decay such as amino acids, nitrate, ammonia and chloride. The presence of these chemical components in groundwater can be used as indicators demonstrating contamination of groundwater with leachate from carcass. The major concern about using these chemical indicators is that other sources including manures, fertilizers and waste waters from human or animal activities already exist in farming area. However, we lack the understanding of how groundwater contamination due to mass burial of carcass can be differentiated from the contamination due to livestock manures which shows similar chemical characteristics. The chemical compositions of the leachate from carcass burial site and the wastewater from livestock manure treatment facilities were compared. The chemical compositions considered include total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), nitrate, organic nitrogen (Organic nitrogen =TN-Ammonium Nitrogen- Nitrate nitrogen), ammonia, chloride, sodium, potassium and amino acids (20 analytes). The ratios of concentrations of the chemical compositions as indicators of contamination were determined to distinguish the sources of contamination in groundwater. Indicators which showed a linear relationship between two factors and revealed a distinct difference between the carcass leachate and livestock manure were chosen. In addition, the background level of the

Main indicators of the credit organizations of the Russian Federation: vectors of changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. V. Grishina

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Credit organizations are a crucial part of the credit-monetary relations, greatly infl uencing the development of the Russian economy. In recent years, changes in the structure of the banking system and the profi tability of operations conducted by banks. Analysis of the functioning of the system shows a reduced role of banking indicators in the formation of the Russian GDP. The process of credit expansion stopped. To determine the vectors of development of credit institutions is not enough to conduct traditional statistical studies of the dynamics of the institutional structure of the banking system, since it is possible to obtain erroneous conclusions regarding the efficiency of banks in the economy. You must take into account a broader set of indicators, which allows to make more accurate conclusions about the vectors of change in the banking business in General. By mapping levels of the time series in the article the analysis of structural shifts in the activities of Russian credit organizations. Examines the spatial distribution of the credit institutions, are allocated in the regions with the highest activity of credit institutions and regions where the development potential of the banking sector implemented is not enough. The tendencies in the banks talking about displacement vectors of business development from the credit expansion in the direction of the Commission operations. The decline of profi tability of foreign exchange transactions and interest margin increases competition for customers, winning banks which can only support the broadest range of services with possibility of remote access. According to the analysis conclusions are made about the continuation of the trend of reducing the number of credit institutions with the growth of volumes of payments made by Bank customers through electronic orders. Given the positive assessment of the prospective transition to a gradation of banks with basic and

Improving Information Support of Scientific, Technical and Innovation Development of Khmelnytskyi Region Economy Through Creation of Corporate Information and Analytical System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kravchuk, V.V.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article presents a technique of forming information array of the corporate information-analytical system of Khmelnitsky region . It provides for the organization of information exchange between different information systems of enterprises, institutions and organizations — members of the corporate information-analytical system.

35th International Symposium on Environmental Analytical Chemistry - ISEAC 35. Book of Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Namiestnik, J.; Gdaniec-Pietryka, M.; Klimaszewska, K.; Gorecka, A.; Sagajdakow, A.; Jakubowska, N.

2008-01-01

The ISEAC 35 is organized by the International Association of Environmental Analytical Chemistry (IAEAC), the Committee on Analytical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Science (PAS), and the Chemical Faculty of Gdansk University of Technology (GUT). The Symposium includes a number of invited lectures treating frontier topics of environmental analytical chemistry, such as: (a) miniaturized spectroscopic tools for environmental survey analysis, (b) remote sensing in marine research, (c) xenobiotics in natural waters, (d) sampling and sample handling for environmental analysis. Book of Abstracts contains abstracts of 9 invited lectures, 62 oral presentations and 250 posters.

Road Transportable Analytical Laboratory (RTAL) system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finger, S.M.

1995-01-01

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facilities around the country have, over the years, become contaminated with radionuclides and a range of organic and inorganic wastes. Many of the DOE sites encompass large land areas and were originally sited in relatively unpopulated regions of the country to minimize risk to surrounding populations. In addition, wastes were sometimes stored underground at the sites in 55-gallon drums, wood boxes or other containers until final disposal methods could be determined. Over the years, these containers have deteriorated, releasing contaminants into the surrounding environment. This contamination has spread, in some cases polluting extensive areas. Remediation of these sites requires extensive sampling to determine the extent of the contamination, to monitor clean-up and remediation progress, and for post-closure monitoring of facilities. The DOE would benefit greatly if it had reliable, road transportable, fully independent laboratory systems that could perform on-site the full range of analyses required. Such systems would accelerate and thereby reduce the cost of clean-up and remediation efforts by (1) providing critical analytical data more rapidly, and (2) eliminating the handling, shipping and manpower associated with sample shipments. The goal of the Road Transportable Analytical Laboratory (RTAL) Project is the development and demonstration of a system to meet the unique needs of the DOE for rapid, accurate analysis of a wide variety of hazardous and radioactive contaminants in soil, groundwater, and surface waters. This laboratory system has been designed to provide the field and laboratory analytical equipment necessary to detect and quantify radionuclides, organics, heavy metals and other inorganic compounds. The laboratory system consists of a set of individual laboratory modules deployable independently or as an interconnected group to meet each DOE site's specific needs

Streaming Visual Analytics Workshop Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cook, Kristin A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Burtner, Edwin R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Kritzstein, Brian P. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Brisbois, Brooke R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Mitson, Anna E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2016-03-31

How can we best enable users to understand complex emerging events and make appropriate assessments from streaming data? This was the central question addressed at a three-day workshop on streaming visual analytics. This workshop was organized by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for a government sponsor. It brought together forty researchers and subject matter experts from government, industry, and academia. This report summarizes the outcomes from that workshop. It describes elements of the vision for a streaming visual analytic environment and set of important research directions needed to achieve this vision. Streaming data analysis is in many ways the analysis and understanding of change. However, current visual analytics systems usually focus on static data collections, meaning that dynamically changing conditions are not appropriately addressed. The envisioned mixed-initiative streaming visual analytics environment creates a collaboration between the analyst and the system to support the analysis process. It raises the level of discourse from low-level data records to higher-level concepts. The system supports the analyst’s rapid orientation and reorientation as situations change. It provides an environment to support the analyst’s critical thinking. It infers tasks and interests based on the analyst’s interactions. The system works as both an assistant and a devil’s advocate, finding relevant data and alerts as well as considering alternative hypotheses. Finally, the system supports sharing of findings with others. Making such an environment a reality requires research in several areas. The workshop discussions focused on four broad areas: support for critical thinking, visual representation of change, mixed-initiative analysis, and the use of narratives for analysis and communication.

New analytical techniques for cuticle chemical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulten, H.R.

1994-01-01

1) The analytical methodology of pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and direct pyrolysis-mass spectrometry (Py-MS) using soft ionization techniques by high electric fields (FL) are briefly described. Recent advances of Py-GC/MS and Py-FIMS for the analyses of complex organic matter such as plant materials, humic substances, dissolved organic matter in water (DOM) and soil organic matter (SOM) in agricultural and forest soils are given to illustrate the potential and limitations of the applied methods. 2) Novel applications of Py-GC/MS and Py-MS in combination with conventional analytical data in an integrated, chemometric approach to investigate the dynamics of plant lipids are reported. This includes multivariate statistical investigations on maturation, senescence, humus genesis, and environmental damages in spruce ecosystems. 3) The focal point is the author's integrated investigations on emission-induced changes of selected conifer plant constituents. Pattern recognition of Py-MS data of desiccated spruce needles provides a method for distinguishing needles damaged in different ways and determining the cause. Spruce needles were collected from both controls and trees treated with sulphur dioxide (acid rain), nitrogen dioxide, and ozone under controlled conditions. Py-MS and chemometric data evaluation are employed to characterize and classify leaves and their epicuticular waxes. Preliminary mass spectrometric evaluations of isolated cuticles of different plants such as spruce, ivy, holly, and philodendron, as well as ivy cuticles treated in vivo with air pollutants such as surfactants and pesticides are given. (orig.)

Useful model organisms, indicators, or both? Ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae reflecting environmental conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matti Koivula

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Classic studies have successfully linked single-species abundances, life-history traits, assemblage structures and biomass of carabid beetles to past and present, human-caused environmental impacts and variation in ‘natural’ conditions. This evidence has led many to suggest carabids to function as ‘indicators’ − a term that bears multiple meanings. Here, a conservation-oriented definition for an indicator is used, carabid indicator potential from seven views is evaluated, and ways to proceed in indicator research are discussed. (1 Carabid species richness poorly indicates the richness and abundance of other taxa, which underlines the importance of using multiple taxa in environmental assessments. The ability of assemblage indices and specialist or functional-group abundances to reflect rare species and habitats should be examined in detail. (2 Experimental evidence suggests that carabids may potentially serve as keystone indicators. (3 Carabids are sensitive to human-altered abiotic conditions, such as pesticide use in agro-ecosystems and heavy metal contamination of soils. Carabids might thus reflect ecological sustainability and ‘ecosystem health’. (4 Carabid assemblages host abundant species characteristic of particular habitat types or successional stages, which makes them promising dominance indicators. (5 Carabids reflect variation in ‘natural’ conditions, but vegetation and structural features are more commonly adopted as condition indicators. Carabids nevertheless provide yet another, equally accurate, view on the structure of the environment. (6 Carabids may function as early-warning signalers, as suggested by recent studies linking climate and carabid distributions. (7 Carabids reflect natural and human-caused disturbances and management, but the usefulness of these responses for conservation purposes requires further research. In summary, European carabids appear useful model organisms and possibly indicators because

Measurement of infrared refractive indices of organic and organophosphorous compounds for optical modeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tonkyn, Russell G.; Danby, Tyler O.; Birnbaum, Jerome C.; Taubman, Matthew S.; Bernacki, Bruce E.; Johnson, Timothy J.; Myers, Tanya L.

2017-05-03

The complex optical refractive index contains the optical constants, n($\\tilde{u}$)and k($\\tilde{u}$), which correspond to the dispersion and absorption of light within a medium, respectively. By obtaining the optical constants one can in principle model most optical phenomena in media and at interfaces including reflection, refraction and dispersion. We have developed improved protocols based on the use of multiple path lengths to determine the optical constants for dozens of liquids, including organic and organophosphorous compounds. Detailed description of the protocols to determine the infrared indices will be presented, along with preliminary results using the constants with their applications to optical modeling.

The Broad Application of Data Science and Analytics: Essential Tools for the Liberal Arts Graduate

Science.gov (United States)

Cárdenas-Navia, Isabel; Fitzgerald, Brian K.

2015-01-01

New technologies and data science are transforming a wide range of organizations into analytics-intensive enterprises. Despite the resulting demand for graduates with experience in the application of analytics, though, undergraduate education has been slow to change. The academic and policy communities have engaged in a decade-long conversation…

Probabilistic quantitative microbial risk assessment model of norovirus from wastewater irrigated vegetables in Ghana using genome copies and fecal indicator ratio conversion for estimating exposure dose

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Owusu-Ansah, Emmanuel de-Graft Johnson; Sampson, Angelina; Amponsah, Samuel K.

2017-01-01

physical and environmental factors that might influence the reliability of using indicator organisms in microbial risk assessment. The challenges facing analytical studies on virus enumeration (genome copies or particles) have contributed to the already existing lack of data in QMRA modelling. This study......The need to replace the commonly applied fecal indicator conversions ratio (an assumption of 1:10− 5 virus to fecal indicator organism) in Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) with models based on quantitative data on the virus of interest has gained prominence due to the different...... attempts to fit a QMRA model to genome copies of norovirus data. The model estimates the risk of norovirus infection from the intake of vegetables irrigated with wastewater from different sources. The results were compared to the results of a corresponding model using the fecal indicator conversion ratio...

Analytical application of derivative spectrophotometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

VIOLETA M. STEFANOVIC

2000-07-01

Full Text Available 1. Introduction 2. Basic characteristics of derivative spectrophotometry 2.1. Increase of spectra resolution 2.2. Elimination of the influence of baseline shift and matrix interferences 2.3. Enhancement of the detectability of minor spectral features 2.4. Precise determination of the positions of absorption maxima 2.5. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR 2.6. Quantitative analysis 3. Analytical applications 3.1. Inorganic analysis 3.2. Organic and pharmaceutical analysis 3.3. Analysis of food and water 3.4. Application of derivative spectrophotometry for the determination of equilibrium constants

Interlaboratory analytical performance studies; a way to estimate measurement uncertainty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

El¿bieta £ysiak-Pastuszak

2004-09-01

Full Text Available Comparability of data collected within collaborative programmes became the key challenge of analytical chemistry in the 1990s, including monitoring of the marine environment. To obtain relevant and reliable data, the analytical process has to proceed under a well-established Quality Assurance (QA system with external analytical proficiency tests as an inherent component. A programme called Quality Assurance in Marine Monitoring in Europe (QUASIMEME was established in 1993 and evolved over the years as the major provider of QA proficiency tests for nutrients, trace metals and chlorinated organic compounds in marine environment studies. The article presents an evaluation of results obtained in QUASIMEME Laboratory Performance Studies by the monitoring laboratory of the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (Gdynia, Poland in exercises on nutrient determination in seawater. The measurement uncertainty estimated from routine internal quality control measurements and from results of analytical performance exercises is also presented in the paper.

Waste minimization in analytical chemistry through innovative sample preparation techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, L. L.

1998-01-01

Because toxic solvents and other hazardous materials are commonly used in analytical methods, characterization procedures result in significant and costly amount of waste. We are developing alternative analytical methods in the radiological and organic areas to reduce the volume or form of the hazardous waste produced during sample analysis. For the radiological area, we have examined high-pressure, closed-vessel microwave digestion as a way to minimize waste from sample preparation operations. Heated solutions of strong mineral acids can be avoided for sample digestion by using the microwave approach. Because reactivity increases with pressure, we examined the use of less hazardous solvents to leach selected contaminants from soil for subsequent analysis. We demonstrated the feasibility of this approach by extracting plutonium from a NET reference material using citric and tartaric acids with microwave digestion. Analytical results were comparable to traditional digestion methods, while hazardous waste was reduced by a factor often. We also evaluated the suitability of other natural acids, determined the extraction performance on a wider variety of soil types, and examined the extraction efficiency of other contaminants. For the organic area, we examined ways to minimize the wastes associated with the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in environmental samples. Conventional methods for analyzing semivolatile organic compounds are labor intensive and require copious amounts of hazardous solvents. For soil and sediment samples, we have a method to analyze PCBs that is based on microscale extraction using benign solvents (e.g., water or hexane). The extraction is performed at elevated temperatures in stainless steel cells containing the sample and solvent. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to quantitate the analytes in the isolated extract. More recently, we developed a method utilizing solid-phase microextraction (SPME) for natural

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report: For period ending December 31, 1987

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-05-01

This report is divided into analytical spectroscopy; radioactive materials analysis; inorganic chemistry; organic chemistry; ORNL environmental programs; quality assurance, safety, and training; supplementary activities; and presentation of research results

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report: For period ending December 31, 1987

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1988-05-01

This report is divided into analytical spectroscopy; radioactive materials analysis; inorganic chemistry; organic chemistry; ORNL environmental programs; quality assurance, safety, and training; supplementary activities; and presentation of research results.

ORGANIC CARBON AND CARBON STOCK: RELATIONS WITH PHYSICAL INDICATORS AND SOIL AGGREGATION IN AREAS CULTIVATED WITH SUGAR CANE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Tolentino de Lima

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Soil organic carbon and carbon stock influence, directly or indirectly, most of soil aggregate stability indicators. The objective of this study was to quantify the production of dry biomass (DB, total organic carbon (TOC and carbon stock (CStk in soil, and to evaluate their influence on some indicators of aggregation in an Oxisol at a Cerrado biome in Uberaba-MG, Brazil. The design was completely randomized blocks, in two evaluation periods: three and six cuts, at six depths (0-0.1, 0.1-0.2, 0.2-0.3, 0.3-0.4, 0.4-0.5 and 0.5-0.6 m. It was evaluated: soil density (SD, volumetric humidity (VH, aggregate stability index (AEI, weighted mean diameter (WDA, mean diameter (GDA, index of aggregates with diameter greater than 2 mm (AI and sensitivity index (SI, replicated by 4. The best AEI of the soil and the highest TOC contents were found in the most superficial layers, 0 to 0.2 m, for both cuttings. The greater values of TOC and CStk, occurred at the sixth cut area, where there was a higher amount of DB on soil surface. The higher levels of organic matter did not provide higher AEI in the area of sixth cut, when compared to that of the third cut. The TOC and CStk levels in both areas generally had a positive influence on soil aggregation indicators for both cuts.

Analytical chemistry instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laing, W.R.

1986-01-01

In nine sections, 48 chapters cover 1) analytical chemistry and the environment 2) environmental radiochemistry 3) automated instrumentation 4) advances in analytical mass spectrometry 5) fourier transform spectroscopy 6) analytical chemistry of plutonium 7) nuclear analytical chemistry 8) chemometrics and 9) nuclear fuel technology

Potential biological indicators of multi-organ damage: Application to radiation accident victims; Bio-indicateurs potentiels d'atteinte multi-organe: application au cas des victimes d'irradiation accidentelles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bertho, J.M.; Souidi, M.; Gourmelon, P. [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN), Dir. de la Radioprotection de l' Homme 92 - Fontenay-aux-Roses (France)

2009-09-15

Accidental irradiations induce a complex pathological situation, difficult to assess and to treat. However, recent results describing new biological indicators of radiation-induced damages such as Flt3-ligand, citrulline and oxy-sterol concentration in the plasma, together with results obtained in large animal models of high dose irradiation, allowed a better understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms induced by uncontrolled irradiations. This conducted to leave the classical paradigm of the acute radiation syndrome, described as the association of three individual syndromes, the hematopoietic syndrome, the gastro-intestinal syndrome and the cerebrovascular syndrome, in favour of a multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, with the implication of other organs and systems. Follow-up of victims from two recent radiation accidents brings a confirmation of the usefulness of the newly described biological indicators, and also a partial confirmation of this new concept of a multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. (authors)

Radiocarbon in marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Clercq, M. le; Plicht, J. van der; Meijer, H.A.J.; Baar, H.J.W. de

Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) plays an important role in the ecology and carbon cycle in the ocean. Analytical problems with concentration and isotope ratio measurements have hindered its study. We have constructed a new analytical method based on supercritical oxidation for the determination of

Matrix effects on organic pollutants analysis in marine sediment

Science.gov (United States)

Azis, M. Y.; Asia, L.; Piram, A.; Buchari, B.; Doumenq, P.; Setiyanto, H.

2018-05-01

Interference from the matrix sample can influence of the accurate analytical method. Accelerated Solvent Extraction and their purification methods were tried to separate the organic micropollutants respectively in marine sediment. Those matrix were as organic pollutants evaluation in marine environment. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are two examples organic pollutant in environment which are carcinogenic and mutagenic. Marine sediments are important matrices of information regarding the human activities in coastal areas as well as the fate and behavior of organic pollutants, which are persistent in long-term. This research purpose to evaluate the matrice effect and the recovery from marine sediment spiking with several standar solution and deuterium of molecular target from organic pollutants in not polluted sample of sediment. Matrice samples was tested from indicate in unpolluted location. The methods were evaluated with standard calibration curve (linearity LOQ). Recovery (YE) relative, Matrice Effect (ME) relative correction with deuteriated standar were evaluated the interference the matrix. Interference effect for OCPs compounds were higher than PCBs in marine sediment.

Collaborative Web-Enabled GeoAnalytics Applied to OECD Regional Data

Science.gov (United States)

Jern, Mikael

Recent advances in web-enabled graphics technologies have the potential to make a dramatic impact on developing collaborative geovisual analytics (GeoAnalytics). In this paper, tools are introduced that help establish progress initiatives at international and sub-national levels aimed at measuring and collaborating, through statistical indicators, economic, social and environmental developments and to engage both statisticians and the public in such activities. Given this global dimension of such a task, the “dream” of building a repository of progress indicators, where experts and public users can use GeoAnalytics collaborative tools to compare situations for two or more countries, regions or local communities, could be accomplished. While the benefits of GeoAnalytics tools are many, it remains a challenge to adapt these dynamic visual tools to the Internet. For example, dynamic web-enabled animation that enables statisticians to explore temporal, spatial and multivariate demographics data from multiple perspectives, discover interesting relationships, share their incremental discoveries with colleagues and finally communicate selected relevant knowledge to the public. These discoveries often emerge through the diverse backgrounds and experiences of expert domains and are precious in a creative analytics reasoning process. In this context, we introduce a demonstrator “OECD eXplorer”, a customized tool for interactively analyzing, and collaborating gained insights and discoveries based on a novel story mechanism that capture, re-use and share task-related explorative events.

Elaboration in the area of geochemistry and analytical chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mirsaidov, U.M.

2002-01-01

In this article of book the analytical organic reagents, the method of leading cobalt in to coloured condition, the method of photo-metrical nickel determination, X-ray spectrum and atomic emission spectral analysis, pre-sorting of aluminium raw material samples, roentgen fluorescent determination of formative elements in rocks was investigated

Analytic and Systemic Specialized Incest Group Psychotherapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elkjaer, Henriette Kiilsholm; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Poulsen, Stig Bernt

PURPOSE: Women with long-term sequalae of child sexual abuse (CSA) were randomly assigned to analytic (Group A) or systemic group psychotherapy (Group S). Pre-post-analysis indicated that both therapies led to significant improvement, but overall Group S had significantly better outcome than Group...

A Synthesis of Light Absorption Properties of the Arctic Ocean: Application to Semi-analytical Estimates of Dissolved Organic Carbon Concentrations from Space

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, A.; Babin, M.; Doxaran, D.; Hooker, S. B.; Mitchell, B. G.; Belanger, S.; Bricaud, A.

2014-01-01

The light absorption coefficients of particulate and dissolved materials are the main factors determining the light propagation of the visible part of the spectrum and are, thus, important for developing ocean color algorithms. While these absorption properties have recently been documented by a few studies for the Arctic Ocean [e.g., Matsuoka et al., 2007, 2011; Ben Mustapha et al., 2012], the datasets used in the literature were sparse and individually insufficient to draw a general view of the basin-wide spatial and temporal variations in absorption. To achieve such a task, we built a large absorption database at the pan-Arctic scale by pooling the majority of published datasets and merging new datasets. Our results showed that the total non-water absorption coefficients measured in the Eastern Arctic Ocean (EAO; Siberian side) are significantly higher 74 than in the Western Arctic Ocean (WAO; North American side). This higher absorption is explained 75 by higher concentration of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in watersheds on the Siberian 76 side, which contains a large amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) compared to waters off 77 North America. In contrast, the relationship between the phytoplankton absorption (a()) and chlorophyll a (chl a) concentration in the EAO was not significantly different from that in the WAO. Because our semi-analytical CDOM absorption algorithm is based on chl a-specific a() values [Matsuoka et al., 2013], this result indirectly suggests that CDOM absorption can be appropriately erived not only for the WAO but also for the EAO using ocean color data. Derived CDOM absorption values were reasonable compared to in situ measurements. By combining this algorithm with empirical DOC versus CDOM relationships, a semi-analytical algorithm for estimating DOC concentrations for coastal waters at the Pan-Arctic scale is presented and applied to satellite ocean color data.

METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF TOTAL ORGANIC ...

Science.gov (United States)

Organic matter in soils and sediments is widely distributed over the earth's surface occurring in almost all terrestrial and aquatic environments (Schnitzer, 1978). Soils and sediments contain a large variety of organic materials ranging from simple sugars and carbohydrates to the more complex proteins, fats, waxes, and organic acids. Important characteristics of the organic matter include their ability to: form water-soluble and water- insoluble complexes with metal ions and hydrous oxides; interact with clay minerals and bind particles together; sorb and desorb both naturally-occurring and anthropogenically-introduced organic compounds; absorb and release plant nutrients; and hold water in the soil environment. As a result of these characteristics, the determination of total organic carbon (a measure of one of the chemical components of organic matter that is often used as an indicator of its presence in a soil or sediment) is an essential part of any site characterization since its presence or absence can markedly influence how chemicals will react in the soil or sediment. Soil and sediment total organic carbon (TOC) determinations are typically requested with contaminant analyses as part of an ecological risk assessment data package. TOC contents may be used qualitatively to assess the nature of the sampling location (e.g., was it a depositional area) or may be used to normalize portions of the analytical chemistry data set (e.g., equilibrium partitioning).

Co-evolving prisoner's dilemma: Performance indicators and analytic approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, W.; Choi, C. W.; Li, Y. S.; Xu, C.; Hui, P. M.

2017-02-01

Understanding the intrinsic relation between the dynamical processes in a co-evolving network and the necessary ingredients in formulating a reliable theory is an important question and a challenging task. Using two slightly different definitions of performance indicator in the context of a co-evolving prisoner's dilemma game, it is shown that very different cooperative levels result and theories of different complexity are required to understand the key features. When the payoff per opponent is used as the indicator (Case A), non-cooperative strategy has an edge and dominates in a large part of the parameter space formed by the cutting-and-rewiring probability and the strategy imitation probability. When the payoff from all opponents is used (Case B), cooperative strategy has an edge and dominates the parameter space. Two distinct phases, one homogeneous and dynamical and another inhomogeneous and static, emerge and the phase boundary in the parameter space is studied in detail. A simple theory assuming an average competing environment for cooperative agents and another for non-cooperative agents is shown to perform well in Case A. The same theory, however, fails badly for Case B. It is necessary to include more spatial correlation into a theory for Case B. We show that the local configuration approximation, which takes into account of the different competing environments for agents with different strategies and degrees, is needed to give reliable results for Case B. The results illustrate that formulating a proper theory requires both a conceptual understanding of the effects of the adaptive processes in the problem and a delicate balance between simplicity and accuracy.

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1989

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-04-01

The Analytical Chemistry Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a large and diversified organization. As such, it serves a multitude of functions for a clientele that exists both in and outside of ORNL. These functions fall into the following general categories: Analytical Research, Development and Implementation; Programmatic Research, Development, and Utilization; and Technical Support. The Analytical Chemistry Division is organized into four major sections, each which may carry out any of the three types of work mentioned above. Chapters 1 through 4 of this report highlight progress within the four sections during the period January 1 to December 31, 1989. A brief discussion of the division's role in an especially important environmental program is given in Chapter 5. Information about quality assurance, safety, and training programs is presented in Chapter 6, along with a tabulation of analyses rendered. Publications, oral presentations, professional activities, educational programs, and seminars are cited in Chapters 7 and 8. Approximately 69 articles, 41 proceedings, and 31 reports were published, and 151 oral presentations were given during this reporting period. Some 308,981 determinations were performed

Functional grouping and establishment of distribution patterns of invasive plants in China using self-organizing maps and indicator species analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Zi-Bo

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In the present study, we introduce two techniques - self-organizing maps (SOM and indicator species analysis (INDVAL - for understanding the richness patterns of invasive species. We first employed SOM to identify functional groups and then used INDVAL to identify the representative areas characterizing these functional groups. Quantitative traits and distributional information on 127 invasive plants in 28 provinces of China were collected to form the matrices for our study. The results indicate Jiangsu to be the top province with the highest number of invasive species, while Ningxia was the lowest. Six functional groups were identified by the SOM method, and five of them were found to have significantly representative provinces by the INDVAL method. Our study represents the first attempt to combine self-organizing maps and indicator species analysis to assess the macro-scale distribution of exotic species.

Quality of care indicators for the structure and organization of inpatient rehabilitation care of children with traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Zumsteg, Jennifer M; Ennis, Stephanie K; Jaffe, Kenneth M; Mangione-Smith, Rita; MacKenzie, Ellen J; Rivara, Frederick P

2012-03-01

To develop evidence-based and expert-driven quality indicators for measuring variations in the structure and organization of acute inpatient rehabilitation for children after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to survey centers across the United States to determine the degree of variation in care. Quality indicators were developed using the RAND/UCLA modified Delphi method. Adherence to these indicators was determined from a survey of rehabilitation facilities. Inpatient rehabilitation units in the United States. A sample of rehabilitation programs identified using data from the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions, Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation, and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities yielded 74 inpatient units treating children with TBI. Survey respondents comprised 31 pediatric and 28 all age units. Not applicable. Variations in structure and organization of care among institutions providing acute inpatient rehabilitation for children with TBI. Twelve indicators were developed. Pediatric inpatient rehabilitation units and units with higher volumes of children with TBI were more likely to have: a census of at least 1 child admitted with a TBI for at least 90% of the time; adequate specialized equipment; a classroom; a pediatric subspecialty trained medical director; and more than 75% of therapists with pediatric training. There were clinically and statistically significant variations in the structure and organization of acute pediatric rehabilitation based on the pediatric focus of the unit and volume of children with TBI. Copyright © 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Let's Talk... Analytics

Science.gov (United States)

Oblinger, Diana G.

2012-01-01

Talk about analytics seems to be everywhere. Everyone is talking about analytics. Yet even with all the talk, many in higher education have questions about--and objections to--using analytics in colleges and universities. In this article, the author explores the use of analytics in, and all around, higher education. (Contains 1 note.)

Road Transportable Analytical Laboratory system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finger, S.M.; Keith, V.F.; Spertzel, R.O.; De Avila, J.C.; O'Donnell, M.; Vann, R.L.

1993-09-01

This developmental effort clearly shows that a Road Transportable Analytical Laboratory System is a worthwhile and achievable goal. The RTAL is designed to fully analyze (radioanalytes, and organic and inorganic chemical analytes) 20 samples per day at the highest levels of quality assurance and quality control. It dramatically reduces the turnaround time for environmental sample analysis from 45 days (at a central commercial laboratory) to 1 day. At the same time each RTAL system will save the DOE over $12 million per year in sample analysis costs compared to the costs at a central commercial laboratory. If RTAL systems were used at the eight largest DOE facilities (at Hanford, Savannah River, Fernald, Oak Ridge, Idaho, Rocky Flats, Los Alamos, and the Nevada Test Site), the annual savings would be $96,589,000. The DOE's internal study of sample analysis needs projects 130,000 environmental samples requiring analysis in FY 1994, clearly supporting the need for the RTAL system. The cost and time savings achievable with the RTAL system will accelerate and improve the efficiency of cleanup and remediation operations throughout the DOE complex

Use of heteroligand complexes in analytical chemistry of niobium and tantalum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elinson, S.V.

1975-01-01

A review of modern precise spectrophotometric and extraction-spectrophotometric methods for analyzing Nb and Ta is presented. These methods are based on the use of multi-ligand (trinary, quaternary, mixed) complexes of these elements with organic reagents. To develop extraction-photometric methods for quantitative analysis of Ta in the presence of Nb use is made of complexes which these elements form with polyphenols, azo compounds, metallochromic indicators and heteropolyacids. The extraction-photometric methods are based on the use of multi-ligand complexes of the ionic association type. Owing to this the volumetric and gravimetric methods can be used here. The research on multi-ligand complexes of Nb and Ta with a number of reagents provides a basis for developing precise analytical methods for determining Nb and Ta in different materials and in the presence of many other elements without their separation

Analyzing indicator microorganisms, antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli, and regrowth potential of foodborne pathogens in various organic fertilizers.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Cortney; Heringa, Spencer; Kim, Jinkyung; Jiang, Xiuping

2013-06-01

This study analyzed various organic fertilizers for indicator microorganisms, pathogens, and antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli, and evaluated the growth potential of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in fertilizers. A microbiological survey was conducted on 103 organic fertilizers from across the United States. Moisture content ranged from approximately 1% to 86.4%, and the average pH was 7.77. The total aerobic mesophiles ranged from approximately 3 to 9 log colony-forming units (CFU)/g. Enterobacteriaceae populations were in the range of fertilizer, respectively, whereas E. coli O157:H7 grew approximately 4.6, 4.0, 4.0, and 4.8 log CFU/g, respectively. Our results revealed that the microbiological quality of organic fertilizers varies greatly, with some fertilizers containing antibiotic resistant E. coli and a few supporting the growth of foodborne pathogens after reintroduction into the fertilizer.

Azahelicene Superbases as MAILD Matrices for Acidic Analytes

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Napagoda, M.; Rulíšek, Lubomír; Jančařík, Andrej; Klívar, Jiří; Šámal, Michal; Stará, Irena G.; Starý, Ivo; Šolínová, Veronika; Kašička, Václav; Svatoš, Aleš

2013-01-01

Roč. 78, č. 9 (2013), s. 937-942 ISSN 2192-6506 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA203/09/1766; GA ČR(CZ) GAP206/12/0453; GA AV ČR IAA400550916 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : azahelicene superbases * MAILD-MS matrix * acidic analytes * matrix isolation * metabolomics Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 3.242, year: 2013

Radionuclides in marine organisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Honda, Teruyuki

2001-01-01

The concentration and accumulation of radionuclides in marine organisms were explained in this paper. Secular change of the radioactivity concentration of 137 Cs in seaweed in coastal area of Japan showed more than 5Bq/kg-fresh in the first half of 1960, but decreased less than 1 Bq/kg-fresh after then and attained to less than 0.1 Bq/kg-fresh in 1990s. However, the value increased a while in 1986, which indicated the effect of Chernobyl accident. The accident increased 137 Cs of shellfish near Japan. The concentration of 239+240 Pu was the lowest value in muscles of fish, but increased from 1.7 to 42.3 mBq/kg wet wt in seaweed in 1999. 99 Tc concentration of seaweed showed from 100 to 1000 times as much as that of seawater. Radionuclides in the Irish Sea are originated from Sellafield reprocessing plant. The concentration factors of macro-algae and surface water fish (IAEA,1985) were shown. Analytical results of U in 61 kinds of marine organs showed that the concentration was different in the part of organ. The higher concentration of U was observed in hard tissue of fish. The concentration factor was different between chemical substances with the same radionuclides. (S.Y.)

Analytics for Education

Science.gov (United States)

MacNeill, Sheila; Campbell, Lorna M.; Hawksey, Martin

2014-01-01

This article presents an overview of the development and use of analytics in the context of education. Using Buckingham Shum's three levels of analytics, the authors present a critical analysis of current developments in the domain of learning analytics, and contrast the potential value of analytics research and development with real world…

Experimental and analytical evaluation of preheating temperature during multipass repair welding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sedmak Aleksandar S.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Experimental measurement and analytical calculation of preheating, i. e. interpass temperature during multi-pass repair welding has been presented. Analytical calculation is based on heat transfer analysis, whereas measurements have been performed by thermovision camera. Repair welding was performed on crane wheels in the Steelworks Smederevo. Comparison of results indicated that analytical calculation is good enough as the first approximation, but it needs further elaboration, e. g. taking into account the radiation component of heat dissipation and/or temperature dependence of material thermomechanical properties.

The analytical center of INP - experience of becoming prospect of development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadyrzhanov, K.K.; Kozhakhmetov, S.K.

2004-01-01

Full text: In 2001 in INP NNC RK the Analytical center has been organized as separate structural division. The primary goal of the Analytical center is all-round use of the scientific and technical potential, which has been saved up in INP NNC RK for the organization and carrying out of researches, actual for, first of all for the domestic companies, scientific institutes and the foreign companies working in Kazakhstan. In the report data on the equipment with which the Analytical center for performance of works is equipped are resulted. For these purposes the grants of the international organizations and funds are involved. For example, about two years it is maintained universal X-ray diffractometer Brucker D8 Advance got with support of U.S. CRDF (the project *KR2-993). Under the project *KAR2-1036-AL-03 the same fund in current of 2005 delivery of the specialized equipment for test of corrosion resistance of materials will be made. The site on preparation of materials in created and equipped with the specialized equipment. In the report results, both fundamental works, and data on the applied works executed with various partners - National Atomic Company 'KazAtomProm', Ulba Metallurgical Plant, 'Tengizchevroil' Oil Company, Pharmacological Company named 'B-clay' are discussed, etc. In the report the basic directions of the further development of works and expansions of geography of cooperation are formulated

Introduction of organic/hydro-organic matrices in inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and mass spectrometry: A tutorial review. Part I. Theoretical considerations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leclercq, Amélie, E-mail: amelie.leclercq@cea.fr [CEA Saclay, DEN, DANS, DPC, SEARS, Laboratoire de développement Analytique Nucléaire Isotopique et Elémentaire, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Nonell, Anthony, E-mail: anthony.nonell@cea.fr [CEA Saclay, DEN, DANS, DPC, SEARS, Laboratoire de développement Analytique Nucléaire Isotopique et Elémentaire, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Todolí Torró, José Luis, E-mail: jose.todoli@ua.es [Universidad de Alicante, Departamento de Quimica Analitica, Nutricion y Bromatología, Ap. de Correos, 99, 03080 Alicante (Spain); Bresson, Carole, E-mail: carole.bresson@cea.fr [CEA Saclay, DEN, DANS, DPC, SEARS, Laboratoire de développement Analytique Nucléaire Isotopique et Elémentaire, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Vio, Laurent, E-mail: laurent.vio@cea.fr [CEA Saclay, DEN, DANS, DPC, SEARS, Laboratoire de développement Analytique Nucléaire Isotopique et Elémentaire, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Vercouter, Thomas, E-mail: thomas.vercouter@cea.fr [CEA Saclay, DEN, DANS, DPC, SEARS, Laboratoire de développement Analytique Nucléaire Isotopique et Elémentaire, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Chartier, Frédéric, E-mail: frederic.chartier@cea.fr [CEA Saclay, DEN, DANS, DPC, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

2015-07-23

Highlights: • Tutorial review addressed to beginners or more experienced analysts. • Theoretical background of effects caused by organic matrices on ICP techniques. • Spatial distribution of carbon species and analytes in plasma. • Carbon spectroscopic and non-spectroscopic interferences in ICP. - Abstract: Due to their outstanding analytical performances, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are widely used for multi-elemental measurements and also for isotopic characterization in the case of ICP-MS. While most studies are carried out in aqueous matrices, applications involving organic/hydro-organic matrices become increasingly widespread. This kind of matrices is introduced in ICP based instruments when classical “matrix removal” approaches such as acid digestion or extraction procedures cannot be implemented. Due to the physico-chemical properties of organic/hydro-organic matrices and their associated effects on instrumentation and analytical performances, their introduction into ICP sources is particularly challenging and has become a full topic. In this framework, numerous theoretical and phenomenological studies of these effects have been performed in the past, mainly by ICP-OES, while recent literature is more focused on applications and associated instrumental developments. This tutorial review, divided in two parts, explores the rich literature related to the introduction of organic/hydro-organic matrices in ICP-OES and ICP-MS. The present Part I, provides theoretical considerations in connection with the physico-chemical properties of organic/hydro-organic matrices, in order to better understand the induced phenomena. This focal point is divided in four chapters highlighting: (i) the impact of organic/hydro-organic matrices from aerosol generation to atomization/excitation/ionization processes; (ii) the production of carbon molecular constituents and their spatial distribution in the

Introduction of organic/hydro-organic matrices in inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and mass spectrometry: A tutorial review. Part I. Theoretical considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leclercq, Amélie; Nonell, Anthony; Todolí Torró, José Luis; Bresson, Carole; Vio, Laurent; Vercouter, Thomas; Chartier, Frédéric

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Tutorial review addressed to beginners or more experienced analysts. • Theoretical background of effects caused by organic matrices on ICP techniques. • Spatial distribution of carbon species and analytes in plasma. • Carbon spectroscopic and non-spectroscopic interferences in ICP. - Abstract: Due to their outstanding analytical performances, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are widely used for multi-elemental measurements and also for isotopic characterization in the case of ICP-MS. While most studies are carried out in aqueous matrices, applications involving organic/hydro-organic matrices become increasingly widespread. This kind of matrices is introduced in ICP based instruments when classical “matrix removal” approaches such as acid digestion or extraction procedures cannot be implemented. Due to the physico-chemical properties of organic/hydro-organic matrices and their associated effects on instrumentation and analytical performances, their introduction into ICP sources is particularly challenging and has become a full topic. In this framework, numerous theoretical and phenomenological studies of these effects have been performed in the past, mainly by ICP-OES, while recent literature is more focused on applications and associated instrumental developments. This tutorial review, divided in two parts, explores the rich literature related to the introduction of organic/hydro-organic matrices in ICP-OES and ICP-MS. The present Part I, provides theoretical considerations in connection with the physico-chemical properties of organic/hydro-organic matrices, in order to better understand the induced phenomena. This focal point is divided in four chapters highlighting: (i) the impact of organic/hydro-organic matrices from aerosol generation to atomization/excitation/ionization processes; (ii) the production of carbon molecular constituents and their spatial distribution in the

Big Data Analytics in the Management of Business

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jelonek Dorota

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Data, information, knowledge have always played a critical role in business. The amount of various data that can be collected and stored is increasing, therefore companies need new solutions for data processing and analysis. The paper presents considerations on the concept of Big Data. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate that Big Data analytics is an effective support in managing the company. It also indicates the areas and activities where the use of Big Data analytics can bring the greatest benefits to companies.

Identifying and weighting of key performance indicators of knowledge management2.0 in organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeed Khalilazar

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Main purpose of this research is identifying and weighting of key performance indicators of knowledge management2.0 in organizations. According to widespread permeation of technology, especially social media in different organizational dimensions and functional view to this phenomenon in knowledge management, performance measurement of this kind of media in order to meet organizational goals seems necessary. KM2.0 key performance indicators in this article has been identified and weighted through Delphi methodology, via questionnaire in three rounds. KM2.0 KPIs which are identified and weighted in this article are applicable in organizations that are eager to implement KM2.0 initiative and they can measure the performance of KM2.0 activities therefore this research is applicable in goal oriented approach. According to the results, KM2.0 participation process consists of 3 stages and 8 steps as mentioned below: First stage which is presence, consists of 3 steps which are registration, visit and download. Second stage which is feedback consists of 3 steps which are conversation, applause and amplification. Finally, third stage which is creation consists of 2 steps which are codification and personalization. Ultimate contribution of this research is identifying and weighting KPIs of KM2.0 in conceptual framework of KM2.0. Based on developing a conceptual framework and participation process in KM2.0 and listing related KPIs as an applicable solution in order to measure and improve the performance of organizational social media, this research has unique innovation among related and other articles.

The Journal of Learning Analytics: Supporting and Promoting Learning Analytics Research

OpenAIRE

Siemens, George

2014-01-01

The paper gives a brief overview of the main activities for the development of the emerging field of learning analytics led by the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR). The place of the Journal of Learning Analytics is identified Analytics is the most significant new initiative of SoLAR. 

The "Journal of Learning Analytics": Supporting and Promoting Learning Analytics Research

Science.gov (United States)

Siemens, George

2014-01-01

The paper gives a brief overview of the main activities for the development of the emerging field of learning analytics led by the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR). The place of the "Journal of Learning Analytics" is identified. Analytics is the most significant new initiative of SoLAR.

Development of novel Sol-Gel Indicators (SGI's) for in-situ environmental measurements: Part 1, Program and a new pH Sol-Gel Indicator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livingston, R.R.; Baylor, L.; Wicks, G.G.

1992-01-01

The feasibility of incorporating analytical indicators into a sol-gel glassy matrix and then coating substrates with this composite material has bee demonstrated. Substrates coated include paper, wood, glass, and the lens of an analytical probe. The first SRTC sol-gel indicator, comprising bromophenol blue dispersed in a silica matrix, was fabricated and successfully used to measure solution pH in the range of pH 3.0 to 7.5. material exhibited a quick response time, as measured by color changes both qualitatively and quantitatively, and the measuring device was reversible or reusable. Additional indicators with responses over other ranges as well as indicators sensitive to the presence of elements of interest, are also under development. The new SGI composites possess promising properties and an excellent potential for performing a variety important in-situ environmental measurements and area discussed in this report

Comparing Stream Discharge, Dissolved Organic Carbon, and Selected MODIS Indices in Freshwater Basins

Science.gov (United States)

Shaver, W. T.; Wollheim, W. M.

2009-12-01

In a preliminary study of the Ipswich Basin in Massachusetts, a good correlation was found to exist between the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Enhanced Vegetation Index and stream dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Further study was warranted to determine the utility of MODIS indices in predicting temporal stream DOC. Stream discharge rates and DOC data were obtained from the USGS National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) database. Twelve NAWQA monitoring sites were selected for evaluation based on the criteria of having drainage basin sizes less than 600 km2 with relatively continuous, long-term DOC and discharge data. MODIS indices were selected based on their connections with terrestrial DOC and were obtained for each site's catchment area. These included the Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), the Daily Photosynthesis (PSN) and the Leaf Area Index (LAI). Regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationships between DOC, discharge and MODIS products. Data analysis revealed several important trends. Sites with strong positive correlation coefficients (r values ranging from 0.462 to 0.831) between DOC and discharge displayed weak correlations with all of the MODIS indices (r values ranging from 0 to 0.322). For sites where the DOC/discharge correlation was weak or negative, MODIS indices were moderately correlated, with r values ranging from 0.35 to 0.647, all of which were significant at less than 1 percent. Some sites that had weak positive correlations with MODIS indices displayed a lag time, that is, the MODIS index rose and fell shortly before the DOC concentration rose and fell. Shifting the MODIS data forward in time by roughly one month significantly increased the DOC/MODIS r values by about 10%. NDVI and EVI displayed the strongest correlations with temporal DOC variability (r values ranging from 0.471 to 0.647), and therefore these indices are the most promising for being incorporated

Long-Term Prediction of Satellite Orbit Using Analytical Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae-Cheol Yoon

1997-12-01

Full Text Available A long-term prediction algorithm of geostationary orbit was developed using the analytical method. The perturbation force models include geopotential upto fifth order and degree and luni-solar gravitation, and solar radiation pressure. All of the perturbation effects were analyzed by secular variations, short-period variations, and long-period variations for equinoctial elements such as the semi-major axis, eccentricity vector, inclination vector, and mean longitude of the satellite. Result of the analytical orbit propagator was compared with that of the cowell orbit propagator for the KOREASAT. The comparison indicated that the analytical solution could predict the semi-major axis with an accuarcy of better than ~35meters over a period of 3 month.

ELAN - expert system supported information and management system for analytical laboratories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaeschke, A.; Orth, H.; Zilly, G.

1990-08-01

The demand for high efficiency and short response time calls for the use of computer support in chemico-analytical laboratories. This is usually achieved by laboratory information and management systems covering the three levels of analytical instrument automation, laboratory operation support and laboratory management. The management component of the systems implemented up to now suffers from a lack of flexibility as far as unforeseen analytical investigations outside the laboratory routine work are concerned. Another drawback is the lack of adaptability with respect to structural changes in laboratory organization. It can be eliminated by the application of expert system structures and methods for the implementation of this system level. The ELAN laboratory information and management system has been developed on the basis of this concept. (orig.) [de

Scalable and Power Efficient Data Analytics for Hybrid Exascale Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choudhary, Alok [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States); Samatova, Nagiza [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Wu, Kesheng [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Liao, Wei-keng [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)

2015-03-19

This project developed a generic and optimized set of core data analytics functions. These functions organically consolidate a broad constellation of high performance analytical pipelines. As the architectures of emerging HPC systems become inherently heterogeneous, there is a need to design algorithms for data analysis kernels accelerated on hybrid multi-node, multi-core HPC architectures comprised of a mix of CPUs, GPUs, and SSDs. Furthermore, the power-aware trend drives the advances in our performance-energy tradeoff analysis framework which enables our data analysis kernels algorithms and software to be parameterized so that users can choose the right power-performance optimizations.

Directory of Analytical Methods, Department 1820

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whan, R.E.

1986-01-01

The Materials Characterization Department performs chemical, physical, and thermophysical analyses in support of programs throughout the Laboratories. The department has a wide variety of techniques and instruments staffed by experienced personnel available for these analyses, and we strive to maintain near state-of-the-art technology by continued updates. We have prepared this Directory of Analytical Methods in order to acquaint you with our capabilities and to help you identify personnel who can assist with your analytical needs. The descriptions of the various capabilities are requester-oriented and have been limited in length and detail. Emphasis has been placed on applications and limitations with notations of estimated analysis time and alternative or related techniques. A short, simplified discussion of underlying principles is also presented along with references if more detail is desired. The contents of this document have been organized in the order: bulky analysis, microanalysis, surface analysis, optical and thermal property measurements

Dynamic respiration index as a descriptor of the biological stability of organic wastes.

Science.gov (United States)

Adani, Fabrizio; Confalonieri, Roberto; Tambone, Fulvia

2004-01-01

Analytical methods applicable to different organic wastes are needed to establish the extent to which readily biodegradable organic matter has decomposed (i.e., biological stability). The objective of this study was to test a new respirometric method for biological stability determination of organic wastes. Dynamic respiration index (DRI) measurements were performed on 16 organic wastes of different origin, composition, and biological stability degree to validate the test method and result expression, and to propose biological stability limits. In addition, theoretical DRI trends were obtained by using a mathematical model. Each test lasted 96 h in a 148-L-capacity respirometer apparatus, and DRI was monitored every hour. The biological stability was expressed as both single and cumulative DRI values. Results obtained indicated that DRI described biological stability in relation to waste typology and age well, revealing lower-stability waste characterized by a well-pronounced DRI profile (a marked peak was evident) that became practically flat for samples with higher biological stability. Fitting indices showed good model prediction compared with the experimental data, indicating that the method was able to reproduce the aerobic process, providing a reliable indication of the biological stability. The DRI can therefore be proposed as a useful method to measure the biological stability of organic wastes, and DRI values, calculated as a mean of 24 h of the highest microbial activity, of 1000 and 500 mg O(2) kg(-1) volatile solids (VS) h(-1) are proposed to indicate medium (e.g., fresh compost) and high (e.g., mature compost) biological stabilities, respectively.

Tritium isotope fractionation in biological systems and in analytical procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, M.A.; Baumgaertner, Franz

1989-01-01

The organically bound tritium (OBT) is evaluated in biological systems by determining the tritium distribution ratio (R-value), i.e. tritium concentrations in organic substance to cell water. The determination of the R-value always involves isotope fractionation is applied analytical procedures and hence the evaluation of the true OBT -value in a given biological system appears more complicated than hitherto known in the literature. The present work concentrates on the tritium isotope fractionation in the cell water separation and on the resulting effects on the R-value. The analytical procedures examined are vacuum freeze drying under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions and azeotropic distillation. The vaporization isotope effects are determined separately in the phase transition of solid or liquid to gas in pure tritium water systems as well as in real biological systems, e.g. corn plant. The results are systematically analyzed and the influence of isotope effects on the R-value is rigorously quantified

Introduction of organic/hydro-organic matrices in inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and mass spectrometry: A tutorial review. Part II. Practical considerations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leclercq, Amélie, E-mail: amelie.leclercq@cea.fr [CEA Saclay, DEN, DANS, DPC, SEARS, Laboratoire de développement Analytique Nucléaire Isotopique et Elémentaire, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Nonell, Anthony, E-mail: anthony.nonell@cea.fr [CEA Saclay, DEN, DANS, DPC, SEARS, Laboratoire de développement Analytique Nucléaire Isotopique et Elémentaire, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Todolí Torró, José Luis, E-mail: jose.todoli@ua.es [Universidad de Alicante, Departamento de Quimica Analitica, Nutricion y Bromatología, Ap. de Correos, 99, 03080 Alicante (Spain); Bresson, Carole, E-mail: carole.bresson@cea.fr [CEA Saclay, DEN, DANS, DPC, SEARS, Laboratoire de développement Analytique Nucléaire Isotopique et Elémentaire, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Vio, Laurent, E-mail: laurent.vio@cea.fr [CEA Saclay, DEN, DANS, DPC, SEARS, Laboratoire de développement Analytique Nucléaire Isotopique et Elémentaire, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Vercouter, Thomas, E-mail: thomas.vercouter@cea.fr [CEA Saclay, DEN, DANS, DPC, SEARS, Laboratoire de développement Analytique Nucléaire Isotopique et Elémentaire, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Chartier, Frédéric, E-mail: frederic.chartier@cea.fr [CEA Saclay, DEN, DANS, DPC, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

2015-07-23

Graphical abstract: This tutorial review is dedicated to the analysis of organic/hydro-organic matrices by ICP techniques. A state-of-the-art focusing on sample introduction, relevant operating parameters optimization and analytical strategies for elemental quantification is provided. - Highlights: • Practical considerations to perform analyses in organic/hydro-organic matrices. • Description, benefits and drawbacks of recent introduction devices. • Optimization to improve plasma tolerance towards organic/hydro-organic matrices. • Analytical strategies for elemental quantification in organic/hydro-organic matrices. - Abstract: Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are increasingly used to carry out analyses in organic/hydro-organic matrices. The introduction of such matrices into ICP sources is particularly challenging and can be the cause of numerous drawbacks. This tutorial review, divided in two parts, explores the rich literature related to the introduction of organic/hydro-organic matrices in ICP sources. Part I provided theoretical considerations associated with the physico-chemical properties of such matrices, in an attempt to understand the induced phenomena. Part II of this tutorial review is dedicated to more practical considerations on instrumentation, instrumental and operating parameters, as well as analytical strategies for elemental quantification in such matrices. Two important issues are addressed in this part: the first concerns the instrumentation and optimization of instrumental and operating parameters, pointing out (i) the description, benefits and drawbacks of different kinds of nebulization and desolvation devices and the impact of more specific instrumental parameters such as the injector characteristics and the material used for the cone; and, (ii) the optimization of operating parameters, for both ICP-OES and ICP-MS. Even if it is at the margin of this tutorial review

Introduction of organic/hydro-organic matrices in inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and mass spectrometry: A tutorial review. Part II. Practical considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leclercq, Amélie; Nonell, Anthony; Todolí Torró, José Luis; Bresson, Carole; Vio, Laurent; Vercouter, Thomas; Chartier, Frédéric

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: This tutorial review is dedicated to the analysis of organic/hydro-organic matrices by ICP techniques. A state-of-the-art focusing on sample introduction, relevant operating parameters optimization and analytical strategies for elemental quantification is provided. - Highlights: • Practical considerations to perform analyses in organic/hydro-organic matrices. • Description, benefits and drawbacks of recent introduction devices. • Optimization to improve plasma tolerance towards organic/hydro-organic matrices. • Analytical strategies for elemental quantification in organic/hydro-organic matrices. - Abstract: Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are increasingly used to carry out analyses in organic/hydro-organic matrices. The introduction of such matrices into ICP sources is particularly challenging and can be the cause of numerous drawbacks. This tutorial review, divided in two parts, explores the rich literature related to the introduction of organic/hydro-organic matrices in ICP sources. Part I provided theoretical considerations associated with the physico-chemical properties of such matrices, in an attempt to understand the induced phenomena. Part II of this tutorial review is dedicated to more practical considerations on instrumentation, instrumental and operating parameters, as well as analytical strategies for elemental quantification in such matrices. Two important issues are addressed in this part: the first concerns the instrumentation and optimization of instrumental and operating parameters, pointing out (i) the description, benefits and drawbacks of different kinds of nebulization and desolvation devices and the impact of more specific instrumental parameters such as the injector characteristics and the material used for the cone; and, (ii) the optimization of operating parameters, for both ICP-OES and ICP-MS. Even if it is at the margin of this tutorial review

Search Analytics for Your Site

CERN Document Server

Rosenfeld, Louis

2011-01-01

Any organization that has a searchable web site or intranet is sitting on top of hugely valuable and usually under-exploited data: logs that capture what users are searching for, how often each query was searched, and how many results each query retrieved. Search queries are gold: they are real data that show us exactly what users are searching for in their own words. This book shows you how to use search analytics to carry on a conversation with your customers: listen to and understand their needs, and improve your content, navigation and search performance to meet those needs.

Role of the IAEA's ALMERA network in harmonization of analytical procedures applicable worldwide for radiological emergencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitois, A.; Osvath, I.; Tarjan, S.; Groening, M.; Osborn, D.; )

2016-01-01

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) coordinates and provides analytical support to the worldwide network of Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity (ALMERA), consisting at the end of 2015 of 154 laboratories in 85 countries. This network, established by the IAEA in 1995, has for aim to provide timely and reliable measurement results of environmental radioactivity in routine monitoring and emergency situations. The IAEA supports the ALMERA laboratories in their routine and emergency response environmental monitoring activities by organizing proficiency tests and inter-laboratory comparison exercises, developing validated analytical procedures for environmental radioactivity measurement, and organizing training courses and workshops. The network also acts as a forum for sharing knowledge and expertise. The aim of this paper is to describe the current status of ALMERA analytical method development activities for radiological emergencies and the plans for further development in the field

Analytical Chemical Sensing in the Submillimeter/terahertz Spectral Range

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Benjamin L.; Fosnight, Alyssa M.; Medvedev, Ivan R.; Neese, Christopher F.

2012-06-01

Highly sensitive and selective Terahertz sensor utilized to quantitatively analyze a complex mixture of Volatile Organic Compounds is reported. To best demonstrate analytical capabilities of THz chemical sensors we chose to perform analytical quantitative analysis of a certified gas mixture using a novel prototype chemical sensor that couples a commercial preconcentration system (Entech 7100A) to a high resolution THz spectrometer. We selected Method TO-14A certified mixture of 39 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) diluted to 1 part per million (ppm) in nitrogen. 26 of the 39 chemicals were identified by us as suitable for THz spectroscopic detection. Entech 7100A system is designed and marketed as an inlet system for Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) instruments with a specific focus on TO-14 and TO-15 EPA sampling methods. Its preconcentration efficiency is high for the 39 chemicals in the mixture used for this study and our preliminary results confirm this. Here we present the results of this study which serves as basis for our ongoing research in environmental sensing and analysis of exhaled human breath.

Organizational culture and organizational effectiveness: a meta-analytic investigation of the competing values framework's theoretical suppositions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartnell, Chad A; Ou, Amy Yi; Kinicki, Angelo

2011-07-01

We apply Quinn and Rohrbaugh's (1983) competing values framework (CVF) as an organizing taxonomy to meta-analytically test hypotheses about the relationship between 3 culture types and 3 major indices of organizational effectiveness (employee attitudes, operational performance [i.e., innovation and product and service quality], and financial performance). The paper also tests theoretical suppositions undergirding the CVF by investigating the framework's nomological validity and proposed internal structure (i.e., interrelationships among culture types). Results based on data from 84 empirical studies with 94 independent samples indicate that clan, adhocracy, and market cultures are differentially and positively associated with the effectiveness criteria, though not always as hypothesized. The findings provide mixed support for the CVF's nomological validity and fail to support aspects of the CVF's proposed internal structure. We propose an alternative theoretical approach to the CVF and delineate directions for future research.

Generic Modelling of Faecal Indicator Organism Concentrations in the UK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carl M. Stapleton

2011-06-01

Full Text Available To meet European Water Framework Directive requirements, data are needed on faecal indicator organism (FIO concentrations in rivers to enable the more heavily polluted to be targeted for remedial action. Due to the paucity of FIO data for the UK, especially under high-flow hydrograph event conditions, there is an urgent need by the policy community for generic models that can accurately predict FIO concentrations, thus informing integrated catchment management programmes. This paper reports the development of regression models to predict base- and high-flow faecal coliform (FC and enterococci (EN concentrations for 153 monitoring points across 14 UK catchments, using land cover, population (human and livestock density and other variables that may affect FIO source strength, transport and die-off. Statistically significant models were developed for both FC and EN, with greater explained variance achieved in the high-flow models. Both land cover and, in particular, population variables are significant predictors of FIO concentrations, with r2 maxima for EN of 0.571 and 0.624, respectively. It is argued that the resulting models can be applied, with confidence, to other UK catchments, both to predict FIO concentrations in unmonitored watercourses and evaluate the likely impact of different land use/stocking level and human population change scenarios.

Big data algorithms, analytics, and applications

CERN Document Server

Li, Kuan-Ching; Yang, Laurence T; Cuzzocrea, Alfredo

2015-01-01

Data are generated at an exponential rate all over the world. Through advanced algorithms and analytics techniques, organizations can harness this data, discover hidden patterns, and use the findings to make meaningful decisions. Containing contributions from leading experts in their respective fields, this book bridges the gap between the vastness of big data and the appropriate computational methods for scientific and social discovery. It also explores related applications in diverse sectors, covering technologies for media/data communication, elastic media/data storage, cross-network media/

Analytic solutions of QCD motivated Hamiltonians at low energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yepez, T.; Amor, A.; Hess, P.O.; Szczepaniak, A.; Civitarese, O.

2011-01-01

A model Hamiltonian, motivated by QCD, is investigated in order to study only the quark sector, then only the gluon sector and finally both together. Restricting to the pure quark sector and setting the mass of the quarks to zero, we find analytic solutions, involving two to three orbitals. Allowing the mass of the quarks to be different to zero, we find semi-analytic solutions involving an arbitrary number of orbitals. Afterwards, we indicate on how to incorporate gluons. (author)

Management of Industrial Performance Indicators: Regression Analysis and Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Walter Roberto Hernandez Vergara

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Stochastic methods can be used in problem solving and explanation of natural phenomena through the application of statistical procedures. The article aims to associate the regression analysis and systems simulation, in order to facilitate the practical understanding of data analysis. The algorithms were developed in Microsoft Office Excel software, using statistical techniques such as regression theory, ANOVA and Cholesky Factorization, which made it possible to create models of single and multiple systems with up to five independent variables. For the analysis of these models, the Monte Carlo simulation and analysis of industrial performance indicators were used, resulting in numerical indices that aim to improve the goals’ management for compliance indicators, by identifying systems’ instability, correlation and anomalies. The analytical models presented in the survey indicated satisfactory results with numerous possibilities for industrial and academic applications, as well as the potential for deployment in new analytical techniques.

Using an innovative combination of quality-by-design and green analytical chemistry approaches for the development of a stability indicating UHPLC method in pharmaceutical products.

Science.gov (United States)

Boussès, Christine; Ferey, Ludivine; Vedrines, Elodie; Gaudin, Karen

2015-11-10

An innovative combination of green chemistry and quality by design (QbD) approach is presented through the development of an UHPLC method for the analysis of the main degradation products of dextromethorphan hydrobromide. QbD strategy was integrated to the field of green analytical chemistry to improve method understanding while assuring quality and minimizing environmental impacts, and analyst exposure. This analytical method was thoroughly evaluated by applying risk assessment and multivariate analysis tools. After a scouting phase aimed at selecting a suitable stationary phase and an organic solvent in accordance with green chemistry principles, quality risk assessment tools were applied to determine the critical process parameters (CPPs). The effects of the CPPs on critical quality attributes (CQAs), i.e., resolutions, efficiencies, and solvent consumption were further evaluated by means of a screening design. A response surface methodology was then carried out to model CQAs as function of the selected CPPs and the optimal separation conditions were determined through a desirability analysis. Resulting contour plots enabled to establish the design space (DS) (method operable design region) where all CQAs fulfilled the requirements. An experimental validation of the DS proved that quality within the DS was guaranteed; therefore no more robustness study was required before the validation. Finally, this UHPLC method was validated using the concept of total error and was used to analyze a pharmaceutical drug product. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Big data and visual analytics in anaesthesia and health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Simpao, A F; Ahumada, L M; Rehman, M A

2015-09-01

Advances in computer technology, patient monitoring systems, and electronic health record systems have enabled rapid accumulation of patient data in electronic form (i.e. big data). Organizations such as the Anesthesia Quality Institute and Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group have spearheaded large-scale efforts to collect anaesthesia big data for outcomes research and quality improvement. Analytics--the systematic use of data combined with quantitative and qualitative analysis to make decisions--can be applied to big data for quality and performance improvements, such as predictive risk assessment, clinical decision support, and resource management. Visual analytics is the science of analytical reasoning facilitated by interactive visual interfaces, and it can facilitate performance of cognitive activities involving big data. Ongoing integration of big data and analytics within anaesthesia and health care will increase demand for anaesthesia professionals who are well versed in both the medical and the information sciences. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Advanced analytical techniques for boiling water reactor chemistry control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alder, H P; Schenker, E [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

1997-02-01

The analytical techniques applied can be divided into 5 classes: OFF-LINE (discontinuous, central lab), AT-LINE (discontinuous, analysis near loop), ON-LINE (continuous, analysis in bypass). In all cases pressure and temperature of the water sample are reduced. In a strict sense only IN-LINE (continuous, flow disturbance) and NON-INVASIVE (continuous, no flow disturbance) techniques are suitable for direct process control; - the ultimate goal. An overview of the analytical techniques tested in the pilot loop is given. Apart from process and overall water quality control, standard for BWR operation, the main emphasis is on water impurity characterization (crud particles, hot filtration, organic carbon); on stress corrosion crackling control for materials (corrosion potential, oxygen concentration) and on the characterization of the oxide layer on austenites (impedance spectroscopy, IR-reflection). The above mentioned examples of advanced analytical techniques have the potential of in-line or non-invasive application. They are different stages of development and are described in more detail. 28 refs, 1 fig., 5 tabs.

Imaging with organic indicators and high-speed charge-coupled device cameras in neurons: some applications where these classic techniques have advantages.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, William N; Miyazaki, Kenichi; Popovic, Marko A; Zecevic, Dejan

2015-04-01

Dynamic calcium and voltage imaging is a major tool in modern cellular neuroscience. Since the beginning of their use over 40 years ago, there have been major improvements in indicators, microscopes, imaging systems, and computers. While cutting edge research has trended toward the use of genetically encoded calcium or voltage indicators, two-photon microscopes, and in vivo preparations, it is worth noting that some questions still may be best approached using more classical methodologies and preparations. In this review, we highlight a few examples in neurons where the combination of charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging and classical organic indicators has revealed information that has so far been more informative than results using the more modern systems. These experiments take advantage of the high frame rates, sensitivity, and spatial integration of the best CCD cameras. These cameras can respond to the faster kinetics of organic voltage and calcium indicators, which closely reflect the fast dynamics of the underlying cellular events.

Monitoring of performance management using Quality Assurance Indicators and ISO requirement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dargahi H

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Quality assurance is a prevention-oriented system that can be used to improve the quality of care, increase productivity and monitor the performance management in clinical laboratories. ISO 9001: 2000 requirements are a collection of management and technical systems designed to implement quality assurance and monitor performance management in organizations. Methods: A checklist was prepared to monitor the preanalytical, analytical and postanalytical stages of laboratory performance management in 16 areas and all laboratory activities in 14 of the clinical laboratories of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS hospitals. Collected data were stored and statistically analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The best performance, in which 77.73% of quality assurance indicators were observed, was found in Sina Hospital. However, only 57.56% of these indicators were fulfilled at Farabi Hospital, with the lowest-level performance among the clinical laboratories of TUMS hospitals. The highest level of compliance with quality assurance indicators was in the hematology departments and for facility demands in management areas. Overall, quality assurance indicators were appropriately followed in only 7% of the clinical laboratories. Conclusion: The average quality assurance observation rate in the clinical laboratories studied was 67.22%, which is insufficient and must be remedied with stricter enforcement of the ISO 9001: 2000 regulations.

Analytical quality by design: a tool for regulatory flexibility and robust analytics.

Science.gov (United States)

Peraman, Ramalingam; Bhadraya, Kalva; Padmanabha Reddy, Yiragamreddy

2015-01-01

Very recently, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a few new drug applications (NDA) with regulatory flexibility for quality by design (QbD) based analytical approach. The concept of QbD applied to analytical method development is known now as AQbD (analytical quality by design). It allows the analytical method for movement within method operable design region (MODR). Unlike current methods, analytical method developed using analytical quality by design (AQbD) approach reduces the number of out-of-trend (OOT) results and out-of-specification (OOS) results due to the robustness of the method within the region. It is a current trend among pharmaceutical industry to implement analytical quality by design (AQbD) in method development process as a part of risk management, pharmaceutical development, and pharmaceutical quality system (ICH Q10). Owing to the lack explanatory reviews, this paper has been communicated to discuss different views of analytical scientists about implementation of AQbD in pharmaceutical quality system and also to correlate with product quality by design and pharmaceutical analytical technology (PAT).

EPA's analytical methods for water: The next generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hites, R.A.; Budde, W.L.

1991-01-01

By the late 1970s, it had become clear to EPA that organic compounds were polluting many of the nation's waters. By 1977, as a result of a lawsuit by several environmentally concerned plaintiffs, EPA had focused on a list of 114 'priority' organic pollutants. Its long-term goal was the regulation of specific compounds that were found to pose significant environmental problems, a daunting task. Tens of thousands of samples needed to be measured by hundreds of different laboratories. Clearly, there were concerns about the comparability of data among laboratories. The result was a series of laboratory-based analytical 'methods.' These EPA methods are detailed, step-by-step directions (recipes) that describe everything the analyst needs to know to complete a satisfactory analysis. During the 1970s the first set of methods was developed; this was the '600 series' for the analysis of organic compounds in wastewater. In 1979 and the 1980s, a set of '500 series' methods, focusing on drinking water, was developed. By now, many of the 500 and 600 series methods are in widespread use, and it is clear that there are considerably overlaps among the methods in terms of both procedures and analytes. Indiana University was asked by EPA to consider the question, 'Is it possible to revise or eliminate some of the 500 and 600 series methods and effect a savings of time and money?' This and related questions were studied and recommendations were developed

An indicator for effects of organic toxicants on lotic invertebrate communities: Independence of confounding environmental factors over an extensive river continuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beketov, Mikhail A.; Liess, Matthias

2008-01-01

Distinguishing between effects of natural and anthropogenic environmental factors on ecosystems is a fundamental problem in environmental science. In river systems the longitudinal gradient of environmental factors is one of the most relevant sources of dissimilarity between communities that could be confounded with anthropogenic disturbances. To test the hypothesis that in macroinvertebrate communities the distribution of species' sensitivity to organic toxicants is independent of natural longitudinal factors, but depends on contamination with organic toxicants, we analysed the relationship between community sensitivity SPEAR organic (average community sensitivity to organic toxicants) and natural and anthropogenic environmental factors in a large-scale river system, from alpine streams to a lowland river. The results show that SPEAR organic is largely independent of natural longitudinal factors, but strongly dependent on contamination with organic toxicants (petrochemicals and synthetic surfactants). Usage of SPEAR organic as a stressor-specific longitude-independent measure will facilitate detection of community disturbance by organic toxicants. - Indicator for organic toxicants at community level can be independent of natural environmental factors

A synthesis of light absorption properties of the Pan-Arctic Ocean: application to semi-analytical estimates of dissolved organic carbon concentrations from space

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, A.; Babin, M.; Doxaran, D.; Hooker, S. B.; Mitchell, B. G.; Bélanger, S.; Bricaud, A.

2013-11-01

The light absorption coefficients of particulate and dissolved materials are the main factors determining the light propagation of the visible part of the spectrum and are, thus, important for developing ocean color algorithms. While these absorption properties have recently been documented by a few studies for the Arctic Ocean (e.g., Matsuoka et al., 2007, 2011; Ben Mustapha et al., 2012), the datasets used in the literature were sparse and individually insufficient to draw a general view of the basin-wide spatial and temporal variations in absorption. To achieve such a task, we built a large absorption database at the pan-Arctic scale by pooling the majority of published datasets and merging new datasets. Our results showed that the total non-water absorption coefficients measured in the Eastern Arctic Ocean (EAO; Siberian side) are significantly higher than in the Western Arctic Ocean (WAO; North American side). This higher absorption is explained by higher concentration of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in watersheds on the Siberian side, which contains a large amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) compared to waters off North America. In contrast, the relationship between the phytoplankton absorption (aφ(λ)) and chlorophyll a (chl a) concentration in the EAO was not significantly different from that in the WAO. Because our semi-analytical CDOM absorption algorithm is based on chl a-specific aφ(λ) values (Matsuoka et al., 2013), this result indirectly suggests that CDOM absorption can be appropriately derived not only for the WAO but also for the EAO using ocean color data. Derived CDOM absorption values were reasonable compared to in situ measurements. By combining this algorithm with empirical DOC vs. CDOM relationships, a semi-analytical algorithm for estimating DOC concentrations for coastal waters at the Pan-Arctic scale is presented and applied to satellite ocean color data.

Low serum transferrin correlates with acute-on-chronic organ failure and indicates short-term mortality in decompensated cirrhosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruns, Tony; Nuraldeen, Renwar; Mai, Martina; Stengel, Sven; Zimmermann, Henning W; Yagmur, Eray; Trautwein, Christian; Stallmach, Andreas; Strnad, Pavel

2017-02-01

Iron represents an essential, but potentially harmful micronutrient, whose regulation has been associated with poor outcome in liver disease. Its homeostasis is tightly linked to oxidative stress, bacterial infections and systemic inflammation. To study the prognostic short-term significance of iron parameters in a cohort study of patients with decompensation of cirrhosis at risk of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Ferritin, transferrin, iron, transferrin saturation (TSAT) and hepcidin were determined in sera from 292 German patients hospitalized for decompensation of cirrhosis with ascites, of which 78 (27%) had ACLF. Short-term mortality was prospectively assessed 30 and 90 days after inclusion. Transferrin concentrations were significantly lower, whereas ferritin and TSAT were higher in patients with ACLF compared to patients without ACLF (P≤.006). Transferrin, TSAT and ferritin differentially correlated with the severity of organ failure, active alcoholism and surrogates of systemic inflammation and macrophage activation. As compared with survivors, 30-day non-survivors displayed lower serum transferrin (P=.0003) and higher TSAT (P=.003), whereas 90-day non-survivors presented with higher ferritin (P=.03) and lower transferrin (P=.02). Lower transferrin (continuous or dichotomized at 87 mg/dL) and consecutively higher TSAT (continuous or dichotomized >41%) indicated increased mortality within 30 days and remained significant after adjustment for organ failure and inflammation in multivariate regression models and across subgroups of patients. Among the investigated indicators of iron metabolism, serum transferrin concentration was the best indicator of organ failure and an independent predictor of short-term mortality at 30 days. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

China's water pollution by persistent organic pollutants.

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Lian-Jun; Maruya, Keith A; Snyder, Shane A; Zeng, Eddy Y

2012-04-01

Available data were reviewed to assess the status of contamination by persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), in drinking water sources and coastal waters of China. The levels of POPs in China's waters were generally at the high end of the global range. A comparison of China's regulatory limits indicated that PCBs in rivers and coastal water may pose potential human health risk. Occurrence of DDTs in some rivers of China may also pose health risk to humans using the regulatory limits of DDTs recommended by the European Union. Future monitoring of POPs in China's waters should be directed towards analytes of concern (e.g. PCBs and PCDD/Fs) and to fill data gaps for analytes (e.g. PBDEs, PCDD/Fs, and chlordane) and in watersheds/regions (e.g. West China) where data are scarce. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Making advanced analytics work for you.

Science.gov (United States)

Barton, Dominic; Court, David

2012-10-01

Senior leaders who write off the move toward big data as a lot of big talk are making, well, a big mistake. So argue McKinsey's Barton and Court, who worked with dozens of companies to figure out how to translate advanced analytics into nuts-and-bolts practices that affect daily operations on the front lines. The authors offer a useful guide for leaders and managers who want to take a deliberative approach to big data-but who also want to get started now. First, companies must identify the right data for their business, seek to acquire the information creatively from diverse sources, and secure the necessary IT support. Second, they need to build analytics models that are tightly focused on improving performance, making the models only as complex as business goals demand. Third, and most important, companies must transform their capabilities and culture so that the analytical results can be implemented from the C-suite to the front lines. That means developing simple tools that everyone in the organization can understand and teaching people why the data really matter. Embracing big data is as much about changing mind-sets as it is about crunching numbers. Executed with the right care and flexibility, this cultural shift could have payoffs that are, well, bigger than you expect.

Analytic trigonometry

CERN Document Server

Bruce, William J; Maxwell, E A; Sneddon, I N

1963-01-01

Analytic Trigonometry details the fundamental concepts and underlying principle of analytic geometry. The title aims to address the shortcomings in the instruction of trigonometry by considering basic theories of learning and pedagogy. The text first covers the essential elements from elementary algebra, plane geometry, and analytic geometry. Next, the selection tackles the trigonometric functions of angles in general, basic identities, and solutions of equations. The text also deals with the trigonometric functions of real numbers. The fifth chapter details the inverse trigonometric functions

Simultaneous monitoring of faecal indicators and harmful algae using an in-situ autonomous sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamahara, K M; Demir-Hilton, E; Preston, C M; Marin, R; Pargett, D; Roman, B; Jensen, S; Birch, J M; Boehm, A B; Scholin, C A

2015-08-01

Faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and harmful algal blooms (HABs) threaten the health and the economy of coastal communities worldwide. Emerging automated sampling technologies combined with molecular analytical techniques could enable rapid detection of micro-organisms in-situ, thereby improving resource management and public health decision-making. We evaluated this concept using a robotic device, the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP). The ESP automates in-situ sample collection, nucleic acid extraction and molecular analyses. Here, the ESP measured and reported concentrations of FIB (Enterococcus spp.), a microbial source-tracking marker (human-specific Bacteriodales) and a HAB species (Psuedo-nitzschia spp.) over a 45-day deployment on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf (Santa Cruz, CA, USA). Both FIB and HABs were enumerated from single in-situ collected water samples. The in-situ qPCR efficiencies ranged from 86% to 105%, while the limit of quantifications during the deployment was 10 copies reaction(-1) . No differences were observed in the concentrations of enterococci, the human-specific marker in Bacteroidales spp., and P. australis between in-situ collected sample and traditional hand sampling methods (P > 0·05). Analytical results were Internet-accessible within hours of sample collection, demonstrating the feasibility of same-day public notification of current water quality conditions. This study presents the first report of in-situ qPCR enumeration of both faecal indicators and harmful algal species in coastal marine waters. We utilize a robotic device for in-situ quantification of enterococci, the human-specific marker in Bacteriodales and Pseudo-nitzschia spp. from the same water samples collected and processed in-situ. The results demonstrate that rapid, in-situ monitoring can be utilized to identify and quantify multiple health-relevant micro-organisms important in water quality monitoring and that this monitoring can be used to inform same

Gaseous analytes of concern at Hanford Tank Farms. Topical report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

Large amounts of toxic and radioactive waste materials are stored in underground tanks at DOE sites. When the vapors in the tank headspaces vent to the open atmosphere a potentially dangerous situation can occur for personnel in the area. An open-path atmospheric pollution monitor is being developed for DOE to monitor the open air space above these tanks. In developing this monitor it is important to know what hazardous gases are most likely to be found in dangerous concentrations. These gases are called the Analytes of Concern. At the present time, measurements in eight tanks have detected thirty-one analytes in at least two tanks and fifteen analytes in only one tank. In addition to these gases, Carbon tetrachloride is considered to be an Analyte of Concern because it permeates the ground around the tanks. These Analytes are described and ranked according to a Hazard Index which combines their vapor pressure, density, and approximate danger level. The top sixteen ranked analytes which have been detected in at least two tanks comprise an open-quotes Analytes of Concern Test Listclose quotes for determining the system performance of the atmospheric pollution monitor under development. A preliminary examination of the infrared spectra, barring atmospheric interferences, indicates that: The pollution monitor will detect all forty-seven Analytes exclamation point

An analytical method for estimating the 14N nuclear quadrupole resonance parameters of organic compounds with complex free induction decays for radiation effects studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iselin, L.H.

1992-01-01

The use of 14 N nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) as a radiation dosimetry tool has only recently been explored. An analytical method for analyzing 14 N NQR complex free induction decays is presented with the background necessary to conduct pulsed NQR experiments. The 14 N NQR energy levels and possible transitions are derived in step-by-step detail. The components of a pulsed NQR spectrometer are discussed along with the experimental techniques for conducting radiation effects experiments using the spectrometer. Three data analysis techniques -- the power spectral density Fourier transform, state space singular value decomposition (HSVD), and nonlinear curve fitting (using the downhill simplex method of global optimization and the Levenberg-Marquart method) -- are explained. These three techniques are integrated into an analytical method which uses these numerical techniques in this order to determine the physical NQR parameters. Sample data sets of urea and guanidine sulfate data are used to demonstrate how these methods can be employed to analyze both simple and complex free induction decays. By determining baseline values for biologically significant organics, radiation effects on the NQR parameters can be studied to provide a link between current radiation dosimetry techniques and the biological effects of radiation

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1989

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1990-04-01

The Analytical Chemistry Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a large and diversified organization. As such, it serves a multitude of functions for a clientele that exists both in and outside of ORNL. These functions fall into the following general categories: Analytical Research, Development and Implementation; Programmatic Research, Development, and Utilization; and Technical Support. The Analytical Chemistry Division is organized into four major sections, each which may carry out any of the three types of work mentioned above. Chapters 1 through 4 of this report highlight progress within the four sections during the period January 1 to December 31, 1989. A brief discussion of the division's role in an especially important environmental program is given in Chapter 5. Information about quality assurance, safety, and training programs is presented in Chapter 6, along with a tabulation of analyses rendered. Publications, oral presentations, professional activities, educational programs, and seminars are cited in Chapters 7 and 8. Approximately 69 articles, 41 proceedings, and 31 reports were published, and 151 oral presentations were given during this reporting period. Some 308,981 determinations were performed.

Automatic-heuristic and executive-analytic processing during reasoning: Chronometric and dual-task considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

De Neys, Wim

2006-06-01

Human reasoning has been shown to overly rely on intuitive, heuristic processing instead of a more demanding analytic inference process. Four experiments tested the central claim of current dual-process theories that analytic operations involve time-consuming executive processing whereas the heuristic system would operate automatically. Participants solved conjunction fallacy problems and indicative and deontic selection tasks. Experiment 1 established that making correct analytic inferences demanded more processing time than did making heuristic inferences. Experiment 2 showed that burdening the executive resources with an attention-demanding secondary task decreased correct, analytic responding and boosted the rate of conjunction fallacies and indicative matching card selections. Results were replicated in Experiments 3 and 4 with a different secondary-task procedure. Involvement of executive resources for the deontic selection task was less clear. Findings validate basic processing assumptions of the dual-process framework and complete the correlational research programme of K. E. Stanovich and R. F. West (2000).

Constraining the thermal history of the North American Midcontinent Rift System using carbonate clumped isotopes and organic thermal maturity indices

Science.gov (United States)

Gallagher, Timothy M.; Sheldon, Nathan D.; Mauk, Jeffrey L.; Petersen, Sierra V.; Gueneli, Nur; Brocks, Jochen J.

2017-01-01

The Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) is a Late Mesoproterozoic (∼1.1 Ga) sequence of volcanic and sedimentary rocks exposed in the Lake Superior Region of North America. The MRS continues to be the focus of much research due to its economic mineral deposits as well as its archive of Precambrian life and tectonic processes. In order to constrain the post-depositional thermal history of the MRS, samples were analyzed for carbonate clumped isotope composition and organic thermal maturity. Clumped isotope values from sedimentary/early-diagenetic samples were partially reset during burial to temperatures between 68 and 75 °C. Solid-state reordering models indicate that maximum burial temperatures of 125–155 °C would reset the clumped isotope values to the observed temperature range prior to the onset of regional cooling and uplift. Clumped isotope results from late-stage veins in the White Pine Mine encompass a greater temperature range (49–116 °C), indicative of spatially variable hydrothermal activity and vein emplacement after burial temperatures fell below 100 °C during regional cooling and uplift. Clumped isotope and organic thermal maturity data do not indicate significant spatial differences in thermal history along the MRS. Observed variability in bulk organic matter composition and biomarker indices are therefore more likely a result of shifts in primary productivity or early-degradation processes. These results demonstrate that the MRS experienced a spatially consistent, relatively mild thermal history (125–155 °C) and is therefore a valuable archive for understanding the Late Mesoproterozoic environment.

The destruction of organic matter

CERN Document Server

Gorsuch, T T

1970-01-01

International Series of Monographs in Analytical Chemistry, Volume 39: The Destruction of Organic Matter focuses on the identification of trace elements in organic compounds. The monograph first offers information on the processes involved in the determination of trace elements in organic matters, as well as the methods not involving complete destruction of these elements. The text surveys the sources of errors in the processes responsible in pinpointing elements in organic compounds. These processes include sampling, disruption of the samples, manipulation, and measurements. The book

Enchytraeids as indicator of soil quality in temporary organic grass-clover leys under contrasting management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maraldo, Kristine; Schmelz, Rüdiger; Larsen, Thomas

2015-01-01

One objective in organic farming is to sustain the quality of the soil resource. Because enchytraeids are an important soil faunal component, they stand as bioindicators of soil quality. We tested this candidature in a field experiment on loamy sand soil with 1- and 4-year old grass-clover leys...... interactions among soil physical, chemical and biological properties suggest that enchytraeid abundance is not a feasible stand-alone indicator of management impacts on soil quality in temporary grass-clover leys but may candidate as one of several biological key parameters in more comprehensive soil quality...

Analytic thinking reduces belief in conspiracy theories.

Science.gov (United States)

Swami, Viren; Voracek, Martin; Stieger, Stefan; Tran, Ulrich S; Furnham, Adrian

2014-12-01

Belief in conspiracy theories has been associated with a range of negative health, civic, and social outcomes, requiring reliable methods of reducing such belief. Thinking dispositions have been highlighted as one possible factor associated with belief in conspiracy theories, but actual relationships have only been infrequently studied. In Study 1, we examined associations between belief in conspiracy theories and a range of measures of thinking dispositions in a British sample (N=990). Results indicated that a stronger belief in conspiracy theories was significantly associated with lower analytic thinking and open-mindedness and greater intuitive thinking. In Studies 2-4, we examined the causational role played by analytic thinking in relation to conspiracist ideation. In Study 2 (N=112), we showed that a verbal fluency task that elicited analytic thinking reduced belief in conspiracy theories. In Study 3 (N=189), we found that an alternative method of eliciting analytic thinking, which related to cognitive disfluency, was effective at reducing conspiracist ideation in a student sample. In Study 4, we replicated the results of Study 3 among a general population sample (N=140) in relation to generic conspiracist ideation and belief in conspiracy theories about the July 7, 2005, bombings in London. Our results highlight the potential utility of supporting attempts to promote analytic thinking as a means of countering the widespread acceptance of conspiracy theories. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Total organic carbon in aggregates as a soil recovery indicator

Science.gov (United States)

Luciene Maltoni, Katia; Rodrigues Cassiolato, Ana Maria; Amorim Faria, Glaucia; Dubbin, William

2015-04-01

The soil aggregation promotes physical protection of organic matter, preservation of which is crucial to improve soil structure, fertility and ensure the agro-ecosystems sustainability. The no-tillage cultivation system has been considered as one of the strategies to increase total soil organic carbono (TOC) contents and soil aggregation, both are closely related and influenced by soil management systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of soil aggregates and the total organic carbon inside aggregates, with regard to soil recovery, under 3 different soil management systems, i.e. 10 and 20 years of no-tillage cultivation as compared with soil under natural vegetation (Cerrado). Undisturbed soils (0-5; 5-10; and 10-20 cm depth) were collected from Brazil, Central Region. The soils, Oxisols from Cerrado, were collected from a field under Natural Vegetation-Cerrado (NV), and from fields that were under conventional tillage since 1970s, and 10 and 20 years ago were changed to no-tillage cultivation system (NT-10; NT-20 respectively). The undisturbed samples were sieved (4mm) and the aggregates retained were further fractionated by wet sieving through five sieves (2000, 1000, 500, 250, and 50 μm) with the aggregates distribution expressed as percentage retained by each sieve. The TOC was determined, for each aggregate size, by combustion (Thermo-Finnigan). A predominance of aggregates >2000 μm was observed under NV treatment (92, 91, 82 %), NT-10 (64, 73, 61 %), and NT-20 (71, 79, 63 %) for all three depths (0-5; 5-10; 10-20 cm). In addition greater quantities of aggregates in sizes 1000, 500, 250 and 50 μm under NT-10 and NT-20 treatments, explain the lower aggregate stability under these treatments compared to the soil under NV. The organic C concentration for NV in aggregates >2000 μm was 24,4; 14,2; 8,7 mg/g for each depth (0-5; 5-10; 10-20 cm, respectively), higher than in aggregates sized 250-50 μm (7,2; 5,5; 4,4 mg/g) for all depths

Synchrotron based mass spectrometry to investigate the molecular properties of mineral-organic associations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Suet Yi; Kleber, Markus; Takahashi, Lynelle K.; Nico, Peter; Keiluweit, Marco; Ahmed, Musahid

2013-04-01

Soil organic matter (OM) is important because its decay drives life processes in the biosphere. Analysis of organic compounds in geological systems is difficult because of their intimate association with mineral surfaces. To date there is no procedure capable of quantitatively separating organic from mineral phases without creating artifacts or mass loss. Therefore, analytical techniques that can (a) generate information about both organic and mineral phases simultaneously and (b) allow the examination of predetermined high-interest regions of the sample as opposed to conventional bulk analytical techniques are valuable. Laser Desorption Synchrotron Postionization (synchrotron-LDPI) mass spectrometry is introduced as a novel analytical tool to characterize the molecular properties of organic compounds in mineral-organic samples from terrestrial systems, and it is demonstrated that when combined with Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), can provide complementary information on mineral composition. Mass spectrometry along a decomposition gradient in density fractions, verifies the consistency of our results with bulk analytical techniques. We further demonstrate that by changing laser and photoionization energies, variations in molecular stability of organic compounds associated with mineral surfaces can be determined. The combination of synchrotron-LDPI and SIMS shows that the energetic conditions involved in desorption and ionization of organic matter may be a greater determinant of mass spectral signatures than the inherent molecular structure of the organic compounds investigated. The latter has implications for molecular models of natural organic matter that are based on mass spectrometric information.

Organization of a cognitive activity of students when teaching analytical chemistry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

А. Tapalova

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Qualitative analysis allows using basic knowledge of general and inorganic chemistry for the solution of practical problems, disclosure the chemism of the processes that are fundamental for  the methods of analysis. Systematic qualitative analysis develops analytical thinking, establishes a scientific style of thinking of students.Сhemical analysis requires certain skills and abilities and develops the general chemical culture of the future teachers оn chemistry. The result can be evaluated in the course of self-control, peer review, and solving creative problems. Mastering the techniques of critical thinking (comparison, abstraction, generalization and their use in a particular chemical material - are necessary element in the formation of professional thinking of the future chemistry teacher.

Evaluation of analytical performance based on partial order methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlsen, Lars; Bruggemann, Rainer; Kenessova, Olga; Erzhigitov, Erkin

2015-01-01

Classical measurements of performances are typically based on linear scales. However, in analytical chemistry a simple scale may be not sufficient to analyze the analytical performance appropriately. Here partial order methodology can be helpful. Within the context described here, partial order analysis can be seen as an ordinal analysis of data matrices, especially to simplify the relative comparisons of objects due to their data profile (the ordered set of values an object have). Hence, partial order methodology offers a unique possibility to evaluate analytical performance. In the present data as, e.g., provided by the laboratories through interlaboratory comparisons or proficiency testings is used as an illustrative example. However, the presented scheme is likewise applicable for comparison of analytical methods or simply as a tool for optimization of an analytical method. The methodology can be applied without presumptions or pretreatment of the analytical data provided in order to evaluate the analytical performance taking into account all indicators simultaneously and thus elucidating a "distance" from the true value. In the present illustrative example it is assumed that the laboratories analyze a given sample several times and subsequently report the mean value, the standard deviation and the skewness, which simultaneously are used for the evaluation of the analytical performance. The analyses lead to information concerning (1) a partial ordering of the laboratories, subsequently, (2) a "distance" to the Reference laboratory and (3) a classification due to the concept of "peculiar points". Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analytic geometry

CERN Document Server

Burdette, A C

1971-01-01

Analytic Geometry covers several fundamental aspects of analytic geometry needed for advanced subjects, including calculus.This book is composed of 12 chapters that review the principles, concepts, and analytic proofs of geometric theorems, families of lines, the normal equation of the line, and related matters. Other chapters highlight the application of graphing, foci, directrices, eccentricity, and conic-related topics. The remaining chapters deal with the concept polar and rectangular coordinates, surfaces and curves, and planes.This book will prove useful to undergraduate trigonometric st

Evaluation of Soil Quality Using Labile Organic Carbon and Carbon Management Indices in Agricultural Lands of Neyriz, Fars Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anahid Salmanpour

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Soil organic matter is considered as an indicator of soil quality, because of its role on the stability of soil structure, water holding capacity, microbial activity, storage and release of nutrients. Although changes and trends of organic matter are assessed on the basis of organic carbon, it responds slowly to changes of soil management. Therefore, identifying sensitive components of organic carbon such as carbon labile lead to better understanding of the effect of land use change and soil management on soil quality. The main components of sustainable agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions are the amount of water; and soil and water salinity. Water deficit and irrigation with saline water are important limiting factors for cropping and result in adverse effects on soil properties and soil quality. Soil carbon changes is a function of addition of plant debris and removal of it from soil by its decomposition. If the amount of organic carbon significantly reduced due to the degradation of the soil physical and chemical properties and soil quality, agricultural production will face serious problems. To this end, this study was done to evaluate soil quality using soil labile carbon and soil carbon management indices in some agricultural lands of Neyriz area, Fars province, Iran. Materials and Methods: Five fields were selected in two regions, Dehfazel and Tal-e-mahtabi, consisted of irrigated wheat and barley with different amount of irrigation water and water salinity levels. Three farms were located in Dehfazel and two farms in Tal-e-Mahtabi region. In each farm, three points were randomly selected and soil samples were collected from 0-40 cm of the surface layer. Plant samples were taken from a 1x1 square meter and grain crop yield was calculated per hectare. Water samples were obtained in each region from the wells at the last irrigation. Physical and chemical characteristics of the soil and water samples were determined. Soil

Efficient analytic computation of higher-order QCD amplitudes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bern, Z.; Chalmers, G.; Dunbar, D.C.; Kosower, D.A.

1995-01-01

The authors review techniques simplifying the analytic calculation of one-loop QCD amplitudes with many external legs, for use in next-to-leading-order corrections to multi-jet processes. Particularly useful are the constraints imposed by perturbative unitarity, collinear singularities and a supersymmetry-inspired organization of helicity amplitudes. Certain sequences of one-loop helicity amplitudes with an arbitrary number of external gluons have been obtained using these constraints

The dissolved organic matter as a potential soil quality indicator in arable soils of Hungary.

Science.gov (United States)

Filep, Tibor; Draskovits, Eszter; Szabó, József; Koós, Sándor; László, Péter; Szalai, Zoltán

2015-07-01

Although several authors have suggested that the labile fraction of soils could be a potential soil quality indicator, the possibilities and limitations of using the dissolved organic matter (DOM) fraction for this purpose have not yet been investigated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that DOM is an adequate indicator of soil quality. To test this, the soil quality indices (SQI) of 190 arable soils from a Hungarian dataset were estimated, and these values were compared to DOM parameters (DOC and SUVA254). A clear difference in soil quality was found between the soil types, with low soil quality for arenosols (average SQI 0.5) and significantly higher values for gleysols, vertisols, regosols, solonetzes and chernozems. The SQI-DOC relationship could be described by non-linear regression, while a linear connection was observed between SQI and SUVA. The regression equations obtained for the dataset showed only one relatively weak significant correlation between the variables, for DOC (R (2) = 0.157(***); n = 190), while non-significant relationships were found for the DOC and SUVA254 values. However, an envelope curve operated with the datasets showed the robust potential of DOC to indicate soil quality changes, with a high R (2) value for the envelope curve regression equation. The limitations to using the DOM fraction of soils as a quality indicator are due to the contradictory processes which take place in soils in many cases.

Business Analytics and Performance Management: A Small Data Example Combining TD-ABC and BSC for Simulation and Optimization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Steen

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it discuss the potentials of combining performance management with the concept and methodology of business analytics. The inspiration for this stems from the intensified discussions and use of business analytics and performance in organizations by both...

Calculations of Sobol indices for the Gaussian process metamodel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marrel, Amandine [CEA, DEN, DTN/SMTM/LMTE, F-13108 Saint Paul lez Durance (France)], E-mail: amandine.marrel@cea.fr; Iooss, Bertrand [CEA, DEN, DER/SESI/LCFR, F-13108 Saint Paul lez Durance (France); Laurent, Beatrice [Institut de Mathematiques, Universite de Toulouse (UMR 5219) (France); Roustant, Olivier [Ecole des Mines de Saint-Etienne (France)

2009-03-15

Global sensitivity analysis of complex numerical models can be performed by calculating variance-based importance measures of the input variables, such as the Sobol indices. However, these techniques, requiring a large number of model evaluations, are often unacceptable for time expensive computer codes. A well-known and widely used decision consists in replacing the computer code by a metamodel, predicting the model responses with a negligible computation time and rending straightforward the estimation of Sobol indices. In this paper, we discuss about the Gaussian process model which gives analytical expressions of Sobol indices. Two approaches are studied to compute the Sobol indices: the first based on the predictor of the Gaussian process model and the second based on the global stochastic process model. Comparisons between the two estimates, made on analytical examples, show the superiority of the second approach in terms of convergence and robustness. Moreover, the second approach allows to integrate the modeling error of the Gaussian process model by directly giving some confidence intervals on the Sobol indices. These techniques are finally applied to a real case of hydrogeological modeling.

Calculations of Sobol indices for the Gaussian process metamodel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marrel, Amandine; Iooss, Bertrand; Laurent, Beatrice; Roustant, Olivier

2009-01-01

Global sensitivity analysis of complex numerical models can be performed by calculating variance-based importance measures of the input variables, such as the Sobol indices. However, these techniques, requiring a large number of model evaluations, are often unacceptable for time expensive computer codes. A well-known and widely used decision consists in replacing the computer code by a metamodel, predicting the model responses with a negligible computation time and rending straightforward the estimation of Sobol indices. In this paper, we discuss about the Gaussian process model which gives analytical expressions of Sobol indices. Two approaches are studied to compute the Sobol indices: the first based on the predictor of the Gaussian process model and the second based on the global stochastic process model. Comparisons between the two estimates, made on analytical examples, show the superiority of the second approach in terms of convergence and robustness. Moreover, the second approach allows to integrate the modeling error of the Gaussian process model by directly giving some confidence intervals on the Sobol indices. These techniques are finally applied to a real case of hydrogeological modeling

The MOOC and Learning Analytics Innovation Cycle (MOLAC): A Reflective Summary of Ongoing Research and Its Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Drachsler, H.; Kalz, M.

2016-01-01

The article deals with the interplay between learning analytics and massive open online courses (MOOCs) and provides a conceptual framework to situate ongoing research in the MOOC and learning analytics innovation cycle (MOLAC framework). The MOLAC framework is organized on three levels: On the micro-level, the data collection and analytics…

Analyticity without Differentiability

Science.gov (United States)

Kirillova, Evgenia; Spindler, Karlheinz

2008-01-01

In this article we derive all salient properties of analytic functions, including the analytic version of the inverse function theorem, using only the most elementary convergence properties of series. Not even the notion of differentiability is required to do so. Instead, analytical arguments are replaced by combinatorial arguments exhibiting…

Assessment of environmental stability of agroserous soil according to indicator of energy potential of organic substances

Science.gov (United States)

Murtazina, S. G.; Gaffarova, L. G.; Murtazin, MG

2018-01-01

Studies of the group and fractional composition of humus have determineded that the long-term use of soil (for 20 years) without the use of fertilizers (control) leads to a decrease in the content of humic acids and fulvic acids relative to the initial soil, which indicates an increase in mineralization of the soil humus. Under the influence of a long application of high doses of mineral fertilizers, the content of mobile fractions of humic and fulvic acids in the field rotation increases in the humus content. In systems of agriculture that are not balanced by organic matter, which are predominant in most farms of the Republic of Tatarstan, the use of very high doses of potassium fertilizers is not justified energetically. To compensate for losses of humus and its energy potential in calculating organic fertilizers on backgrounds with high doses of mineral fertilizers, the humification coefficients of organic residues should be increased by 30-40% during the rotational period of 5-6 years, which will reduce the loss of energy reserves and thereby improve the ecological stability of soils and the stability of agricultural landscapes

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1983

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyon, W.S.

1984-05-01

Progress and activities are reported in: analytical methodology, mass and emission spectrometry, radioactive materials analysis, bio/organic analysis, general and environmental analysis, and quality assurance and safety. Supplementary activities are also discussed, and a bibliography of publications is also included

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1983

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyon, W.S. (ed.)

1984-05-01

Progress and activities are reported in: analytical methodology, mass and emission spectrometry, radioactive materials analysis, bio/organic analysis, general and environmental analysis, and quality assurance and safety. Supplementary activities are also discussed, and a bibliography of publications is also included. (DLC)

Investigating Reliabilities of Intraindividual Variability Indicators

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lijuan; Grimm, Kevin J.

2012-01-01

Reliabilities of the two most widely used intraindividual variability indicators, "ISD[superscript 2]" and "ISD", are derived analytically. Both are functions of the sizes of the first and second moments of true intraindividual variability, the size of the measurement error variance, and the number of assessments within a burst. For comparison,…

Introduction of organic/hydro-organic matrices in inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and mass spectrometry: a tutorial review. Part I. Theoretical considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Leclercq, Amélie; Nonell, Anthony; Todolí Torró, José Luis; Bresson, Carole; Vio, Laurent; Vercouter, Thomas; Chartier, Frédéric

2015-07-23

Due to their outstanding analytical performances, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are widely used for multi-elemental measurements and also for isotopic characterization in the case of ICP-MS. While most studies are carried out in aqueous matrices, applications involving organic/hydro-organic matrices become increasingly widespread. This kind of matrices is introduced in ICP based instruments when classical "matrix removal" approaches such as acid digestion or extraction procedures cannot be implemented. Due to the physico-chemical properties of organic/hydro-organic matrices and their associated effects on instrumentation and analytical performances, their introduction into ICP sources is particularly challenging and has become a full topic. In this framework, numerous theoretical and phenomenological studies of these effects have been performed in the past, mainly by ICP-OES, while recent literature is more focused on applications and associated instrumental developments. This tutorial review, divided in two parts, explores the rich literature related to the introduction of organic/hydro-organic matrices in ICP-OES and ICP-MS. The present Part I, provides theoretical considerations in connection with the physico-chemical properties of organic/hydro-organic matrices, in order to better understand the induced phenomena. This focal point is divided in four chapters highlighting: (i) the impact of organic/hydro-organic matrices from aerosol generation to atomization/excitation/ionization processes; (ii) the production of carbon molecular constituents and their spatial distribution in the plasma with respect to analytes repartition; (iii) the subsequent modifications of plasma fundamental properties; and (iv) the resulting spectroscopic and non spectroscopic interferences. This first part of this tutorial review is addressed either to beginners or to more experienced scientists who are interested in the

Enhancing Safeguards through Information Analysis: Business Analytics Tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vincent, J.; Midwinter, J.

2015-01-01

For the past 25 years the IBM i2 Intelligence Analysis product portfolio has assisted over 4,500 organizations across law enforcement, defense, government agencies, and commercial private sector businesses to maximize the value of the mass of information to discover and disseminate actionable intelligence that can help identify, investigate, predict, prevent, and disrupt criminal, terrorist, and fraudulent acts; safeguarding communities, organizations, infrastructures, and investments. The collaborative Intelligence Analysis environment delivered by i2 is specifically designed to be: · scalable: supporting business needs as well as operational and end user environments · modular: an architecture which can deliver maximum operational flexibility with ability to add complimentary analytics · interoperable: integrating with existing environments and eases information sharing across partner agencies · extendable: providing an open source developer essential toolkit, examples, and documentation for custom requirements i2 Intelligence Analysis brings clarity to complex investigations and operations by delivering industry leading multidimensional analytics that can be run on-demand across disparate data sets or across a single centralized analysis environment. The sole aim is to detect connections, patterns, and relationships hidden within high-volume, all-source data, and to create and disseminate intelligence products in near real time for faster informed decision making. (author)

Monte Carlo simulation: tool for the calibration in analytical determination of radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, Jorge A. Carrazana; Ferrera, Eduardo A. Capote; Gomez, Isis M. Fernandez; Castro, Gloria V. Rodriguez; Ricardo, Niury Martinez

2013-01-01

This work shows how is established the traceability of the analytical determinations using this calibration method. Highlights the advantages offered by Monte Carlo simulation for the application of corrections by differences in chemical composition, density and height of the samples analyzed. Likewise, the results obtained by the LVRA in two exercises organized by the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA) are presented. In these exercises (an intercomparison and a proficiency test) all reported analytical results were obtained based on calibrations in efficiency by Monte Carlo simulation using the DETEFF program

Towards an understanding of big data analytics as a weapon for competitive performance

OpenAIRE

Danielsen, Frank; Framnes, Vetle Augustin

2017-01-01

Master's thesis Information Systems IS501 - University of Agder 2017 Context: Big data has in the recent years been an area of interest among innovative organizations and has started to become a major priority for organizations in general, either through their own big data departments or by purchasing big data analyses from suppliers. Big data analytics means more knowledge from more data sources and is by many prophesied to be a contributing source of big change in how organizations recei...

Monitoring Pharmacy Student Adherence to World Health Organization Hand Hygiene Indications Using Radio Frequency Identification.

Science.gov (United States)

Decker, Andrew S; Cipriano, Gabriela C; Tsouri, Gill; Lavigne, Jill E

2016-04-25

Objective. To assess and improve student adherence to hand hygiene indications using radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled hand hygiene stations and performance report cards. Design. Students volunteered to wear RFID-enabled hospital employee nametags to monitor their adherence to hand-hygiene indications. After training in World Health Organization (WHO) hand hygiene methods and indications, student were instructed to treat the classroom as a patient care area. Report cards illustrating individual performance were distributed via e-mail to students at the middle and end of each 5-day observation period. Students were eligible for individual and team prizes consisting of Starbucks gift cards in $5 increments. Assessment. A hand hygiene station with an RFID reader and dispensing sensor recorded the nametag nearest to the station at the time of use. Mean frequency of use per student was 5.41 (range: 2-10). Distance between the student's seat and the dispenser was the only variable significantly associated with adherence. Student satisfaction with the system was assessed by a self-administered survey at the end of the study. Most students reported that the system increased their motivation to perform hand hygiene as indicated. Conclusion. The RFID-enabled hand hygiene system and benchmarking reports with performance incentives was feasible, reliable, and affordable. Future studies should record video to monitor adherence to the WHO 8-step technique.

Evaluation of Yield, Yield Components and Growth Indices of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L. in Conventional and Organic Farming Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahdieh Hajghani

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction Application of organic fertilizers in sustainable agriculture systems improves yield sustainability of field crop. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L. is native to Middle East and belongs to the Asteraceae family. It is resistant to saline conditions, water stress, and can reach the deep-lying water of soil. The humic acid (HA mentioned as an environmentally friendly, organic matter with low levels of hormonal-like compounds is useful in improving agriculture production (Samavat and Malakuti 2006. The HA influence on plant growth depends on the source, concentration and molecular weight of the substance. Vermicompost is produced by earthworms, mainly Eisenia foetida, it has higher levels of available nutrients compared to the original materials of composts produced by other methods. Recent evidences suggest that using different amounts of vermicompost increased vegetative traits and concentration of minerals in sunflower. However, there has been little discussion about organic farming of safflower. The main objectives of the present study were to determine the effect of organic treatments on yield, yield components, and growth indices of safflower and to compare it with conventional agriculture. Materials and methods This research was conducted in Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station in Kerman, Iran during 2012–2013. It was carried out in a randomized complete block (RCB design and had three replications. The current research has been performed to investigate the effects of two different sources of organic fertilizer on spring safflower. Four levels of vermicompost (V: 0, 3, 6 and 9 t ha-1 were considered in the main plots. Liquid humic acid at four different concentrations (HA: 0, 1000, 2000 and 3000 ppm were examined and kept in the subplots. Humic acid as a foliar treatment on leaf surface was applied twice at the beginning of stem elongation and at flowering times. In this study, aimed to compare organic farming

A meta-analytic study of the factors driving the purchase of organic food.

Science.gov (United States)

Massey, Maria; O'Cass, Aron; Otahal, Petr

2018-06-01

Interest in the consumption of organic food has steadily risen over the past two decades. Yet after considerable research addressing a range of issues related to organic food consumption no research systematically examines which factors explain consumers' perceptions and purchase of organics. Through a meta-analysis we examine factors underpinning the purchase of organic food using a sample of 124,353 consumers reported in 150 manuscripts over the period from 1991 to 2016. The results demonstrate that credence attributes of organic food are valued more than search and experience attributes. This shows that the market is guided by the perceived benefits of organic over conventionally grown food. These findings do not diminish the importance of search and experience attributes, but suggest that credence attributes have a prominent role in consumer organic food purchases. From the perspective of organic producers and sellers an understanding of consumer perceptions, set within search, experience and credence attributes, has the potential to offer a unique selling proposition and point of differentiation in the market. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Big Data Analytics as Input for Problem Definition and Idea Generation in Technological Design

OpenAIRE

Escandón-Quintanilla , Ma-Lorena; Gardoni , Mickaël; Cohendet , Patrick

2016-01-01

Part 10: Big Data Analytics and Business Intelligence; International audience; Big data analytics enables organizations to process massive amounts of data in shorter amounts of time and with more understanding than ever before. Many uses have been found to take advantage of this tools and techniques, especially for decision making. However, little applications have been found in the first stages of innovation, namely problem definition and idea generation. This paper discusses how big data an...

Quality of working life indicators in Canadian health care organizations: a tool for healthy, health care workplaces?

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Donald C; Robson, Lynda S; Lemieux-Charles, Louise; McGuire, Wendy; Sicotte, Claude; Champagne, Francois

2005-01-01

Quality-of-work-life (QWL) includes broad aspects of the work environment that affect employee learning and health. Canadian health care organizations (HCOs) are being encouraged to monitor QWL, expanding existing occupational health surveillance capacities. To investigate the understanding, collection, diffusion and use of QWL indicators in Canadian HCOs. We obtained cooperation from six diverse public HCOs managing 41 sites. We reviewed documentation relevant to QWL and conducted 58 focus groups/team interviews with strategic, support and programme teams. Group interviews were taped, reviewed and analysed for themes using qualitative data techniques. Indicators were classified by purpose and HCO level. QWL indicators, as such, were relatively new to most HCOs yet the data managed by human resource and occupational health and safety support teams were highly relevant to monitoring of employee well-being (119 of 209 mentioned indicators), e.g. sickness absence. Monitoring of working conditions (62/209) was also important, e.g. indicators of employee workload. Uncommon were indicators of biomechanical and psychosocial hazards at work, despite their being important causes of morbidity among HCO employees. Although imprecision in the definition of QWL indicators, limited links with other HCO performance measures and inadequate HCO resources for implementation were common, most HCOs cited ways in which QWL indicators had influenced planning and evaluation of prevention efforts. Increase in targeted HCO resources, inclusion of other QWL indicators and greater integration with HCO management systems could all improve HCO decision-makers' access to information relevant to employee health.

Measuring business performance using indicators of ecologically sustainable organizations

Science.gov (United States)

Snow, Charles G., Jr.; Snow, Charles C.

2001-02-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of ecology-based performance measures as a way of augmenting the Balanced Scorecard approach to organizational performance measurement. The Balanced Scorecard, as proposed by Kaplan and Norton, focuses on four primary dimensions; financial, internal-business-process, customer, and learning and growth perspectives. Recently, many 'green' organizational theorists have developed the concept of "Ecologically Sustainable Organizations" or ESOs, a concept rooted in open systems theory. The ESO is called upon to consider resource use and conservation as a strategy for long-term viability. This paper asserts that in order to achieve ESO status, an organization must not only measure but also reward resource conservation measures. Only by adding a fifth perspective for ecological dimensions will the entity be truly motivated toward ESO status.

CIEQUI: An oracle database for information management in the analytical chemistry unit of CIEMAT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rucandio, M.I.; Roca, M.

1997-01-01

An in-house software product named CIEQUI has been developed in CIEMAT, with purpose-written programs as a laboratory information management system (LIMS). It is grounded upon relational data base from ORACLE, with the supported languages SQL, PL/SQL, SQL*Plus, and DEC BASIS, and with the tools SQL*Loader, SQL*Forms and SQL*Menu. Its internal organization and functional structure are schematically represented and the advantages and disadvantages of a tailored management system are described. Although it is difficult to unity the analysis criteria in a R AND D organization such as CIEMAT, because of the wide variety in the sample type and in the involved determinations, our system provides remarkable advantages. CIEQUI reflects the complexity of the laboratories it serves. It is a system easily accessible to all, that help us in many tasks about organization and management of the analytical service provided through the different laboratories of the CIEMAT Analytical Chemistry Unit. (Author)

Tank 241-AX-103, cores 212 and 214 analytical results for the final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steen, F.H.

1998-01-01

This document is the analytical laboratory report for tank 241-AX-103 push mode core segments collected between July 30, 1997 and August 11, 1997. The segments were subsampled and analyzed in accordance with the Tank 241-AX-103 Push Mode Core Sampling and Analysis Plan (TSAP) (Comer, 1997), the Safety Screening Data Quality Objective (DQO) (Dukelow, et al., 1995) and the Data Quality Objective to Support Resolution of the Organic Complexant Safety Issue (Organic DQO) (Turner, et al., 1995). The analytical results are included in the data summary table (Table 1). None of the samples submitted for Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Total Alpha Activity (AT), plutonium 239 (Pu239), and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) exceeded notification limits as stated in the TSAP (Conner, 1997). The statistical results of the 95% confidence interval on the mean calculations are provided by the Tank Waste Remediation Systems Technical Basis Group in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (Schreiber, 1997) and not considered in this report

Using Text Analytics to Derive Customer Service Management Benefits from Unstructured Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Müller, Oliver; Junglas, Iris; Debortoli, Stefan

2016-01-01

Deriving value from structured data is now commonplace. The value of unstructured textual data, however, remains mostly untapped and often unrecognized. This article describes the text analytics journeys of three organizations in the customer service management area. Based on their experiences, we...

Refractory organic substances in the environment

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Frimmel, F. H

2002-01-01

... and its Quality Control in Fractions of Refractory Organic Substances and the Corresponding Original Water Samples 39 Introduction 39 Description of Analytical Methods 41 Sample Treatment 41 Fl...

Proposal of a system of indicators to assess the training of experts in a high-tech organization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elías Hardy, Lidia Lauren; González Olaguive, Elizabeth Vicenta; Martínez Martínez, Elisa

2015-01-01

Objective: present a proposal of a system of indicators to assess actions aimed at the training and development of experts in a high-tech organization. Methods: an analysis was conducted of the various theories dealing with the training and development of experts, examining their features and components. Design of the system of indicators was based on surveys and direct observation. The system of indicators thus designed was validated with the Delphi method, the application of the Likert scale and the statistical treatment of answers provided by experts, using median and interquartile range values to establish the consensus of experts. Results: a working definition is proposed of the concept expert based on two dimensions: qualification and performance, and individual and collective variables, indicators and measurement criteria. Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0,8655) showed the internal consistency of the tool used. The median and interquartile range values obtained made it possible to establish the consensus of participants in the validation of the system of indicators. Conclusions: the system of indicators developed and its two dimensions make it possible to assess the training and development of experts at the Cuban Neuroscience Center, as well as the system of actions performed. The indicator showing the lowest results is that of productivity of experts in the training of human resources of high academic level. (author)

Decision Making in Reference to Model of Marketing Predictive Analytics – Theory and Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piotr Tarka

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The objective of this paper is to describe concepts and assumptions of predictive marketing analytics in reference to decision making. In particular, we highlight issues pertaining to the importance of data and the modern approach to data analysis and processing with the purpose of solving real marketing problems that companies encounter in business. Methodology: In this paper authors provide two study cases showing how, and to what extent predictive marketing analytics work can be useful in practice e.g., investigation of the marketing environment. The two cases are based on organizations operating mainly on Web site domain. The fi rst part of this article, begins a discussion with the explanation of a general idea of predictive marketing analytics. The second part runs through opportunities it creates for companies in the process of building strong competitive advantage in the market. The paper article ends with a brief comparison of predictive analytics versus traditional marketing-mix analysis. Findings: Analytics play an extremely important role in the current process of business management based on planning, organizing, implementing and controlling marketing activities. Predictive analytics provides the actual and current picture of the external environment. They also explain what problems are faced with the company in business activities. Analytics tailor marketing solutions to the right time and place at minimum costs. In fact they control the effi ciency and simultaneously increases the effectiveness of the firm. Practical implications: Based on the study cases comparing two enterprises carrying business activities in different areas, one can say that predictive analytics has far more been embraces extensively than classical marketing-mix analyses. The predictive approach yields greater speed of data collection and analysis, stronger predictive accuracy, better obtained competitor data, and more transparent models where one can

Between technical features and analytic capabilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Anders Koed

2015-01-01

Digital social analytics is a subset of Big Data methods that is used to understand the social environment in which people and organizations have to act. This paper presents an analysis of eight projects that are experimenting with the use of these methods for various purposes. It shows that two...... specific technological features influence the work with such methods in all the cases. The first concerns the need to distribute choices about the structure of data to third-party actors and the second concerns the need to balance machine intelligence and human intuition when automating the analysis...

MODELING OF INDICATORS OF LIVESTOCK IN RUSSIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ekaterina S. Darda

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The role of livestock in food without dangerous country. The analysis of the dynamics of production indicators waspsmainly livestock products. The problems offorecasting-ing performance of LivestockDevelopment of the Russian Federationon the basis of the a-analytical models ofalignment and connected series.

Test set of gaseous analytes at Hanford tank farms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

DOE has stored toxic and radioactive waste materials in large underground tanks. When the vapors in the tank headspaces vent to the open atmosphere a potentially dangerous situation can occur for personnel in the area. An open-path atmospheric pollution monitor is being developed to monitor the open air space above these tanks. In developing this infrared spectra monitor as a safety alert instrument, it is important to know what hazardous gases, called the Analytes of Concern, are most likely to be found in dangerous concentrations. The monitor must consider other gases which could interfere with measurements of the Analytes of Concern. The total list of gases called the Test Set Analytes form the basis for testing the pollution monitor. Prior measurements in 54 tank headspaces have detected 102 toxic air pollutants (TAPs) and over 1000 other analytes. The hazardous Analytes are ranked herein by a Hazardous Atmosphere Rating which combines their measured concentration, their density relative to air, and the concentration at which they become dangerous. The top 20 toxic air pollutants, as ranked by the Hazardous Atmosphere Rating, and the top 20 other analytes, in terms of measured concentrations, are analyzed for possible inclusion in the Test Set Analytes. Of these 40 gases, 20 are selected. To these 20 gases are added the 6 omnipresent atmospheric gases with the highest concentrations, since their spectra could interfere with measurements of the other spectra. The 26 Test Set Analytes are divided into a Primary Set and a Secondary Set. The Primary Set, gases which must be detectable by the monitor, includes the 6 atmospheric gases and the 6 hazardous gases which have been measured at dangerous concentrations. The Secondary Set gases need not be monitored at this time. The infrared spectra indicates that the pollution monitor will detect all 26 Test Set Analytes by thermal emission and will detect 15 Test Set Analytes by laser absorption

Choice as an engine of analytic thought.

Science.gov (United States)

Savani, Krishna; Stephens, Nicole M; Markus, Hazel Rose

2017-09-01

Choice is a behavioral act that has a variety of well-documented motivational consequences-it fosters independence by allowing people to simultaneously express themselves and influence the environment. Given the link between independence and analytic thinking, the current research tested whether choice also leads people to think in a more analytic rather than holistic manner. Four experiments demonstrate that making choices, recalling choices, and viewing others make choices leads people to think more analytically, as indicated by their attitudes, perceptual judgments, categorization, and patterns of attention allocation. People who made choices scored higher on a subjective self-report measure of analytic cognition compared to whose did not make a choice (pilot study). Using an objective task-based measure, people who recalled choices rather than actions were less influenced by changes in the background when making judgments about focal objects (Experiment 1). People who thought of others' behaviors as choices rather than actions were more likely to group objects based on categories rather than relationships (Experiment 2). People who recalled choices rather than actions subsequently allocated more visual attention to focal objects in a scene (Experiment 3). Together, these experiments demonstrate that choice has important yet previously unexamined consequences for basic psychological processes such as attention and cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Analytical service by neutron activation analysis for promoting science and technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenberg, R.J.

1994-01-01

Neutron activation analysis (NAA) has outstanding qualities as an analytical technique. As it requiers a research reactor it will never be every laboratoies' technique, but rather NAA laboratories should offer service are discussed under the titles, advantages of NAA, applications of NAA, organization of the work, pricing and funding the customers

Advanced techniques for analytic liquid wastes management in the Rokkasho reprocessing plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madic, C.; Moulin, J.P.; Runge, S.; Schott, R.; Kashiwai, T.; Hayashi, M.

1991-01-01

The JNFS Rokkasho reprocessing plant is a large scale commercial reprocessing plant. Liquid waste treatment relies on concentration by evaporation. The management of liquid wastes is rather sophisticated and implies, beside the organic wastes, sorting out between process and non-process, acidic and salt-bearing, tritiated and low tritiated streams and also according to their level of activity. A particular attention had to be paid to the analytical wastes, as their particularity is to contain not only a significant amount of radioactivity but also some fissile material and exotic chemicals which are useful for analytical purpose but unwanted in the main process mainly because of their corrosive and chelating properties. The analytical wastes are sorted out according to their activity level and fissile material content. On the one hand, a specific process has been developed to recover the bulk of plutonium from the analytical wastes. On the other hand, the foreseeable amount of unwanted chemicals (such as chloride ions) has been drastically reduced by carefully selecting all the analytical methods either by modification of already known methods or in some cases by working out new methods

Soil color indicates carbon and wetlands: developing a color-proxy for soil organic carbon and wetland boundaries on sandy coastal plains in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Pretorius, M L; Van Huyssteen, C W; Brown, L R

2017-10-13

A relationship between soil organic carbon and soil color is acknowledged-albeit not a direct one. Since heightened carbon contents can be an indicator of wetlands, a quantifiable relationship between color and carbon might assist in determining wetland boundaries by rapid, field-based appraisal. The overarching aim of this initial study was to determine the potential of top soil color to indicate soil organic carbon, and by extension wetland boundaries, on a sandy coastal plain in South Africa. Data were collected from four wetland types in northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Soil samples were taken to a depth of 300 mm in three transects in each wetland type and analyzed for soil organic carbon. The matrix color was described using a Munsell soil color chart. Various color indices were correlated with soil organic carbon. The relationship between color and carbon were further elucidated using segmented quantile regression. This showed that potentially maximal carbon contents will occur at values of low color indices, and predictably minimal carbon contents will occur at values of low or high color indices. Threshold values can thus be used to make deductions such as "when the sum of dry and wet Value and Chroma values is 9 or more, carbon content will be 4.79% and less." These threshold values can then be used to differentiate between wetland and non-wetland sites with a 70 to 100% certainty. This study successfully developed a quantifiable correlation between color and carbon and showed that wetland boundaries can be determined based thereon.

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1984

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyon, W.S.

1985-04-01

Progress reports are presented for the following sections: analytical methodology; mass and emission spectroscopy; radioactive materials analysis; bio/organic analysis; and general and environmental analysis; quality assurance, safety, and tabulation analyses. In addition a list of publications and oral presentations and supplemental activities are included

Teaching Complex Concepts in the Geosciences by Integrating Analytical Reasoning with GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Houser, Chris; Bishop, Michael P.; Lemmons, Kelly

2017-01-01

Conceptual models have long served as a means for physical geographers to organize their understanding of feedback mechanisms and complex systems. Analytical reasoning provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to develop conceptual models based upon their understanding of surface processes and environmental conditions. This study…

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1984

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyon, W.S. (ed.)

1985-04-01

Progress reports are presented for the following sections: analytical methodology; mass and emission spectroscopy; radioactive materials analysis; bio/organic analysis; and general and environmental analysis; quality assurance, safety, and tabulation analyses. In addition a list of publications and oral presentations and supplemental activities are included.

INSTRUMENTAL PROVISION OF INDICATIVE MANAGEMENT FOOD INDUSTRY AND ITS IMPROVEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. V. Sirotkina

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to instruments of indicative management of industrial enterprises, which represent a means of making objective and operational administration solutions, theoretical research, as well as the implementation of management actions on the basis of the analytical and forecasting estimates management indicator.

Water Quality, Weather and Environmental Factors Associated with Fecal Indicator Organism Density in Beach Sand at Two Recreational Marine Beaches

Science.gov (United States)

Recent studies showing an association between fecal indicator organisms (FIOs and gastrointestinal (GI) illness among beachgoers wit sand contact have important public health implicatons because of the large numbers of people who recreate at beaches and engage in sand contact act...

Rainfall-induced fecal indicator organisms transport from manured fields: model sensitivity analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Gonzalo; Pachepsky, Yakov A; Whelan, Gene; Yakirevich, Alexander M; Guber, Andrey; Gish, Timothy J

2014-02-01

Microbial quality of surface waters attracts attention due to food- and waterborne disease outbreaks. Fecal indicator organisms (FIOs) are commonly used for the microbial pollution level evaluation. Models predicting the fate and transport of FIOs are required to design and evaluate best management practices that reduce the microbial pollution in ecosystems and water sources and thus help to predict the risk of food and waterborne diseases. In this study we performed a sensitivity analysis for the KINEROS/STWIR model developed to predict the FIOs transport out of manured fields to other fields and water bodies in order to identify input variables that control the transport uncertainty. The distributions of model input parameters were set to encompass values found from three-year experiments at the USDA-ARS OPE3 experimental site in Beltsville and publicly available information. Sobol' indices and complementary regression trees were used to perform the global sensitivity analysis of the model and to explore the interactions between model input parameters on the proportion of FIO removed from fields. Regression trees provided a useful visualization of the differences in sensitivity of the model output in different parts of the input variable domain. Environmental controls such as soil saturation, rainfall duration and rainfall intensity had the largest influence in the model behavior, whereas soil and manure properties ranked lower. The field length had only moderate effect on the model output sensitivity to the model inputs. Among the manure-related properties the parameter determining the shape of the FIO release kinetic curve had the largest influence on the removal of FIOs from the fields. That underscored the need to better characterize the FIO release kinetics. Since the most sensitive model inputs are available in soil and weather databases or can be obtained using soil water models, results indicate the opportunity of obtaining large-scale estimates of FIO

Controlled experimental soil organic matter modification for study of organic pollutant interactions in soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, Ashour A.; Kühn, Oliver; Leinweber, Peter

2012-01-01

Interactions of organic pollutants with soil organic matter can be studied by adsorption of the pollutants on well-characterized soil samples with constant mineralogy but different organic matter compositions. Therefore, the objectives of the current study are establishing a set of different, well-characterized soil samples by systematic modifications of their organic matter content and molecular composition and prove these modifications by advanced complementary analytical techniques. Modifications were done by off-line pyrolysis and removal/addition of hot-water extracted organic fraction (HWE) from/to the original soil sample. Both pyrolysis-field ionization mass spectrometry (Py-FIMS) and synchrotron-based C- and N- X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy (XANES) were applied to investigate the composition of the soil organic matter. These complementary analytical methods in addition to elemental analysis agreed in showing the following order of organic matter contents: pyrolyzed soil < soil residue < original soil < soil + 3 HWE < soil + 6 HWE < HWE. The addition of HWE to the soil sample increases the relative proportions of carbohydrates, N-containing heterocyclic compounds and peptides, and decreases the relative proportions of phenols, lignin monomers and dimers, and lipids. The most abundant organic compound classes in the pyrolyzed sample are aromatics, aliphatic nitriles, aldehydes, five- and six-membered N-containing heterocyclic compounds, and aliphatic carboxylic acids. It can be expected that removal or addition of HWE, that mimic biomass inputs to soil or soil amendments, change the binding capacity for organic pollutants less intensively than heat impact, e.g. from vegetation burning. It will be possible to interpret kinetic data on the pollutants adsorption by these original and modified soil samples on the basis of the bond- and element-specific speciation data through C-XANES and N-XANES and the molecular-level characterization

Behavioural health analytics using mobile phones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Wlodarczak

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Big Data analytics in healthcare has become a very active area of research since it promises to reduce costs and to improve health care quality. Behavioural analytics analyses a patients behavioural patterns with the goal of early detection if a patient becomes symptomatic and triggering treatment even before a disease outbreak happens. Behavioural analytics allows a more precise and personalised treatment and can even monitor whole populations for events such as epidemic outbreaks. With the prevalence of mobile phones, they have been used to monitor the health of patients by analysing their behavioural and movement patterns. Cell phones are always on devices and are usually close to their users. As such they can be used as social sensors to create "automated diaries" of their users. Specialised apps passively collect and analyse user data to detect if a patient shows some deviant behaviour indicating he has become symptomatic. These apps first learn a patients normal daily patterns and alert a health care centre if it detects a deviant behaviour. The health care centre can then call the patient and check on his well-being. These apps use machine learning techniques to for reality mining and predictive analysis. This paper describes some of these techniques that have been adopted recently in eHealth apps.

Management challenges in creating value from business analytics

OpenAIRE

Vidgen, Richard; Shaw, S.; Grant, D.G.

2017-01-01

The popularity of big data and business analytics has increased tremendously in the last decade and a key challenge for organizations is in understanding how to leverage them to create business value. However, while the literature acknowledges the importance of these topics little work has addressed them from the organization’s point of view. This paper investigates the challenges faced by organizational managers seeking to become more data and information-driven in order to create value. Emp...

Molecularly imprinted polymers--potential and challenges in analytical chemistry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahony, J.O. [Dublin City University, School of Chemical Sciences, Glasnevin, Dublin 9 (Ireland); Nolan, K. [Dublin City University, School of Chemical Sciences, Glasnevin, Dublin 9 (Ireland); Smyth, M.R. [Dublin City University, School of Chemical Sciences, Glasnevin, Dublin 9 (Ireland); Mizaikoff, B. [Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 770 State Street, Boggs Building, Atlanta, GA 30332-0400 (United States)]. E-mail: boris.mizaikoff@chemistry.gatech.edu

2005-04-04

Among the variety of biomimetic recognition schemes utilizing supramolecular approaches molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have proven their potential as synthetic receptors in numerous applications ranging from liquid chromatography to assays and sensor technology. Their inherent advantages compared to biochemical/biological recognition systems include robustness, storage endurance and lower costs. However, until recently only few contributions throughout the relevant literature describe quantitative analytical applications of MIPs for practically relevant analyte molecules and real-world samples. Increased motivation to thoroughly evaluate the true potential of MIP technology is clearly attributed to the demands of modern analytical chemistry, which include enhanced sensitivity, selectivity and applicability of molecular recognition building blocks at decreasing costs. In particular, the areas of environmental monitoring, food and beverage analysis and industrial process surveillance require analytical tools capable of discriminating chemicals with high molecular specificity considering increasing numbers of complex environmental contaminants, pollution of raw products and rigorous quality control requested by legislation and consumer protection. Furthermore, efficient product improvement and development of new products requires precise qualitative and quantitative analytical methods. Finally, environmental, food and process safety control issues favor the application of on-line in situ analytical methods with high molecular selectivity. While biorecognition schemes frequently suffer from degrading bioactivity and long-term stability when applied in real-world sample environments, MIPs serving as synthetic antibodies have successfully been applied as stationary phase separation matrix (e.g. HPLC and SPE), recognition component in bioassays (e.g. ELISA) or biomimetic recognition layer in chemical sensor systems. Examples such as MIP-based selective analysis of

Molecularly imprinted polymers--potential and challenges in analytical chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahony, J.O.; Nolan, K.; Smyth, M.R.; Mizaikoff, B.

2005-01-01

Among the variety of biomimetic recognition schemes utilizing supramolecular approaches molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have proven their potential as synthetic receptors in numerous applications ranging from liquid chromatography to assays and sensor technology. Their inherent advantages compared to biochemical/biological recognition systems include robustness, storage endurance and lower costs. However, until recently only few contributions throughout the relevant literature describe quantitative analytical applications of MIPs for practically relevant analyte molecules and real-world samples. Increased motivation to thoroughly evaluate the true potential of MIP technology is clearly attributed to the demands of modern analytical chemistry, which include enhanced sensitivity, selectivity and applicability of molecular recognition building blocks at decreasing costs. In particular, the areas of environmental monitoring, food and beverage analysis and industrial process surveillance require analytical tools capable of discriminating chemicals with high molecular specificity considering increasing numbers of complex environmental contaminants, pollution of raw products and rigorous quality control requested by legislation and consumer protection. Furthermore, efficient product improvement and development of new products requires precise qualitative and quantitative analytical methods. Finally, environmental, food and process safety control issues favor the application of on-line in situ analytical methods with high molecular selectivity. While biorecognition schemes frequently suffer from degrading bioactivity and long-term stability when applied in real-world sample environments, MIPs serving as synthetic antibodies have successfully been applied as stationary phase separation matrix (e.g. HPLC and SPE), recognition component in bioassays (e.g. ELISA) or biomimetic recognition layer in chemical sensor systems. Examples such as MIP-based selective analysis of

Organic matter in North Bohemian Tertiavy and Cretaceous sediments with uranium mineralization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simanek, V.

1979-01-01

Significant variability was found in the qualitative and the quantitative compositions of dispersed organic matter in Tertiary rocks with uranium ore content between hundredths and units of percentage of the rocks. In Cretaceous rocks with similar proportion of uranium in w.% the variability is much smaller. In rocks with higher organic carbon and uranium levels the organic matter is in a more advanced stage of carbonification metamorphosis than in rocks with lower levels of the components. A statistical correlation test showed free positive correlation between the levels of uranium and organic carbon and the levels of uranium and strongly carbonified organic components and negative correlation between uranium level and humic substances on one hand and the uranium level and bitumens on the other. In Cretaceous sediments, the individual organic compounds were analytically determined in addition to the total level of organic carbon, the strongly carbonified organic components, humic substances and bitumens. Higher fatty acids in ppm concentrations were also found. Their distribution corresponds to the usual distribution in sediments. Rocks with lower contents of organic matter and uranium usually contain phenol aldehydes bound to glycosides while those with higher contents of uranium and organic carbon contain higher amounts of free phenol aldehydes. The composition of amino acids indicates genetic links to the microbial activity. (author)

Improvement of Information and Analytical Support of Strategic Marketing Management of Confectioneries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanevych Mykhaylo M.

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The article develops and offers to introduce a mechanism of information and analytical support of strategic marketing management of confectioneries, which consists of seven components of various hierarchical levels: macro-marketing and micro-marketing environments, trade, infrastructure, consumer, resource and production and organisational components. A confectionery can justify an optimal marketing strategy within this mechanism, due to consideration of the state of external environment and its impact on internal environment with application of strategic management tools. The author identifies direction of influence of external environment components upon key business processes of strategic marketing management, reveals the nature of transformation of main qualitative indicators of marketing management by means of improvement of its information and analytical support and offers to introduce a system of quantitative indicators of its efficiency. The offered scorecard should become the basis of the methodology of assessing efficiency of information and analytical support of strategic marketing management.

INVESTIGATION OF THE TOTAL ORGANIC HALOGEN ANALYTICAL METHOD AT THE WASTE SAMPLING CHARACTERIZATION FACILITY (WSCF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DOUGLAS JG; MEZNARICH HD, PHD; OLSEN JR; ROSS GA; STAUFFER M

2008-01-01

Total organic halogen (TOX) is used as a parameter to screen groundwater samples at the Hanford Site. Trending is done for each groundwater well, and changes in TOX and other screening parameters can lead to costly changes in the monitoring protocol. The Waste Sampling and Characterization Facility (WSCF) analyzes groundwater samples for TOX using the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SW-846 method 9020B (EPA 1996a). Samples from the Soil and Groundwater Remediation Project (S and GRP) are submitted to the WSCF for analysis without information regarding the source of the sample; each sample is in essence a 'blind' sample to the laboratory. Feedback from the S and GRP indicated that some of the WSCF-generated TOX data from groundwater wells had a number of outlier values based on the historical trends (Anastos 2008a). Additionally, analysts at WSCF observed inconsistent TOX results among field sample replicates. Therefore, the WSCF lab performed an investigation of the TOX analysis to determine the cause of the outlier data points. Two causes were found that contributed to generating out-of-trend TOX data: (1) The presence of inorganic chloride in the groundwater samples: at inorganic chloride concentrations greater than about 10 parts per million (ppm), apparent TOX values increase with increasing chloride concentration. A parallel observation is the increase in apparent breakthrough of TOX from the first to the second activated-carbon adsorption tubes with increasing inorganic chloride concentration. (2) During the sample preparation step, excessive purging of the adsorption tubes with oxygen pressurization gas after sample loading may cause channeling in the activated-carbon bed. This channeling leads to poor removal of inorganic chloride during the subsequent wash step with aqueous potassium nitrate. The presence of this residual inorganic chloride then produces erroneously high TOX values. Changes in sample preparation were studied to more

INVESTIGATION OF THE TOTAL ORGANIC HALOGEN ANALYTICAL METHOD AT THE WASTE SAMPLING AND CHARACTERIZATION FACILITY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Douglas, J.G.; Meznarich, H.K.; Olsen, J.R.; Ross, G.A.; Stauffer, M.

2009-01-01

Total organic halogen (TOX) is used as a parameter to screen groundwater samples at the Hanford Site. Trending is done for each groundwater well, and changes in TOX and other screening parameters can lead to costly changes in the monitoring protocol. The Waste Sampling and Characterization Facility (WSCF) analyzes groundwater samples for TOX using the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SW-S46 method 9020B (EPA 1996a). Samples from the Soil and Groundwater Remediation Project (SGRP) are submitted to the WSCF for analysis without information regarding the source of the sample; each sample is in essence a ''blind'' sample to the laboratory. Feedback from the SGRP indicated that some of the WSCF-generated TOX data from groundwater wells had a number of outlier values based on the historical trends (Anastos 200Sa). Additionally, analysts at WSCF observed inconsistent TOX results among field sample replicates. Therefore, the WSCF lab performed an investigation of the TOX analysis to determine the cause of the outlier data points. Two causes were found that contributed to generating out-of-trend TOX data: (1) The presence of inorganic chloride in the groundwater samples: at inorganic chloride concentrations greater than about 10 parts per million (ppm), apparent TOX values increase with increasing chloride concentration. A parallel observation is the increase in apparent breakthrough of TOX from the first to the second activated-carbon adsorption tubes with increasing inorganic chloride concentration. (2) During the sample preparation step, excessive purging of the adsorption tubes with oxygen pressurization gas after sample loading may cause channeling in the activated carbon bed. This channeling leads to poor removal of inorganic chloride during the subsequent wash step with aqueous potassium nitrate. The presence of this residual inorganic chloride then produces erroneously high TOX values. Changes in sample preparation were studied to more effectively

Analytical study of doubly excited ridge states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, H.Y.

1988-01-01

Two different non-separable problems are explored and analyzed. Non-perturbative methods need to be used to handle them, as the competing forces involved in these problems are equally strong and do not yield to a perturbative analysis. The first one is the study of doubly excited ridge states of atoms, in which two electrons are comparably excited. An analytical wavefunction for such states is introduced and is used to solve the two-electron Hamiltonian in the pair coordinates called hyperspherical coordinates variationally. The correlation between the electrons is built in analytically into the structure of the wavefunction. Sequences of ridge states out to very high excitation are computed and are organized as Rydberg series converging to the double ionization limit. Numerical results of such states in He and H - are compared with other theoretical calculations where available. The second problem is the analysis of the photodetachment of negative ions in an electric field via the frame transformation theory. The presence of the electron field requires a transformation from spherical to cylindrical symmetry for the outgoing photoelectron. This gives an oscillatory modulating factor as the effect of the electric field on cross-sections. All of this work is derived analytically in a general form applicable to the photodetachment of any negative ion. The expressions are applied to H - and S - for illustration

Croatian Analytical Terminology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kastelan-Macan; M.

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Results of analytical research are necessary in all human activities. They are inevitable in making decisions in the environmental chemistry, agriculture, forestry, veterinary medicine, pharmaceutical industry, and biochemistry. Without analytical measurements the quality of materials and products cannot be assessed, so that analytical chemistry is an essential part of technical sciences and disciplines.The language of Croatian science, and analytical chemistry within it, was one of the goals of our predecessors. Due to the political situation, they did not succeed entirely, but for the scientists in independent Croatia this is a duty, because language is one of the most important features of the Croatian identity. The awareness of the need to introduce Croatian terminology was systematically developed in the second half of the 19th century, along with the founding of scientific societies and the wish of scientists to write their scientific works in Croatian, so that the results of their research may be applied in economy. Many authors of textbooks from the 19th and the first half of the 20th century contributed to Croatian analytical terminology (F. Rački, B. Šulek, P. Žulić, G. Pexidr, J. Domac, G. Janeček , F. Bubanović, V. Njegovan and others. M. DeŢelić published the first systematic chemical terminology in 1940, adjusted to the IUPAC recommendations. In the second half of 20th century textbooks in classic analytical chemistry were written by V. Marjanović-Krajovan, M. Gyiketta-Ogrizek, S. Žilić and others. I. Filipović wrote the General and Inorganic Chemistry textbook and the Laboratory Handbook (in collaboration with P. Sabioncello and contributed greatly to establishing the terminology in instrumental analytical methods.The source of Croatian nomenclature in modern analytical chemistry today are translated textbooks by Skoog, West and Holler, as well as by Günnzler i Gremlich, and original textbooks by S. Turina, Z. �

Flammable gas safety program. Analytical methods development: FY 1994 progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, J.A.; Clauss, S.; Grant, K.; Hoopes, V.; Lerner, B.; Lucke, R.; Mong, G.; Rau, J.; Wahl, K.; Steele, R.

1994-09-01

This report describes the status of developing analytical methods to account for the organic components in Hanford waste tanks, with particular focus on tanks assigned to the Flammable Gas Watch List. The methods that have been developed are illustrated by their application to samples obtained from Tank 241-SY-101 (Tank 101-SY)

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending November 30, 1976

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyon, W.S. (ed.)

1977-02-01

Activities for the year in the areas of advanced methodology, mass and emission spectroscopy, analytical services for reactor projects and environmental and radiochemical analyses, bio-organic analysis, and quality assurance and safety are reviewed. Presentations of research results in publications, reports, and oral presentations are tabulated. (JSR)

Analytical Chemistry Division annual progress report for period ending November 30, 1976

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyon, W.S.

1977-02-01

Activities for the year in the areas of advanced methodology, mass and emission spectroscopy, analytical services for reactor projects and environmental and radiochemical analyses, bio-organic analysis, and quality assurance and safety are reviewed. Presentations of research results in publications, reports, and oral presentations are tabulated

Quantifying uncertainty in nuclear analytical measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-07-01

The lack of international consensus on the expression of uncertainty in measurements was recognised by the late 1970s and led, after the issuance of a series of rather generic recommendations, to the publication of a general publication, known as GUM, the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement. This publication, issued in 1993, was based on co-operation over several years by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, the International Electrotechnical Commission, the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics and the Organisation internationale de metrologie legale. The purpose was to promote full information on how uncertainty statements are arrived at and to provide a basis for harmonized reporting and the international comparison of measurement results. The need to provide more specific guidance to different measurement disciplines was soon recognized and the field of analytical chemistry was addressed by EURACHEM in 1995 in the first edition of a guidance report on Quantifying Uncertainty in Analytical Measurements, produced by a group of experts from the field. That publication translated the general concepts of the GUM into specific applications for analytical laboratories and illustrated the principles with a series of selected examples as a didactic tool. Based on feedback from the actual practice, the EURACHEM publication was extensively reviewed in 1997-1999 under the auspices of the Co-operation on International Traceability in Analytical Chemistry (CITAC), and a second edition was published in 2000. Still, except for a single example on the measurement of radioactivity in GUM, the field of nuclear and radiochemical measurements was not covered. The explicit requirement of ISO standard 17025:1999, General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration

Big Data Analytics and Machine Intelligence Capability Development at NASA Langley Research Center: Strategy, Roadmap, and Progress

Science.gov (United States)

Ambur, Manjula Y.; Yagle, Jeremy J.; Reith, William; McLarney, Edward

2016-01-01

In 2014, a team of researchers, engineers and information technology specialists at NASA Langley Research Center developed a Big Data Analytics and Machine Intelligence Strategy and Roadmap as part of Langley's Comprehensive Digital Transformation Initiative, with the goal of identifying the goals, objectives, initiatives, and recommendations need to develop near-, mid- and long-term capabilities for data analytics and machine intelligence in aerospace domains. Since that time, significant progress has been made in developing pilots and projects in several research, engineering, and scientific domains by following the original strategy of collaboration between mission support organizations, mission organizations, and external partners from universities and industry. This report summarizes the work to date in Data Intensive Scientific Discovery, Deep Content Analytics, and Deep Q&A projects, as well as the progress made in collaboration, outreach, and education. Recommendations for continuing this success into future phases of the initiative are also made.

An Analytic Glossary to Social Inquiry Using Institutional and Political Activist Ethnography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Bisaillon PhD

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This analytic glossary, composed of 52 terms, is a practical reference and working tool for persons preparing to conduct theoretically informed qualitative social science research drawing from institutional and political activist ethnography. Researchers using these approaches examine social problems and move beyond interpretation by explicating how these problems are organized and what social and ruling relations coordinate them. Political activist ethnography emerges from, and extends, institutional ethnography by producing knowledge explicitly for activism and social movement organizing ends. The assemblage of vocabulary and ideas in this word list are new, and build on existing methodological resources. This glossary offers an extensive, analytic, and challenging inventory of language that brings together terms from these ethnographic approaches with shared ancestry. This compilation is designed to serve as an accessible “one-stop-shop” resource for persons using or contemplating using institutional and political activist ethnography in their research and/or activist projects.

Organization of information system of management accounting: from theory to practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bochulia Tatiana Vladimirovna

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Organization of information and analytical support provides for the use as traditional well as innovative concepts. Organization of management accounting at the enterprise has special significance, because is a productive source of data for the management system. The author's position concerning ways, methods and procedures of organization of information support of management accounting was outlined in the article. The attention is accented on available of psychological foundation in decision-making. A scheme of information and analytical support of business based on the balance in the data of financial and management accounting has been proposed.

MASTERS OF ANALYTICAL TRADECRAFT: CERTIFYING THE STANDARDS AND ANALYTIC RIGOR OF INTELLIGENCE PRODUCTS

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-01

AU/ACSC/2016 AIR COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE AIR UNIVERSITY MASTERS OF ANALYTICAL TRADECRAFT: CERTIFYING THE STANDARDS AND ANALYTIC RIGOR OF...establishing unit level certified Masters of Analytic Tradecraft (MAT) analysts to be trained and entrusted to evaluate and rate the standards and...cues) ideally should meet or exceed effective rigor (based on analytical process).4 To accomplish this, decision makers should not be left to their

Analytical chemistry in semiconductor manufacturing: Techniques, role of nuclear methods and need for quality control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-06-01

This report is the result of a consultants meeting held in Gaithersburg, USA, 2-3 October 1987. The meeting was hosted by the National Bureau of Standards and Technology, and it was attended by 18 participants from Denmark, Finland, India, Japan, Norway, People's Republic of China and the USA. The purpose of the meeting was to assess the present status of analytical chemistry in semiconductor manufacturing, the role of nuclear analytical methods and the need for internationally organized quality control of the chemical analysis. The report contains the three presentations in full and a summary report of the discussions. Thus, it gives an overview of the need of analytical chemistry in manufacturing of silicon based devices, the use of nuclear analytical methods, and discusses the need for quality control. Refs, figs and tabs

Foreword of the Fifth Symposium on Nuclear Analytical Chemistry (NAC-V)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acharya, R.; Goswami, A.; Reddy, A.V.R.

2014-01-01

The Fifth Symposium on Nuclear Analytical Chemistry (NAC-V) was organized at BARC, Mumbai during January 20-24, 2014 with more than 300 participants. It was sponsored by the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), India and organized in cooperation with the IAEA and coorganized by the IANCAS. A total of 240 contributed abstracts along with 27 invited talks and 10 invited short talks were presented in 15 technical sessions. Selected 54 full papers of NAC-V have been accepted after review for publication in special issue of JRNC. (author)

Terrestrial isopods as indicator organisms in urban ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoenlinger, M.; Wittmann, K.J.

1992-01-01

The number of different species of isopods in the various kinds of urban biotopes is seen to be a sensitive indicator of the degree of scaling and urbanisation of the soils, probably due to reactions to different degrees of humidity. In heavily urbanised areas Porcellio scaber is predominant. As a cosmopolite with high accumulation rates it is a suitable candidate for heavy metal indication. There is a distinct correlation between the lead content of isopods and traffic volume. The toxic heavy metals Pb and Cd show strong fluctuations in monthly cycles. Essential heavy metals show no (Zn) or no significant (Cu) temporal fluctuations. (orig.) [de

Application of advanced nuclear and instrumental analytical techniques for characterisation of environmental materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudersanan, M.; Pawaskar, P.B.; Kayasth, S.R.; Kumar, S.C.

2002-01-01

Full text: Increasing realisation about the toxic effects of metal ions in environmental materials has given an impetus to research on analytical techniques for their characterization. The large number of analytes present at very low levels has necessitated the use of sensitive, selective and element specific techniques for their characterization. The concern about precision and accuracy on such analysis, which have socio-economic bearing, has emphasized the use of Certified Reference Materials and the use of multi-technique approach for the unambiguous characterization of analytes. The recent work carried out at Analytical Chemistry Division, BARC on these aspects is presented in this paper. Increasing use of fossil fuels has led to the generation of large quantities of fly ash which pose problems of safe disposal. The utilization of these materials for land filling is an attractive option but the presence of trace amounts of toxic metals like mercury, arsenic, lead etc may cause environmental problems. In view of the inhomogeneous nature of the material, efficient sample processing is an important factor, in addition to the validation of the results by the use of proper standards. Analysis was carried out on flyash samples received as reference materials and also as samples from commercial sources using a combination of both nuclear techniques like INAA and RNAA as well as other techniques like AAS, ICPAES, cold vapour AAS for mercury and hydride generation technique for arsenic. Similar analysis using nuclear techniques was employed for the characterization of air particulates. Biological materials often serve as sensitive indicator materials for pollution measurements. They are also employed for studies on the uptake of toxic metals like U, Th, Cd, Pb, Hg etc. The presence of large amounts of organic materials in them necessitate an appropriate sample dissolution procedure. In view of the possibility of loss of certain analytes like Cd, Hg, As, by high

Acacia Changes Microbial Indicators and Increases C and N in Soil Organic Fractions in Intercropped Eucalyptus Plantations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arthur P. A. Pereira

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Intercropping forest plantations of Eucalyptus with nitrogen-fixing trees can increase soil N inputs and stimulate soil organic matter (OM cycling. However, microbial indicators and their correlation in specific fractions of soil OM are unclear in the tropical sandy soils. Here, we examined the microbial indicators associated with C and N in the soil resulting from pure and intercropped Eucalyptus grandis and Acacia mangium plantations. We hypothesized that introduction of A. mangium in a Eucalyptus plantation promotes changes in microbial indicators and increases C and N concentrations on labile fractions of the soil OM, when compared to pure eucalyptus plantations. We determined the microbial and enzymatic activity, and the potential for C degradation by the soil microbial community. Additionally, we evaluated soil OM fractions and litter parameters. Soil (0–20 cm and litter samples were collected at 27 and 39 months after planting from the following treatments: pure E. grandis (E and A. mangium (A plantations, pure E. grandis plantations with N fertilizer (E+N and an E. grandis, and A. mangium intercropped plantations (E+A. The results showed that intercropped plantations (E+A increase 3, 45, and 70% microbial biomass C as compared to A, E+N, and E, at 27 months after planting. The metabolic quotient (qCO2 showed a tendency toward stressful values in pure E. grandis plantations and a strong correlation with dehydrogenase activity. A and E+A treatments also exhibited the highest organic fractions (OF and C and N contents. A canonical redundancy analysis revealed positive correlations between microbial indicators of soil and litter attributes, and a strong effect of C and N variables in differentiating A and E+A from E and E+N treatments. The results suggested that a significant role of A. mangium enhance the dynamics of soil microbial indicators which help in the accumulation of C and N in soil OF in intercropped E. grandis plantations. Our

Acacia Changes Microbial Indicators and Increases C and N in Soil Organic Fractions in Intercropped Eucalyptus Plantations

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Arthur P. A.; Zagatto, Maurício R. G.; Brandani, Carolina B.; Mescolotti, Denise de Lourdes; Cotta, Simone R.; Gonçalves, José L. M.; Cardoso, Elke J. B. N.

2018-01-01

Intercropping forest plantations of Eucalyptus with nitrogen-fixing trees can increase soil N inputs and stimulate soil organic matter (OM) cycling. However, microbial indicators and their correlation in specific fractions of soil OM are unclear in the tropical sandy soils. Here, we examined the microbial indicators associated with C and N in the soil resulting from pure and intercropped Eucalyptus grandis and Acacia mangium plantations. We hypothesized that introduction of A. mangium in a Eucalyptus plantation promotes changes in microbial indicators and increases C and N concentrations on labile fractions of the soil OM, when compared to pure eucalyptus plantations. We determined the microbial and enzymatic activity, and the potential for C degradation by the soil microbial community. Additionally, we evaluated soil OM fractions and litter parameters. Soil (0–20 cm) and litter samples were collected at 27 and 39 months after planting from the following treatments: pure E. grandis (E) and A. mangium (A) plantations, pure E. grandis plantations with N fertilizer (E+N) and an E. grandis, and A. mangium intercropped plantations (E+A). The results showed that intercropped plantations (E+A) increase 3, 45, and 70% microbial biomass C as compared to A, E+N, and E, at 27 months after planting. The metabolic quotient (qCO2) showed a tendency toward stressful values in pure E. grandis plantations and a strong correlation with dehydrogenase activity. A and E+A treatments also exhibited the highest organic fractions (OF) and C and N contents. A canonical redundancy analysis revealed positive correlations between microbial indicators of soil and litter attributes, and a strong effect of C and N variables in differentiating A and E+A from E and E+N treatments. The results suggested that a significant role of A. mangium enhance the dynamics of soil microbial indicators which help in the accumulation of C and N in soil OF in intercropped E. grandis plantations. Our results are

Acacia Changes Microbial Indicators and Increases C and N in Soil Organic Fractions in Intercropped Eucalyptus Plantations.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Arthur P A; Zagatto, Maurício R G; Brandani, Carolina B; Mescolotti, Denise de Lourdes; Cotta, Simone R; Gonçalves, José L M; Cardoso, Elke J B N

2018-01-01

Intercropping forest plantations of Eucalyptus with nitrogen-fixing trees can increase soil N inputs and stimulate soil organic matter (OM) cycling. However, microbial indicators and their correlation in specific fractions of soil OM are unclear in the tropical sandy soils. Here, we examined the microbial indicators associated with C and N in the soil resulting from pure and intercropped Eucalyptus grandis and Acacia mangium plantations. We hypothesized that introduction of A. mangium in a Eucalyptus plantation promotes changes in microbial indicators and increases C and N concentrations on labile fractions of the soil OM, when compared to pure eucalyptus plantations. We determined the microbial and enzymatic activity, and the potential for C degradation by the soil microbial community. Additionally, we evaluated soil OM fractions and litter parameters. Soil (0-20 cm) and litter samples were collected at 27 and 39 months after planting from the following treatments: pure E. grandis (E) and A. mangium (A) plantations, pure E. grandis plantations with N fertilizer (E+N) and an E. grandis , and A. mangium intercropped plantations (E+A). The results showed that intercropped plantations (E+A) increase 3, 45, and 70% microbial biomass C as compared to A, E+N, and E, at 27 months after planting. The metabolic quotient ( q CO 2 ) showed a tendency toward stressful values in pure E. grandis plantations and a strong correlation with dehydrogenase activity. A and E+A treatments also exhibited the highest organic fractions (OF) and C and N contents. A canonical redundancy analysis revealed positive correlations between microbial indicators of soil and litter attributes, and a strong effect of C and N variables in differentiating A and E+A from E and E+N treatments. The results suggested that a significant role of A. mangium enhance the dynamics of soil microbial indicators which help in the accumulation of C and N in soil OF in intercropped E. grandis plantations. Our results

International conference on isotopic and nuclear analytical techniques for health and environment. Unedited papers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

The IAEA has been supporting nuclear and isotopic analytical techniques as part of its mandate to foster the peaceful uses of nuclear energy for many years. Nuclear analytical laboratories have been installed and upgraded through technical co-operation assistance in many laboratories of Member States. These techniques, including INAA, CRF, PIXE, stable isotopes and radioisotopes, α, β, γ spectrometry, Moessbauer spectrometry, etc., have been applied to a wide range of subjects with varying success. Nuclear analytical techniques, featuring some intrinsic quality control aspects, such as multi-nuclide analysis, frequently serve as 'reference methods' to crosscheck critical results. As nuclear properties of elements are targeted, matrix problems seem to be negligible. In light of its continued commitment and support, the IAEA organized the International Conference on Isotopic and Nuclear Analytical Techniques for Health and Environment. Out of 220 from 61 countries who applied for participation, 155 official participants and five observers from 47 countries were in attendance, with 67 from 32 developing countries and 21 from international organizations, including the World Health Organization. Eleven plenary sessions were held. Also conducted was a panel discussion on Human Capacity Development Needs in the Areas of Analytical Quality Control Services (AQCS), Radiochemistry and Nutrition. The scientific sessions were divided into several topics, which reflect some of the important activities of the IAEA's Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications (NA): - Isotopic and nuclear techniques (general); - Metrology and quality assurance in nuclear measurements; - Nuclear analytical techniques for environmental monitoring; - Radioecology; - Environmental monitoring; - Radiological safety of food and water; - Methodological aspects of stable isotope techniques in health and environment; - Applications of isotopic techniques in health and environment; - New

Analyzing Security Breaches in the U.S.: A Business Analytics Case-Study

Science.gov (United States)

Parks, Rachida F.; Adams, Lascelles

2016-01-01

This is a real-world applicable case-study and includes background information, functional organization requirements, and real data. Business analytics has been defined as the technologies, skills, and practices needed to iteratively investigate historical performance to gain insight or spot trends. You are asked to utilize/apply critical thinking…

Analytical solution to convection-radiation of a continuously moving fin with temperature-dependent thermal conductivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moradi Amir

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this article, the simultaneous convection-radiation heat transfer of a moving fin of variable thermal conductivity is studied. The differential transformation method (DTM is applied for an analytic solution for heat transfer in fin with two different profiles. Fin profiles are rectangular and exponential. The accuracy of analytic solution is validated by comparing it with the numerical solution that is obtained by fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. The analytical and numerical results are shown for different values of the embedding parameters. DTM results show that series converge rapidly with high accuracy. The results indicate that the fin tip temperature increases when ambient temperature increases. Conversely, the fin tip temperature decreases with an increase in the Peclet number, convection-conduction and radiation-conduction parameters. It is shown that the fin tip temperature of the exponential profile is higher than the rectangular one. The results indicate that the numerical data and analytical method are in a good agreement with each other.

Technogenic impact on physiological and cytogenic indices of reproductive organs of Tilia genus representatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. I. Iusypiva

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the problem of technogenic pollution which is a dramatic stress-factor for plants effectively acting as a green filter for cleaning air, water, and soil. It results in their growth rate changes, seasonal development speed deviations and plant appearance variations. Green belt to consume industrial emissions and to create the esthetic look seems to be an urgent matter to deal with technogenic pollution. Lime tree decorative characteristics depend significantly on the state of their reproductive organs (flower, inflorescence and fruit. On the other hand, biometric indices of woody plant reproductive organs are sensitive parameters characterizing the plant response to pollutants. The study discusses complex environmental pollution impact caused by sulfur (IV and nitrogen (IV oxides as well as heavy metals on physiological and cytogenetic characteristics of reproductive organs of Tіlia L. genus representatives in conditions of steppe Prydniprovye. The research objectives were T. amurensis L. аnd T. cordаta Mill. Samples were collected in May and June 2014 on two sample areas. The research area borders with both heavy traffic road and Interpipe NTRP CJSC, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, that features such pollutants as SO2, NO2, iron, manganese, zinc, mercury, chrome. The control area is located in the Botanical garden of Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University. The research proved that biometric and cytogenetic parameters of generic organo of Tilia genus representatives were dramatically sensitive to the impact of pollutants. Moreover, T. cordаta was the most sensitive among species under study to multicomponent environmental pollution when assessed by criteria of suppression of woody plant reproductive capacity formation. The other benefit of this study consisted in monitoring of the blossom rate of both species that appeared to scale down substantially in the technogenic environment. Man-induced stress factors caused

Comparison between numeric and approximate analytic solutions for the prediction of soil metal uptake by roots. Example of cadmium.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, André; Lin, Zhongbing; Sterckeman, Thibault; Nguyen, Christophe

2018-04-01

The dissociation of metal complexes in the soil solution can increase the availability of metals for root uptake. When it is accounted for in models of bioavailability of soil metals, the number of partial differential equations (PDEs) increases and the computation time to numerically solve these equations may be problematic when a large number of simulations are required, for example for sensitivity analyses or when considering root architecture. This work presents analytical solutions for the set of PDEs describing the bioavailability of soil metals including the kinetics of complexation for three scenarios where the metal complex in solution was fully inert, fully labile, or partially labile. The analytical solutions are only valid i) at steady-state when the PDEs become ordinary differential equations, the transient phase being not covered, ii) when diffusion is the major mechanism of transport and therefore, when convection is negligible, iii) when there is no between-root competition. The formulation of the analytical solutions is for cylindrical geometry but the solutions rely on the spread of the depletion profile around the root, which was modelled assuming a planar geometry. The analytical solutions were evaluated by comparison with the corresponding PDEs for cadmium in the case of the French agricultural soils. Provided that convection was much lower than diffusion (Péclet's number<0.02), the cumulative uptakes calculated from the analytic solutions were in very good agreement with those calculated from the PDEs, even in the case of a partially labile complex. The analytic solutions can be used instead of the PDEs to predict root uptake of metals. The analytic solutions were also used to build an indicator of the contribution of a complex to the uptake of the metal by roots, which can be helpful to predict the effect of soluble organic matter on the bioavailability of soil metals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Organic carbon in Hanford single-shell tank waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toth, J.J.; Willingham, C.E.; Heasler, P.G.; Whitney, P.D.

1994-04-01

Safety of Hanford single-shell tanks (SSTs) containing organic carbon is a concern because the carbon in the presence of oxidizers (NO 3 or NO 2 ) is combustible when sufficiently concentrated and exposed to elevated temperatures. A propagating chemical reaction could potentially occur at high temperature (above 200 C). The rapid increase in temperature and pressure within a tank might result in the release of radioactive waste constituents to the environment. The purpose of this study is to gather available laboratory information about the organic carbon waste inventories stored in the Hanford SSTs. Specifically, the major objectives of this investigation are: Review laboratory analytical data and measurements for SST composite core and supernatant samples for available organic data; Assess the correlation of organic carbon estimated utilizing the TRAC computer code compared to laboratory measurements; and From the laboratory analytical data, estimate the TOC content with confidence levels for each of the 149 SSTs

Accept or Decline? An Analytics-Based Decision Tool for Kidney Offer Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bertsimas, Dimitris; Kung, Jerry; Trichakis, Nikolaos; Wojciechowski, David; Vagefi, Parsia A

2017-12-01

When a deceased-donor kidney is offered to a waitlisted candidate, the decision to accept or decline the organ relies primarily upon a practitioner's experience and intuition. Such decisions must achieve a delicate balance between estimating the immediate benefit of transplantation and the potential for future higher-quality offers. However, the current experience-based paradigm lacks scientific rigor and is subject to the inaccuracies that plague anecdotal decision-making. A data-driven analytics-based model was developed to predict whether a patient will receive an offer for a deceased-donor kidney at Kidney Donor Profile Index thresholds of 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6, and at timeframes of 3, 6, and 12 months. The model accounted for Organ Procurement Organization, blood group, wait time, DR antigens, and prior offer history to provide accurate and personalized predictions. Performance was evaluated on data sets spanning various lengths of time to understand the adaptability of the method. Using United Network for Organ Sharing match-run data from March 2007 to June 2013, out-of-sample area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was approximately 0.87 for all Kidney Donor Profile Index thresholds and timeframes considered for the 10 most populous Organ Procurement Organizations. As more data becomes available, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values increase and subsequently level off. The development of a data-driven analytics-based model may assist transplant practitioners and candidates during the complex decision of whether to accept or forgo a current kidney offer in anticipation of a future high-quality offer. The latter holds promise to facilitate timely transplantation and optimize the efficiency of allocation.

Strategic analytics: towards fully embedding evidence in healthcare decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Garay, Jason; Cartagena, Rosario; Esensoy, Ali Vahit; Handa, Kiren; Kane, Eli; Kaw, Neal; Sadat, Somayeh

2015-01-01

Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) has implemented multiple information technology solutions and collected health-system data to support its programs. There is now an opportunity to leverage these data and perform advanced end-to-end analytics that inform decisions around improving health-system performance. In 2014, CCO engaged in an extensive assessment of its current data capacity and capability, with the intent to drive increased use of data for evidence-based decision-making. The breadth and volume of data at CCO uniquely places the organization to contribute to not only system-wide operational reporting, but more advanced modelling of current and future state system management and planning. In 2012, CCO established a strategic analytics practice to assist the agency's programs contextualize and inform key business decisions and to provide support through innovative predictive analytics solutions. This paper describes the organizational structure, services and supporting operations that have enabled progress to date, and discusses the next steps towards the vision of embedding evidence fully into healthcare decision-making. Copyright © 2014 Longwoods Publishing.

Business analytics a practitioner's guide

CERN Document Server

Saxena, Rahul

2013-01-01

This book provides a guide to businesses on how to use analytics to help drive from ideas to execution. Analytics used in this way provides "full lifecycle support" for business and helps during all stages of management decision-making and execution.The framework presented in the book enables the effective interplay of business, analytics, and information technology (business intelligence) both to leverage analytics for competitive advantage and to embed the use of business analytics into the business culture. It lays out an approach for analytics, describes the processes used, and provides gu

China's water pollution by persistent organic pollutants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bao Lianjun; Maruya, Keith A.; Snyder, Shane A.; Zeng, Eddy Y.

2012-01-01

Available data were reviewed to assess the status of contamination by persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), in drinking water sources and coastal waters of China. The levels of POPs in China's waters were generally at the high end of the global range. A comparison of China's regulatory limits indicated that PCBs in rivers and coastal water may pose potential human health risk. Occurrence of DDTs in some rivers of China may also pose health risk to humans using the regulatory limits of DDTs recommended by the European Union. Future monitoring of POPs in China's waters should be directed towards analytes of concern (e.g. PCBs and PCDD/Fs) and to fill data gaps for analytes (e.g. PBDEs, PCDD/Fs, and chlordane) and in watersheds/regions (e.g. West China) where data are scarce. - Highlights: ► Levels of POPs in China's aquatic systems were generally at the high end of the global range. ► New inputs of DDTs, likely related to the use of dicofol and anti-fouling paints, were found. ► Occurrence of PCBs and DDTs in some water bodies pay pose potential human health risk. ► Long-term monitoring of POPs in China's waters is needed to fill data gaps. - Occurrence, potential sources and ecological and human health risk of persistent organic pollutants in China's waters are reviewed.

Development and validation of analytical methods for dietary supplements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sullivan, Darryl; Crowley, Richard

2006-01-01

The expanding use of innovative botanical ingredients in dietary supplements and foods has resulted in a flurry of research aimed at the development and validation of analytical methods for accurate measurement of active ingredients. The pressing need for these methods is being met through an expansive collaborative initiative involving industry, government, and analytical organizations. This effort has resulted in the validation of several important assays as well as important advances in the method engineering procedures which have improved the efficiency of the process. The initiative has also allowed researchers to hurdle many of the barricades that have hindered accurate analysis such as the lack of reference standards and comparative data. As the availability for nutraceutical products continues to increase these methods will provide consumers and regulators with the scientific information needed to assure safety and dependable labeling

Preschool Principal's Curriculum Leadership Indicators: A Taiwan Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chia-Fen; Lee, John Chi-Kin

2013-01-01

The role of a principal's curriculum leadership has become an educational issue in Taiwan's early childhood education. This study represents a pioneering attempt in adopting a target school interview, fuzzy Delphi, and analytic hierarchy process for constructing preschool principal's curriculum leadership indicators. Fifteen experts and…

Analytical applications of oscillatory chemical reactions: determination of some pharmaceuticaly and biologically important compounds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pejić Nataša D.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Novel analytical methods for quantitive determination of analytes based on perturbations of oscillatory chemical reactions realized under open reactor conditions (continuosly fed well stirred tank reactor, CSTR, have been developed in the past twenty years. The proposed kinetic methods are generally based on the ability of the analyzed substances to change the kinetics of the chemical reactions matrix. The unambiguous correlation of quantitative characteristics of perturbations, and the amount (concentration of analyte expressed as a regression equation, or its graphics (calibration curve, enable the determination of the unknown analyte concentration. Attention is given to the development of these methods because of their simple experimental procedures, broad range of linear regression ( 10-7 10-4 mol L-1 and low limits of detection of analytes ( 10-6 10-8 mol L1, in some cases even lower than 10-12 mol L-1. Therefore, their application is very convenient for routine analysis of various inorganic and organic compounds as well as gases. This review summarizes progress made in the past 5 years on quantitative determination of pharmaceutically and biologically important compounds.

Green sample preparation for liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis of anionic and cationic analytes.

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Wuethrich, Alain; Haddad, Paul R; Quirino, Joselito P

2015-04-21

A sample preparation device for the simultaneous enrichment and separation of cationic and anionic analytes was designed and implemented in an eight-channel configuration. The device is based on the use of an electric field to transfer the analytes from a large volume of sample into small volumes of electrolyte that was suspended into two glass micropipettes using a conductive hydrogel. This simple, economical, fast, and green (no organic solvent required) sample preparation scheme was evaluated using cationic and anionic herbicides as test analytes in water. The analytical figures of merit and ecological aspects were evaluated against the state-of-the-art sample preparation, solid-phase extraction. A drastic reduction in both sample preparation time (94% faster) and resources (99% less consumables used) was observed. Finally, the technique in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis was applied to analysis of quaternary ammonium and phenoxypropionic acid herbicides in fortified river water as well as drinking water (at levels relevant to Australian guidelines). The presented sustainable sample preparation approach could easily be applied to other charged analytes or adopted by other laboratories.

eAnalytics: Dynamic Web-based Analytics for the Energy Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Govan

2016-11-01

Full Text Available eAnalytics is a web application built on top of R that provides dynamic data analytics to energy industry stakeholders. The application allows users to dynamically manipulate chart data and style through the Shiny package’s reactive framework. eAnalytics currently supports a number of features including interactive datatables, dynamic charting capabilities, and the ability to save, download, or export information for further use. Going forward, the goal for this project is that it will serve as a research hub for discovering new relationships in the data. The application is illustrated with a simple tutorial of the user interface design.

Review and evaluation of spark source mass spectrometry as an analytical method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beske, H.E.

1981-01-01

The analytical features and most important fields of application of spark source mass spectrometry are described with respect to the trace analysis of high-purity materials and the multielement analysis of technical alloys, geochemical and cosmochemical, biological and radioactive materials, as well as in environmental analysis. Comparisons are made to other analytical methods. The distribution of the method as well as opportunities for contract analysis are indicated and developmental tendencies discussed. (orig.) [de

Analytical characterization of high-level mixed wastes using multiple sample preparation treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, A.G.; Baldwin, D.L.; Urie, M.W.; McKinley, S.G.

1994-01-01

The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory in Richland, Washington, is actively involved in performing analytical characterization of high-level mixed waste from Hanford's single shell and double shell tank characterization programs. A full suite of analyses is typically performed on homogenized tank core samples. These analytical techniques include inductively-coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy, total organic carbon methods and radiochemistry methods, as well as many others, all requiring some type of remote sample-preparation treatment to solubilize the tank sludge material for analysis. Most of these analytical methods typically use a single sample-preparation treatment, inherently providing elemental information only. To better understand and interpret tank chemistry and assist in identifying chemical compounds, selected analytical methods are performed using multiple sample-preparation treatments. The sample preparation treatments used at Pacific Northwest Laboratory for this work with high-level mixed waste include caustic fusion, acid digestion, and water leach. The type of information available by comparing results from different sample-prep treatments includes evidence for the presence of refractory compounds, acid-soluble compounds, or water-soluble compounds. Problems unique to the analysis of Hanford tank wastes are discussed. Selected results from the Hanford single shell ferrocyanide tank, 241-C-109, are presented, and the resulting conclusions are discussed

Offshore drilling effects in Brazilian SE marine sediments: a meta-analytical approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Dore, Marina Pereira; Farias, Cássia; Hamacher, Cláudia

2017-01-01

The exploration and production of oil and gas reserves often result to drill cutting accumulations on the seafloor adjacent to drill locations. In this study, the detection of drilling influence on marine sediments was performed by meta-analytical comparison between data from pre- and post-drilling surveys undertaken in offshore Campos Basin, southeast of Brazil. Besides this overall appraisal on the geochemical variables, a multivariate assessment, considering only the post-drilling data, was performed. Among the variables, fines content, carbonates, total organic carbon, barium, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, lead, vanadium, zinc, and total petroleum hydrocarbons, only barium, copper, and hydrocarbons were related to drilling impacts. In relation to the point of discharge, relative elevated levels in the post-drilling campaigns were observed preferentially up to 500 m in the northeast and southwest directions, associated to the Brazil Current-predominant direction. Other distributed concentrations in the surroundings seem to indicate the dilution and dispersion of drilling waste promoted by meteoceanographic factors.

Comparison of analytical charge-form and equilibrium thermodynamic speciation of certain radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenne, E.A.; Cowan, C.E.; Robertson, D.E.

1984-01-01

Calculating trace element speciation with a thermodynamic model is often challenged on the basis that the existing thermodynamic data are not sufficiently reliable. Water quality data and corresponding analytical charge-form speciation analysis were available for radionuclides occurring in a low-level radioactive groundwater. This offered an opportunity for comparing the results of an equilibrium thermodynamic model with the results of analytical charge-form speciation. The charge-form speciation was determined using the Battelle Large Volume Water Sampler, which contains consecutive layers of cation resin, anion resin and activated aluminum oxide for retention of cationic, anionic and non-ionic dissolved chemical species, respectively. The thermodynamic speciation of Cs, Cr, Fe, I, Mn, Mo, Na, and Zn was calculated using the MINTEQ geochemical model. Ce, Co, Tc, Np, Pm, and Sb were speciated by hand calculation. Excellent agreement between the analytically determined charge-form and the thermodynamic speciation was observed for 54 Mn, 144 Ce, 131 I, 24 Na, 137 Cs, 99 Mo, 99 Tc, 151 Pm, 239 Np. Organic complexation by natural and/or synthetic organics in the waters may be important in the speciation of 65 An, 60 Co, 131 I, 59 Fe and possibly 51 Cr. Both 124 Sb and 125 Sb appeared to be in redox disequilibria with the groundwater. 29 references, 2 tables

ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS MEASUREMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rade Stanković

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Key performance indicators are financial and non financial indicators that organizations use inorder to estimate and fortify how successful they are, aiming previously established long lastinggoals. Appropriate selection of indicators that will be used for measuring is of a greatest importance.Process organization of business is necessary to be constitute in order to realize such effective andefficient system or performance measuring via KPI. Process organization also implies customerorientation and necessary flexibility in nowadays condition of global competition.Explanation of process organization, the way of KPI selection, and practical example of KPImeasuring in Toyota dealerships are presented in this paper.

Indication, organization, practical implementation and interpretation guidelines for retrospective CGM recording: A French position statement.

Science.gov (United States)

Joubert, M; Baillot-Rudoni, S; Catargi, B; Charpentier, G; Esvant, A; Franc, S; Guerci, B; Guilhem, I; Melki, V; Merlen, E; Penfornis, A; Renard, E; Riveline, J P; Schaepelynck, P; Sola-Gazagnes, A; Hanaire, H

2015-12-01

The benefits of retrospective continuous glucose monitoring (retroCGM) recording have been widely explored in clinical studies, and many diabetes physicians routinely use this examination. However, the method of interpretation of CGM recordings has never been precisely described. An expert French panel of physicians met for two days to discuss several aspects of retroCGM use and to produce a position statement. The guidelines cover the indications for retroCGM, the general organization and practical implementation of CGM recordings, a description of the different devices available and guidelines for the interpretation of retroCGM recordings. This consensus document should help clinicians in the proper use of retroCGM. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Quality assurance and quality control of nuclear analytical techniques