In this paper following a brief outline of the geological background in Greece, as related to geothermal exploration, the prospective areas for low enthalpy fluids are classified into four groups. These are the Tertiary grabens associated with Lithospheric stretching and crustal subsidence, the Arc of the Aegean Plio-Quaternary volcanism induced by the subduction of the African plate, Central Aegean islands of distensive tectonism bordering back-arc marine basins and finally Tertiary-Quaternary sedimentary basins of various types, not classified as grabens. The geothermal regime in each of these groups is outlined, and the current status of exploration is reviewed.
Assuming a simple model of delta development involving progradation and uniform subsidence to present depths (rate, 500 m/m.y.; 1640 ft/m.y.), oil-genesis nomographs derived from the TTI method were constructed for various geothermal gradients of the Niger delta (2.2., 2.5., 2.9, 3.6, 4.0, 4.4, and 4.7/sup 0/C/100 m) and utilized in mapping the positions (depth, temperature) of the top of the oil-generative window (OGW) at arbitrarily selected times (40 m.y.B.P., 30 m.y.B.P., 15 m.y.B.P., and the present). About 200 data points were evaluated. During the active subsidence phase, oil generation within any megastructure was initiated at a temperature of 140 to 146/sup 0/C (284 to 294/sup 0/F) and depth of 3000 to 5200 m (9842 to 17,060 ft) within 7 to 11 m.y. after deposition of the potential source rocks. After cessation of subsidence, upward movement of the OGW by 800 to 1600 m (2624 to 5249 ft) was ...
Most of the petroleum fields in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea are sandstone reservoirs; the oil and gas are trapped in different species of sandstone. But the Ekofisk Field is a chalk reservoir, which really challenges the operator companies. When oil is produced from chalk reservoirs, water usually gets in and the reservoir subsides. The subsidence may be expensive for the oil companies or be used to advantage by increasing the recovery rate. Since 60 per cent of the world's petroleum reserves are located in carbonate reservoirs, it is important to understand what happens as oil and gas are pumped out. Comprehensive studies at the Department of Petroleum Technology and Applied Geophysics at Stavanger University College in Norway show that the mechanical properties of chalk are considerably altered when the pores in the rock become saturated with oil/gas or water under different stress conditions. The processes are ...
Knowledge of ground subsidence behavior provides for better economic planning and execution of a mining exploitation, higher safety and optimum use of the resources without ruining the environment. In addition, when considering subsidence generated by petroleum exploitation, the monitored (measured) subsidence, combined with geological information and a suitable prediction model, can provide data on the expanse of the oil field and thus aid in the estimation of available resources. An integrated survey system for monitoring mining subsidence is described which has been developed as part of a research program in cooperation with the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology. (JMT)
Since 1977, precise leveling surveys have been carried out to determine whether there have been vertical terrain displacements and the subsidence speed rate in the Cerro Prieto Geothermal field area. The elevation contours for each leveling show since 1962 that there was a basin that involves the geothermal field. The differences in the last three levelings show a generalized subsidence between Cerro Prieto (BN 10049) and Imperial faults (BN CD-14). [Spanish] A partir de 1977 se realizan trabajos de nivelacion de precision, con el fin de conocer si existen desplazamientos verticales del terreno y cual es la velocidad de subsidencia que existe en el area del Campo Geotermico de Cerro Prieto. Las configuraciones de cotas para cada uno de los anos nivelados, muestran que desde 1962 existe una cuenca que incluye al campo geotermico; la diferencia de cotas obtenidas en las tres ultimas nivelaciones, indican una subsidencia ...
Two refrains heard in the current retail wheeling debate are that a restructuring of the electric utility industry is inevitable and that its consequences are unpredictable. Notwithstanding the benefits of open competition, there are specific disadvantages of unlimited retail wheeling for some existing independent facilities and especially for hydropower plants. A capital-intensive industry, hydropower is not well-postured to compete effectively in the short-term, against new technologies and fuel sources available in the current marketplace. Hydropower is flat out non-competitive on a price basis with available new capacity. Unless hydro is afforded the same government supports offered to other renewable energy sources, only municipal plants with access to subsidized financing rates and pumped storage plants are going to be built.
The economic feasibility of the residential solar thermal (ST) cooling system designed in the companion article [1] is ascertained by comparing it with a solar electric (SE) cooling system, and also with the baseline (i.e., control case), a grid dependent, highest efficiency COPC=5.66 heat pump. The economic scenario is analyzed for 24 cities across the southern USA, south of the 37degreeN. The SE cooling system provides lifecycle (20 year) savings to the homeowner only where electric rates are high and it is heavily subsidized. The overall societal effect (sum of taxpayer funded rebate and homeowner savings) is actually an increased cost everywhere except the California Central Valley, where the net savings is $1500. In the same valley, The ST cooling system provides greater lifecycle sav...
Objective: To explore the interventional method to treat biliary recurrent jaundice after T tube drainage in patients with malignant obstructive jaundice due to cholangiocarcinoma. Methods: 7 biliary metallic stents were placed in 7 patients with recurrent jaundice after T-tube drainage in cholangiocarcinoma cases. Results: Stent placement was once successful in all 7 cases with successful rate of 100%. For all cases, TBIL, ALT, GTP and AKP values 7 days postoperatively were significantly lower than that of preoperation together with subsidence of jaundice satisfactorily for 100% after the treatment. Conclusions: Percutaneous placement of biliary metallic stents was effective economic, minimal invasive and safe for palliation of biliary recurrent jaundice after T tube drainage in cholangiocarcinoma-induced obstructive jaundice
Evaluates a mathematical model that describes subsidence of spoil banks in surface brown coal mines. The model is based on the results of geodetic surveys carried out in 1974-1985. Twelve spoil banks from 4 to 61 m high were considered. Ground subsidence and deformation along 12 measuring lines and 6 measuring networks were measured. Ground subsidence during a period of 18 to 241 months was evaluated using regression analysis. The mathematical model considered effects of spoil bank design (number and thickness of rock layers), rock mechanical and physical properties and service time. 6 refs.
Multitemporal TM images are used to collect information about the extension and variation of water influx subsidence in coal district in order to provide a reference for the harnessing and utilization of water influx subsidence. The multitemporal TM images are used as a blended data group for the analysis of the principal components to reflect the expanding water influx subsidence in the past years. Because of the differences in the environment and imaging condition, 'unitary' order is used to enhance the 'coherence' and 'comparability' of the original TM images. 5 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.
Comparatively evaluates two models for forecasting ground subsidence after underground mining: a standard method used in Poland in underground coal mining and a method used in the GDR. Factors that influence ground subsidence after underground mining are evaluated. Effects of depth, stratification, and physical and mechanical properties of rock strata are analyzed. Time dependence of dynamic troughs and static final troughs left after underground mining is evaluated. Formulae are recommended for forecasting ground subsidence after underground coal mining and mining of other deposits. 3 refs.
The aim is to provide accurate data on elevation change due to mining activity, via the application of interferometry with ERS SAR data. Ultimately, these elevation changes can then be fed into subsidence models. Interferometry results are presented showing initial evidence of subsidence occurring within the 35 day repeat orbit period of the ERS satellites. The result of extending the monitoring period beyond 35 days is also shown.
Diverse and productive wetlands have resulted from coal mining in the midwest. The trend from surface to underground mining has increased the potential for subsidence. Planned subsidence of longwall mining areas provides increased opportunities for wetland habitat establishment. Planned subsidence over a 180 meter (590 foot) deep longwall mine in southern Illinois during 1984 to 1986 produced three subsidence wetlands totaling 15 hectares (38 acres). The resulting palustrine emergent wetlands enhanced habitat diversity within the surrounding palustrine forested unsubsided area. Habitat assessments and evaluations of avian utilization of the subsidence wetlands were conducted during February 1990 through October 1991. Avian utilization was greatest within the subsided wetlands. Fifty-three bird species representing seven foraging guilds utilized the ...
A method is presented for estimating the background at a given location on a sky map by interpolating the estimated background from a set of concentric annuli which surround this location. If the background is nonuniform but smoothly varying, this method provides a more accurate (though less precise) estimate than can be obtained with a single annulus. Several applications of multi-annulus background estimation are discussed, including direct testing for point sources in the presence of a nonuniform background, the generation of "surrogate maps" for characterizing false alarm rates, and precise testing of the null hypothesis that the background is uniform.
Tectonically active basins may host a spectrum of sequence stratigraphic expressions previously considered to be spatially mutually exclusive. In low accommodation areas with high sediment supply, fourth order eustatic cyclicity results in high frequency sequence sets while within rapidly subsiding areas, time-equivalent Type-2 sequences are expressed by highly asymmetrical coarsening upward successions, resembling large parasequences. In the shallow marine Fulmar Formation, of the U.K. North Sea Central Graben a sequence boundary and overlying lowstand deposits, which illustrate the effects of laterally variable subsidencerate and intrabasinal topography on the expression of a eustatic sea-level fall, lie between the Glosense and Serratum (J54a and J54b) maximum flooding surfaces. The syn-rift physiography comprises major tilted fault blocks, with the Central Graben dipping parallel to the major faults, simulating a ramp ...
BackgroundLate-onset sepsis in the premature infant is frequently revealed by severe, unusual and recurrent bradycardias. In view of the high morbidity and mortality...Full Text Available
BackgroundUnderstanding the mechanisms that control rates of disease progression in humans and other species is an important area of research relevant to epidemiology and to translating...Full Text Available
Background/Aim:To assess the prognostic indicators preoperatively presenting and influencing the mortality rate following esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.Full Text Available
BackgroundPublicly available DNA sequence databases such as GenBank are large, and are growing at an exponential rate. The sheer volume of data being dealt with presents serious...Full Text Available
The paper gives a detailed overview of the history of subsidence engineering in South African collieries. Surface displacements resulting from total-seam extraction are discussed, and the important role of local geology is highlighted. It is shown that the differences in subsidence behaviour between South African and European collieries can be attributed to the presence of competent strata in the overburden of South African coal seams. Criteria are given for the prediction of the most important subsidence parameters, and a new model for the simulation of surface subsidence above total-extraction panels is introduced. The final section of the paper deals with the damage to surface structures caused by total-seam extraction. A brief summary of the most important undermining experiments in South African collieries is given, and it is concluded that local experiences of damage compare with those in Europe. ...
Extracting mining subsidence land from remote sensing (RS) images is one of important research contents for environment monitoring in mining area. The accuracy of traditional extracting models based on spectral features is low. In order to extract subsidence land from RS images with high accuracy, some domain knowledge should be imported and new models should be proposed. This paper, in terms of the disadvantage of traditional extracting models, imports domain knowledge from practice and experience, converts semantic knowledge into digital information, and proposes a new model for the specific task. By selecting the Luan mining area as a study area, this new model is tested based on GIS and related knowledge. The result shows that the proposed method is more precise than traditional methods and can satisfy the demands of land subsidence monitoring in mining area. 10 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.
BackgroundExisting studies concerning the health care use of homeless people describe higher utilisation rates for hospital-based care and emergency care, and lower rates for primary...Full Text Available
BackgroundControversy exists about how to effectively measure patient reported outcomes in IBS clinical trials. Pain numeric rating scales (NRS) are widely used in...Full Text Available
BackgroundHip dislocation after arthroplasty for femoral neck fractures remains a serious complication. The aim of our study was to investigate the dislocation rate in acute femoral...Full Text Available
The study concludes that while the diversification into nonutility activities by the Rural Electric Cooperatives and the Rural Telephone Cooperatives has been expanding, the regulatory activities by the Rural Electrification Administration and the state public utility commissions have been inadequate to guard against cross-subsidization. In fact, there generally exist no data to identify and investigate illegal cross-subsidization activities of cooperatives. Increasing the regulatory functions of state public utility commissions and the REA was recommended.
LUCIFER (Low-background Underground Cryogenic Installation For Elusive Rates) is a new project for the study of neutrinoless Double Beta Decay, based on the technology of scintillating bolometers. These devices promise a very efficient rejection of the alpha background, opening the way to a virtual background-free experiment if candidates with a transition energy higher than 2615 keV are investigated. The baseline candidate for LUCIFER is 82Se. This isotope will be embedded in ZnSe crystals grown with enriched selenium and operated as scintillating bolometers in a low-radioactivity underground dilution refrigerator. In this paper, the LUCIFER concept will be introduced. The sensitivity and the very promising prospects related to this project will be discussed.
This BCRS project demonstrates the use of SAR interferometry for measuring and monitoring land subsidence caused by underground coal fires and underground mining in a remote area of north west China. China is the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world. Throughout the N.W., N. and N.E. of China, the coal-seams are very susceptible to spontaneous combustion, causing underground coal fires. As the thick coal seams are burned out, the overburden collapses, causing land subsidence, and producing new cracks and fissures, which allow more air to penetrate and continue the fire to spread. SAR interferometry, especially differential interferometry has been shown to be able to measure small differences in surface height caused by such land subsidence. This report describes the problems, the test area, the procedures and techniques used and the results obtained. It concludes with a description of some of the problems ...
Background and AimsIn spatially heterogeneous environments, a trade-off between seedling survival and relative growth rate may promote the coexistence of plant species. In temperate...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe aim of the study was to examine the role that melatonin production plays in the regulation of sleep consolidation in a population of shiftworkers working and sleeping...Full Text Available
BackgroundResponse shift theory suggests that improvements in health lead patients to change their internal standards and re-assess former health states as worse than initially rated...Full Text Available
BACKGROUND: A number of studies have shown that the early mortality following TURP is higher for patients with prostate cancer than those with benign disease. This study examines the effect of the histological...Full Text Available
BackgroundDuring the last ten years, major advances have been made in characterizing and understanding the evolution of mitochondrial DNA, the most popular marker of molecular biodiversity....Full Text Available
BackgroundCaesarean section is one of the most commonly performed operations on women throughout the world. Rates have increased in recent years – about 20–25% in...Full Text Available
BackgroundHepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) infections are a serious global and national public health problem. Earlier studies have reported increasing rates of hepatitis infection...Full Text Available
BackgroundCognitive impairment is an age-related condition as the rate of cognitive decline rapidly increases with aging. It is especially important to better understand factors...Full Text Available
BackgroundIn many gregarious mammals, mothers and offspring have developed the abilities to recognise each other using acoustic signals. Such capacity may develop at different rates...Full Text Available
BackgroundAn earlier study showed that a week of yoga practice was useful in stress management after a natural calamity. Due to heavy rain and a rift on the banks of the Kosi river,...Full Text Available
BACKGROUND: Although the effectiveness of influenza vaccination in high-risk groups has been proven, vaccine coverage continues to be less than 50% in The Netherlands. To improve vaccination rates,...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe phylogenetic relationships among the holoparasites of Rafflesiales have remained enigmatic for over a century. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies using the mitochondrial...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe survival of hemodialysis patients requiring dialysis depends on the long-term functioning and patency of the vascular access. Prosthetic vascular grafts are inevitably...Full Text Available
Background and objectives: Blacks are over-represented among dialysis patients, but they have better survival rates than whites. It is unclear if the over-representation of blacks on dialysis is due...Full Text Available
BackgroundControl of breathing, heart rate, and body temperature are interdependent in infants, where instabilities in thermoregulation can contribute to apneas or even life-threatening...Full Text Available
Background:In recent years, breast cancer (BC) mortality rates have declined, reflecting advances in early detection. Prevention and management of treatment sequelae that could impair...Full Text Available
BackgroundNorthern Uganda unlike other rural regions has registered high HIV prevalence rates comparable to those of urbanized Kampala and the central region. This could be due to...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe purpose of this prospective study was to assess the injury rates in male and female adult Canadian Taekwondo athletes relative to total number of injuries, type and...Full Text Available
BackgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) substantially increases the risk of ischemic stroke but this risk varies among individual patients with AF. Existing risk stratification...Full Text Available
BackgroundDiagnostic delay in patients with tuberculosis (TB) leads to ongoing TB transmission, higher mortality rates and increased patient and government health expenditure. Qualitative...Full Text Available
BackgroundCyclooxygenase (cox) is the rate-limiting enzyme, which catalyzes the conversion of arachidonic acid into prostaglandins and contributes to the inflammatory process. Cyclooxygenase-2...Full Text Available
Ammonoids and conodonts, being characterized by exceptionally high backgroundrates of origination and extinction, were vulnerable to global environmental crises, which characteristically intensified...Full Text Available
BackgroundHip fracture patients often have an impaired nutritional status at the time of fracture, which can result in a higher complication rate, prolonged rehabilitation time and...Full Text Available
BackgroundThere is an ever increasing rate of data made available on genetic variation, transcriptomes and proteomes. Similarly, a growing variety of bioinformatic programs are becoming...Full Text Available
BackgroundLittle is known about differences in professional care seeking based on marital status. The few existing studies show more professional care seeking among the divorced...Full Text Available
BackgroundBreast-feeding rates in the UK are known to vary by maternal socio-economic status but the latter function is imperfectly defined. We test if CTVB (Council Tax Valuation...Full Text Available
BackgroundSelf-administered computer-assisted blood donor screening strategies may elicit more accurate responses and improve the screening process.MethodsRandomized...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe rate of emergence of human pathogens is steadily increasing; most of these novel agents originate in wildlife. Bats, remarkably, are the natural reservoirs of many...Full Text Available
Background: The causes of elevated B-Type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels are multifactorial. Renal dysfunction has been shown to affect BNP levels in some studies and...Full Text Available
BackgroundLymph node metastasis in endometrial cancer significantly decreases survival rate. Few data on the influence of intratumoral lymphatic microvessel density (LMVD) on survival...Full Text Available
BackgroundTraumatic pneumothoraces are common. Many are managed with tube thoracostomy. However, there is a high complication rate from chest tube placement, particularly in patients...Full Text Available
BackgroundEvolutionary life history theory predicts that, in the absence of contraception, any enhancement of maternal condition can increase human fertility. Energetic...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe biopharmaceutical industry requires cell lines to have an optimal proliferation rate and a high integral viable cell number resulting in a maximum volumetric recombinant...Full Text Available
BackgroundWith rates of childhood obesity increasing, physical activity (PA) promotion especially in young children has assumed greater importance. Given the limited effectiveness...Full Text Available
Measurements of the expansion rate of pure-electron plasmas have been performed on the Electron Diffusion Gauge (EDG) device at background helium gas pressures in the 5 x 10(superscript -8) Torr to 1 x 10(superscript -5) Torr range, where plasma expansion due to electron-neutral collisions dominates over plasma expansion due to trap asymmetries. It is found that the expansion rate, defined as the time rate of change of the particles' mean-square radius, scales approximately linearly with pressure and inversely as the square of the magnetic field strength in this regime, in agreement with classical predictions.
Evaluates displacement of a railway bridge element of the Walbrzych-Klodzko railway line. The bridge, consisting of three truss sections supported by two pillars made of reinforced concrete, was influenced by longwall mining. Longwalls were perpendicular to the bridge axis. Three coal seams situated in the bridge safety pillar were 550 cm thick. Ground subsidence after seam extraction was 400 cm. Ground subsidence did not cause truss section deformation, nor did it cause additional stresses in truss bridge construction. 2 refs.
Environmental monitoring data were collected at and around the Area 3 and Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Sites (RWMSs) at the Nevada Test Site. These data are associated with radiation exposure, air, groundwater, meteorology, vadose zone, subsidence, and biota. This report summarizes the 2006 environmental data to provide an overall evaluation of RWMS performance and to support environmental compliance and performance assessment (PA) activities. Some of these data (e.g., radiation exposure, air, and groundwater) are presented in other reports (U.S. Department of Energy, 2006; Warren and Grossman, 2007; National Security Technologies, LLC, 2007). Direct radiation monitoring data indicate that exposure levels around the RWMSs are at or below background levels. Air monitoring data at the Area 3 and Area 5 RWMSs indicate that tritium concentrations are slightly above background levels. There is no detectable man-made ...
The U.S. Department of Energy Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management, requires a disposal authorization statement authorizing operation (or continued operation) for low-level waste disposal facilities. In fulfillment of these requirements, a disposal authorization statement was issued on October 25, 1999, authorizing the Hanford Site to transfer, receive, possess, and dispose of low-level radioactive waste at the 200 East Area burial grounds and the 200 West Area burial grounds. One of the conditions is that monitoring plans for the 200 East Area and 200 West Area low-level burial grounds be written and approved by the Richland Operations Office. As a result of a record of decision for the Hanford Site Solid Waste Program and acceptance of the Hanford Site Solid Waste Environmental Impact Statement, the use of the low-level burial ground (LLBG) as a disposal facility for low-level and mixed low-level wastes has been restricted to lined trenches and the Navy reactor-compartment ...
This paper presents a numerical study on the formation history of coalbed methane (CBM) reservoir in the southeast edge of Ordos Basin, China. The coal seams studied belong to the Late Palaeozoic coal-bearing series. These coal seams have a burial history and experienced the process of subsidence, rapid subsidence alternated with uplift and then uplift, sequentially, and underwent the geothermal actions at normal, extremely high, and then normal temperatures, respectively. Coal organic matter of the coal seams matured in the Triassic Period and in the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Period. The results from numerical simulation reveal that CBM reservoir evolution history can be classified into five stages, namely primary, initial, stagnant, active and dissipative stages. In the first (primary) stage, coal rank was very low and there was little methane generated and stored in the coal seams. In the second (initial) stage, the coal was ...
BackgroundMore optimistic perceptions of cardiovascular disease risk are associated with substantively lower rates of cardiovascular death among men. It remains unknown whether this...Full Text Available
In the latter half of 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published a Proposed Rule (40 CFR Part 197) for establishing a dose rate standard for limiting radionuclide releases from the proposed Yucca Mountain high-level radioactive waste repository during the time period from 10{sup 4} to 10{sup 6} years after closure. The proposed standard was based on the difference in the estimated total dose rate from natural background in the Amargosa Valley and the ''average annual background radiation'' for the State of Colorado. As defined by the USEPA, ''natural background radiation consists of external exposures from cosmic and terrestrial sources, and internal exposures from indoor exposures to naturally-occurring radon''. On the basis of its assessments, the USEPA estimated that the difference in ...
The ability of the Packard 2000 CA/LL liquid scintillation counter to reduce background count rates relies on pulse shape/duration analysis in which short duration organic scintillation events are discriminated from longer duration non-quenchable background events. A consequence of this is a loss in the counting efficiency. The results of this investigation indicate that much of the lost efficiency can be regained by sharpening the true #beta#"- pulse widths via the use of different scintillant combinations and by certain counter modifications. (author).
The foundation is a key to safety of any structure built on reclaimed land in coastal areas. This paper gives examples of reclamation methods, ground improvement works, foundations adopted, and consequent land subsidence as for structures directly borne by the underlying ground. Structures built on the recently reclaimed land often stand on piles driven into gravel layers. But an emphasis in pile design in usually placed on bearing capacity, with little consideration given to land subsidence and its effects. Appropriate ground improvement works, if followed by an enough consolidation period, produce satisfactory results for both direct and pile foundations. Low and light structures can be more economically built on direct foundations. It will be still safer for those structures if floating foundations or other measures are taken for preventing increases in load. 5 refs., 16 figs.
This paper presents a numerical study on the formation history of coalbed methane (CBM) reservoir in the southeast edge of Ordos Basin, China. The coal seams studied belong to the Late Palaeozoic coal-bearing series. These coal seams have a burial history and experienced the process of subsidence, rapid subsidence alternated with uplift and then uplift, sequentially, and underwent the geothermal actions at normal, extremely high, and then normal temperatures, respectively. Coal organic matter of the coal seams matured in the Triassic Period and in the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Period. The results from numerical simulation reveal that CBM reservoir evolution history can be classified into five stages, namely primary, initial, stagnant, active and dissipative stages. In the first (pr...
A helium-3 proportional detector was equipped with the experiment of Liaw-type electrolytic cell contained eutectic LiCl-KCl molten salt saturated by LiD electrolytic to collect the informations of the rate and the energy distribution of possible neutron produced during the electrolysis processes. For long time monitoring, the significant reproducible neutron bursts appeared at several runs of cells during electrolytic processing. The neutron counting rate increased about a factor of two above the level of the background measurement. The pulse height signals were verified of neutron energy ranging from thermal up to 350 keV. (author).
BackgroundSouth Africa has a high tuberculosis (TB)-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection rate of 73%, yet only 46% of TB patients are tested for HIV. To date, relatively...Full Text Available
BackgroundAfrican horse sickness virus (AHSV) causes a non-contagious, infectious disease in equids, with mortality rates that can exceed 90% in susceptible horse populations....Full Text Available
BackgroundSelf-management of asthma may improve asthma outcomes. The Internet has been suggested as a tool for the monitoring and self-management of asthma....Full Text Available
BackgroundLimited information has been published regarding how specific processes for event adjudication can affect event rates in trials. We reviewed nonfatal myocardial infarctions...Full Text Available
The working group reviewed the main difficulties foreseen in doing physics at a gamma-gamma collider. They discussed the requirements for the detector, calculated some of the signal and backgroundrates, compared methods of measuring luminosity, looked at how to get the laser beams in, investigated ways of sweeping aside the electrons and considered ways of disposing of the used beams. No overwhelming obstacles were found but important questions still need to be answered. ((orig.)).
The working group reviewed the main difficulties foreseen in doing physics at a gamma-gamma collider. They discussed the requirements for the detector, calculated some of the signal and backgroundrates, compared methods of measuring luminosity, looked at how to get the laser beams in, investigated ways of sweeping aside the electrons and considered ways of disposing of the used beams. No overwhelming obstacles were found but important questions still need to be answered. ((orig.)).
BackgroundA high rate of resistance to 3rd generation cephalosporins among Enterobacteriaceae isolates from Egypt has been previously reported. This study aims to characterize...Full Text Available
Assuming a simple model of delta development involving progradation and uniform burial at 500 m/m.y. (1,640 ft/m.y.) to present depths, oil-genesis nomographs derived from the time-temperature index (TTI) method were constructed for geothermal gradients ranging from 2.2/sup 0/ to 5.1/sup 0/ C/100 m (1.2/sup 0/-2.8/sup 0/ F/100 ft) of the Niger delta and used in mapping the positions (depth, temperature) of the top of the oil-generative window (OGW) at various times between 40 m.y.B.P. and the present. During the active subsidence phase, oil generation within any megasedimentary unit was initiated at a temperature of 140/sup 0/-146/sup 0/C (284/sup 0/-294.8/sup 0/F) and depth of 3,000-5,200 m (9,843-17,060 ft) within 7-11 m.y. after deposition of the potential source rocks. After cessation of subsidence, vertical upward movement of the OGW by 800-1,600 m (2,625-5,249 ft) was accompanied by a temperature lowering of 23/sup 0/-54/sup 0/C (41/sup ...
BackgroundAlthough self-expandable metal stent (SEMS) insertion is widely used for relief of malignant colorectal obstructions, the immediate technical and clinical failure rates of SEMSs and the associated risk factors remain largely unknown. ObjectiveTo identify rates and factors predictive of technical and clinical failure of SEMSs when their use is attempted for the decompression of malignant colorectal obstruction. DesignRetrospective chart review. SettingA tertiary-care academic medical center in South Korea. PatientsThis study involved a total of 412 patients with malignant colorectal obstruction in whom SEMS insertion was attempted. InterventionPlacement of colonic SEMSs. Main Outcome MeasurementsTechnical success and immediate and long-term clinical success rates. ResultsTechnical...
The purpose of this column is to present the results of the 2007 Professional Practice Analysis (PPA) of the field of nurse anesthesia, conducted by the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists. The PPA used survey and rating scale methodologies to collect data regarding the relative emphasis of various aspects of the nurse anesthesia knowledge domain and competencies. A total of 3,805 survey responses were analyzed using the Rasch rating scale model, which aggregates and transforms ordinal (rating scale) responses into linear measures of relative importance and frequency. Summaries of respondent demographics and educational and professional background are provided, as well as descriptions of how the survey results are used to develop test specifications. The results of this analysis provide evidence for the content outline and test specifications (content percentages) and thus serve as a basis of ...
An aerial radiological survey was conducted over the Department of Energy's Hanford Site near Richland, Washington, during the period 5 July through 26 August 1988. The survey was expanded, and additional flights were conducted to the east of the site and along the banks of the Columbia River down to McNary Dam near Umatilla. The survey was flown at altitude of 61 meters (200 feet) by a helicopter containing 17 liters (eight 2 in. x 4 in. x 16 in.) of sodium iodide detectors. Gamma ray data were collected over the survey area by flying north-south lines spaced 122 meters (400 feet) apart. The processed data indicated that detected radioisotopes and their associated gamma ray exposure rates were generally consistent with those expected from normal background emitters and man-made fission/activation products resulting from activities at the site. External exposure rates were generally 10 microroentgens per hour (#mu#R/h) with ...
We present physical properties of two submillimeter selected gravitationally lensed sources, identified in the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey. These submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) have flux densities > 100 mJy at 500 um, but are not visible in existing optical imaging. We fit light profiles to each component of the lensing systems in Spitzer IRAC 3.6 and 4.5 um data and successfully disentangle the foreground lens from the background source in each case, providing important constraints on the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the background SMG at rest-frame optical-near-infrared wavelengths. The SED fits show that these two SMGs have high dust obscuration with Av ~4 to 5 and star formation rates of ~100 M_sun/yr. They have low gas fractions and low dynamical masses compared to 850 um selected galaxies.
The future e"+e"- linear colliders can also operate in the e#gamma# or #gamma##gamma# modes. In the context of the top-color assisted technicolor (TC2) model, we study the single charged top-pion production process #gamma##gamma# #-># tb-bar#PI#_t"-. The results show that the production rates can reach the level of tens fb with reasonable parameter values. So one can expect that enough signals could be produced in future high-energy linear collider experiments. Furthermore, the flavor-changing (FC) decay mode #PI#_t"- #-># bc-bar is the best channel to detect the charged top pion due to the clean standard model background. With a large number of events and the clean background, the charged top pion should be observable at future linear colliders operating in #gamma##gamma# mode at the TeV energy scale
We have searched for neutron-antineutron oscillations using the 5.56 fiducial kiloton-year exposure of the Soudan 2 iron tracking calorimeter. We require candidate n-nbar occurrences to have .GE. 4 prongs (tracks and showers) and to have kinematics compatible with nbar-N annihilation within a nucleus. We observe five candidate events, with an estimated background from atmospheric neutrino and cosmic ray induced events of 4.5 \\pm 1.2 events. Previous experiments with smaller exposures observed no candidates, with estimated backgroundrates similar to this experiment. We set a lifetime lower limit for oscillation time in iron: T_A(Fe) > 7.2x10^{31} years. The corresponding lower limit for oscillation of free neutrons is \\tau_{n-nbar} > 1.3x10^8 seconds.
The authors have made new and improved measurements of the neutron capture and total cross sections of {sup 88}Sr at the Oak Ridge Electron Linear Accelerator (ORELA). Improvements over previous measurements include a wider incident neutron energy range, the use of metallic rather than carbonate samples, better background subtraction, reduced sensitivity to sample-dependent backgrounds, and better pulse-height weighting functions. Because of its small cross section, the {sup 88}Sr(n,{gamma}) reaction is an important bottleneck during the s-process nucleosynthesis. Hence, an accurate determination of this rate is needed to better constrain the neutron exposure in s-process models and to more fully exploit the recently discovered isotopic anomalies in certain meteorites. They describe the experimental procedures, compare the results to previous data, and discuss their astrophysical impact.
We have examined the dust photoelectric heating in the intergalactic medium (IGM). The heating rate in a typical radiation field of the IGM is represented by $\\Gamma_{\\rm pe} = 1.2\\times10^{-34}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-3}$ $({\\cal D}/10^{-4})(n_{\\rm H}/10^{-5} {\\rm cm^{-3}})^{4/3} (J_{\\rm L}/10^{-21} {\\rm erg s^{-1} cm^{-2} Hz^{-1} sr^{-1}})^{2/3} (T/10^4 {\\rm K})^{-1/6}$, where ${\\cal D}$ is the dust-to-gas mass ratio, $n_{\\rm H}$ is the hydrogen number density, $J_{\\rm L}$ is the mean intensity at the hydrogen Lyman limit of the background radiation, and $T$ is the gas temperature, if we assume the new X-ray photoelectric yield model by Weingartner et al. (2006) and the dust size distribution in the Milky Way by Mathis, Rumpl, & Nordsieck (1977). This heating rate dominates the HI and HeII photoionization heating rates when the hydrogen number density is less than $\\sim10^{-6}$ cm$^{-3}$ ...
An aerial radiological survey was performed from 11 to 20 March 1982 over a 260-square-kilometer area centered on the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station at Port Gibson, Mississippi (the station was not yet in operation at the time of the survey). All gamma ray data were collected by flying east-west lines spaced 152 meters apart at an altitude 91 meters above ground level. Processed data showed that all gamma rays detected within the survey area were those expected from naturally occurring terrestrial background emitters. Count rates obtained from the aerial platform were converted to exposure rates at 1 meter above the ground and are presented in the form of an isoradiation contour map. The observed exposure rates were between 5 and 13 microroentgens per hour (#mu#R/h), with most of the area ranging from 9 to 10 #mu#R/h. These values include an estimated cosmic ray contribution of 3.6 #mu#R/h. The exposure ...
Objective: To survey the data for the state of health in the ambient residents of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, and provide the background data to evaluate the state of health affected by fallout of nuclear power plant. Methods: The datas were collected by a radiation epidemiology. The investigation was carried out in the area within 20 km of radius from Daya Bay Nuclear' Power Plant, and the subjects who had lived there for three years or longer before January. 1,1993 and covered by the Household Registry were recruited to a cohort. Results: The mortality rate of overall cancer (per 100 000 PYr) was 88.57 (the standard mortality rate was 79.77 ), the mortality rate of leukemia (per 100 000 PYr) was 3.24 (the standard mortality rate was 2.94), the palpation rate of the goiter in 7-14 years old was 8.34%(9.69% in B ultrasonic), the morbidity ...
Measurements are presented of indoor radon levels made in a prototype house constructed partly of bauxite waste (red mud) and partly of conventional materials. The mud used contains higher than the average amounts of {sup 226}Ra and {sup 232}Th found in local building materials. The rates of exhalation of radon from the material used in the construction of the house are measured and employed with measured air change rates to make estimates of the average contribution of the various materials to the measured radon levels indoors. There is fairly good agreement between the two. The increment of radon related dose equivalents above background are also estimated and these are combined with previously determined gamma dose equivalents and used as a basis for assessing the acceptability of the practice of using red mud as a building material. (author)
Measurements are presented of indoor radon levels made in a prototype house constructed partly of bauxite waste (red mud) and partly of conventional materials. The mud used contains higher than the average amounts of "2"2"6Ra and "2"3"2Th found in local building materials. The rates of exhalation of radon from the material used in the construction of the house are measured and employed with measured air change rates to make estimates of the average contribution of the various materials to the measured radon levels indoors. There is fairly good agreement between the two. The increment of radon related dose equivalents above background are also estimated and these are combined with previously determined gamma dose equivalents and used as a basis for assessing the acceptability of the practice of using red mud as a building material. (author)
Background/Purpose: Peripherally inserted central venous catheters (PICCs) are commonly used for neonatal vascular access. The aim of this study was to look at PICC line complication rates and possible predictors of PICC infection in a neonatal intensive care unit. Method: This was a prospective study of 226 neonates who had PICCs on our neonatal intensive care unit between January 2006 and June 2009. Complete data was available on 218 neonates who had 294 PICC lines. Criteria for catheter-related sepsis was positive blood cultures (peripheral/central) and/or a positive catheter tip culture after removal in the presence of a clinical suspicion of line sepsis. Results: Of 218 neonates, 132 (169 lines) were medical, and 86 (125 lines) were surgical. Our PICC line infection rate was 17 infect...
We calculate the quarkonium dissociation rate in the P and CP-odd domains (bubbles) that were possibly created in heavy-ion collisions. In the presence of the magnetic field produced by the valence quarks of colliding ions, parity-odd domains generate electric field. Quarkonium dissociation is the result of quantum tunneling of quark or antiquark through the potential barrier in this electric field. The strength of the electric field in the quarkonium comoving frame depends on the quarkonium velocity with respect to the background magnetic field. We investigate momentum, electric field strength and azimuthal dependence of the dissociation rate. Azimuthal distribution of quarkonia surviving in the electromagnetic field is strongly anisotropic; the form of anisotropy depends on the relation between the electric and magnetic fields and quarkonium momentum. These features can be used to explore the properties of the ...
Background: Ventricular repolarization (VR) is strongly influenced by heart rate (HR) and autonomic nervous activity, both of which also are important for arrhythmogenesis. Their relative influence on VR is difficult to separate, but might be crucial for understanding while some but not other individuals are at risk for life-threatening arrhythmias at a certain HR. This study was therefore designed to assess the -pure- effect of HR increase by atrial pacing on the ventricular gradient (VG) and other vectorcardiographically (VCG) derived VR parameters during an otherwise unchanged condition. Methods: In 19 patients with structurally normal hearts, a protocol with stepwise increased atrial pacing was performed after successful arrhythmia ablation. Conduction intervals were measured on averag...
Summary Background Sorafenib is an oral multikinase inhibitor that blocks cell proliferation via the ERK pathway and angiogenesis via the VEGF pathway. This phase II trial was conducted to determine the efficacy and tolerability of sorafenib for the treatment of patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (UC) who had not had prior chemotherapy for advanced disease. Patients and Methods Seventeen chemo-na?ve UC patients with adequate performance status and organ function were treated with sorafenib 400?mg twice daily on a continuous basis until progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was objective tumor response rate as measured by RECIST criteria. Secondary endpoints included rate of prolonged stable disease (>3?months), time to progression, median and 1?yr survival and ...
Abstract Background- Vitiligo, characterized by destruction of melanocytes, causes a patchy depigmentation of the skin. It has been hypothesized to have an autoimmune pathogenesis. Autoimmune disorders are more common among women and may be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as recurrent abortions, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), and pre-eclampsia. Objective- The purpose of this study was to investigate whether patients with vitiligo have increased rates of gestational complications. Methods- A retrospective comparative study was undertaken comparing pregnancy complications of patients with and without vitiligo. The population was composed of all singleton deliveries that occurred at the Soroka University Medical Center in Israel during the years 1988-2006. Women lack...
The top-color assisted technicolor (TC2) mode predicts the existence of a pair of charged top-pions $\\pi^{\\pm}_t$. In this paper, we study the production of the charged top-pions pair $\\pi^{\\pm}_t$ at next generation $\\gamma\\gamma$ colliders. The results show that the production rates can reach the level of $10^2$ fb with reasonable parameter space. With a large number of events and the clean background, the charged top-pion should be observable at the $\\gamma\\gamma$ colliders. Therefore, our studies can help us to search for charged top-pion, and furthermore, to test the TC2 model.
The external background radiation level in and around the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) in Dhaka has been measured. The measurements were performed using lithium fluoride (LiF) thermoluminescence dosemeters (TLD-100) at 32 locations, all one metre above the ground. The annual average dose rate measured in the AERE environs was 1.74+-0.23 mGy.y/sup -1/ in air, based on analysis of thermoluminescence dosemeter data collected from 1982 to 1984.
A large scintillation chamber of 6.7 l volume for direct radon concentration measurements in gas is presented. With two 5 in. photomultipliers on opposite sides, working in coincidence, a concentration as low as about 0.5 mBq/l is detectable with 10% standard deviation after 1000 min measuring time. With the achieved background count rate of 0.42 counts/min and the counting efficiency of 0.607 for [sup 222]Rn and its progenies the absolute minimal detectable specific activity is reached with 0.17 mBq/l at about 12 000 min. The method to determine this minimum detectable activity is outlined. ((orig.))
A government would like to subsidize an indivisible good. Consumers? valuations of the good vary according to their wealth and benefits from the good. A subsidy scheme may be based on consumers? wealth or benefit information. We translate a wealth-based policy to a benefit-based policy, and vice versa, and give a necessary and sufficient condition for the pair of policies to implement the same assignment: consumers choose to purchase the good under the wealth-based policy if and only if they choose to do so under the translated benefit-based policy. General taxation allows equivalent policies to require the same budget.
Due mainly to competitive pressures, the practice of offering electric and telephone service under contracts or special tariffs negotiated individually between a utility and its customers has increased in importance in recent years. Moreover, the practice is likely to become still more widespread in the future. This creates questions of public policy that are of interest to regulators and ratepayers alike such as how to supervise the practice, how to encourage utilities to compete while preventing cross-subsidization and anticompetitive behavior, and how the practice will ultimately affect utilities and ratepayers. This report sheds light on the topic by describing approaches that have been taken by the various regulatory commissions and by providing a framework for analyzing such contractors.
The Steam Generator (SG) serves as an interface between primary and secondary cycle in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). Failure of steam generator tubes result in leaking of active heavy water in the secondary closed loop. In Tarapur Atomic Power Station-3 and 4 (TAPS- 3 and 4), Scintillator detectors are provided to detect on line heavy water leakages in SG and moderator heat exchangers by monitoring Nitrogen-16 ("1"6N) and Oxygen-19 ("1"90) activities. Efficacy of detection of these activities at designed detector position on SG blow down line in presence of background radiation field is analysed theoretically. The count rate of "1"9O and "1"6N estimated at the detector position inside Reactor Building (RB) shows that detectors only respond to very high leak rates due to presence of high background even though sensitivity is appreciably good. For detector position out side the RB containment, ...
Producing nuclear energy in order to reduce anthropic CO{sub 2} emission and to meet high energy demand, implies three conditions to the nuclear plants of the IV. generation: safety improvements, radioactive waste minimization, and fuel breeding for a sustainable use of the resources. The Thorium fuel cycle used in Molten Salt Reactors seems promising. Many numerical studies based on probabilistic codes are carried out in order to analyse the behaviour of such reactors. Nevertheless, one of the most important parameters is badly known: the alpha ratio of {sup 233}U, ratio of the neutron capture cross section to fission one for {sup 233}U. This key-parameter is necessary to calculate the breeding ratio and thus, the deployment capacities of those reactors. This Ph-D thesis was intended to prepare a precise measurement of the alpha ratio of {sup 233}U between 1 eV and 10 keV. Preliminary measurements have been performed on the experimental platform PEREN. This experimental environment is ...
Electrochemical noise generated during stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of type 304 stainless steel (UNS S30400) and {alpha}-brass were studied. Noise patterns showed common characteristics (i.e., a quick drop and slow recovery of the potential). The quick drop corresponded to the initiation of localized events where fresh metal was exposed. The slow recovery corresponded to the repassivation process of the exposed bare metal. The potential drop rate and recovery rate were almost constant during the SCC process for a given SCC system. For random noise, rates of potential rise and drop were similar. Frequency of the noise generated during SCC increased with an increase in applied stress. SCC initiation could be monitored and determined according to noise characteristics and distribution. Since the shift of background potentials had an obvious influence on characteristics of power spectrum density (PSD), ...
The Steam Generator (SG) serves as an interface between primary and secondary cycle in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). Failure of steam generator tubes result in leaking of active heavy water in the secondary closed loop. In Tarapur Atomic Power Station-3 and 4 (TAPS- 3 and 4), Scintillator detectors are provided to detect on line heavy water leakages in SG and moderator heat exchangers by monitoring Nitrogen-16 (16N) and Oxygen-19 (19O) activities. Efficacy of detection of these activities at designed detector position on SG blow down line in presence of background radiation field is analysed theoretically. The count rate of 19O and 16N estimated at the detector position inside Reactor Building (RB) shows that detectors only respond to very high leak rates due to presence of high ambient radiation level even though sensitivity is appreciably good. For detector position in RB in the accessible areas and out side the ...
The short review of complete tree level calculations for three particle final states production at the future e"+e"-, #gamma#e and #gamma##gamma# colliders is presented. The results obtained with the help of CompHEP system for total cross sections and other characteristics of processes in the energy range 0.1-2 TeV are summarized and their comparison with the results of different approaches is discussed. In particular we are interested in the processes of W, Z and H boson production. The reactions under consideration are especially interesting in connection with probing of new couplings, searching for new particle signals and as an important backgrounds to these experiments. The main subjects described are basic reactions rates (sections 2,3), Higgs production in #gamma#e collisions (section 4), the possibilities of testing some four vector bosons interaction vertices and Higgs-fermion coupling (section 5), the process of excited neutrino ...
The future e{sup +}e{sup -} linear colliders can also operate in the e{gamma} or {gamma}{gamma} modes. In the context of the top-color assisted technicolor (TC2) model, we study the single charged top-pion production process {gamma}{gamma} {yields} tb-bar{pi}{sub t}{sup -}. The results show that the production rates can reach the level of tens fb with reasonable parameter values. So one can expect that enough signals could be produced in future high-energy linear collider experiments. Furthermore, the flavor-changing (FC) decay mode {pi}{sub t}{sup -} {yields} bc-bar is the best channel to detect the charged top pion due to the clean standard model background. With a large number of events and the clean background, the charged top pion should be observable at future linear colliders operating in {gamma}{gamma} mode at the TeV energy scale.
The static magnetization of solid "3He contained in sintered copper was measured. The results of the density on the melting curve show that below 5 mK, the magnetization M rises above the Curie-Weiss law extrapolated from high temperature. It reaches a maximum of twice as much as the Curie Weiss law value at temperature Tm, which would be somewhat below 1.25 mK if the system could be warmed up at infinitesimally slow rate. Below Tm, M decreases rapidly to 0.4 of its maximum, then appears to become independent of temperature. The previously reported decrease of specific heat below the Curie-Weiss law value in the range below 4 mK is apparently related to the increase of M in that range. At the low temperature end, apparent decrease of M is due to the fact that there is background magnetization which is out of equilibrium with the thermometer when there is solid "3He in the sample cell. It is suspected that the background ...
In a recent study of a search for enhancements from the galactic center with muons at sea level using the TUPI muon telescope, we have found several ground level enhancements (GLEs) as very sharp peaks above the count ratebackground. This paper reports a consistent analysis of two GLEs observed in December 2003 and detected after an up-grade of the data acquisition system, which includes a noise filter and which allows us to verify that the GLEs are not mere background fluctuations. The main target of this study is a search for the origin of the GLEs. The results show that one of them has a strong correlation with a solar flare, while the other has an unknown origin, because there is neither a satellite report of a solar flare, nor prompt X-ray emission, and nor a excess of nuclei during the raster scan where the GLE was observed. Even so, two possibilities are analyzed: the solar flare hypothesis and the gamma ray burst ...
Waste Management Area U (WMA U) includes the U Tank Farm, is currently regulated under RCRA interim-status regulations, and is scheduled for closure probably post-2030. Groundwater monitoring has been under an evaluation program that compared general contaminant indicator parameters from downgradient wells to background values established from upgradient wells. One of the indicator parameters, specific conductance, exceeded its background value in one downgradient well triggering a change from detection monitoring to a groundwater quality assessment program. The objective of the first phase of this assessment program is to determine whether the increased concentrations of nitrate and chromium in groundwater are from WMA U or from an upgradient source. Based on the results of the first determination, if WMA U is not the source of contamination, then the site will revert to detection monitoring. If WMA U is the source, then a second part of the ...
Due to legal restrictions, the German hard coal mining company Deutsche Steinkohle AG (DSK) is obliged to conduct a monitoring on surface changes (subsidence) caused by mining activity (e.g. topographic surface, groundwater, water, flora and fauna, soil). To fulfill legal demands and to do this effectively, process chains by use of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Geo-Informationssystems (GIS) have been established. Photogrammetric methods are used to generate high resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEM) from which in combination with subsidence data geometrical changes at the topographic surface are deduced. The potential use of active sensors (Laser Scanning and Synthetic Aperture Radar Systems) to deduct DEM has been investigated. The applicability of SAR satellite data to detect and observe subsidence and resulting movements - point wise or with spatial extent - using differential SAR Interferometry (dInSAR) as well ...
BackgroundSince implementation of the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD), the number of simultaneous liver-kidney transplantations (SLKT) has increased in the United States. However, predictors and survival benefit of SLKT compared to liver transplantation alone (LTA) are not well defined. MethodsOrgan Procurement and Transplantation Network data of patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 who had not been on dialysis while on the waiting list and underwent liver transplantation between 2002 and 2008 were analyzed. To identify predictors of undergoing SLKT versus LTA, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to assess the association between...
The historical background of the 19th century electromagnetic theory is revisited from the standpoint of the opposition between alternative approaches in respect to the problem of interactions. The 19th century electrodynamics became the battle-field of a paramount importance to test existing conceptions of interactions. Hertz's experiments were designed to bring a solid experimental evidence in favor of one of them. The modern scientific method applied to analyze Hertz's experimental approach as well as the analysis of his laboratory notes, dairy and private letters show that Hertz's "\\textit{crucial}" experiments cannot be considered as conclusive at many points as it is generally implied. We found that alternative Helmholtz's electrodynamics did not contradict any of Hertz's experimental observations of transverse components as Maxwell's theory predicted. Moreover, as we now know from recently published Hertz's dairy and private notes, his first experimental ...
Background. A 19-year-old girl was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, based on findings of arthritis, malar rash, positive antinuclear antibody test and high levels of antibodies to double-stranded DNA. Two months after diagnosis, the patient presented with a sudden drop in blood hemoglobin level. Several days later, she developed bloody sputum, rapidly progressive dyspnea and hypoxemia. High-resolution CT showed diffuse alveolar infiltrates in both lung fields.Investigations. Physical examination, complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, urinalysis, 24-h urine protein excretion, fecal occult blood test, d-dimer test, acid hemolysis test, activated partial thromboplastin time and prothrombin time, direct and indirect Coombs tests, bone marrow smear, arterial blood ga...
Atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) was used to grow several components of the cascade solar cell structure in the AlGaAs/GaAs system. An ALE reactor was constructed for multiwafer growth with a growth rate of 0.6 {mu}m h{sup -1}. Device quality GaAs and Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}As films were grown with p-type background carbon doping in the ranges 10{sup 16}-10{sup 19} cm{sup -3} and 10{sup 16}-10{sup 20} cm{sup -3} respectively. N-type films were achieved by SiH{sub 4} doping, producing carrier concentrations in the range 10{sup 16}-10{sup 18} cm{sup -3}. In addition, the potential applications of the ALE technique in the photovoltaic field are discussed. (orig.).
Background: High satisfaction rates have been reported after autologous breast reconstruction. Yet, most mastectomy patients receive implant reconstructions (ImBR). Independent and active decision makers have shown mainly to choose for autologous reconstructions, such as the Deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap (DiepBR). To further explore the decision making to opt for either ImBR or DiepBR, we investigated patient knowledge, informational resources used, effect of plastic surgeons' advice, coping style and personal independence. Methods: A total of 153 women, who were planned for DiepBR or ImBR preoperatively, completed a study-specific and standardised validated psychological questionnaire. Analyses were aimed at information-seeking behaviour, personal independence and coping...
Background The Norwood procedure consists of three palliative operations, performed in neonates with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Especially the first stage (Norwood I) is associated with the highest mortality rates in paediatric cardiac surgery (up to 25%). During surgery, the aorta is reconstructed and a systemic-to-pulmonary shunt is applied. Originally the modified Blalock-Taussig shunt was used, but recently the right-ventricle-to-pulmonary-artery shunt is increasingly being employed. We reviewed the results of our operative strategy, where an individualised choice of shunt is made. Furthermore, attempts to reduce interstage mortality (between Norwood I and II) were assessed. Methods All neonates who underwent Norwood stage I palliation from August 2004 until November 2010 were in...
An image-analysis system, based on commercially available data visualization software (IDL [1]), allows convenient interaction with image data while still providing calculated beam parameters at a rate of up to 2 Hz. Image data are transferred from the IOC to the workstation via EPICS [2] channel access. A custom EPICS record was created in order to overcome the channel access limit of 16k bytes per array. The user can conveniently calibrate optical transition radiation (OTR) and fluorescent screens, capture background images, acquire and average a series of images, and specify several other filtering and viewing options. The images can be saved in either IDL format or APS-standard format (SDDS [3]), allowing for rapid postprocessing of image data by numerous other software tools.
AbstractBackground: So far, infliximab (IFX) therapy for the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD) has generally been guided by clinical symptoms. Data on treatment response as ascertained by endoscopy in IFX therapy are scarce. The aims of this study were to measure the endoscopic response rate during IFX induction and maintenance therapy in luminal CD, and also evaluate the role of endoscopy in monitoring IFX therapy. Methods: Data obtained from 71 patients with active luminal CD and treated with IFX were analyzed retrospectively. The endoscopy findings were scored according to mucosal activity as: 0 (remission), 1-2 (mild), 3-4 (moderate), and 5-6 (severe). A positive endoscopic response was determined by a decrease in score of at least two points and mucosal healing was assigned a score of...
To investigate the characteristics of a reactor and a neutron generator, a small scintillation detector with an optical fiber with ThO_2 has been developed to measure fast neutrons. However, experimental facilities where "2"3"2Th can be used are limited by regulations, and S/N ratio is low because the background counts of this detector are increase by alpha decay of "2"3"2Th. The purpose of this study is to develop a new optical fiber detector for measuring fast neutrons that does not use nuclear material such as "2"3"2Th. From the measured and calculated results, the new optical fiber detector which uses ZnS(Ag) as a converter material together with a scintillator have the highest detection efficiency among several developed detectors. It is applied for the measurement of reaction rates generated from fast neutrons; furthermore, the absolute detection efficiency of this detector was obtained experimentally.
The report gives background design data for a specific copper smelter. The data is sufficiently detailed to allow air pollution control system engineering studies to be conducted. These studies will be concerned primarily with lean SO/sub 2/ streams that currently are not being captured. Physical layout of the smelter and the surrounding area is presented, along with existing control equipment. Ductwork that would be considered for future system tie-in is defined. Emissions from operating equipment, gas flow rates, temperatures, sulfur balance, and a process flow sheet are included. Utilities, stack dimensions, footing requirements, and solid waste handling are defined. Available area for new control equipment, gas characteristic variation, and potential new control equipment installation problems are discussed. Portions of this document are not fully legible. (GRA)
The report gives background design data for a specific copper smelter. The data is sufficiently detailed to allow air pollution control system engineering studies to be conducted. These studies will be concerned primarily with lean SO/sub 2/ streams that currently are not being captured. Physical layout of the smelter and the surrounding area is presented, along with existing control equipment. Ductwork that would be considered for future system tie-in is defined. Emissions from operating equipment, gas flow rates, temperatures, sulfur balance, and a process flow sheet are included. Utilities, stack dimensions, footing requirements, and solid waste handling are defined. Available area for new control equipment, gas characteristic variation, and potential new control equipment installation problems are discussed. (GRA)
We study D-branes in a two-dimensional lorentzian orbifold R{sup 1,1}/{gamma} with a discrete boost {gamma}. This space is known as Misner or Milne space, and includes big crunch/big bang singularity. In this space, there are D0-branes in spiral orbits and D1-branes with or without flux on them. In particular, we observe imaginary parts of partition functions, and interpret them as the rates of open string pair creation for D0-branes and emission of winding closed strings for D1-branes. These phenomena occur due to the time-dependence of the background. Open string 2{yields}2 scattering amplitude on a D1-brane is also computed and found to be less singular than closed string case.
Gravitational lensing distorts the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization fields and encodes valuable information on distances and growth rates at intermediate redshifts into the lensed power spectra. The non-Gaussian bandpower covariance induced by the lenses is negligible to l=2000 for all but the B polarization field where it increases the net variance by up to a factor of 10 and favors an observing strategy with 3 times more area than if it were Gaussian. To quantify the cosmological information, we introduce two lensing observables, characterizing nearly all of the information, which simplify the study of non-Gaussian impact, parameter degeneracies, dark energy models, and complementarity with other cosmological probes. Information on the intermediate redshift parameters rapidly becomes limited by constraints on the cold dark matter density and initial amplitude of fluctuations as observations improve. Extraction of ...
Summary Background- Treatments that achieve sustainable steroid-free clinical remission in Crohn-s disease are needed; however, long-term steroid-sparing efficacy data are limited. Aim- To evaluate steroid-sparing efficacy and the impact of steroid discontinuation on adverse events during treatment of Crohn's disease with adalimumab in the phase III randomised, double-blind 1-year CHARM trial and for an additional 2-years in its open-label extension ADHERE. Methods- Steroid-free remission and response and steroid-sparing (-50% steroid dose reduction) remission rates were evaluated over 3-years in patients who were taking corticosteroids at CHARM baseline. Results- Of 778 patients randomised in CHARM (including those who did not achieve clinical response to open-label induction therapy), 31...
Background There is some evidence that a patient?s pre-operative condition influences short-term and long-term post-operative outcomes. The aim of the present study is to compare the physiological and operative severity score for the enumeration of mortality and morbidity (POSSUM) and modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS) models in the prediction of post-operative outcome, both short term and long term, in patients undergoing resection of oesophago-gastric cancer. Patients and Methods Patients who underwent curative resection for oesophago-gastric cancer from January 2005 to May 2009 and who had data to score the POSSUM, P-POSSUM, O-POSSUM and mGPS models were included in the study. Observed morbidity and mortality rates were compared with predicted outcome in different risk groups. Bot...
Coal exploitation inevitably damages the natural ecological environment through large scale underground exploitation which exhausts the surrounding areas and is the cause of surface subsidence and cracks. These types of damage seriously lower the underground water table. Deterioration of the environment has certainly an impact on and limits growth of vegetation, which is a very important indicator of a healthy ecological system. Dynamically monitoring vegetation growth under coal exploitation stress by remote sensing technology provides advantages such as large scale coverage, high accuracy and abundant information. A scatter plot was built by a TM (Thematic Mapper) infrared and red bands. A detailed analysis of the distributional characteristics of vegetation pixels has been carried out. ...
Evaluates geodetic surveys of rock strata in the Szombirki black coal mine with coal seams prone to rock bursts. Rock bursts are associated with accumulation of energy in the 60 m thick sandstone layers situated in the coal seam roofs. Two stages of energy release are analyzed: brittle fracture of the sandstone layer, and energy transfer (dynamic load transfer) to underlying rock strata. Effects of energy accumulation and its release on rock strata displacement were measured in mine workings. The measuring points were situated in the roofs of mine roadways influenced by advancing longwall faces. Two types of vertical displacements are comparatively evaluated: uplift before a rock burst, and subsidence after a rock burst. 5 refs.
Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and clinical application of two stents insertion via single tract for treatment of hepatic hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Methods: Eighteen patients with hepatic hilar cholangiocarcinoma who had left and right bile duct obstruction were treated with stents insertion via right bile duct puncturing routeway. These two stents were implanted between right and left bile duct, and between right bile duct and common bile duct. Results: Eighteen patients obtained successful two stents placement by right bile duct puncturing tract and succeeded with internal drainage for all biliary tree jaundice subsided distinctly. Conclusions: The technique of two stents insertion via single tract could predigest interventional drainage procedure of high bile duct obstruction, reduce operation trauma, shorten handling time and possess promising application value
The studies using phantoms confirmed that the reduction of electron beam energy and minimization of X-ray contamination could be achieved when electron beam was interposed by an acrylic plate placed 20 cm anterior to a patient. Four patients of mycosis fungoides were treated with 8 MeV electron beam of a linear accelerator at UOEH Hospital from October 1981 to December 1986. Two of them were treated with this technique by placing 2 cm thick acrylic plate anterior to the patients and satisfactory results were obtained. Cutaneous lesions subsided remarkably with the dosage of 2000 cGy given in 2 months. Leucopenia due to bone marrow suppression was mild and the patients tolerated the treatment well.
The studies using phantoms confirmed that the reduction of electron beam energy and minimization of X-ray contamination could be achieved when electron beam was interposed by an acrylic plate placed 20 cm anterior to a patient. Four patients of mycosis fungoides were treated with 8 MeV electron beam of a linear accelerator at UOEH Hospital from October 1981 to December 1986. Two of them were treated with this technique by placing 2 cm thick acrylic plate anterior to the patients and satisfactory results were obtained. Cutaneous lesions subsided remarkably with the dosage of 2000 cGy given in 2 months. Leucopenia due to bone marrow suppression was mild and the patients tolerated the treatment well. (author).
Diesel power technology has been utilized worldwide, especially in remote regions, because of its low initial capital cost. But it has negative effects on the surrounding environment and causes global warming. On the other hand, depleting oil and fuel resources has made it inevitable to seek alternative/renewable energy resources. In Iran, the cost of fuel is highly subsidized. If Iran removes the fuel subsidy, the cost of diesel fuel would increase and the photovoltaic (PV) or hybrid PV/diesel systems would become more attractive. Hybrid photovoltaic/diesel/battery (PV/diesel/bat) systems which use PV energy, combined with diesel generation power and battery bank storage are an excellent solution to decrease diesel generator costs, pollution, and electrification of remote rural areas. In ...
Evaluates effects of longwall mining of black coal seams in the Lower Silesian coal basin on industrial stacks. Deviation of three stacks in the Walbrzych coking plant was measured one year long. The stacks, constructed in 1902-1904, and reconstructed in 1937-1938 were made of stack bricks. Foundations of the 54.00 m, 52.80 m and 64.50 m high stacks were situated at depths of 4.00 to 5.50 m. Ground subsidence and curvature were analyzed. Direction of stack deviation in relation to the direction of longwall mining was evaluated. Analyses showed there was no correlation between direction of stack deviation and ground inclination. Deviation, which increased with growing stack height, depended on displacement of stack foundations. 3 refs.
Environmental assessment in an arid coal mining area requires an understanding of the influences of coal mining, the arid climate and ecological remediation. To that end, we selected vegetation as the key environmental factor to observe. Remote sensing approaches to monitoring the spatio-temporal variation of vegetation caused by mining activities, the arid climate and ecological remediation in the Shengdong coal mining area are described. Over a large regional scale it was found that the vegetation was improved as a result of ecological remediation activities. At the local scale, however, the vegetation coverage and soil moisture in the mined areas were slightly lower than those in un-mined areas due to mining subsidence. These differences are partly attributed to ground fissures that inj...
Within the framework of the MINEO research project assisted by the European Union the Deutsche Steinkohle AG (DSK) has developed methods for the operational use of remote sensing data and geo-information systems for the regular observation, measurement and evaluation of environmental effects in mining areas. Only indirect environmental effects of the mining industry, which may result in particular from subsidence-induced changes in the hydrological situation (ground water level, drainage) and the resulting effects on the vegetation and land utilisation, can be observed for the DSK test area 'Kirchheller Heide' because of the underground mine workings. Hence the evaluations of the remote sensing data were concentrated on the development of methods to measure and analyse the vegetation condition and any changes. MINEO thus constitutes a module for the DSK environmental information system. (orig.)
In this paper we demonstrate the capabilities of our ArcGIS-based software development that includes an adapted database system and a GIS tool for storage, combined analysis and visualization of leveling data and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) deformation measurements. Preprocessed remote sensing image data are stored with metadata that include all processing routines and parameters. This allows reproduction and traceability of all processing steps. Deformation monitoring is supported through data searching and selection based on a variety of criteria. A methods toolbox allows spatio-temporal analyses for points, lines and areas (e.g. subsidence basins) in a graphical manner.
The detector for retrospective radon exposure measurements is developed. The detector consists of the multilayer package of solid-state nuclear track detectors LR-115 type. Nitrocellulose films works both as {alpha}-particle detector and as absorber decreasing the energy of {alpha}-particles. The uncertainties of implanted {sup 210}Pb measurements by two- and three-layer detectors are assessed in dependence on surface {sup 210}Po activity and gross background activity of the glass. The generalized compartment behavior model of radon decay products in the room atmosphere was developed and verified. It is shown that the most influencing parameters on the value of conversion coefficient from {sup 210}Po surface activity to average radon concentration are aerosol particles concentration, deposition velocity of unattached {sup 218}Po and air exchange rate. It is demonstrated that with the use of additional information on surface to volume room ...
Service water, 100 l each, was collected at an intake of a water treatment plant and at a tap after water was left running for five minutes. The carriers of strontium and cesium were added to water immediately after sampling, and the sample was vigorously stirred and filtered. Then it was passed through a cation exchange column at a rate of 80 ml/min. Strontium and cesium were eluted with hydrochloric acid from the cation exchange column, and separated. After the radiochemical separation, the mounted precipitates were counted for activity using low background beta counters normally for 60 min. Net sample counting rates were corrected for counter efficiency, recovery, self absorption and decay to obtain the content of strontium-90 and cesium-137 radioactivity per sample aliquot. From the results, concentrations of these nuclides in the original sample were calculated. The maximum values obtained were 0.29 pCi/l of Sr-90 in ...
A measurement of environmental radioactivity in Tokyo was started from 1974. We have been executing fixed time and fixed point observation since 1983 in Tokyo continuously. Measurement item is rain water, airborne dust, activated sludge at sewage treatment plants and external dose rate. Measurement data from 1983 to 1995 is reported in this paper. Moreover, we have been carried out the measurement of radon concentration in air from 1988 to 1991 in different types of residental buildings. The measurement results of rain water, airborne dust, external dose rate were approximately a background level respectively except for the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. Radionuclides used as radiopharmaceuticals were detected in the activated sludge at every sewage treatment plant but its concentration was lower than concentration limit in Japan. From a result of radon concentration measurements, there were no place which exceeds ...
Abstract BACKGROUND: Nitrate leaching and the resulting groundwater contamination from intensive cereal production has become a major concern for long-term farmland efficiency and environmental sustainability in northern China. The aim of this study was to evaluate a water-saving super-absorbent polymer (SAP) for minimising NO3- leaching from soil and optimising corn growth and yield. Thirty-six undisturbed soil lysimeters were installed in a field lysimeter facility in drought-affected northern China to study the growth and yield characteristics of summer corn (Zea mays L.) as well as the amount of NO3-leaching losses under different fertiliser (standard, medium or 75% and low, or 50% of conventional fertilisation rate) and SAP (control, 0; level-1, 15 kg ha-1 and level-2, 30 kg ha-1) tre...
A reactor-neutrino experiment, Daya Bay, has been proposed to determine the least-known neutrino mixing angle theta_13 using electron antineutrinos produced at the Daya Bay nuclear power complex in China. Daya Bay is an international collaboration with institutions from China, the United States, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Russia, and Taiwan. The experiment will use eight identical detectors deployed at three different locations optimized for monitoring the antineutrino rates from the six reactors and for detecting any rate deficit and spectral distortion near the first oscillation maximum. The overburden of the under ground experimental halls, connected with tunnels, ranges from about 250 to 900 meters-water-equivalent so that the cosmogenic background is small compared to the number of observed antineutrino events. Civil construction of tunnels and experimental facilities is planned to start in 2007, with detector ...
The influence of reconstituting a murine monoclonal IgG_1 antibody kit with pertechnetate Tc99m on antibody distribution in the liver, spleen and sternal bone marrow of patients was examined. The "9"9"mTc-labelled antibody used is directed against non-specific cross-reacting antigen (NCA-95) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and has been successfully applied for imaging tissue inflammation and bone marrow scanning. Radioactivity uptake was determined in the liver, spleen, bone marrow and a precordial background region in a consecutive series of 25 patients, examined with an antibody preparation, routinely radiolabelled according to the manufacturer's recommendations and in 14 patients, in whom the antibody was reconstituted with special care, avoiding bubble formation and dropping of buffer into the antibody-containing vial. Gentle compared with routine antibody reconstitution caused a highly significant reduction of the antibody uptake in the liver, as determined ...
ICP emission analyses are prone to errors due to changes in power level, nebulization rate, plasma temperature, and sample matrix. As a result, accurate analyses of complex samples often require frequent bracketing with matrix matched standards. Information needed to track and correct the matrix errors is contained in the emission spectrum. But most commercial software packages use only the analyte line emission to determine concentrations. Changes in plasma temperature and the nebulization rate are reflected by changes in the hydrogen line widths, the oxygen emission, and neutral ion line ratios. Argon and off-line emissions provide a measure to correct the power level and the background scattering occurring in the polychromator. The authors` studies indicated that changes in the intensity of the Ar 404.4 nm line readily flag most matrix and plasma condition modifications. Carbon lines can be used to monitor the impact of ...
To assess the efficacy and resulting complications of tetracycline sclerotherapy in renal, hepatic, ovarian, and perivesical cysts. We retrospectively reviewed 23 cases of benign cysts (16 renal, 4 hepatic, 2 ovarian, and 1 perivesical) in 22 patients in whom the condition was diagnosed or confirmed by either ultrasound, CT, or cytology, and who underwent percutaneous tetracycline sclerotherapy. Using a 21-gauge Chiba needle, the target cyst was punctured under ultrasound guidance. Prior to the injection of 1500 mg of tetracycline diluted in 5 ml of normal saline, almost all the cystic content was aspirated, and at the end of the procedure the tetracycline was left in the cyst. During a period of between 3 and 22 months, 18 of the 23 cases were followed up. In six of the 18 cases followed up, the cysts either decreased in size by 10%, or collapsed completely. In seven cases a collapse of over 50% was noted, and in the remaining five the cyst recurred. In one of these, complete collapse ...
The Sperchios Basin is an active asymmetric graben, bounded to the south by a major border fault system with major fault segments typically 20-30 km long. The basin is dominated by a major axial fluvio-deltaic system which enters the partially enclosed Maliakos Gulf to the east. Lateral sourced depositional systems within the basin comprise hanging-wall and footwall-derived alluvial fans and a narrow coastal plain along the footwall scarp bordering the Maliakos Gulf. High resolution seismic data from the Maliakos Gulf reveals three late Quaternary progradational parasequences sourced from axial and lateral depositional systems, with a regional late-Pleistocene transgressive surface dated at circa. 10 ka BP within the Maliakos Gulf. Differential subsidence of the late Pleistocene transgressive surface indicates marked variation in subsidence from 2.4 m ka[sup -1] at fault segment centers to 0.8 m ka[sup -1] at segment boundaries. The geometry ...
The Sperchios Basin is an active asymmetric graben, bounded to the south by a major border fault system with major fault segments typically 20-30 km long. The basin is dominated by a major axial fluvio-deltaic system which enters the partially enclosed Maliakos Gulf to the east. Lateral sourced depositional systems within the basin comprise hanging-wall and footwall-derived alluvial fans and a narrow coastal plain along the footwall scarp bordering the Maliakos Gulf. High resolution seismic data from the Maliakos Gulf reveals three late Quaternary progradational parasequences sourced from axial and lateral depositional systems, with a regional late-Pleistocene transgressive surface dated at circa. 10 ka BP within the Maliakos Gulf. Differential subsidence of the late Pleistocene transgressive surface indicates marked variation in subsidence from 2.4 m ka{sup -1} at fault segment centers to 0.8 m ka{sup -1} at segment boundaries. The geometry ...
Provenance and paleocurrent data from synorogenic fluvial sandstones can be used to constrain theories about the timing and structural style of Laramide foreland uplifts and associated basins. The Green River basin of southwestern Wyoming is a large ellipsoidal basin bounded by uplifts with diverse orientations and basement rock compositions. Sandstone from the main body of the Eocene Wasatch Formation in the Green River basin was sampled along the south and west flanks of the Rock Springs uplift. Petrographic examination and paleocurrent measurements reveal two main facies. The first facies is rich in feldspar and metamorphic rock fragments derived from the Wind River Mountains to the north. The second facies is dominated by quartz and sedimentary rock fragments, reflecting a source in the Uinta Mountains to the south. Distribution of these facies indicates that a sediment lobe extends 15 km into the basin from the Uinta Mountains. Another sediment lobe originates from the Wind River ...
Timing and geometry of Maastrichtian third-order sequences and systems tracts of south-central Wyoming were mostly controlled by rapid basin subsidence resulting from thrust loading of foreland basin crust. The basement of the Red Desert/Washakie basin was affected by thrusting in the Sevier belt to the west and by thrusting along the edge of the Wind River Mountains and Granite Mountains. A transgressive systems tract consists of the youngest Ericson Formation above a regional unconformity, backstepping Almond Formation nearshore and nonmarine facies, and shelfal mudstones of the lower Lewis Shale. Regionally, the onset of transgression is younger from east to west, beginning at 71.5 Ma in eastern Wyoming and at 70.5-71 Ma in south-central Wyoming. The transgression culminated in a condensed shale section evident on gamma-ray logs that occurs throughout the basin. Above the gamma-ray zone, the highstand systems tract of the middle and upper Lewis Shale, Fox Hills ...
Photoelectrochemical oxidation is a potentially interesting method for destroying toxic organic materials. We have studied the photoelectrocatalytic activity of TiO{sub 2} films made by thermal oxidation of titanium, low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD), and anodisation of titanium. Two model organic compounds have been investigated for photooxidation: methyl phosphonic acid (MPA) which is a nerve gas analogue and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) which is a chlorinated aromatic compound considered a standard for the evaluation of the TiO{sub 2} / UV processes. In addition to photoelectrochemical characterisation the films have been characterised by profilometry, XRD, AFM, photocurrent spectroscopy and Raman microscopy. Correlations have been made between the physical properties of the thin films and their catalytic activities. The most catalytic sample of thermally oxidised titanium was prepared at 400 deg C, and the presence of anatase was shown by XRD, MPA degradation test and ...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of verifying depleted uranium (DU), natural uranium (NU), low enriched uranium (LEU) and high enriched uranium (HEU) by a developed digital gamma-gamma coincidence spectroscopy. The spectroscopy consists of two NaI(Tl) scintillators and XIA LLC Digital Gamma Finder (DGF)/Pixie-4 software and card package. The results demonstrate that the spectroscopy provides an effective method of "2"3"5U and "2"3"8U quantification based on the count rate of their gamma-gamma coincidence counting signatures. The main advantages of this approach over the conventional gamma spectrometry include the facts of low background continuum near coincident signatures of "2"3"5U and "2"3"8U, less interference from other radionuclides by the gamma-gamma coincidence counting, and region-of-interest (ROI) imagine analysis for uranium enrichment determination. Compared to conventional gamma spectrometry, the method ...
We study local radiation magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in static, optically thick, vertically stratified media with constant flux mean opacity. We include the effects of vertical gradients in a horizontal background magnetic field. Assuming rapid radiative diffusion, we use the zero gas pressure limit as an entry point for investigating the coupling between the photon bubble instability and the Parker instability. Apart from factors that depend on wavenumber orientation, the Parker instability exists for wavelengths longer than a characteristic wavelength lambda_{tran}, while photon bubbles exist for wavelengths shorter than lambda_{tran}. The growth rate in the Parker regime is independent of the orientation of the horizontal component of the wavenumber when radiative diffusion is rapid, but the range of Parker-like wavenumbers is extended if there exists strong horizontal shear between field lines (i.e. horizontal wavenumber perpendicular ...
In field O{sub 3}-enrichment experiments increased herbivore densities have been reported, which could be due to negatively affected host location behavior of natural enemies. We addressed the impact of doubling background O{sub 3} on the host location of the parasitoid Cotesia plutellae by conducting 24-h trials in an open-air O{sub 3}-fumigation system during two consecutive years. Two circles (radii 1.40 and 4.00 m) of Plutella xylostella-infested potted cabbage plants were placed in the O{sub 3} and ambient plots. Female wasps were released into each plot from the center, and observed 5 times over a 24-h period to assess their host location capability. Thereafter, plants were kept in laboratory conditions until larvae pupation to determine parasitism rates. No significant differences were detected between ambient and O{sub 3}-enriched environments either in the number of wasps found in the field, or in the percentages of parasitized larvae. ...
Gravitational waves were copiously produced in the early Universe whenever the processes taking place were sufficiently violent. The spectra of several of these gravitational wave backgrounds on subhorizon scales have been extensively studied in the literature. In this paper we analyze the shape and amplitude of the gravitational wave spectrum on scales which are superhorizon at the time of production. Such gravitational waves are expected from the self ordering of randomly oriented scalar fields which can be present during a thermal phase transition or during preheating after hybrid inflation. We find that, if the gravitational wave source acts only during a small fraction of the Hubble time, the gravitational wave spectrum at frequencies lower than the expansion rate at the time of production behaves as $\\Omega_{\\rm GW}(f) \\propto f^3$ with an amplitude much too small to be observable by gravitational wave observatories like LIGO, LISA or ...
Temporal developments of the photoluminescence (PL) intensity at temperatures of 7, 100, and 294 K are analyzed using the rate equations including the exciton dissociation and association terms for an Al_0_._5_3In_0_._4_7P/Ga_0_._5_2In_0_._4_8P/Al_0_._5_3In_0_._4_7P-quantum well structure. At 7 K, the nonexponential time dependence of the PL intensity is caused by the exciton dissociation process. At 7 and 100 K, PL intensity is dominated by the exciton recombination even if the exciton density is smaller than the dissociated carrier density. The thermally excited background carriers affect the recombination processes at 100 and 294 K. At 294 K, the rise part of the PL intensity is dominated by the exciton recombination, though the dissociated carrier density dominates. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics.
From 1964 to 1973 at the Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology, Havana City, 18 clinical histories were studied, all of them from patients with Erwing's sarcoma, histologically diagnosticated by biopsy. Age, sex, race, traumatism background, hemogram disturbances, radiographic signs, primary tumor localization, and early treatment, were exposed. Early treatment in 14(83%) patients as radiotherapy. Local recurrence or metastasis was presented in 10(55,5%) patients during the two first years following attack treatment. Five (35,7%) patients was the survival rate within five years starting early treatemt. After five years, three (21,4%) patients were alive: for 18 and 14 year, and 64 month period; two patients died at 62 and 64 months. It is concluded that this survival may be increased by initial behaviour enclosed at the technologic therapeutic patterns of the the Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology, of Havana City. (author).
The need for a hydrogen economy is driven by increasing fuel prices, depleting oil reserves and uncertainty over supplies, and concerns about global warming and environmental pollution. Alternative methods to portable energy sources such as fossil fuels are being developed that are more efficient and carbon-emission-neutral. A prospective method is to produce hydrogen as an energy carrier. This paper presented a study on the degradation of materials under conditions of the sulphur-iodine (SI) thermochemical cycle. The paper provided background information on the study and presented a schematic of the SI cycle. A literature review was presented along with materials selected, such as refractory metals, reactive metals, superalloys, glassy metals, ceramics, cermets, polymers, composites, and coatings. The experimental method was then described. A capsule method was developed to rapidly quantify the decomposition rate of the candidate materials ...
This article provides a survey of neutron scattering experiments in condensed matter research, which are of interest to chemistry. The theoretical background has been treated in a previous issue. The present article consists of two parts. The first part exhibits the range of experimental possibilities by means of a few selected examples. The starting point is classical neutron diffraction by which the position of atomic nuclei may be determined. Additional information on the spatial distribution in the outer electron shells may be obtained via combined X-ray/neutron-diffraction experiments or via the diffraction of polarized neutrons. Progress in instrumentation, due to the development of more intense sources, has influenced especially the fields of small angle scattering and spectroscopy. The second part features domains of research of current interest, where a combination of several neutron scattering techniques may prove to be necessary. Thus, the kinetics of ...
In this study, flue gas desulfurization (FGD) byproducts are used to ameliorate alkali soil. The average application rates for soils with low exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), mid ESP, and high ESP are 20.9, 30.6, and 59.3 Mg ha(-1), respectively. The experimental results obtained for 3 consecutive years reveal that the emergence ratios and yields of the crops were 1.1-7.6 times and 1.1-13.9 times those of the untreated control, respectively. The concentrations of Cr, Pb, Cd, As, and Hg in the treated soils are far below the background values stipulated by the Environmental Quality Standard for Soils (GB15618-1995). Their concentrations in the seeds of corn and alfalfa grown in the treated soils are far below the tolerance limits regulated by National Food Standards of China. The results of this research demonstrate that the amelioration of alkali soils using FGD byproducts is promising. PMID:17412469
In this paper, we present an iterative filtering method to estimate the background of noisy spectroscopic data. The proposed method avoids the calculation of the average full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the whole spectrum and the peak regions, and it can estimate the background efficiently, especially for spectroscopic data with the Compton continuum.
BackgroundThis study investigated the knowledge of depression and preference for professional help, medications and treatment methods among Australians of Chinese-speaking background,...Full Text Available
We revisit our original papers on the burst mode of accretion by incorporating a detailed energy balance equation into a thin-disk model for the formation and evolution of circumstellar disks around low-mass protostars. Our model includes the effect of radiative cooling, viscous and shock heating, and heating due to stellar and background irradiation. Following the collapse from the prestellar phase allows us to model the early embedded phase of disk formation and evolution. During this time, the disk is susceptible to fragmentation, depending upon the properties of the initial prestellar core. Globally, we find that higher initial core angular momentum and mass content favors more fragmentation, but higher levels of background radiation can moderate the tendency to fragment. A higher rate of mass infall onto the disk than that onto the star is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for disk fragmentation. More locally, ...
The high incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer have stimulated research for prevention, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment. DNA ploidy status of tumour cells is an important parameter with diagnostic and prognostic significance. In the current study, DNA ploidy analysis was performed using image cytometry technique and digital image processing and analysis. Tissue samples from prostate patients were stained using the Feulgen method. Images were acquired using a digital imaging microscopy system consisting of an Olympus BX-50 microscope equipped with a color CCD camera. Segmentation of such images is not a trivial problem because of the uneven background, intensity variations within the nuclei and cell clustering. In this study specific algorithms were developed in Matlab based on the most prominent image segmentation approaches that emanate from the field of Mathematical Morphology, focusing on region-based watershed ...
Purpose: Hormonal stimulation can induce background enhancement (BE) in MR mammography (MRM). This fact has been assumed to decrease the accuracy of MRM. Consequently, this report investigates: 1. The prevalence of BE in postmenopausal vs. premenopausal women in correlation to hormonal cycle phase (CP). 2. The impact of hormonal status (HS) and BE on diagnostic accuracy. Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients over 22 months with complete HS information (week of CP or postmenopausal) were included in this prospective investigation. Exclusion criteria were any hormonal therapy, hysterectomy as well as cancer proven by biopsy. The standard of reference was histopathology. All MRM scans were acquired using the same protocol (1.5 T, dynamic T 1w GRE after 0.1 mmol/kg bw Gd-DTPA i. v.). Two radiologists rated all examinations in consensus according to BI-RADS. BE was defined as: 0 = missing, 1 = moderate, 2 = distinct. Results: 224 patients (150 ...
Energy savings performance contracting (ESPC) is now receiving greater attention as a means of implementing large-scale energy conservation projects in housing. Opportunities for such projects exist for military housing, federally subsidized low-income housing, and planned communities (condominiums, townhomes, senior centers), to name a few. Accurate prior (to construction) estimates of the energy savings in these projects reduce risk, decrease financing costs, and help avoid post-construction disputes over performance contract baseline adjustments. This paper demonstrates an improved method of estimating energy savings before construction takes place. Using an engineering model calibrated to pre-construction energy-use data collected in the field, this method is able to predict actual energy savings to a high degree of accuracy. This is verified with post-construction energy-use data from a geothermal heat pump ESPC at Fort Polk, Louisiana. This method also allows ...
Energy savings performance contracting (ESPC) is now receiving greater attention as a means of implementing large-scale energy conservation projects in housing. Opportunities for such projects exist for military housing, federally subsidized low-income housing, and planned communities (condominiums, townhomes, senior centers), to name a few. Accurate prior (to construction) estimates of the energy savings in these projects reduce risk, decrease financing costs, and help avoid post-construction disputes over performance contract baseline adjustments. This paper demonstrates an improved method of estimating energy savings before construction takes place. Using an engineering model calibrated to pre-construction energy-use data collected in the field, this method is able to predict actual energy savings to a high degree of accuracy. This is verified with post-construction energy-use data from a geothermal heat pump ESPC at Fort Polk, Louisiana. This method also allows ...
The project was designed to quantify the impacts of longwall mine subsidence (LWMS) on the production and quality of agricultural vegetated environments. This project utilised a variety of traditional ground based sampling techniques including biomass harvests and estimates, leaf area index (LAI), pasture height, species composition and soil sampling along with proximal sensor data capture using a Crop Circle{trademark} and an EM38. Satellite imagery was collected using the Quickbird satellite and the high resolution imagery was used to monitor large areas of LWMS affected areas and adjacent un-mined land. Two landscapes were investigated using a whole of mine site technique including remote sensing, ground survey and traditional agricultural monitoring methods. The landscapes were at the Kestrel site in Emerald, QLD including a forage sorghum and an improved pasture and at Beltana in the Hunter Valley, NSW including an irrigated lucerne pasture and an unimproved ...
In accordance with Department of Energy (DOE) Regulations surveys for wetland presence or absence were conducted in September 1996 on the DWI-1630 site (Witherspoon Landfill) located in South Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee. The DWI-1630 site includes a closed, capped landfill area, areas of past disturbance adjacent to the capped area, and patches of hardwood forest. Wetlands were identified on the landfill cap and in a small bottomland that was formerly used for a retention pond in the southwest corner of the DWI-1630 site. The wetlands identified on the cap are man-induced, atypical situation wetlands. These areas have hydrophytic vegetation and wetland hydrology, but the soils do not have hydric characteristics. Wetland development appears to be due to a combination of the grading or subsidence of the clay landfill cap, the low permeability of the clay fill soil, and the absence of surface drainage outlets from the depressions. These atypical situation ...
Even as the recession begins to subside, the energy sector is still likely to experience challenging conditions as we enter 2011. It should be remembered how very important a role energy plays in driving the global economy. Serving as a simple yet global and unified measure of economic recovery, it is oil's price range and the strength and sustainability of the recovery which will impact the ways in which all forms of energy are produced and consumed. The report aims for a closer insight into these predictions: What will happen with M and A (Mergers and Acquisitions) in the energy industry?; What are the prospects for renewables?; Will the water-energy nexus grow in importance?; How will technological leaps and bounds affect E and P (exploration and production) operations?; What about electric cars? This is the second year Deloitte's Global Energy and Resources Group has published its predictions for the year ahead. The report is based on in-depth interviews with ...
Two phases are recognized in the maturation of organic matter and evolution of the oil-generative window (OGW): (a) a basinal subsidence phase during which potential source rocks undergo burial through a static initial OGW, and maturation is due essentially to increasing temperature with depth, and (b) a postsubsidence phase during which the OGW moves vertically upward through the static sedimentary fill, and maturation is due to time effects. Only the final shallow position of OGW can be defined by geochemical indices of maturity. The hydrocarbon generation sequence progresses from bottom to top, beginning with the lighter hydrocarbons (or even thermogenic gas) at the initial OGW at depth, followed by progressively heavier hydrocarbons as the OGW moves vertically upward. This dynamic model of hydrocarbon generation permits modeling of past positions of OGW relative to basin evolution through interpretation of oil-genesis nomographs. It also provides genetic ...
This paper describes the challenges involved in the construction of a mid-rise housing development in Boston, Massachusetts, during which the development team elected to upgrade the initial design criteria from Minimum Building Code to Energy Star and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The various constraints imposed on the development were discussed, including constraints imposed by the involvement of substantial public funds as well as the constraints imposed by various funding sources that were approached to leverage energy efficiency and green building investment via competitive grant solicitations. Building owner and utility cost management priorities were outlined along with details of central mechanical system selection. Issues concerning isolation and compartmentalization were examined along with indoor pollution source control. A building load analysis was presented as well as details of daily heating and cooling statistics. Electric generation ...
Architecture of hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoirs of the Paleocene Fort Union Formation in the Wind River basin, Wyoming, was studied using lithofacies, grain size, bounding surfaces, sedimentary structures, internal organization, and geometry. Two principal groups of reservoirs, both erosionally based and fining upward, consist of either conglomeratic sandstone or sandstone lithofacies. Two types of architecture were recognized in conglomeratic sandstone reservoirs: (1) heterogeneous, multistacked, lenticular and (2) homogeneous, multiscoured, wedge-sheet bodies. Three types of architecture were recognized in sandstone reservoirs: (3) heterogeneous, multistacked, elongate; (4) homogeneous, multilateral, lenticular; and (5) homogeneous, ribbon-lensoid bodies. Conglomeratic sandstone reservoirs in the southern and southwestern parts of the basin suggest deposition in gravel-bedload fluvial systems influenced by provenance uplift of the Granite and southern Wind River mountains. ...
This document describes the results of accelerated aging tests to determine the long-term effectiveness of selected impoundment liner materials in a uranium mill tailings environment. The study was sponsored by the US Department of Energy under the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project. The study was designed to evaluate the need for, and the performance of, several candidate liners for isolating mill tailings leachate in conformance with proposed Environmental Protection Agency and Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements. The liners were subjected to conditions known to accelerate the degradation mechanisms of the various liners. Also, a test environment was maintained that modeled the expected conditions at a mill tailings impoundment, including ground subsidence and the weight loading of tailings on the liners. A comparison of installation costs was also performed for the candidate liners. The laboratory testing and cost information prompted the ...
We have made preliminary estimates of charged particles background at the 100x100 GeV Photon Linear Collider with ultimate luminosity. The charged particles background due to electromagnetic processes is located mainly in the small-angle range of the detector. At large angles, the number of background particles is much smaller. Analysis of the background (at least, in the range under consideration) shows that background conditions for the VLEPP-based Photon Linear Collider are better than at the VLEPP electron-positron collider. ((orig.)).
BackgroundA large and increasing part of the European population has a history of migration. Germany, for example, is home to about 15 million people with migrant background, which...Full Text Available
Background: EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) and VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) inhibitors confer clinical benefit in metastatic colorectal cancer when combined with chemotherapy. An emerging strategy to improve outcomes in rectal cancer is to integrate biologically active, targeted agents as triple therapy into chemoradiation protocols. Material and methods: cetuximab and bevacizumab have now been incorporated into phase I-II studies of preoperative chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for rectal cancer. The rationale of these combinations, early efficacy and toxicity data, and possible molecular predictors for tumor response are reviewed. Computerized bibliographic searches of Pubmed were supplemented with hand searches of reference lists and abstracts of ASCO and ASTRO meetings. Results: the combination of cetuximab and CRT can be safely applied without dose compromises of the respective treatment components. Disappointingly low ...
Since 1945, more than 1.8 x 10"2"1 Bq of artificial radionuclides have been released into the atmosphere. Approximately 2.04 x 10"1"8B, i.e. approx. 0.11%, are the result of accidents at nuclear industrial facilities. This percentage is causing increased interest among researchers. This is due to the fact that in the wake of accidental release radionuclides become distributed unevenly across the Earth's surface, and the associated exposures, fluctuating from background level to several grays, an induce both stochastic and deterministic effects in the irradiated population. A comparative analysis of the medical consequences of the twentieth century's most serious nuclear events, namely the authorized dumping of high level radioactive waste into the river Techa in 1950, the explosion of a storage tank containing long lived radioactive waste in the Southern Urals in 1957, the fire at Sellafield in 1957 and the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, has ...
According to ICRP 60 and European-Directive 96/29, Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) and Technical Enriched Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (TENORM) have to take the radiation protection of the general population as well as of workers into account. The German radiation protection regulations stress that particularly. In connection with these regulations, various measurement programs have been and still are performed to investigate the relevant exposure paths. One of these programs is the determination of the intake of natural occurring radionuclides of the uranium decay series in individuals of the public, in exposed regions and houses and also at NORM workplaces by excretion analysis. Excretion analysis surveillance is one of the common tools for internal dosimetry. Sources of primordial radionuclides could be the ingestion of foodstuff and water and the incorporation of (mostly airborne) pollution on work places. The main focus in this report is set upon the ...
Background: Pleural biopsy and cytology are standard procedures for the investigation of pleural disease. Recent medical literature has suggested that image-guided pleural biopsy shows improved sensitivity for the diagnosis of pleural malignancy, when compared with the more commonly performed reverse bevel needle biopsy such as Abrams' needle. In our centre there has been an increasing trend towards performing image-guided pleural biopsies, and to our knowledge there is no large published series documenting the complication rate and diagnostic yield. Methods: The radiology and pathology databases were searched for all image-guided [computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US)] pleural biopsies from January 2001 to December 2004. All imaging and histology were reviewed, and final diagnostic information about patients was obtained from the respiratory multidisciplinary team database and patient notes. A record was made of complications following ...
Background and purpose: In order to investigate the feasibility, toxicity and antitumor efficacy of hyperfractionated radiation therapy, 37 adult patients with incompletely resected supratentorial low-grade glioma were entered into a phase II study. Materials and methods: The radiation therapy dose was 55 Gy in 50 fractions in 25 treatment days over 5 weeks to the tumor plus a 2-cm margin, with an additional 17.6 Gy given in 16 fractions in 8 treatment days over 1.5 weeks to the tumor plus a 1-cm margin, using 1.1 Gy b.i.d. fractionation with a 6 h interfraction interval. The total tumor dose was 72.6 Gy in 66 fractions in 33 treatment days over 6.5 weeks. Results: The median survival time (MST) for all 37 patients has not yet been attained, while 5- and 7-year survival rates were 75% and 69%, respectively. The median time to tumor progression (MTP) has also not yet been attained, while 5- and 7-year progression-free survival (PFS) ...
As human activity in and around Puget Sound increased, so did the contaminant levels in the sediment. Sediment cores collected in 1 982 revealed inputs of chemicals to the Sound, including lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), silver (Ag), copper (Cu) and petroleum hydrocarbons, began to increase above background in the late 1800s and peaked between 1945 and 1965. Synthetic organic compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and DDT, first appeared in sediments deposited in the 1930s and reached a maximum in the 1960s. The presence of the subsurface maximum concentrations suggests that pollution-control strategies have improved the sediment quality of central Puget Sound. Additional sediment coring was performed in 1991 and samples were collected at six locations in the main basin of Puget Sound. Sediment ages were determined using Pb"2"1"0 radio isotope dating. Sedimentation rates were approximately 1 to 2 cm/yr and deposition ...
Background and purpose: Local treatment for non-metastatic Ewing's sarcoma family tumors (ESFTs) is controversial. Results achieved in a single institution in patients with ESFT of the humerus are presented. Materials and methods: Patients treated between 1983 and 2000 for ESFT of the humerus were included. The impact of local treatment (surgery, radiotherapy or both) on outcome was assessed. Results: 55 patients: 34 males (62%); 21 females (38%); mean age: 17.9 (range: 3-40). Local treatment: surgery in 27 patients (49%), radiotherapy in 17 (31%) and surgery followed by radiotherapy in 11 (20%). After a mean follow-up of 15 years (range: 7-25 years), 27 patients (49%) remained continuously disease free, 27 (49%) relapsed and one died of chemotherapy toxicity. The local recurrence rate was 13% overall: 18% (3/17) after radiotherapy, 7% (2/27) after surgery and 19% (2/11) after surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (p = ns). On the contrary, ...
Computed tomography would be a better method to detect and characterize a Thorotrast-induced liver tumour. The selective opacification of the RES by Thorotrast creates an intrinsic opacification of the liver similar in effect to contrast agents being evaluated for liver CT, such as ethoioidized oil emulsion. The computed tomographic appearance of Thorotrast-associated cholangiocarcinoma is usually a large, inhomogenous mass composed of disordered area of tissue of high density due to Thorotrast deposits, and of very low density. Thorotrast-induced cholangiocarcinoma originates in the peripheral biliary tree suprounding the highest mean concentration of Thorotrast deposition, so that visible soft tissue masses in the higher density spots in the liver are not produced in the early stage. The tendency for the opacity of the liver to decrease slowly with time and result in an uneven trabeculation and high density spots suggests that small tumors may be difficult to detect againist such an ...
The development of a flat response small size, real time neutron dosimeter and ratemeter for the energy range of about 1 eV to 14 MeV is presented. This dosimeter is adequate for measuring neutron dose equivalents of 3 mRem up to 100 Rem and dose rates of 300 mRem/h to 50 Rem/h or more. The dosimeter consists of four Si surface barrier detectors. _1_0B radiators are placed in front of three of the detectors and a polyethylene radiator is placed in front of the fourth one. The _1_0B pellets are used for dose equivalent measurements in the energy range 1 eV to proportional1 MeV. The polyethylene radiator, made in two parts having thicknesses of 10 and 100 mg/cm_2 in an area ratio of 8 to 1, flattens the response to +-40% in the energy range 1-14 MeV. The signal-to-background ratio for different Si surface barrier detectors and for _1_0B polyethylene radiators was investigated. This dosimeter can give a rough estimation of the neutron spectrum by ...
A remarkably simple argument successfully accounts for the rate of star formation in different galaxies. The snag is that the timescale is uncomfortably short.
Background: The difficulty of directly measuring cellular dose is a significant obstacle to application of target tissue dosimetry for nanoparticle and microparticle toxicity assessment. As a consequence, the target tissue paradigm for dosimetry and hazard assessment of nanoparticles has largely been ignored in favor of using metrics of exposure (e.g. ?g particle/mL culture medium, particle surface area/mL, particle number/mL). We have developed a computational model of solution particokinetics (sedimentation, diffusion) and dosimetry for non-interacting spherical particles and their agglomerates in monolayer cell culture systems. Particle transport to cells is calculated by simultaneous solution of Stokes Law (sedimentation) and the Stokes-Einstein equation (diffusion). Results: The In vitro Sedimentation, Diffusion and Dosimetry model (ISDD) was tested against measured transport rates or cellular doses for multiple sizes of polystyrene ...
BackgroundMany commercial banana varieties lack sources of resistance to pests and diseases, as a consequence of sterility and narrow genetic background. Fertile wild relatives,...Full Text Available
I summarize the extant direct and indirect data on the sky background SNAP will see at the North Ecliptic Pole over the wavelength range 0.4 < {lambda} < 1.7 {micro}m. At the spatial resolution of SNAP the sky background due to stars and galaxies is resolved, so the only source considered is zodiacal light. Several models are explored to provide interpolation in wavelength between the broadband data from HST and COBE observations. I believe the input data are now established well enough that the accuracy of the sky background presented here is sufficient for SNAP simulations, and that it will stand up to scrutiny by reviewers.
Before working at JPL he was the Chief Engineer for the Milstar Satellite Avionics and several Military space programs. His technical background is in ...
Continuum events represent an eminent source of background in any e+e- experiment. As these have a higher branching ratio than BB-bar events (at BaBar this ratio is estimated to about 3.5) or ?+?- events, efficient continuum background suppression is essential in many analyses. Using Artificial Neural Networks and the Nearest Neighbor Method we developed several selectors which, based only on the global event shape variables, efficiently tag BB-bar events and ?+?- events against the continuum background. These selectors could then be combined with the channel specific information in various types of analyses. The study was done using a parametric Monte Carlo.
We entertain the idea that a suitable background of cold (very low momentum) pseudoscalar particles or condensate, may trigger a background that effectively generates Lorentz-invariance violation. This aether-like background induces a Chern-Simons modification of QED. Physics is different in different frames and, in the rest frame of the pseudoscalar background, high momentum photons can decay into pairs. The threshold for such decay depends quadratically on the rest mass of the particles. This mechanism could explain in a natural way why antiprotons are absent in recent cosmic ray measurements. A similar signal could be used as a probe of pseudoscalar condensation in heavy ion collisions.
There are two types of ionization chamber using magnetically levitated electrode: one is that by Tanaka et al. and the other, by authors'. The latter lacks the sensitivity relative to the former and thereby to solve the problem, authors made an improvement so that the electrode charge could be readout by noncontact after the leviated electrode was electrified by noncontact for an interval. This new type ionization chamber made it possible to measure the quite low dose radiation with stability and high sensitivity. Actually, the electrode was suspended by the teflon thread fixed on the steel cup levitated magnetically in the ionization chamber of which wall was covered by Al and equipped with an electrostatic charger for the electrode by noncontact. After measurement, the electrode was moved in the Faraday cage placed under the chamber to readout the voltage. For operation conditions of the apparatus, observation was done on the relationship between ionization current by {sup ...
For Stage II of the European Dioxin Project the following objectives were set: - Amendment of existing emission data collected for most relevant emission sources in order to reduce uncertainties of emission estimates. Collecting first emission data from countries not yet performing dioxin emission measurement programs. Extending the inventory of dioxin emissions to ambient air produced in Stage I by a complementary study on emissions to land and water. Extending the regional scope of data collection to countries in Central Europe. The report of Stage II of the European Dioxin Project is presented in 3 Volumes. Volume 1 contains an overview on the background and approach of different activities carried out and on the results obtained. These results are put into a broader view regarding the dioxin reduction measures in Europe leading to conclusions and recommendation for future work. Volume 2 of the report contains a detailed presentation of the sub-projects carried ...
Since the 1970 innovations have allowed both active and passive neutron techniques to address various safeguards and waste measurement needs in the DOE complex. Much research was focused on satisfjring the 100-nCi/g detection limit for TRU waste in 208-liter drums. The emphasis on measuring drum-sized containers for disposal at WIPP has resulted in improved waste assay capability that now needs to be extended to larger containers. The desire to expedite the decontamination and decommissioning of certtain DOE facilities, and the large waste encountered in that process, has prompted the need for increasingly large disposal containers. Instruments have recently been built to accommodate crates that are nearly 100 cubic feet in volume, such as a B-25 box or Standard Waste 13ox. The density of hydrogen inside a waste container profoundly affects the accuracy of neutron measurements, and the metal content greatly affects sensitivity. Depending on the matrix, and especially the hydrogen ...
The present thesis presents two different aspects of my work in the L3 experiment, which are on one side the search for supersymmetric particles, the scalar leptons, in two different topologies 'electron + X + E' and '2 leptons + 2 photons + E', each of them being related to two theoretical SUSY models, m-SUGRA and GMSB. On the other side my work has been completed by the study of the BGO crystal electromagnetic calorimeter of L3, and the calibration of the electromagnetic calorimeter EGAP. After the essential motivations being reviewed, the production and disintegration modes are detailed concerning the scalar lepton sector at LEP. Then one presents the analysis techniques which I used to perform my selection, and also the results obtained from the data collected by L3 for center of mass energies between {radical} S =183 GeV and 202 GeV. The selection criteria that allow to isolate the events I looked for, including efficiencies but also the ...
Background. Through PSA screening the rate of prostate cancers detected at an early stage has increased significantly; thus a decrease in mortality can be expected in the near future. Despite all scientific efforts, however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of prostate cancer remain poorly understood. Prostate cancer is a disease of aging men and epidemiological evidence supports a major contribution to its development through diet, lifestyle and environmental factors. Genetic instability is the basic phenomenon of tissue cell cancerisation. This instability can be hereditary or due to mutations and other chromosomal aberrations acquired during life. In recent years a large number of interesting data have been collected which show the relationships between focal atrophy and genetic instability of the prostate epithelia. Atrophy can be the result of prostatitis, ischemia as well as of oxidative stress (diet). ...
Climate change is no longer questioned. Meeting growing global energy needs - while limiting the rate of climate change over the long term - will require both developed and developing countries to move to fuels with lower emissions of greenhouse gases and to adopt more energy-efficient technologies. Investment decisions made today will be pivotal in determining the path of global energy consumption for decades to come. Energy markets, financial markets, and the markets in which greenhouse gas emissions are traded - the so-called 'carbon markets' - together determine which technologies are adopted, and how quickly. Over the next half-century, energy demand will grow almost four times as rapidly in developing countries as in developed countries. Consequently, finding ways to increase investment in cleaner energy technologies in rapidly-growing economies in the developing world will be an essential component of global efforts to alter the path of ...
Background and Purpose: In an earlier phase II study, irradiation together with razoxane was shown to improve local control in recurrent rectal cancer. Therefore, the Austrian Society of Radiooncology (OeGRO) initiated a randomized controlled trial in 1992 to compare this combined treatment versus radiation therapy alone. Patients and Methods: Between 1992 and 1999, 36 patients with localized recurrences of rectal cancer were randomized to receive radiotherapy without (group A) or with razoxane (group B). The prognostic variables of the two groups were similar except for a longer median latency period from initial surgery to local recurrence in group A. High-energy photons with daily fractions between 170 and 200 cGy were used. The median total radiation dose was 60 Gy in each group. The patients in group B received a median razoxane dose of 9.6 g (range, 5-12 g). Main outcome measures were local control, overall survival, and toxicity. Results: The combined ...
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the interobserver agreement of ultrasonographic assessment of finger and toe joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by 2 investigators with different medical backgrounds. METHODS: Ultrasonography and clinical examination were performed on 150 small joints of 30 patients with active RA. A General Electric LOGIQ 500 ultrasound unit with a 7-13-MHz linear array transducer was used. In each patient, 5 preselected small joints (second and third metacarpophalangeal, second proximal interphalangeal, first and second metatarsophalangeal) were examined independently on the same day by 2 ultrasound investigators (an experienced musculoskeletal radiologist and a rheumatologist with limited ultrasound training). Joint effusion, synovial thickening, bone erosions, and power Doppler signal were evaluated in accordance with an introduced 4-grade semiquantitative scoring system, on which the investigators had reached consensus prior to the study. ...
The utilization of health care services in children and adolescents with chronic benign pain was studied in a Dutch population sample of 254 chronic pain sufferers aged 0-18 years. Children and adolescents who had reported chronic pain (continuous or recurrent pain >3 months) in our previous prevalence study were asked to keep a 3-week diary on their pain and to fill out questionnaires on background factors, health care use and the impact of pain. Parent ratings were used for children aged 0-11 years, self-report was used in adolescents (12-18 years). In a 3-month period, in 53.4% of the cases medication was used for pain, and general practitioners and specialists were consulted for pain in 31.1% and 13.9% of subjects, respectively. Physiotherapists, psychologists and alternative health providers were visited by 11.5, 2.8, and 4.0%, respectively. In the preceding year, 6.4% had been hospitalized due to pain. The most important factors linked ...
The Externally-Fired Combined Cycle (EFCC) is an attractive emerging technology for powering high efficiency combined gas and steam turbine cycles with coal or other ash bearing fuels. In the EFCC, the heat input to a gas turbine is supplied indirectly through a ceramic air heater. The air heater, along with an atmospheric coal combustor and ancillary equipment, replaces the conventional gas turbine combustor. A steam generator located downstream from the ceramic air heater and steam turbine cycle, along with an exhaust cleanup system, completes the combined cycle. A key element of the EFCC Development Program, the 25 MMBtu/h heat-input Kennebunk Test Facility (KTF), has recently begun operation. The KTF has been operating with natural gas and will begin operating with coal in early 1995. The US Department of Energy selected an EFCC repowering of the Pennsylvania Electric Company`s Warren Station for funding under the Clean Coal Technology Program Round V. The project focuses on ...
Soils and food crops from a former tin mining location in a high background radiation area on the Jos-Plateau, Nigeria were collected and analyzed by gamma spectrometry to measure their contents of {sup 40}K, {sup 238}U and {sup 232}Th. As well as collecting samples, in situ dose rates on farms were measured using a precalibrated survey meter. Activity concentrations determined in food crops were compared with the local food derivatives or diets to investigate the possible removal or addition of radionuclides during food preparation by cooking or other means. Potassium-40 was found to contribute the highest activity in all the food products. The activity concentration of {sup 40}K, {sup 238}U and {sup 232}Th in local prepared diets ranged between 60 and 494 Bq kg{sup -1}, between BDL and 48 Bq kg{sup -1} and between BDL and 17 Bq kg{sup -1}, respectively. The internal effective dose to individuals from the consumption of the food types was ...
Soils and food crops from a former tin mining location in a high background radiation area on the Jos-Plateau, Nigeria were collected and analyzed by gamma spectrometry to measure their contents of "4"0K, "2"3"8U and "2"3"2Th. As well as collecting samples, in situ dose rates on farms were measured using a precalibrated survey meter. Activity concentrations determined in food crops were compared with the local food derivatives or diets to investigate the possible removal or addition of radionuclides during food preparation by cooking or other means. Potassium-40 was found to contribute the highest activity in all the food products. The activity concentration of "4"0K, "2"3"8U and "2"3"2Th in local prepared diets ranged between 60 and 494 Bq kg"-"1, between BDL and 48 Bq kg"-"1 and between BDL and 17 Bq kg"-"1, respectively. The internal effective dose to individuals from the consumption of the food types was estimated on the basis of the ...
In order to gain an overall picture of the genetic effects of an increased level of background radiation it is necessary to study the results of protracted exposures to embryonic and immature germ-cell stages as well as to stages found in the mature organism. For this purpose, litters produced by female mice, kept in a 10 or 20 rad/day /sup 60/Co ..gamma..-irradiation field, were kept in the same fields from conception until about 60 days later, having absorbed doses of 526 and 1078 rad respectively. Tests on exposed female offspring showed them to be sterile. Eight weeks after removal from the gamma field, mean testis masses of males in the 20 rad/day series were only half normal but those receiving 10 rad/day were little affected. Frequencies of translocations in spermatocytes at diakinesis/metaphase I were only slightly increased in the exposed series, differences not being significant. Estimated rates of translocation induction were around ...
Background and purpose: stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and also fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) offer high local control (LC) rates (> 90%). This study aimed to evaluate three-dimensional (3-D) tumor volume (TV) shrinkage and to assess quality of life (QoL) after SRS/SRT. Patients and methods: from 1999 to 2005, 35/74 patients were treated with SRS, and 39/74 with SRT. Median age was 60 years. Treatment was delivered by a linear accelerator. Median single dose was 13 Gy (SRS) or 54 Gy (SRT). Patients were followed up ? 12 months after SRS/SRT. LC and toxicity were evaluated by clinical examinations and magnetic resonance imaging. 3-D TV shrinkage was evaluated with the planning system. QoL was assessed using the questionnaire Short Form-36. Results: Median follow-up was 50/36 months (SRS/SRT). Actuarial 5-year freedom from progression/overall survival was 88.1%/100% (SRS), and 87.5%/87.2% (SRT). TV shrinkage was 15.1%/40.7% ...
The release of {sup 14}C as {sup 14}CO{sub 2} from partly failed spent fuel containers has been analyzed by the flow of gases into and out of the containers. This flow of gases is driven by pressure differences, which are in turn caused by heating by the spent fuel. In this analysis, the timing and size of holes in the containers are assumed to be given. A better means of predicting the time distribution and sizes of penetrations in nuclear waste containers is needed. For the purposes of far-field transport calculations, we have adopted release rates that are shown to be bonding for the large range of hole sizes studied. The transport of released {sup 14}CO{sub 2} has been analyzed by transport in equivalent porous medium. The peak {sup 14}CO{sub 2} concentration in pore gas at 350 m above the repository does not depend on the time of hole occurrence, although the time of penetration obviously affects the arrival and duration of exposure to {sup 14}C. Nor does ...
Theatres are the most complex of all auditorium structures environmentally. They usually have high heat loads, which are of a transient nature as audiences come and go, and from lighting which changes from scene to scene, and they generally have full or nearly full occupancy. Theatres also need to perform well acoustically, both for the spoken word and for music, and as sound amplification is less used than in other auditoria, background noise control is critically important. All these factors place constraints on the ventilation design, and if this is poor, it can lead to the deterioration of indoor air quality and thermal comfort. To analyse the level of indoor air quality and thermal comfort in a typical medium-sized mechanically ventilated theatre, and to identify where improvements could typically be made, a comprehensive post-occupancy evaluation study was carried out on a theatre in Belgrade. The evaluation, based on the results of monitoring (temperature, ...
XMM-Newton EPIC observations reveal the population of X-ray sources of the bright Local Group spiral galaxy M 31, a low-star-formation-rate galaxy like the Milky Way, down to a 0.2-4.5 keV luminosity of 4.4E34 erg/s. With the help of X-ray hardness ratios and optical and radio information different source classes can be distinguished. The survey detected 856 sources in an area of 1.24 square degrees. Sources within M 31 are 44 supernova remnants (SNR) and candidates, 18 super-soft sources (SSS), 16 X-ray binaries (XRBs) and candidates, as well as 37 globular cluster sources (GlC) and candidates, i.e. most likely low mass XRBs within the GlC. 567 hard sources may either be XRBs or Crab-like SNRs in M 31 or background AGN. 22 sources are new SNR candidates in M 31 based on X-ray selection criteria. Time variability information can be used to improve the source classification. Two GlC sources show type I X-ray bursts as known from Galactic neutron ...
Previous karyotypic studies have indicated a possible series of non-random chromosomal events involved in the progression of melanoma. We sought to define a model of melanocyte tumorigenesis by studying allelic deletions of polymorphic simple tandem repeat markers mapping to chromosome 1, 6q, 7, 9p, 10, 11, 17, and 21 in thirty matched pairs of melanoma and constitutional DNAs. The most frequent and earliest deletions were found on 9p (57%) and 10q (32%) and with the exception of one case, no sample has loss of markers on another chromosome without concomitant loss of markers on 9p and/or 10q. Losses on 6q were also a frequent (32%) event that sometimes occurred in primary melanomas, whereas losses of loci on distal 1p (26%) or 11q (26%) occurred only in metastic melanomas. A backgroundrate (0-17%) of allele loss was seen on chromosomes 7, 17, and 21. Homozygous deletions in a panel of 31 melanoma cell lines were only detected for markers on ...
Properties of the multi-species electromagnetic Weibel and electrostatic two-stream instabilities are investigated for an intense ion beam propagating through background plasma. Assuming that the background plasma electrons provide complete charge and current neutralization, detailed linear stability properties are calculated within the framework of a macroscopic cold-fluid model for a wide range of system parameters.
...this page document analysis carried out during the policy development of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. policy, background, carbon, reduction,...commitment, energy efficiency, CRC, Policy background Spending Review Announcement In the October 2010 Spending Review, the UK Government announced that the CRC ... Revenue from the sale of CRC allowances, totalling ٟ billion a year by 2014/15, will be used to support ... The implications of this announcement for CRC are: In order to clarify the price signal to participants and to support the public ...
Tidally dominated sections from the Middle Jurassic Beryl Formation of the Beryl Field, Viking Graben (UKCS) were deposited during rapid changes in relative sea level. High density well coverage in this key producing interval has allowed the construction of an integrated high resolution sequence stratigraphic scheme based on sedimentological, ichnofaunal, wireline, biostratigraphic and engineering data. From this database a number of high resolution sequences in the Bajocian-Bathonian Beryl Formation have been identified composed of interbedded sandstones, siltstones and mudstones. These sediments formed tidally-influenced deltas and estuaries deposited in actively subsiding half-grabens during regionally extensive base-level changes. For reservoir management purposes, the formation has been split into 5 units. The thickest interval, Unit 3, is considered here. In the northern part of the Beryl Field, Unit 3 is bounded above and below by regionally extensive, ...
Although the German Molasse Basin can be regarded as a mature hydrocarbon province, no regional sequence stratigraphic analysis has been carried out so far. We have studied seismic lines and well data from the region between the Isar and Inn rivers (SE Germany) that have been generously supplied by German oil companies (DEE, BEB, Mobil, RWE-DEA and Wintershall). Initial work indicates that five major seismic sequences within three main depositional cycles are developed. The Alpine thrust belt to the south serves as the primary sediment source in the foreland basin. However, sedimentary infill mainly took place parallel to the basin axis. Our analysis suggests that the stratigraphic development of the Molasse Basin was mainly controlled by eustatic sea-level changes which caused the shoreline to shift in the W-E direction. The shifting of the depocenter axis in a N-S direction was controlled by the tectonic evolution of the thrust belt. The sea-level curve determined by seismic ...
Reinterpretation of the South Florida basin reveals that it was a keep-up carbonate shelf during the Lower Cretaceous. Until the Cenomanian, it was connected to the Bahamas and the Cay Sal Bank north of Cuba. The Cenomanian sea level rise was at least partially responsible for the formation of the Florida Straits, isolating the platform. The combination of an abrupt worldwide rise in sea level and subsidence caused the South Florida platform to founder, ending shallow-water and evaporitic sedimentation over the majority of the shelf. The Cay Sal and Bahamian platforms remained as active shallow shelves separated by the Old Bahamas Channel. The Lower Cretaceous sediments are characterized by shallow shelf limestones, dolomites, and evaporites (mostly anhydrite). The evaporite-rich sections, originally thought to represent basinal facies, are reinterpreted as supratidal to shallow subtidal evaporites, based on examination of core and cuttings. Influx of normal marine ...
Calls for containers to transport compressed natural gas, and a ship or barge to house some 200 employees in the Terra Nova offshore oilfield while the oil field's floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) system is undergoing a major overhaul, are attracting attention on Canada's east coast offshore oilpatch. The FPSO is located offshore, 350 km east of St. John's, Newfoundland. Petro-Canada, operators of the FPSO anticipate that by having all required personnel nearby, the total shutdown time for the overhaul could be minimized. The CNG container was designed by Trans Ocean Gas Inc. in response to an invitation by Husky Oil and Petro-Canada, the White Rose field partners. Trans Ocean Gas strongly believes that CNG will become the technology of choice for getting natural gas ashore and to markets from stranded hydrocarbon pools in Atlantic Canada and the rest of the world where pipeline systems would be too expensive to build and maintain. Trans ...
To use such sites very effectively, pile foundations will be used for soil stabilization and for important structures for the prevention of subsidence. Negative friction that may ensue from the differential settlement of the soil has to be prevented. Measures against gas will include gas collecting and exhausting facilities in the lower parts of structures, natural and forced exhaust systems, and gas detection/warning units. For revegetation, plants strong against bad soil should be selected, they should be protected from generated gas with protecting sheets or the like, and a thick layer of vegetation-capable soil needs to be laid. Replacement, compaction, and solidification are the fundamentals of soil improvement at wastes final treatment locations and of soil-related pollution prevention in the vicinity of the newly produced sites. Across the country, the service life expectancy is approximately 7-8 years for general wastes and approximately 2.3 years for ...
In the Netherlands, the interest in biomass for electricity generation has increased, mainly due to environmental reasons. Currently, the Dutch energy sector is investigating technologies which can reduce CO{sub 2} emissions. The growth of biomass and its subsequent utilization for energy purposes circulates recycled atmospheric carbon and has no net discharge of CO{sub 2}. To reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants biomass co-firing options are investigated. After exhaustion of internal supplies of wood wastes and other residues an extra amount of 1.02 Mt{sub 20} would be needed. Two supply options exist: the use of internal energy crops and the import of biomass. Because production of energy crops in the Netherlands is a rather expensive option, biomass procurement and production outside the Netherlands is studied. Two countries were investigated for the possible import of biomass: Estonia and Uruguay. Estonia has short-term opportunities for residue supply and long-term ...
The Ordos Basin of north-central China is well known for vast energy resources. This nonmarine interior basin developed on the North China-Korean platform following the Late Triassic Indochina orogeny and, for a time, contained a large freshwater lake prior to being uplifted into its present form at the close of the Mesozoic. Lower to Middle Jurassic coal occurs in the fluviolacustrine Yan'an Formation along the southern margin of the basin in the Huanglong coalfield. In the northeast part of the field, the formation ranges from 0 to 180 m in thickness and is divided into five fining-upward members, each representing a regressive-transgressive lacustrine cycle. Low-sulfur, high-volatile bituminous coal is complexly distributed in the lowest member of the Yan'an Formation. Deposition of this member was influenced by two tectonic events that controlled coal occurrence. First, regional uplifts were produced by the Late Triassic Indochina orogeny and left as highlands on ...
Lipiodol, lipid soluble contrast media, was applied to 59 patients, who was clinically suspected to have hepatic tumor, in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital. The results of the clinical use of Lipiodol were as follows: 1. The clinical diagnosis was hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in 50 cases, cavernous hemangioma in 4 cases, metastasis in one case and others in 4 cases. 2. After hepatic arteriography, Lipiodol only was injected in 28 cases, mixture of Lipiodol and Mitomycin was injected in 22 cases and transcatheter arterial embolization was performed additionally after injection of Lipiodol and Mitomycin in 9 cases. 3. Among the 50 cases of HCC, Lipiodol was accumulated in the lesion in 49 cases. However, similar accumulation of Lipiodol occured in a metastatic cancer and cavernous hemangiomas. 4. Plain radiographic patterns of Lipiodol accumulation could be divided into fine granular type, nodular type and linear or branching type. The linear ...
This paper discussed the lithological characteristics of tight gas reservoirs, including the diagenetic characteristics, diagenetic environment and diagenetic sequence. The link between porosity, the sedimentary environment, lithology, diagenesis and basin tectonics was examined in order to determine how tight reservoirs were formed. The study focused on the Changbei gas field located in Yishan Slope of the Ordos Basin in China. The main pay zone reservoir is the Upper Paleozoic Lower Permian Shanxi sandstone which lies at a depth of 2700-2950 m. This low porosity, low permeability tight gas reservoir was deposited in a coal bearing acid environment which controlled the diagenesis sequence. The early carbonate cement was not well developed because the original pore water was acidic with non saturated calcium carbonate. However, compaction has significantly reduced the original pore and pore volume. The acidic environment caused large amounts of secondary quartz cementation to fill the ...
The most relevant aspects of research and service experience with environmentally-assisted cracking (EAC) of carbon (C) and low-alloy steels (LAS) in high-temperature (HT) water are reviewed, with special emphasis on the primary pressure boundary components of boiling water reactors (BWRs). The main factors controlling the susceptibility to EAC under light water reactor (LWR) conditions are discussed with respect to crack initiation and crack growth. The adequacy and conservatism of the current BWRVIP-60 stress corrosion cracking (SCC) disposition lines (DLs), ASME III fatigue design curves, and ASME XI reference fatigue crack growth curves, as well as of the GE EAC crack growth model are evaluated in the context of recent research results. The operating experience is summarized and compared to the experimental/mechanistic background knowledge. Finally, open questions and possible topics for further research are identified. Laboratory investigations revealed ...
The existence of a cosmic neutrino background - the analogue of the cosmic microwave background - is a fundamental prediction of standard big bang cosmology. Up to now, the observational evidence for its existence is rather indirect and rests entirely on cosmological observations of, e.g., the light elemental abundances, the anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background, and the large scale distribution of matter. Here, we review more direct, weak interaction based detection techniques for the cosmic neutrino background in the present epoch and in our local neighbourhood. We show that, with current technology, all proposals are still off by some orders of magnitude in sensitivity to lead to a guaranteed detection of the relic neutrinos. The most promising laboratory search, based on neutrino capture on beta decaying nuclei, may be done in future experiments designed to measure the neutrino mass ...
Complete calculations of the accelerator related background in the muon spectrometer of the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are presented. The simulations have been performed with the STRUCT multi-turn tracking code and the MARS and FLUKA cascade codes taking into account latest information of the LHC lattice, vacuum conditions, beam cleaning system and the shielding and layout of the CMS experiment. Beam loss distributions in the interaction regions and their vicinities and their contribution to the background levels in the muon spectrometer of CMS are analyzed. The studies show that hadronic and electromagnetic components of machine background are efficiently suppressed by the proposed CMS shielding. High energy muons penetrate through the shielding, but in positions of significance they do not contribute more than a few percent compared to the background generated by the pp-collisions. It ...
The extent of exchange rate pass-through has been playing an increasingly pivotal role in the transmission of exchange rate shocks and adequate policy responses. We develop a model of exchange rate pass-through that allows the stochastic process of exchange rate to include the lagged values of the velocity of money. We show that the likelihood and extent of pass-through is sensitive to the lagged response.
A new analysis is presented which links real volume fractions, relaxation rates, and intracompartmental exchange rates directly with apparent volume fractions and relaxation rates obtained from biexponential...Full Text Available
The rate of appearance of unlabelled glucose was calculated from tracer data and compared with the actual rate of infusion of unlabelled glucose into a anaesthetized dog with all sources of endogenous...Full Text Available
1. Rates and rate coefficients of glucose utilization and replacement were determined with [5-3H]- and [U-14C]-glucose in rats starved for 24h, either conscious or under halothane anaesthesia, in a...Full Text Available
... Title : Wear Rate and Friction Coefficient in Liquid Nitrogen and Hydrogen of Steel Sliding on Polymer Laminates (Various Fabrics and Polymers. ...
... rate on the tensile properties of SA-106 carbon steel pipe, in support of analysis and experimental modeling of postulated pipe whip in nuclear ...
This paper employs a new approach in order to investigate the underlying relationship between stock markets and exchange rates. Current approaches suggest that the relative equity market performance of two countries is linked to their exchange rate. In contrast, this study proposes an alternative approach where one global variable - global equity market returns - is believed to have an effect on exchange rates, with the relative interest rate level of a currency determining the sign of the relationship. Our empirical findings suggest that exchange rates and global stock market returns are strongly linked. The value of currencies with higher interest rates is positively related with global equity returns, whereas the value of currencies with lower interest rates is negatively related with g...
A simple heuristic calculation is given for the rate of nucleation of black holes at positive temperature. This calculation is based on the classical theory of nucleation and reproduces the result of Gross, Perry, and Yaffe.
Raffle, P. A. B. (1974).British Journal of Industrial Medicine,31, 152-158. Disability rates of bus drivers. The proposal that ordinary driving...Full Text Available
We present the general properties of the far-ultraviolet (FUV; 1370-1720A) continuum background over most of the sky, obtained with the Spectroscopy of Plasma Evolution from Astrophysical Radiation instrument (SPEAR, also known as FIMS), flown aboard the STSAT-1 satellite mission. We find that the diffuse FUV continuum intensity is well correlated with N_{HI}, 100 $\\mu$m, and H-alpha intensities but anti-correlated with soft X-ray. The strongest correlation is with the H-alpha emission, and the correlation of the diffuse background with the direct stellar flux is weaker than the correlation with other parameters. The continuum spectra are relatively flat. However, a weak softening of the FUV spectra toward some sight lines, mostly at high Galactic latitudes, is found not only in direct-stellar but also in diffuse background spectra. The diffuse background is relatively softer that the direct stellar ...
Analysis of steady-state and transient photoconductivity measurements at room temperature performed on c-axis oriented GaN nanowires yielded estimates of free carrier concentration, drift mobility, surface band bending, and surface capture coefficient for electrons. Samples grown (unintentionally n-type) by nitrogen-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy primarily from two separate growth runs were examined. The results revealed carrier concentration in the range of (3-6)x10"1"6 cm"-"3 for one growth run, roughly 5x10"1"4-1x10"1"5 cm"-"3 for the second, and drift mobility in the range of 500-700 cm"2/(V s) for both. Nanowires were dispersed onto insulating substrates and contacted forming single-wire, two-terminal structures with typical electrode gaps of #approx =#3-5 #mu#m. When biased at 1 V bias and illuminated at 360 nm (3.6 mW/cm"2) the thinner (#approx =#100 nm diameter) nanowires with the higher background doping showed an abrupt increase in photocurrent ...
It has been proposed that a hidden conformal field theory (CFT) governs the dynamics of low frequency scattering in a general Kerr black hole background. We further investigate this correspondence by mapping higher order corrections to the massless wave equations in a Kerr background to an expansion within the CFT in terms of higher dimension operators. This implies the presence of infinite towers of CFT primary operators with positive conformal dimensions compatible with unitarity. The exact Kerr background softly breaks the conformal symmetry and the scaling dimensions of these operators run with frequency. The scale-invariant fixed point is dual to a degenerate case of flat spacetime.
In many industrialised societies, women remain underrepresented in the sciences, which can be predicted by the gender gap in math achievement at school. Using PISA 2006 data, we explore the role of family background and single-sex schooling in girls' disadvantage in maths in South Korea and Hong Kong. This disadvantage is found to be associated with single-sex schooling, but not with family background. Attending a girls' school confers a benefit only in South Korea, whereas the gendered curriculum counteracts the selectivity advantage of girls' schools in Hong Kong. We find that a gendered social structure prevalent in both societies.
The Ordos Basin is a typical lapped basin, including three sequences of strata: early Paleozoic, late Paleozoic and Mesozoic, with a total thickness of 4000-6000m. Impermeable sealing beds are well developed at the top and base of the upper Paleozoic sequence, separating it from the Mesozoic and the lower Paleozoic strata to form an independent petroleum system. In this petroleum system, the source rocks are widely distributed coals and dark mudstones occurring in the Carboniferous-lower Permian coal measures, with a thickness of 10-15 and 40-60m, respectively. The reservoirs are mainly early Permian tight sandstones, mostly with a porosity of 4-8% and a permeability of 0.1-1.0x10{sup -3}{mu}m{sup 2}. The regional cap rock is a 100-150m thick mudstone in the upper Permian strata. The structural framework of the basin is a huge asymmetric syncline, dipping gently toward the east and north, and steeply toward the south and west. Well data show that gas-saturated, gas-water transition and ...
This paper presents the characteristics of selected parameters of organic matter of the Tertiary coal samples and organic matter of Carboniferous rock samples from the Spitsbergen. The coal samples were taken from Central Coal Basin (the Longyearbyen region) and from the Forlandsundet Basin (Oscar II Land, the Kaffioyra region). Samples of dispersed organic matter were collected from Suffolk Pynten and Sergeijevfjellet area in Sorkapp Land. The optical properties of coal samples are different from properties of dispersed organic matter. Macerals of vitrinite group dominate in all of the samples. The average content of vitrinite group macerals is much lower in dipersed organic matter samples than it is in coals. The average content of liptinite group macerals is a little lower, and inertinite group macerals is much higher. The average content of mineral matter is higher in organic matter samples than in coal samples. The average value of vitrinite reflectance and standard deviation of ...
BackgroundDuplications of stretches of the genome are an important source of individual genetic variation, but their unrecognized presence in laboratory organisms would be a confounding...Full Text Available
BackgroundApproximately 25% of ischemic stroke patients awaken with neurological deficits. In these patients, in whom the time from symptom onset is uncertain, brain imaging is a...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe WINPEPI computer programs for epidemiologists are designed for use in practice and research in the health field and as learning or teaching aids. The programs are free,...Full Text Available
BackgroundOxidative stress has been proposed as a mechanism linking the poor placental perfusion characteristic of preeclampsia with the clinical manifestations of...Full Text Available
Background. The role of vitamin D in the body's ability to fight influenza and URI's may be dependent on regulation of specific cytokines that participate in the host inflammatory...Full Text Available
BackgroundVisual acuity, the ability of the visual system to distinguish two separate objects at a given angular distance, is influenced by the optical and neuronal properties of...Full Text Available
A new estimator of the local density of dark energy is suggested which comes from the virial theorem for non-relativistic gravitating systems embedded in the uniform dark energy background.
Background and ObjectivePulsed dye laser (PDL) treatment of cutaneous vascular lesions is associated with variable and unpredictable efficacy. Thus, alternative treatment...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach (EETA) to the pituitary is performed by ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgeons in collaboration with neurosurgeons but also...Full Text Available
BackgroundUse of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), an important category of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), has increased substantially in Western countries during...Full Text Available
BackgroundIncrease in the incidence of hyperuricemia associated with gout as well as hypertension, renal diseases and cardiovascular diseases has been a public health concern. We...Full Text Available
In this survey paper, we present open problems and conjectures on visibility graphs of points, segments and polygons along with necessary backgrounds for understanding them.
BackgroundFeature selection is an important pre-processing task in the analysis of complex data. Selecting an appropriate subset of features can improve classification or clustering...Full Text Available
BackgroundSister species divergence and reproductive isolation commonly results from ecological adaptation. In mimetic Heliconius butterflies, shifts in colour pattern...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe evolution of eukaryotic cells is widely agreed to have proceeded through a series of endosymbiotic events between larger cells and proteobacteria or cyanobacteria,...Full Text Available
BackgroundOver the past decade, many investigators have used sophisticated time series tools for the analysis of genomic sequences. Specifically, the correlation of the nucleotide...Full Text Available
BACKGROUND: This prospective and retrospective study carried out over a period of one month (50 patients) looked at the quality of hospital records of urethral catheterisation with reference to the...Full Text Available
BackgroundDiscrepancies between the conclusions of different meta-analyses (quantitative syntheses of systematic reviews) are often ascribed to methodological differences. The objective...Full Text Available
BackgroundCharacterization of the innate immune repertoire of extant cnidarians is of both fundamental and applied interest - it not only provides insights into the basic immunological...Full Text Available
Background:To encourage evidence-based practice, an Annals of Internal Medicine editorial called for a new professional on clinical teams: an informationist trained...Full Text Available
BackgroundProfessionalism is a critical quality for physicians to possess. Physician professionalism has received increased attention in recent years, with many authorities suggesting...Full Text Available
BackgroundLow back pain (LBP) is the most prevalent musculoskeletal condition and one the most common causes of disability in the developed nations. Anecdotally, there is a general...Full Text Available
Background:Spina bifida presents a significant cause of childhood morbidity in lower- and middle-income nations. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of literature examining...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe availability of multiple, essentially complete genome sequences of prokaryotes and eukaryotes spurred both the demand and the opportunity for the construction of an...Full Text Available
BackgroundBlindness due to trachoma is avoidable through Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial hygiene and Environmental improvements (SAFE). Recent surveys have shown trachoma to be a serious...Full Text Available
Background/Objective:Tarlov cysts or spinal perineurial cysts are uncommon lesions. These are mostly incidental findings on magnetic resonance imaging or myelograms. The...Full Text Available
Background:Prolonged mechanical ventilation is increasingly common. It is expensive and associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Our objective is to comprehensively characterize...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe routine removal of orthopaedic fixation devices after fracture healing remains an issue of debate. There are no evidence-based guidelines on this matter, and little...Full Text Available
BackgroundElementary schools represent both a source of childhood sun exposure and a setting for educational interventions.MethodsSun Protection...Full Text Available
BackgroundWith the exception of vertebrates, most organisms have plasma membrane associated ammonium transporters which primarily serve to import a source of nitrogen for nutritional...Full Text Available
Background:Solid pseudopapillary tumor is a rare pancreatic neoplasm with uncertain to low malignant potential. This is an uncommon neoplasm with many pseudonyms, occurring...Full Text Available
BackgroundTacrolimus (FK-506) is an immunosuppressant that binds to a specific immunophilin, resulting in the suppression of the cellular immune response during transplant rejection....Full Text Available
BackgroundCystic neoplasms of the pancreas are less common than solid tumors, and portend a better prognosis. They can be divided into serous and mucinous subtypes, with the former...Full Text Available
BackgroundTo identify the differential tuberculosis (TB) characteristics within the immigrant population with respect to natives in Spain.Methodology/Principal...Full Text Available
BackgroundTo investigate the significance of Aurora B expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsThe Aurora B and Aurora...Full Text Available
BackgroundAlternative splicing is an important mechanism mediating the diversified functions of genes in multicellular organisms, and such event occurs in around 40-60% of human...Full Text Available
BackgroundCharacterizing and comparing the determinant of cotinine concentrations in different populations should facilitate a better understanding of smoking patterns and addiction....Full Text Available
BackgroundNonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are commonly used to treat postoperative and chronic pain. Animal studies suggest these drugs act in part by blocking...Full Text Available
BackgroundMost reports of scientific misconduct have been focused on principal investigators and other scientists (e.g., biostatisticians) involved in the research...Full Text Available
Background The Internet is becoming an increasingly important resource for health-information seekers. However, consumers often do not use effective search...Full Text Available
BACKGROUND: An approach to the study of the pharmacokinetics of drugs in the lung is to measure their concentrations in bronchial biopsy specimens. The main criticism of this technique is that bronchial...Full Text Available
BackgroundBrucellosis is a zoonosis of veterinary, public health and economic significance in most developing countries. Human brucellosis is a severely debilitating disease that...Full Text Available
BackgroundProvision of consumer information and patient education are considered an essential part of chronic disease management programmes developed for patients with heart failure....Full Text Available
BackgroundWhether psychological resilience correlates with neurocognitive performance is largely unknown. Therefore, we assessed association between neurocognitive...Full Text Available
BackgroundOrthology analysis is an important part of data analysis in many areas of bioinformatics such as comparative genomics and molecular phylogenetics. The ever-increasing flood...Full Text Available
BackgroundHealth service databases of administrative type can be a useful tool for the study of progression of a disease, but the data reported in such sources could be affected...Full Text Available
BackgroundPolybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are widely used flame retardant compounds that are persistent and bioaccumulative and therefore have become ubiquitous environment...Full Text Available
BackgroundStatistical autoregressive analyses of direct and delayed density dependence are widespread in ecological research. The models suggest that changes in ecological factors...Full Text Available
BackgroundPreclinical models of pediatric cancers are essential for testing new chemotherapeutic combinations for clinical trials. The most widely used ...Full Text Available
BackgroundBisphenol A (BPA) is a high-production-volume chemical commonly used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastic. Low-level concentrations of BPA in animals and possibly...Full Text Available
BackgroundEmphysematous cholecystitis is a variant of acute cholecystitis which is generally caused by gas-forming organisms. Emphysematous cholecystitis may cause gas spreading...Full Text Available
BackgroundPlasmodium falciparum is the most malignant agent of human malaria. It belongs to the taxon Laverania, which includes other ape-infecting Plasmodium...Full Text Available
BackgroundSection Calochroi is one of the most species-rich lineages in the genus Cortinarius (Agaricales, Basidiomycota) and is widely distributed...Full Text Available
BackgroundPhotorhabdus luminescens is a Gram-negative luminescent enterobacterium and a symbiote to soil nematodes belonging to the species Heterorhabditis...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe monolignol biosynthetic pathway interconnects with the biosynthesis of other secondary phenolic metabolites, such as cinnamic acid derivatives, flavonoids and condensed...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE: New surgical procedures designed to assist in the treatment of peritoneal surface malignancy were sought. BACKGROUND: Decisions regarding the treatment of cancer depend on the anatomic location...Full Text Available
BackgroundSeveral studies have suggested an association between periodontal disease and prematurity but this finding has not been consistently observed.MethodsCase...Full Text Available
Background:Percutaneous tracheostomy (PT) has gained an increasing acceptance as an alternative to the conventional surgical tracheostomy (ST). In experienced hands, and with...Full Text Available
BACKGROUND:In adults, it is well known that high levels of pain catastrophizing are related to increased pain and disability as well as to heightened anxiety and depression. However,...Full Text Available
BACKGROUND:Despite increasing attention to the epidemiology of pain, relatively little is known about the association between pain and health in children. In particular, no studies...Full Text Available
BackgroundGenetic predisposition to scrapie in sheep is associated with several variations in the peptide sequence of the prion protein gene (PRNP). DNA-based tests...Full Text Available
BackgroundMedication errors are common among inpatients and many are preventable with computerized prescribing. Relatively little is known about outpatient prescribing errors or...Full Text Available
BackgroundTitanium and titanium alloys are widely used for fabrication of dental implants. Since the material composition and the surface topography of a biomaterial play a fundamental...Full Text Available
BackgroundBisphenol A (BPA) is widely used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics, including infant formula bottles.ObjectivesBased on the...Full Text Available
BackgroundPrior research links optimism to physical health, but the strength of the association has not been systematically evaluated.PurposeFull Text Available
OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated, in a large, heterogeneous population, the outcome of open cholecystectomy as it is currently practiced. SUMMARY BACKGROUND AND DATA: Although cholecystectomy has been...Full Text Available
BackgroundSoft tissue foreign bodies are a common cause of orthopedic consultation in emergency departments. It is difficult to confirm their existence because conventional radiology...Full Text Available
BackgroundChanges in levels of estradiol and progesterone that occur with the transition to reproductive senescence may influence nociception or affect.Full Text Available
BackgroundMovement regularities are inherently present in automated goal-directed motions of the primate's arm system. They can provide important signatures of intentional behaviours...Full Text Available
BackgroundCo-flowering plant species frequently share pollinators. Pollinator sharing is often detrimental to one or more of these species, leading to competition for pollination....Full Text Available
BackgroundThe ongoing epidemiological transition in Mexico minimizes the relative impact of neurocysticercosis (NC) on public health. However, hard data on the disease frequency...Full Text Available
... and support cost, and post-retirement disposal cost) of ... from reactors, and the reactors and other ... the ship's hull and reactor compartment enough to ...
Background and PurposeHemodynamic insults at arterial bifurcations are hypothesized to play a key role in intracranial aneurysm formation. This study investigates...Full Text Available
Background: The nail gun is a commonly utilized tool in carpentry and construction. When used properly with appropriate safety precautions, it can facilitate production and boost efficiency;...Full Text Available
BackgroundMucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN) of the pancreas is basically cystic epithelial neoplasm, unilocular or multilocular, occurring almost exclusively in women.Case...Full Text Available
BackgroundStump and phantom pains are debilitating sequelae of amputations that are often resistant to treatment. The efficacy of pharmacologic therapies, including...Full Text Available
BackgroundBorrelia lonestari infects Amblyomma americanum, the tick species that is the most common cause of tick bites in southeast...Full Text Available
BackgroundMolecular genetic studies of Bombyx mori have led to profound advances in our understanding of the regulation of development. Bombyx mori brain,...Full Text Available
BackgroundAs long-term nursing home care is likely to increase with the aging of the population, identifying chronic medical conditions is of particular interest. Although need factors...Full Text Available
Background: Contamination of autologous grafts unfortunately occurs in plastic surgery, but the literature provides no guidance for management of such incidents. Methods: American...Full Text Available
Background. The coexistence of neoplasm and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) presents a real management challenge. This paper reviews the literature on the prevalence, diagnosis,...Full Text Available
BackgroundMalaria is one of the most important tropical diseases that affects people globally. The influence of environmental conditions in the patterns of temporal distribution...Full Text Available
Effective localization of small magnets against a noisy, real world background can involve various methods to first identify the magnetic fields produced by the magnet of interest, then to filter out background noise, and then to analyze the available magnetic field data to localize the magnet. Here we discuss low cost techniques which allow localization of small magnets with field strengths in the milliGauss range against real world background fields in the range of hundreds of mG, which may be fluctuating by up to tens of mG. Such techniques allow magnet tracking to be used to localize catheters in place of more invasive and expensive methods, e.g. fluoroscopy, for a variety of applications, including drug infusion with peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs), laser ablation (TMR, PTMR) and introduction of pacemaker leads.
BackgroundAlthough local excision (ampullectomy) was first described by Halsted in 1899, its adequacy as an alternative surgical treatment for the ampullary tumors is still a matter...Full Text Available
BackgroundLymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare lung disease characterised by progressive airflow obstruction. No effective medical treatment is available but therapy with sirolimus...Full Text Available
Background and AimsIt is well known that genome size differs among species. However, information on the variation and dynamics of genome size in wild populations and on the early...Full Text Available
BackgroundIt is well established that Legionella pneumophila is a waterborne pathogen; by contrast, the mode of Helicobacter pylori transmission...Full Text Available
BackgroundFloating knee injuries are usually associated with other significant injuries. Do these injuries have implications on the management of the floating knee and the final...Full Text Available
Background An increasing number of people have access to the Internet, and more people are seeking tobacco cessation resources online every year. Despite the...Full Text Available
• Background and Aims The occurrence of stomata in seed coats is uncommon and there is limited information about their function(s). The aim of this study was to verify the distribution...Full Text Available
BackgroundMany molecules of interest are flexible and undergo significant shape deformation as part of their function, but most existing methods of molecular shape comparison (MSC)...Full Text Available
BackgroundWhereas there is increasing evidence that loss of expression and/or function of the thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) could result in a selective advantage for tumor development,...Full Text Available
BackgroundAlterations in protein composition and oxidative damage of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) have been proposed to impair the cardioprotective properties of...Full Text Available
BackgroundIn biomedical ontologies, mereological relations have always been subject to special interest due to their high relevance in structural descriptions of anatomical entities,...Full Text Available
ObjectiveTo assess the utility of gracilis muscle transposition in the treatment of iatrogenic rectourethral fistula.Summary Background DataIatrogenic...Full Text Available
BackgroundRecent studies have shown associations between size and body proportions at birth and health outcomes throughout the life cycle, but there are few data...Full Text Available
BackgroundGender is a critically important moderator of psychopathology. However, gender similarities and differences in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) have received...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe use of fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (fsrt) has evolved with technical advances in noninvasive immobilization, radiation delivery, and image guidance....Full Text Available
BackgroundSeveral fractal and non-fractal parameters have been considered for the quantitative assessment of the vascular architecture, using a variety of test specimens and of computational...Full Text Available
Background and AimsAnnonaceae are one of the largest families of Magnoliales. This study investigates the comparative floral development of 15 species to understand the basis for...Full Text Available
Background and objectives: Despite potential significance of fatigue and its underlying components in the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases, epidemiologic data showing the link are virtually limited....Full Text Available
BackgroundSenescence is integral to the flowering plant life-cycle. Senescence-like processes occur also in non-angiosperm land plants, algae and photosynthetic prokaryotes. Increasing...Full Text Available
BackgroundEnzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a standard immunoassay to estimate a protein's concentration in a sample. Deploying ELISA in a microarray format permits simultaneous...Full Text Available
BackgroundSwine is an important agricultural commodity and biomedical model. Manipulation of the pig genome provides opportunity to improve production efficiency, enhance disease...Full Text Available
This article examines how politics and science interacted against a background of uncertainty to shape policy in the case of environmental contamination by polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) in Michigan....Full Text Available
BackgroundThrough differentiation processes, keratinocytes provide a physical barrier to our bodies and control skin features such as moisturization, wrinkles and pigmentation. Keratinocyte...Full Text Available
Background:Since first reported in 1996, endoscopic minimally invasive surgery of the cervical region has been shown to be safe and effective in the treatment of benign thyroid and...Full Text Available
BackgroundMutations that disrupt the conversion of prelamin A to mature lamin A cause the rare genetic disorder Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome and a group of laminopathies....Full Text Available
Background:People with severe and persistent mental illness need help in most aspects of their lives, as the disability associated with these diseases can be debilitating....Full Text Available
BackgroundTo investigate the effects of intravenous lignocaine infusions (IV lignocaine) in fibromyalgia.MethodsProspective study...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe National Cancer Institute has concluded that exposure to smoking in movies causes adolescent smoking and there are similar results for young adults.Full Text Available
BackgroundThe aim of this report was to describe duodenal obstruction caused by a rubber foreign body in a cow.Case PresentationThe clinical, biochemical...Full Text Available
BackgroundThere is no data documenting the existence of a risk of infection transmission in ambulatory healthcare settings but concern remains. Our objective was to determine the...Full Text Available
BackgroundPerfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are found globally in wildlife and humans and are suspected to act as endocrine disruptors. There are no previous reports of PFAA levels in...Full Text Available
Background:Frozen shoulder (FS) is a debilitating musculoskeletal condition with an uncertain etiology and pathogenic mechanism. The aim of this study was to investigate...Full Text Available
Does the cultural background influence the success with which genetically unrelated individuals cooperate in social dilemma situations? In this paper, we provide an answer by analysing the data of Full Text Available
BACKGROUND: Cuba's response to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic has been to conduct mass testing of the population to ascertain seroprevalence, to enforce mandatory relative quarantine...Full Text Available
BackgroundInternet-based depression communities provide a forum for individuals to communicate and share information and ideas. There has been little research into the health status...Full Text Available
BackgroundAlthough advances in rehydration therapy have made cholera a treatable disease with low case-fatality in settings with appropriate medical care, cholera continues...Full Text Available
BackgroundClostridium botulinum produces seven distinct serotypes of botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs). The genes encoding different subtype neurotoxins of serotypes...Full Text Available
BackgroundHypertension is a common non communicable condition worldwide. In developing countries (including Nigeria), the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is common....Full Text Available
BackgroundIn nuclear medicine, liquid radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes are administered to patients by using various types of syringes with different volumes....Full Text Available
BackgroundNucleotide sequences and the gene arrangements of mitochondrial genomes are effective tools for resolving phylogenetic problems. Hemipteroid insects are known to possess...Full Text Available
BackgroundAutofluorescence bronchoscopy is more sensitive than conventional bronchoscopy for detecting early airway mucosal lesions. Decreased specificity can lead...Full Text Available
BackgroundA mycovirus previously identified in brown discolored fruiting bodies of the cultivated mushroom Flammulina velutipes was characterized. We tentatively...Full Text Available
Background:Cemented hip arthroplasty is an established treatment for femoral neck fracture in the mobile elderly. Cement pressurization raises intramedullary pressure and...Full Text Available
Background Increasing numbers of cancer patients are using the Internet, but little is known about their attitudes toward online health care.Full Text Available
BackgroundCystinuria is the most common inherited cause of urinary tract stones in children. It can lead to obstructive uropathy, which is a major cause of renal...Full Text Available
Background:To determine nutrient requirements by the carbon oxidation techniques, it is necessary to know the fraction of carbon dioxide produced during the oxidative...Full Text Available
BackgroundOsseointegration is crucial for the long-term success of dental implants and depends on the tissue reaction at the tissue-implant interface. Mechanical properties and biocompatibility...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe metagenomic analysis of microbial communities holds the potential to improve our understanding of the role of microbes in clinical conditions. Recent, dramatic improvements...Full Text Available
BackgroundMeasures of attachment style are often used to appraise social and emotional health. In developmental literature, the concept of attachment is used to explain...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe purpose of this research was to examine whether waterpipe smokers experience increased risk of motor vehicle crashes.MethodsIn a telephone...Full Text Available
BackgroundArtificial duplicates from pyrosequencing reads may lead to incorrect interpretation of the abundance of species and genes in metagenomic studies. Duplicated reads were...Full Text Available
BackgroundObsessive-compulsive disorder is associated with a relevant impairment in social and interpersonal functioning and severe disability. This seems to be particularly true...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate the anticancer activity and mechanism of action of Noscapine alone and in combination with Doxorubicin against triple negative...Full Text Available
Background"Nubiotics" are synthetic oligonucleotides and nucleotides with nuclease-resistant backbones, and are fully protonated for enhanced ability to be taken up by bacterial...Full Text Available
BackgroundArtocarpus communis is used traditionally in Cameroon to treat several ailments, including infectious and associated diseases. This work was therefore...Full Text Available
BackgroundPoliovirus, the causative agent of poliomyelitis, is a human enterovirus and a member of the family of Picornaviridae and among the most rapidly evolving viruses known....Full Text Available
BackgroundHearing loss is a common sensory disorder, yet prospective data on potentially modifiable risk factors are limited. Regularly used analgesics, the most...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe function of a cylinder allowing simultaneous measurements of the opposition axis of the index finger and thumb of the hand and the magnitude of pinch force is described.Full Text Available
Background:Antimicrobial agents have been used as a chemotherapeutic agent to improve oral health. This in vitro study was carried out to determine the antimicrobial activity...Full Text Available
BackgroundFunction exertion of specific proteins are key factors in disease progression, thus the systematical identification of those specific proteins is a prerequisite to understand...Full Text Available
Background/Objectives:Imaging technology is an important part of the diagnosis and management of spinal trauma. Indications and findings in post-traumatic imaging of the vertebral...Full Text Available
SummaryBackgroundMalaria, a non-fatal disease if detected promptly and treated properly, still causes many deaths in malaria-endemic countries with...Full Text Available
Background:Alopecia areata (AA) is an immune-mediated form of hair loss that occurs in all ethnic groups, ages, and both sexes. Helicobacter pylori has...Full Text Available
BackgroundGhana has not conducted a national tuberculin survey or tuberculosis prevalence survey since the establishment of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme. The primary...Full Text Available
BackgroundMultilevelness is a defining characteristic of complex systems. For example, in the intestinal tissue the epithelial lining is organized into crypts that are maintained...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe evaluation of interventions and policies designed to promote resilience, and research to understand the determinants and associations, require reliable and valid measures...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe permeabilization of mitochondrial membranes is a decisive event in apoptosis or necrosis culminating in cell death. One fundamental mechanism by which...Full Text Available
BackgroundMultiple myeloma is a hematologic malignancy associated with the development of a destructive osteolytic bone disease.ResultsMathematical...Full Text Available
BackgroundMany difficult problems in evolutionary genomics are related to mutations that have weak effects on fitness, as the consequences of mutations with large effects are often...Full Text Available
BackgroundAmino-terminal signal peptides (SPs) are short regions that guide the targeting of secretory proteins to the correct subcellular compartments in the cell. They are cleaved...Full Text Available
BackgroundAdnexal masses are not uncommon in patients with breast cancer. Breast cancer and ovarian malignancies are known to be associated. In patients with breast cancer and co-existing...Full Text Available
BackgroundAdequate pain assessment is critical for evaluating the efficacy of analgesic treatment in clinical practice and during the development of new therapies. Yet the currently...Full Text Available
BackgroundMycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis causes systemic infection and chronic intestinal inflammation in many species including...Full Text Available
BackgroundMitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is being analyzed by an increasing number of laboratories in order to investigate its potential role as an active marker of tumorigenesis...Full Text Available
A dual-rate self-tuning control technique, in which the system identification and control calculation are performed separately, is proposed in this paper. This greatly increases the control rate. A self-tuning power system stabilizer (DSPSS) making use of this technique is developed and implemented using multi-micro-computers. Simulation and experimental results with DSPSS show that the increase in the control rate can considerably improve the system performance.
The chemostat theory on two species competition has shown that the dilution rate where transition of dominance occurs - transition-dilution rate - is independent of limiting-nutrient concentration. However, we obtained the experimental data indicating that the transition-dilution rate changed with variations in limiting-ammonium concentrations, using the chemostat mixed-culture of the cyanobacterium Microcystis novacekii and the green alga Scenedesmus quadricauda. The transition-dilution rate was dependent on the concentration of limiting ammonium in the influx culture medium. We tried to simulate the experimental results. Though the dilution rate has been considered independent of nutrient concentration, we introduce the effective dilution rate that depends on nutrient concentration (ammo...
Limestone dissolution rate was measured by a pH-stat method with CO(2) sparging and dissolved sulfite. The dissolution rate of limestone under these conditions was found to be controlled by mass transfer and surface kinetics. As can be seen from the results, in the presence of sulfite, limestone dissolution rate increases with increasing stirring speed, reaction temperature and CO(2) partial pressure. The crystallinity of limestone has a great impact on the dissolution rate: The lower the value of the crystallinity of limestone is, the higher the dissolution rate is. The presence of sulfite promotes the dissolution rate when pH value is below 5.5 but inhibits it when pH value is above 5.5. PMID:19359093
The present study investigates the effect of the shear rate-dependent thermal conductivity of non-Newtonian fluids on the heat transfer enhancement in a pipe flow. The constant heat flux as thermal boundary condition was adopted in the thermally developed region. The present analytical results show the heat transfer enhancement over those of a shear rate-independent thermal conductivity fluid. The heat transfer coefficient ratio (h/h{sub 0}) linearly increase with the non-dimensional average velocity difference which is the product of the shear rate-dependence of the thermal conductivity and wall-shear rate.
Fission rate assessments are being made in FFTF to provide input for determination of power distribution, peak power, total power, fuel burnup distribution, conversion ration and neutron spectral information by the multiple foil reaction rate method. A goal of the initial FFTF Characterization Program is to measure isotopic fission rates to an accuracy of 2 to 5% throughout FFTF by radiometric techniques. To achieve this goal, measurements were made in the FFTF In-Reactor Thimble to reduce the uncertainties of key parameters needed for radiometric fission rate mapping of the FFTF core.
We investigate the possibility of observing strong interactions of longitudinally polarized weak vector bosons in the process {gamma}{gamma}{yields}ZZ at a photon linear collider. We make use of polarization of the photon beams and cuts on the decay products of the Z bosons to enhance the signal relative to the background of transversely polarized ZZ pairs. We find that the background overwhelms the signal unless there are strong resonant effects, as for instance from a technicolor analogue of the hadronic f{sub 2}(1270) meson. ((orig.)).
We investigate the possibility of observing strong interactions of longitudinally polarized weak vector bosons in the process {gamma}{gamma} {yields} ZZ at a photon linear collider. We make use of polarization of the photon beams and cuts on the decay products of the Z bosons to enhance the signal relative to the background of transversely polarized ZZ pairs. We find that the background overwhelms the signal unless there are strong resonant effects, as for instance from a technicolor analogue of the hadronic f{sub 2}(1270) meson.
In embodiments, spectroscopic monitor monitors modulated light signals to detect low levels of contaminants and other compounds in the presence of background interference. The monitor uses a spectrometer that includes a transmissive modulator capable of causing different frequency ranges to move onto and off of the detector. The different ranges can include those with the desired signal and those selected to subtract background contributions from those with the desired signal. Embodiments of the system are particularly useful for monitoring metal concentrations in combustion effluent.
This report revises estimates of population exposure to external natural background made by D. T. Oakley in 1972. The revisions include more recent estimates of dose equivalents from cosmic rays, use of 1970 U.S. census data, and corrections for building shielding and for self-shielding in the body. The dose equivalents calculated are those from cosmic rays and terrestrial radiation, and do not include doses from natural radioactive materials in the body.
To suppress space charge blowup in an ion beam passing through a photoneutralizer, it is necessary to introduce some background gas. An analysis is presented of the neutralization of a high-energy, >200-keV negative deuterium ion beam, exposed to photodetachment while in the presence of deuterium. With a gas thickness of <0.01 Torr.cm, the neutral fraction in the output beam is found to be about the same as that gotten from the photoneutralizer operating in vacuum. Neutral atom beam injection for plasma heating is discussed.
We study certain supersymmetry breaking deformations of linear dilaton backgrounds in different dimensions. In some cases, the deformed theory has bulk closed strings tachyons. In other cases there are no bulk tachyons, but there are localized tachyons. The real time condensation of these localized tachyons is described by an exactly solvable worldsheet CFT. We also find some stable, non-supersymmetric backgrounds.
Ramsar, a city in the northern Iran, has the highest level of natural background radiation in the world. It has been clearly shown that low doses of ionising radiation can induce resistance to subsequent higher exposures. This phenomenon is termed radioadaptive response. We have compared induction of cytogenetic radioadaptive response by High Natural Background Radiation (HNBR) in Ramsar and X-ray occupational exposure as conditioning doses in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. 30 healthy control individuals, living in Ramsar but in normal background radiation areas, 15 healthy individuals from Talesh Mahalleh, a region with extraordinary high level of background radiation, and 7 X-ray radiographers working in Ramsar hospital located in normal natural background ionising radiation area were evaluated. Peripheral blood samples were prepared and exposed to challenge dose of 0 and 2 ...
We explain how to obtain Klabanov-Strassler solution in the low-energy limit of type IIB superstring theory and describe slow-roll inflation on the system of parallely-separated D3-brane and D3bar-brane in the Klebanov-Strassler background.
The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) are inversely associated with inflammatory processes in an elderly background population.
None of the materials presently in common use for polarized proton targets has a pure carbon nuclear background. The alcohols and diols contain some oxygen, and the ammonia and amine-based materials contain nitrogen and/or other noncarbon species. In the latter cases the noncarbon nuclei are measurably polarized as a concomitant of the process used to polarize the hydrogen nuclei. The relative simplicity of a pure carbon background would be advantageous for most types of scattering experiments and perhaps crucial for some. In addition to simplifying the kinematics of background events, pure carbon is relatively easy to prepare as a dummy'' target for background subtraction. Also, in such a target material, [sup 13]C-enrichment would yield a clean polarized [sup 13]C material. In this note I explore the possibilities for such materials, touching upon only what I consider to be the ...
The optimizing criterion is assumed to be the maximum net present value of the project. The following summarizes the significant conclusions. (1) Over a large range of discount rates, mining and milling of the mineral deposit at a constant cutoff grade and a constant production rate consistently results in smaller annual discounted cash flows than the optimal schedule determined by the dynamic programming model (dpm) where the cutoff grade and mining rate are allowed to vary in response to fluctuating product price. (2) With an increasing discount rate, under the dpm the annual discounted cash flows decrease at a slower rate than if the mineral inventory is mined and milled at a constant cutoff grade and a constant production rate. (3) Cuttoff grade increases only where higher equity ore is available. Thus, to maintain the mill feed requirement, the mining ...
In this study based on the mass transfer theory, experiments for the evaporation rates depending on various conditions were carried out through the operation of the existing Natural Evaporation Facility in KAERI. Evaporation media were made of the cotton and polyester. Air circulation in the facility was forced by exhausting fans. The evaporation rate and the decontamination factor were calculated by the result of experiment. The evaporation rate increased as the flow rate of air supply, the feed rate of liquid waste, and the temperature of supplied air increased. As for the humility of supplied air, the evaporation rate was getting higher as the humidity was getting lower. As the result of this study, operation conditions of the Natural Evaporation Facility are optimized as follows; The air temperature above 8C .deg., the air humidity below 70%, the air flow ...
A variable-compression ratio, direct-injection diesel engine (VCR) has been designed and assembled at Southwest Research Institute with the intention of examining the current procedures for rating the ignition quality of diesel fuels and the meaning of ignition delay as an indicator of ignition and combustion quality. Using a slightly modified ASTM D 613 procedure, the engine has been used to rate the ignition quality of 43 different test fuels. The ratings obtained in the VCR engine are compared to the corresponding rating obtained using the standard cetane rating procedure. Some of the problems associated with the standard procedure became apparent during these experiments. The experimental results are discussed in terms of the problems and the advantages of a proposed VCR-based rating procedure.
Activation energy values for high temperature deformation of a beta -titanium alloy Ti-10V were determined from the flow stress strain rate data taken from the second increasing strain rate cycles, in order to find the rate controlling mechanism. Although the data obtained from first increasing strain rate cycles are considered most appropriated by the author in a previous study due to obvious reasons, the values obtained in present work are again indicative of lattice self diffusion in beta -phase as the rate controlling mechanism for this alloy and nevertheless suggest that two different activation energy values for a deformation process could be possible in a given temperature range, depending upon the data. (author)
This report describes the results from acoustic emission (AE) and ultrasonic monitoring of the Aespoe Pillar Stability Experiment (APSE) at SKB's Hard Rock Laboratory (HRL), Sweden. The APSE is being undertaken to demonstrate the current capability to predict spalling in a fractured rock mass using numerical modelling techniques, and to demonstrate the effect of backfill and confining pressure on the propagation of micro-cracks in rock adjacent to deposition holes within a repository. An ultrasonic acquisition system has provided acoustic emission and ultrasonic survey monitoring throughout the various phases of the experiment. Results from the entire data set are provided with this document so that they can be effectively compared to several numerical modelling studies, and to mechanical and thermal measurements conducted around the pillar volume, in an 'integrated analysis' performed by SKB staff. This document provides an in-depth summary of the AE and ...
To evaluate the success rates, long-term patency rates and factors affecting the patency rates of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty(PTA) and thrombolysis in the management of insufficient access during hemodialysis. Between January 1991 and March 1995, 37 insufficient shunts(23 native fistulae and 14 graft fistulae) were treated in 31 patients. PTA was performed in 24 shunts, and thrombolysis in 13;in seven of these latter, thrombolysois was followed by PTA. The success and long-term patency rates of PTA and thrombolysis were evaluated. Shunts were subdivided according to a patient's age, type and age of the shunt, and number and length of the stenosis, and the degree of residual stenosis and in each subgroup, patency rates was compared. The overall success rate of PTA and thrombolysis for insufficient hemodialytic access was 78.4%(29/37). The ...
The suggestion has often been made that an additional radiation exposure imposed on humanity as a result of some important activity such as electricity generation would be acceptable if the exposure was 'small' compared to the natural background. In order to make this concept quantitative and objective, we propose that 'small compared with the natural background' be interpreted as the standard deviation (weighted with the exposed population) of the natural background. We believe that this use of the variation in natural background radiation is less arbitrary and requires fewer unfounded assumptions than some current approaches to standard-setting. The standard deviation is an easily calculated statistic that is small compared with the mean value for natural exposures of populations. It is an objectively determined quantity and its significance is generally understood. Its determination does not omit any ...
To evaluate the current situation and implementation of embolization of uterine leiomyomas into the treatment concept in women with symptomatic uterine leiomyomas in Germany. A questionnaire addressing the clinical background of uterine myomas, recommended treatment concepts, preclinical evaluation, technical approach and complications was sent to 164 departments of gynecology and radiology in Germany. 33 radiological departments and 19 gynecological departments submitted a completed questionnaire. Only 7 departments of radiology reported to have own experience with embolization of uterine leiomyomas, while only 2 departments of gynecology considered embolization as an alternative treatment option in patients with symptomatic leiomyomas. 18/33 radiological departments offer this treatment option but get no patient referrals. Agreement was found concerning the indications for treatment, preclinical evaluation by ultrasound and MRI, preferable location of treatable ...
Using nitrogen-13 initial measurements have been made of rumen ammonia-nitrogen pool size and turnover, and rate of incorporation of ammonia into microbial protein. It is also feasible to measure the rate of incorporation of absorbed ammonia into urea and the appearance of label in saliva.
Sustained metabolic rates (SusMR) are time-averaged metabolic rates that are measured in free-ranging animals maintaining constant body mass over periods long enough that metabolism is fueled by food...Full Text Available
The cumulative rate of childhood eczema during the first three years was studied in a birth cohort of 1265 New Zealand infants. A parental history of eczema was the strongest predictor of rates of childhood...Full Text Available
We have measured the forward and reverse rates of the allosteric transition of hemoglobin A with three CO molecules bound by using modulated excitation coupled with fluorescence quenching of the DPG...Full Text Available
Rate of dehydration greatly affects desiccation tolerance of recalcitrant seeds. This effect is presumably related to two different stress vectors: direct mechanical or physical stress because of the...Full Text Available
Results are reported from studies of the diffusion rate of xenon through frog abdominal skin and toad urinary bladders, typical epithelial membranes. It was concluded that intracellular water serves as the principal barrier for xenon passage through epithelial tissue.
Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) has been measured hourly from waking to sleeping in 29 workers with respiratory symptoms exposed to the fumes of soft soldering fluxes containing colophony (pine resin)....Full Text Available
In this study, our main objective was to determine whether energy restriction (ER) affects the rate of oxygen consumption of mice transiently or lastingly and whether metabolic rate plays a role in...Full Text Available
Basal or standard metabolic rate (SMR) has been found to exhibit substantial intraspecific variation in a range of taxa, but the consequences of this variation are little understood. Here we explore...Full Text Available
ObjectiveTo investigate possible differences in operative delivery rate among low-risk women, randomised to an alongside midwifery-led unit or to standard obstetric units within...Full Text Available
In the region of annular liquid film-mist flow, the behavior of the droplets formed from the liquid film and the rate of formation are the subjects to be clarified in connection with the forecast of dry-out point, which becomes a problem in the region of high dryness such as reactor cooling system and steam generators. Many researches have been performed on such problem in vertical tubes, but the characteristics in horizontal flow have not yet been sufficiently clarified. This series of research is to clarify various characteristics, such as the velocity of vapor phase, the flow rate distribution of droplets, the formation and adhesion of droplets and the structure of liquid film, in the region of liquid film-mist flow, where liquid film exists on the bottom of a horizontal rectangular channel, and vapor flow is accompanied by droplets. In this study, by the measurement of the flow rate distribution of droplets on ...
From the gross conservation laws of thermodynamics in a convecting material we derive a bound on the ratio of the rate of production of mechanical or magnetic energy to the rate of internal radioactive...Full Text Available
1. Rates and rate coefficients of glucose utilization and replacement in post-absorptive rats, either conscious or under halothane anaesthesia, were determined in a thermoneutral environment by using...Full Text Available
Hoogenstraaten's heating rate method has generally been considered as a reliable method for determining thermoluminescence trapping parameters of first order glow peaks. However, experience has shown that in some cases the deviation between the heating rate method and glow curve fitting method can be quite significant (considering only the linear part of the heating rate plot, of course). In this study it is shown that one of the main reasons for this deviation can be a systematic increase of a temperature lag between the measured and real temperature of the sample with increasing heating rate. It appears that this systematic increase of the temperature lag affects the method in the range of low heating rates (linear part of the heating rates plots) more than has been previously realised. The effect of the temperature lag on Hoogenstraaten's heating ...
Hoogenstraaten's heating rate method has generally been considered as a reliable method for determining thermoluminescence trapping parameters of first order glow peaks. However, experience has shown that in some cases the deviation between the heating rate method and glow curve fitting method can be quite significant (considering only the linear part of the heating rate plot, of course). In this study it is shown that one of the main reasons for this deviation can be a systematic increase of a temperature lag between the measured and real temperature of the sample with increasing heating rate. It appears that this systematic increase of the temperature lag affects the method in the range of low heating rates (linear part of the heating rates plots) more than has been previously realised. The effect of the temperature lag on Hoogenstraaten's ...
To evaluate the effectiveness of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty(PTA) and to determine the factors affecting the long-term patency rate in the management of insufficient hemodialytic arteriovenous fistula(AVF). Forty-nine cases of insufficient hemodialytic AVF were treated in 44 patients(native AVF:20, graft AVF:29, M:17, F:27, Age:22-70 years). In 28 thrombus patients, thrombolysis was performed with urokinase, and was followed by PTA. The initial success rate and complications of PTA were evaluated. According to the site and length of the stenosis, type and age of the AVF, the presence or abscence of thrombus, a history of diabetic mellitus, the patient's age, and the duration of renal failure, patency rates were compared within each subgroup using the Kaplan-Meier logrank test. The initial success rate of PTA for insufficient hemodialytic AVF was 88%(43/49), the patency ...
Cimetidine 1 g daily is often continued for a fixed period beyond the time of healing of duodenal ulcer on the assumption that it might reduce the subsequent relapse rate. To test this, 194 patients...Full Text Available
The hypothesis that the antiarrhythmic drug amiodarone slows down the heart rate by its inhibitory action on the intracellular conversion of thyroxine (T4) to 3,5,3' triiodothyronine (T3) was investigated....Full Text Available
Energetically costly behaviours, such as flight, push physiological systems to their limits requiring metabolic rates (MR) that are highly elevated above the resting MR (RMR). Both RMR and MR during...Full Text Available
The hepatic uptake rate for certain albumin-bound drugs and metabolites correlates poorly with their equilibrium unbound concentration in the plasma, suggesting that binding equilibrium may not always...Full Text Available
For the evaluation of the kidney impairment, serum creatinine concentrations or glomerular filtration rates are mainly used, and the conditions of solitary or transplanted kidney and chronic dialysis...Full Text Available
In the presentation the major factors determining the conditions of NCC (Natural Coolant Circulation) in the primary circuit and in particular conditions of coolant rate distribution on the horizontal tubes of PGV-1000 in NPP with VVER-1000 under NCC are considered. 5 refs.
This book contains over 20 selections. Some of the titles are: Continuum damage mechanics studies on the dynamic fracture of concrete; Dynamic compressive strength of cementitious materials; Rate-sensitivity of mode I and mode II fracture concrete; and An impact damage model of concrete.
The rate constants for both acylation and deacylation of beta-lactamase PC1 from Staphylococcus aureus and the RTEM beta-lactamase from Escherichia coli were determined by the acid-quench method [Martin...Full Text Available
The penetrance of Lebers hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) in families with primary mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations is very complex. Matrilineal and nuclear genetic background, as well as environmental factors, have been reported to be involved in different affected pedigrees. Here we describe two large Chinese families that show a striking difference in the penetrance of LHON, in which 53.3% and 15.0% of members were affected (Pin vivo mitochondrial oxidative metabolism as described in a previous study. Evolutionary analysis failed to indicate any putatively pathogenic mutation that cosegregated with G11778A in these two pedigrees. Our results suggest that the variable penetrance of LHON in the two Chinese families is independent of both their mtDNA haplotype background and a seconda...
Consideration is given to the stability of negative ion beams which are neutralized through ionization of a background gas. Two types of instabilities are examined. First, beam-plasma instabilities are analyzed with the dispersion relation showing that they are unimportant if the beam velocity is less than the electron thermal velocity. Second, results of a computer simulation on the flow of a cylindrical beam and the resulting background plasma show that when the background neutral gas density is less than or approximately equal to a critical density as instability occurs. This critical density is the density that would be needed to space-charge neutralize the beam if the positive ions were not retarded by the beam. An approximate dispersion relation indicates that the nature of the instability is a transverse positive-ion acoustic wave which couples to the beam.
A phase transition of gas-liquid type with an upper critical point is examined which arises in a model of charges of one sign on compensating background (OCP). The phase transition parameters are dependent on the detailed assumptions about the compressibility of the background, but the occurrence of this transition is independent on the background equation of state. In the electron-gas model ('jellium'), this transition appears to rule out Wigner crystallization. A variational principle in statistical mechanics is used to derive so-called Double-OCP model for a superposition of two one-component plasma models for charges of opposite sign. The free energy of this model sets an upper bound to that of a real plasma. Situations are discussed where this transition should manifest itself in anomalies in the approximate description of a non-ideal plasma.
An ionization chamber with fast timing properties was built at CERN for measuring fission cross-sections of minor actinides at the n(_)TOF neutron beam. The design of this new chamber and of the front-end electronics was optimized to match the innovative features of the n(_)TOF facility, in particular the high instantaneous neutron flux and low background. For the most radioactive isotopes, a special version of the chamber, designed according to the ISO2919 standards, was built in order to comply with the radioprotection requirements at CERN. The detector and front-end electronics are here described, together with the simulated and measured response to fission fragments and #alpha#-particles. The performances of the chamber during the first measurement campaign at n(_)TOF are presented, focusing in particular on the fast time response, the good background rejection capability, low-background and high detection efficiency.
Electrochemical corrosion rate probes were constructed and tested along with mass loss coupons in a N2/O2/CO2 plus water vapor environment. Temperatures ranged from 450 to 600 C. Corrosion rates for ash-covered mild steel, 304L SS, and 316L SS probes using electrochemical techniques were a function of time, temperature, and process environment. Correlation between electrochemical and mass loss corrosion rates was good.
When decontaminated with continuously replenished CAN-DECON reagent in a once-through system, carbon steel contaminated with "6"0Co during exposure to reducing coolant in stainless steel loops loses up to 90 percent of its radioactivity in the first few minutes. Afterwards, the rate of removal falls to much lower values which persist for many hours to the end of the experiment. The effects of flow rate, temperature and reagent concentration on the initial rates of decontamination indicate that mass transfer in the liquid is an important factor in the decontamination. The decontamination factor is influenced by the initial rate.
Strain rate effects for the high strength, metastable beta-titanium alloy Ti-8Mo-8V-2Fe-3Al are assessed in terms of tensile and fracture toughness behavior. It is shown that as the strain rate increases the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and ductility also increase. As a result of the decrease in the amount of intergranular fracture as the strain rate is increased, the dynamic fracture toughness values K/sub Id/ are greater than those obtained under static conditions as given by K/sub Q/.
We briefly report on zero-temperature photoassociation of a Bose-Einstein condensate, focusing on the many-body rate limit for atom-molecule conversion. An upgraded model that explicitly includes spontaneous radiative decay leads to an unanticipated shift in the position of the photoassociation resonance, which affects whether the rate (constant) maximizes or saturates, as well as the limiting value itself. A simple analytical model agrees with numerical experiments, but only for high density. Finally, an explicit comparison with the two-body unitary limit, set by the size of the condensate, finds that the many-body rate limit is generally more strict.
The ionization, excitation, and radiative recombination rates for highly stripped ions are cal- culated with Maxwellian and non-Maxwellian electron distribution functions of the type Cmexp(-vm/wm) (2<=m<=5) as encountered in laser-heated plasmas and certain types of turbulent plasmas. The direct-radiative-recombination rates are found to decrease by at most 30% as m is increased from 2 to 5. On the other hand, the ionization and excitation rates are found to be strongly reduced if the transition energy ? exceeds twice the local temperature kBTe. The effect of this on the distribution of energy levels and degrees of ionization in laser-produced plasmas could be important.