14 CFR 25.858 - Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... detection systems. 25.858 Section 25.858 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT... Construction Fire Protection § 25.858 Cargo or baggage compartment smoke or fire detection systems. If... must be met for each cargo or baggage compartment with those provisions: (a) The detection system must...

A cost-benefit analysis of alternative device configurations for aviation-checked baggage security screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, Sheldon H; Karnani, Tamana; Kobza, John E; Ritchie, Lynsey

2006-04-01

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have resulted in dramatic changes in aviation security. As of early 2003, an estimated 1,100 explosive detection systems (EDS) and 6,000 explosive trace detection machines (ETD) have been deployed to ensure 100% checked baggage screening at all commercial airports throughout the United States. The prohibitive costs associated with deploying and operating such devices is a serious issue for the Transportation Security Administration. This article evaluates the cost effectiveness of the explosive detection technologies currently deployed to screen checked baggage as well as new technologies that could be used in the future. Both single-device and two-device systems are considered. In particular, the expected annual direct cost of using these devices for 100% checked baggage screening under various scenarios is obtained and the tradeoffs between using single- and two-device strategies are studied. The expected number of successful threats under the different checked baggage screening scenarios with 100% checked baggage screening is also obtained. Lastly, a risk-based screening strategy proposed in the literature is analyzed. The results reported suggest that for the existing security setup, with current device costs and probability parameters, single-device systems are less costly and have fewer expected number of successful threats than two-device systems due to the way the second device affects the alarm or clear decision. The risk-based approach is found to have the potential to significantly improve security. The cost model introduced provides an effective tool for the execution of cost-benefit analyses of alternative device configurations for aviation-checked baggage security screening.

14 CFR 234.6 - Baggage-handling statistics.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Baggage-handling statistics. 234.6 Section 234.6 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION... statistics. Each reporting carrier shall report monthly to the Department on a domestic system basis...

Risk of subacromial shoulder disorder in airport baggage handlers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Sanne Pagh; Brauer, Charlotte; Mikkelsen, Sigurd

2018-01-01

age,exposure variables showed close to significant associations with subacromial shoulder disorder.Results could not confirm our hypothesis that combined information on work task duration and shoulder load intensity was stronger associated with subacromial shoulder disorder than seniority.......Musculoskeletal shoulder-load among baggage handlers measured by combining duration and intensity based on biomechanical and epidemiological information may be a stronger predictor of subacromial shoulder disordersthanbaggage handler seniority.In 2012, a cohort of baggage handlers employed...... at Copenhagen Airport in 1990-2012, and a cohort of unskilledotherwise employed men answered a survey.Self-reported information on work tasks during employment in the airport in combination with work task specific biomechanically modelled forces in the shoulder joint was used to estimate shoulder-load. Exposure...

41 CFR 303-70.301 - Are there any limitations on the baggage we may transport?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Are there any limitations on the baggage we may transport? 303-70.301 Section 303-70.301 Public Contracts and Property... on the baggage we may transport? Yes. You may only transport government property and the employee's...

Model-Based Control for Postal Automation and Baggage Handling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tarau, A.N.

2010-01-01

In this thesis we focus on two specific transportation systems, namely postal automation and baggage handling. Postal automation: During the last decades the volume of magazines, catalogs, and other plastic wrapped mail items that have to be processed by post sorting centers has increased

A Cohort Study on Meniscal Lesions among Airport Baggage Handlers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, Sigurd; Brauer, Charlotte; Pedersen, Ellen Bøtker

2016-01-01

socioeconomic background and less knee-straining work. Baggage handlers lifted suitcases with an average weight of approximately 15 kg, in total approximately five tonnes during a 9-hour workday. The cohort was followed in the National Patient Register and Civil Registration System. The outcome was a first time......Meniscal lesions are common and may contribute to the development of knee arthrosis. A few case-control and cross-sectional studies have identified knee-straining work as risk factors for meniscal lesions, but exposure-response relations and the role of specific exposures are uncertain...... of unskilled men employed at Copenhagen Airport or in other companies in the metropolitan Copenhagen area from 1990 to 2012 (the Copenhagen Airport Cohort). The cohort at risk included 3,307 airport baggage handlers with heavy lifting and kneeling or squatting work tasks and 63,934 referents with a similar...

A TNA explosives-detection system in airline baggage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shea, P.; Gozani, T. (Science Applications International Corp., Santa Clara, CA (USA)); Bozorgmanesh, H. (Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, CA (USA))

1990-12-20

Existing technologies that are applied to explosives-detection in passenger baggage are briefly discussed. A system based on thermal-neutron analysis (TNA) is described. The actual performance of the system in the field on passenger bags is given. The application of the TNA in an integrated airport security system is discussed in view of the intense public debate on this issue. (orig.).

Model-based design of supervisory controllers for baggage handling systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Swartjes, L.; van Beek, D.A.; Fokkink, W.J.; van Eekelen, J.A.W.M.

2017-01-01

The complexity of airport baggage handling systems in combination with the required high level of robustness makes designing supervisory controllers for these systems a challenging task. We show how a state of the art, formal, model-based design framework has been successfully used for model-based

Job satisfaction among aircraft baggage handlers and their exposure to risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders: A case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bulduk, Sıdıka; Bulduk, Emre Özgür; Güler, Alpaslan

2017-01-01

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) cause pain and economic loss. Risk of WMSDs is affected by job satisfaction as a psychosocial factor. The aim of this study was to investigate job satisfaction among aircraft baggage handlers and their exposure to work-related musculoskeletal disorder risk factors. Two data collection tools addressing risk levels (Quick Exposure Check) and psychosocial factors (Job Satisfaction Survey) were answered by 399 male baggage handlers employed in Esenboga International Airport in Ankara, Turkey. Risk exposure scores for WMSDs among baggage handlers were 27±3.4 (high) for the back (static), 42±7.2 (very high) for the back (moving), 42±6.1 (very high) for the shoulder/arm, 44±1.9 (very high) for the wrist/hand, and 13±5.1(high) for the neck. The average job satisfaction levels of the majority was either low (4.2250±1.10184) or moderate (3.1019±0.93352). In addition, low and moderate job satisfaction was significantly associated with higher WMSD risk levels among baggage handlers. Increased WMSD risk levels among baggage handlers are associated with low and moderate job satisfaction, suggesting that it is mandatory to perform intervention methods in this occupation.

Previous experiences and emotional baggage as barriers to lifestyle change - a qualitative study of Norwegian Healthy Life Centre participants.

Science.gov (United States)

Følling, Ingrid S; Solbjør, Marit; Helvik, Anne-S

2015-06-23

Changing lifestyle is challenging and difficult. The Norwegian Directorate of Health recommends that all municipalities establish Healthy Life Centres targeted to people with lifestyle issues. Little is known about the background, experiences and reflections of participants. More information is needed about participants to shape effective lifestyle interventions with lasting effect. This study explores how participants in a lifestyle intervention programme describe previous life experiences in relation to changing lifestyle. Semi-structured qualitative in-depth interviews were performed with 23 participants (16 women and 7 men) aged 18 - 70 years. The data were analysed using systematic text condensation searching for issues describing participants' responses, and looking for the essence, aiming to share the basis of life-world experiences as valid knowledge. Participants identified two main themes: being stuck in old habits, and being burdened with emotional baggage from their previous negative experiences. Participants expressed a wish to change their lifestyles, but were unable to act in accordance with the health knowledge they possessed. Previous experiences with lifestyle change kept them from initiating attempts without professional assistance. Participants also described being burdened by an emotional baggage with problems from childhood and/or with family, work and social life issues. Respondents said that they felt that emotional baggage was an important explanation for why they were stuck in old habits and that conversely, being stuck in old habits added load to their already emotional baggage and made it heavier. Behavioural change can be hard to perform as psychological distress from life baggage can influence the ability to change. The study participants' experience of being stuck in old habits and having substantial emotional baggage raises questions as to whether or not Healthy Life Centres are able to help participants who need to make a lifestyle

Passenger baggage object database (PBOD)

Science.gov (United States)

Gittinger, Jaxon M.; Suknot, April N.; Jimenez, Edward S.; Spaulding, Terry W.; Wenrich, Steve A.

2018-04-01

Detection of anomalies of interest in x-ray images is an ever-evolving problem that requires the rapid development of automatic detection algorithms. Automatic detection algorithms are developed using machine learning techniques, which would require developers to obtain the x-ray machine that was used to create the images being trained on, and compile all associated metadata for those images by hand. The Passenger Baggage Object Database (PBOD) and data acquisition application were designed and developed for acquiring and persisting 2-D and 3-D x-ray image data and associated metadata. PBOD was specifically created to capture simulated airline passenger "stream of commerce" luggage data, but could be applied to other areas of x-ray imaging to utilize machine-learning methods.

Can Radiologists Learn From Airport Baggage Screening?: A Survey About Using Fictional Patients for Quality Assurance.

Science.gov (United States)

Phelps, Andrew; Callen, Andrew L; Marcovici, Peter; Naeger, David M; Mongan, John; Webb, Emily M

2018-02-01

For both airport baggage screeners and radiologists, low target prevalence is associated with low detection rate, a phenomenon known as "prevalence effect." In airport baggage screening, the target prevalence is artificially increased with fictional weapons that are digitally superimposed on real baggage. This strategy improves the detection rate of real weapons and also allows airport supervisors to monitor screener performance. A similar strategy using fictional patients could be applied in radiology. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to review the psychophysics literature regarding low target prevalence and (2) to survey radiologists' attitudes toward using fictional patients as a quality assurance tool. We reviewed the psychophysics literature on low target prevalence and airport x-ray baggage screeners. An online survey was e-mailed to all members of the Association of University Radiologists to determine their attitudes toward using fictional patients in radiology. Of the 1503 Association of University Radiologists member recipients, there were 153 respondents (10% response rate). When asked whether the use of fictional patients was a good idea, the responses were as follows: disagree (44%), neutral (25%), and agree (31%). The most frequent concern was the time taken away from doing clinical work (89% of the respondents). The psychophysics literature supports the use of fictional targets to mitigate the prevalence effect. However, the use of fictional patients is not a popular idea among academic radiologists. Copyright © 2018 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Designing airport checked-baggage-screening strategies considering system capability and reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Qianmei; Sahin, Hande; Kapur, Kailash C.

2009-01-01

Emerging image-based technologies are critical components of airport security for screening checked baggage. Since these new technologies differ widely in cost and accuracy, a comprehensive mathematical framework should be developed for selecting technology or combination of technologies for efficient 100% baggage screening. This paper addresses the problem of setting threshold values of these screening technologies and determining the optimal combination of technologies in a two-level screening system by considering system capability and human reliability. Probability and optimization techniques are used to quantify and evaluate the cost- and risk-effectiveness of various deployment configurations, which is captured by using a system life-cycle cost model that incorporates the deployment cost, operating cost, and costs associated with system decisions. Two system decision rules are studied for a two-level screening system. For each decision rule, two different optimization approaches are formulated and investigated from practitioner's perspective. Numerical examples for different decision rules, optimization approaches and system arrangements are demonstrated

Laboratory evaluation of two x-ray baggage inspection systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schellenbaum, R.L.

1979-06-01

The AS and E Micro-Dose X-ray Baggage Inspection System was designed for high-volume, detailed examination of packages at ultralow x-ray exposure levels. This system is used in airline terminals for the detection of weapons, bombs, and other contraband. It is also employed by security personnel in other facilities to search packages for contraband carried in and out of secured areas. The Micro-Dose system has a unique design concept which includes an Automatic Threat Alert System (ATA) and a zoom display presentation feature

A New Generation of X-ray Baggage Scanners Based on a Different Physical Principle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert D. Speller

2011-10-01

Full Text Available X-ray baggage scanners play a basic role in the protection of airports, customs, and other strategically important buildings and infrastructures. The current technology of baggage scanners is based on x-ray attenuation, meaning that the detection of threat objects relies on how various objects differently attenuate the x-ray beams going through them. This capability is enhanced by the use of dual-energy x-ray scanners, which make the determination of the x-ray attenuation characteristics of a material more precise by taking images with different x-ray spectra, and combining the information appropriately. However, this still has limitations whenever objects with similar attenuation characteristics have to be distinguished. We describe an alternative approach based on a different x-ray interaction phenomenon, x-ray refraction. Refraction is a familiar phenomenon in visible light (e.g., what makes a straw half immersed in a glass of water appear bent, which also takes place in the x-ray regime, only causing deviations at much smaller angles. Typically, these deviations occur at the boundaries of all objects. We have developed a system that, like other “phase contrast” based instruments, is capable of detecting such deviations, and therefore of creating precise images of the contours of all objects. This complements the material-related information provided by x-ray attenuation, and helps contextualizing the nature of the individual objects, therefore resulting in an increase of both sensitivity (increased detection rate and specificity (reduced rate of false positives of baggage scanners.

Radiation Protection Control Area Around Baggage Control X-ray Units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prlic, I.; Radalj, Z.; Milkovic-Kraus, S.; Cerovac, Z.

2003-01-01

The importance of prompt occupational dose reporting rises when dose is received within a short-time interval or when the radiation source suffers any technical failures. Radiation exposure is to be recognized as a private/or group hazard of each person alone. Actual radiation quality of the source is to be taken into account. To optimize the radiological radiation protection Quality Control measurements of the source are done. We have developed digital dosemeters of type ALARA OD2 for external dosimetry to be used for establishing the real pattern of occupational dose delivered to the workers or/and as the (Ort) professional environmental measuring station. We are using dosemeter to define the control areas and areas of concern - point (Ort) around the source. This upgrade to legal obligatory external (film badge) dosimetry will help us to ease defining the professional stuff and working places which are actually exposed to ionising radiation of concern and for which it is necessary to provide legally required, or even additional, occupational health care programme. This means the analysis of exposure situations for specific jobs near the X-ray equipment used for baggage control in the context of carrying out a detailed study for the optimisation of radiation protection. PC data readout from device forms a real time exposure dose rate pattern that proves that any worker or other employee working nearby the baggage X-ray unit is not obliged to undergo any legal occupational monitoring (dosimetry or health) hence the total dose per year will not exceed 1 mSv under the worst working conditions. (author)

Evaluation of radiation leaks from an installation of baggage inspection using X-ray

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

RAZAFINDRAMIANDRA, H.A.

2007-01-01

This work wase done in the framework of the collaboration between the Madagascar-INSTN and the Civil Aviation of Madagascar (ACM). Due to the importance of the use of the scanner with X-rays for detection of baggages at the International Airport of Ivato, the protection of the workers using these HI-SCAN scanners has to be studied. The work deals with evaluating the dose rate emitted by the detector of baggages (HI SCAN 6040i and HI-SCAN 100100V) with dose rate meters (Graetz and Radiagem). These dosimeters were calibrated at the Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory (SSDL) of Madagascar-INSTN before carrying out the inspection. By applying the calibration factor of the dosimeters used during the inspection, it is noted that the evaluated doses during the radiation exposure with the measuring instrument are very variable for low dose, and less than the dose limit according to the regulation on radiation protection in Madagascar. The radiations emitted by the machine with x-rays can involve dangerous effects for health, in order to protect itself, the effectiveness of the means of protection must be kept or taken into account by respecting strictly the time, the distance, and the screen. [fr

Towards an automated checked baggage inspection system augmented with robots

Science.gov (United States)

DeDonato, Matthew P.; Dimitrov, Velin; Padır, Taskin

2014-05-01

We present a novel system for enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of checked baggage screening process at airports. The system requirements address the identification and retrieval of objects of interest that are prohibited in a checked luggage. The automated testbed is comprised of a Baxter research robot designed by Rethink Robotics for luggage and object manipulation, and a down-looking overhead RGB-D sensor for inspection and detection. We discuss an overview of current system implementations, areas of opportunity for improvements, robot system integration challenges, details of the proposed software architecture and experimental results from a case study for identifying various kinds of lighters in checked bags.

How Much Is Enough? Sizing the Deployment of Baggage Screening Equipment to Minimize the Cost of Flying. Executive Summary

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Shaver, Russell

2004-01-01

... mandated that all bags carried onto aircraft be inspected for various contraband (e.g., bombs). Inspection stations already existed for carry-on luggage, but baggage checked at the ticket counter was inspected only on international flights...

Dynamics of seizure of animal products in international baggage on Airport of Brasilia (AIB-PJK/SBBR.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristiano Barros de Melo

2016-09-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT. de Melo C.B., Fino T.C.M., Schwingel F.F., Santiago M.T., de Barros L.F.R., McManus C. & Sá M.E.P. [Dynamics of seizure of animal products in international baggage on Airport of Brasilia (AIB-PJK/SBBR.] Dinâmica da apreensão de produtos de origem animal em bagagens internacionais no Aeroporto de Brasília (AIB-PJK/SBBR. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 38(3:265-276, 2016. Universidade de Brasília, PPGCA, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, ICC Sul, Asa Norte, Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brasil. E-mail: cristianomelo@unb.br The risk of introducing infectious agents increases as the volume of imported products rises. The illegal entry of animal products (POA brought in international passenger baggage is a factor that makes up the risk assessment and that grows proportionally to the intensification of international transit passengers. They evaluated the data on seizures of animal products intercepted in international baggage passengers in Airport of Brasilia (AIB-PJK/SBBR between the years 2010 and 2012. The analysis of the dynamics of these seizures considered the POA category, origin, airline and months more frequently and also verified the correlation between these variables. According to retrospective analysis, nearly eight tons of POA were seized from 52 countries throughout the study period. The results showed Portugal (p <0.0001 as the source of passengers who had higher frequency and quantity of seizures, and, added to other European origins, totaled 84.3% of seizures. The months of July, August and September stood out for the highest number of seizures and greater movement of international passengers. The increase in the number of seizures accompanied by a rise in the percentage of inspected passengers (r=0.69, emphasizing the importance of airport surveillance. According to the calculation of relative risk, passengers from African and South American countries showed greater magnitude of risk to bring animal

Recommended safety procedures for the selection, installation and use of baggage inspection x-ray equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-05-01

Good X-ray equipment alone will not preclude unnecessary exposure to x-radiation. The equipment must be installed, maintained and used by adequately trained personnel, with due regard for the inherent hazards of such equipment and an appreciation of the need to observe proper operational procedures. It is the intent of this Code to define equipment specifications and conditions of installation and use for baggage inspection X-ray equipment, such that the hazard to operating personnel and the general public from such devices remains negligibly small. (auth)

Risk factors and visual fatigue of baggage X-ray security screeners: a structural equation modelling analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Rui-Feng; Yang, Lin-Dong; Wu, Xin

2017-05-01

This study identified the risk factors influencing visual fatigue in baggage X-ray security screeners and estimated the strength of correlations between those factors and visual fatigue using structural equation modelling approach. Two hundred and five X-ray security screeners participated in a questionnaire survey. The result showed that satisfaction with the VDT's physical features and the work environment conditions were negatively correlated with the intensity of visual fatigue, whereas job stress and job burnout had direct positive influences. The path coefficient between the image quality of VDT and visual fatigue was not significant. The total effects of job burnout, job stress, the VDT's physical features and the work environment conditions on visual fatigue were 0.471, 0.469, -0.268 and -0.251 respectively. These findings indicated that both extrinsic factors relating to VDT and workplace environment and psychological factors including job burnout and job stress should be considered in the workplace design and work organisation of security screening tasks to reduce screeners' visual fatigue. Practitioner Summary: This study identified the risk factors influencing visual fatigue in baggage X-ray security screeners and estimated the strength of correlations between those factors and visual fatigue. The findings were of great importance to the workplace design and the work organisation of security screening tasks to reduce screeners' visual fatigue.

Radiation safety for baggage x-ray inspection systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-05-01

This book is an outgrowth of a course on radiation safety aimed at technicians responsible for conducting maintenance on baggage x-ray inspection systems used in federally operated facilities. The need for a single reference book became apparent to the instructor in 1984. In an effort to provide a cohesive development of the subject, a set of lecture notes was prepared and revised annually since 1984, from which this book has evolved. This book is intended to present concepts necessary for an elementary but comprehensive knowledge of radiation safety. While some material coverage may appear somewhat detailed, it is a deliberate attempt to strengthen areas of demonstrated weaknesses observed in course attenders and to provide guidance on the numerous questions about man-made radiation asked by course attenders over the years. Numerical examples are included in most chapters for clarity and ease of understanding. The problems given at the end of most chapters provide the reader with the opportunity of applying the material presented in the chapters to situations of practical interest. It is important that these problems be considered an integral part of the course and students attempt to solve them. 36 refs., 9 tabs., 17 figs.

Radiation safety for baggage x-ray inspection systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-05-01

This book is an outgrowth of a course on radiation safety aimed at technicians responsible for conducting maintenance on baggage x-ray inspection systems used in federally operated facilities. The need for a single reference book became apparent to the instructor in 1984. In an effort to provide a cohesive development of the subject, a set of lecture notes was prepared and revised annually since 1984, from which this book has evolved. This book is intended to present concepts necessary for an elementary but comprehensive knowledge of radiation safety. While some material coverage may appear somewhat detailed, it is a deliberate attempt to strengthen areas of demonstrated weaknesses observed in course attenders and to provide guidance on the numerous questions about man-made radiation asked by course attenders over the years. Numerical examples are included in most chapters for clarity and ease of understanding. The problems given at the end of most chapters provide the reader with the opportunity of applying the material presented in the chapters to situations of practical interest. It is important that these problems be considered an integral part of the course and students attempt to solve them. 36 refs., 9 tabs., 17 figs

The development of a pseudo-3D imaging system (tomosynthesis) for security screening of passenger baggage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reid, C.B.; Betcke, M.M.; Chana, D.; Speller, R.D.

2011-01-01

This paper describes a study investigating the potential of tomosynthesis as a post check-in baggage scanning system. A laboratory system has been constructed consisting of a moveable source and detector, arranged around a mini 90 o bend conveyor system, from which multiple projection images can be collected. Simulation code has been developed to allow the optimum source and detector positions to be determined. Reconstruction methods are being developed to modify the Shift-And-Add (SAA) algorithm to accommodate the non-typical imaging geometry.

The development of a pseudo-3D imaging system (tomosynthesis) for security screening of passenger baggage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reid, C.B., E-mail: c.reid@medphys.ucl.ac.uk [Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Betcke, M.M. [Department of Computer Science, University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Chana, D. [Department for Transport, London SW1E 6DT (United Kingdom); Speller, R.D. [Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom)

2011-10-01

This paper describes a study investigating the potential of tomosynthesis as a post check-in baggage scanning system. A laboratory system has been constructed consisting of a moveable source and detector, arranged around a mini 90{sup o} bend conveyor system, from which multiple projection images can be collected. Simulation code has been developed to allow the optimum source and detector positions to be determined. Reconstruction methods are being developed to modify the Shift-And-Add (SAA) algorithm to accommodate the non-typical imaging geometry.

Automation in airport security X-ray screening of cabin baggage: Examining benefits and possible implementations of automated explosives detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Hättenschwiler, Nicole; Sterchi, Yanik; Mendes, Marcia; Schwaninger, Adrian

2018-10-01

Bomb attacks on civil aviation make detecting improvised explosive devices and explosive material in passenger baggage a major concern. In the last few years, explosive detection systems for cabin baggage screening (EDSCB) have become available. Although used by a number of airports, most countries have not yet implemented these systems on a wide scale. We investigated the benefits of EDSCB with two different levels of automation currently being discussed by regulators and airport operators: automation as a diagnostic aid with an on-screen alarm resolution by the airport security officer (screener) or EDSCB with an automated decision by the machine. The two experiments reported here tested and compared both scenarios and a condition without automation as baseline. Participants were screeners at two international airports who differed in both years of work experience and familiarity with automation aids. Results showed that experienced screeners were good at detecting improvised explosive devices even without EDSCB. EDSCB increased only their detection of bare explosives. In contrast, screeners with less experience (tenure automated decision provided better human-machine detection performance than on-screen alarm resolution and no automation. This came at the cost of slightly higher false alarm rates on the human-machine system level, which would still be acceptable from an operational point of view. Results indicate that a wide-scale implementation of EDSCB would increase the detection of explosives in passenger bags and automated decision instead of automation as diagnostic aid with on screen alarm resolution should be considered. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

An evaluation of a weightlifting belt and back injury prevention training class for airline baggage handlers.

Science.gov (United States)

Reddell, C R; Congleton, J J; Dale Huchingson, R; Montgomery, J F

1992-10-01

This study evaluated the efficacy of a commercially available weightlifting belt in relation to reduction of lumbar injury incident rate and severity of injuries over an 8-month period. The study used 642 baggage handlers working for a major airline company as participants. Four treatment groups were randomly selected: a group receiving the belt only, a group receiving a 1 h training class only, a group receiving both a belt and a 1 h training class, and a control group receiving nothing. Two treatment groups were added which contained participants who discontinued use of the belt prior to the end of an 8-month study period. Results indicated that there were no significant differences for total lumbar injury incident rate, restricted workday case injury incident rate, lost workdays and restricted workdays rate, and worker's compensation rates. There was, however, a marginal significant difference for lost workday case injury incident rate. Groups with participants who wore the belt for a while then discontinued its use had a higher lost day case injury incident rate than did either the group receiving training only or the control group. Compliance was an overriding factor as the belt questionnaire response indicated that 58% of participants in the belt groups discontinued use of the belt before the end of 8 months. Comments made on the survey forms indicated that the belt was too hot. Similarly, comments suggested that the belt rubbed, pinched, and bruised ribs. Based on these results, the weightlifting belt used for this study cannot be recommended for use in aid of lifting during daily work activities of baggage handlers. Results indicate that use of the belts may, in fact, increase the risk of injury when not wearing a belt following a period of wearing a belt. As industries are experimenting with the use of belts, it is recommended that great care be taken in any further evaluation and close attention directed towards injuries which occur when not wearing the

Implementation of an ergonomics intervention in a Swedish flight baggage handling company-A process evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergsten, Eva L; Mathiassen, Svend Erik; Larsson, Johan; Kwak, Lydia

2018-01-01

To conduct a process evaluation of the implementation of an ergonomics training program aimed at increasing the use of loading assist devices in flight baggage handling. Feasibility related to the process items recruitment, reach, context, dose delivered (training time and content); dose received (participants' engagement); satisfaction with training; intermediate outcomes (skills, confidence and behaviors); and barriers and facilitators of the training intervention were assessed by qualitative and quantitative methods. Implementation proved successful regarding dose delivered, dose received and satisfaction. Confidence among participants in the training program in using and talking about devices, observed use of devices among colleagues, and internal feedback on work behavior increased significantly (pjob insecurity. In identifying important barriers and facilitators for a successful outcome, this study can help supporting the effectiveness of future interventions. Our results suggest that barriers caused by organizational changes may likely be alleviated by recruiting motivated trainees and securing strong organizational support for the implementation.

Nuclear resonance absorption (NRA): method and application to detection of contraband in a baggage, cargo and vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldenberg, M.B.; Vartsky, D.; Engler, G.

1996-01-01

Nuclear Resonance Absorption (NRA) has played a prominent role in nuclear spectroscopy for almost 5 decades, but found only few and marginal applications outside the laboratory before 1985. In that year the situation changed markedly when scientists from this laboratory proposed to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the U.S. to study its suitability for detecting explosives in passenger baggage via nitrogen-specific radiographic imaging (explosives, as a category, have inordinately high nitrogen densities). Following a basic feasibility study and the first laboratory demonstration of explosives detection in 1989, this project has attained the stage of a pre-industrial prototype that exhibited excellent performance characteristics in a 1993 blind test conducted by the FAA. In terms of NRA operational system concept, data taking methodology, development of dedicated detectors and image analysis algorithms, the Soreq group has made a major, if not exclusive, contribution over the years. (authors)

Implementation of an ergonomics intervention in a Swedish flight baggage handling company—A process evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Mathiassen, Svend Erik; Larsson, Johan; Kwak, Lydia

2018-01-01

Objective To conduct a process evaluation of the implementation of an ergonomics training program aimed at increasing the use of loading assist devices in flight baggage handling. Methods Feasibility related to the process items recruitment, reach, context, dose delivered (training time and content); dose received (participants’ engagement); satisfaction with training; intermediate outcomes (skills, confidence and behaviors); and barriers and facilitators of the training intervention were assessed by qualitative and quantitative methods. Results Implementation proved successful regarding dose delivered, dose received and satisfaction. Confidence among participants in the training program in using and talking about devices, observed use of devices among colleagues, and internal feedback on work behavior increased significantly (p<0.01). Main facilitators were self-efficacy, motivation, and perceived utility of training among the trainees. Barriers included lack of peer support, opportunities to observe and practice behaviors, and follow-up activities; as well as staff reduction and job insecurity. Conclusions In identifying important barriers and facilitators for a successful outcome, this study can help supporting the effectiveness of future interventions. Our results suggest that barriers caused by organizational changes may likely be alleviated by recruiting motivated trainees and securing strong organizational support for the implementation. PMID:29513671

Microbiological detection of bacteria in animal products seized in baggage of international air passengers to Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

de Melo, Cristiano Barros; de Sá, Marcos Eielson Pinheiro; Sabino, Valéria Mourão; de Fatima Boechat-Fernandes, Maria; Santiago, Marco Túlio; Schwingel, Fábio Fraga; Freitas, Cleverson; Magioli, Carlos Alberto; Cabral-Pinto, Sergio; McManus, Concepta; Seixas, Luiza

2015-01-01

Airline travel favours the transmission of diseases, given the short time it takes to travel long distances. In this study, animal products without health certificates seized in international air passengers' baggage at Guarulhos (GRU) and Galeão (GIG) airports in Brazil underwent a microbiological evaluation. Analyses (1610) were carried out on 322 seizures to test for the presence of total and thermotolerant coliforms, as well as Staphylococcus aureus counts and the presence of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella. Most seizures analysed showed coliform contamination and coliforms were present above acceptable limits in 83.4% (40/48) of the products that had some type of contamination. The second most prevalent microorganism found was L. monocytogenes in 22.9% (11/48) and S. aureus was cultivated in 14.58% (7/48) of seizures. Among the items seized in the present work, Salmonella was found in one seizure of pig sausage. Contamination of animal products with microbiological pathogens of importance to public health and indicators of the bad quality of the food were shown in the present study. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rapid simulation of X-ray transmission imaging for baggage inspection via GPU-based ray-tracing

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Qian; Stoian, Razvan-Ionut; Coccarelli, David S.; Greenberg, Joel A.; Vera, Esteban; Gehm, Michael E.

2018-01-01

We present a pipeline that rapidly simulates X-ray transmission imaging for arbitrary system architectures using GPU-based ray-tracing techniques. The purpose of the pipeline is to enable statistical analysis of threat detection in the context of airline baggage inspection. As a faster alternative to Monte Carlo methods, we adopt a deterministic approach for simulating photoelectric absorption-based imaging. The highly-optimized NVIDIA OptiX API is used to implement ray-tracing, greatly speeding code execution. In addition, we implement the first hierarchical representation structure to determine the interaction path length of rays traversing heterogeneous media described by layered polygons. The accuracy of the pipeline has been validated by comparing simulated data with experimental data collected using a heterogenous phantom and a laboratory X-ray imaging system. On a single computer, our approach allows us to generate over 400 2D transmission projections (125 × 125 pixels per frame) per hour for a bag packed with hundreds of everyday objects. By implementing our approach on cloud-based GPU computing platforms, we find that the same 2D projections of approximately 3.9 million bags can be obtained in a single day using 400 GPU instances, at a cost of only 0.001 per bag.

For a better control of the greenhouse gases emissions of the international maritime and aerial baggage holds: evaluation and possible actions; Pour une maitrise des emissions de gaz a effet de serre des soutes internationales aeriennes et maritimes: constat et actions possibles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sassi, O. [Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees, 77 - Marne la Vallee (France)

2003-07-01

The greenhouse gases emissions resulting from the aerial and marine baggage holds, are not taken into account in the national objectives of greenhouse gases reduction, defined by the Kyoto protocol. Thus they have to be controlled separately by each country concerned by the Kyoto protocol and urgent actions to reduce the greenhouse gases emissions are necessary. This study brings in first parts information on the context (legislation, traffic), the emission inventories and the options of allocation. It proposes then control methods and analyzes the possible measures. (A.L.B.)

76 FR 41726 - Reporting Ancillary Airline Passenger Revenues

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-15

...., third checked bag or more) Overweight/Oversized Baggage/Sports Equipment Carry-On Baggage 4. In-Flight Medical Equipment 5. In-Flight Entertainment/Internet Access 6. Sleep Sets 7. In-Flight Food/Non Alcoholic... baggage performance is outdated. Airline passengers would [[Page 41728

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Sea-Tac and Alaska Air Group Achieve

Science.gov (United States)

electrify ground support equipment, including baggage tugs, belt loaders, and aircraft pushback vehicles, it eGSE vehicles (such as baggage tugs, belt loaders, and pushback tractors) directly from Charlatte

77 FR 72778 - Airworthiness Directives; Cessna Aircraft Company Airplanes

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-06

... compartment. (ii) Remove aft baggage compartment dividers. (iii) Disconnect the main battery connector from...: Do not connect the battery connector or external power cart during the maintenance in progress. (v... and external power receptacle. (iv) Connect battery connector to battery. (v) Install aft baggage...

Application of factor analysis to the explosive detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Yong Joon; Song, Byung Chul; Im, Hee Jung; Kim, Won Ho; Cho, Jung Hwan

2005-01-01

The detection of explosive devices hidden in airline baggage is significant problem, particularly in view of the development of modern plastic explosives which can formed into various innocent-appearing shapes and which are sufficiently powerful that small quantities can destroy an aircraft in flight. Besides, the biggest difficulty occurs from long detection time required for the explosive detection system based on thermal neutron interrogation, which involves exposing baggage to slow neutrons having energy in the order of 0.025 eV. The elemental compositions of explosives can be determined by the Neutron Induced Prompt gamma Spectroscopy (NIPS) which has been installed in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute as a tool for the detection of explosives in passenger baggage. In this work, the factor analysis has been applied to the NIPS system to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the prompt gamma spectrum for the detection of explosive hidden in a passenger's baggage, especially for the noisy prompt gamma spectrum obtained with short measurement time

9 CFR 3.92 - Handling.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... nonhuman primate must not be placed on unattended conveyor belts or on elevated conveyor belts, such as baggage claim conveyor belts and inclined conveyor ramps that lead to baggage claim areas, at any time... if an attendant is present at each end of the conveyor belt. (2) A primary enclosure containing a...

Environmental assessment of the thermal neutron activation explosive detection system for concourse use at US airports

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, C.G.

1990-08-01

This document is an environmental assessment of a system designed to detect the presence of explosives in checked airline baggage or cargo. The system is meant to be installed at the concourse or lobby ticketing areas of US commercial airports and uses a sealed radioactive source of californium-252 to irradiate baggage items. The major impact of the use of this system arises from direct exposure of the public to scattered or leakage radiation from the source and to induced radioactivity in baggage items. Under normal operation and the most likely accident scenarios, the environmental impacts that would be created by the proposed licensing action would not be significant. 44 refs., 19 figs., 18 tabs.

Environmental assessment of the thermal neutron activation explosive detection system for concourse use at US airports

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, C.G.

1990-08-01

This document is an environmental assessment of a system designed to detect the presence of explosives in checked airline baggage or cargo. The system is meant to be installed at the concourse or lobby ticketing areas of US commercial airports and uses a sealed radioactive source of californium-252 to irradiate baggage items. The major impact of the use of this system arises from direct exposure of the public to scattered or leakage radiation from the source and to induced radioactivity in baggage items. Under normal operation and the most likely accident scenarios, the environmental impacts that would be created by the proposed licensing action would not be significant. 44 refs., 19 figs., 18 tabs

The Carrier's Liability for Damage Caused by Delay in International Air Transport

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kang Bin

2003-01-01

Delay in the air transport occurs when passengers, baggage or cargo do not arrive at their destination at the time indicated in the contract of carriage. The causes of delay in the carriage of passengers are booking errors or double booking, delayed departure of aircraft, incorrect information regarding the time of departure, failure to land at the scheduled destination and changes in flight schedule or addition of extra landing stops. Delay in the carriage of baggage or cargo may have different causes: no reservation, lack of space, failure to load the baggage or cargo at the right place, or to deliver the covering documents at the right place. The Montreal Convention of 1999 Article 19 provides that 'The carrier is liable for damage occasioned by delay in the carriage by air of passengers, baggage or cargo. Nevertheless, the carder shall not be liable for damage occasioned by delay if it proves that it and its servants and agents took all measures that could reasonably be required to avoid the damage or that it was impossible for it or them to take such measures'. The Montreal Convention Article 22 provides liability limits of the carrier in case of delay for passengers and their baggage and for cargo. In the carriage of persons, the liability of the carrier for each passenger is limited to 4,150 SDR. In the carriage of baggage, the liability of the carrier is limited to 1,000 SDR for each passenger unless a special declaration as to the value of the baggage has been made. In the carriage of cargo, the liability of the carrier is limited to 17 SDR per kilogram unless a special declaration as to the value of the cargo has been made. The Montreal Convention Article 19 has shortcomings: it is silent on the duration of the liability for carriage,andit does not make any distinction between persons and good. It does not give any indication concerning the circumstances to be taken into account in cases of delay, and about the length of delay. In conclusion, it is

An Algorithm for Inspecting Self Check-in Airline Luggage Based on Hierarchical Clustering and Cube-fitting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gao Qingji

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Airport passengers are required to put only one baggage each time in the check-in self-service so that the baggage can be detected and identified successfully. In order to automatically get the number of baggage that had been put on the conveyor belt, dual laser rangefinders are used to scan the outer contour of luggage in this paper. The algorithm based on hierarchical clustering and cube-fitting is proposed to inspect the number and dimension of airline luggage. Firstly, the point cloud is projected to vertical direction. By the analysis of one-dimensional clustering, the number and height of luggage will be quickly computed. Secondly, the method of nearest hierarchical clustering is applied to divide the point cloud if the above cannot be distinguished. It can preferably solve the difficult issue like crossing or overlapping pieces of baggage. Finally, the point cloud is projected to the horizontal plane. By rotating point cloud based on the centre, its minimum bounding rectangle (MBR is obtained. The length and width of luggage are got form MBR. Many experiments in different cases have been done to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm.

A nova cobrança por bagagens despachadas e a Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC: corporativismo ou mediação de interesses? / The New Fee for Checked Baggage and the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC: Corporatism or Mediation of Interests?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfredo Ribeiro da Cunha Lobo

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose – To verify if the deregulation by the National Civil Aviation Agency, which granted airlines permission to charge consumers for checked baggage, follows corporatist theory or the regulatory state assumptions. Methodology/approach/design – The theoretical underpinnings that will base the research rely on Mihaïl Manoïlescu's corporative theory and on the construct of Regulatory State, from the perspective of the mediating activity of regulatory agencies. This study applies the current federal legislation to the subject and analyzes the results of the recent researches regarding the values of the air tickets practiced in Brazil, with the objective of verifying if the deregulation for checked baggage fulfilled the interests of airlines, consumers or both. Findings – The change brought by the National Civil Aviation Agency is closely related to its prerogatives granted by the regulatory state and cannot be explained by corporatism assumptions. Resumo Propósito – Verificar se a desregulação da franquia de bagagem pela Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil, que permitiu que as companhias aéreas passassem a cobrar dos consumidores por passagem despachada, detinha relação com pressupostos da teoria corporativista ou do Estado regulador. Metodologia/abordagem/design – Inicialmente, serão firmados os pressupostos teóricos que fundamentarão a pesquisa, especialmente quanto à teoria corporativista de Mihaïl Manoïlescu e sua aplicação aos interesses das empresas aéreas e dos consumidores, bem como ao Estado Regulador e à atividade mediadora das agências reguladoras. Posteriormente, será analisada a aplicação da legislação federal vigente ao tema e os resultados das recentes pesquisas referentes aos valores das passagens aéreas praticados no Brasil, com objetivo de verificar se, com a desregulação da franquia de bagagem, houve atendimento aos interesses das empresas aéreas, dos consumidores ou de ambos. Resultados

Copenhagen Airport Cohort

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Karina Lauenborg; Brauer, Charlotte; Mikkelsen, Sigurd

2017-01-01

PURPOSE: Copenhagen Airport Cohort 1990-2012 presents a unique data source for studies of health effects of occupational exposure to air pollution (ultrafine particles) and manual baggage handling among airport employees. We describe the extent of information in the cohort and in the follow...... covers 69 175 men in unskilled positions. The exposed cohort includes men in unskilled jobs employed at Copenhagen Airport in the period 1990-2012 either as baggage handlers or in other outdoor work. The reference cohort includes men in unskilled jobs working in the greater Copenhagen area. FINDINGS...... TO DATE: The cohort includes environmental Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements in Copenhagen Airport, information on job function/task for each calendar year of employment between 1990 and 2012, exposure to air pollution at residence, average weight of baggage lifted per day and lifestyle...

A Case Study on the Walking Speed of Pedestrian at the Bus Terminal Area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamad Ali Mohd Firdaus

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Walking speed is one of the factors in understanding the pedestrian walking behaviours. Every pedestrian has different level of walking speed that are regulated by some factors such as gender and age. This study was conducted at a bus terminal area with two objectives in which the first one was to determine the average walking speed of pedestrian by considering the factors of age, gender, people with and without carrying baggage; and the second one was to make a comparison of the average walking speed that considered age as the factor of comparison between pedestrian at the bus terminal area and crosswalk. Demographic factor of pedestrian walking speed in this study are gender and age consist of male, female, and 7 groups of age categories that are children, adult men and women, senior adult men and women, over 70 and disabled person. Data of experiment was obtained by making a video recording of the movement of people that were walking and roaming around at the main lobby for 45 minutes by using a camcorder. Hence, data analysis was done by using software named Human Behaviour Simulator (HBS for analysing the data extracted from the video. The result of this study was male pedestrian walked faster than female with the average of walking speed 1.13m/s and 1.07m/s respectively. Averagely, pedestrian that walked without carrying baggage had higher walking speed compared to pedestrian that were carrying baggage with the speed of 1.02m/s and 0.70m/s respectively. Male pedestrian walks faster than female because they have higher level of stamina and they are mostly taller than female pedestrian. Furthermore, pedestrian with baggage walks slower because baggage will cause distractions such as pedestrian will have more weight to carry and people tend to walk slower.

A Case Study on the Walking Speed of Pedestrian at the Bus Terminal Area

Science.gov (United States)

Firdaus Mohamad Ali, Mohd; Salleh Abustan, Muhamad; Hidayah Abu Talib, Siti; Abustan, Ismail; Rahman, Noorhazlinda Abd; Gotoh, Hitoshi

2018-03-01

Walking speed is one of the factors in understanding the pedestrian walking behaviours. Every pedestrian has different level of walking speed that are regulated by some factors such as gender and age. This study was conducted at a bus terminal area with two objectives in which the first one was to determine the average walking speed of pedestrian by considering the factors of age, gender, people with and without carrying baggage; and the second one was to make a comparison of the average walking speed that considered age as the factor of comparison between pedestrian at the bus terminal area and crosswalk. Demographic factor of pedestrian walking speed in this study are gender and age consist of male, female, and 7 groups of age categories that are children, adult men and women, senior adult men and women, over 70 and disabled person. Data of experiment was obtained by making a video recording of the movement of people that were walking and roaming around at the main lobby for 45 minutes by using a camcorder. Hence, data analysis was done by using software named Human Behaviour Simulator (HBS) for analysing the data extracted from the video. The result of this study was male pedestrian walked faster than female with the average of walking speed 1.13m/s and 1.07m/s respectively. Averagely, pedestrian that walked without carrying baggage had higher walking speed compared to pedestrian that were carrying baggage with the speed of 1.02m/s and 0.70m/s respectively. Male pedestrian walks faster than female because they have higher level of stamina and they are mostly taller than female pedestrian. Furthermore, pedestrian with baggage walks slower because baggage will cause distractions such as pedestrian will have more weight to carry and people tend to walk slower.

Copenhagen Airport Cohort

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Karina Lauenborg; Brauer, Charlotte; Mikkelsen, Sigurd

2017-01-01

TO DATE: The cohort includes environmental Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements in Copenhagen Airport, information on job function/task for each calendar year of employment between 1990 and 2012, exposure to air pollution at residence, average weight of baggage lifted per day and lifestyle...... covers 69 175 men in unskilled positions. The exposed cohort includes men in unskilled jobs employed at Copenhagen Airport in the period 1990-2012 either as baggage handlers or in other outdoor work. The reference cohort includes men in unskilled jobs working in the greater Copenhagen area. FINDINGS...

33 CFR 104.220 - Company or vessel personnel with security duties.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... measures; (e) Crowd management and control techniques; (f) Security related communications; (g) Knowledge...) Methods of physical screening of persons, personal effects, baggage, cargo, and vessel stores; and (m) The...

33 CFR 105.210 - Facility personnel with security duties.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... to threaten security; (d) Techniques used to circumvent security measures; (e) Crowd management and... effects, baggage, cargo, and vessel stores; and (m) The meaning and the consequential requirements of the...

9 CFR 94.25 - Restrictions on the importation of live swine, pork, or pork products from certain regions free...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... swine, pork, or pork products and shipstores, airplane meals, and baggage containing pork or pork products, other than those articles regulated under parts 95 or 96 of this chapter, may not be imported...

46 CFR 76.05-1 - Fire detecting systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... sprinkling 1,2 Do.1,2 Paint and lamp rooms Smoke detecting 3 Carbon dioxide. 4 Inaccessible baggage, mail...., that are subject to the discharge pressure of the fuel oil service pumps, together with adjacent spaces...

Homeland Security: Air Passenger Prescreening and Counterterrorism

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Elias, Bart; Krouse, William; Rappaport, Ed

2005-01-01

... of their persons or baggage, or to prevent them from boarding an aircraft in the event of a terrorist watch list hit, is likely to be a difficult proposition for the federal agencies tasked with aviation security...

Bed Bugs and Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Bed bugs have long been a pest – feeding on blood, causing itchy bites and generally irritating their human hosts. They are successful hitchhikers, and can move from an infested site to furniture, bedding, baggage, boxes, and clothing.

Traveling Robots and Their Cultural Baggage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blond, Lasse

When social robots are imported from Asia to Europe they bring along with them a cultural luggage consisting of foreign sociotechnical imaginary. The effort to adopt the robot Silbot to Nordic social services exposed unfamiliar and cultural-dependent views of care, cognition, health and human...... nature. Studying Silbot in “the wild” highlighted these issues as well as the human-robot interaction and the adaptation of the robot to real life praxis. The importance of comprehending robots as parts of sociotechnical ensembles is emphasized as well as the observance of how robots are shaped...... by the cultural context in the recipient countries....

15 CFR 740.14 - Baggage (BAG).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... of personal adornment, toilet articles, medicinal supplies, food, souvenirs, games, and similar..., trucks, trailers, motorcycles, bicycles, tricycles, perambulators, and their containers. (4) Tools of... business activities that involve the transmission and use of the technology authorized under this license...

Improving the performance of sorter systems by scheduling inbound containers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haneyah, S.W.A.; Schutten, Johannes M.J.; Fikse, K.

2013-01-01

This paper addresses the inbound containers scheduling problem for automated sorter systems in two different industrial sectors: parcel & postal sorting and baggage handling. We build on existing literature, particularly on the dynamic load balancing algorithm designed for the parcel hub scheduling

National Strategy for Combating Terrorism: Prospects and Implications

Science.gov (United States)

2003-12-01

their canine explosives detection programs. Customs increased searches of passengers, baggage, and cargo leaving the US. Finally, the ATF was...77 Bernard Lewis, “The Roots of Muslim Rage ,” in Kegley, 198-200. 78 Wilfred Thesiger, Arabian Sands (Green, UK

14 CFR 382.119 - What information must carriers give individuals with vision or hearing impairment on aircraft?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... paragraph (b) of this section, to the extent that it does not interfere with crewmembers' safety duties as... limited to the following: information concerning flight safety, procedures for takeoff and landing, flight... flight's destination, beverage and menu information, connecting gate assignments, baggage claim...

14 CFR 158.3 - Definitions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... passenger by other parties. Ground support equipment means service and maintenance equipment used at an airport to support aeronautical operations and related activities. Baggage tugs, belt loaders, cargo loaders, forklifts, fuel trucks, lavatory trucks, and pushback tractors are among the types of vehicles...

Generic Planning and Control of Automated Material Handling Systems: Practical Requirements Versus Existing Theroy.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haneyah, S.W.A.; Zijm, Willem H.M.; Schutten, Johannes M.J.; Schuur, Peter

2011-01-01

This paper discusses the problem of generic planning and control of Automated Material Handling Systems (AMHSs). The paper illustrates the relevance of this research direction, and then addresses three different market sectors where AMHSs are used. These market sectors are: baggage handling,

Generic planning and control of automated material handling systems : practical requirements versus existing theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haneyah, S.W.A.; Schutten, Johannes M.J.; Schuur, Peter; Zijm, Willem H.M.

2013-01-01

This paper discusses the problem to design a generic planning and control architecture for utomated material handling systems (AMHSs). We illustrate the relevance of this research direction, and then address three different market sectors where AMHSs are used, i.e., baggage handling, distribution,

Planning and control of automated material handling systems: The merge module

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haneyah, S.W.A.; Hurink, Johann L.; Schutten, Johannes M.J.; Zijm, Willem H.M.; Schuur, Peter; Hu, Bo; Morasch, Karl; Pickl, Stefan; Siegle, Markus

2011-01-01

We address the field of internal logistics, embodied in Automated Material Handling Systems (AMHSs), which are complex installations employed in sectors such as Baggage Handling, Physical Distribution, and Parcel & Postal. We work on designing an integral planning and real-time control architecture,

An integer programming model for gate assignment problem at airline terminals

Science.gov (United States)

Chun, Chong Kok; Nordin, Syarifah Zyurina

2015-05-01

In this paper, we concentrate on a gate assignment problem (GAP) at the airlines terminal. Our problem is to assign an arrival plane to a suitable gate. There are two considerations needed to take. One of its is passenger walking distance from arrival gate to departure gate while another consideration is the transport baggage distance from one gate to another. Our objective is to minimize the total distance between the gates that related to assign the arrival plane to the suitable gates. An integer linear programming (ILP) model is proposed to solve this gate assignment problem. We also conduct a computational experiment using CPLEX 12.1 solver in AIMMS 3.10 software to analyze the performance of the model. Results of the computational experiments are presented. The efficiency of flights assignment is depends on the ratio of the weight for both total passenger traveling distances and total baggage transport distances.

Deconstructive Pedagogy and Ideological Demystification in Post-Colonial Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

Mansoor, Asma; Malik, Samina

2016-01-01

With post-colonial Pakistan inheriting the British colonial ideological and governmental apparatus, the English literature curriculum implemented at the university level in Pakistan carried the interpellatory baggage of its colonial past. Our interdisciplinary exploration focuses on using deconstructive pedagogy to demystify and subvert the…

77 FR 60006 - Hours of Service of Drivers: Trailways Companies Application for Exemption

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-01

... regular- route passenger carrier drivers. Trailways requests that these drivers be exempted from the..., for the limited purpose of picking up or setting off passengers, baggage, or small express packages... and Carrier Operations Division; Office of Bus and Truck Standards and Operations; Telephone: 202-366...

36 CFR 7.43 - Natchez Trace Parkway.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

...) Trailers. Trailers are permitted when used non-commercially to transport baggage, camping equipment, horses... written permission when transporting people for special recreational or educational purposes. (7) Towed... exceed 55 feet in length. (d) Beer and alcoholic beverages. The possession of beer or any alcoholic...

78 FR 76382 - Notice of Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) Approvals and Disapprovals

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-17

... Airports District Office, (701) 323-7390. PUBLIC AGENCY: Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Orlando... meet the requirements of 14 CFR 158.15(b). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT PARTIALLY APPROVED FOR... and replacement of emergency generators for the baggage handling system do not meet the requirements...

49 CFR 173.150 - Exceptions for Class 3 (flammable and combustible liquids).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HAZARDOUS MATERIALS REGULATIONS... § 173.156. (d) Alcoholic beverages. An alcoholic beverage (wine and distilled spirits as defined in 27...-on baggage; or (3) Is a Packing Group III alcoholic beverage in a packaging of 250 L (66 gallons) or...

14 CFR 382.127 - What procedures apply to stowage of battery-powered mobility aids?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

...-powered mobility aids? 382.127 Section 382.127 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT... DISABILITY IN AIR TRAVEL Stowage of Wheelchairs, Other Mobility Aids, and Other Assistive Devices § 382.127 What procedures apply to stowage of battery-powered mobility aids? (a) Whenever baggage compartment...

The Promises of “Young Europe”: Cultural Diplomacy, Cosmopolitanism, and Youth Culture in the Films of the Marshall Plan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frank Mehring

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Marshall Plan films played a crucial role in US cultural diplomacy. This paper will analyze how European film makers of the Marshall Plan used docudramas to envisage a multi-ethnic and cosmopolitan “young Europe” free from the political baggage of the past.

78 FR 60186 - Airworthiness Directives; AgustaWestland S.p.A. (Agusta) Helicopters

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-01

... deactivating the Full Icing Protection System (FIPS) and installing a placard next to the FIPS controller... avionics bay and the baggage compartment resulting from an Auto Transformer Rectifier Unit internal circuit... between the national Government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among...

78 FR 24343 - Airworthiness Directives; Cessna Aircraft Company Airplanes

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-25

... baggage compartment dividers. (iii) Disconnect the main battery connector from the battery. (iv) Tag the battery and external power receptacle with a warning tag that reads: ``WARNING: Do not connect the battery.... (iii) Remove the warning tag on the battery and external power receptacle. (iv) Connect battery...

26 CFR 1.883-1 - Exclusion of income from the international operation of ships or aircraft.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... alliances between or among international carriers which also include joint marketing, baggage handling, one... 26 Internal Revenue 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Exclusion of income from the international... Exclusion of income from the international operation of ships or aircraft. (a) General rule. Qualified...

14 CFR 25.787 - Stowage compartments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY AIRPLANES Design and Construction Personnel and Cargo Accommodations § 25.787 Stowage compartments. (a) Each compartment for the stowage of cargo, baggage, carry-on articles, and... to compartments located below, or forward, of all occupants in the airplane. If the airplane has a...

33 CFR 104.305 - Vessel Security Assessment (VSA) requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... baggage; and (vi) Vessel stores; (2) Threat assessments, including the purpose and methodology of the assessment, for the area or areas in which the vessel operates or at which passengers embark or disembark; (3... and control procedures; (ii) Identification systems; (iii) Surveillance and monitoring equipment; (iv...

19 CFR 162.65 - Penalties for failure to manifest narcotic drugs or marihuana.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... or marihuana. 162.65 Section 162.65 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF... Substances, Narcotics, and Marihuana § 162.65 Penalties for failure to manifest narcotic drugs or marihuana. (a) Cargo or baggage containing unmanifested narcotic drugs or marihuana. When a package of regular...

19 CFR 148.111 - Written declaration for unaccompanied articles.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Written declaration for unaccompanied articles... of the United States § 148.111 Written declaration for unaccompanied articles. The baggage... covers articles which do not accompany him and: (a) The articles are entitled to free entry under the $1...

49 CFR 1544.213 - Use of explosives detection systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Use of explosives detection systems. 1544.213...: AIR CARRIERS AND COMMERCIAL OPERATORS Operations § 1544.213 Use of explosives detection systems. (a... explosives detection system approved by TSA to screen checked baggage on international flights. (b) Signs and...

32 CFR 842.22 - Definitions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... unanticipated and over which no one has any control. (b) Military installation. A facility used to serve a... receive, hold, or store personal property, such as offices, warehouses, baggage holding areas, hospitals. (2) Any area on a military installation designated for parking or storing vehicles. (3) A recreation...

19 CFR 148.3 - Customs treatment after transiting the Panama Canal.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Customs treatment after transiting the Panama Canal. 148.3 Section 148.3 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND... § 148.3 Customs treatment after transiting the Panama Canal. Passengers' baggage and effects and...

The Display of Visual Information in Mission Command Systems: Implications for Cognitive Performance in the Command Post of the Future

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-01

detection with baggage screening or anomalies in medical imaging . However, the visual information displays in an MCS should support automatic human...Bigelow, C. A. Does Print Size Matter for Reading? A Review of Findings from Vision Science and Typography . Journal of Vision 2011, 11 (5), 1–22

14 CFR Appendix B to Part 43 - Recording of Major Repairs and Major Alterations

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... inspected. (d) For extended-range fuel tanks installed within the passenger compartment or a baggage... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Recording of Major Repairs and Major... to Part 43—Recording of Major Repairs and Major Alterations (a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b...

19 CFR 4.30 - Permits and special licenses for unlading and lading.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... which transits the Panama Canal and no cargo, baggage, or other article shall be laden on a vessel... in paper form or by electronic transmission through a Customs-approved electronic data interchange system, the submission of an electronic manifest for the cargo in this regard, as opposed to a paper...

Teachers Offering Healthy Escape Options for Teenagers in Pain

Science.gov (United States)

Kaywell, Joan F.

2005-01-01

"[T]wenty-five percent of today's teenagers have inordinate emotional baggage beyond the normal angst of adolescence." This burden can lead to unhealthy escapes, including substance abuse, sexual activity, violence, eating disorders, and suicide. One healthy escape, however, lies in books, where students can read about teenagers living in painful…

Online Risk Prediction for Indoor Moving Objects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahmed, Tanvir; Pedersen, Torben Bach; Calders, Toon

2016-01-01

Technologies such as RFID and Bluetooth have received considerable attention for tracking indoor moving objects. In a time-critical indoor tracking scenario such as airport baggage handling, a bag has to move through a sequence of locations until it is loaded into the aircraft. Inefficiency or in...... reduce the operation cost....

9 CFR 94.13 - Restrictions on importation of pork or pork products from specified regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... into the United States. Therefore, pork or pork products and ship's stores, airplane meals, and baggage containing such pork, other than those articles regulated under part 95 or part 96 of this chapter, produced... article to the United States in a manner that precludes its being commingled or otherwise coming in...

77 FR 1388 - Lists of Regions Classified With Respect to Certain Animal Diseases and States Approved To...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-10

...'s stores, airplane meals, and baggage containing pork or pork products, other than those articles... specified regions. (a) The meat of ruminants or swine, and other animal products, and ship stores, airplane... all parts of the carcass of any ruminant or swine, other than meat and articles regulated under part...

14 CFR Appendix K to Part 25 - Extended Operations (ETOPS)

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... comply with this appendix, the applicant must demonstrate that: (1) The reliability of the APU is... constraints, and ETOPS approval in a CMP document. K25.1.7Airplane flight manual. The airplane flight manual... cargo or baggage compartments. (e) This statement: “The type-design reliability and performance of this...

9 CFR 94.11 - Restrictions on importation of meat and other animal products from specified regions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... animal products, and ship stores, airplane meals, and baggage containing such meat or animal products... carcass of any ruminant or swine, other than meat and articles regulated under part 95 or 96 of this... conveyance that will bring the article to the United States in a manner to preclude its being commingled or...

76 FR 31499 - Lists of Regions Classified With Respect to Certain Animal Diseases and States Approved To...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-01

... specified regions. (a) The meat of ruminants or swine, and other animal products, and ship stores, airplane... all parts of the carcass of any ruminant or swine, other than meat and articles regulated under part.... (a) The pork or pork products and ship's stores, airplane meals, and baggage containing pork or pork...

21 CFR 1020.40 - Cabinet x-ray systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cabinet x-ray systems. 1020.40 Section 1020.40 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED... are all x-ray systems designed primarily for the inspection of carry-on baggage at airline, railroad...

X-ray diffraction imaging with the Multiple Inverse Fan Beam topology: Principles, performance and potential for security screening

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harding, G., E-mail: Geoffrey.Harding@Morphodetection.com [Morpho Detection Germany GmbH, Heselstuecken 3, 22453 Hamburg (Germany); Fleckenstein, H.; Kosciesza, D.; Olesinski, S.; Strecker, H.; Theedt, T.; Zienert, G. [Morpho Detection Germany GmbH, Heselstuecken 3, 22453 Hamburg (Germany)

2012-07-15

The steadily increasing number of explosive threat classes, including home-made explosives (HMEs), liquids, amorphous and gels (LAGs), is forcing up the false-alarm rates of security screening equipment. This development can best be countered by increasing the number of features available for classification. X-ray diffraction intrinsically offers multiple features for both solid and LAGs explosive detection, and is thus becoming increasingly important for false-alarm and cost reduction in both carry-on and checked baggage security screening. Following a brief introduction to X-ray diffraction imaging (XDI), which synthesizes in a single modality the image-forming and material-analysis capabilities of X-rays, the Multiple Inverse Fan Beam (MIFB) XDI topology is described. Physical relationships obtaining in such MIFB XDI components as the radiation source, collimators and room-temperature detectors are presented with experimental performances that have been achieved. Representative X-ray diffraction profiles of threat substances measured with a laboratory MIFB XDI system are displayed. The performance of Next-Generation (MIFB) XDI relative to that of the 2nd Generation XRD 3500{sup TM} screener (Morpho Detection Germany GmbH) is assessed. The potential of MIFB XDI, both for reducing the exorbitant cost of false alarms in hold baggage screening (HBS), as well as for combining 'in situ' liquid and solid explosive detection in carry-on luggage screening is outlined. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer X-ray diffraction imaging (XDI) synthesizes analysis and imaging in one x-ray modality. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A novel XDI beam topology comprising multiple inverse fan-beams (MIFB) is described. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The MIFB topology is technically easy to realize and has high photon collection efficiency. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Applications are envisaged in checkpoint, hold baggage and cargo screening.

Fantastic Fauve Faces

Science.gov (United States)

Nessom, Jennifer

2010-01-01

The wonderful book, "How Are You Peeling? Foods with Moods" by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers inspired a lesson on feelings and expressions for this author's second-grade students. Many students at her school have difficult lives and lots of emotional baggage, resulting in behavioral problems at school. Using the example of Fauvist portraits by…

Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Explosive Detection Technology

Science.gov (United States)

1992-05-01

is not too difficult in itself. The hard pat also determine wether changing throughput affects is do n ting h madasW nd deciding which m detectim. We...unaccompanied 9. Yeaple, Judith , "The Bomb Catchers", Popular baggage is safe to load on the aircraft, must be Science, October 1991. examined in their

some remarks on nouns' participation in Bantu languages syntactic

African Journals Online (AJOL)

is 6 and in it we sum up the main arguments of the entire paper1. 2.0 Revisiting the basic ... unique linguistic baggage – in particular its definition in lexicographic studies, its classification ...... Bosch (1985) as quoted by Canonici (1995:13) gives the ...... “A Lexical Mapping Theory Account of the Applicative and Causative ...

Radar Doppler Processing with Nonuniform Sampling.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doerry, Armin W. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-07-01

Conventional signal processing to estimate radar Doppler frequency often assumes uniform pulse/sample spacing. This is for the convenience of t he processing. More recent performance enhancements in processor capability allow optimally processing nonuniform pulse/sample spacing, thereby overcoming some of the baggage that attends uniform sampling, such as Doppler ambiguity and SNR losses due to sidelobe control measures.

Embracing Racism: Understanding Its Pervasiveness & Persistence

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Gary L.

2012-01-01

The legacy of slavery and racism in America and the history of what John C. Calhoun and other Southern leaders of the 1800s called "our peculiar institution" has not gone unnoticed. Neither has the psychological damage that remains as baggage carried by the descendents of both the slave and the slave owner (Berry & Blassingame, 1982;…

What Happens in the Library…

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brett Bonfield

2008-10-01

Full Text Available In 1968, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, a couple of newlywed architects, had the humility to laugh with Las Vegas rather than at it. A few years earlier, Tom Wolfe had written, Las Vegas has become, just as Bugsy Siegel dreamed, the American Monte Carlo-without any of the inevitable upper-class baggage of the casinos… [...

14 CFR 121.314 - Cargo and baggage compartments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

...: (a) Each Class C or Class D compartment, as defined in § 25.857 of this Chapter in effect on June 16, 1986 (see Appendix L to this part), that is greater than 200 cubic feet in volume must have ceiling and sidewall liner panels which are constructed of: (1) Glass fiber reinforced resin; (2) Materials which meet...

Energy Storage Devices as Prime Power Supplies for Low Energy, High Voltage Marx Generators

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-30

Baggage Incidents Involving Smoke , Fire , Extreme Heat or Explosion’, http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ash/ash_programs/hazmat...Electrochemical Battery Chemistries There are countless research papers published in the open literature documenting the development, fabrication , aging...the ability to form a high density spinel structure, see Figure 5, which can reduce the internal resistance of the cell. Varying the ratios of the

RFID Applications: An Introductory and Exploratory Study

OpenAIRE

Hanifa Shah; Kamran Ahsan; Paul Kingston

2010-01-01

RFID is not a new technology and has passed through many decades of use in military, airline, library, security, healthcare, sports, animal farms and other areas. Industries use RFID for various applications such as personal/vehicle access control, departmental store security, equipment tracking, baggage, fast food establishments, logistics, etc. The enhancement in RFID technology has brought advantages that are related to resource optimization, increased efficiency within business processes,...

Economic analysis of direct hydrogen PEM fuel cells in three near-term markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahadevan, K.; Stone, H.; Judd, K.; Paul, D.

2007-01-01

Direct hydrogen polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (H-PEMFCs) offer several near-term opportunities including backup power applications in state and local agencies of emergency response; forklifts in high throughput distribution centers; and, airport ground support equipment. This paper presented an analysis of the market requirements for introducing H-PEMFCs successfully, as well as an analysis of the lifecycle costs of H-PEMFCs and competing alternatives in three near-term markets. It also used three scenarios as examples of the potential for market penetration of H-PEMFCs. For each of the three potential opportunities, the paper presented the market requirements, a lifecycle cost analysis, and net present value of the lifecycle costs. A sensitivity analysis of the net present value of the lifecycle costs and of the average annual cost of owning and operating each of the H-PEMFC opportunities was also conducted. It was concluded that H-PEMFC-powered pallet trucks in high-productivity environments represented a promising early opportunity. However, the value of H-PEMFC-powered forklifts compared to existing alternatives was reduced for applications with lower hours of operation and declining labor rates. In addition, H-PEMFC-powered baggage tractors in airports were more expensive than battery-powered baggage tractors on a lifecycle cost basis. 9 tabs., 4 figs

Hepatic transporter drug-drug interactions: an evaluation of approaches and methodologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Beth; Riley, Robert J

2017-12-01

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) continue to account for 5% of hospital admissions and therefore remain a major regulatory concern. Effective, quantitative prediction of DDIs will reduce unexpected clinical findings and encourage projects to frontload DDI investigations rather than concentrating on risk management ('manage the baggage') later in drug development. A key challenge in DDI prediction is the discrepancies between reported models. Areas covered: The current synopsis focuses on four recent influential publications on hepatic drug transporter DDIs using static models that tackle interactions with individual transporters and in combination with other drug transporters and metabolising enzymes. These models vary in their assumptions (including input parameters), transparency, reproducibility and complexity. In this review, these facets are compared and contrasted with recommendations made as to their application. Expert opinion: Over the past decade, static models have evolved from simple [I]/k i models to incorporate victim and perpetrator disposition mechanisms including the absorption rate constant, the fraction of the drug metabolised/eliminated and/or clearance concepts. Nonetheless, models that comprise additional parameters and complexity do not necessarily out-perform simpler models with fewer inputs. Further, consideration of the property space to exploit some drug target classes has also highlighted the fine balance required between frontloading and back-loading studies to design out or 'manage the baggage'.

SOR/72-43 Radiation Emitting Devices Regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1972-01-01

These Regulations of 10 February 1972, supplemented by SOR/77-895, lay down the classes of radiation emitting devices for the purposes of the Radiation Emitting Devices Act. They lay down their standards of design and construction and warning sign specifications and provide for the procedure to be followed by inspectors of such devices. The devices include inter alia extra-oral dental x-ray equipment, baggage inspection x-ray devices, laser scanners, television receivers. (NEA)

Accelerator-Detector Complex for Photonuclear Detection of Hidden Explosives Final Report CRADA No. TC2065.0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lowdermilk, W. H. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Brothers, L. J. [Valley Forge Composite Technologies, Inc., Covington, KY (United States)

2017-09-06

This was a collaborative effort by Lawrence Livermore National Security (formerly the University of California)/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Valley Forge Composite Technologies, Inc., and the following Russian Institutes: P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute (LPI), Innovative Technologies Center.(AUO CIT), Central Design Bureau-Almas (CDB Almaz), Moscow Instrument Automation Research Institute, and Institute for High Energy Physics (IBEP) to develop equipment and procedures for detecting explosive materials concealed in airline checked baggage and cargo.

An empirical fast-neutron technique for detection of explosive-like materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussein, E.M.A.; Lord, P.M.; Bot, D.L.

1990-01-01

A method for detecting explosives in airport baggage using fast-neutron scattering and transmission measurements is presented. Ammonium nitrate (a commercial fertilizer) is used in the laboratory to simulate an explosive-like substance. The measurements are combined in Cartesian maps of normalized pairs of measurements. The existence of fertilizer manifests itself in these maps within a distinct region which is not significantly altered by the presence of surrounding materials. Monte Carlo simulations further confirm this phenomenon. (orig.)

Quantum Physics and Human Language

OpenAIRE

Hartle, James B.

2006-01-01

Human languages employ constructions that tacitly assume specific properties of the limited range of phenomena they evolved to describe. These assumed properties are true features of that limited context, but may not be general or precise properties of all the physical situations allowed by fundamental physics. In brief, human languages contain `excess baggage' that must be qualified, discarded, or otherwise reformed to give a clear account in the context of fundamental physics of even the ev...

Setting the stage: workshops and group interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bødker, Susanne; Kyng, Morten; Greenbaum, Joan

1991-01-01

involved in the design process. Morten Kyng   In the Fall of 1986, I was invited to Aarhus University, Denmark to teach a course on system development. Packed deep in my baggage, along with the chaos of traveling with my children and my dog, was the fear of not finding a textbook that could begin...... could never fill the void between the rich experiences of practitioners and the inquisitive world of students eager to begin building their own experiences....

An analysis of ongoing trends in airline ancillary revenues

OpenAIRE

Warnock-Smith, David; O'Connell, John F.; Maleki, Mahnaz

2017-01-01

This paper examines the performance of the two core classifications of airline ancillary revenues, which are unbundled products and commission based income. It also investigates the willingness of passengers to pay (WTP) for these services together with what type of ancillary items are acceptable at a particular price point. The study found that passengers value a narrow range of perceived ‘necessity’ products and services such as food and drink, checked baggage and seat assignment as opposed...

77 FR 25105 - Reporting of Ancillary Airline Passenger Revenues

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-27

...This document announces a public meeting on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued on July 15, 2011. The NPRM proposed changes regarding reporting of airline ancillary passenger revenues, computation of mishandled baggage rates, and collection of separate statistics for mishandled wheelchairs and scooters used by passengers with disabilities. During the public meeting, DOT staff will provide a summary of the proposals in the NPRM and seek input on costs and benefits associated with the implementation of the proposals.

X-ray diffraction imaging with the Multiple Inverse Fan Beam topology: principles, performance and potential for security screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Harding, G; Fleckenstein, H; Kosciesza, D; Olesinski, S; Strecker, H; Theedt, T; Zienert, G

2012-07-01

The steadily increasing number of explosive threat classes, including home-made explosives (HMEs), liquids, amorphous and gels (LAGs), is forcing up the false-alarm rates of security screening equipment. This development can best be countered by increasing the number of features available for classification. X-ray diffraction intrinsically offers multiple features for both solid and LAGs explosive detection, and is thus becoming increasingly important for false-alarm and cost reduction in both carry-on and checked baggage security screening. Following a brief introduction to X-ray diffraction imaging (XDI), which synthesizes in a single modality the image-forming and material-analysis capabilities of X-rays, the Multiple Inverse Fan Beam (MIFB) XDI topology is described. Physical relationships obtaining in such MIFB XDI components as the radiation source, collimators and room-temperature detectors are presented with experimental performances that have been achieved. Representative X-ray diffraction profiles of threat substances measured with a laboratory MIFB XDI system are displayed. The performance of Next-Generation (MIFB) XDI relative to that of the 2nd Generation XRD 3500TM screener (Morpho Detection Germany GmbH) is assessed. The potential of MIFB XDI, both for reducing the exorbitant cost of false alarms in hold baggage screening (HBS), as well as for combining "in situ" liquid and solid explosive detection in carry-on luggage screening is outlined. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Making «art» in Prehistory: signs and figures of metaphorical paleolithic man

OpenAIRE

Fabio Martini

2015-01-01

We owe our first graphic experiences to Neanderthal Man, who introduced to the cultural baggage of the genus Homo two metaphorical behaviors that are fundamental in terms of their innovation: one concerns the preservation of the bodies of the dead through burial, the other is the making of signs, which in this stage of evolution do not yet represent recognizable subjects but only lines. This attests to the creation of a graphical tool that materializes and makes visible that which exists in t...

A TWO-STAGE MODEL OF RADIOLOGICAL INSPECTION: SPENDING TIME

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BROWN, W.S.

2000-01-01

The paper describes a model that visually portrays radiological survey performance as basic parameters (surveyor efficiency and criteria, duration of pause, and probe speed) are varied; field and laboratory tests provided typical parameter values. The model is used to illustrate how practical constraints on the time allotted to the task can affect radiological inspection performance. Similar analyses are applicable to a variety of other tasks (airport baggage inspection, and certain types of non-destructive testing) with similar characteristics and constraints

Narrativa cinematográfica y enseñanza del cine

OpenAIRE

Gómez Tarín, Francisco Javier

2007-01-01

There are approached in the text the problems that he supposes in a society as the current one fundamentally educated in the visual culture, to give teaching of a matter as Audiovisual Narrative in such a way that they take to themselves to end the necessary alterations of the initial baggage of the university student body and a constant work of learning in the practical activity. With this criterion, the educational line is crossed from the checkup of previous cultural parameters, to the pra...

Ochrana spotřebitele v letecké dopravě

OpenAIRE

Knotková, Martina

2008-01-01

The thesis is focused on dynamically developing field of the air transportation. It is based on rights and duties of airlines and consumers. It is mapping the most important current law moves of Czech Republic which has been changed and agreed for a consumer protection. It describes consumer rights in the case of a flight delay and cancellation, refusal of entry on the plane and in the case of baggage problems. It also touches the issues of advertised price of plane tickets. It is followed by...

A Middleware Architecture for RFID-enabled traceability of air baggage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bouhouche T.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available 1980 marked the start of a boom in radiofrequency identification (RFID technology, initially associated with a growing need for traceability. In view of the technological progress and lower costs, RFID’s area of application became much broader and, today, multiple business sectors take advantage of this technology. However, in order to achieve the maximum benefits of RFID technology, the data collected should be delivered in the best conditions to the whole applications that have need of its exploitation. For that, a dedicated middleware solution is required to ensure the collection of RFID data and their integration in information systems. The issues and key points of this integration as the description of the RFID technology will be summarized in the present paper, with a new middleware architecture. We focus mainly on components and the design of our middleware MedRFID, solution developed in our Lab, and which integrates mobility and provides extensibility, scalability, abstraction, ease of deployment and compatibility with IATA standards and EPCglobal standards. Moreover, we have developed an application (FindLuggage allowing a real time tracking of luggage in the airport, based on the proposed middleware MedRFID.

Effectiveness of the Civil Aviation Security Program.

Science.gov (United States)

1978-03-31

Passenger Screening Results 12. Scope of Civil Aviation Security Program 13. Basic Policies 14. Explosives Detection Dog Teams 15. Explosives Detection... policies guiding the program recognize airline responsibilities for the safety of passengers, baggage and cargo in their care as well as for the...U *i * (U U Los -7 .cn cf) 1-4 ~~LL _m e- Hf LMU 0- u,-C -oL -ccJLL LII -~ LLIOL 0 _ CL. LLJ cr-L LCnIJ C ~ ~ CnCD C. ) &j 2ic- nc r JL AJ -L JC C.- L

Command History. 1972-1973. Volume 2. Sanitized

Science.gov (United States)

1973-07-15

was de - ing processing Army DEROS flights, transporting veloped to handle the anticipated large number of baggage to and from the flight lines, and...VOLUME 11 B CIA IFIED CY 1 PAC F0 IG D EMN 0 EXE TED IF AMA NERA DE LASSIF A N EXEM E SY CINC CC \\’ opy ot󈨤 Cop~ies Iys BTAG pT ’’, 00- d 6,,’ 83-6 6-24...it nocoaam7 &WE Identity by black aiimiiw) Logistica , Support of RVNAF. Communications-Electronics, VNAF Support, Command Activities, The New Agencies

The Definitive Guide to SQLite

CERN Document Server

Owens, Mike

2010-01-01

Outside of the world of enterprise computing there is one database that enables a huge range of software and hardware to flex relational database capabilities, without the baggage and cost of traditional database management systems. That database is SQLite - an embeddable database with an amazingly small footprint, yet it can handle databases of enormous size. SQLite comes equipped with an array of powerful features available through a host of programming and development environments. It is supported by languages such as C, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, TCL, and more. The Definitive Guide to

PERLINDUNGAN HUKUM TERHADAP PENUMPANG DAN BARANG MILIK PENUMPANG DALAM JASA PENGANGKUTAN UDARA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mangara Pasaribu

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The arrangements regarding the legal protection of passengers and goods on the transport of air, is set out in legislation, agreements, and habits. The air transport law is keperdataan, the provision of air transport to be found in the laws of positive air in Indonesia are: Air Transportation Ordinance Stbl. 1939 No. 100, law No. 1 of 2009, and the Statute No. 8 1999. The responsibility of carrying on the safety of passengers and goods in the implementation of air transportation The principle of presumption of liability /presumtion of/ presumtion fault of negligence. The carrier is responsible for loss suffered by passengers or goods because the sender of a passenger wounded or killed, his baggage or damaged or lost, or damage to goods transfers and the delay in coming, while the principle of limitation of liability. The responsibility of the carrier is limited to a certain amount, this principle which encourages the carrier to resolve the problem by peaceful means. And the principle of absolute liability or strict liability. The carrier is considered to be always responsible without any possibility of freeing themselves unless the aggrieved innocent or were responsible for the losses on him. Compensation given by air carriers is a number of nominal value of money as a form of responsibility for accidents that caused deaths or injuries, lost baggage and flight delays. Legal efforts for passenger who feel or losses can file a lawsuit or claim to the airline, lawsuit or dispute settlement can be reached through two channels, namely the courts and lanes outside the court.

Gallic acid formation from gallotannins-rich agricultural wastes using Aspergillus niger AUMC 4301 or its tannase enzyme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Fouly, M.Z.; Shahin, A.A.M.; El-Bialy, H.A.; El-Saeed, Gh.E.; El-Awamry, Z.; Naeem, E.

2012-01-01

Gallic acid is used in many fields including dye-making, leather and chemical industries. Seven agricultural wastes were chosen for their high gallotannin content. They were apple baggages, green tea waste, mango seed kernel, olive mill, palm kernel cake, peat moss and tamarind. Each waste was used as a carbon source instead of tannic acid in the fermentation medium. Some agricultural wastes under investigation were already contain free gallic acid especially mango seed kernel followed by green tea waste, while olive mill, peat moss and tamarind were found to be free from gallic acid. The highest concentration of liberated gallic acid from wastes fermented by A. niger AUMC 4301 was occurred at the third day of fermentation. After 72 h, a sharp decrease in gallic acid accumulation was noticed. To overcome this sharp decrease, agricultural wastes were treated with extracellular crude A. niger tannase directly in stead of tannase producer. The concentration of gallic acid increased gradually and reached its maximum at 18 h incubation in case of apple baggages, green tea waste and palm kernel cake. On the other hand, gallic acid production was delayed for a lag period (12-18) h depends on the complexity of used agriculture waste. To increase the tannase productivity by A. niger AUMC 4301, the producer fungus was irradiated by different doses of γ rays, D10 value was 0.81 kGy. Radiation dose 0.5 kGy shows a positive effect on tannase productivity. An experiment examined the change in amino acid profile between irradiated and unirradiated A. niger AUMC 4301 was also conducted.

Reversals of national fortune, and social science methodologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Diamond, Jared

2014-12-16

Among non-European regions colonized by Europeans, regions that were relatively richer five centuries ago (like Mexico, Peru, and India) tend to be poorer today, while regions that originally were relatively poorer (like the United States, Chile, and Australia) tend now to be richer. Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (abbreviated AJR) established the generality of this reversal of fortune. Chanda, Cook, and Putterman (abbreviated CCP) have now reanalyzed it, taking as a unit of analysis populations rather than geographic regions. That is, India's population was Indian 500 y ago and is still overwhelmingly Indian today, whereas the United States' population was Native American 500 years ago but is overwhelmingly Old World (especially European) today. Reversals of fortune disappeared when CCP analyzed populations rather than geographic regions: for instance, the geographic region of the modern United States has become relatively richer since AD 1500, but the predominantly European population now occupying the United States was already relatively rich in AD 1500. Evidently, European colonists carried ingredients of wealth with them. I discuss the biological and cultural baggage transported by European immigrants and associated with wealth. Among that baggage, AJR emphasize institutions, CCP emphasize social capital, and I identify many different elements only loosely coupled to each other. This paper discusses the problem, especially acute in the social sciences, of "operationalizing" intuitive concepts (such as mass, temperature, wealth, and innovation) so that they can be measured. Basic concepts tend to be harder to define, operationalize, and measure in the social sciences than in the laboratory sciences.

Radioactivities of Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) materials: Baggage and bonanzas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, A.R.; Hurley, D.L.

1991-08-01

Radioactivities in materials onboard the returned Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) satellite have been studied by a variety of techniques. Among the most powerful is low-background Ge-semiconductor detector gamma-ray spectrometry, illustrated here by results obtained at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's (LBL) Low Bakground Facilities, in a multi-laboratory collaboration coordinated by Dr. Thomas Parnell's team at the Marshall Spacecraft Center, Huntsville, Alabama

Hidden explosives detector employing pulsed neutron and x-ray interrogation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultz, F.J.; Caldwell, J.T.

1993-01-01

Methods and systems for the detection of small amounts of modern, highly-explosive nitrogen-based explosives, such as plastic explosives, hidden in airline baggage. Several techniques are employed either individually or combined in a hybrid system. One technique employed in combination is X-ray imaging. Another technique is interrogation with a pulsed neutron source in a two-phase mode of operation to image both nitrogen and oxygen densities. Another technique employed in combination is neutron interrogation to form a hydrogen density image or three-dimensional map. In addition, deliberately-placed neutron-absorbing materials can be detected

Hidden explosives detector employing pulsed neutron and x-ray interrogation

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, Frederick J.; Caldwell, John T.

1993-01-01

Methods and systems for the detection of small amounts of modern, highly-explosive nitrogen-based explosives, such as plastic explosives, hidden in airline baggage. Several techniques are employed either individually or combined in a hybrid system. One technique employed in combination is X-ray imaging. Another technique is interrogation with a pulsed neutron source in a two-phase mode of operation to image both nitrogen and oxygen densities. Another technique employed in combination is neutron interrogation to form a hydrogen density image or three-dimensional map. In addition, deliberately-placed neutron-absorbing materials can be detected.

Analytical applications of neutron capture gamma-rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindstrom, R.M.; Paul, R.L.; Anderson, D.L.; Paul, R.L.

1997-01-01

Field and industrial applications of neutron capture gamma-ray spectrometry with isotopic sources or neutron generators are economically important. Geochemical exploration in boreholes is done routinely with neutron probes. Coal and ores are assayed with analyzers adjacent to a conveyor belt in dozens of industrial facilities. The use of capture gamma rays for explosives detection has been described in the literature, both for scanning airline baggage and for characterizing obsolete munitions; a packaged system for the latter is available commercially. Generalizations are drawn from the history of the field, and predictions are made about the future usefulness of capture gamma rays. (author)

Promoting radiation protection and safety for X-ray inspection systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maharaj, Harri P.

2008-01-01

This paper aims to present a regulatory perspective on radiation protection and safety relevant to facilities utilizing baggage X-ray inspection systems. Over the past several years there has been rapid growth in the acquisition and utilization of X-ray tube based inspection systems for security screening purposes worldwide. In addition to ensuring compliance with prescribed standards applicable to such X-ray systems, facilities subject to federal jurisdiction in Canada are required to comply with established codes of practice, which, not only are in accordance with occupational health and safety legislation but also are consistent with international guidance. Overall, these measures are aimed at reducing radiation risks and adverse health effects. Data, acquired in the past several years in a number of facilities through various instruments, namely, monitoring and surveillance, radiation safety audits, onsite evaluations, device registration processes and information developed, were considered in conjunction with detrimental traits. Changes are necessary to reduce radiation and safety risks from both an ALARA point of view and an accountability perspective. Establishing, developing, implementing and following a radiation protection program is warranted and advocated. Minimally, such a program shall be managed by a radiation safety officer. It shall promote and sustain a radiation safety culture in the workplace; shall ensure properly qualified individuals operate and service the X-ray systems in accordance with established and authorized procedures; and shall incorporate data recording and life cycle management principles. Such a program should be the norm for a facility that utilizes baggage X-ray inspection systems for security purposes, and it shall be subject to continuous regulatory oversight. (author)

Darwin: German mystic or French rationalist?

Science.gov (United States)

Ghiselin, Michael T

2015-01-01

The notion that Charles Darwin embraced the German Romantic tradition seems plausible, given the early influence of Alexander von Humboldt. But this view fails to do justice to other scientific traditions. Darwin was a protégé of the Englishman John Stevens Henslow and was a follower of the Scott Charles Lyell. He had important debts to French scientists, notably Henri Milne-Edwards, Etienne and Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, and Alphonse de Candolle. Many Germans were quite supportive of Darwin, but not all of these were encumbered by idealistic metaphysical baggage. Both Darwin and Anton Dohrn treated science as very much a cosmopolitan enterprise.

Application of Principal Component Analysis in Prompt Gamma Spectra for Material Sorting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Im, Hee Jung; Lee, Yun Hee; Song, Byoung Chul; Park, Yong Joon; Kim, Won Ho

2006-11-15

For the detection of illicit materials in a very short time by comparing unknown samples' gamma spectra to pre-programmed material signatures, we at first, selected a method to reduce the noise of the obtained gamma spectra. After a noise reduction, a pattern recognition technique was applied to discriminate the illicit materials from the innocuous materials in the noise reduced data. Principal component analysis was applied for a noise reduction and pattern recognition in prompt gamma spectra. A computer program for the detection of illicit materials based on PCA method was developed in our lab and can be applied to the PGNAA system for the baggage checking at all ports of entry at a very short time.

Image processing techniques for thermal, x-rays and nuclear radiations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chadda, V.K.

1998-01-01

The paper describes image acquisition techniques for the non-visible range of electromagnetic spectrum especially thermal, x-rays and nuclear radiations. Thermal imaging systems are valuable tools used for applications ranging from PCB inspection, hot spot studies, fire identification, satellite imaging to defense applications. Penetrating radiations like x-rays and gamma rays are used in NDT, baggage inspection, CAT scan, cardiology, radiography, nuclear medicine etc. Neutron radiography compliments conventional x-rays and gamma radiography. For these applications, image processing and computed tomography are employed for 2-D and 3-D image interpretation respectively. The paper also covers main features of image processing systems for quantitative evaluation of gray level and binary images. (author)

Excess Baggage for Birds: Inappropriate Placement of Tags on Gannets Changes Flight Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Vandenabeele, Sylvie P.; Grundy, Edward; Friswell, Michael I.; Grogan, Adam; Votier, Stephen C.; Wilson, Rory P.

2014-01-01

Devices attached to flying birds can hugely enhance our understanding of their behavioural ecology for periods when they cannot be observed directly. For this, scientists routinely attach units to either birds' backs or their tails. However, inappropriate payload distribution is critical in aircraft and, since birds and planes are subject to the same laws of physics during flight, we considered aircraft aerodynamic constraints to explain flight patterns displayed by northern gannets Sula bassana equipped with (small ca. 14 g) tail- and back-mounted accelerometers and (larger ca. 30 g) tail-mounted GPS units. Tail-mounted GPS-fitted birds showed significantly higher cumulative numbers of flap-glide cycles and a higher pitch angle of the tail than accelerometer-equipped birds, indicating problems with balancing inappropriately placed weights with knock-on consequences relating to energy expenditure. These problems can be addressed by carefully choosing where to place tags on birds according to the mass of the tags and the lifestyle of the subject species. PMID:24671007

Doha Round Baggage: Implications for Economic Reforms in Pakistan and other Southern Countries

OpenAIRE

Naheed Zia Khan

2007-01-01

This study is based on the premisethat agriculture remains the key issue in all reform efforts of Pakistanand the Doha Round of trade talks has strategic significance for the second round of the country’s farm sector reforms. It is argued that although there are differences among the individual developing countries, the majority have a comparative advantage in agricultural production and removing farmsector export subsidies and trade-distorting, domestic subsidies is their common concern. Evi...

Radiation emitting devices regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1970-01-01

The Radiation Emitting Devices Regulations are the regulations referred to in the Radiation Emitting Devices Act and relate to the operation of devices. They include standards of design and construction, standards of functioning, warning symbol specifications in addition to information relating to the seizure and detention of machines failing to comply with the regulations. The radiation emitting devices consist of the following: television receivers, extra-oral dental x-ray equipment, microwave ovens, baggage inspection x-ray devices, demonstration--type gas discharge devices, photofluorographic x-ray equipment, laser scanners, demonstration lasers, low energy electron microscopes, high intensity mercury vapour discharge lamps, sunlamps, diagnostic x-ray equipment, ultrasound therapy devices, x-ray diffraction equipment, cabinet x-ray equipment and therapeutic x-ray equipment

Simulation study of pedestrian flow in a station hall during the Spring Festival travel rush

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lei; Zhang, Qian; Cai, Yun; Zhang, Jianlin; Ma, Qingguo

2013-05-01

The Spring Festival is the most important festival in China. How can passengers go home smoothly and quickly during the Spring Festival travel rush, especially when emergencies of terrible winter weather happen? By modifying the social force model, we simulated the pedestrian flow in a station hall. The simulation revealed casualties happened when passengers escaped from panic induced by crowd turbulence. The results suggest that passenger numbers, ticket checking patterns, baggage volumes, and anxiety can affect the speed of passing through the waiting corridor. Our approach is meaningful in understanding the feature of a crowd moving and can be served to reproduce mass events. Therefore, it not only develops a realistic modeling of pedestrian flow but also is important for a better preparation of emergency management.

Paper trails, trailing behind: improving informed consent to IVF through multimedia applications

Science.gov (United States)

Madeira, Jody Lyneé; Andraka-Christou, Barbara

2016-01-01

Though intended to educate patients on the risks, benefits, side effects and alternatives within medical treatment, informed consent documents may have unanticipated consequences for patients. Patients may regard these forms as little more than a ritual to access treatment. Or patients may perceive that these forms exist to protect doctors rather than to contribute to a meaningful, patient-protective educational interaction. To rehabilitate the informed consent project, this essay considers the baggage that informed consent documents have acquired through practical use, explores patients' and providers' lived experience of informed consent, and considers whether a multimedia consent application would be a viable solution to the various difficulties that currently erode perceptions of and confidence in the informed consent process. PMID:27774231

Trichinella spp. imported with live animals and meat.

Science.gov (United States)

Pozio, Edoardo

2015-09-30

Nematodes of the genus Trichinella are widely distributed throughout the world in omnivorous and carnivorous animals (mammals, birds, and reptiles) and in incidental hosts. To prevent the transmission of these zoonotic parasites to humans, meat samples from Trichinella spp. susceptible animals are tested at the slaughterhouse or in game processing plants. The aim of the present review was to collect documented cases on Trichinella infected animals, meat, or meat derived products which reached the international trade or were illegally introduced from one to another country in personal baggage. In the course of the last 60 years in the international literature, there have been 43 reports of importation of Trichinella spp. infected animals or meat, most of which (60%, 26/43) related to live horses or their meat. Meat or meat derived products from pigs, wild boar and bears, account only for 18.6% (8/43), 4.7% (3/43), and 14.3% (6/43), respectively. However, only live horses or their meat intended for human consumption, meat from a single wild boar, and live polar bears caught in the wild for zoos, were imported through the international market; whereas, meat from pigs, wild boars and bears were illegally introduced in a country in personal baggage. Trichinella infected animals or meat which were officially or illegally introduced in a country were the source of 3443 Trichinella infections in humans in a 40-year period (1975-2014). Most of these infections (96.8%) have been linked to horsemeat consumption, whereas meat from pigs, wild boars and bears accounted only for 2.2%, 0.7% and 0.3% of cases, respectively. This review shows the Trichinella spp. risk in the international animal and meat trade has been linked mainly to horses and only one time to wild boar, if they carcasses are not adequately tested, whereas pigs and other wild animals or their derived products infected with Trichinella spp. are unlikely to reach the international market by the official animal and

AsMA Medical Guidelines for Air Travel: stresses of flight.

Science.gov (United States)

Thibeault, Claude; Evans, Anthony D

2015-05-01

Medical Guidelines for Airline Travel provide information that enables healthcare providers to properly advise patients who plan to travel by air. Modern commercial aircraft are very safe and, in most cases, reasonably comfortable. However, all flights, short or long haul, impose stresses on passengers. Preflight stresses include airport commotion on the ground such as carrying baggage, walking long distances, getting to the gate on time, and being delayed. In-flight stresses include acceleration, vibration (including turbulence), noise, lowered barometric pressure, variations of temperature and humidity, and fatigue among others. Healthy passengers normally tolerate these stresses quite well; however, there is the potential for passengers to become ill during or after the flight due to these stresses, especially for those with pre-existing medical conditions and reduced physiological reserves.

Quantum physics and human language

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartle, James B

2007-01-01

Human languages employ constructions that tacitly assume specific properties of the limited range of phenomena they evolved to describe. These assumed properties are true features of that limited context, but may not be general or precise properties of all the physical situations allowed by fundamental physics. In brief, human languages contain 'excess baggage' that must be qualified, discarded, or otherwise reformed to give a clear account in the context of fundamental physics of even the everyday phenomena that the languages evolved to describe. The surest route to clarity is to express the constructions of human languages in the language of fundamental physical theory, not the other way around. These ideas are illustrated by an analysis of the verb 'to happen' and the word 'reality' in special relativity and the modern quantum mechanics of closed systems

The temporolimbic system theory of paranoid schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Casanova, M F

1997-01-01

The hippocampus serves as a funnel for heavily processed sensory information that has converged at the entorhinal cortex. Lesions of the hippocampus do not alter incoming sensory or motor information but, rather, alter their integration with our baggage of emotional experiences and social values. According to Bogerts, such a lesion would be ideally situated to result in laboriously processed sensory information that is out of context to our outside environment. In this regard, Bogerts describes the pathological findings of a patient with a gross delusional disorder. The salient finding at autopsy was a developmental lesion in the left posterior parahippocampal gyrus. Although a number of lesions have been described in the brains of patients with schizophrenia, Bogerts believes that those in the limbic system appear critical to the expression of paranoid symptoms.

Flight service evaluation of composite components on the Bell Helicopter model 206L: Design, fabrication and testing

Science.gov (United States)

Zinberg, H.

1982-01-01

The design, fabrication, and testing phases of a program to obtain long term flight service experience on representative helicopter airframe structural components operating in typical commercial environments are described. The aircraft chosen is the Bell Helicopter Model 206L. The structural components are the forward fairing, litter door, baggage door, and vertical fin. The advanced composite components were designed to replace the production parts in the field and were certified by the FAA to be operable through the full flight envelope of the 206L. A description of the fabrication process that was used for each of the components is given. Static failing load tests on all components were done. In addition fatigue tests were run on four specimens that simulated the attachment of the vertical fin to the helicopter's tail boom.

Undeclared baggage: Do tourists act as vectors for seed dispersal in fynbos protected areas?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth H. Bouchard

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Encroachment by alien species is the second greatest threat to biodiversity worldwide. As South Africa’s Cape Floristic Region has a botanical endemism of nearly 70%, conservation efforts are a high priority. Estimates suggest that alien species cost the country over R6.5 billion per year. Despite significant research on alien species dispersal, the role of tourists as seed dispersers requires further exploration. To investigate the potential role tourists play in introducing alien seeds into protected areas, long-bristle brushes were used to scrape seeds off the shoes of hikers, dog walkers and cyclists, as well as the wheels of mountain bikes and dogs themselves, upon entering the Silvermine Nature Reserve section of the Table Mountain National Park in the Western Cape province, South Africa. In addition, a vegetation survey was conducted. This comprised 18 transects at various distances from the recreational paths in the park, and used a prioritisation ranking system that identified the alien species of greatest concern. It was concluded that the greatest number of alien plant species could be found along dog paths, in comparison to the hiking trails and cycling trails. This corresponded to the findings that dog walkers had the highest incidence of seeds on their shoes, suggesting that tourists were possibly dispersing seeds from their gardens. Alien species significantly covered more of the vegetation transects closer to the trails than they did in transects further into the matrix. Because more alien species were present in areas susceptible to human disturbance, the data suggest that tourists can act as vectors for alien seed dispersal. These findings emphasise the need for active tourism management in line with the South African National Parks Biodiversity Monitoring Programme in order to prevent the introduction and spread of alien species into South Africa’s protected areas. Conservation implications: Tourism is the main source of revenue for South African National Parks, and one of the organisation’s principal goals is to create a tourism management policy conducive to conservation. This research explores the potential role that tourists may play in the introduction of non-native species into a protected area, thereby providing novel information that could assist managers in the sustainable management of protected areas.

Oral Trauma and Tooth Avulsion Following Explosion of E-Cigarette.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogér, James M; Abayon, Maricelle; Elad, Sharon; Kolokythas, Antonia

2016-06-01

Electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes), or personal vaporizers, were introduced in 2003 and have been available in the United States since 2007. In addition to the health and safety concerns of the aerosol delivery of nicotine through E-cigarettes, during the past 8 years, reports of explosions and fires caused by the E-cigarette devices have led the US Fire Administration to evaluate the safety of these devices. These explosions have been observed frequently enough that the US Department of Transportation has recently banned E-cigarette devices in checked baggage aboard airplanes. This report contributes to existing knowledge about the hazards related to E-cigarettes by describing oral hard and soft tissue injuries from an E-cigarette explosion. Copyright © 2016 The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Occupational exposure to ultrafine particles among airport employees--combining personal monitoring and global positioning system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Karina Lauenborg; Thygesen, Lau Caspar; Schipperijn, Jasper

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) has been linked to cardiovascular and lung diseases. Combustion of jet fuel and diesel powered handling equipment emit UFP resulting in potentially high exposure levels among employees working at airports. High levels of UFP have been reported...... at several airports, especially on the apron, but knowledge on individual exposure profiles among different occupational groups working at an airport is lacking. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare personal exposure to UFP among five different occupational groups working at Copenhagen Airport (CPH......). METHOD: 30 employees from five different occupational groups (baggage handlers, catering drivers, cleaning staff and airside and landside security) at CPH were instructed to wear a personal monitor of particle number concentration in real time and a GPS device. The measurements were carried out on 8 days...

Observational learning and workplace safety: the effects of viewing the collective behavior of multiple social models on the use of personal protective equipment.

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Ryan; Grosshuesch, Ariel; Schmidt, Sara; Gray, Mary; Wipfli, Bradley

2009-10-01

The current project evaluated the effects of the collective behavior of multiple social models on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Prior to completing a simulated baggage-screening task, participants (N=64) watched a scripted training video that included three confederate trainees. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four manipulations, where different proportions of confederates were shown putting on over-ear sound mufflers before starting the task (0, 1, 2, or 3). White noise played at 70 decibels in the test room, and PPE use was observed unobtrusively through a lab window at five time intervals. The mean intervals of PPE use generally increased as the number of positive social models increased (0=0.63, 1=0.50, 2=1.25, 3=3.06), and differences between groups were significant [chi(2) (3, N=64)=14.92, preinforcement for compliance.

Evaluation of an improved air distribution system for aircraft cabin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pang, Liping; Xu, Jie; Fang, Lei

2013-01-01

An improved air distribution system for aircraft cabin was proposed in this paper. Personalized outlets were introduced and placed at the bottom of the baggage hold. Its ratio of fresh air to recirculation air and the conditioned temperature of different types of inlets were also designed carefully...... to meet the goals of high air quality, thermal comfort and energy saving. Some experiments were conducted to evaluate and compare its performances with two other systems. First the Flow Visualization with Green Laser (FVGL) technology was used to analyze the air flow. The top-in-side bottom-out pattern...... may have the disadvantages of an indirect path to deliver fresh air to passengers, a low fresh air utilization ratio and the potential to widely spreading airborne infectious diseases. The bottom-in-top-out pattern can overcome these disadvantages very well, but it also faces the stratification...

Elementary Particles and the Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Schwarz, John H.

2005-07-01

1. Excess baggage J. Hartle; 2. Through the clouds E. Witten; 3. Covariant foundations of the superparticle L. Brink; 4. Chiral symmetry and confinement T. Goldman; 5. The original fifth interaction Y. Neeman; 6. The mass hierarchy of leptons and quarks H. Fritzsch; 7. Spacetime duality in string theory J. H. Schwarz; 8. Symmetry and quasi-symmetry Y. Nambu; 9. On an exceptional non-associative superspace M. Gunaydin; 10. Algebra of reparametrization-invariant and normal ordered operators in open string field theory P. Ramond; 11. Superconductivity of an ideal charged boson system T. D. Lee; 12. Some remarks on the symmetry approach to nuclear rotational motion L. C. Biedebharn and P. Truini; 13. Uncomputability, intractability and the efficiency of heat engines S. Lloyd; 14. The new mathematical physics I. Singer; 15. For the birds V. Telegdi; 16. Gell-Mann's approach to physics A. Salam; 17. Remarks M. Goldberger.

Transferring x-ray based automated threat detection between scanners with different energies and resolution

Science.gov (United States)

Caldwell, M.; Ransley, M.; Rogers, T. W.; Griffin, L. D.

2017-10-01

A significant obstacle to developing high performance Deep Learning algorithms for Automated Threat Detection (ATD) in security X-ray imagery, is the difficulty of obtaining large training datasets. In our previous work, we circumvented this problem for ATD in cargo containers, using Threat Image Projection and data augmentation. In this work, we investigate whether data scarcity for other modalities, such as parcels and baggage, can be ameliorated by transforming data from one domain so that it approximates the appearance of another. We present an ontology of ATD datasets to assess where transfer learning may be applied. We define frameworks for transfer at the training and testing stages, and compare the results for both methods against ATD where a common data source is used for training and testing. Our results show very poor transfer, which we attribute to the difficulty of accurately matching the blur and contrast characteristics of different scanners.

Why Brains Are Not Computers, Why Behaviorism Is Not Satanism, and Why Dolphins Are Not Aquatic Apes.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Louise

2016-05-01

Modern psychology has, to all intents and purposes, become synonymous with cognitive psychology, with an emphasis on the idea that the brain is a form of computer, whose job is to take in sensory input, process information, and produce motor output. This places the brain at a remove from both the body and environment and denies the intimate connection that exists between them. As a result, a great injustice is done to both human and nonhuman animals: On the one hand, we fail to recognize the distinctive nature of nonhuman cognition, and on the other hand, we continue to promote a somewhat misleading view of human psychological capacities. Here, I suggest a more mutualistic, embodied, enactive view might allow us to ask more interesting questions about how animals of all kinds come to know their worlds, in ways that avoid the (inevitable) anthropocentric baggage of the cognitivist viewpoint.

Myths About Press Freedom

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaarle Nordenstreng

2007-06-01

Full Text Available This article intends to rectify three popular beliefs related to press freedom: (1 that the idea of a free marketplace of ideas with a self-righting truth belongs to original liberalism, (2 that UNESCO’s primary mission is to promote freedom of information, and (3 that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides legal safeguards for the media. These beliefs are shown, on the basis of the legacy of liberalism and documents of the international community, to be misleading myths. Instead of accurate readings of the idea of freedom, they serve as ideological positions which are harmful to democracy. The Millennium Declaration provides further proof that the international community has a much more balanced view of freedom of information than that typically held by media professionals. Therefore it is important to liberate the concept of press freedom from its ideological baggage.

Missed Opportunity: The Underutilisation of Forced Migrants in the British Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dieu Donné HACK-POLAY

2008-11-01

Full Text Available This paper looks at the work experiences of forced migrants in the country of origin and the host country. The article builds on interviews with forced migrants from three nationalities, Congo (DRC, Kosovo and Somalia to contrast their experience of work in the labour market in the United Kingdom. The research found that the place the migrants occupy in the host labour market is not often commensurate with their qualifications and professional baggage from the country of origin. The forced migrants often landed in menial, unskilled or semi-skilled jobs. Ethnicity or racial origin had little impact on the degree of success in the host labour market. However the article concludes that the professional demise of the forced migrants is not only a loss to them but the host economy might be missing out on valuable human resources, given the high skills that the migrants harbour.

Neural network application for illicit substances identification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nunes, Wallace V.; Silva, Ademir X. da; Crispim, Verginia R.; Schirru, Roberto

2000-01-01

Thermal neutron activation analysis is based on neutron capture prompt gamma-ray analysis and has been used in wide variety of fields, for examples, for inspection of checked airline baggage and for detection of buried land mines. In all of these applications, the detected γ-ray intensities from the elements present are used to estimate their concentrations. A study about application using a trained neutral network is presented to determine the presence of illicit substances, such as explosives and drugs, carried out in the luggages. The illicit substances emit characteristic detected γ-ray which are the fingerprint of each isotope. The fingerprint data-base of the gamma-ray spectrum of substances is obtained via Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code, MCNP, version 4B. It was possible to train the neural network to determine the presence of explosives and narcotics even hidden by several materials. (author)

Neural network application for illicit substances identification; Aplicacao de redes neurais para a identificacao de substancias ilicitas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nunes, Wallace V.; Silva, Ademir X. da; Crispim, Verginia R.; Schirru, Roberto [Universidade Federal, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia. Programa de Engenharia Nuclear

2000-07-01

Thermal neutron activation analysis is based on neutron capture prompt gamma-ray analysis and has been used in wide variety of fields, for examples, for inspection of checked airline baggage and for detection of buried land mines. In all of these applications, the detected {gamma}-ray intensities from the elements present are used to estimate their concentrations. A study about application using a trained neutral network is presented to determine the presence of illicit substances, such as explosives and drugs, carried out in the luggages. The illicit substances emit characteristic detected {gamma}-ray which are the fingerprint of each isotope. The fingerprint data-base of the gamma-ray spectrum of substances is obtained via Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code, MCNP, version 4B. It was possible to train the neural network to determine the presence of explosives and narcotics even hidden by several materials. (author)

Effect of the steam explosion pretreatment on enzymatic hydrolysis of eucalyptus wood and sweet sorghum baggages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Negro, M. J.; Martinez, J. M.; Manero, J.; Saez, F.; Martin, C.

1991-01-01

The effect of steam explosion treatment on the enzymatic hydrolysis yield of two different lignocellulosic substrates is studied. Raw materials have been pretreated in a pilot plant designed to work in batch and equipped with a reactor vessel of 2 1 working volume where biomass was heated at the desired temperature and then exploded and recovered in a cyclone. Temperatures from 190 to 230 degree celsius and reaction times from 2 to 8 min. have been assayed. The efficiency of the steam explosion treatment has been evaluated on the composition of the lignocellulosic materials as well as on their enzymatic hydrolysis yield using a cellulolytic complex from T. reesel. Results show a high solubilization rate of hemicelluloses and variable losses of cellulose and lignin depending on the conditions tested. Enzymatic hydrolysis yields of both substrates experimented remarkable increments, corresponding the highest values obtained to 210 degree celsius; 2 min. and 21O degree celsius; 4 min. for sorghum bagasse and eucalyptus wood respectively. (Author) 13 refs

14 CFR 221.106 - Notice of limited liability for baggage; alternative consolidated notice of liability limitations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... valuable articles. See the notice with your tickets or consult your airline or travel agent for further... the responsibility of each carrier to insure that travel agents authorized to sell air transportation... to travel agents specified in paragraph (c) of this section may be waived by the Department upon...

VISÕES DE FUTURO EM FREIRE E DEWEY: PERSPECTIVAS INTERCULTURAIS DAS MATRIZES (PÓSCOLONIAIS DAS AMÉRICAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Manuela Duarte Guilherme

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article offers a comparative analysis of John Dewey’s and Paulo Freire’s visions of the future, as a fundamental legacy of their work, having in mind the different cultural and epistemological environments that constituted the intellectual backdrop and socio-historical baggage of their works. Their visions of the future are here also approached from an intercultural perspective within the framework of two different (postcolonial matrices embodied by North and South Americas. This article attempts to unveil the underlying historical, political and social substrata influencing the form and essence of the rhetoric and ideology of such conceptual and academic frameworks of reference in the field of education and pedagogy in the 20th century. Finally, the valuable theoretical-practical legacies of both philosophers of education are here emphasized for the purpose of an idea of future in the educational policies and pedagogical practices of cosmopolitan societies of the 21st century.

Metacognitive gimmicks and their use by upper level physics students

Science.gov (United States)

White, Gary; Sikorski, Tiffany-Rose; Landay, Justin

2017-01-01

We report on the initial phases of a study of three particular metacognitive gimmicks that upper-level physics students can use as a tool in their problem-solving kit, namely: checking units for consistency, discerning whether limiting cases match physical intuition, and computing numerical values for reasonable-ness. Students in a one semester Griffiths electromagnetism course at a small private urban university campus are asked to respond to explicit prompts that encourage adopting these three methods for checking answers to physics problems, especially those problems for which an algebraic expression is part of the final answer. We explore how, and to what extent, these students adopt these gimmicks, as well as the time development of their use. While the term ``gimmick'' carries with it some pejorative baggage, we feel it describes the essential nature of the pedagogical idea adequately in that it gets attention, is easy for the students to remember, and represents, albeit perhaps in a surface way, some key ideas about which professional physicists care.

A Survey on the Semantic Field of ‘Vagabond’

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Avishek Ray

2017-10-01

Full Text Available How we perceive a certain concept is grounded in the ‘language game’: the values, prejudices, dispositions, and cultural baggage among its interpretive communities. In other words, there is no ‘true meaning’ inherent in a word per se; rather the meaning is derived out of what Derrida (1993 calls the ‘chain’ of signification: the context, history, contingency, and often semantic contradictions that render a word polysemic. Taking off from here, this paper seeks to unpack the social ‘constructivism’ immanent in the a priori assumptions that cloak the idea of the ‘vagabond’. While invoking the contingency in the genesis and semantic history of ‘vagabond’ as a case study, this paper illustrates how meanings of certain heuristic concepts – in this case, ‘vagabond’, without a fixed referent – are often (reconfigured, not because of reasons entirely linguistic, but rather due to changes in the prevailing epistemic paradigms.

Insect control in socialist China and the corporate United States: the act of comparison, the tendency to forget, and the construction of difference in 1970s U.S.-Chinese scientific exchange.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmalzer, Sigrid

2013-06-01

In 1975, a delegation of U.S. entomologists traveled to socialist China to observe Chinese insect control science. Their overwhelmingly positive reports highlighted in relief the pernicious effects of pesticide corporations on U.S. agriculture; some entomologists hoped this would goad the United States to catch up to China in environmentally sensible insect control practices. Of course, insect control in socialist China carried its own political baggage, some of which-for example, mass mobilization and self-reliance--the state made highly visible to visitors, and some of which--for example, harsh treatment of scientists--it sought to obscure. For both the U.S. and the Chinese participants, the act of comparison itself was of primary significance in the exchange, allowing them to construct socialist Chinese science as refreshingly different from U.S. science. At the same time, however, this construction of difference meant forgetting the much longer transnational history in which U.S. and Chinese entomology had been intertwined.

The MCNP simulation of the X-ray leakage of X-ray security inspection equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Kai; Liu Bin; Hu Wenchao; Zhao Wei

2011-01-01

Objective: To simulate the radiation leakage of the X-ray security inspection equipment used in the subways stations. Methods: We use the MCNP4C code to simulate the X-ray leakage of the equipment during the working process. Result: the biggest amount of radiation received by the body is 8.26 μSv/a, however, if the Lead screens of the X-ray security equipment is intact, the amount of radiation received by the body is only 0.0727 μSv/a. The final. Conclusions: When the baggage get in /out the X-ray security inspection equipment, the gas in Lead screens was made, and then the amount of radiation received by human body increased; The amount of radiation received by the body is close to but still below 10 μSv/a which is the exemption criteria set by the 'safety of radiation sources of ionizing radiation protection and basic standards'(GB18871-2002). (authors)

Searching the databases: a quick look at Amazon and two other online catalogues.

Science.gov (United States)

Potts, Hilary

2003-01-01

The Amazon Online Catalogue was compared with the Library of Congress Catalogue and the British Library Catalogue, both also available online, by searching on both neutral (Gay, Lesbian, Homosexual) and pejorative (Perversion, Sex Crime) subject terms, and also by searches using Boolean logic in an attempt to identify Lesbian Fiction items and religion-based anti-gay material. Amazon was much more likely to be the first port of call for non-academic enquiries. Although excluding much material necessary for academic research, it carried more information about the individual books and less historical homophobic baggage in its terminology than the great national catalogues. Its back catalogue of second-hand books outnumbered those in print. Current attitudes may partially be gauged by the relative numbers of titles published under each heading--e.g., there may be an inverse relationship between concern about child sex abuse and homophobia, more noticeable in U.S. because of the activities of the religious right.

Effective Climate Communication with Difficult Audiences

Science.gov (United States)

Denning, S.

2015-12-01

Climate communication is often fraught with ideological baggage ("noise") that makes it very difficult to connect to audiences. In these cases, it is helpful to use "best practices" known from other fields of communication. Engaging audiences with authenticity, using plain language, respecting cultural and political differences, and a sprinkling of humor can go a long way toward establishing a connection. It's important to avoid common but polarizing tropes from popular media, and often quite helpful to frame climate issues in novel or unexpected ways that cut across entrenched political discourse. Emerging social science research Beyond ideology, climate change is Simple, Serious, and Solvable. Effective communication of these three key ideas can succeed when the science argument is carefully framed to avoid attack of the audience's ethical identity. Simple arguments from common sense and everyday experience are more successful than data. Serious consequences to values that resonate with the audience can be avoided by solutions that don't threaten those values.

Flight service evaluation of composite components on Bell 206L and Sikorsky S-76 helicopters

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, D. J.

1983-01-01

Progress on two programs to evaluate composite structural components in flight service on commercial helicopters is described. Thirty-six ship sets of composite components that include the litter door, baggage door, forward fairing, and vertical fin were installed on Bell Model 206L helicopters that are operating in widely different climatic areas. Four horizontal stabilizers and ten tail rotor spars that are production components on the S-76 helicopter were tested after prescribed periods of service to determine the effects of the operating environment on their performance. Concurrent with the flight evaluation, specimens from materials used to fabricate the components were exposed in ground racks and tested at specified intervals to determine the effects of outdoor environments. Results achieved from 14,000 hours of accumulated service on the 206L components, tests on a S-76 horizontal stabilizer after 1600 hours of service, tests on a S-76 tail rotor spar after 2300 hours service, and two years of ground based exposure of material coupons are reported.

Automated X-ray image analysis for cargo security: Critical review and future promise.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Thomas W; Jaccard, Nicolas; Morton, Edward J; Griffin, Lewis D

2017-01-01

We review the relatively immature field of automated image analysis for X-ray cargo imagery. There is increasing demand for automated analysis methods that can assist in the inspection and selection of containers, due to the ever-growing volumes of traded cargo and the increasing concerns that customs- and security-related threats are being smuggled across borders by organised crime and terrorist networks. We split the field into the classical pipeline of image preprocessing and image understanding. Preprocessing includes: image manipulation; quality improvement; Threat Image Projection (TIP); and material discrimination and segmentation. Image understanding includes: Automated Threat Detection (ATD); and Automated Contents Verification (ACV). We identify several gaps in the literature that need to be addressed and propose ideas for future research. Where the current literature is sparse we borrow from the single-view, multi-view, and CT X-ray baggage domains, which have some characteristics in common with X-ray cargo.

Drawing from the outside for support in teaching.

Science.gov (United States)

Eifler, Karen E; Veltri, Linda M

2010-11-01

Mentoring new nurse educators in their pedagogy is vital to their long-term success and their students' learning. It is also crucial to build mentoring into ongoing professional development plans because doctoral studies rarely include information on how to be an effective teacher. An overlooked resource on college campuses is the education department. This article describes the processes of a fruitful 2-year mentoring relationship between a new nurse educator and an education professor and offers a virtually no-cost strategy for improving the quality of teaching in schools, departments, and colleges of nursing. Using education faculty as mentors has two advantages over using fellow nursing faculty: pedagogy is their absolute professional expertise and the relationship may be less fraught with the potential baggage of peer evaluation because the mentors and mentees are in different departments. Trust, open communication, and clear goal-setting establish the framework for successful mentoring relationships. Copyright 2010, SLACK Incorporated.

Making «art» in Prehistory: signs and figures of metaphorical paleolithic man

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Martini

2015-05-01

Full Text Available We owe our first graphic experiences to Neanderthal Man, who introduced to the cultural baggage of the genus Homo two metaphorical behaviors that are fundamental in terms of their innovation: one concerns the preservation of the bodies of the dead through burial, the other is the making of signs, which in this stage of evolution do not yet represent recognizable subjects but only lines. This attests to the creation of a graphical tool that materializes and makes visible that which exists in the mind, something that is other than itself, thus providing signs of a communication that unfortunately today we cannot define semantically. We cannot say whether these linear marks are a sort of «brand» or if they are carriers of meanings, however, we can observe that, with the Neanderthals, a conceptual, projectual plan exists that enables the measurement of space and the configuration of a regular rhythm, creating an original condition of movement and an association of potentially dynamic lines.

Strength capability while kneeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Haslegrave, C M; Tracy, M F; Corlett, E N

1997-12-01

Work sometimes has to be carried out kneeling, particularly where jobs are performed in confined spaces as is common for miners, aircraft baggage handlers and maintenance workers. In order to assess the risks in performing forceful tasks under such conditions, data is needed on strength capabilities of kneeling subjects. A study was undertaken to measure isometric strength in single-handed exertions for male subjects and to investigate the effects on this of task layout factors (direction of force exertion, reach distance, height of the workpiece and orientation relative to the subject's sagittal plane). The data has been tabulated to show the degree to which strength may be reduced in different situations and analysis of the task factors showed their influence to be complex with direction of exertion and reach distance having the greatest effect. The results also suggest that exertions are weaker when subjects are kneeling on two knees than when kneeling on one knee, although this needs to be confirmed by direct experimental comparison.

Competitive advantage by customer integration. Empirical investigation by the example of German manufacturers of baggage handling systems.

OpenAIRE

Schindler, Uwe

2017-01-01

Achieving strong and unique competitive advantages is a goal in the strategic management of customer relations. Sustainable successful relationships to customers to secure profitable business in the face of growing competition are among the most important challenges for firms. In order to remain competitive in the future, German manufacturers have to force the application of innovative state- of-the-art methods to develop competitive advantages to attract and bind customers and to differentia...

Grounds acquittance from civil liability of the carrier for breach of contract of carriage passengers and baggage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ганна Олександрівна Уразова

2017-03-01

Firstly, the concept of «emergency» covered by the concept of «force majeure» because the urgency is one of the signs of the latter. Secondly, when the legislator uses the concept of «emergency», or does not use it, the conditions of release the air carrier from civil liability of are urgency and inevitability of the circumstances. This actually shows the identification of the concept of «emergency» and the concept of «force majeure». Thirdly, the contents of the analyzed concepts form the fact that usually has the same origin. Prevalence of technical challenges faced by carriers themselves is not the factor that indicates the presence or absence of «emergency».

Some aspects of the relationship between quantum physics, gravity, and thermodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stephens, C.R.

1986-01-01

The well-known Hawking-Unruh effect is explored and reviewed and some original results found. It is found that the noise spectrum for a massless scalar field along an accelerated trajectory in odd dimensional Minkowski space has a (pseudo) Fermi-Dirac form contrary to expectations. Ambiguous questions about covariance that have arisen when considering the physics of accelerated observers are addressed critically. It is found that if one is careful about specifying just what observer means then no ambiguities can arise. The idea of what constitutes a particle is also critically discussed. The uniqueness of the gravitational field vis a vis thermal effects is investigated. It is found that pair production in a uniform electric field admits of a thermal interpretation, (one with some interesting subtleties), thereby showing the non-uniqueness of gravity in this respect. The notion of intrinsic entropy remains a singular feature of gravity however. A corollary of the above is that the Unruh effect is an integral part of a quantum field theory and not some additional baggage

Neutrons for sale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daviss, B.

1997-01-01

A fusion machine, in the form of a sphere small enough to fit on a desktop, is described. It can be switched on and off at will and produces virtually no radioactive waste. The fusion sphere creates an electric potential which forms deuterium ions into beams and accelerates them towards the centre. Nuclei of deuterium inside a central spherical wire grid fuse to create neutrons, helium -3 and traces of hydrogen and tritium. The rudimentary device is expected to go on sale in a commercial form in 1998. The immediate applications are those which require a yield of neutrons falling in the range 10 7 to 10 10 neutrons per second. This is expected to be well within the capability of the sphere and would allow neutron activation analysis to be carried out for the detection of hidden high explosives in airport baggage checks, or impurities in ores as they are mined for example. With higher neutron yields other applications such as the treatment of tumours could become viable but the technical problems are likely to multiply with the increasing yields. (UK)

You Can Lead a Horse to Water but You Can't Make It Drink

Science.gov (United States)

de Fontenay, Alain Bourdeau; de Fontenay, Eric Bourdeau

It is easy to outline a new strategy. To succeed in its implementation is another matter, especially where there is a large historical baggage. There is no question that the music sector has been facing a major challenge since the 1990s and that it correctly places peer-to-peer as the core issue. It is also obvious that the music industry’s strategy has been steadfast in defending today’s institutions and the associated “illegality” of peer-to-peer. That has meant that it has marshaled, very successfully, huge resources to ensure that the “illegality” remains unchallenged. That has meant making sure that institutions were preserved if not reinforced to establish the “illegality” of the activities of peer-to-peer networks as well as those of file sharers of copyrighted materials. In its management of peer-to-peer, the music industry has been exceptionally successful in the court, success that can only have reinforced the music industry’s instinctual culture of defending the existing nature of copyrights. The same does not hold for the music industry’s business performance.

Havens and Cages: Reinventing States and Households in the Modern World-System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter J. Taylor

2015-08-01

Full Text Available In the work of Immanuel Wallerstein the concepts of modern world-system and capitalist world-economy are used interchangeably; they are alternative names for the historical system we are currently living in. In the substance of his work, however, Wallerstein has been more concerned with capitalism than modernity. At one level this is unimportant because, if they are indeed ‘two sides of the same coin,’ understanding one must enhance inevitably our knowledge of the other. But, of course, it is never as simple asthat. When we choose to think of our contemporary world as either capitalist or modern, we take on board a different social theoretical baggage. It was this train of thought which led me to ask “what’s modern about the modern world-system?” (Taylor, 1996a and this essay is part of a continuing project (Taylor, 1996b; 1999 to link Wallerstein’s (1984: chapter 3 ‘institutional vortex’ to Marshall Berman’s (1982: Introduction ‘modern maelstrom.’

Compiling knowledge-based systems from KEE to Ada

Science.gov (United States)

Filman, Robert E.; Bock, Conrad; Feldman, Roy

1990-01-01

The dominant technology for developing AI applications is to work in a multi-mechanism, integrated, knowledge-based system (KBS) development environment. Unfortunately, systems developed in such environments are inappropriate for delivering many applications - most importantly, they carry the baggage of the entire Lisp environment and are not written in conventional languages. One resolution of this problem would be to compile applications from complex environments to conventional languages. Here the first efforts to develop a system for compiling KBS developed in KEE to Ada (trademark). This system is called KATYDID, for KEE/Ada Translation Yields Development Into Delivery. KATYDID includes early prototypes of a run-time KEE core (object-structure) library module for Ada, and translation mechanisms for knowledge structures, rules, and Lisp code to Ada. Using these tools, part of a simple expert system was compiled (not quite automatically) to run in a purely Ada environment. This experience has given us various insights on Ada as an artificial intelligence programming language, potential solutions of some of the engineering difficulties encountered in early work, and inspiration on future system development.

Social disunion as a challenge to the educational institution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentina V. Saguychenko

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article examines trends in strengthening the manifestation of social disunion of students in the early stages of receive education and training, ranging from kindergartens to universities. Investigated the mechanism of influence of social institutions on subsequent the social disunion. Invited to consider problem since the teacher’s personality, which affects primarily the quality of education and the subsequent social disunion. One of the main investigated by the author, mechanisms of social disunion, which is associated with the division of students by the ratings performance and abilities. The attention to the importance of economic and cultural baggage parents of students who choose education for their child. Addressing social stratification asked to consider because of the philosophy of education as a methodology for teaching the design of educational reforms, which the central place belongs to the establishment of a dialogue of diverse professionals: teachers, psychologists, specialists in modern philosophy communications managers, economists, involving parent and community organizations, foundations, local governments to the understanding and support of the reformed educational policy.

Negative workplace behaviours: an ethical dilemma for nurse managers.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindy, Cheryl; Schaefer, Florence

2010-04-01

To discover nurse managers' perception of negative workplace behaviours (bullying) encountered by staff on their unit. Background Negative workplace behaviour is a worldwide phenomenon happening in all types of work settings. Absent from the literature were studies specific to the nurse managers' perception on this topic. A phenomenological qualitative research methodology was used to gain insight into the perceptions of nurse managers about negative workplace behaviours that they have observed or addressed. Nurse Managers described their perceptions of, and experiences pertaining to, instances of negative workplace behaviour. Six themes emerged from the data analysis: 'that's just how she is', 'they just take it', 'a lot of things going on', 'old baggage', 'three sides to a story' and 'a management perspective'. Nurse Managers had observed, experienced and/or had received reports of negative workplace behaviours. While some felt comfortable addressing the behaviour, others experienced ethical dilemmas when trying to treat all fairly. The results of the present study provide guidance for nurse managers to address negative workplace behaviours occurring on their units.

UNDERSTANDING PROSE THROUGH TASK ORIENTED AUDIO-VISUAL ACTIVITY: AN AMERICAN MODERN PROSE COURSE AT THE FACULTY OF LETTERS, PETRA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Prasasti

2001-01-01

Full Text Available The method presented here provides the basis for a course in American prose for EFL students. Understanding and appreciation of American prose is a difficult task for the students because they come into contact with works that are full of cultural baggage and far apart from their own world. The audio visual aid is one of the alternatives to sensitize the students to the topic and the cultural background. Instead of proving the ready-made audio visual aids, teachers can involve students to actively engage in a more task oriented audiovisual project. Here, the teachers encourage their students to create their own audio visual aids using colors, pictures, sound and gestures as a point of initiation for further discussion. The students can use color that has become a strong element of fiction to help them calling up a forceful visual representation. Pictures can also stimulate the students to build their mental image. Sound and silence, which are a part of the fabric of literature, may also help them to increase the emotional impact.

Air Charter - The Business Airline of the Future...But, Does the Business Traveler Know?

Science.gov (United States)

Kaps, Robert W.; Gardner, Robin C.; Hartung, Jeffrey W.

2001-01-01

Historically, FAR Part 121 commercial carriers have provided efficient, economical and safe air transportation for corporate and business users. Recently, however, corporate and business travelers find their travel plans disrupted by delays, bankruptcies, poor service, lost baggage, fare increases, labor strikes and other systemic difficulties that degrade their travel experience to unsatisfactory levels. This article examines these Part 121 service delivery problems and, utilizing a tripartite investigative methodology, examines an alternative air transport mode: FAR Part 135 on-demand charter travel products. This long extant segment of our national air transportation system is set prime to support increased demand for charter services. Corporate and business travelers are set prime to utilize viable, cost effective alternatives to commercial travel products. Two research questions emerge. First is whether corporate and business travelers are aware of Part 135 travel alternatives. Second is whether Part 135 charter service providers are aware of this latent demand and are effectively targeting this demand segment in their marketing efforts. The three-part surveys employed to investigate these questions examined demand side

Pedestrian Detection by Laser Scanning and Depth Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Barsi, A.; Lovas, T.; Molnar, B.; Somogyi, A.; Igazvolgyi, Z.

2016-06-01

Pedestrian flow is much less regulated and controlled compared to vehicle traffic. Estimating flow parameters would support many safety, security or commercial applications. Current paper discusses a method that enables acquiring information on pedestrian movements without disturbing and changing their motion. Profile laser scanner and depth camera have been applied to capture the geometry of the moving people as time series. Procedures have been developed to derive complex flow parameters, such as count, volume, walking direction and velocity from laser scanned point clouds. Since no images are captured from the faces of pedestrians, no privacy issues raised. The paper includes accuracy analysis of the estimated parameters based on video footage as reference. Due to the dense point clouds, detailed geometry analysis has been conducted to obtain the height and shoulder width of pedestrians and to detect whether luggage has been carried or not. The derived parameters support safety (e.g. detecting critical pedestrian density in mass events), security (e.g. detecting prohibited baggage in endangered areas) and commercial applications (e.g. counting pedestrians at all entrances/exits of a shopping mall).

A contraband detection system proof-of-principle device using electrostatic acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sredniawski, Joseph J.; Debiak, T.W.; Kamykowski, E.; Rathke, J.; Milton, B.; Rogers, J.; Schmor, P.; Stanford, G.; Brando, J.

1996-01-01

A new Contraband Detection System (CDS) Proof-of- Principle (POP) device is nearing completion at Northrop Grumman's Advanced Technology and Development Center. We employ gamma resonance absorption (GRA) to detect nitrogen or chlorine in explosives and certain forms of illegal drugs. Using tomography, 3-D images of the total density and selected element density are generated. These characteristics together may be utilized with considerable confidence in determining if contraband is present in baggage or cargo. The CDS employs a high current (10 mA) DC electrostatic accelerator that provides a beam of protons at either 1.75 or 1.89 MeV. These high energy particles impinge upon a target coated with 13 C or 34 S. The resultant resonant gamma rays are preferentially absorbed in either 14 N or 35 Cl. Because of the penetrating power of the gamma rays, this approach can be utilized for inspection of fully loaded aircraft containers such as the LD3. Our current program calls for testing of the POP CDS by late 1996. This paper presents the overall design and characteristics of the CDS POP. (author)

Weasel works SA-150: Design study of a 100 to 150 passenger transport aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Alkema, Kevin; Comeaux, Michael; Gilbert, Timothy; Para, Victor; Toepfer, George

1993-01-01

As the year 2000 rapidly approaches, the airlines are faced with an extremely competitive and environmentally restrictive marketplace. In order to survive, commercial air carriers will need to find new ways to lower their direct operating costs, increase load factors and comply with tightening federal and international constraints. The SA-150 has been designed to meet these demands by focusing on the areas of aerodynamic efficiency, an improved level of passenger comfort, and a limited application of advanced technology. The SA-150 has been optimized for a 500 nmi. mission to help the airlines meet the challenges of the short haul, quick turnaround flight. With a maximum capacity of 124 passengers, and full baggage, the SA-150 is also capable of covering a range of 1500 nmi. This additional range capability will provide the airlines with flexibility when scheduling their routes. The aircraft features a 'V' tail, fly-by-wire system and is powered by two turbofans mounted under a twelve aspect ratio wing. The SA-150 will have an initial production run of 800 units and have a purchase price of $37.7 million in 1993 dollars.

The Dependence of Airport Profit on Passenger Satisfaction and Operational Efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roman Vokáč

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Since the airports are in fact commercial companies, their main objective is to make profit. Therefore, it is important for the airports to identify the business activities that may increase the income as well as those that may reduce the costs. The terminal process, handling the passengers’ baggage both on their departure and arrival, is a basic process at all airports that are intended for the commercial air transport. The quality of the terminal process provided by the airports has a significant impact on the passengers especially in terms of their satisfaction. In this text, the passenger satisfaction is regarded as a key factor of the terminal process affecting a whole range of other areas. Its high efficiency leads to cost reduction from the perspective of the airport. As it is proposed here, there is a connection between the passenger satisfaction and the process efficiency. For example, the queues that form due to the check-in process may be a result of the imbalance between the passenger arrival rate and the service rate. Therefore, there is a necessity of improving not only the passenger satisfaction but also the process efficiency.

Impact of GDP Information Technology in Developing of Regional Central Business (Case 50 Airports IT City Development in Indonesia)

Science.gov (United States)

Suyono, Joko; Sukoco, Agus; Ikhsan Setiawan, M.; Suhermin; Rahim, Robbi

2017-12-01

Indonesia a great number of populations and demand of air transportation services keep increasing by the year in line with the increasing of population and welfare its people. Need for telematics solutions to support goods transport and distribution in cities is mainly due to the complexity of the processes taking place in urban transport systems and the importance of the optimisation of transport operations via ensuring adequate availability of linear and point infrastructure, while reducing the adverse impacts of the transport system on the environment. Efficient infrastructure supports economic growth, improves quality of life, and it is important for national security. Impact of GDP Information Technology in developing of Regional Central Business especially SME Business, are very large correlations and very significant supported by Passenger Arrival and Departure, Baggage Loaded and Unloaded, Cargo Loaded and Unloaded, Separated regional asset, Grant, Capital Expenditure, Investment of Regional Gov., GDP Agriculture-Forestry-Fishing, GDP Manufacturing, GDP Electricity-Gas, GDP Water supply- Sewerage-Waste Management-Remediation Activities, GDP Financial-Insurance Activities, GDP Business Activities, GDP Public Administration and Defense-Compulsory Social Security, GDP Education and GDP Other Services Activities

Host cell proteins in biologics development: Identification, quantitation and risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xing; Hunter, Alan K; Mozier, Ned M

2009-06-15

Host cell proteins (HCPs) are those produced or encoded by the organisms and unrelated to the intended recombinant product. Some are necessary for growth, survival, and normal cellular processing whereas others may be non-essential, simply carried along as baggage. Like the recombinant product, HCPs may also be modified by the host with a number of post-translational modifications. Regardless of the utility, or lack thereof, HCPs are undesirable in the final drug substance. Though commonly present in small quantities (parts per million expressed as nanograms per milligrams of the intended recombinant protein) much effort and cost is expended by industry to remove them. The purpose of this review is to summarize what is of relevance in regards to the biology, the impact of genomics and proteomics on HCP evaluation, the regulatory expectations, analytical approaches, and various methodologies to remove HCPs with bioprocessing. Historical data, bioinformatics approaches and industrial case study examples are provided. Finally, a proposal for a risk assessment tool is provided which brings these facets together and proposes a means for manufacturers to classify and organize a control strategy leading to meaningful product specifications. 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The importance of the junior company for an andragogy learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Silva Franco

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Andragogy is a form of teaching and learning initially aimed at the adult public, and its assumptions are directed at providing greater autonomy and participation of this public in their learning. It can be considered as a counterpoint to the traditional pedagogical aspect, which covers a methodological format, essentially applied to children, but has its model present in several higher education institutions, in which the teacher has the central role of decision making on how and what to teach This article aims to analyze, from the perceptions exposed by participants of a Junior Company, how the learning experience of the students in this organization can be related to the principles of andragogic learning. Based on the analysis of the six interviews carried out, it was verified that the experience in the junior company gives its members a greater autonomy regarding their learning, a greater comprehension and applicability of the course, as well as a better use of their baggage of particular experiences. With this study, we intend to contribute with reflections on the possibilities of improvement and development of the learning process in higher education, especially in the teaching field of Administration.

PEDESTRIAN DETECTION BY LASER SCANNING AND DEPTH IMAGERY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Barsi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Pedestrian flow is much less regulated and controlled compared to vehicle traffic. Estimating flow parameters would support many safety, security or commercial applications. Current paper discusses a method that enables acquiring information on pedestrian movements without disturbing and changing their motion. Profile laser scanner and depth camera have been applied to capture the geometry of the moving people as time series. Procedures have been developed to derive complex flow parameters, such as count, volume, walking direction and velocity from laser scanned point clouds. Since no images are captured from the faces of pedestrians, no privacy issues raised. The paper includes accuracy analysis of the estimated parameters based on video footage as reference. Due to the dense point clouds, detailed geometry analysis has been conducted to obtain the height and shoulder width of pedestrians and to detect whether luggage has been carried or not. The derived parameters support safety (e.g. detecting critical pedestrian density in mass events, security (e.g. detecting prohibited baggage in endangered areas and commercial applications (e.g. counting pedestrians at all entrances/exits of a shopping mall.

Semantic Representation and Scale-Up of Integrated Air Traffic Management Data

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Richard M.; Ranjan, Shubha; Wei, Mie; Eshow, Michelle

2016-01-01

Each day, the global air transportation industry generates a vast amount of heterogeneous data from air carriers, air traffic control providers, and secondary aviation entities handling baggage, ticketing, catering, fuel delivery, and other services. Generally, these data are stored in isolated data systems, separated from each other by significant political, regulatory, economic, and technological divides. These realities aside, integrating aviation data into a single, queryable, big data store could enable insights leading to major efficiency, safety, and cost advantages. In this paper, we describe an implemented system for combining heterogeneous air traffic management data using semantic integration techniques. The system transforms data from its original disparate source formats into a unified semantic representation within an ontology-based triple store. Our initial prototype stores only a small sliver of air traffic data covering one day of operations at a major airport. The paper also describes our analysis of difficulties ahead as we prepare to scale up data storage to accommodate successively larger quantities of data -- eventually covering all US commercial domestic flights over an extended multi-year timeframe. We review several approaches to mitigating scale-up related query performance concerns.

Automated materials discrimination using 3D dual energy X ray images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Ta Wee

2002-01-01

The ability of a human observer to identify an explosive device concealed in complex arrangements of objects routinely encountered in the 2D x-ray screening of passenger baggage at airports is often problematic. Standard dual-energy x-ray techniques enable colour encoding of the resultant images in terms of organic, inorganic and metal substances. This transmission imaging technique produces colour information computed from a high-energy x-ray signal and a low energy x-ray signal (80keV eff ≤ 13) to be automatically discriminated from many layers of overlapping substances. This is achieved by applying a basis materials subtraction technique to the data provided by a wavelet image segmentation algorithm. This imaging technique is reliant upon the image data for the masking substances to be discriminated independently of the target material. Further work investigated the extraction of depth data from stereoscopic images to estimate the mass density of the target material. A binocular stereoscopic dual-energy x-ray machine previously developed by the Vision Systems Group at The Nottingham Trent University in collaboration with The Home Office Science and Technology Group provided the image data for the empirical investigation. This machine utilises a novel linear castellated dual-energy x-ray detector recently developed by the Vision Systems Group. This detector array employs half the number of scintillator-photodiode sensors in comparison to a conventional linear dual-energy sensor. The castellated sensor required the development of an image enhancement algorithm to remove the spatial interlace effect in the resultant images prior to the calibration of the system for materials discrimination. To automate the basis materials subtraction technique a wavelet image segmentation and classification algorithm was developed. This enabled overlapping image structures in the x-rayed baggage to be partitioned. A series of experiments was conducted to investigate the

The Stuff of Legend, or Unpacking Cultural Baggage? Introducing First-Year English Literature and Humanities Students to Foundational Literary Texts

Science.gov (United States)

Beyer, Charlotte

2013-01-01

This article explores teaching and learning perspectives in relation to a first-year English Literature module on foundational literary texts and considers the value of certain assessment modes. The essay discusses methodological and pedagogical questions and argues that the module provides a contextual platform from which first-year students are…

Nation Building, English as an International Language, Medium of Instruction, and Language Debate: Malaysia and Possible Ways Forward

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phan Le Ha

2013-10-01

Full Text Available In this article, we discuss Malaysia's major language policies surrounding Bahasa Malaysia and English as medium of instruction (MOI since its independence. We show how issues involving a national language vis a vis English are shaped by different ethnic and social groups' competing views regarding these languages. We argue that the language debate in Malaysia is largely an emotive one that carries a historical baggage which no one is yet ready to discard and until such time, it will continue to represent a nation divided by nationalism, race-based politics and globalisation. However, we also interpret the Malaysian government's termination of English as the MOI in certain key school subjects starting in 2012 as not necessarily an arbitrary rejection of English but as a positive move, given the many problems associated with the over-reliance on English in education and language policies throughout Asia. We, thus, see the most recent act known as 'To Uphold Bahasa Malaysia & To Strengthen the English Language' (MBMMBI as a necessary, firm, strategic and timely response by the Malaysian government to globalisation, nation building, the increasing international role of English, and the pressure to produce knowledge and maintain national cultural identity in today's world.

Conceptual study of an advanced VTOL transport aircraft; Kosoku VTOL ki no gainen kento

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saito, Y; Endo, M; Matsuda, Y; Sugiyama, N; Watanabe, M; Sugahara, N; Yamamoto, K [National Aerospace Laboratory, Tokyo (Japan)

1996-05-01

The concept of the advanced 100-passenger class VTOL aircraft equipped with new lift fan engines was clarified as domestic passenger aircraft for the 21st century. Under the assumption of a total weight of 40 tons, a seat fuselage diameter of 3.3m as small as possible and a short seat pitch, the airframe shape satisfying a target performance was obtained without any problems about aerodynamic stability, operability and control capability, and noise lower than that of small helicopters was also estimated. In the case of 10 tons in airframe payload and 8 tons in fuel, even if light-weight composite materials were used for most of parts including fuselage structure, a total weight summed to 42.3 tons exceeding a target by 2.3 tons. As this VTOL aircraft was limited to domestic flight use only, the total weight could be reduced without any change in airframe shape and number of passengers by reducing the payload (baggage weight can be probably reduced by 2 tons/100 passengers in the future domestic flight) and fuel (cruising range around 2500km can be secured even if fuel is reduced by 0.3 tons). In conclusion, this concept was thus technologically reasonable. 6 refs., 15 figs., 6 tabs.

Individual differences in the calibration of trust in automation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pop, Vlad L; Shrewsbury, Alex; Durso, Francis T

2015-06-01

The objective was to determine whether operators with an expectancy that automation is trustworthy are better at calibrating their trust to changes in the capabilities of automation, and if so, why. Studies suggest that individual differences in automation expectancy may be able to account for why changes in the capabilities of automation lead to a substantial change in trust for some, yet only a small change for others. In a baggage screening task, 225 participants searched for weapons in 200 X-ray images of luggage. Participants were assisted by an automated decision aid exhibiting different levels of reliability. Measures of expectancy that automation is trustworthy were used in conjunction with subjective measures of trust and perceived reliability to identify individual differences in trust calibration. Operators with high expectancy that automation is trustworthy were more sensitive to changes (both increases and decreases) in automation reliability. This difference was eliminated by manipulating the causal attribution of automation errors. Attributing the cause of automation errors to factors external to the automation fosters an understanding of tasks and situations in which automation differs in reliability and may lead to more appropriate trust. The development of interventions can lead to calibrated trust in automation. © 2014, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Noether symmetries, energy-momentum tensors, and conformal invariance in classical field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pons, Josep M.

2011-01-01

In the framework of classical field theory, we first review the Noether theory of symmetries, with simple rederivations of its essential results, with special emphasis given to the Noether identities for gauge theories. With this baggage on board, we next discuss in detail, for Poincare invariant theories in flat spacetime, the differences between the Belinfante energy-momentum tensor and a family of Hilbert energy-momentum tensors. All these tensors coincide on shell but they split their duties in the following sense: Belinfante's tensor is the one to use in order to obtain the generators of Poincare symmetries and it is a basic ingredient of the generators of other eventual spacetime symmetries which may happen to exist. Instead, Hilbert tensors are the means to test whether a theory contains other spacetime symmetries beyond Poincare. We discuss at length the case of scale and conformal symmetry, of which we give some examples. We show, for Poincare invariant Lagrangians, that the realization of scale invariance selects a unique Hilbert tensor which allows for an easy test as to whether conformal invariance is also realized. Finally we make some basic remarks on metric generally covariant theories and classical field theory in a fixed curved background.

Social representation of the kinesiotherapist profession

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beatrice ABALAŞE

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The scientific approach is focused on identifying the social representation of the profession of physical therapist referring to mental images of social reality to a group consensus meeting. The goal of research identifies social representation of the profession of physical therapist, on the premise that students of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport have made a social representation of the profession of physical therapist in accordance with the description of the occupation of COR. Working method was based on the questionnaire. Interpretation of results, the first two items of the questionnaire was done through word association technique, developed by P. Verges (1 and an alternative method for determining the structure and organization of elements representation proposed by. C. Havârneanu (2. Qualitative analysis reveals that students’ specialization Physical Therapy and Special Motricity believes that a therapist uses therapy as a strategy to work, and it must be applied professionally. Respondents considered, as shown in the data collected, that this profession is subject to skills, education, cognitive baggage, all sending to knowledge, experience and passion. The core refers to the complex representation obtained thanks cognitive process by which individuals or groups in familiar transforms abstract and it integrates knowledge of their system.

Satisfaction in motion: Subsequent search misses are more likely in moving search displays.

Science.gov (United States)

Stothart, Cary; Clement, Andrew; Brockmole, James R

2018-02-01

People often conduct visual searches in which multiple targets are possible (e.g., medical X-rays can contain multiple abnormalities). In this type of search, observers are more likely to miss a second target after having found a first one (a subsequent search miss). Recent evidence has suggested that this effect may be due to a depletion of cognitive resources from tracking the identities and locations of found targets. Given that tracking moving objects is resource-demanding, would finding a moving target further increase the chances of missing a subsequent one? To address this question, we had participants search for one or more targets hidden among distractors. Subsequent search misses were more likely when the targets and distractors moved throughout the display than when they remained stationary. However, when the found targets were highlighted in a unique color, subsequent search misses were no more likely in moving displays. Together, these results suggest that the effect of movement is likely due to the increased cognitive demands of tracking moving targets. Overall, our findings reveal that activities that involve searching for moving targets (e.g., driving) are more susceptible to subsequent search misses than are those that involve searching for stationary targets (e.g., baggage screening).

Design of Nonwoven Carpets to Upgrade Sound Isolation Features in Automobiles

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Atakan Raziye

2014-12-01

Full Text Available With the increases of the expected properties of textile products, better and advanced new designs are being created. Textiles used in vehicles are increasing, and the current performance of the expectations bar is determined by automobile manufacturers. While meeting the expectations of users in the vehicle mechanically, but also disturbing the user during operation of the mechanical properties of this ratio should be minimized. This study was intended to minimize sound transmission of nonwoven textile components, which are used in cars as silencer parts. For that purpose, four different models were developed in this study. First model consists of three designs for baggage carpets. Second model has six designs for floor coverings. Third model comprises two designs inner dash felt and finally fourth model includes two designs of hood liners. The acoustical absorption coefficients and transmission loss of these carpets were tested and evaluated in the frequency range of 16-6300 Hz. The measurements demonstrated that nonwoven layer is a very significant and effective part of a carpet due to its contribution in the sound isolation. With this study, it has been determined which layer has better performance on sound absorption and transmission loss among different carpet types. A combination of heavy layer and nonwoven layer carpets is found to be benefit for noise and sound insulation.

Student Attitudes, Student Anxieties, and How to Address Them; A handbook for science teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Kastrup, Helge

2016-02-01

This book is based on a commitment to teaching science to everybody. What may work for training professional scientists does not work for general science education. Students bring to the classrooms preconceived attitudes, as well as the emotional baggage called 'science anxiety'. Students may regard science as cold, unfriendly, and even inherently hostile and biased against women. This book has been designed to deal with each of these issues and results from research in both Denmark and the USA. The first chapter discusses student attitudes towards science and the second discusses science anxiety. The connection between the two is discussed before the introduction of constructivism as a pedagogy that can aid science learning if it also addresses attitudes and anxieties. Much of the book elucidates what the authors have learned as science teachers and science education researchers. They studied various groups including university students majoring in the sciences, mathematics, humanities, social sciences, business, nursing, and education; high-school students; teachers' seminary students; science teachers at all levels from middle school through college; and science administrators. The insights of these groups constitute the most important feature of the book, and by sharing them, the authors hope to help their fellow science teachers to understand student attitudes about science, to recognize the connections between these and science anxiety, and to see how a pedagogy that takes these into account can improve science learning.

Novel data visualizations of X-ray data for aviation security applications using the Open Threat Assessment Platform (OTAP)

Science.gov (United States)

Gittinger, Jaxon M.; Jimenez, Edward S.; Holswade, Erica A.; Nunna, Rahul S.

2017-02-01

This work will demonstrate the implementation of a traditional and non-traditional visualization of x-ray images for aviation security applications that will be feasible with open system architecture initiatives such as the Open Threat Assessment Platform (OTAP). Anomalies of interest to aviation security are fluid, where characteristic signals of anomalies of interest can evolve rapidly. OTAP is a limited scope open architecture baggage screening prototype that intends to allow 3rd-party vendors to develop and easily implement, integrate, and deploy detection algorithms and specialized hardware on a field deployable screening technology [13]. In this study, stereoscopic images were created using an unmodified, field-deployed system and rendered on the Oculus Rift, a commercial virtual reality video gaming headset. The example described in this work is not dependent on the Oculus Rift, and is possible using any comparable hardware configuration capable of rendering stereoscopic images. The depth information provided from viewing the images will aid in the detection of characteristic signals from anomalies of interest. If successful, OTAP has the potential to allow for aviation security to become more fluid in its adaptation to the evolution of anomalies of interest. This work demonstrates one example that is easily implemented using the OTAP platform, that could lead to the future generation of ATR algorithms and data visualization approaches.

Cross-Cultural Perspectives of Service Quality and Risk in Air Transportation

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Lawrence F.; Young, Clifford E.; Lee, Moonkyu

2002-01-01

This study compares US and Korean customers in terms of their perceptions of airline service quality based on SERVPERF and industry-based measures, as well as their perceptions of risks involved in the airline choice. SERVPERF is a set of multi-dimensional measures of customer evaluations of service quality. The results indicate that: (1) US passengers are generally more satisfied with their airline service than Korean customers on most of the SERVPERF dimensions; (2) Koreans are generally more satisfied with the bumping procedures whereas US participants feel more satisfied with the airline's baggage handling, operations/safety, and connections; and (3) US participants perceive higher levels of performance and financial risks whereas Koreans feel greater social risk in choosing an airline. This study also examines the SERVPERF, industry-based measure, and perceived risk in predicting customer satisfaction with, and intention to repatronize the airline. The results suggest that US customers consider service reliability, in-flight comfort, and connections as the key factors determining satisfaction with airline service whereas Korean passengers generally regard reliability, assurance, and risk factors as predictors of satisfaction. The determining factors of customer intention to repatronize the airline are reliability and empathy for US, and reliability and overall risk for Korean customers. The study demonstrates the applicability of SERVPERF as a cross-cultural tool and indicates the importance of perceived risk in cross-cultural studies.

Electronic tagging and integrated product intelligence

Science.gov (United States)

Swerdlow, Martin; Weeks, Brian

1996-03-01

The advent of 'intelligent,' electronic data bearing tags is set to revolutionize the way industrial and retail products are identified and tracked throughout their life cycles. The dominant system for unique identification today is the bar code, which is based on printed symbology and regulated by the International Article Numbering Association. Bar codes provide users with significant operational advantages and generate considerable added value to packaging companies, product manufacturers, distributors and retailers, across supply chains in many different sectors, from retailing, to baggage handling and industrial components, e.g., for vehicles or aircraft. Electronic tags offer the potential to: (1) record and store more complex data about the product or any modifications which occur during its life cycle; (2) access (and up-date) stored data in real time in a way which does not involve contact with the product or article; (3) overcome the limitations imposed by systems which rely on line-of-sight access to stored data. Companies are now beginning to consider how electronic data tags can be used, not only to improve the efficiency of their supply chain processes, but also to revolutionize the way they do business. This paper reviews the applications and business opportunities for electronic tags and outlines CEST's strategy for achieving an 'open' standard which will ensure that tags from different vendors can co-exist on an international basis.

A scientific defence of religion and the religious accommodation of science? Contextual challenges and paradoxes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cornel W. du Toit

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Few human phenomena in our time are as controversial or confusing as religion. People seem to live in two worlds: a mythical and a scientific one. They talk about either of these worlds in isolation but cannot reconcile the underlying presuppositions. Believers are less naïve than the ‘new atheists’ suppose, and atheists do not come without their quota of superstition and belief. Midway between the two opposites is a burgeoning, secular new spirituality that has assumed many forms in recent years. The groups are often marked by some form of naturalism, which try to accommodate science. The premise in this article is that religion, being a product of normal evolutionary processes, is ‘natural’. This implies that cultural evolution is ongoing and supports the thesis that religion (in this case Western Christianity is making a major transition. As for science, I briefly outline the role of metaphysics. That is because science often has to invoke metaphysical constructs to make sense of the bigger picture. Following Aristotle, the metaphysical dimension of science is a blank page which every era fills with its own interpretation. In that sense, it is ‘more than’ just empiricism, verifiability, and it is accompanied by some metaphysical baggage. At this metaphysical level, the traditional dominance of causality makes way for emergence.

On Not Understanding Extraordinary Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan

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Richard K. Payne

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The question motivating this essay is how tantric Buddhist practitioners in Japan understood language such as to believe that mantra, dhāraṇī, and related forms are efficacious. “Extraordinary language” is introduced as a cover term for these several similar language uses found in tantric Buddhist practices in Japan. The essay proceeds to a critical examination of Anglo-American philosophy of language to determine whether the concepts, categories, and concerns of that field can contribute to the analysis and understanding of extraordinary language. However, that philosophy of language does not contribute to this analysis, as it is constrained by its continuing focus on its founding concepts, dating particularly from the work of Frege. Comparing it to Indic thought regarding language reveals a distinct mismatch, further indicating the limiting character of the philosophy of language. The analysis then turns to examine two other explanations of tantric language use found in religious studies literature: magical language and performative language. These also, however, prove to be unhelpful. While the essay is primarily critical, one candidate for future constructive study is historical pragmatics, as suggested by Ronald Davidson. The central place of extraordinary language indicates that Indic reflections on the nature of language informed tantric Buddhist practice in Japan and are not simply cultural baggage.

Requirements and approach for a space tourism launch system

Science.gov (United States)

Penn, Jay P.; Lindley, Charles A.

2003-01-01

Market surveys suggest that a viable space tourism industry will require flight rates about two orders of magnitude higher than those required for conventional spacelift. Although enabling round-trip cost goals for a viable space tourism business are about 240/pound (529/kg), or 72,000/passenger round-trip, goals should be about 50/pound (110/kg) or approximately 15,000 for a typical passenger and baggage. The lower price will probably open space tourism to the general population. Vehicle reliabilities must approach those of commercial aircraft as closely as possible. This paper addresses the development of spaceplanes optimized for the ultra-high flight rate and high reliability demands of the space tourism mission. It addresses the fundamental operability, reliability, and cost drivers needed to satisfy this mission need. Figures of merit similar to those used to evaluate the economic viability of conventional commercial aircraft are developed, including items such as payload/vehicle dry weight, turnaround time, propellant cost per passenger, and insurance and depreciation costs, which show that infrastructure can be developed for a viable space tourism industry. A reference spaceplane design optimized for space tourism is described. Subsystem allocations for reliability, operability, and costs are made and a route to developing such a capability is discussed. The vehicle's ability to satisfy the traditional spacelift market is also shown.

Image of Oriental Turkmen Female Travelees in the Nineteenth Century Western Travel Writing

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Ahmad Gholi

2017-03-01

Full Text Available One of crucial issues which Western travel writers in their journeys to the Orient specifically in the height of colonialism in the nineteenth has addressed is Oriental women. Entrapped and conditioned by their cultural baggage and operating on the basis of Orientalist discourse, they have mostly presented a reductive image of their Oriental female travelees as exotic, seductive, sensual, secluded, and suppressed, in lieu of entering into a cultural dialogue and painting their picture sympathetically and respectfully. To convey their lasciviousness, they have expatiated on Oriental harems and to display their oppression foregrounded their veil and ill-treatment by their allegedly insensitive and callus menfolks. In the same period in the context of the Great Game the politically oriented Western travel writers in particular the British ones set out on a voyage to Central Asia where they encountered ethnic Turkmen. Besides gathering intelligence, the travel writers devoted considerable pages to their Turkmen female travelees as well. But their images in these travel books have not been subject to rigorous scholarly scrutiny. In this regard, the current articles in two sections seeks to redress this neglect by shedding light on how these travel writers portrayed their Turkmen female travelees in seemingly unorientalist fashion in the first part and how explicitly in Orientalist tradition in the second part.

Lightning Impacts on Airports - Challenges of Balancing Safety & Efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Steiner, Matthias; Deierling, Wiebke; Nelson, Eric; Stone, Ken

2013-04-01

Thunderstorms and lightning pose a safety risk to personnel working outdoors, such as people maintaining airport grounds (e.g., mowing grass or repairing runway lighting) or servicing aircraft on ramps (handling baggage, food service, refueling, tugging and guiding aircraft from/to gates, etc.). Since lightning strikes can cause serious injuries or death, it is important to provide timely alerts to airport personnel so that they can get to safety when lightning is imminent. This presentation discusses the challenges and uncertainties involved in using lightning information and stakeholder procedures to ensure safety of outdoor personnel while keeping ramp operations as efficient as possible considering thunderstorm impacts. The findings presented are based on extensive observations of airline operators under thunderstorm impacts. These observations reveal a complex picture with substantial uncertainties related to the (1) source of lightning information (e.g., sensor type, network, data processing) used to base ramp closure decisions on, (2) uncertainties involved in the safety procedures employed by various stakeholders across the aviation industry (yielding notably different rules being applied by multiple airlines even at a single airport), and (3) human factors issues related to the use of decision support tools and the implementation of safety procedures. This research is supported by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of the FAA.

Cultural Routes and Intangible Heritage

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Enza Zabbini

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The theoretical interpretation of thematic routes helps to predict the effects on the territories visited by cultured tourists who want to enrich their cultural and emotional baggage. After the analysis of some interpretations, this paper will examine how the practical implementation of an itinerary approved by the Council of Europe has evolved over the years. And it will also reflect on the practical results in the areas involved in that project. "The Hannibal Pathway ", the main overland walk on the "Phoenician Route - Cultural Route recognized by the Council of Europe" – represents a case of study that allows to reflect over the impact of cultural tourism based on immaterial heritage. In fact, in the areas where the battle of 21 June 217 BC took place, nothing tangible is left, except the landscape that has kept its conformation intact. In these areas, thanks to the foresight of the local governments in the last three decades, the landscape of the plain has been preserved. This makes possible today to propose an historical path precisely based on the landscape and on the new techniques for the valorization of the heritage. In the Tuoro plain it is possible to see the battlefields, thus retracing the various stages of the battle, supported by the Documentation Centre of the Capra Palace and virtual reconstructions of high technical quality.

Development of a noise reduction program of a prompt gamma spectrum based on principal component analysis for an explosive detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Yun Hee; Im, Hee Jung; Song, Byung ChoI; Park, Yong Joon; Kim, Won Ho; Cho, Jung Hwan

2005-01-01

This work demonstrates a developed program to reduce noises of a prompt gamma-ray spectrum measured by irradiating neutrons into baggage. The noises refer to random variations mainly caused by electrical fluctuations and also by a measurement time. Especially, since the short measurement time yields such a noisy spectrum in which its special peak can not be observed, it is necessary to extract its characteristic signals from the spectrum to identify an explosive hidden in luggage. Principal component analysis(PCA) that is a multivariate statistical technique is closely related to singular value decomposition(SVD). The SVD-based PCA decreases the noise by reconstructing the spectrum after determining the number of principal components corresponding important signals based on the history data that sufficiently describe its population. In this study, we present a visualized program of the above procedure using the MATLAB 7.04 programming language. When our program is started, it requires an arbitrary measured spectrum to be reduced and history spectra as input files. If user selects the files with menu, our program automatically carries out the PCA procedure and provides its noise-reduced spectrum plot as well as the original spectrum plot into an output window. In addition, user can obtain signal-to-noise ratio of an interesting peak by defining the peak and noise ranges with menu

Space tourism optimized reusable spaceplane design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Penn, J.P.; Lindley, C.A. [The Aerospace Corporation El Segundo, California90245-4691 (United States)

1997-01-01

Market surveys suggest that a viable space tourism industry will require flight rates about two orders of magnitude higher than those required for conventional spacelift. Although enabling round-trip cost goals for a viable space tourism business are about {dollar_sign}240 per pound ({dollar_sign}529/kg), or {dollar_sign}72,000 per passenger round-trip, goals should be about {dollar_sign}50 per pound ({dollar_sign}110/kg) or approximately {dollar_sign}15,000 for a typical passenger and baggage. The lower price will probably open space tourism to the general population. Vehicle reliabilities must approach those of commercial aircraft as closely as possible. This paper addresses the development of spaceplanes optimized for the ultra-high flight rate and high reliability demands of the space tourism mission. It addresses the fundamental operability, reliability, and cost drivers needed to satisfy this mission need. Figures of merit similar to those used to evaluate the economic viability of conventional commercial aircraft are developed, including items such as payload/vehicle dry weight, turnaround time, propellant cost per passenger, and insurance and depreciation costs, which show that infrastructure can be developed for a viable space tourism industry. A reference spaceplane design optimized for space tourism is described. Subsystem allocations for reliability, operability, and costs are made and a route to developing such a capability is discussed. The vehicle{close_quote}s ability to also satisfy the traditional spacelift market is shown. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}

Education in radiation protection in the National Customs of Paraguay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bordon, Oscar

2013-01-01

According to the IAEA-TECDOC-1312, as it is required by international agreements, the displacement of radioactive material within and among States should be subject to strict regulatory, administrative, safety and technical controls to ensure conditions of technological and physical safety. The Customs Office is one of the institutions responsible for monitoring shipments crossing international borders. Increasing illicit trafficking of radioactive materials, the use of ionizing radiation generating equipment for checking loads, and trade in radioactive substances have informed the need for education in radiation protection of customs officials. Thus, based on a course on radiation protection for Customs officials, organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency, in March 2008 was initiated a course of radiation protection, of 30 hours Carrera Tecnica del Centro de Formacion y Capacitacion Aduanera de Paraguay, which highlights the basic chapters and for transporting, nomenclature, new equipment emitting ionizing radiation and smuggling. Since then, to date, at least 10 groups have completed the training. Within the training program for customs officials, was incorporated a course for radiation protection of operators of baggage scanners with a four-hour program. Finally, since from 2011 and periodically, at various country customs, a workshop on Illicit trafficking of radioactive and nuclear materials is performed. The results of these courses have been very positive, as well as know the proper procedures for dealing with ionizing radiation has increased the safety culture within the institution

Effect of emerging technology on a convertible, business/interceptor, supersonic-cruise jet

Science.gov (United States)

Beissner, F. L., Jr.; Lovell, W. A.; Robins, A. W.; Swanson, E. E.

1986-01-01

This study was initiated to assess the feasibility of an eight-passenger, supersonic-cruise long range business jet aircraft that could be converted into a military missile carrying interceptor. The baseline passenger version has a flight crew of two with cabin space for four rows of two passenger seats plus baggage and lavatory room in the aft cabin. The ramp weight is 61,600 pounds with an internal fuel capacity of 30,904 pounds. Utilizing an improved version of a current technology low-bypass ratio turbofan engine, range is 3,622 nautical miles at Mach 2.0 cruise and standard day operating conditions. Balanced field takeoff distance is 6,600 feet and landing distance is 5,170 feet at 44,737 pounds. The passenger section from aft of the flight crew station to the aft pressure bulkhead in the cabin was modified for the interceptor version. Bomb bay type doors were added and volume is sufficient for four advanced air-to-air missiles mounted on a rotary launcher. Missile volume was based on a Phoenix type missile with a weight of 910 pounds per missile for a total payload weight of 3,640 pounds. Structural and equipment weights were adjusted and result in a ramp weight of 63,246 pounds with a fuel load of 30,938 pounds. Based on a typical intercept mission flight profile, the resulting radius is 1,609 nautical miles at a cruise Mach number of 2.0.

Justice and justiciability: advancing solidarity and justice through South Africans' right to health jurisprudence.

Science.gov (United States)

Forman, Lisa

2008-09-01

The South African Constitutional Court's jurisprudence provides a path-breaking illustration of the social justice potential of an enforceable right to health. It challenges traditional objections to social rights by showing that their enforcement need not be democratically unsound or make zero-sum claims on limited resources. Indeed the South African experience suggests that enforcing health rights may in fact contribute to greater degrees of collective solidarity and justice as the Court has sought to ensure that the basic needs of the poor are not unreasonably restricted by competing public and private interests. This approach has seen the Court adopt a novel fights paradigm which locates individual civil and social rights within a communitarian framework drawing from the traditional African notion of'ubuntu', denoting collective solidarity, humaneness and mutual responsibilities to recognize the respect, dignity and value of all members of society. Yet this jurisprudence also illustrates the limits of litigation as a tool of social transformation, and of social rights that remain embedded in ideological baggage even where they have been constitutionally entrenched and enforced. This paper explores the Constitutional Court's unfolding jurisprudence on the right to health, providing background to the constitutional entrenchment of a justiciable right to health; exploring early Constitutional Court jurisprudence on this right; turning to the forceful application of this right in relation to government policy on AIDS treatment; and concluding with thoughts about the strengths and limits of this jurisprudence in light of subsequent case-law.

Isolation and characterization of avian influenza viruses from raw poultry products illegally imported to Japan by international flight passengers.

Science.gov (United States)

Shibata, A; Hiono, T; Fukuhara, H; Sumiyoshi, R; Ohkawara, A; Matsuno, K; Okamatsu, M; Osaka, H; Sakoda, Y

2018-04-01

The transportation of poultry and related products for international trade contributes to transboundary pathogen spread and disease outbreaks worldwide. To prevent pathogen incursion through poultry products, many countries have regulations about animal health and poultry product quarantine. However, in Japan, animal products have been illegally introduced into the country in baggage and confiscated at the airport. Lately, the number of illegally imported poultry and the incursion risk of transboundary pathogens through poultry products have been increasing. In this study, we isolated avian influenza viruses (AIVs) from raw poultry products illegally imported to Japan by international passengers. Highly (H5N1 and H5N6) and low (H9N2 and H1N2) pathogenic AIVs were isolated from raw chicken and duck products carried by flight passengers. H5 and H9 isolates were phylogenetically closely related to viruses isolated from poultry in China, and haemagglutinin genes of H5N1 and H5N6 isolates belonged to clades 2.3.2.1c and 2.3.4.4, respectively. Experimental infections of H5 and H9 isolates in chickens and ducks demonstrated pathogenicity and tissue tropism to skeletal muscles. To prevent virus incursion by poultry products, it is important to encourage the phased cleaning based on the disease control and eradication and promote the reduction in contamination risk in animal products. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

The science and politics of linear radiation models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagan, L.A.

1992-01-01

Unlike religion or politics, science is thought to be value free, and free of subjectivity. The author's thesis is that scientists carry the same cultural baggage as do other human beings. Where uncertainty exists, we often invent explanatory myths; we call them knowledge, or science. An example is our belief in the harmfulness of radiation at low (environmental or occupational exposure) levels. This thesis (myth) is widely accepted as established fact, not only among the lay public, but among the scientific community as well. Historically, it was thought that radiation effects obeyed a threshold response. Occupational exposure standards were based upon such a presumption. Following the second world war, however, this strategy was reconsidered, based on genetic studies and the observation that genetic phenomena were important in carcinogenesis. On the basis of prudence, public policy authorities adopted a policy in which it was assumed that even very low doses of radiation might be harmful. Evidence to the contrary has been suppressed. Indeed, the literature is full of reports suggesting that animals exposed to low doses of radiation benefit from those exposures. Such benefits include enhancement of the immune system, increased resistance to infection, and increased longevity. Several mechanisms have been proposed which might explain how such effects could occur. There is now a new wave of interest in low dose phenomena, and in the adaptive mechanisms which exist. Whether this shall result in a reconsideration of the radiation paradigm is still to be seen

THE CAPACITY AND CIRCULATION OF PASSENGER TERMINAL BUILDING IN REGIONAL AIRPORT (CASE: MINANGKABAU AND ADISUTJIPTO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS OF INDONESIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amalia Defiani

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The dissertation explains about capacity and flow inside terminal buildings in two regional airports in Indonesia: Minangkabau and Adisutjipto International Airports. Both airports have similar characteristics of passengers’ number and locations as tourism areas. Secondary data in the form of existing terminal layouts and air traffic numbers were gained from both airports authorities in Indonesia. The analysis was carried out using the formulas from Japan International Cooperation Agency – Directorate General of Civil Aviation of Indonesia(JICA-DGCA studies in 1996 for significant areas in the terminal building, Ashford and Wright formula for calculating aircraft movement per hour, Microsoft Excel for calculating the 10-year passenger growth rate, and SPSS for determining the linear equation for domestic departure resulted in the forecasted saturation in the near 2020 for both of airports, especially on passengers’ handling areas such as boarding lounge (for departure and baggage claim area (for arrival. The research resulted in ideas to overcome problems related to the increasing capacity by adding areas (if possible and changing layouts. Some other options such as implementation of more effective signage and the suggestion of centralizing security checking areas also are being brought—though needed further research. There should be an addition of numbers of security check lines, appropriately to the increasing number of passengers. If a single queuing line creates delays, then the need for extra line(s is a necessity Keywords: Airport, Terminal Building, Capacity, Flow, Minangkabau, Adisutjipto

Evaluation of composite components on the Bell 206L and Sikorsky S-76 helicopters

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Donald J.

1990-01-01

Progress on two programs to evaluate structural composite components in flight service on Bell 206L and Sikorsky S-76 commercial helicopters is described. Forty ship sets of composite components that include the litter door, baggage door, forward fairing, and vertical fin have been installed on Bell Model 206L helicopters that are operating in widely different climates. Component installation started in 1981 and selected components were removed and tested at prescribed intervals over a ten year evaluation. Four horizontal stabilizers and eleven tail rotor spars that are production components on the S-76 helicopter were tested after prescribed periods of service to determine the effects of the operating environment on their performance. Concurrent with the flight evaluation, materials used to fabricate the components were exposed in ground racks and tested at specified intervals to determine the effects of outdoor environments. Results achieved from 123,000 hours of accumulated service on the Bell 206L components and 53,000 hours on the Sikorsky S-76 components are reported. Seventy-eight Bell 206L components were removed and tested statically. Results of seven years of ground exposure of materials used to fabricate the Bell 206L components are presented. Results of tests on four Sikorsky S-76 horizontal stabilizers and eleven tail rotor spars are also presented. Panels of material used to fabricate the Sikorsky S-76 components that were exposed for six years were tested and results are presented.

Education in radiation protection in the National Customs of Paraguay; Educacion en proteccion radiologica en la Direccion Nacional de Aduanas del Paraguay

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bordon, Oscar, E-mail: obordon@aduana.gov.py, E-mail: obordon@yahoo.com [Direccion Nacional de Aduanas, Departamento de Seguridad Radiologica, Administracion de Aduana de Gical, Mariano Roque Alonso (Paraguay)

2013-07-01

According to the IAEA-TECDOC-1312, as it is required by international agreements, the displacement of radioactive material within and among States should be subject to strict regulatory, administrative, safety and technical controls to ensure conditions of technological and physical safety. The Customs Office is one of the institutions responsible for monitoring shipments crossing international borders. Increasing illicit trafficking of radioactive materials, the use of ionizing radiation generating equipment for checking loads, and trade in radioactive substances have informed the need for education in radiation protection of customs officials. Thus, based on a course on radiation protection for Customs officials, organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency, in March 2008 was initiated a course of radiation protection, of 30 hours Carrera Tecnica del Centro de Formacion y Capacitacion Aduanera de Paraguay, which highlights the basic chapters and for transporting, nomenclature, new equipment emitting ionizing radiation and smuggling. Since then, to date, at least 10 groups have completed the training. Within the training program for customs officials, was incorporated a course for radiation protection of operators of baggage scanners with a four-hour program. Finally, since from 2011 and periodically, at various country customs, a workshop on Illicit trafficking of radioactive and nuclear materials is performed. The results of these courses have been very positive, as well as know the proper procedures for dealing with ionizing radiation has increased the safety culture within the institution.

Gaining hope and self-confidence-An interview study of women's experience of treatment by art therapy for severe fear of childbirth.

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Wahlbeck, Helén; Kvist, Linda J; Landgren, Kajsa

2017-10-31

Fear of childbirth is a serious problem that can have negative effects on both women and babies and to date treatment options are limited. The aim of this study was to elucidate the experience of undergoing art therapy in women with severe fear of childbirth. Nineteen women residing in Sweden, who had undergone art therapy for severe fear of childbirth, were interviewed during 2011-2013 about their experiences of the treatment. All women had received both support from a specialist team of midwives and treatment by an art therapist who was also a midwife. The women were interviewed three months after giving birth. The transcribed interviews were analysed with a phenomenological hermeneutical method. A main theme and three themes emerged from the analysis. The main theme was Gaining hope and self confidence. The three themes were; Carrying heavy baggage, Creating images as a catalyst for healing and Gaining new insights and abilities. Through the use of images and colours the women gained access to difficult emotions and the act of painting helped them visualize these emotions and acted as a catalyst for the healing process. Art therapy was well accepted by the women. Through sharing their burden of fear by creating visible images, they gained hope and self-confidence in the face of their impending childbirth. The results may contribute to knowledge about the feasibility of treating fear of childbirth by art therapy. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The Exclusion of Liability for Emotional Harm to Passengers in the Warsaw and Montréal Convention: Moving Away from Floyd, Siddhu and Pienaar to the Stott Case?

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Rafia De Gama

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This contribution focuses on the transport of passengers on international routes and the legal regime set down by the Warsaw Convention of 1929 and reinforced by the Montréal Convention of 1999. These Conventions regulate commercial aviation by detailing a set of minimum standardised procedures for flight safety, such as standards for air navigation systems, amongst others, to ensure safe and efficient air travel. The legal regime also regulates the possible claims that may be made against airlines for the death of or harm to passengers, as well as relating to damage to and loss of baggage. The regime not only limits claims temporally and by location, but it also excludes the application of national legal regimes. With regard to claims of harm to dignity the regime disallows such claims to be brought within the restrictions placed by the legal regimes or on any other basis. The contribution does not address the full coverage of these Conventions, only the exclusion of mental / emotional injuries. The Convention excludes emotional harm from the definition of death and physical harm. However claimants have brought claims to undermine the main exclusion of claims with regard to compensation for emotional harm. This contribution explores the exclusion of claims in the Warsaw and Montréal Conventions and thereafter analyses two court decisions in common law countries where this exclusion of claims was challenged and the challenge failed.

Air System Information Management

Science.gov (United States)

Filman, Robert E.

2004-01-01

I flew to Washington last week, a trip rich in distributed information management. Buying tickets, at the gate, in flight, landing and at the baggage claim, myriad messages about my reservation, the weather, our flight plans, gates, bags and so forth flew among a variety of travel agency, airline and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) computers and personnel. By and large, each kind of information ran on a particular application, often specialized to own data formats and communications network. I went to Washington to attend an FAA meeting on System-Wide Information Management (SWIM) for the National Airspace System (NAS) (http://www.nasarchitecture.faa.gov/Tutorials/NAS101.cfm). NAS (and its information infrastructure, SWIM) is an attempt to bring greater regularity, efficiency and uniformity to the collection of stovepipe applications now used to manage air traffic. Current systems hold information about flight plans, flight trajectories, weather, air turbulence, current and forecast weather, radar summaries, hazardous condition warnings, airport and airspace capacity constraints, temporary flight restrictions, and so forth. Information moving among these stovepipe systems is usually mediated by people (for example, air traffic controllers) or single-purpose applications. People, whose intelligence is critical for difficult tasks and unusual circumstances, are not as efficient as computers for tasks that can be automated. Better information sharing can lead to higher system capacity, more efficient utilization and safer operations. Better information sharing through greater automation is possible though not necessarily easy.

Why do the Russians succumb to the “strong-hand” government? Historical-cultural legitimacy of the Russian state leadership in the context of Yuri Pivovarov’s theory

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Olędzka Justyna

2017-12-01

Full Text Available State leadership in Russia is determined by historical and cultural as well as by legal and institutional premises. The analysis of ways of obtaining legitimacy by state leaders of the Russian Federation is a borderline issue of political science, sociology, and history. The conditions that favor the creation of the archetype on the Russian ground are undoubtedly: extremely centralized political power in Russia (one central decision-making center whose decisions were arbitrarily arbitrary, the problem of the enforcement of the rules of the trilateral division of power (the legislative sphere dominated the legislature, the low level of control Social rulers (lack of effective legal mechanisms to verify the effects of their activities, paternalism of the leadership system and low participation of representative institutions in public life. The aim of the article is to situate in the field of considerations about the archetype of Russian power the concept of Yuri Pivovarov, according to which not only civilization baggage and the immaturity of civil society have decided the legitimacy of the state leadership of the Russian Federation. According to him, the problem of the participation of the political elite in the redistribution of goods (and the low level of participation of citizens in the process of ownership separation is of significant importance. According to the theory of the Russian political scientist, the basis for understanding the phenomenon of Russian state leadership is the combination of elements of archetypal leadership with a proper interpretation of the relation of freedom – property.

Diasporic Activism and the Mediations of “Home”: South Asian Voices in Canadian Drama

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Nandi Bhatia

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Critical analyses of literatures of the Indian diaspora discuss the “home” of origin as a subtext and a site to which diasporas aspire to return even though it remains an unachievable ideal that is refracted through nostalgic retellings of a space that remains at best “imaginary” (Mishra 2007. Alternatively, some critics, as Roger Waldinger and David Fitzgerald point out, view diasporas’ relationship with the homeland in terms of “loyalty,” obscuring in the process the antagonisms that may arise depending upon one’s circumstances, antagonisms that produce “interactions” between homes of residence and those of origin (2012. In South Asian drama in Canada, many of the concerns regarding race, multiculturalism, job discrimination and violence against women and other marginalized groups are propelled by their links to the playwrights’ “home” of origin. With attention to selected plays, this paper will analyze how the networks between home and spaces of residence in multicultural Canada come alive on theatre stages through visual motifs, actors, props, and photographic collages, which confront the different trajectories of “home” that resurface in these plays. Through live scenes of imagination that speak to spectators, several plays under discussion in this essay expose how, while providing emotional sustenance for some, the baggage of “home” may also pose challenges in the home of residence. So the questions I raise are: How does home appear? To what end? And what does returning “home” teach us about the inequalities and injustices underlying the current global order?

La ciudadanía como ámbito de integración social ante el fenómeno de las migraciones

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Santamarina, Cristina

2010-08-01

Full Text Available One can only begin to understand immigration through conflict with others, with that which is different and, therefore, as a complex experience for all cultures. We cannot expect these conflicts to be resolved in the uncertain sphere of society or transfer them to the administration. Citizens form the only institution truly capable of accommodating this new reality striking down like a new challenge for European societies. That is because we, the citizens, accept the rights and duties inherent to our institution, and we can even extend this proposal to other peoples, to peoples with their own baggage, cultures and experiences given they are willing to assume these same rights and duties.

El impacto de la inmigración no puede comprenderse más que desde el conflicto del encuentro con los otros, con lo otro diferente y, por tanto, como experiencia compleja para toda cultura. No podemos tampoco esperar que esos conflictos se resuelvan en el incierto espacio de lo social ni transferir a las administraciones esta responsabilidad. La institución de la ciudadanía es la única con capacidad verdadera para acoger esta nueva realidad que golpea como un nuevo desafío a las sociedades de Europa. Porque la ciudadanía es la institución en la que aceptamos los derechos y los deberes de la pertenencia y desde la cual es posible ampliar dicha propuesta a otros, con otros bagajes, culturas y experiencias, que estén dispuestos a asumir con nosotros, esos mismos derechos y deberes.

Data collection costs in industrial environments for three occupational posture exposure assessment methods

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Documentation of posture measurement costs is rare and cost models that do exist are generally naïve. This paper provides a comprehensive cost model for biomechanical exposure assessment in occupational studies, documents the monetary costs of three exposure assessment methods for different stakeholders in data collection, and uses simulations to evaluate the relative importance of cost components. Methods Trunk and shoulder posture variables were assessed for 27 aircraft baggage handlers for 3 full shifts each using three methods typical to ergonomic studies: self-report via questionnaire, observation via video film, and full-shift inclinometer registration. The cost model accounted for expenses related to meetings to plan the study, administration, recruitment, equipment, training of data collectors, travel, and onsite data collection. Sensitivity analyses were conducted using simulated study parameters and cost components to investigate the impact on total study cost. Results Inclinometry was the most expensive method (with a total study cost of € 66,657), followed by observation (€ 55,369) and then self report (€ 36,865). The majority of costs (90%) were borne by researchers. Study design parameters such as sample size, measurement scheduling and spacing, concurrent measurements, location and travel, and equipment acquisition were shown to have wide-ranging impacts on costs. Conclusions This study provided a general cost modeling approach that can facilitate decision making and planning of data collection in future studies, as well as investigation into cost efficiency and cost efficient study design. Empirical cost data from a large field study demonstrated the usefulness of the proposed models. PMID:22738341

The case of the team-spirit tailspin.

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, R D

1991-01-01

Richard Johnson, newly appointed president of Century Airlines, knew the company's survival depended on customer service, which in turn depended on motivated employees. So he created the Century Spirit program to build team spirit by encouraging employee participation, individual initiative, and open communication. Among the program's early successes was a newspaper started by a group of flight attendants. The Plane Truth published information about benefits and work conditions as well as feature stories and humorous articles. It quickly became popular not only with flight attendants but also with pilots, machinists, and baggage handlers. As time went on, though, the Plane Truth began to run articles critical of the company. When management cut back workers' hours, the newspaper questioned what sacrifices the executives were making. When technical services released figures showing long turnaround times, the paper questioned the machinists' work ethic. Worried that customers might see the newspaper, Richard Johnson wanted to cancel it. The president of the flight attendants union also wanted to see it go because it was stirring up trouble with the machinists. Joan Raffin, Century's human resources director, was asked to stop the publication. But she hesitated. She knew that employee morale was on the brink, but she didn't know whether the newspaper was venting workers' frustrations and reinforcing team spirit or stirring up old animosities and bringing the whole company down. Was it creating more tension than unity or vice versa? Experts on organizational change, motivation, and management analyze the situation and make recommendations for what Joan Raffin should do.

Bioethical and Other Philosophical Considerations in Positive Psychiatry

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Singh, Ajai R.; Singh, Shakuntala A.

2016-01-01

The paper begins by asserting the need for bioethical and related philosophical considerations in the emerging subspecialty Positive Psychiatry. Further discussion proceeds after offering operational definitions of the concepts fundamental to the field – Bioethics, Positive Psychology, Positive Psychiatry and Positive Mental Health - with their conceptual analysis to show their areas of connect and disconnect. It then studies the implications of positive and negative findings in the field, and presents the Positive Psychosocial Factors (PPSFs) like Resilience, Optimism, Personal Mastery, Wisdom, Religion/Spirituality, Social relationships and support, Engagement in pleasant events etc. It then evaluates them on the basis of the 4-principled bioethical model of Beneficence, Non-malfeasance, Autonomy and Justice (Beauchamp and Childress, 2009[5], 2013[6]), first offering a brief clarification of these principles and then their bioethical analysis based on the concepts of ‘Common Morality’, ‘Specific Morality’, ‘Specification’, ‘Balancing’ and ‘Double Effects’. The paper then looks into the further development of the branch by studying the connectivity, synergy and possible antagonism of the various Positive Psychosocial Factors, and presents technical terms in place of common terms so that they carry least baggage. It also takes note of the salient points of caution and alarm that many incisive analysts have presented about further development in the related field of Positive Mental Health. Finally, the paper looks at where, and how, the field is headed, and why, if at all, it is proper it is headed there, based on Aristotle's concept of the four causes - Material, Efficient, Formal and Final. Suitable case vignettes are presented all through the write-up to clarify concepts. PMID:28031624

Bioethical and Other Philosophical Considerations in Positive Psychiatry.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Ajai R; Singh, Shakuntala A

2016-01-01

The paper begins by asserting the need for bioethical and related philosophical considerations in the emerging subspecialty Positive Psychiatry. Further discussion proceeds after offering operational definitions of the concepts fundamental to the field - Bioethics, Positive Psychology, Positive Psychiatry and Positive Mental Health - with their conceptual analysis to show their areas of connect and disconnect. It then studies the implications of positive and negative findings in the field, and presents the Positive Psychosocial Factors (PPSFs) like Resilience, Optimism, Personal Mastery, Wisdom, Religion/Spirituality, Social relationships and support, Engagement in pleasant events etc. It then evaluates them on the basis of the 4-principled bioethical model of Beneficence, Non-malfeasance, Autonomy and Justice (Beauchamp and Childress, 2009[5], 2013[6]), first offering a brief clarification of these principles and then their bioethical analysis based on the concepts of 'Common Morality', 'Specific Morality', 'Specification', 'Balancing' and 'Double Effects'. The paper then looks into the further development of the branch by studying the connectivity, synergy and possible antagonism of the various Positive Psychosocial Factors, and presents technical terms in place of common terms so that they carry least baggage. It also takes note of the salient points of caution and alarm that many incisive analysts have presented about further development in the related field of Positive Mental Health. Finally, the paper looks at where, and how, the field is headed, and why, if at all, it is proper it is headed there, based on Aristotle's concept of the four causes - Material, Efficient, Formal and Final. Suitable case vignettes are presented all through the write-up to clarify concepts.

Human Rights, Fundamental Freedoms and Universal Values in International Relations

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Lev S. Voronkov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The author analyzes the evolution of human rights and fundamental freedoms in domestic political life of individual states and in international relations as well over the latest two centuries. The article traces the role of struggle for liberal political human rights and civilian freedoms in the dismantling of the feudal-absolutist regimes as well as the challenges of radical left-wing (communist and far right-wing (national-socialistic threats to be met by the supporters of liberal political rights and civil freedoms in the interwar period. The list of human rights and fundamental freedoms had constantly been updating in the postwar period, including by the efforts of the UNO and other international organizations, and fixing in different international documents. The author emphasizes the import role of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE in transforming the issues of human rights and fundamental freedoms into the essential element of public diplomacy of contemporary states. He traces the process of the increasing utilization of liberal political rights and civilian freedoms, which are usually the effective tools for domestic democratic transformation, within the framework of diplomatic practice of European and North-American states, aimed at ensuring their political and economic interests on the world stage. In this regard the author addresses the attempts of Western countries to legalize "humanitarian"interventions in circumvention of the UN Security Council. The article emphasizes the necessity to replenish the understanding of universal human rights and freedoms by the values, developed both by the international community within the framework of implementing the Millennium Development Goals and by various countries and peoples, which in sum constitute the modern international civilizational baggage.

The effects of two types of sleep deprivation on visual working memory capacity and filtering efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Drummond, Sean P A; Anderson, Dane E; Straus, Laura D; Vogel, Edward K; Perez, Veronica B

2012-01-01

Sleep deprivation has adverse consequences for a variety of cognitive functions. The exact effects of sleep deprivation, though, are dependent upon the cognitive process examined. Within working memory, for example, some component processes are more vulnerable to sleep deprivation than others. Additionally, the differential impacts on cognition of different types of sleep deprivation have not been well studied. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of one night of total sleep deprivation and 4 nights of partial sleep deprivation (4 hours in bed/night) on two components of visual working memory: capacity and filtering efficiency. Forty-four healthy young adults were randomly assigned to one of the two sleep deprivation conditions. All participants were studied: 1) in a well-rested condition (following 6 nights of 9 hours in bed/night); and 2) following sleep deprivation, in a counter-balanced order. Visual working memory testing consisted of two related tasks. The first measured visual working memory capacity and the second measured the ability to ignore distractor stimuli in a visual scene (filtering efficiency). Results showed neither type of sleep deprivation reduced visual working memory capacity. Partial sleep deprivation also generally did not change filtering efficiency. Total sleep deprivation, on the other hand, did impair performance in the filtering task. These results suggest components of visual working memory are differentially vulnerable to the effects of sleep deprivation, and different types of sleep deprivation impact visual working memory to different degrees. Such findings have implications for operational settings where individuals may need to perform with inadequate sleep and whose jobs involve receiving an array of visual information and discriminating the relevant from the irrelevant prior to making decisions or taking actions (e.g., baggage screeners, air traffic controllers, military personnel, health care providers).

The effects of two types of sleep deprivation on visual working memory capacity and filtering efficiency.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sean P A Drummond

Full Text Available Sleep deprivation has adverse consequences for a variety of cognitive functions. The exact effects of sleep deprivation, though, are dependent upon the cognitive process examined. Within working memory, for example, some component processes are more vulnerable to sleep deprivation than others. Additionally, the differential impacts on cognition of different types of sleep deprivation have not been well studied. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of one night of total sleep deprivation and 4 nights of partial sleep deprivation (4 hours in bed/night on two components of visual working memory: capacity and filtering efficiency. Forty-four healthy young adults were randomly assigned to one of the two sleep deprivation conditions. All participants were studied: 1 in a well-rested condition (following 6 nights of 9 hours in bed/night; and 2 following sleep deprivation, in a counter-balanced order. Visual working memory testing consisted of two related tasks. The first measured visual working memory capacity and the second measured the ability to ignore distractor stimuli in a visual scene (filtering efficiency. Results showed neither type of sleep deprivation reduced visual working memory capacity. Partial sleep deprivation also generally did not change filtering efficiency. Total sleep deprivation, on the other hand, did impair performance in the filtering task. These results suggest components of visual working memory are differentially vulnerable to the effects of sleep deprivation, and different types of sleep deprivation impact visual working memory to different degrees. Such findings have implications for operational settings where individuals may need to perform with inadequate sleep and whose jobs involve receiving an array of visual information and discriminating the relevant from the irrelevant prior to making decisions or taking actions (e.g., baggage screeners, air traffic controllers, military personnel, health care

DJ Goa Gil: Kalifornian Exile, Dark Yogi and Dreaded Anomaly

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Graham St John

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Connecting three generations of music enthusiasts, Goa Gil is an imposing figure in the world of psychedelic trance. If the title of his 2007 compilation registers intent, he is a Worldbridger. Bristling with motifs of world sacred sites and appropriated "tribal" icons, with Gil seated cross-legged upon the apex of a Mayan temple, the album's cover artwork confabulates the physical, spiritual and cultural worlds he professes to bridge. Leading world-wide "trance dance rituals" Goa Gil operates under the guise of a "techno-shaman", a "cyber-baba" and a selector/mixer of traditions whose rituals are reputedly timeless and universal. But this intent is performed amid a highly mobile lifestyle spread across diverse psychedelic music cultures, scenes and sensibilities in discrete times and places. From the 1960s Haight-Ashbury psychedelic rock scene, to the psychedelic jam band scene on Anjuna beach, Goa, India, in the 1970s, to the adoption of electronic music in a DJ-led scene in the 1980s, to the birth of "Goa trance" in the 1990s, to his selection, production and performance of dark psychedelic trance in the 1990s/2000s onwards, DJ Goa Gil's life spans a breathtaking panorama of this-worldly psychedelic scenes. Gil is a freak bricoleur, an anomalous figure who evades modest circumscription. A Californian exile and sanctioned Shaivite practitioner with a professional hankering for darkpsy (as a DJ-producer, a hippie broker of the "Cosmic Spirit" and a post-apocalyptic punk, he is a spiritual authority and cultural outlaw touring the planet with an improbable mix of semiotic and sonic baggage. What's more, celebrated as a champion of the "Goa vibe" or derogated as an accomplice to its demise, Gil is a controversial figure who is the embodiment of considerable ambivalence. This article explores this holiest of anomalies in the world of DJing.

Growing inter-Asian connections: Links, rivalries, and challenges in South Korean–Central Asian relations

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Matteo Fumagalli

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The geopolitical context, which emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, combined with Korea's growing economic prowess, enabled greater dynamism and diversification in Seoul's foreign policy-making. Growing pressure from energy-intensive economies coupled with new developments and investment in logistics and infrastructure has brought different parts of the Eurasian landmass closer together in recent years. Inter-Asian connections are especially growing. This article uses the case of deepening relations between Korea and the post-Soviet Central Asian republics as a vantage point to reflect on one such example of unfolding Asian inter-connectedness. In addition it sees Seoul's engagement in the region as a fitting example of Korea's broader ambitions to assert itself as a global economic player. The article shows that Korea's policy toward Central Asia has been primarily driven by energy needs and is defined by pragmatism. It finds that the economic dimension of the relationship has greatly overshadowed other aspects such as politics and security. In its pursuit of closer ties with the region Seoul has sought to turn structural weaknesses into added value and has attempted to develop a distinctive, non-threatening profile built around the lack of a political baggage and geopolitical ambitions, and the desire to share its experience of formerly impoverished turned leading economy. In turn, Central Asia's selective integration in the world economy has continued, also thanks to its ties with Korea. The Central Asian republics welcomed the opportunity to diversify their foreign relations, the sources of foreign investment and export routes. At the same time the opaque business environment, a leadership succession, which cannot be postponed for much longer, and Seoul's “no-strings attached” approach expose Korea to some risks as regime stability might not last forever.

Anxiety and health problems related to air travel.

Science.gov (United States)

McIntosh, I B; Swanson, V; Power, K G; Raeside, F; Dempster, C

1998-12-01

A significant proportion of air travelers experience situational anxiety and physical health problems. Take-off and landing are assumed to be stressful, but anxiety related to other aspects of the air travel process, anxiety coping strategies, and in-flight health problems have not previously been investigated. We aimed to investigate frequency of perceived anxiety at procedural stages of air travel, individual strategies used to reduce such anxiety, and frequency of health problems on short-haul and long-haul flights. A questionnaire measuring the occurrence and frequency of the above was administered to two samples of intending travelers during a 3 month period to: (a) 138 travel agency clients, and (b) 100 individuals attending a hospital travel clinic. Of the 238 respondents, two thirds were women. Take-off and landing were a perceived source of anxiety for about 40% of respondents, flight delays for over 50%, and customs and baggage reclaim for a third of individuals. Most frequent anxiety-reduction methods included alcohol and cigarette use, and distraction or relaxation techniques. Physical health problems related to air travel were common, and there was a strong relationship between such problems and frequency of anxiety. Travel agency clients reported more anxiety but not more physical health symptoms overall than travel clinic clients. Women reported greater air-travel anxiety, and more somatic symptoms than men. Significant numbers of air travelers report perceived anxiety related to aspects of travel, and this is associated with health problems during flights. Airlines and travel companies could institute specific measures, including improved information and communication, to reassure clients and thereby diminish anxiety during stages of air-travel. Medical practitioners and travel agencies should also be aware of the potential stresses of air travel and the need for additional information and advice.

Conservation science in a terrorist age: the impact of airport security screening on the viability and DNA integrity of frozen felid spermatozoa.

Science.gov (United States)

Gloor, Kayleen T; Winget, Doug; Swanson, William F

2006-09-01

In response to growing terrorism concerns, the Transportation Security Administration now requires that all checked baggage at U.S. airports be scanned through a cabinet x-ray system, which may increase risk of radiation damage to transported biologic samples and other sensitive genetic material. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of these new airport security regulations on the viability and DNA integrity of frozen felid spermatozoa. Semen was collected from two domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) and one fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), cryopreserved in plastic freezing straws, and transferred into liquid nitrogen dry shippers for security screening. Treatment groups included frozen samples from each male scanned once or three times using a Transportation Security Administration-operated cabinet x-ray system, in addition to non-scanned samples (i.e., negative control) and samples previously scanned three times and exposed to five additional high-intensity x-ray bursts (i.e., positive control). Dosimeters placed in empty dry shippers were used to quantify radiation exposure. Following treatment, straws were thawed and spermatozoa analyzed for post-thaw motility (percentage motile and rate of progressive movement), acrosome status, and DNA integrity using single-cell gel electrophoresis (i.e., the comet assay). Dosimeter measurements determined that each airport screening procedure produced approximately 16 mrem of radiation exposure. Our results indicated that all levels of radiation exposure adversely affected (P 0.05) among treatment groups. Results also showed that the amount of double-stranded DNA damage was greater (P cat species scanned three times compared to samples scanned once or negative controls. Findings suggest that new airport security measures may cause radiation-induced damage to frozen spermatozoa and other valuable biologic samples transported on passenger aircraft and that alternative modes of sample

A new proof-of-principle contraband detection system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sredniawski, J.J.; Debiak, T.; Kamykowski, E.; Rathke, J. [Northrop Grumman Corp., Bethpage, NY (United States). Advanced Technology and Development Center; Schmor, P.; Altman, A.; Rogers, J.; Boyd, J. [British Columbia Univ., Vancouver, BC (Canada). TRIUMF Facility; Brondo, J. [Scientific Innovations, Inc., East Hampton, NY (United States)

1995-12-01

A new concept for a CDS has been developed under a Phase I ARPA funded program; it uses gamma resonance absorption (GRA) to detect certain illegal drugs that may be transported in man-portable containers. A high detection probability for heroin and cocaine is possible with a device that is also searching for explosives. Elemental detection of both N and Cl is utilized, and with tomography, a 3D density image of the elements is generated. Total density image is also developed. These two together may be used with considerable confidence in determining if heroin or cocaine is present in the interrogated containers in a small quantity (1 kg). The CDS employs a high current ({ge}10 mA) DC accelerator that produces a beam of 1.75 or 1.89 MeV protons. These protons impact a target with coatings of {sup 13}C and {sup 34}S. Depending on the coating, the resultant resonant gamma rays are preferentially absorbed in either {sup 14}N or {sup 35}Cl. The resonant gammas come off the target in a conical fan at 80.7{degree} for N and 82{degree} for Cl; a common array of segmented BGO detectors is used over an arc of 53{degree} to provide input to an imaging subsystem. The tomography makes use of rotation and vertical translation of a baggage carousel holding typically 18 average sized bags for batch processing of the contents. The single proton accelerator and target can supply multiple detection stations with the appropriate gammas, a feature that may lead to very high throughput potential approaching 2000 bags/hr. Each detection station can operate somewhat independently from the others. This paper presents the overall requirements, design, operating principles, and characteristics of the CDS proof-of-principle device developed in the Phase I program.

Exploring the Full Spectrum: the Power of Combining Art and Science

Science.gov (United States)

Camnasio, Sara; Fonda, Enrico

2016-01-01

Science is publicly perceived as a challenging discipline open only to a small elite of extremely intelligent individuals. Its historic deficiency of women and racial minorities has helped to keep it on a outwardly unreachable pedestal far higher than the public's reach. One way we can pull science out its stiff academic walls is to incorporate it into an artistic performance. I have produced a multi-disciplinary performance event, called "The View From Nowhere", which combined dance, physics and philosophy, all in one evening. The event is part of a long-term series which will attempt to translate scientific concepts into a diverse range of works by international choreographers. Because of the success of this series, both in the public feedback as well as in the amount of educational baggage acquired by the participants, I analyzed the structure of my own event and compared it to other existing ones to generate a model for multidisciplinary collaborations between the arts and the sciences. I will present a general structure for building collaborations between artists and scientists, more specifically in the context of visual, sound and performance art. From outlining the psychological aspects of human learning and their relationship with science communication, to discussing the potential of art as educational medium, I will discuss how science-inspired performances along with a pedagogy of the topic by a scientist allows a wider pool of people to have access to topics which are normally difficult to grasp in a traditional academic context. I will also be presenting the outline of a current APS-funded, long-term project which aims to build artistic collaborations between researchers in fluid dynamics from NYU, Georgia Tech, and University of Maryland and international artists which will result in an exhibit on the topic of quantum fluids at the New York City art venue Pioneer Works.

Neutron-based techniques for detection of explosives and drugs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiraly, B.; Olah, L.; Csikai, G.J.

2000-01-01

Neutron reflection, scattering and transmission methods combined with the detection of characteristic gamma rays have an increasing role in the identification of hidden explosives, illicit drugs and other contraband materials. There are about 100 million land mines buried in some 70 countries. Among the abandoned anti-personnel land mines (APL) certain types have low mass (about 100 g) and contain little or no metal. Therefore, these plastic APL cannot be detected by the usual metal detectors. The IAEA Physics Section has organized a CRP in 1999 for the development of novel methods in order to speed up the removing process of APL. The transportation of illicit drugs has shown an increasing trend during the last decade. Developments of fast, non-destructive interrogation methods are required for the inspection of cargo containers, trucks and airline baggage. The major constituents of plastic APL and drugs are H, C, N and O which can be identified by the different neutron interactions. The atom fractions of these elements, in particular the C/O, C/N and C/H ratios, are quite different for drugs and explosives as compared to other materials used to hide them. Recently, we have carried out systematic measurements and calculations on the neutron fields from the 9 Be(d,n), 2 H(d,n), 252 Cf and Pu-Be sources passing through different bulky samples, on the possible use of elastically backscattered Pu-Be neutrons in elemental analysis and on the advantages and limitations of the thermal neutron reflection method in the identification of land mines and illicit drugs. The measured spectral shapes of neutrons were compared with the calculated results using the MCNP-4A and MCNP-4B codes. (author)

Australian chiropractic sports medicine: half way there or living on a prayer?

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Dragasevic George

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Sports chiropractic within Australia has a chequered historical background of unorthodox individualistic displays of egocentric treatment approaches that emphasise specific technique preference and individual prowess rather than standardised evidence based management. This situation has changed in recent years with the acceptance of many within sports chiropractic to operate under an evidence informed banner and to embrace a research culture. Despite recent developments within the sports chiropractic movement, the profession is still plagued by a minority of practitioners continuing to espouse certain marginal and outlandish technique systems that beleaguer the mainstream core of sports chiropractic as a cohesive and homogeneous group. Modern chiropractic management is frequently multimodal in nature and incorporates components of passive and active care. Such management typically incorporates spinal and peripheral manipulation, mobilisation, soft tissue techniques, rehabilitation and therapeutic exercises. Externally, sports chiropractic has faced hurdles too, with a lack of recognition and acceptance by organized and orthodox sports medical groups. Whilst some arguments against the inclusion of chiropractic may be legitimate due to its historical baggage, much of the argument appears to be anti-competitive, insecure and driven by a closed-shop mentality.sequently, chiropractic as a profession still remains a pariah to the organised sports medicine world. Add to this an uncertain continuing education system, a lack of protection for the title 'sports chiropractor', a lack of a recognized specialist status and a lack of support from traditional chiropractic, the challenges for the growth and acceptance of the sports chiropractor are considerable. This article outlines the historical and current challenges, both internal and external, faced by sports chiropractic within Australia and proposes positive changes that will assist in

Analysis of Seasonal Risk for Importation of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae), via Air Passenger Traffic Arriving in Florida and California.

Science.gov (United States)

Szyniszewska, A M; Leppla, N C; Huang, Z; Tatem, A J

2016-12-01

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), is one of the most economically damaging pests in the world and has repeatedly invaded two major agricultural states in the United States, Florida and California, each time requiring costly eradication. The Mediterranean fruit fly gains entry primarily in infested fruit carried by airline passengers and, since Florida and California each receive about 13 million international passengers annually, the risk of Mediterranean fruit fly entering the United States is potentially very high. The risk of passengers bringing the pest into Florida or California from Mediterranean fruit fly-infested countries was determined with two novel models, one estimated seasonal variation in airline passenger number and the other defined the seasonal and spatial variability in Mediterranean fruit fly abundance. These models elucidated relationships among the risk factors for Mediterranean fruit fly introduction, such as amount of passenger traffic, routes traveled, season of travel, abundance of Mediterranean fruit fly in countries where flights departed, and risk of the pest arriving at destination airports. The risk of Mediterranean fruit fly being introduced into Florida was greatest from Colombia, Brazil, Panama, Venezuela, Argentina, and Ecuador during January-August, whereas primarily the risk to California was from Brazil, Panama, Colombia, and Italy in May-August. About three times more Mediterranean fruit flies were intercepted in passenger baggage at airports in Florida than California, although the data were compromised by a lack of systematic sampling and other limitations. Nevertheless, this study achieved the goal of analyzing available data on seasonal passenger flow and Mediterranean fruit fly population levels to determine when surveillance should be intensified at key airports in Florida and California. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America

Myth and memory in the “queen of dreams”

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Gloria Montero

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Aristotle said that where the historian tells us what took place, the poet tells us how it came about. More recently, Gore Vidal defined ‘memoir’ as how one remembers one’s own life as distinct from an autobiography which is history, requiring research into dates and facts which must be double-checked. Memory and Myth play an important role in memoir, allowing the writer to incorporate the real underpinnings of a story that has been lived through rather than simply the account of a sequence of actual events. It might also be argued that the patina of memory that coats the ‘memoir’, as distinct from autobiography, might indeed add its own dimension, taking the account of something very real into a more surreal space. What I call my Rora stories published in Spanish under the title Todas Esas Guerras-- All Those Wars – have never appeared as a collection in English but have been published separately in literary journals. These stories, the very closest I think I will ever come to writing autobiography, grew out of a need to explore my own background – so fragmented in terms of geography, history and culture – at a time when, as a writer, I felt the desperate need to find out exactly who this multicultural person with her mixed baggage might be. The Queen of Dreams, one of the stories in the collection, uses the memory of the child Rora as she attempts to understand the drama and magic of sexuality and love in a grown-up, intolerant world at war. While the story explores the child’s personal history, it also reflects the psyche of Australia at that particular moment.

Licensing authority's control of radiation sources and nuclear materials in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Binns, D.A.C.

2002-01-01

Full text: The Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission is the national licensing authority and among its responsibilities is the control of nuclear materials and radiation sources. This control is carried out in three different ways: 1) Control of the import and export of nuclear materials and radiation sources. To be able to import or export any nuclear material or radiation source, the user has to have an explicit permission of the licensing authority. This is controlled by electronic means in which the user has to fill a special form found on the licensing authority's home page, where he has to fill in his name, license number, license number of his radiation protection officer and data of the material to be imported or exported. These data are checked with a data base that contains all the information of the licensed users and qualified personnel before authorization is emitted. The airport authorities have already installed x-ray machines to check all baggages entering or leaving the country. 2) Transport and transfer permit for radiation sources. In order to transport and/or transfer radiations sources and nuclear materials within the country, the user(s) have to submit an application to the licensing authority. The user(s) fill out an application form where he fills in his company's name, licensing I.D., radiation protection officer's name and I.D and identification of the sources involved. These information are checked with the licensing operations data before the operations is permitted. 3) Inspections and radiation monitoring systems. Routine and regulatory inspections are continuously carried out where the user's radiation sources and nuclear materials inventory are checked. Also the physical security and protection of these materials are verified. The installation of monitoring systems is an item that is being discussed with the airport authorities so as to increase the possibilities of detecting any illegal transport of these materials. (author)

Recent trends in specialty pharma business model

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Mannching Sherry Ku

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The recent rise of specialty pharma is attributed to its flexible, versatile, and open business model while the traditional big pharma is facing a challenging time with patent cliff, generic threat, and low research and development (R&D productivity. These multinational pharmaceutical companies, facing a difficult time, have been systematically externalizing R&D and some even establish their own corporate venture capital so as to diversify with more shots on goal, with the hope of achieving a higher success rate in their compound pipeline. Biologics and clinical Phase II proof-of-concept (POC compounds are the preferred licensing and collaboration targets. Biologics enjoys a high success rate with a low generic biosimilar threat, while the need is high for clinical Phase II POC compounds, due to its high attrition/low success rate. Repurposing of big pharma leftover compounds is a popular strategy but with limitations. Most old compounds come with baggage either in lackluster clinical performance or short in patent life. Orphan drugs is another area which has gained popularity in recent years. The shorter and less costly regulatory pathway provides incentives, especially for smaller specialty pharma. However, clinical studies on orphan drugs require a large network of clinical operations in many countries in order to recruit enough patients. Big pharma is also working on orphan drugs starting with a small indication, with the hope of expanding the indication into a blockbuster status. Specialty medicine, including orphan drugs, has become the growth engine in the pharmaceutical industry worldwide. Big pharma is also keen on in-licensing technology or projects from specialty pharma to extend product life cycles, in order to protect their blockbuster drug franchises. Ample opportunities exist for smaller players, even in the emerging countries, to collaborate with multinational pharmaceutical companies provided that the technology platforms or

Recent trends in specialty pharma business model.

Science.gov (United States)

Ku, Mannching Sherry

2015-12-01

The recent rise of specialty pharma is attributed to its flexible, versatile, and open business model while the traditional big pharma is facing a challenging time with patent cliff, generic threat, and low research and development (R&D) productivity. These multinational pharmaceutical companies, facing a difficult time, have been systematically externalizing R&D and some even establish their own corporate venture capital so as to diversify with more shots on goal, with the hope of achieving a higher success rate in their compound pipeline. Biologics and clinical Phase II proof-of-concept (POC) compounds are the preferred licensing and collaboration targets. Biologics enjoys a high success rate with a low generic biosimilar threat, while the need is high for clinical Phase II POC compounds, due to its high attrition/low success rate. Repurposing of big pharma leftover compounds is a popular strategy but with limitations. Most old compounds come with baggage either in lackluster clinical performance or short in patent life. Orphan drugs is another area which has gained popularity in recent years. The shorter and less costly regulatory pathway provides incentives, especially for smaller specialty pharma. However, clinical studies on orphan drugs require a large network of clinical operations in many countries in order to recruit enough patients. Big pharma is also working on orphan drugs starting with a small indication, with the hope of expanding the indication into a blockbuster status. Specialty medicine, including orphan drugs, has become the growth engine in the pharmaceutical industry worldwide. Big pharma is also keen on in-licensing technology or projects from specialty pharma to extend product life cycles, in order to protect their blockbuster drug franchises. Ample opportunities exist for smaller players, even in the emerging countries, to collaborate with multinational pharmaceutical companies provided that the technology platforms or specialty medicinal

Nueva terminal del aeropuerto de Glasgow (Abbotsinch, Inglaterra

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Spence, Basil

1968-12-01

Full Text Available This airport substitutes the one at Renfrew, which had become inadequate for the modern volume of traffic. The new airport will handle the intense passenger traffic on the Glasgow London route, which by 1970 it is estimated will reach 970 passengers per hour. Arrangements have been made for a possible enlargement to double the present air traffic capacity of the airport, namely, a maximum of 32 aircraft per hour. The airport building houses everything related to the passengers and offices in the top part, and it has highly modern installations of all types, of which the following are outstanding: the electronic information desks, the bar which is fully air conditioned, and the hall. The general structure is of reinforced concrete, with precast flooring frameworks. The baggage hall has metallic loading tables. The building has a highly impressive external appearance, and is faced with slabs of concrete, whose fine texture has been the result of using carefully chosen formwork of specially grained timber. White slabs and dark brick have also been utilised.Se hizo en sustitución del de Renfrew, que había quedado inadecuado, y dirigirá el intenso movimiento de viajeros y transporte de la ruta Glasgow-Londres, que se calcula, para 1970, en 970 pasajeros a la hora. Por ello, se ha previsto una posible ampliación al doble, con capacidad para un máximo de 33 aviones. El edificio alberga todo lo relacionado con los pasajeros y las oficinas en la parte superior, disponiendo de modernísimas instalaciones de todo tipo, entre las que destacan: los tableros electrónicos y puestos de información, bar y restaurante con climatización total, etc. La estructura general es de hormigón armado con forjados prefabricados; en los muelles es metálica. El aspecto exterior, de una gran elegancia, está conseguido a base de placas de hormigón visto —con bella textura lograda con encofrados muy cuidados de madera rayada—, plaquetas prefabricadas blancas y

Changing the paradigm: a radiation protection model for utilizing active systems in homeland defense applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hertel, Nolan E.; Shannon, Michael P.

2008-01-01

Full text: The emerging threat from non-state actors and terrorist organizations openly asserting the use of weapons of mass destruction has led to an increased global emphasis on homeland defense and national security. The threat is real and thus many states are spending large amounts of resources to combat the problem. Issues such as unsecured radioactive sources, illicit movement of nuclear material, the use of radioactive sources in the medical and industrial sectors are just a few of the areas being examined. Countering these threats involves a major paradigm shift in the manner in which radiation is viewed. Radiation-based technologies are playing a key role in this emerging area from the development of new passive detection modalities to the use of active systems for detecting illicit materials. The screening of humans, baggage and cargo present overwhelming challenges. With these developments comes the concern from both governmental agencies and the public as to the safety of such systems. This paper will explore one such modality; the employment of radiation-based illicit material detection systems. The authors will present a review of the international (IAEA) and US regulatory and statutory documents as well as recommendations from scientific bodies such as the International Commission on Radiological Protection and the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements. This review coupled with sound scientific data are used to develop a proposed framework for the future employment of active systems for homeland defense applications. Issues considered include the ability to effectively measure and/or predict dose, is the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) concept appropriate?, how much dose should be allowed relative to national security?, where does the linear-no-threshold hypothesis fit in? The authors use this analysis to develop a model which examines the trade-offs and cost-benefits in using the proposed systems. The major findings of

RECEPTION OF SPOKEN ENGLISH. MISHEARINGS IN THE LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS AND LAW

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HOREA Ioana-Claudia

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Spoken English may sometimes cause us to face a peculiar problem in respect of the reception and the decoding of auditive signals, which might lead to mishearings. Risen from erroneous perception, from a lack in understanding the communication and an involuntary mental replacement of a certain element or structure by a more familiar one, these mistakes are most frequently encountered in the case of listening to songs, where the melodic line can facilitate the development of confusion by its somewhat altered intonation, which produces the so called mondegreens. Still, instances can be met in all domains of verbal communication, as proven in several examples noticed during classes of English as a foreign language (EFL taught to non-philological subjects. Production and perceptions of language depend on a series of elements that influence the encoding and the decoding of the message. These filters belong to both psychological and semantic categories which can either interfere with the accuracy of emission and reception. Poor understanding of a notion or concept combined with a more familiar relation with a similarly sounding one will result in unconsciously picking the structure which is better known. This means ‘hearing’ something else than it had been said, something closer to the receiver’s preoccupations and baggage of knowledge than the original structure or word. Some mishearings become particularly relevant as they concern teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP. Such are those encountered during classes of Business English or in English for Law. Though not very likely to occur too often, given an intuitively felt inaccuracy - as the terms are known by the users to need to be more specialised -, such examples are still not ignorable. Thus, we consider they deserve a higher degree of attention, as they might become quite relevant in the global context of an increasing work force migration and a spread of multinational companies.

Is it Purposeful for Students of Lithuanian Higher Schools to Continue Learning the English Language? Motivation Factors

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Ramunė Ilgūnaitienė

2015-06-01

Full Text Available After Lithuania had regained its independence the policy of foreign languages teaching/learning at secondary schools changed cardinally. The majority or former school leavers do not perceive it to be purposeful and meaningful to prolong the English language learning on the university or college level. According to them, having covered the secondary school programme they possess a full baggage of the English language knowledge allowing them to communicate fluently in the above mentioned language while travelling, studying and working in foreign countries. Does this belief correspond to the reality of today? The article is based on four factors which are supposed to motivate freshmen and senior students to go on learning the English language as the main tool to enhance their position in contemporary world irreversibly affected by massive globalization and Eurointegration processes. VDU UKI in spring semester of 2014 carried out a research. The questionnaire was compiled the goal of which was to determine whether the English language level of the students matches all the international requirements for the language awareness and present the motives for students to continue the English language studies on a higher level. 172 first year students of various programmes participated in the research. The principle points of the questionnaire sought to provide answers to the following questions: whether the level of the English language acquirement is sufficient after having covered the secondary school programme, if VDU UKI English language teaching/learning policy enables students to acquire the language on a higher level, whether a language is a living, thus a constantly changing organism which requires progressive studies and refreshment of knowledge, if the level of language acquisition remains on the same level if it is not exploited on daily basis. Having systematized the questionnaire results the authoresses of the article draw the conclusion for

Comparative feasibility of gamma, electron beam and x-rays facilities at the Kuala Lumpur International airport (KLIA), Sepang, Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhamad Lebai Juri; Sidek Othman; Wan Mashol Wan Zain; Ridzuan Ismail

1997-01-01

to kill plant pathogens; and secondly, on the comparison of installing the different types of ionizing radiation facilities at the KLIA for treatment of baggage to intercept exotic plant pathogens

Estudantes e avaliação Students, higher education and evaluation

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Denise Balarine Cavalheiro Leite

2010-01-01

results. We question the consumerist marketing appeal of higher education institutions over the student that focuses on a consumer-student that is in search of professional ascension by productivist and individualized baggage.

O Some Aspects of the Relationship Between Quantum Physics, Gravity and Thermodynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephens, Christopher Rhodes

In this dissertation an attempt is made to shed some new light on various aspects of the relation between quantum physics, gravity and thermodynamics. The well known Hawking-Unruh effect is explored and reviewed and some original results found. It is found that the noise spectrum for a massless scalar field along an accelerated trajectory in odd dimensional Minkowski space has a (pseudo) -Fermi-Dirac form contrary to expectations. Ambiguous questions about covariance that have arisen when considering the physics of accelerated observers are addressed critically. It is found that if one is careful about specifying just what "observer" means then no ambiguities can arise. The idea of what constitutes a "particle" is also critically discussed. The uniqueness of the gravitational field vis a vis thermal effects is investigated. It is found that pair production in a uniform electric field admits of a thermal interpretation, (one with some interesting subtleties), thereby showing the non-uniqueness of gravity in this respect. The notion of intrinsic entropy remains a singular feature of gravity however. A corollary of the above is that the Unruh effect is an integral part of a quantum field theory and not some additional baggage. In treating the above questions some very interesting techniques are developed. The PTPI formalism allows a relativistic quantum field calculation to be performed without ever mentioning a quantum field(!) by reformulating such a problem into a quantum mechanical analog. As the problem is now finite dimensional, one loop determinants can be calculated using the method of Jacobi fields, rather than as infinite dimensional functional determinants. In general the methodology allows one to obtain covariances of partial differential equations from the covariances of ordinary differential equations!. The thermal effects discussed herein are seen to be just a small part of a much broader phenomenon--finite size effects. Such effects have been

Effect of the steam explosion pretreatment on enzymatic hydrolysis of eucalyptus wood and sweet sorghum baggages; Efecto del pretratamiento con explosion por vapor en la hidrolisis enzimatica de madera de eucalipto y bagazo de sorgo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Negro, M J; Martinez, J M; Manero, J; Saez, F; Martin, C

1991-07-01

The effect of steam explosion treatment on the enzymatic hydrolysis yield of two different lignocellulosic substrates is studied. Raw materials have been pretreated in a pilot plant designed to work in batch and equipped with a reactor vessel of 2 1 working volume where biomass was heated at the desired temperature and then exploded and recovered in a cyclone. Temperatures from 190 to 230 degree celsius and reaction times from 2 to 8 min. have been assayed. The efficiency of the steam explosion treatment has been evaluated on the composition of the lignocellulosic materials as well as on their enzymatic hydrolysis yield using a cellulolytic complex from T. reesel. Results show a high solubilization rate of hemicelluloses and variable losses of cellulose and lignin depending on the conditions tested. Enzymatic hydrolysis yields of both substrates experimented remarkable increments, corresponding the highest values obtained to 210 degree celsius; 2 min. and 21O degree celsius; 4 min. for sorghum bagasse and eucalyptus wood respectively. (Author) 13 refs.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso: The Astuzia Fortunata of Brazil’s Sociologist-President La Astuzia Fortunata de Fernando Henrique Cardoso

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Laurence Whitehead

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Even in the Renaissance, there were not that many Renaissance men. But if it was hard to live many lives in one even for the best placed of Renaissance Europe it is surely harder in contemporary republican Brazil. And yet Fernando Henrique Cardoso or FHC achieved it. How was this possible and at what cost in terms of conflict between the different specialized roles he occupied? What does this tell us about “politics as a vocation” in twenty-first century democratic Brazil? And what light does it shed on the scope for and limit of political leadership in contemporary democracies? To understand how choices are made we need to consider what motivated the career; what baggage the leader brought into office; what team of ministers were assembled and how their talents were used; what rivals (or enemies spurred the leader into self-definition; what ethics were in play. These strands are not arbitrary or beyond systematic analysis. They are what mostly explain how democratic leaders behave, one of the most vital dimension of democratic performance. Fernando Henrique Cardoso o FHC puede ser considerado un hombre del Renacimiento en el Brasil contemparáneo republicano. ¿Cómo es posible y a cual costo en forma de conflicto entre los diferentes roles especializados que ocupó? ¿Qué nos puede decir sobre "la política como una vocación" en el Brasil democrático del siglo veintiuno y sobre el margen o límite del liderazgo político en democracias contemporáneas? Para entender las deciciones tomadas tenemos que considerar qué motivó la carrera; qué "equipaje" el líder trajo al oficio; qué equipo de ministros fue instituido y cómo se usaron sus talentos; qué rivales (o enemigos incentivaron la auto-definición del líder; qué sistema de ética se implementa. Estos ramales políticos no son arbitrarios o más allá de un análisis sistemático. Son lo que más explican como líderes democráticos se conducen, una de las dimensiones m

Investigation of innovative radiation imaging method and system for radiological environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen, H. [School of Biomedical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Joung, J., E-mail: jinhun.joung@nucaremed.com [School of Biomedical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Nucare, Inc., Incheon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Y. [School of Biomedical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Nucare, Inc., Incheon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, K. [School of Biomedical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-03-01

We have developed a novel imaging method that can be applied to most applications in the field of radiological environment imaging. It resolves either two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) distributions of radioactive sources in applications for homeland security, environmental monitoring, radiation contamination monitoring, baggage inspection, nuclear power plant monitoring, and more. The proposed imaging method uses a simple detector configured as a radiation-counting detector with spectroscopic capabilities. The detector module consists of two components: a flat field-of-view (FOV) collimator with a 30° FOV opening and a typical single-channel radiation detector made of a 2 in.×2 in. NaI(Tl) scintillator coupled to a 2 in photomultiplier tube (PMT). This simple detector module makes it possible to develop a cost-effective imaging system and provide design freedom in extending the system configuration to include one-dimensional (1D) or 2D detector-array shapes to meet the needs of various applications. One of most distinctive features of the new imaging method is that it uses only a pair of 2D projections to obtain a 3D reconstruction. The projections are measured by the proposed detector module at two positions orthogonal to one another; the measured projections are manipulated to enhance the resolution of the reconstructed 3D image. The imaging method comprises several steps performed consecutively: projection measurement, energy re-binning, projection separation, resolution and attenuation recovery, image reconstruction, and image consolidation and quantitative analysis. The resolution and attenuation recovery step provides the most distinctive and important processing by which the poor quality of projection data is enhanced. Such poor quality is mainly due to the use of a simple detector with a wide-opening flat FOV collimator. Simulation and experimental studies have been conducted to validate the proposed method. In this investigation, we

Controle sanitário de fronteiras: trânsito internacional de pessoas na Copa do Mundo de 2014

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Aline Daiane dos Reis LIMA

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Enquanto as viagens e o comércio internacionais trazem muitos benefícios à saúde ligados ao desenvolvimento econômico, eles também podem causar riscos à saúde pública que podem se disseminar internacionalmente em aeroportos, portos e fronteiras terrestres por meio de pessoas, animais, alimentos, bagagens, cargas, meios de transporte, mercadorias e encomendas postais. Devido ao aumento do tráfego de pessoas durante a Copa do Mundo de 2014 que acontecerá no Brasil, percebe-se a necessidade da efetiva aplicação do Regulamento Sanitário Internacional (2005 para que seja garantido o direito fundamental a saúde da população brasileira e aos visitantes por meio da identificação de emergências de saúde pública de importância internacional e das respostas a tais eventos. ABSTRACT While international travel and trade bring many health benefits linked to economic development, they may also cause public health risks that can spread internationally at airports, ports and ground crossings through people, animals, food, baggage, cargo, containers, goods and postal parcels. Due to the increased traffic of people during the 2014 World Cup to be held in Brazil, one realizes the need to apply the definitions of the International Health Regulations (2005 to be guaranteed the fundamental right to health of the population and visitors by identifying public health emergencies of international concern and the answers to these events. RESUMEN Mientras que los viajes y el comercio internacionales trae muchos beneficios de salud relacionados con el desarrollo económico, sino que también pueden causar riesgos de salud pública que pueden propagarse a nivel internacional en los aeropuertos, puertos y fronteras terrestres a través de personas, animales, alimentos, equipajes, cargas, medios de transporte, mercancías y paquetes postales. Debido al aumento del tráfico de personas durante la Copa del Mundo 2014 que se celebrará en Brasil, se da

Conceptualising global health: theoretical issues and their relevance for teaching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rowson Mike

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There has long been debate around the definition of the field of education, research and practice known as global health. In this article we step back from attempts at definition and instead ask what current definitions tell us about the evolution of the field, identifying gaps and points of debate and using these to inform discussions of how global health might be taught. Discussion What we now know as global health has its roots in the late 19th century, in the largely colonial, biomedical pursuit of ‘international health’. The twentieth century saw a change in emphasis of the field towards a much broader conceptualisation of global health, encompassing broader social determinants of health and a truly global focus. The disciplinary focus has broadened greatly to include economics, anthropology and political science, among others. There have been a number of attempts to define the new field of global health. We suggest there are three central areas of contention: what the object of knowledge of global health is, the types of knowledge to be used and around the purpose of knowledge in the field of global health. We draw a number of conclusions from this discussion. First, that definitions should pay attention to differences as well as commonalities in different parts of the world, and that the definitions of global health themselves depend to some extent on the position of the definer. Second, global health’s core strength lies in its interdisciplinary character, in particular the incorporation of approaches from outside biomedicine. This approach recognises that political, social and economic factors are central causes of ill health. Last, we argue that definition should avoid inclusion of values. In particular we argue that equity, a key element of many definitions of global health, is a value-laden concept and carries with it significant ideological baggage. As such, its widespread inclusion in the definitions of

Conceptualising global health: theoretical issues and their relevance for teaching.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowson, Mike; Willott, Chris; Hughes, Rob; Maini, Arti; Martin, Sophie; Miranda, J Jaime; Pollit, Vicki; Smith, Abi; Wake, Rae; Yudkin, John S

2012-11-14

There has long been debate around the definition of the field of education, research and practice known as global health. In this article we step back from attempts at definition and instead ask what current definitions tell us about the evolution of the field, identifying gaps and points of debate and using these to inform discussions of how global health might be taught. What we now know as global health has its roots in the late 19(th) century, in the largely colonial, biomedical pursuit of 'international health'. The twentieth century saw a change in emphasis of the field towards a much broader conceptualisation of global health, encompassing broader social determinants of health and a truly global focus. The disciplinary focus has broadened greatly to include economics, anthropology and political science, among others. There have been a number of attempts to define the new field of global health. We suggest there are three central areas of contention: what the object of knowledge of global health is, the types of knowledge to be used and around the purpose of knowledge in the field of global health. We draw a number of conclusions from this discussion. First, that definitions should pay attention to differences as well as commonalities in different parts of the world, and that the definitions of global health themselves depend to some extent on the position of the definer. Second, global health's core strength lies in its interdisciplinary character, in particular the incorporation of approaches from outside biomedicine. This approach recognises that political, social and economic factors are central causes of ill health. Last, we argue that definition should avoid inclusion of values. In particular we argue that equity, a key element of many definitions of global health, is a value-laden concept and carries with it significant ideological baggage. As such, its widespread inclusion in the definitions of global health is inappropriate as it suggests that only

Carbon Nanotube Based Nanotechnology for NASA Mission Needs and Societal Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jing; Meyyappan, M.

2011-01-01

(greater than 100 mA/per square centimeters) field emission capabilities of CNTs can be exploited for construction of electron gun for electron microscopy and X-ray tubes for spectrometers and baggage screening. A CNT pillar array configuration has been demonstrated, not only meeting the high current density needs but more importantly providing long term emitter stability. Finally, supercapacitors hold the promise to combine the high energy density of a battery with the high power density of capacitors. Traditional graphite electrodes have not delivered this promise yet. A novel design and processing approach using MWCNTs has shown a record 550 F/g capacitance along with significant device endurance. This supercapacitor is suitable for railgun launch application for NASA, powering rovers and robots, consumer electronics and future hybrid vehicles.

Embryos, Unborns and Other Species. A Choreography of the Limits of Human Life Embriones, no nacidos y otras especies. una coreografía de los límites de la vida humana

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Lorena Ruiz Marcos

2010-11-01

Full Text Available In this article we draw upon the theoretical baggage of posthumanism as toolkit to inquire about the processes that configure the limits of human life. To do so we focus in three dimensions that, according to our analysis, are delineating the boundary which settles the initiation of human life as such: the first dimension will consider the morphological aspects, the second the temporal ones and the third the spatial aspects. The first one, morphological, will answer the question about the proper human form, the second will refer to when does that human life start, and the third will consider the where

takes place that initiation. To track down how those three axes operate we analyse various materials, mostly legal texts and images. We try, therefore, to pursue a whole array of heterogeneous actors -both human and non-human-, practices, discourses and relations that facilitate the emergence of the properly "human" as such. As this complex array of elements tends to be erased from the narrative on the origins of human life, "humanness" comes to be read as a given, something unmediated and a-problematic.

A distancia del género Distant from gender

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Geneviève Fríase

2007-12-01

Full Text Available El primer punto a considerar en este trabajo es la cuestión del vademécum, de ese nécessaire de viaje que es preciso llevar consigo para tener acceso al objeto "diferencia entre los sexos". Respecto de la exigencia epistemológica, de la cuestión del "cómo pensar", es preciso señalar que la tradición clásica no ha sabido definir ese objeto. El vademécum se compone entonces de dos elementos: la identificación de los obstáculos e impedimentos para pensar (en el abanico que va entre la opinión y el concepto, y la reunión de las herramientas indispensables (conceptos clásicos o nuevos: género, transdisciplinariedad, etc.. Continúa con la reflexión posible en torno de la noción "controversia". La controversia de los sexos contiene en sí la expresión de un conflicto tanto en el nivel ontológico (los seres y las cualidades, el sexo como sustantivo y el masculino - femenino como adjetivos como en el nivel político (la aporía de la identidad y la diferencia, de la libertad y la igualdad como operadores. El cruce entre lo ontológico y lo político es lo que impone entonces pensar la "diferencia entre los sexos" como una categoría vacía.The first point to be considered is the issue of vade mecum, that baggage that must be taken with us to gain access to the object "differences between sexes". In terms of the epistemological demands, i.e. the ways of thinking, we must acknowledge that the classical tradition has not been able to define this object. This vade mecum is made of two elements: the identification of obstacles and impediments for thinking (in the spectrum that lies between opinion and concept and the collection of tools that we need (classical or new concepts: gender, transdisciplinarity. The following point is the possibility to think about the notion of "controversy". The controversy between the sexes contains in itself the expression of the conflict both at the ontological level (existing beings and qualities, the sex

Formalization of the classification pattern: survey of classification modeling in information systems engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Partridge, Chris; de Cesare, Sergio; Mitchell, Andrew; Odell, James

2018-01-01

Formalization is becoming more common in all stages of the development of information systems, as a better understanding of its benefits emerges. Classification systems are ubiquitous, no more so than in domain modeling. The classification pattern that underlies these systems provides a good case study of the move toward formalization in part because it illustrates some of the barriers to formalization, including the formal complexity of the pattern and the ontological issues surrounding the "one and the many." Powersets are a way of characterizing the (complex) formal structure of the classification pattern, and their formalization has been extensively studied in mathematics since Cantor's work in the late nineteenth century. One can use this formalization to develop a useful benchmark. There are various communities within information systems engineering (ISE) that are gradually working toward a formalization of the classification pattern. However, for most of these communities, this work is incomplete, in that they have not yet arrived at a solution with the expressiveness of the powerset benchmark. This contrasts with the early smooth adoption of powerset by other information systems communities to, for example, formalize relations. One way of understanding the varying rates of adoption is recognizing that the different communities have different historical baggage. Many conceptual modeling communities emerged from work done on database design, and this creates hurdles to the adoption of the high level of expressiveness of powersets. Another relevant factor is that these communities also often feel, particularly in the case of domain modeling, a responsibility to explain the semantics of whatever formal structures they adopt. This paper aims to make sense of the formalization of the classification pattern in ISE and surveys its history through the literature, starting from the relevant theoretical works of the mathematical literature and gradually shifting focus

Origins of institutional change: Brazilian alcohol fuel program between 1975 and 2000

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ollinaho, O.I.

2012-07-01

In this dissertation, I study the origins of institutional change. In organizational institutionalism institutional change is seen as being triggered either by exogenous shocks or by endogenous factors. I propose to see the origins of change instead through the dichotomy of cognitive versus material. One rationale for this is that, when addressing more broadly dispersed societal practices, the distinction between endogenous and exogenous loses its meaning. Another reason is that without taking materiality into account in a more comprehensive manner, institutional theory is toothless against the vast material fluxes that human activity, patterned as established practices, produces and consumes. Human activity is transforming the very basis of its foundation: raw material sources, ecosystems and even the climate of the planet. Not only does human activity have an impact on the planet, but the materiality in which we live, has its impact on our activity. I argue that changes in materiality affect our habitualized activities depending on how these changes are produced. This setting requires a more comprehensive relating of material and cognitive processes, something that I attempt to elucidate in this dissertation. I ground my conceptual development in the German sociology of knowledge, foremost in the writings of Alfred Schuetz and Thomas Luckmann. Established practices related to fossil fuels are central with regard to the adverse impacts of human activity. I study arguably the most successful attempt to deviate from these patterns: Proalcool. This ambitious Brazilian biofuel program was launched in 1975. Although alcohol was generally argued to be the definitive Brazilian solution and alcohol cars dominated the scene in the 1980s, by the end of the 1990s the program had lost its legitimacy and was seen as baggage to be done away with. I reconstruct the evolution of the program from 1975 to 2000 as a detailed narrative based on some 4000 news articles published in a

The "symmetrical turn" in the study of colective action

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Israel Rodríguez Giralt

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Conceptualising and understanding forms of collective action is one of the historic preoccupations of social thought. Good evidence of this can be found in the long line of disputes and polemics that runs through the history of thought about these social phenomena. It shows the difficulty social sciences have faced, and continue to face, when it comes to defining, explaining and delineating a phenomena as ephemeral and liminal as this one.In this context, I propose that a discussion of the implications an STS focus could have for the analysis of contemporary collective action. The main hypothesis I develop states that the conceptual and methodological baggage that goes with the Actor-Network theory (ANT, and its shaping into what has been called the 'symmetrical turn' in the social sciences, become a fundamental resource for renewing and enriching the analysis of collective action. For this, I will bring together two main contributions: its alternative understanding of social action (to explain the social it is necessary to  leave the exclusive concern with social relations aside and take into account the non-human actors, such as the technical procedures in which they are involved; and its original definition of the “collective” (the collective is basically an aggregate of humans and non-humans, without predefined borders, it is just the relational product created by the constant and precarious commitment between heterogeneous elements. Both contributions, I affirm, allow the opening of an interesting discussion about agency and the possibility of articulating a new theory of collective action that differs from the dominant traditions in that it considers and assumes the heterogeneous and relational character of all social actors, and, as such, it also assumes that all social action is the emergent effect, the interactive product of those hybrid collectives in action. To give an example of the fertility of this approach, I focus on an

Explorative Observations of the Urban Climate System in the Rotterdam Metropolis

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, C. M.; van Hove, L. W.; Heusinkveld, B. G.; Steeneveld, G.; van Heerwaarden, C.; Elbers, J. A.

2009-12-01

Until recently, the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect was thought to be relatively unimportant for Dutch conditions since The Netherlands are located in the mild Cfb climate, close to the sea. This view altered after the heat waves of 2003 and 2006 that caused an excess mortality between 1400 and 2200. The excess mortality was found in the cities in particular. Climate projections show that also in The Netherlands heat waves will likely become more frequent in the next decades, which may form an important threat to the livability in urban areas. However, information regarding UHI in Dutch cities is completely lacking, both from observational and model perspective, which hampers the design of suitable adaptation and heat mitigation strategies. In this study, an assessment of the intensity of UHI in the city of Rotterdam is made. The main aim is to assess whether or not heat stress already is or will be a critical issue in the Rotterdam area. Traverse measurements were performed in the city using two cargo bicycles as a mobile platform, equipped specifically for urban meteorology measurements. The cargo bicycles allow manoeuvring easily through the narrow streets in the city. They are equipped with a thermometer, a humidity sensor, a 2-dimensional sonic anemometer and a set of radiation sensors to measure solar radiation and infrared radiation exchange from six directions. The data are recorded at 1 Hz, and connected with concurrent GPS readings. The instruments are powered by a solar panel mounted on the baggage carrier. Measurements were performed along two previously determined routes through a number of characteristic urban districts, including an industrial area, an older residential area, a city park and the harbour area. The routes were photographed at fixed intervals from 50 cm above the ground with a fisheye lens pointing upwards. The observations were carried out during four 1-2h time intervals on 6 August 2009, a warm day with a maximum temperature of near 30

Grand, Bland or Somewhat Planned? Toward a Canadian Strategy for the Indo-Pacific Region

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Patrick James

2014-08-01

security strategy with regard to China could result in waste and even conflict with our allies. Indeed, in evaluating Canada’s security position vis-à-vis the entire Indo-Pacific region, the factors largely seem to favour Canada taking a seriatim approach: Canada’s natural and optimal position, given its military status, is to take a reactive, second-mover approach, rather than a first-mover approach. Somewhat ironically, Canada’s history of inattentiveness towards the Indo-Pacific region may actually provide Canada with increased flexibility and advantage in the new era of rising Asian power: Put simply, save for a few examples, there is a distinct lack of baggage between Canada and the Indo-Pacific nations, leaving something close to a clean start for future relations. It is, however, critical that Canada not allow that past irresponsible practice to persist. Notions of some “grand strategy” for the Indo-Pacific region may be misguided. But given the ascendant role of Indo-Pacific nations in the 21st century, it would be even more unwise for Canada to maintain its longstanding pattern of indifference toward the region.

Percepção de conflito em uma família recasada constituída por um filho com paralisia cerebral Perception of conflict in a stepfamily with a child with cerebral palsy

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Hilda Rosa Moraes de Freitas

2012-03-01

authority. The objective of this article was to describe the structure and dynamics of a stepfamily having a child with cerebral palsy, based on the members' representations of conflict situations. In this case study focused on a family, made up of three members: mother, son and stepfather. A semi-structured interview and the Family System Test (FAST were applied. The FAST scores showed closeness in the mother-child dyad and distance in the stepfather-stepson dyad, with the hierarchy focused on the mother figure. As to the flexibility of boundaries, the couple's perception indicated rigid boundaries, both for the family and for parental systems, while the child's perception of the family system revealed diffused boundaries. Therefore, some factors highlighted in the literature and evident in this family such as differences in the couple's life cycle, short period of marriage, emotional baggage between mother and son, added to demands of child care, resources and biopsychological provisions, constituted a rigid standard with low flexibility, which made it difficult to include the stepfather in the group, resulting in less commitment to co-parenting in the care and education of the stepchild.

Transfer Out Patient Not Abandon The Patient

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Deepak Gupta

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Physician-patient relationship is unique in some aspects and not-so-unique in other aspects when compared to other human interactions. Until-unless for the sake of health promotional activities, this relationship is almost always conceived in the times of human sufferings and consequently culminated when those sufferings have subsided as well as sought out happiness has ensued/been achieved. However, not all physician-patient relationships follow the normal course and/or meet the natural ends. These abnormal relationships are not inconsequential in terms of numbers and/or their effects (short-term and long term on both patients and physicians. Every country has its own baggage in the wake of why, how and what about these abnormal ends to physician-patient relationships; however, the most common causes are the patients’ inability to pay their medical bills, the conflicting goals of physicians and their patients in regards to patients’ sufferings’ management and finally the behavioral issues (patients’ and/or physicians’ interfering these relationships. Irrespective of any cause, the physicians should never forget that the patient can always discharge their physicians and discontinue their relationship with their physicians without any reason (until unless the physicians deem those patients either incapable/non-consentable to do so and/or potential threat to their own personal safety or other people’s safety. Contrarily, physicians can also discharge patients from their care but cannot abandon these patients (1-3 which mean that physicians have to ensure their discharged patients either are referred to or have sought another physician within appropriate time frame post-relationship-discontinuation. Each country has their own medico-legal liabilities that vary in terms of penalties imposed; however, irrespective of the feared legal concerns, the physicians should not forget that ethical essence of medicine is the art of healing that

An Integrated 0-1 Hour First-Flash Lightning Nowcasting, Lightning Amount and Lightning Jump Warning Capability

Science.gov (United States)

Mecikalski, John; Jewett, Chris; Carey, Larry; Zavodsky, Brad; Stano, Geoffrey

2015-01-01

Lightning one of the most dangerous weather-related phenomena, especially as many jobs and activities occur outdoors, presenting risk from a lightning strike. Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning represents a considerable safety threat to people at airfields, marinas, and outdoor facilities-from airfield personnel, to people attending outdoor stadium events, on beaches and golf courses, to mariners, as well as emergency personnel. Holle et al. (2005) show that 90% of lightning deaths occurred outdoors, while 10% occurred indoors despite the perception of safety when inside buildings. Curran et al. (2000) found that nearly half of fatalities due to weather were related to convective weather in the 1992-1994 timeframe, with lightning causing a large component of the fatalities, in addition to tornadoes and flash flooding. Related to the aviation industry, CG lightning represents a considerable hazard to baggage-handlers, aircraft refuelers, food caterers, and emergency personnel, who all become exposed to the risk of being struck within short time periods while convective storm clouds develop. Airport safety protocols require that ramp operations be modified or discontinued when lightning is in the vicinity (typically 16 km), which becomes very costly and disruptive to flight operations. Therefore, much focus has been paid to nowcasting the first-time initiation and extent of lightning, both of CG and of any lightning (e.g, in-cloud, cloud-to-cloud). For this project three lightning nowcasting methodologies will be combined: (1) a GOESbased 0-1 hour lightning initiation (LI) product (Harris et al. 2010; Iskenderian et al. 2012), (2) a High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) lightning probability and forecasted lightning flash density product, such that a quantitative amount of lightning (QL) can be assigned to a location of expected LI, and (3) an algorithm that relates Pseudo-GLM data (Stano et al. 2012, 2014) to the so-called "lightning jump" (LJ) methodology (Shultz et al

Assessment of the potential for karst in the Rustler Formation at the WIPP site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lorenz, John Clay

2006-01-01

This report is an independent assessment of the potential for karst dissolution in evaporitic strata of the Rustler Formation at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site. Review of the available data suggests that the Rustler strata thicken and thin across the area in depositional patterns related to lateral variations in sedimentary accommodation space and normal facies changes. Most of the evidence that has been offered for the presence of karst in the subsurface has been used out of context, and the different pieces are not mutually supporting. Outside of Nash Draw, definitive evidence for the development of karst in the Rustler Formation near the WIPP site is limited to the horizon of the Magenta Member in drillhole WIPP-33. Most of the other evidence cited by the proponents of karst is more easily interpreted as primary sedimentary structures and the localized dissolution of evaporitic strata adjacent to the Magenta and Culebra water-bearing units. Some of the cited evidence is invalid, an inherited baggage from studies made prior to the widespread knowledge of modern evaporite depositional environments and prior to the existence of definitive exposures of the Rustler Formation in the WIPP shafts. Some of the evidence is spurious, has been taken out of context, or is misquoted. Lateral lithologic variations from halite to mudstone within the Rustler Formation under the WIPP site have been taken as evidence for the dissolution of halite such as that seen in Nash Draw, but are more rationally explained as sedimentary facies changes. Extrapolation of the known karst features in Nash Draw eastward to the WIPP site, where conditions are and have been significantly different for half a million years, is unwarranted. The volumes of insoluble material that would remain after dissolution of halite would be significantly less than the observed bed thicknesses, thus dissolution is an unlikely explanation for the lateral variations from halite to mudstone and siltstone

Assessment of the potential for karst in the Rustler Formation at the WIPP site.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lorenz, John Clay

2006-01-01

This report is an independent assessment of the potential for karst dissolution in evaporitic strata of the Rustler Formation at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site. Review of the available data suggests that the Rustler strata thicken and thin across the area in depositional patterns related to lateral variations in sedimentary accommodation space and normal facies changes. Most of the evidence that has been offered for the presence of karst in the subsurface has been used out of context, and the different pieces are not mutually supporting. Outside of Nash Draw, definitive evidence for the development of karst in the Rustler Formation near the WIPP site is limited to the horizon of the Magenta Member in drillhole WIPP-33. Most of the other evidence cited by the proponents of karst is more easily interpreted as primary sedimentary structures and the localized dissolution of evaporitic strata adjacent to the Magenta and Culebra water-bearing units. Some of the cited evidence is invalid, an inherited baggage from studies made prior to the widespread knowledge of modern evaporite depositional environments and prior to the existence of definitive exposures of the Rustler Formation in the WIPP shafts. Some of the evidence is spurious, has been taken out of context, or is misquoted. Lateral lithologic variations from halite to mudstone within the Rustler Formation under the WIPP site have been taken as evidence for the dissolution of halite such as that seen in Nash Draw, but are more rationally explained as sedimentary facies changes. Extrapolation of the known karst features in Nash Draw eastward to the WIPP site, where conditions are and have been significantly different for half a million years, is unwarranted. The volumes of insoluble material that would remain after dissolution of halite would be significantly less than the observed bed thicknesses, thus dissolution is an unlikely explanation for the lateral variations from halite to mudstone and siltstone

Irradiation as a Quarantine Control Measure; Irradiation Comme Mesure de Controle Sanitaire; Obluchenie kak mera po karantinnomu kontrolyu; La Irradiacion Como Sustitutivo de las Medidas de Cuarentena

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cornwell, P. B. [Rentokil Laboratories Ltd., Felcourt, Sussex (United Kingdom)

1966-11-15

One hundred and eighty-six million people passed through US borders in 1965. Of 446000 consignments inspected at US ports of entry last year, 32 000 were infested. This vast increase in international travel, exchange of goods in trade and the speed of movement from one part of the world to another, requires strict measures to prevent worldwide dissemination of ''unwanted'' insect species. Once an exotic species is established, quarantine surveys of pest abundance, distribution and jump spread, require great efforts in containment campaigns with a view to eradication. Is ''inspection'' the most economic means of combating the introduction of undesirable insect species? Is the establishment of irradiation facilities for the treatment of certain commodities, at import or export, or interstate collecting centres, a possible answer to this problem? Can irradiation of certain products replace existing techniques of fumigation? Examples are given of the possible use of irradiation to treat passengers' baggage at airports, to prevent the spread of pests of fruit crops across inter-state boundaries and for the treatment of timber at import. Sustained release of sterilized insects as a continuous control operation is considered as a possible replacement for quarantine survey and treatment of pest containment areas. (author) [French] En 1965, 186 millions de personnes ont franchi les frontieres des Etats-Unis. Sur les 446 000 envois de denrees alimentaires inspectes dans les ports d'acces aux Etats-Unis pendant l'annee ecoulee, 32 000 etaient infestes. L'accroissement considerable du tourisme international, des echanges commerciaux et de la rapidite des moyens de transport exige des mesures rigoureuses pour prevenir la dissemination dans le monde entier des especes d'insectes 'indesirables'. Des que la presence d'une espece exotique est constatee, les controles sanitaires visant a determiner l'abondance des insectes en question, leur distribution et leur rayon de dispersion

Μία περίπτωση ἐφαρμογῆς τοῦ βυζαντινοῦ θεσμοῦ τοῦ ἀσύλου στήν Πελοπόννησο: Ἡ προσφυγή τῶν Σλάβων στό ναό τοῦ Ἁγίου Ανδρέα Πατρῶν

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Ηλίας ΑΝΑΓΝΩΣΤΑΚΗΣ

2008-09-01

instance of the workings of the institution of sanctuary in Byzantium. While the sources bring in a host of hagiographie and miraculous elements -the standard baggage of accounts of Christianisation and repentance-he flight of the Slavs to the church of the patron saint of the city constitutes, in our opinion, in instance of mass asylum. Moreover, it is interesting to observe that the respective terminology which was used in Porphyrogenitus' account and was in all likelihood included in the sigillion of Nikephoros I relies, in our view, directly on Byzantine legislative reforms concerning sanctuary.This is the first recorded instance of mass asylum and resort to church sanctuary in the middle Byzantine period in the Peloponnese. An effort was made both on the part of the church and the state to find a compromise solution: the former sought recognition of the institution of sanctuary while the latter was concerned to maintain the authority of its judicial and penal organs. The Slavs, who had sought sanctuary in the church, while normally liable to the punishment reserved for insurrection, were in the end granted special treatment. A compromise was found: despite the Slavs' attempt to rebel against the Byzantine authorities, the institution of asylum was fully implemented with the imposition of a number of restrictions and sanctions against the Slav population. The economic side of this treatment, which was generally a feature of the institution of ecclesiastical asylum both in Byzantium and the medieval West, has been well investigated. Indeed, monasticism and land ownership in the region of Bithynia are thought to have developed thanks to the institution of monastic asylum and the geographical boundaries of asylum, and this appears to be the case in the Peloponnese, too, where we see privileges and sigillia being granted for new monasteries and metropoleis in the ninth century. It is particularly interesting to note that the limits of 'rural asylum', i.e. the legal

The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life (by Parker J. Palmer)

Science.gov (United States)

Hurt Middlecamp, Reviewed By Catherine

1999-12-01

Most of us would willingly - perhaps even passionately - tackle the question of what we should teach our students. Similarly, we are likely to engage in a conversation about how we teach and our preferences for organizing classroom time and structures. Although the question of why we teach may be raised less often (and perhaps with a hint of sarcasm), this too is a question to which most can offer a thoughtful response. An entirely different matter, however, is the question of who is the person teaching. This who involves the inner realms of one's heart, mind, and soul. How does our identity affect the teaching and learning processes? As we teach, what paths are we following intellectually, emotionally, or even spiritually? How do these paths influence our relationship to our content and to our students? With an engaging honesty, Parker Palmer pursues these questions in The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of A Teacher's Life. At the outset he points out (p 4): I have no quarrel with the what or how or why questions - except when they are posed as the only questions worth asking. All of them can yield important insights into teaching and learning. But none of them opens up the territory I want to explore in this book: the inner landscape of the teaching self. One might well question why those of us teaching chemistry should be interested in examining ourselves as part of the teaching equation. Isn't scientific knowledge supposed to be as objective as we can make it? Isn't it better for us to check our emotional or intellectual baggage at the classroom door, rather than to taint the content with our biases? Or perhaps more directly stated, is it not more practical and a better use of our time to simply deal with the realities of the day-to-day classroom issues? Admittedly these are fair questions. However, to become stuck on them is to miss the opportunities for reflection and growth as teachers that Palmer's book offers. Simply put, people teach

Book Review:

Science.gov (United States)

Fulling, S. A.

2006-05-01

has lavished on this set, which is an important monument and reference but presumably not a moneymaker. Every university library must buy it, but probably few individuals will, at least not in the near term when most of those with the seniority (i.e., cash) to make the purchase already own, or have read, the Les Houches lectures. What remains to be seen is to what extent a later generation will discover it as a valuable resource. Parts I and II develop the basic classical and quantum kinematics of fields and other dynamical systems. The presentation is conducted in the utmost generality, allowing for dynamical quantities that may be anticommuting (supernumbers) and theories subject to the most general possible gauge symmetry— in fact, such symmetries are called 'invariant flows' to emphasize that they may not form a gauge group in the conventional sense. The basic ingredients are action functionals and the Peierls bracket, a manifestly covariant replacement for the Poisson bracket and equal-time commutation relations. Nothing was more central to the DeWitt gospel than these, and the book begins with a paragraph of condemnation of Hamiltonians and canonical formulations with constraints as dysfunctional nineteenth-century baggage. For DeWitt the logical progression is Peierls bracket → Schwinger action principle → Feynman functional integral although he points out that the historical development was in the opposite order. The word 'global' in the title, presumably chosen to avoid duplicating the second Les Houches lectures, refers to this overall framework.The word is somewhat misleading, since in many respects DeWitt's work entails a concentration on local over global quantities. For example, chapter 2 states forcefully that local gauge symmetries are both more fundamental and more ubiquitous than global symmetries. It must be pointed out that the Peierls Schwinger DeWitt approach, despite some advantages over initial-value formulations, has some troubles of its